Monday, March 31, 2008

Why Ireland is so rainy and windy?

The dominant influence on Ireland's climate is the Atlantic Ocean. Consequently, Ireland does not suffer from the extremes of temperature experienced by many other countries at similar latitude.

Average annual temperature is about 9 °C. In the middle and east of the country temperatures tend to be somewhat more extreme than in other parts of the country. For example, summer mean daily maximum is about 19 °C and winter mean daily minimum is about 2.5 °C in these areas.

Mean annual windspeed varies between about 4 m/sec in the east midlands and 7 m/sec in the northwest. Strong winds tend to be more frequent in winter than in summer. Sunshine duration is highest in the southeast of the country. Average rainfall varies between about 800 and 2,800mm.

With southwesterly winds from the Atlantic dominating, rainfall figures are highest in the northwest, west and southwest of the country, especially over the higher ground. Rainfall accumulation tends to be highest in winter and lowest in early summer.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Why do all roads lead to Rome

Back in the times of Alexander the Great (and other conquerors), everyplace they took over they would build streets and roads. They would always have a road leading to their capital (or a road leading to a road going there, you know what i mean) for tax reasons and so that people would remember who was in charge.

Since Rome took over most of Europe, for a while most roads really did "Lead to Rome"

Why is the sky blue?

The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.

However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.

Blue sky from scattered light

As you look closer to the horizon, the sky appears much paler in color. To reach you, the scattered blue light must pass through more air. Some of it gets scattered away again in other directions. Less blue light reaches your eyes. The color of the sky near the horizon appears paler or white.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Why do people recommend drinking coke when your stomach hurts?


Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? It’s because it gets you high. They took the cocaine out almost a hundred years ago. You know why? It was redundant.

  • In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
  • 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
  • 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
  • 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
  • >60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
  • >60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
  • >60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (As little as two if you’re a smoker.) But, hey, have another Coke, it’ll make you feel better.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Why do men have nipples?

Male nipples aren't exactly a genetic glitch: they are evidence of our developmental clock. In the early stages of life from conception until about 14 weeks, all human fetuses look the same, regardless of gender. At the tender age of 14 weeks post-fertilization , genetically-male fetuses begin to produce male hormones including testosterone. These hormones turn the androgynous fetus into a bouncing baby boy.

Here's where the developmental clock comes in. By 14 weeks, when the hormones turn on, the nipples have already formed. So, while our male fetus goes on to become a baby boy, he keeps his nipples, reminding all of us that people, male and female, started off the same way.

In most men, the nipples really don't change after this point, but some men can develop a condition called gynecomastia. In gynecomastia, the fatty tissue around the nipple develops and eventually appears similar to a female breast. This can occur whenever the testosterone level is lowered by medications, such as those that treat prostate cancer, and by natural hormonal changes due to obesity, adolescence or aging.

Luckily, most of us don't worry too much about male nipples, so men never have to worry about finding swimtrunks and a bikini top that fit.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

What are Auroras?


Auroras are natural colored light displays, which are usually observed in the night sky, particularly in the polar zone. Some scientists call them "polar auroras" (or "aurorae polares"). In northern latitudes , it is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas. It often appears as a greenish glow (or sometimes a faint red), as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction. The aurora borealis is also called the northern polar lights, as it is only visible in the North sky from the Northern Hemisphere. The aurora borealis most often occurs from September to October and from March to April.

Are horoscopes for real?

They are as real as the evil that tries to consume people each and every day. Sometimes, horoscopes can truly seem to be speaking right to you, exactly pertaining to your life. You must realize that horoscopes can be a tool of Satan to keep you from relying on God and the things of God.

People are fascinated with all types of evil things: psychic abilities, astrology, ouija boards, séances and others. This fascination signifies that fear is at the core. These people are afraid of the future and they are afraid of making bad decisions. In Isaiah, we see that astrologers were at work even during that prophet’s time. Isaiah warned the people about them and pointed to the fact that the astrologers cannot save the people. "Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you" (Isa. 47:13).

God is a jealous God. He wants our affection and trust to be placed only in Him. He will reveal His plans for us in His timing. He is greatly offended when we turn to things like the stars rather than to Him. Proverbs 3:5-8 perfectly explains what the Lord wants from us. “Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” :)