encyclopaedia – Page 71 – Jineral Knowledge

Ganzfeld Effect

Posted on 29/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

To experience this peculiar effect, you require a ping-pong ball cut in half, tape, radio, headphones and a lamp tinted with red light (use cellophane).

Set the radio to an empty station so that only white noise is playing.
Plug the headphones into the radio and wear it.
Place each half of the ping-pong ball over your eyes and secure it with tape.
Shine the red light towards your eyes.
Relax on a couch or a bed for over half an hour.

What you will experience after about half an hour are powerful visual and auditory hallucinations, the result of your brain trying to fill the void created by sensory deprivation. As the brain is in constant need of stimuli, complete deprivation of the senses results in the brain becoming confused, trying to interpret what is not there. It has been reported that people see things such as horses flying through clouds or hearing the voice of dead relatives.

Science & Nature

Kangaroo Rat

Posted on 27/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

Kangaroo rats are a type of rodent found in North American deserts. They are known for their extremely long and strong hind legs which they can use to hop great heights (up to nine feet), just like a kangaroo. But the most interesting feature of the kangaroo rat is its kidneys.
This tiny animal is known to be so efficient in using its water that it literally never has to drink water. By having extremely efficient kidneys, kangaroo rats gain sufficient water from metabolism, as water is made from oxidation of food naturally. This gives them a strong advantage in such a dry habitat.

Kangaroo rats have many more adaptations that aide their survival in their desert environment. They exhibit food-hoarding behaviour and can be often seen with their cheek pouches full of grains. As there is no pools of water, they roll in the sand to have sand baths like some birds. Being rodents, they are social and live in underground community tunnels to avoid the heat during the day.

When in danger, kangaroo rats hop on the spot and stamp their feet on the ground to send signals to nearby friends using the vibrations. Amazingly, they have been observed to even fight snakes in times of need, using sand to their advantage. By leaping back with their strong hind legs, kangaroo rats are capable of spraying sand at their enemy, irritating them and sometimes even damaging them. Furthermore, they show exemplary teamwork by attacking a predator together, biting and leaping back to continuously inflict damage. Because their legs are so well-developed, they are able to jump away from harm even if it is a snake striking at rapid speed.

Such adaptations in anatomy, physiology and behaviour allow the kangaroo rat to survive in an environment that can swiftly kill even a person.

Life & Happiness

The Mermaid Theory

Posted on 27/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

The myth of mermaids originates thousands of years ago from sailors who had been out in the waters for many months. Without seeing a woman for such long times, they reached a point of desperation where manatees on the rocks appeared as beautiful women with strangely attractive fish tails. This portrays the basic male drive and the way we perceive the world.

This applies to modern days as well. Upon meeting any woman, regardless of their level of attractiveness, a “mermaid clock” begins ticking inside a man’s head. The time that takes for this clock to expire varies for every woman, but ultimately a time comes when the man will see the woman as attractive and will not be able to take his eyes off of her. This is The Mermaid Theory, which thus proves that the attractiveness of a woman to a man increases in direct proportion to the time exposed to her. Or put even more simply, no matter how attractive or unattractive a woman is, eventually a man will want to sleep with her. This process may be accelerated by the usage of alcohol and the level of depravation of the man at the time.

The Mermaid Theory proves to be potentially dangerous, for example when the woman in question is a close friend of the man or even his partner. Sometimes the mental shock that someone once so unappealing is now so beautiful looking may be crippling as well.

True story.

History & Literature

The Twelve Labours Of Hercules

Posted on 25/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

After killing his children in a psychotic state inflicted by Hera, Hercules was dethroned and was set ten tasks, all deemed impossible, which he had to complete for forgiveness of his sins. Each task required problem-solving and unconventional thinking, which eventually granted Hercules the reward of immortality.

The twelve (including two that were added as he was blamed for cheating in two tasks) labours in order were:

Kill the Nemean Lion, a monster with hide so thick that no arrow can pierce it. Hercules stunned the lion with a club and then strangled it, after which proceeded to skin its hide with its own claws to use as armour.
Kill the Lernean Hydra, a monster with nine heads, which could regrow two heads in the place where one was cut. Hercules instructed his charioteer, Iolaus, to cauterise the necks after cutting the heads to prevent it regenerating, then used the poisonous blood to coat his arrows. This was considered cheating as he used the help of Iolaus.
Capture the Cerynian Hind, Artemis’ beloved deer. Hercules followed the hind for an entire year and then safely carried it away, to avoid harming the frail creature and angering the goddess.
Capture the Erymanthian Boar, a wild beast that intimidated all of the inhabitants of the mountain. Hercules captured the creature using a net.
Clean the Augean Stables, a gigantic stable housing thousands of cows that had not been cleaned in 30 years, Hercules was given one day for the task, so he bent two rivers so they flowed through the stables to clean the filth. He was about to receive payment for his service, which was considered cheating by King Eurystheus (who set the tasks).
Kill the Stymphalian Birds, murderous birds with bronze beaks and claws, and metallic feathers that they could shoot like darts. Hercules killed them with poison arrows tipped with the Hydra’s blood.
Capture the Cretan Bull, a rampant bull capable of breathing fire. Hercules wrestled to control the beast and successfully captured it.
Capture the horses of Diomedes, that were trained to feed on human flesh. Hercules killed King Diomedes who raised them and fed his corpse to the horses, thus taming them.
Take the Girdle of Hippolyte, the queen of the Amazons. Hercules was gifted the girdle by Hippolyte, but Hera spread a rumour that he was there to conquer the Amazons, forcing him to kill the Amazons and steal the belt in the end.
Capture the Cattle of Geryon, a winged monster with three human bodies. Hercules killed Geryon and his guardian dog, and then took his herd of cattle.
Take the Golden Apples of Hesperides, protected by Ladon, a dragon with a hundred heads. Hercules bargained with Atlas to hold the Earth while he retrieved it. Atlas tried to walk away free from his damned task, but Hercules tricked him by asking to hold the Earth while he shifted his cloak.
Capture Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guarded the underworld. Hercules had to wrestle Cerberus into submission as he was not allowed to use his weapons, and Cerberus agreed to be taken to see the king, after which it returned unharmed to the underworld.

This goes to show that any task is possible as long as one has the right mindset, can think outside the square and put in all of his or her strength into it.

Science & Nature

Rule Of Threes

Posted on 25/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

This is how long you can survive for without certain things:

3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
3 months without hope

Science & Nature

Kiss

Posted on 23/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

Kissing is an act of love seen in cultures across the globe, with its history spanning many thousands of years. There are many theories as to how this act – representing love, affection, friendship and even respect – came about. The two most popular theories are the ideas that early humans in the Stone Age licked each other’s faces to obtain salt from sweat, or that it originated from ancient Romans. Roman soldiers kissed their wives as soon as they returned from war, to check whether there was the smell of alcohol (which was banned for women) or another man.
Using historical evidence from ancient texts from India and old paintings from China, it can be deduced that even in Asia the history of kissing is over 2000~4000 years old.

The human lip contains many nerve endings, making it one of the most sensitive part of skin on the body. Also, kissing stimulates the secretion of dopamine and oxytocin, chemicals responsible for invoking the feeling of love and happiness, causing an electric sensation (research states that the brain interprets it in a similar way to using cocaine).
It has already been proven that kissing lowers perceived stress and frequent kissing between couples lowers cholesterol and strengthens the cardiovascular system. Furthermore, it has been discovered that over 295 colonies of bacteria can be transferred per kiss (95% of which are harmless, but diseases such as glandular fever or herpes can be transmitted this way).
Some believe that the act of kissing came about to simulate the feeling of breastfeeding, an act ingrained in the subconscious mind (the same point is made regarding cigarette use).

This romantic behaviour is also seen in nature. Many bird and mammal mothers transfer pre-masticated food to their young this way, and calves kiss each other after drinking milk to prolong the sensation of breastfeeding. Even insects are found to “kiss”, such as ants that bring up food from their second stomach, the “social stomach”, to feed fellow ants that need food.

Science & Nature

Parkinson’s Law

Posted on 21/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

Parkinson’s Law states that the bigger a company grows, the more inefficient workers it will hire while paying out more wages. The reason for this is simple: those in power like to stay in power, and the best way to ensure this is to eliminate competition.

Hiring skilled workers brings upon the chance of a strong competitor that can over throw the bureaucrats, which is undesirable. Therefore, by hiring useless people, the bureaucrats are able to keep their seat of power.

(from The Encyclopaedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge by Bernard Werber)

Science & Nature

Echo

Posted on 19/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

Because sound is a wave, it is reflected by a surface. An echo is when this reflection is sufficiently loud and is quite common in everyday life. It is heard especially in places such as a mountain top or in a canyon because the surface needs to be quite far for our ears to detect the echo. If it is too close, as in within 340m – the distance covered by sound within one second – the echo overlaps with the original sound and cannot be heard. However, if a room is lined by a smooth surface, such as a bathroom or opera house, an echo may be heard. In these cases the delay between the sound and its echo is so close that it merely sounds as if the sound is amplified, thus explaining why singing sounds better when in a bath.

An echo can be very powerful, an example being St Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. This building is built with a giant, hemispherical roof that can amplify a whisper from one corner and replay it audibly at a corner on the opposite side of the room.
It is also very useful as it is used in technologies such as sonar and ultrasound machines to see through objects.

The word “echo” originates from a nymph named Echo from Greek mythology. Echo was instructed by Zeus to distract Hera from noticing him having an affair by chatting to her constantly. Hera caught on to this and cursed Echo to only be able to repeat what others say. After that, Echo could not even say “I love you” to the man she loved, and eventually lived in the mountains where she repeated whatever travellers said in an attempt to speak.

An interesting fact about echoes is the common myth that a duck’s quack does not echo. This is incorrect in that it does in fact echo, but since a quack is soft and fades quickly, the echo is usually too faint to be audible.

History & Literature

Wilhelm Scream

Posted on 17/01/201111/02/2019 by Jinavie

Often while watching a movie, you hear a scream that you feel like you have heard it before. This phenomenon occurs quite commonly, and the reason for it is rather simple. It is not because of some psychological phenomena, but because it is always the same scream. But how is it that the same scream appears in movies spanning over 50 years, with no common actors?

This is the famous Wilhelm Scream, a pre-recorded sound clip frequently used in movie sound editing. It first appeared in the 1951 film “Distant Drums” (when a villain is snatched away by an alligator), and became famous when it was used again in 1953 in “The Charge at Feather River”, when a soldier named Wilhelm gives off the scream when shot (hence the name).

From then on, this scream has become somewhat a cliché in the film world, with numerous directors humorously sneaking it in their movie. George Lucas is especially well-known for his love with the sound clip, as he used it in every Star Wars and Indiana Jones movie. Including appearances in movies, games and other media, the Wilhelm Scream has been used over 200 times to date. This peculiar scream tends to be used when a nameless villain, such as a stormtrooper or a Nazi soldier, is shot, fell or somehow mortally harmed.

Next time you watch a film, look out for the Wilhelm Scream.