Old-Timey Diseases Defined

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book that mentioned a vague disease and you had no idea what it was? When it happens to me, I typically just make up the symptoms and causes in my head... and I frequently learn later that I am very wrong!

So if you're like I am, hopefully these definitions will help you!

1. The Vapors

origin: Victorian times, mid to late 1800's

ailment: Nervous disorder such as hysteria, typically in women

symptoms: anxiety, depression, bloating, fainting, loss of appetite, tremors, digestive issues, gas, and behavioral problems

causes: sometimes psychosomatic, sometimes a result of cancers, depression, underlying infections, and lacing corsets too tightly

2. Scurvy

origin: 4th Century BC

ailment: Malnutrition, a lack of plasma in the blood

symptoms: Fatigue, nausea, muscle pain, bloody and swollen gums, loose teeth, anemia, bruising, dry skin, and rashes

causes: Vitamin C deficiency

3. Consumption

origin: Defined in 460 BC; though cases were reported much earlier

ailment: Tuberculosis

symptoms: Weight loss, low energy, poor appetite, fever, cough, and night sweats

causes: Passed from person to person by saliva or mucus

4. Gout

origin: First written description by Egyptians in 2600 BC

ailment: Severe arthritis

symptoms: Excruciating, sudden, and burning pain, and swelling, redness, warmth, and stiffness in the affected joint or tissue, and fever

causes: Too much uric acid in one's blood (either naturally or in foods such as liver, sweetbreads, anchovies, beef, lentils, cauliflower, etc)

5. Rickets

origin: Reported in ancient times, but defined around the Industrial Revolution

ailment: Malnutrition, the softening of bones

symptoms: Bone pain or tenderness, dental problems, muscle spasms or weakness, bone fractures, deformities, and growth disturbances

causes: Vitamin D deficiency, possibly also a calcium deficiency

Wow, I feel more knowledgeable, but I don't know if I feel better after looking up all of those diseases up! Thank goodness for modern diets and medicine!

How To Dry Out Electronics

In case your Thanksgiving was a little crazier than you thought, and your iPod ended up in a glass of water or you dropped your cellphone in the punchbowl, here are some tips for saving your electronics:

1. Turn off your device and place it in a bowl of uncooked rice. Make sure the room is relatively dry (near the shower isn't a good idea!), and let it sit until the rice absorbs all of the moisture.

or

2. Remove the battery and the SIM card. Pat the extra moisture off the device (don't use heat). Then soak it in rubbing alcohol and let it air dry for a couple of days.

It's worth a try at least! According to the experts at Lifehacker, these steps saved a Blackberry from a toilet and a cellphone from a swimming pool!

Tribute to Tryptophan

I thought today would be an appropriate day to learn a little bit more about my favorite food-related sleep aid: tryptophan!

Fast facts:

1. Tryptophan is an amino acid, necessary for adults and growing infants. It helps our bodies balance nitrogen and produce niacin, auxin, and serotonin (which we need for a good night's sleep).

2. Tryptophan is not only in turkey: it is also naturally found in milk, chicken, nuts, soy beans, eggs, fish, pumpkin seeds, chocolate, oats, and mangoes (among other things!).

3. Turkey doesn't actually have more tryptophan per gram than other poultry!

4. Typically, the more protein per gram a food has, the more tryptophan that food has, too. Which food has the most tryptophan per gram? Egg whites!

5. Most experts think that Thanksgiving-related sleepiness is actually a result of overconsumption in general, especially of carbohydrates (which can also, after several chemical reactions, produce melatonin, another sleep-inducing hormone).

So the turkey's tryptophan effects aren't as intense as I thought... either way, I say eat up if you can! There's nothing quite like a food-coma, regardless of what causes it!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Thank YOU for reading!

(information via MedlinePlus and Wikipedia)

Oscar The Grouch Is "In A Relationship"!

Apparently I didn't pay too much attention to Sesame Street when I was a kid! I didn't find out until last week at a trivia game night that Oscar the Grouch has been a committed boyfriend since January 3, 1983!

For those of you, like me, just (re)learning this, here is a picture of the happy couple, Grundgetta and Oscar (or "Grungie" and "Oskie" as they refer to each other!):

According to Grundgetta's page on Muppet Wiki, "she and Oscar, in addition to being a couple, are also best friends." However, according to Oscar's page, "a romantic relationship between two Grouches is understandably rocky". Isn't that how he said/she saids tend to go sometimes? :)

A Nurturing Leopard Seal

This is an incredible story. And it makes me want to have a pet Leopard Seal!

More of the story is available on the National Geographic website.

[via SerialBus]