Short, summarised health articles to share with everyone:
Article 1
The weight of the world seems to be on children's shoulders these days, and it is leaving an impact on their backs. Sounds unlikely? In today's society, it isn't just the office-inflicted or age-inflicted that complain of an aching back. Neck, back and shoulder pains can all result in bad posture or bad habits, and lugging huge bags to school is one of the biggest causes. A large-scale study in 2002 found that children who carried weights more than 10% their body weight had more back pain. But bags are not the only culprits. There is the rough and tumble childhood to contend with too. Research says that by the age of 12, a child would have had over 2000 slips and falls. In most instances, back pain is a result of poor posture, or unaccustomed exercise or over-exertion. Serious causes for back pain in children are fortunately quite rare. What a relief!
Tips for a healthy back:
STANDING
1) No slouching. Feet should be shoulder-width apart, and legs straight but without locked knees.
2) Keep the chin level. The highest point of your body should be the top back region of your head. Relax your jaw and neck muscles.
STUDYING OR USING THE COMPUTER
1) Do not remain in awkward or uncomfortable positions for long periods of time.
2) The screen of the computer should be at or just below eye level, and the user should not have to lean forward to read from the screen.
3) The back should be supported by the chair.
4) Do not sit for longer than one hour without taking a break.
Article 2
Question: I have a concern about keeping raw eggs in our refrigerator. I have read that the shell of raw eggs could be covered with chicken feathers, dried faeces, dirt and possibly bacteria like salmonella. These eggs are purchased in plastic-cup boxes or open trays. They are stored directly on the shelves of the fridge door. I also understand that washing the eggs before placing them in the fridge will make them turn bad quickly. The same shelves also hold our packaged milk, drinks, medicines, candies and tidbits. Does storing them together pose a risk to the foods and my health?
Answer: Eggs should be stored in the refrigerator and consumed prior to their 'best before' dates. Eggs which are still in their shells should not pose a health hazard as their shells are removed before cooking. Raw eggs may contain micro-organisms that can cause food poisoning. To avoid cross-contamination, prepare raw eggs away from other food, especially cooked and ready-to-eat food. After handling raw eggs, always wash utensils, hands and surfaces thoroughly and before any contact with other food. For hygiene purposes, you may also choose to wash the egg under running tap water before cooking.
Article 3
Green vegetables = good, right? Not the case when it comes to potatoes.
Here's an uncommon but important fact to note. Green in potatoes indicates the presence of a rather harmful toxin. When you see patches of green in your potatoes as you peel them, cut out the green parts entirely and discard them. What is the green? Actually it's chlorophyll. But the chlorophyll indicates that the potato has been exposed to sunlight. And where the potato has been exposed to light is where a natural toxin in the potato (solanine) becomes concentrated at harmful levels. So, never store your potatoes on the counter. Always keep them in a cool, completely dark place.
Deep-frying potatoes at a high temperature (152°C) effectively lowers the level of toxins. But boiling them has no effect. Best to stay on the safe side and just cut away the green parts. Potato sprouts can also have concentrated solanine, so those too should never be eaten.
- DarkAbyssXx
3:14 PM
Finer Points on Percentage
In this post, I'm going to write about one point about percentage. Sure, you think, percentage is no problem. But have you stopped and thought about the problems that I'm going to show you now? Here they are:
Problem 1: Annie bought two books that cost $10 and $20. There was a 20% discount. How much does she need to pay?
Solution: Okay, this looks easy. But pause and think about this: When you are attempting this question, how are you going to tackle it? Is it:
1) Find out what is 80% (100% - 20%) of $10 and $20, then add the answers up together.
Or is it:
2) Add $10 and $20, then find out what is 80% of the total.
If you used either one of the methods above, your answer should be correct. Both methods will work for all similar questions. But don't be happy yet, there is a second problem:
Problem 2: Ben bought two books for $10 and $20. There was a 10% discount for the first book and a 20% discount for the second respectively. What is the total cost of the books?
1) Find out what is 90% (100% - 10%) of $10, then 80% (100% - 20%) of 20$. To find the answer, add them together.
Or is it:
2) Add $10 and $20 together, then find 70% (100% - (10%+20%))of the sum.
If you used the second method, your answer is wrong. Try it, there will be different answers. Why can't the second method work? Because when the question states 10% and 20% discounts for the different prices, the discounts will be different for each of the items. Therefore, the first method is the only one that can get you a right answer!
- DarkAbyssXx
1:25 PM
New Attraction! Funny pictures/photos will be displayed on this part of the blog! ^_^
Without doubt a school sign.
What hospitality...
So much for that sign...
Satan is Coming...!
Try again...?!
Creative Animation...
Do you need a toilet seat that big?
No wonder the man in the picture has an itchy nose!
Don't you just adore elephants!
Is that just a weird clump of grass or a car covered in grass?
I don't know what to say...
Evolution...?
Well, at least they are honest.
Hmm... Maybe too public...
Like... Duh...?!
Wow. Those are sure strict rules.
The place to poop...?!
Okay... That's an obsolete towaway system.
Look at the last sentence.
Talk about bad luck!
Zip it up!
Okay... Is he a qualified mechanic...?
How thoughtful...
How 'bout that?
Right...
Quit complaining about YOUR job!
That's weird.
Look at the last sentence.
Talk about bad luck!
Zip it up!
Okay... Is he a qualified mechanic...?
How thoughtful...
How 'bout that?
Right...
Quit complaining about YOUR job!
That's weird.
Yeah. Right.
How can you issue a fine to someone who's already dead?
Nice setup...
That's really helpful...
That's really helpful...
Lol... What's the deal with that license plate?
- DarkAbyssXx
2:37 PM
Reflections on Maths Topic: Area and Perimeter
"Tick... Tick... Tick"
The clock was ticking. The pupils of 6 Sunflower racked their brains on some pretty tough Maths problems about Area and Perimeter. Mr Chua had given us an hour to complete half a Maths Paper: 23 TOUGH sums (Well, almost all of them were tough). I couldn't do some of them. I've to admit that they were quite challenging. Time's up!
Mr Chua showed us the answers. Rats! Mistakes here and there for me... I was worried about "what when wrong" when Mr Chua decided to collect our work. I spent the rest of the day worrying. (Hey, don't think that I'm a pessimist. I just thought about it for a while, that's all!)
The following day, Mr Chua was going through all the sums with us. Hmm... I realised that about half of the mistakes I made were careless ones. But there were a few sums that I still did not answer. They were TOUGH! I realised that for some of the problems, the solution was very simple, but most people did it the long way (like me...); we failed to notice the 'shortcut'!
When we apply the method "line of symmetry" on the sums, it worked miraculously. Poof! It was magic! The sums seemed to get much more easier! That taught me a lesson: We can apply methods that were taught us from the past. (This method was taught during P4 or P5.) So don't look down on them!
Next Lesson: When we are doing work, be it English, Maths or whatever, we should not look at the rights and wrongs that we made. It's more important to understand the demands. That is, what is required of us to know.
I hope Mr Chua gives us another tough test sometime later. Hey, it's better to suffer now than regret after your PSLE Examination! So that marks the end of my reflection.
- DarkAbyssXx
8:04 PM
Questions
If you don't know, ask.
This is such a simple principle that even children can understand it. What is communication but the pursuit of understanding? And the way in which we strive yo understand each other is by asking questions. It seems to be the most natural thing in the world but growing into adults, people lose sight of this mantra probably because as our knowledge and experience increases, we think we know all there is to know. Asking questions is a sign of ignorance and most people don't like to embarrass themselves and appear vulnerable.
Yet in today's global environment where individuals are constantly asked to become more creative and innovative, the art of asking questions has become more valuable than ever. Opening a sentence with 'why' or 'how' is usually the first step towards acquiring new discoveries and coming up with new ideas. Rather than seeing questions as an admission of one's weaknesses, questions serve as the gateway for further exploration; it is liberating to be able to look for answers and inevitably expand the horizons of our own information cupboard.
Many ideas and inventions spring from questions people ask. Not surprisingly, inventors are often the ones who ask the most questions. Here are two interesting examples concerning Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, and the development of aeroplanes.
At the age of eight, Thomas Edison was bored with rote learning. This stemmed from his innate curiosity and he wanted to understand more about what he was learning. He tried to figure out how things worked and when he failed, he asked a lot of questions.
For example, Edison wanted to know where grain came from so he climbed to the top of a grain elevator. He fell into a pile of grain and started sinking. Fortunately, his father was around and pulled him out before he came to any harm. On another occasion, Edison wanted to find out how to make a human balloon. He made a boy swallow Siedlitz powders, which give of gas when they are mixed with water. He was hoping that the powder would mix with the boy's stomach to create a gas, and that gas would then cause the boy to float.
Obviously these incredulous experiments did not work. His teacher thought he asked too many questions and concluded that he was stupid. As everyone now knows, Edison's curiosity continued throughout his life and led to a lifetime of experimenting and inventing.
Everyone is well aware of the fact that the Wright Brothers were recognised as the inventors of the aeroplane but the genesis of such an idea came much earlier in history.
How can something so heavy seem so light?
If a bird's wings flap, why don't planes'?
These are questions a child might ask, but they are also the same questions inventors asked a hundred years ago. In most situations, the person asking questions is usually in an advantageous position because they can control the direction of an exchange. When someone is asked a question, they are somehow 'compelled' to take the opposite role and answer it.
- Excerpt from What A Stupid Question! by Sharmini Chellepandi
Remember, there are no stupid questions... Only stupid people! (Haha! Just kiddin'!)
So what are you waiting for? Start asking questions now!
- DarkAbyssXx
3:23 PM
The following is a collection of touching short stories. Do enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not claim these stories as works of my own as the publisher is not stated.
Story 1
When I was very young, I believed sisters were sent as a punishment for innocent little boys. Sisters - and I had three older ones - were strange and horrible beings dedicated to ensuring that a brother's time on the planet would be unpleasant.
My mother was always busy with cleaning and cooking, and often left me in the care of my sisters. They loved soap and hot water, so three or four times a day, one of them took great pleasure in scrubbing me. In the case of my youngest sister, a perfectionist by the time she was five, the reason for tearing at my face with such great energy was more specific. She hated dirt and therefore regarded the filth on my face as a disgrace to the family.
Early on, I was convinced my sisters did not know how to have fun. They hated toy guns, sticks, rocks - all the things that I loved. My sisters took their job of looking after me so seriously that they never allowed me to play with any object they considered dangerous. To them, even going outdoors was seen to be dangerous! On glorious sunny days, days when I should have been off to some playground, my iron-willed little guardians would box me in instead.
They loved things I hated. They ate vegetables and enjoyed milk. They carried tiny embroidered handkerchiefs. They like bathing, school and teachers, and did their homework neatly. In short, they never got into any trouble.
In time, I outgrew my childish ways and our gentle war came to an end. I discovered that my sisters were actually beautiful, caring and human. I also discovered their generous hearts; many thoughtful gifts came my way on special occasions. They wept when I went overseas for my studies and constantly sent me warm, loving letters to keep me in touch with home.
As I look back on the days they had to endure their little brother, I salute their patience and devotion and am grateful to them in my life...
- DarkAbyssXx
9:34 PM
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