Read Are Lobsters Ambidextrous? Online
Authors: David Feldman
Are Lobsters Ambidextrous? (24 page)
This explains the odd sizes of regular Tide packages we mentioned. The 39-ounce size is meant to clean thirteen loads; the 136-ounce size should handle forty-six loads.
We thought that when concentrated detergents swept the supermarket aisles, their weights might be rounded off like their liquid counterparts, but alas, the tradition of the weird sizing
continues. Ultra Tide, the best-selling concentrated powdered detergent, is marketed in five configurations: 23 ounces (ten loads); 42 ounces (eighteen loads); 70 ounces (thirty loads); 98 ounces (forty-two loads); and 198 ounces (eight-five loads).
If you calculate the weight per load, you will see that the definition of a “load” isn’t absolutely precise. But then how many of us are meticulous in measuring the amount of detergent we toss into the washing machine, anyway?
Submitted by Chris Allingham of Sacramento, California
.
What
are we smelling when it “smells like rain is coming”?
This isn’t the type of question that meteorologists study in graduate school or that receives learned exegeses in scholarly journals, but we got several experts to speculate for us. They came down into two camps.
1.
It ain’t the rain, it’s the humidity
. Biophysicist Joe Doyle blames the humidity, which rises before rainfall. Of course, humidity itself doesn’t smell, but it accentuates the smells of all the objects around it. Everything from garbage to grass smells stronger when it gets damp. Doyle believes that the heightened smell of the flora and fauna around us tips us off subliminally to the feeling that it is going to rain. Richard Anthes, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, points out that many gaseous pollutants also are picked up more by our smell receptors when it is humid.2.
The ozone did it
. Dr. Keith Seitter, assistant to the executive director of the American Meteorology Association, reminds us that before a thunderstorm, lightning produces ozone, a gas with a distinctive smell. He reports that people who are near lightning recognize the ozone smell (as do those who work with electrical motors, which emit ozone).Kelly Redmond, meteorologist at the Western Regional Climate Center, in Reno, Nevada, also subscribes to the ozone theory, with one proviso. Ozone emissions are common during thunderstorms in the summer, but not from the rains from stratiform clouds during the cold season. So if it’s “smelling like rain” during the winter in Alaska, chances are you are not smelling the ozone at all but the soil, plants, and vegetation you see around you, enhanced by the humidity.
Submitted by Dr. Thomas H. Rich of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Thanks also to George Gudz of Prescott, Arizona; Anne Thrall of Pocatello, Idaho; Dr. Allan Wilke of Toledo, Ohio; Matthew Whitfield of Hurdle Mills, North Carolina; Philip Fultz of Twentynine Palms, California; and William Lee of Melville, New York
.
The three main enemies of freshness in perishable foods are air, heat, and low acidity. Foods such as mayonnaise, salad dressing, and canned fruit all undergo processing to eliminate these hazards. Burton Kallman, director of science and technology for the National Nutritional Foods Association, explains:
Unopened jars of perishable foods can remain at room temperature because they are sealed with low oxygen levels (sometimes under vacuum), are often sterilized or at least pasteurized, and may contain preservatives which help maintain their freshness.
All three of these foods contain
natural
ingredients that act as preservatives. Roger E. Coleman, senior vice-president of public communications for the National Food Processors Association, differentiates between foods that must be refrigerated immediately and those that can remain unopened on the shelf:
Products such as marinated vegetables, salad dressings, and fruits, which contain adequate amounts of added acid ingredients such as vinegar and/or lemon juice, will not support the growth of hazardous microorganisms and only need to be refrigerated after opening to prevent them from spoiling. Other products, such as canned meats and vegetables, do not contain acidic ingredients and, thus, can support the growth of hazardous microorganisms. These products must be refrigerated, not only to retard spoilage but to keep them safe to eat after opening.
This last point is particularly important, for many foods that state “Refrigerate after opening” are perfectly safe to store back on the shelf after they are opened. So why the warning? Barbara Preston, executive director of the Association for Dressings and Sauces, writes:
Most commercial dressings (with the exception of those bought from a refrigerated display case) are perfectly safe stored at room temperature. The words ‘Refrigerate After Opening’ on the label are intended only to help preserve their taste, aroma, and appearance. They do not relate to spoilage. If an already opened jar of salad dressing is accidentally left out for several hours, don’t throw it away. There is no danger of spoiling…it just may not taste as fresh.
Submitted by Nancy Schmidt of West New York, New Jersey
.
What piece of legislation in 1978 has affected and changed American life most profoundly? Some would argue it was the Senate’s vote to turn the Panama Canal over to the Panamanians. Or Jimmy Carter’s signing the Humphrey-Hawkins bill, which attempted to ensure full employment while keeping inflation in check. But some, with great sincerity, will point to the federal regulations enacted requiring the striking strip to be moved to the back of the matchbook.
We all know that the federal bureaucracy gets blamed for imposing too many regulations, but this one actually made some sense. Although matchbooks before 1978 were clearly marked “Close Cover Before Striking,” macho types or those in the throes of a nicotine fit often struck the matches without closing the cover; with the striking strip on the front, the exposed matches often came in contact with the heat, or even the flame, of the match, causing burns.
Manufacturers were required to move the strip to the back of the book. Couldn’t they simply reverse the staple position on the new books, lessening the chances of staple cuts?
The problem is that the matchbook industry would have had to retrofit all of their existing machinery. So instead of changing the position of the staple, today a machine clinches the staple to ensure it is properly closed. Furthermore, the striker is placed high enough above the staple so that even shaky smokers can avoid hitting the staple. The staple should not penetrate the striking strip at all.
We asked Iain Walton, customer service representative for match manufacturer D.D. Bean & Sons, if they have encountered problems with the staples in post-1978 matchbooks. He replied that there weren’t problems with staple cuts, but…
Some people do complain that the staple was responsible for causing flying heads from the matches. In all cases, if the match is struck correctly, the staple is in no way responsible. In fact, the reason this happens is that the match was not struck along the length of the striking strip, as is intended. Instead, it is struck across the width of the striking surface and into the staple.
We have often wondered about this Imponderable ourselves. But we still find it amusing that
staple cuts
are the health hazard smokers worry about.
Submitted by Pete Johnson of Fargo, North Dakota
.
Why
are paper (book) matches dark on one side and light on the other?
If 1992 seemed like an especially exciting year to you, and you didn’t quite understand why, may we suggest the reason. Even if you didn’t know it consciously, you were celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the book match. Certainly Iain K. Watson was excited about the August centennial celebration in Jaffrey,
New Hampshire. Even so, he took a little time out to provide us with a precise answer to this Imponderable.
We may take for granted the design of a match book, but manufacturers don’t. Who would have thought that the reason for the different colors of matches was…aesthetics?
If you look at a book of matches, you will notice that one side is brown, or “kraft” [the type of strong wrapping paper used in paper shopping bags], while the other is either blue or white. Match stems are manufactured from recycled paper stock, which in its finished form is the ugly brown color of the match backs.
In order to enhance its appearance, in the final stages that this brown paper pulp is being pressed, additional processes are added. In the case of the blue color of the front of the stem stock, blue dye is added to the paper. When this dye is added, the blue coloring only goes partway through the stock. Hence the brown remains the color of the back.
In the case of the white-fronted match sticks, during the final pressing processes of the recycled paper stock, cleaner, whiter recycled paper pulp is added, giving the final layers a whiter appearance than the bulk of the brown recycled board. Generally, the whiter recycled stock is comprised of papers such as white envelopes and white bond papers, whereas the majority of the match stem stock is composed of a mishmash of recycled papers.
We don’t know of anyone who ever selected, or for that matter refused, to use book matches (which, after all, are usually given out for free) based on the color of the matches themselves. But match manufacturers hardly want to test the hypothesis. For there are other alternatives, like lighters, lurking around for consumers to use.
Submitted by Rory Sellers of Carmel, California
.
