BY JAMES K. WHITE | MARCH 27, 2013
Island missing – thieves are not suspected
Identification technology has taken another stride forward. Engineers and medical teams have combined efforts to attach indium tin oxide (ITO) sheets to touchscreens. The resulting product can measure a human’s unique electrical impedances at multiple frequencies. ID recognition or rejection requires only 500 milliseconds and the device is acclaimed to be remarkably accurate. Prototypes include models with the special near-invisible layers of film installed on doorknobs, ballpoint pens and door push-plates that could be used while persons are unknowingly screened in high security areas.
You may be surprised to learn that Chevrolet has been making the Suburban since 1935. The 1935 model is a cool 78 years older than the 2013 version. No other automotive model in U.S. history has had such a long-lived continuous run.
Titan is a large moon that orbits Saturn. Titan has a flowing 250 mile long river. I should add that the river flows with liquid methane. Scientists claim that the methane river is a certain indication that it rains methane on Titan. The river was discovered in September of 2012 as the Cassini spacecraft drifted “near” Saturn.
Thieves are not suspected, but an entire Coral Sea island is missing. The sixteen mile long Sandy Island was first charted in 1902. In 2012, a group of geologists had planned a visit to Sandy Island but could not locate it. The place had disappeared. GPS programs (even Google Earth) have removed the small land mass from all current charts.
On most skin scrapes, scabs begin to form less than one minute after the ouchy occurs. Scabs help protect the body from bacterial invasions and provide coverings under which new skin cells rapidly form.
The world does present some paradoxes (paradoxi?). Someone asked why aspirin tablets are packaged in childproof containers while .45 caliber bullets come in a little cardboard box.
A dog behaviorist avers that when two dogs approach each other in a friendly manner (tales wagging), the pooch that wags his/her tail more slowly will nearly always assume the role of the dominant canine.
Elevators for buildings were often dangerous contraptions until 1852. That is when Elisha Otis patented his “failsafe” elevator. Otis (along with steel-maker Bessemer) made tall buildings practical. The Otis Elevator Co. is still in business, but I fear that Elisha has passed on. Well, be gentle should you inform a friend named Sandy that her/his namesake island has vanished -- and have a great week.
James White is a retired mathematics teacher who enjoys sharing fascinating trivia. He can be reached at [email protected].
