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Daily Dose Of Interesting Information

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#125. Colorful Cuties!



The movie “Finding Nemo” has catapulted the clown fish, to fame and admiration, it had enjoyed never before. There are thirty different species of clown fish in various colors namely yellow, orange, red, maroon, blue and even black. Three vertical white stripes add color and glamor to these tiny fish, which are merely 2 to 5 inches long.
The color and endless energy of the fish has earned it, the name “Clown Fish”. These fish live in the warm water of Pacific Ocean, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. They live in perfect safety, among the poisonous tentacles of the Sea Anemones, swimming non-stop all the time. It is believed that clown fish develops a slimy covering, which protects the fish from the poisonous tentacles.

 The Sea Anemone and the clown fish share the most successful “Symbiotic Relationship” in which both the partners stand to gain mutually. Clown fish lures the other fish near the sea anemones, using its bright colors and by swimming around in it.

 After the sea anemone paralyzes the fish and eats it, the clown fish polishes off all the uneaten portions as well the dead tentacles of the anemone. The sea anemone gives the clown fish protection from the predators.

 The little known and the most amazing ability of the clown fish is to change it sex. If a female dies, the most predominant male morphs into a female and chooses a new male partner to breed and lay eggs. The eggs are laid in large numbers, near the safety of the sea anemone on a coral or a rock. The tiny fish emerging from the eggs are taken care of by their father, till they become independent.

 Even though orange clown fish have become the best known variety, thanks to Nemo, there are many colors and sizes in which these fish appear. There are hundreds of varied markings and color combination.

 The fish apparently “clowning around tirelessly” is in fact protecting its territory from the other competitors. It may look like a joker, but it is the most serious guardian of its home!

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
Units for measuring lengths

# 126. UNITS FOR MEASURING LENGTHS.

Units for measuring lengths were originally based on various parts of the human body.

It is quite interesting to note how the different units actually fit in so well.

1 foot = the length of the foot of an adult male.

3 feet = 1 yard.Equal to the length of an outstretched hand from the center of the chest to the finger tips.

2 yards = 1 fathom = 6'.Equal to the distance between the finger tips of the outstretched hands, measured along the chest.

2 yards = the average height of a man = 6'

1 cubit = 1/2 yard (length of forearm) = 18"

1 Span = 1/4 yard (width of a hand from the tip of thumb
to tip of little finger) = 9"

1 Shaftment.= 1/2 foot (the width of fist and outstretched thumb)= 6"

1 Hand = 1/3 foot ( width of a male human hand)= 4 inches

1 palm = 1/4 foot (Width of four fingers) = 3 inches

1 Thumb = 1 inch.(width of thumb)

1 Finger = 7/8 inches.(width of a finger)

1 Digit = 3/4 inches.(size of the finger tip)

Isn't it amazing how mathematical ratios have been included in a human body!

 
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#127. Fascinatingly Fluorescent!



Ever heard of GloFish, which are fascinatingly fluorescent and shine in day as well as night?

 GloFish is actually a “G.M. Zebra Fish” (Genetically Modified Zebra Fish). It comes in three vibrant colors namely bright red, green and orange.

 Although not developed for the ornamental fish trade, it is the first genetically modified animal to become a popular and affordable pet. The real aim of developing this fish was to detect pollution by fluorescing in the presence of environmental toxins.

 Researchers at the National University of Singapore extracted the GFP gene from a jelly fish that produced bright green Bio-Luminescence. They inserted the gene into the zebra fish genome, causing the fish to glow brightly, both in natural white light and ultraviolet light.

 Shortly thereafter, the team developed a line of red fluorescent zebra fish by adding a gene from a sea coral. The yellowish orange fluorescent zebra fish was developed by adding a variant of the jellyfish gene.

 The red fluorescent zebra fish is rightly named as “Star fire Red”. The green fluorescent zebra fish is named in an equally thrilling way as “Electric Green”and the orange fluorescent zebra fish named as “Sunburst Orange”. It has been found GloFish are fertile and can reproduce even in captivity.

 As of January 2007, Canada prohibits import or sale of the GloFish, due to a lack of sufficient information with regard to its safety. The import, sale and possession of these Glofish is not permitted within the European Union either.

 However GloFish have continued to be successfully marketed throughout the United States since December 2003. After more than seven years of availability, there are no reports of any ecological concerns associated with their sale.

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#128. Ideal for research?



Zebra fish are widely used in medical research and the study of diseases. Do you know why?

 Zebra fish are vertebrates and have a backbone like humans. This means that they are more closely related to humans, than the commonly used invertebrate models.

 The fish is named for its five uniform horizontal blue stripes on the sides of the body. Males are torpedo-shaped and have gold stripes between the blue stripes. Females have silver stripes in between the blue stripes.

 The zebra fish grows to 2.5 inches and lives for about 5 years. It produces 300 to 500 eggs per spawning. Zebra fish are similar to humans in many biological traits. These include genes, developmental processes, anatomy, physiology and behavior.

 Zebra fish are easy to breed, maintain, manipulate and observe in the lab. They do well in several environments. They are small in size and can be kept together in large numbers in a small tank.

 Breeding and getting eggs from the zebra fish is relatively easy. Their eggs are produced regularly in large numbers. They are fertilized externally. Their embryos develop rapidly and remain transparent throughout their development.

 Their embryos are also smaller in size than many other vertebrate embryos and contain less numbers of cells. So it is easier to trace the development of individual cells.

 Females lay large number of eggs. For genetic analysis we need to look at many different embryos at many different stages to understand a given mutation.

 These embryos develop outside the mother’s body. In contrast, mouse embryos develop inside the mother, and we have to kill the mother to get at them. This would have to be done at each stage of development we want to look at. Each time the embryos as well as the mother will have to die.

 But the Zebra fish embryos are transparent like a glass. We can watch the development as it happens in living embryos. We can see the different internal organs, such as the brain, heart, blood, muscles, etc.

 In addition, we can monitor the behavior of single cells in live embryos and watch the cells divide. Using dyes, we can trace the formation of the complete organism. It is not possible to achieve this resolution with other systems.

 The embryos grow rapidly. They grow from a single cell to a tiny fish within 24 hours. In comparison, mice need 21 days to develop.

 We can physically transplant single cells or groups of cells into the host embryos to analyze the behavior of cells at different stages. This can give us a lot of information about how certain gene products act.

 In addition, fertilization of the egg can be manipulated so that the embryo contains only it’s mother’s genes. This allows scientists to study recessive mutations, since the characteristics are inherited from only one parent-the mother.

 There is a large community of researchers currently working on the zebra fish.Their findings will surely help us fight diseases in a much better way in the future.

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#129. Toad Hummer.



In September 1995, the house boat residents in the exclusive Richardson Bay area, across San Francisco (USA), suffered from a strange malady. None of them could sleep at nights and hence most of them developed chronic head aches.
What was the reason? It was the persistent humming sound that kept them awake throughout the nights. To some people it was like the sound of ten electric razors running at the same time. To some others, it was like a powerful generator.

 At times the humming got so loud that it would drown the conversation people were having or even wake up a person–if he had managed to fall asleep.

 Since the sound came from under water, acoustical engineers from the University of California, at Berkley were called for help. With the help of a skilled diver and a few instruments the source of the sound was eventually located.

 The hummer was the “Plain fin Midshipman”— a toad fish; with an ugly, short, thickset body and a wide flattened head. It was producing a characteristic hum by vibrating the muscles of its air bladder.

 Many members of the toad fish family can produce sounds of one kind or the other—but the “Porichtys notatus” or the plain fin midshipman is an enviable singer!

 Why does the toad fish sing? Since it sings only between September and April, it must be a part of its courtship ritual. It might be to attract the eligible “bride” or to warn the other male fish around. When threatened or frightened, the fish produces loud grunts and strange burping noises.

 Some other fish also have this peculiar ability. The male oyster fish can whistle. The electric cat fish can hiss! The horse mackerel can grunt like a pig. The trunk fish and the puffer can growl like a dog. The family of fish known as “Drums” can creak, hum, purr, and whistle so loud that they can be heard from the deck of a ship directly above them.

 Most of the fish may “look stupid but all are not dumb”!

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
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#130. Fusion Confusion!


The ability of a living organism, to adapt to the most unfriendly environments and survive, is best exhibited by the awesome Angler Fish (living in the deepest parts of the Atlantic and Antarctic oceans). The dark depths of the ocean are devoid of light and available food, but the angler fish survives quite well–by employing ingenious methods and techniques.
There are over 200 different varieties of angler fish. The four types are Batfish, Goosefish, Frog fish and the Deep Sea Angler. Deep Sea Anglers can grow to a size of 4 feet, but most of them are smaller than this. All the fish that were caught turned out to be females. “How do they reproduce with out a male counterpart?” This was the question puzzling the scientists and researchers.

 All the female anglers carried their own ‘fishing rods” with luminous bait attached to it. The lure was a modified dorsal fin and contained millions of light producing bacteria, emitting an eerie bluish or greening light.

 Any fish attracted by the light approaches the dark and lurking angler, only to be swallowed whole! The large crescent shaped mouth and the expandable jaw opening wide, allow the angler to swallow prey twice its size! The long, sharp and curved teeth form a barrier and the prey has no means of escape, as it gets pushed into the stomach.

 The elastic stomach can accommodate the large prey till they get digested and absorbed. The female angler is the classic example for the “lurk and lure” predator. Instead of going in search of its prey, it stays put in a place silently and lures the prey to come to it.

 The sparsely populated fish, sprawled over a large ocean bed, find it difficult to get a suitable mate. The female angler has sorted out this problem in a unique way. The female angler is a giant (40 cm in length) in comparison with a male (a mere 2 cm long). The male angler fish has no luminous lure and never needs to feed him, by himself. His only task is to locate a female as quickly as possible and attach himself to her belly. He bites into her belly and fusion takes place. His teeth and jaw recede. His body fuses with that of the female and their blood stream get connected. He becomes a parasite for life, feeding off the female.

 All his internal organs disappear slowly and he becomes just a bag of sperms (needed to fertilize the eggs released by the female). The fertilized eggs contain large droplets of oil, which give them the buoyancy, to rise to the surface of the ocean and hatch.

 The female angler “lurks and lures” so that it can feed her mate–who has become a mere parasite, fused to her body. She also makes sure that her eggs stand a good chance of hatching, bringing in to the world more fish of her own kind!

Visalakshi Ramani


 
#131. Enigma of an Eel!



The Electric Eels, capable of sending out electrical discharges as high as 650 Volts, have fascinated humans for ages! The electric eel or “The Electrophorus Electricus” is not an eel at all! It is a rare species of the knife fish, with ability to produce stunning electrical impulses.
The electric eels live in the muddy bottom of calm water bodies. They live in swamps, creeks, South American rivers and oceans too. Young electric eels feed on invertebrates, eggs and embryos. Adult electric eels feed on fish and small mammals.

 The electric eel has a long square body. Its head looks flattened and its square mouth is placed right at the tip of its snout. It had a dark, greenish grey body and a yellowish belly. It has no scales but its fins run down right to the tip of its tail.

 Electric eel can grow to a length of 2.5 meters and weigh 20 Kilo Grams. It has an exceptionally good hearing ability. Though a fish, it takes in 80% of the oxygen it needs directly from the air. It has respiratory organs in its oral cavity. It surfaces at the intervals of ten minutes, to gulp in as much air a possible.

 Electric eel has a “Power House” in its body, which takes up four fifths of it long body. All its vital organs are placed in the front one fifth of its body. The Power House of an electric eel consists of three sets of abdominal organs.

 Electrocytes are lined up in series in these organs. When current flows through them, it can produce an electrical discharge and deliver a shock! The electrocytes lined up, act similar to the stacked plates in a battery, to produce an electric charge. The 5000 to 6000 eletocytes, stacked neatly in electro plaques, can generate one ampere current at 500 to 650 volts (equivalent to 500 to 650 watts).

 Electric eel can produce two types of electric shocks–low voltages for hunting, finding a mate, communicating and in orientation. High voltage shocks are used in self-defense and for stunning it prey. The 650 Volt electrical discharges are harmful even to a fully grown adult human. When disturbed or agitated an electric eel can go on sending shock pulses for an hour or more.

 The eight foot long slimy creature, with a dull exterior and a funny face, may not appear dangerous to humans–the way a shiny coated cobra does. But appearances are deceptive! In reality, the slimy electric eel may be more dangerous than even a cobra.

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#132. Bio-luminescence.




Bio-luminescence has been the most baffling and bizarre show of light, found in nature. It is the ability of a living organism, to use the chemicals within its own body, to produce visible light. The most common example known to all of us is the “fire-fly”.

Bio-luminescence is mainly a marine phenomenon. In the depths of the ocean, where the Sun’s rays can not reach, this artificial light-show is very useful in several ways. Bio-luminescence is not seen occurring in fresh water. On land a few insects and fungi exhibit this rare ability. This artificial Light-Show (of the deep ocean creatures) can rival that of the “cities that never sleep”.

Bio-luminescence occurs when two different chemicals are mixed together in the presence of Oxygen. The light produced by the marine creatures is blue-green in color. In water, blue light travels best. Most marine organisms are sensitive to blue light.

Light is produced by the special organs called “Photophores”. Luciferin is the chemical that creates light. Luciferase helps in the chemical reaction and acts as a catalyst. When these two chemicals mix in the presence of oxygen they produce light. The byproduct of this reaction is an inert substance called Oxyluciferen.

The display of this “light show” is as varied as its purposes. Some organisms emit light continually while others do so intermittently. It may a warning signal saying, “Keep off!”
Shallow water squids use it as a camouflage.

Others use it for navigation in the darkness. Some others use it as a cozy night-light. Yet others use it for communication, sending out coded signals, in mating seasons. Angler fish use this eerie light, to lure the prospective preys, close enough to be able to gulp them whole.

Whatever may be the purpose and manner of the display, Bio-luminescence is one of the most wonderful phenomena seen in the natural world.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Accident is an unplanned incident.

One of the (N.R.I) swamis defined an accident very differently. He said that when two persons or vehicles A and B try to be at at the same point P at the same time T an accident takes place. He was absolutely correct.

Accidents occurring in man's life may be unpleasant and scary...but not necessarily always!

When the right things come together at the right place under the right conditions at the right time, a lucky accident happens!

Some of the best discoveries have resulted from unforeseen and unplanned experiments-so to say accidents!

They have later been proved to be 'Lucky Accidents'.
Let us view at some of the many lucky accidents.[/FONT]
 
#133. X Rays.



X Rays is an important and indispensable tool in modern medical diagnosis. But it was not sought to become such a tool. In fact the very discovery of X rays was a lucky accident!
German Physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen was studying Cathode Rays-the fluorescent stream of electrons-now widely used in everything from television to fluorescent bulbs.

 It had been proved already that Cathode Rays can penetrate thin pieces of metal and thin sheets of aluminum. Rontgen was investigating Cathode Rays with a fluorescent screen and a Crook’s Tube completely covered with black card board, in his darkened laboratory.

 He observed a glow appearing on the fluorescent screen kept several feet away! Were the Cathode Rays passing right through the black cardboard to illuminate the screen kept far away?

 Further investigations proved that the new rays emerging from Crook’s Tube were completely different from Cathode Rays. Rontgen named the new rays as X rays-since it was an unknown type of radiation!

 X Rays can penetrate through solids and pass through human body recording the images of the denser bones on a photographic plate.

 Rontgen discovered the medical possibilities of this ray quite by another incident. He saw the picture of his wife’s hand on a photographic plate caused by the X rays.

 It was the first ever photograph of a human body part with X rays! Now X Rays has become the most trusted medical investigation tool!

 In 1901,Rontgen was awarded Nobel prize for the discovery of X Rays.

 As told by Louis Pasteur,”Chance favors the prepared mind”. Rontgen had prepared his mind and kept it open for new possibilities. That is why he could discover the X Rays!

Visalakshi Ramani


 
#134. Penicillin.


The story of Penicillin is probably the most famous of all accidental discoveries. In 1928, the Scottish scientist and Nobel Laurette Alexander Fleming was working on a certain strain of bacteria called Staphylococci.
He went on a vacation. On returning he found that one of his glass culture dishes had been left open outside! It had got contaminated by a blue-green mold, with a visible growth!

 He threw it away! He later noticed that the Staphylococcus bacteria were no longer growing in the areas surrounding the molds.

 After doing further research Fleming published his results and findings. But it was not given the importance it deserved and Penicillin was not used in treatment of infections for almost twenty years!

 In 1945, it was found that Penicillin can be produced in an industrial scale. It was then penicillin was used to treat people with bacterial infections.

 Penicillin is made from Penicillium mold called Penicillium Notatum. Several derivatives of Penicillin have been formulated since and they are used in treating bacteria spread over a wide range!

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#135. Teflon.



Polytetrafluoroethylene (P.T.F.E) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetra fluoro ethylene, used in a number of applications.
P.T.F.E consists of only the two elements Fluorine and Carbon. Neither water nor oil can stick to this. It has the lowest friction against any solid! So it is ideal for coating the cookwares like pan and pots, rendering them non-stick to oil and water!

 P.T.F.E was invented by Roy Plunkett of Kinetic Chemicals in New Jersey, in 1938, in a lucky accident! Plunkett was trying to make a new C.F.C refrigerant, when the lucky accident took place!

 Refrigerators from 1800 to 1929 used toxic gases like Ammonia, Methyl Chloride and Sulfur-Di-oxide as refrigerants. Several fatal accidents took place in 1920s due to the leakage of these toxic gases. People were forced to leave their fridges in their backyards!

 A Chlorofluorocarbon (C.F.C) is an organic compound consisting of Carbon, Chlorine and Fluorine. This is a much safer substitute for the toxic gases being used in the refrigerants.

 When Plunkett was trying to make a new C.F.C refrigerant, the perfluroethylene spontaneously polymerized in its pressurized storage container, using the iron of the container as a catalyst!

 Kinetic Chemicals patented it in 1941 and registered the Teflon trademark in 1945.

 The kitchenware were revolutionized with the nonstick pans -which need less cooking oil and are far more easier to clean!

Visalakshi Ramani
 
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Testing testing testing below

Fresh Water at Sea!


Water, water,every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

So cried the Ancient Mariner, in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem.

Had he known where to look for it, he could have dipped his cup in to the sea and raised to his lip a drink of delicious fresh water. Drinking water in the sea is a miracle, but it is a possible miracle!

This miracle happens this way. The rain water falls on land and seeps to the sea bed through porous rocks called “aquifers”, to supply the springs at the sea bed or ocean floor.

Aquifers are porous chalk or lime stone sandwiched between two layers of water-proof rocks that extend beneath the sea.

Fresh rain water, filtering down the aquifer to the sea bed is under sufficient pressure, to force its way through any cracks ( in the sea bed or ocean floor).

It gushes out into the sea as a spring of fresh water.

It has a higher temperature and lower density than the surrounding saline water. So it floats up to the surface, without mixing with the sea water. This forms packets of fresh water on the surface of the sea.

The existence of such fresh water springs has been known for hundreds of years. The earliest reference to such a spring was made by a 15th century Arabian navigator. Similar springs exist off the South east coast of The U.S.A and off the coasts of Britain and Ireland.

Visalakshi Ramani.
 
One more test below


Soothing Sleep.


Sleep is a natural and periodically recurring physiological state. It is characterized by the relative physical and nervous inactivity. It is also known by the lessened responsiveness to the external stimuli.

 Sleep is essential for the physical and mental good health and also for their alertness. The hours of sleep needed may vary from person to person. A new born baby sleeps through out the day. An adult needs six to eight hours of sleep usually. Some people seem to go on well without sleep. But it is quite rare. Napoleon is said to steel sleep in tiny installments including when he was riding his trusted steed!

 “Sleep” occurs along with many commonly used words adding rich shades of meanings to those words. Well! Here are a few.

 “To go to sleep” is to fall asleep or become numb due to the pressure on a blood vessel. “To put to sleep” is to kill an animal in a humane way, to save it from excruciating pain -which is worse than death!

 When two persons are “sleeping together” they are living as a “man and his wife”. A girl who is “sleeping around” is immoral in character.

 “To sleep in” is to spend the night at the place of employment. But “To sleep on” something is to give it long and through considerations and with hold ones decisions till the next day!

 “To sleep out” is to sleep in ones own home rather than at the place of work. “Sleeper” is a person or animal found sleeping. “Sleeper cars” and “sleeper compartments” have beds and bunks in the railway carriages.

 A “Sleeping bag” comes in very handy when a person is forced to spend the night in an open area and while camping. It is a large bag with warm and soft lining and has a very long Zipper to enable the person to enter it ad zip himself to its comfort.

 “Sleeping draught” is a bed time drink laced with a sedative or a hypnotic drug to induce sleep. This made into a tablet form is the famous” sleeping pill”.

 “Sleeping partner” makes a large financial investment in a business but does not get involved in its management. He is also known as “the silent partner”.

 A “sleeping police man “ is as effective as a police man awake– even though it is just a small hump built across the road to check the speed of the motorists.

 The novel idea of “learning while” sleeping is welcome news to the students of all ages! “Sleep learning” or “Sleep teaching” is a new method evolved in which a person learns by listening to a tape while he sleeps on! The information in the tape is supposed to be absorbed by the sub-conscious mind of the unconscious sleeper.

 “Sleeping Sickness” is often a fatal, endemic infectious disease affecting men and animals in The Tropical Africa. It is carried and transmitted by the Tsetse fly. High fever, utter lethargy, lack of interest in everything and total muscular weakness are the symptoms of this strange disease.

 Indeed the word “sleep”–usually associated with lack of activities and consciousness– actually works wonders when combined with other common lack-luster words!

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#4. Velcro.


Velcro is the brand name for the fabric hook and loop type fastener. The hook side consists of several hundred tiny hooks and the loop side several hundred small loops. When the two are pressed together, the hooks get caught in the loops and the edges get fastened tight!

When pulled with a tug, the two sides come off with a ripping sound. The name Velcro was coined out of the two French words Velours and Crochet.

Velcro was invented by George De Mestral- a Swizz engineer, in 1941. After returning home from a hunting trip with his dog, he found hundred of burrs of burdock sticking to his clothes and to the dog’s fur. He had to remove them one by one with great difficulty!

What made the burr cling to the clothes and fur so well?

Microscopic examination revealed that burrs had thousands of tiny hooks which could cling to anything!

The idea of Velcro was born. Mestral selected the newly invented Nylon, since it had many advantages over cotton. Nylon would neither rot nor break! It can be made into threads of any size.

Mechanizing the process of weaving hooks took 8 years! The trimming of the loops to form tiny hooks took another year. On the whole it took 10 years of research and hard work to mechanize the process completely.

Mestral submitted for the patent in 1951 and got it in 1955. Velcro, rightly called “The zipper-less zipper” was launched!

Velcro is safe and easy to use. It is practically maintenance-free! Velcro has almost replaced buttons and zippers.

Today it is found in every conceivable object-right from the disposable baby diapers to the diving suits and from the astronaut’s dress to the adaptive clothing worn by the physically challenged people!

NASA uses specially made Velcro with Teflon loops and polyester hooks on a glass base. “Noiseless Velcro” has been specially designed for military use. Of course the process of making it kept a military secret too!

Velcro has revolutionized our day to day life! All this was made possible by one lucky accident and one inquisitive mind!

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#136. Mauveine.



Mauveine was discovered in 1856, by an eighteen year old boy named William Henry Perkin. He was trying to synthesize Quinine-the anti Malarial drug.

 In one of his attempts he oxidized Aniline using Potassium Dichromate. It produced a dark colored solid-a very common product formed in any organic synthesis that had failed.

 While cleaning his flask, Perkin noticed that a portion of the dark colored solid dissolved in alcohol giving a rich purple colored solution. This solution was able to dye silk and many other fabrics!

 Perkin patented his dye and started manufacturing it under the name Tyrian Purple-the name of the ancient natural dye obtained from mollusk. The name Mauve was given to the color in 1859. The chemists called it Mauveine.

 Mauve became highly fashionable in 1862, when Queen Victoria appeared at the Royal Exhibition in a mauve silk gown!

 Mauve fell out of fashion in late 1860s. By then Perkin had made a fortune. The synthetic chemical industry was launched. Many new synthetic colors were discovered.

 Mauve is one of the permitted food colors since early 20th Century.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
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#137. Velcro.





Velcro is the brand name for the fabric hook and loop type fastener. The hook side consists of several hundred tiny hooks and the loop side several hundred small loops. When the two are pressed together, the hooks get caught in the loops and the edges get fastened tight!

When pulled with a tug, the two sides come off with a ripping sound. The name Velcro was coined out of the two French words Velours and Crochet.

Velcro was invented by George De Mestral- a Swizz engineer, in 1941. After returning home from a hunting trip with his dog, he found hundred of burrs of burdock sticking to his clothes and to the dog’s fur. He had to remove them one by one with great difficulty!

What made the burr cling to the clothes and fur so well?

Microscopic examination revealed that burrs had thousands of tiny hooks which could cling to anything!

The idea of Velcro was born. Mestral selected the newly invented Nylon, since it had many advantages over cotton. Nylon would neither rot nor break! It can be made into threads of any size.

Mechanizing the process of weaving hooks took 8 years! The trimming of the loops to form tiny hooks took another year. On the whole it took 10 years of research and hard work to mechanize the process completely.

Mestral submitted for the patent in 1951 and got it in 1955. Velcro, rightly called “The zipper-less zipper” was launched!

Velcro is safe and easy to use. It is practically maintenance-free! Velcro has almost replaced buttons and zippers.

Today it is found in every conceivable object-right from the disposable baby diapers to the diving suits and from the astronaut’s dress to the adaptive clothing worn by the physically challenged people!

NASA uses specially made Velcro with Teflon loops and polyester hooks on a glass base. “Noiseless Velcro” has been specially designed for military use. Of course the process of making it kept a military secret too!

Velcro has revolutionized our day to day life! All this was made possible by one lucky accident and one inquisitive mind!

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#138. Post It Notes.

A Post It Note is a reusable strip of of paper with an adhesive at the back, for temporary attachments.The low tack adhesive can be attached to and detached from any surface easily, without leaving any mark on it!

 Post It Notes have become an essential stationary in every office, yet such a thing did not exist prior to 1968!

 Dr.Spencer Silver with the help of his fellow scientist Jesse Kops at the famous 3M at U.S.A. accidentally developed this low tack adhesive. It was reusable and sensitive to pressure! It could be stuck to any surface temporarily.

 No one knew what to do with an adhesive that would not stick! The discovery appeared to be useless and futile! In 1974, Art Fry-one of Jesse Kop’s coworker in the famous 3M-started using this adhesive on a book mark kept in his hymn book.

 Art Fry began to develop this idea and in 1977-almost 9 years after it discovery- 3M launched the Post It Notes.But they failed to impress the prospective buyers. A year later, free samples were handed out to create favorable impressions.

 The choice of yellow color was also another accident. The lab next door to the Post It Team had scrap yellow paper-which the research team used first!

 By 1980 Post It Notes was launched in USA followed by Canada and Europe a year later.

 Desk Top Notes are computer applications developed to allow user to put virtual Post It Notes on the their desktops and laptops.

 Post It Notes may not stick, but they have come to stay!

 Visalakshi Ramani
 
#139. The Virus Day!





We all know that love is a bug and the persons who get bitten by it become love-sick! But how many of us know that in the name of love and lovely greeting cards, millions of mighty viruses are allowed entry into as many systems, causing world-wide havoc and misery?

 Look at these amazing figures!

 Internet Crime Complaint Center logs a million cyber grievances! It accounts for one million infected Personal Computers. The financial loss due to these viruses exceed 20 million U.S $s! Last but not the least, over a million “Bot net” victims has been identified by the FBI Bot Roast.

 The FBI had forewarned about the Valentine Day’s viruses and the imminent attack by The Storm Worm! Storm Worm is not a worm at all. It appeared for the first time in January 2007. It is in fact a “BOT” used to connect all such infected computers in a world wide network called “Bot net”.

 The Internet Bots are also known as web robots. A Bot is a soft ware application that can run automated tasks over the internet. A Bot excels while performing tasks which are both simple and repetitive-at an unimaginable speed.

 Using a Bot, a person can deliver personal media across the web, from multiple sources. This way a network called Bot net is created which can be controlled by a single person. One common command can be sent to thousands of computer with the speed of a lightning.

 The spam E mail directs the recipient to click on a link to retrieve a greeting card. As the person clicks on the link, a malware gets downloaded into the device connected to the internet. The infected device becomes a part of the Bot net, under the control of an unscrupulous cyber criminal.

 A Bot net is setup most often with criminal intentions like identity thefts and for spreading out more malwares. Each of the malwares becomes “A Trojan horse” when it manages to enter a system.

 The Storm worm thrives on E greeting cards, circulated for the various holidays and celebrations. It is a mighty weapon in the hands of its creator–even though it is named deceptively as a Worm!

 The number of attack mails from January 2007 (when the storm worm first appeared) to the end of May 2007 was 70,000. But the number of attack mails had crossed 20 million during the next two months. In a more recent worm flood, there were 120 million attack mails in a short span of mere five days.

 The fight against the Storm worm seems to be getting out of hand, since it is specifically designed to infect as many end-user-systems as possible and bring then under the Bot net control.

 The earlier campaigns against the Storm Worm lasted only for a few weeks. But the latest Storm Worm related generations are changing faster than ever before. New spasm are launched almost everyday!

 Better beware of the Love-Bug and the seemingly harmless Storm Worm. You may receive a lovely E greeting card only to end up becoming a victim (of a Bot net) with a broken heart.

Visalakshi Ramani
 
#140. Vulcanized Rubber.



Christopher Columbus was the first man to bring rubber balls to Europe! Rubber will rot slowly. It will change with the outside temperature and become brittle in cold weather and sticky in hot weather. So it could not be put to any use in such varying climates.

 Many inventors tried to make rubber weather proof! This would render rubber a stronger and a more reliable material!

 One of them was Charles Goodyear, who spent seven long years trying to make rubber stronger, by boiling it with different substances. But he could not get the right combination!

 In 1839, a concoction of rubber and sulfur fell from his hands by chance, on a hot stove. They melted and combined to form strong rubber.

 Sulfurized rubber steamed at 132 degrees Celsius-under pressure for several hours-resulted in weather proofing rubber.

 Vulcan was the Roman God of Fire. His name was given to the rubber made stronger by heat treatment. The very first thing made out of vulcanized rubber was the puckered ruffles on fancy shirts!

 Today Vulcanized rubber is a multimillion dollar business, even though it was invented by a small lucky accident!

Visalakshi Ramani
 
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