14 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Paramedics

If you want to see a real life superhero, call a paramedic. No, don't do that, unless you are in a life-threatening medical emergency. Instead, let's hear from some paramedics about the nuts-and-bolts of their stressful but rewarding jobs. For examples, do you know the difference between a paramedic and an EMT?

1. THEY ARE NOT JUST “AMBULANCE DRIVERS.”

Paramedics are skilled medical professionals who have undergone many hours of rigorous training—far more than your average emergency medical technician (EMT). “A lot of people call us ambulance drivers,” says Nick, a critical care paramedic in New York. “It aggravates us because driving is such a small part of the job. Emergency medicine is what we’re doing.” Medical tasks paramedics regularly carry out include administering medication, starting IVs, intubating unconscious patients to help them breathe, intraosseous (bone) injections, reading electrocardiograms (EKGs), needle chest decompression (sticking a needle into

8. THE TRAINING IS VERY TOUGH.

Becoming an entry-level EMT (or EMT-B, for Basic) requires between 120 and 150 hours of schooling, but acquiring the skills to become a paramedic requires many more—typically around 1200 to 1800 additional hours. Like a lot of medical training, it is rigorous and the hours long. Nick refers to his own training as “just grueling ... It’s basically a straight year where you’re not going to see your friends, you’re not going to see your family.” Not everyone makes it through on their first try. And, unfortunately, if you drop out, you have to start all over again.

Learn 12 other things about the paramedic profession at mental_floss.

Child asthma emergency visits drop after indoor smoking bans

A new study helps to answer the burning question of whether recently enacted indoor smoking bans in public areas have improved health. The research finds the bans are associated with a 17 percent overall reduction … Read more

Most doctors ignore one of the most potent ways to improve health

Leveraging existing relationships with friends and family may be a more effective way to improve patients’ health and encourage new healthy habits and behaviors than increasing interactions with physicians or other clinicians. In a new … Read more

10 Scientific Studies Showing Marijuana Is Safe and Effective

10 Scientific Studies Showing Marijuana Is Safe and Effective

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The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of  
Carolina Naturally

Today also happens to be Look On The Bright Side Day ...! 

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 210 countries around the world daily.   

   
Party ... !

Today is - New Year's Eve

 You want the unvarnished truth?

Don't forget to visit: The Truth Be Told
Some of our readers today have been in:
The Americas
Antigua - Argentina - Aruba - Bahamas - Barbados - Belize - Bolivia - Brazil - Canada - Chile  Colombia - Costa Rica - Dominican Republic- Ecuador - El Salvador - French Guiana - Guatemala Haiti - Honduras - Jamaica - Mexico - Nicaragua - Paraguay - Peru - Puerto Rico
Sint Eustatius and Saba - Sint Maartin - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - United States  Uruguay - Venezuela - Virgin Islands
Europe
Albania - Armenia - Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia  Cyprus -  Czech Republic - Denmark - England - Estonia - Finland - France - Georgia - Germany Greece -  Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Isle of Mann - Italy - Jersey - Latvia - Lithuania - Macedonia  Malta - Moldova - Monaco - Montenegro - Netherlands - Northern Ireland - Norway - Poland Portugal - Romania - Russia - San Marino - Scotland - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden  Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - Wales
Asia
Afghanistan - Azerbaijan - Bangladesh - Brunei - Burma - Cambodia - China - Hong Kong - India  Indonesia  Iran - Iraq - Israel - Japan - Jordan - Kazakhstan - Korea -  Lebanon - Malaysia - Mauritius
Mongolia - Nepal - Oman - Pakistan - Palestine - Saudi Arabia - Singapore - Sri Lanka - Taiwan Thailand - Tibet - United Arab Emirates - Uzbekistan - Vietnam - Yemen
Africa
Algeria - Chad - Congo - Egypt - Ethiopia - Ivory Coast - Ghana - Kenya - Libya - Madagascar  Morocco - Mozambique - Nigeria - South Africa - Sudan - Tunisia - Zambia - Zimbabwe
The Pacific
Australia - French Polynesia - Guam - Marshall Islands - New Zealand - Papua New Guinea Philippines

Don't forget to visit our sister blogs Here and Here.

Today in History

1775		George Washington orders recruiting officers to accept free blacks into the army.
1852		The richest year of the gold rush ends with $81.3 million in gold produced.
1862		Union General William Rosecrans‘ army repels two Confederate attacks at the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone’s River).
1910		John B. Moisant and Arch Hoxsey, two of America’s foremost aviators, die in separate plane crashes.
1911		Helene Dutrieu wins the Femina aviation cup in Etampes. She sets a distance record for women at 158 miles.
1915		The Germans torpedo the British liner Persia without any warning killing 335 passengers.
1923		The Sahara is crossed by an automobile for the first time.
1930		Brewery heir Adolphus Busch is kidnapped.
1941		General MacArthur reports that U.S. lines in Manila have been pushed back by the Japanese.
1942		After five months of battle, Emperor Hirohito allows the Japanese commanders at Guadalcanal to retreat.
1944		Hungary declares war on Germany.
1965		California becomes the largest state in population.
1977		Cambodia breaks relations with Vietnam.

This Military Dad's Gift To His LGBT Daughter Will Make You Cry

He knew how important it was to her. 
 It took a while for Dakotah Whitcomb to come out as being bisexual to her dad.
She knew that the family had many close friends in the LGBT community, and that being bisexual wasn't something he had a problem with at all.
But still, it's different when it's your dad.
When a waitress flirted with her at a restaurant and her brother teased Dakotah saying she probably didn't mind the flirting, Dakotah knew it was time.
She told her dad that she was bisexual, and he responded in the best possible way.
"That's so cool!" He said to her.

But the adorableness doesn't stop there.
This Christmas, Dakotah asked for an LGBT pride flag as a last minute gift.
She didn't really expect her dad to follow through on the gift, so when she opened her flag on Christmas morning and read the letter he had included with it she was in no way prepared for the touching message.
The letter said:

"Merry Christmas Dakotah,
When I saw that a Gay Pride flag was on your list, at first I thought it was an odd request. But after thinking about it, I think I know why.
I reckon that you feel that everyone else in the family, except grandma, has a flag that represents something we were/are a part of. I have the Marine Corps, Grandpa and Mom have the Navy, and Darr has the Army. So it makes sense that you would want a flag to represent something you are a part of.
I present you with this flag, to display how you would like. In the spring, when I hang the flags up, I would be proud to hang yours up.
Love you,
Dad"

Um, no, I'm not crying, it's just the effects of all the onions I've been chopping today.
Yes, that's right. Onions.
Acceptance and love are crucial to any human being. 
Many members of the LGBT community are rejected by their families members and made to feel unwanted and unloved.
Dakotah's dad didn't just accept her and her bisexuality, he celebrated her!
Dakotah's whole family have dedicated their lives to serving different branches of the military.
Because Dakotah is disabled, she has not been able to serve.
By telling her that he would be happy to fly her flag alongside the other flags that represent the other members of their family, he wasn't just telling her that being bisexual was "fine", he was telling her that both being bisexual and being HER was absolutely wonderful.
He'd have her no other way.

***

Real Family Values

Semper Fi

Lotus stir-fry scores high in consumer panels

Lotus, an aquatic perennial vegetable native to many subtropical and temperate zones, is cultivated extensively throughout Asia. Lotus rhizomes, stems, flowers, seeds, and young leaves are in great demand, and are considered a dietary vegetable … Read more

A Guide to Vibrators for Women Over 50

A Guide to Vibrators for Women Over 50

State Officials Finally Realize ACA Is Great For People

It would have been good if they'd talked more about this BEFORE the election.

Fox 'News' Caught Using Out-and-Out Lie to Push for End to Food Stamps

Fox 'News' Caught Using Out-and-Out Lie to Push for End to Food Stamps

Got Irony?

Ainsley Earhardt Features 'Mortifying Moments' From The Mainstream Media

We cannot say 'Orwellian' often enough.

Gun-loving wingnut hack killed after letting teen boy hold his firearm

Gun-loving wingnut hack killed after letting teen boy hold his firearm

M.D. Harmon, a wingnut hack who frequently wrote in favor of gun ownership rights for the Portland Press Herald, died this week after being shot by a teenage boy.
Can you say Irony?
Can you say Karma?

NRA convinced lawmakers that killing a 13-year-old over loose change is ‘reasonable’

Here’s how the NRA convinced lawmakers that killing a 13-year-old over loose change is ‘reasonable’

The NRA is pressuring lawmakers to loosen up gun laws across the country, and then relieving gun owners of responsibility when they use their weapons to kill. The results are predictable.

Texas officer arrested in uniform for having sex with 13-year-old more than 20 times

Texas officer arrested in uniform for having sex with 13-year-old more than 20 times

A Texas law enforcement officer was arrested after he was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s 13-year-old daughter.

Link Dump

‘Sea Smoke’ Over Lake Superior

What did your state Google the most?

The Most Successful Songwriters in Rock History

65 Perfectly-Timed Military Photos 

Military Homecomings

60 years together and died within hours

40 types of pizza – The good, bad and weird

Selling a Better Way to Shop

Thing we got stuck in our bodies last year

Some Of The Funniest Posts On Imgur In 2016

16 Celebrity Accidents Where They Almost Died

Breathalyzer Detects 17 Diseases With One Breath From a Patient

An international team of 56 researchers in five countries has confirmed a hypothesis first proposed by the ancient Greeks – that different diseases are characterized by different “chemical signatures” identifiable in breath samples. The findings … Read more

Can too much sleep be unhealthy?

Can too much sleep be unhealthy?

How do psychopaths feel about other people?

How do psychopaths feel about other people?

Many smokers with serious mental illness want to kick habit

Among American adults who have a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or clinical depression, 57 percent are smokers. In contrast, only 15 percent of U.S. adults overall smoke. Many with such psychiatric … Read more

9 Weird and Wonderful Facts About Death and Funeral Practice

9 Weird and Wonderful Facts About Death and Funeral Practice

Ancient Chaco Canyon population likely relied on imported food

The ancient inhabitants of New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, the zenith of Pueblo culture in the Southwest a thousand years ago, likely had to import corn to feed the multitudes residing there, says a new CU … Read more

Weird Taxidermy

This taxidermy was found inside a late 19th century French mansion which has been sealed up for more than 100 years. (Via National Geographic). Good to know people was just as weird before the internet.

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of  
Carolina Naturally

This is true ...! 

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 210 countries around the world daily.   

   
Bacon ... !

Today is - Bacon Day

 You want the unvarnished truth?

Don't forget to visit: The Truth Be Told
Some of our readers today have been in:
The Americas
Antigua - Argentina - Aruba - Bahamas - Barbados - Belize - Bolivia - Brazil - Canada - Chile  Colombia - Costa Rica - Dominican Republic- Ecuador - El Salvador - French Guiana - Guatemala Haiti - Honduras - Jamaica - Mexico - Nicaragua - Paraguay - Peru - Puerto Rico
Sint Eustatius and Saba - Sint Maartin - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - United States  Uruguay - Venezuela - Virgin Islands
Europe
Albania - Armenia - Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia  Cyprus -  Czech Republic - Denmark - England - Estonia - Finland - France - Georgia - Germany Greece -  Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Isle of Mann - Italy - Jersey - Latvia - Lithuania - Macedonia  Malta - Moldova - Monaco - Montenegro - Netherlands - Northern Ireland - Norway - Poland Portugal - Romania - Russia - San Marino - Scotland - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden  Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - Wales
Asia
Afghanistan - Azerbaijan - Bangladesh - Brunei - Burma - Cambodia - China - Hong Kong - India  Indonesia  Iran - Iraq - Israel - Japan - Jordan - Kazakhstan - Korea -  Lebanon - Malaysia - Mauritius
Mongolia - Nepal - Oman - Pakistan - Palestine - Saudi Arabia - Singapore - Sri Lanka - Taiwan Thailand - Tibet - United Arab Emirates - Uzbekistan - Vietnam - Yemen
Africa
Algeria - Chad - Congo - Egypt - Ethiopia - Ivory Coast - Ghana - Kenya - Libya - Madagascar  Morocco - Mozambique - Nigeria - South Africa - Sudan - Tunisia - Zambia - Zimbabwe
The Pacific
Australia - French Polynesia - Guam - Marshall Islands - New Zealand - Papua New Guinea Philippines

Don't forget to visit our sister blogs Here and Here.

Today in History

1460		The Duke of York is defeated and killed by Lancastrians at the Battle of Wakefield.
1803		The United States takes possession of the Louisiana area from France at New Orleans with a simple ceremony, the simultaneous lowering and raising of the national flags.
1861		Banks in the United States suspend the practice of redeeming paper money for metal currency, a practice that would continue until 1879.
1862		The draft of the Emancipation Proclamation is finished and circulated among Lincoln‘s cabinet for comment.
1905		Governor Frank Steunenberg of Idaho is killed by an assassin’s bomb.
1922		Soviet Russia is renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
1932		The Soviet Union bars food handouts for housewives under 36 years of age. They must now work to eat.
1947		Romania’s King Michael is forced to abdicate by Soviet-backed Communists. Communists now control all of Eastern Europe.
1965		Ferdinand E. Marcos is sworn in as the Philippine Republic’s sixth president.
1972		After two weeks of heavy bombing raids on North Vietnam, Nixon halts the air offensive and agrees to resume peace negotiations with Hanoi representative Le Duc Tho.
1976		Governor Carey of New York pardons seven inmates, closing the book on the Attica uprising.
2006		Saddam Hussein, former Iraq dictator, is executed by hanging for crimes committed against his own people during his rule.

How One Man Used a Deck of Cards to Make Parapsychology a Science

Okay, I know, I know, parapsychology is not a science. But science does study claims of psychic abilities. Dr. Joseph B. Rhine was influential in codifying a way to do that.

Since the 1930s, Zener cards, also known as ESP cards, have been used to quantify psychic ability, testing for telepathy and clairvoyance (you might remember them from that scene in 1984’s Ghostbusters, when Venkman tests the “effects of negative reinforcement on ESP”). The cards straddle the intersection of science and the paranormal, pseudoscience and legitimacy. In a lot of ways, that’s a space also occupied by the man who pioneered their use, Dr. Joseph B. Rhine, founder of the Duke Parapsychology Lab.
Rhine’s interest in the paranormal took hold in 1922, when he was a young plant physiologist earning a Ph.D. in botany at the University of Chicago. Rhine and his wife Louisa were both dedicated scientists, but they had questions that simple biological reductionism didn’t seem to answer; Rhine had once thought of joining the ministry, until his wife steered him towards science. And then, in May of that year, they sat in the audience to hear Sir Arthur Conan Doyle make his case for life after death.

While fascinated by the phenomena they observed at Spiritualist seances, they were also scientists who wanted proof. Since there is no way to observe life after death and report on it, Rhine focused on ESP, and developed Zener cards (along with psychologist Dr. Karl Zener) in order to test those powers in a scientific manner. Read the story of Dr. Rhine and his ESP research at Atlas Obscura.  

An Inuit map carved out of wood

"When Danish naval officer Gustav Holm was exploring the eastern coast of Greenland in 1885, an Inuit named Kunit gave him this three-dimensional wooden map.
The two parts form one whole: The bottom carving represents the coast from Sermiligak to Kangerdlugsuatsiak, and the top is an island offshore. The Inuit would carry these maps in their kayaks to navigate the waters between the two landmasses."

Found in the Futility Closet.   Not sure where the Inuit got wood; it must have been a precious resource in the subarctic.

Steganography on a Canadian coin

"Canada’s “victory nickel,” struck from 1943 to 1945, included a special message to stimulate the war effort: Engraved around the rim were the words WE WIN WHEN WE WORK WILLINGLY in Morse Code.  The coin was reissued in 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of V-E Day."

Found in the Futility Closet.

Steganography is the practice of concealing a file, message, image, or video within another file, message, image, or video. The word steganography combines the Greek words steganos (στεγανός), meaning "covered, concealed, or protected", and graphein (γράφειν) meaning "writing".

Amniocele dramatically illustrated

As reported by the New England Journal of Medicine:

A 33-year-old asymptomatic woman (gravida 6, para 5) presented at 22 weeks of gestation with a large herniation of the amniotic sac through the left uterine wall that was detected by routine ultrasonography. She had had five previous cesarean sections through a transverse incision of the lower uterine segment and no previous vaginal deliveries... At 30 weeks of gestation, a healthy male newborn weighing 1385 g was delivered by cesarean section.

The five previous C-sections had resulted in a weakened uterine wall, through which the fetus' legs extended.  Impressive image.

We Become More Forgetful With Age

Why We Become More Forgetful With Age—and What You Can Do About It

Stressed out by Finances?

Maybe You're Suffering from Acute Financial Stress

One third of children in Silicon Valley are homeless while tech profits soar

One third of children in Silicon Valley are homeless while tech profits soar

Parents intentionally starved children because they ‘did not want them anymore’

Parents intentionally starved children because they ‘did not want them anymore’

Two Halifax, Pennsylvania parents are facing assault charges after locking up their three children in a room, beating and starving them.

Georgia teen suffers breakdown over fears her parents would discover youth pastor’s rape

Georgia teen suffers breakdown over fears her parents would discover youth pastor’s rape

"In situations like this where a youth pastor uses his access to children and position to satisfy a sexual appetite, it is always a concern that there are unknown victims."

‘I am not a piece of meat’

‘I am not a piece of meat’: Ariana Grande slams fan who praised her boyfriend for ‘hitting that’

Singer Ariana Grande hit back at a young fan who made a derogatory comment about her, asserting she is “not a piece of meat” that men get to use at will.

O'Keefe Plans To Infiltrate 'Fake News' Networks Like ABC, NBC

O'Keefe Plans To Infiltrate 'Fake News' Networks Like ABC, NBC

O'Keefe arrogantly equates legitimate news networks to his ridiculous fraud.

***

This is rich ... Disgraced and CONVICTED felon wingnut agitator infamous for fake "documentaries" using false and faked 'evidence' thinks legitimate news sources are the fakers.
Granted the news sources are not the best and some try harder to be better than others do, but come on, really?!

Fox 'News' Lies About Food Stamp 'Fraud'

When a government program is successful in its efforts to help the American people, you can count on Fox 'News' to gin up a phony conspiracy to try and destroy it.

Unhinged Dumbass Trump sycophant interrupts cult mass to scream about fringe PizzaGate conspiracy

Unhinged Dumbass Trump sycophant interrupts cult mass to scream about fringe PizzaGate conspiracy

It looks like something from another planet ...

Because it is:

"... Groups of dark brown streaks have been photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost..."

Astronomy STEM lesson

Astronomy STEM lesson - What is a megamaser? 

WTF is a pangolin?

Fall in love with this sentient artichoke before it goes extinct  

Dog Protects Little Girl Lost In The Forest For 11 Days

When a 4-year-old goes missing it's crucial to find the child within the first 48 hours, because they know from experience that a young child would have a hard time surviving outdoors that long without help.

So when little Karina Chikitova wandered into a forest in Siberia and got lost her family panicked, and when the hundreds of people searching for her had yet to locate her a week later they began to give up hope.

But Karina was lucky because her dog Kyrachaan had gone with her, and Kyrachaan was able to help Karina stay warm at night and defend her from wolves and bears in the forest until help arrived.Eleven days after her disappearance Kyrachaan showed up in the village and pointed rescuers in the right direction, and four miles from the village in the tall grass they found Karina.

Karina had survived by eating berries, and had a few scrapes and bug bites but no major injuries, and the first thing she said when she saw Kyrachaan again- "Why did you leave me?"Read Dog Protects Girl Lost In Forest For 11 Days here

Animal Pictures