CAROLINA NATURALLY

Saturday, December 8, 2012

For Many, Old Age Brings Happiness

Despite the stereotypes held by younger generations, the golden years can be a time of growth and resilience. Read more

Can stores trick us into buying more crap with scents like cookie, orange?

At Salon, Joel Smith writes about studies in which researchers set up camp at retail stores to see which scents had what kinds of subliminal behavioral effects on the buying habits of shoppers. "One was a simple orange scent; the other was a more complex blend of orange, basil and green tea," Smith writes. "In 18 days of testing, they found that those who made purchases at the store while it smelled simply of orange spent about 20 percent more. And not only 20 percent more than in unscented conditions, but 20 percent more than in the presence of the more complex scent."

Everyone Has 400 Genetic Flaws

Most of these mutations are harmless, but most people have at least two that are linked to disease. Read more

Mayan Apocalypse hysteria so widespread, NASA publishes a debunker

Your tax dollars, well spent (and I say that with no sarcasm whatsoever): NASA's "Why the World Won't End" web page, debunking crazy white people's 2012 Mayan Armageddon hallucinations.

English Is a Scandinavian Language

Two linguists argue that modern English isn't really a West Germanic language, most similar to modern German, Dutch and Frisian, but a North Germanic language, such as Norwegian, Swedish and Danish:

Their research and conclusions are brand new and break with those of earlier linguistic professors who believe English is rooted in “Old English,” also known as the Anglo-Saxon language believed brought to the British Isles by settlers from northwestern and central Europe. Faarlund claims Scandinavians settled in the area long before French-speaking Normans conquered the British Isles in 1066.
Faarlund and Edmonds also contend that Old English and modern English are two very different languages. “We think Old English simply died out,” Faarlund told Apollon. “Instead, the Nordic language survived, strongly influenced by Old English.” [...]
Scandinavian settlers, Faarlund notes, gained control towards the end of the 9th century of an area known as Danelagen, which forms parts of Scotland and England today. Faarlund stressed that “an extremely important geographic point in our research” is that the East Midlands in England, where he says the modern English language developed, was part of the relatively densely populated southern portion of Danelagen.
Edmonds and Faarlund also contend that sentence structure in what developed into modern English is Scandinavian, not western Germanic as previously believed. Both today’s Scandinavian languages place the object after the verb, for example, unlike German and Dutch which place the verb at the end of a sentence. Possessive forms can also be the same in both the Scandinavian languages and English, which also can end sentences with a preposition and split infinitives. While that’s sometimes frowned upon in other variations of modern English such as American English, Faarlund argues it’s not possible in German, Dutch or Old English.

'Indiana Jones' Makers Sued Over Crystal Skull

An archaeologist in Belize is suing the makers of the last Indiana Jones movie for using a crystal skull allegedly taken from Maya ruins. But the joke may be on him. Read more

A tree in the forest

This Is a Monument to the Boll Weevil

The boll weevil (anthonomus grandis) is an insect. During the 1910s and 20s, it devastated cotton production in the American South. Nonetheless, in 1919, the town of Enterprise, Alabama built a monument to honor the boll weevil and what it did to benefit the South.
Why? Because the boll weevil forced people to change, adapt and grow:

In Coffee County, almost 60 percent of the cotton production was destroyed. Farmers faced bankruptcy and the area economy was at stake. Farmers turned to peanuts and other crops to overcome the damage brought by the boll weevil.
By 1917, Coffee County produced and harvested more peanuts than any other county in the nation. (In 1993, Coffee County ranked 4th in the state of Alabama with 128,000 acres planted in peanuts.) In gratitude for the lessons taught, residents erected the world's only monument to an agricultural pest, the boll Weevil Monument. The monument, dedicated on December 11, 1919, stands in the center of the downtown district at the intersection of Main Street and College Street. The Boll Weevil Monument is a symbol of man's willingness and ability to adjust to adversity. Citizens continue to remind visitors and newcomers to the city the lesson of the boll weevil.
The base of the monument is inscribed: "in profound appreciation of the boll weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity this monument was erected by the citizens of Enterprise, Coffee County, Alabama."

What a marvelous attitude! No wonder the town is called "Enterprise."

Big, Old Trees in Decline Worldwide

Big, old trees provide irreplaceable habitat for many animals. Read more Big, Old Trees in Decline Worldwide

Have Humans Caused a New Geological Era?

At the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union this week, geologists are grappling with how to define the boundaries of that human-centered geologic era, referred to as the Anthropocene. Read more

Killed-Off Corals Hold Clues to Earthquake Prediction

Some of the biggest coral die-offs in recorded history happened in 2004 and 2005, after massive earthquakes in Sumatra, off the coast of Indonesia. Read more Killed-Off Corals Hold Clues to Earthquake Prediction

What's Under that Volcano?

Volcanoes are similar to a giant pimple on the surface of our planet, and sometimes, they pop. Read more What's Under that Volcano?: Gotta-See Video

Ten Unusual Volcanic Craters

Craters of extinct and passive volcanoes are circular depressions in the ground caused by ancient volcanic activities. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent (or vents). Because of their inaction these craters mostly suffered many changes caused by atmospheric and human factors.

Unusual and beautiful volcanic cones, traces of human activity, lush vegetation and colorful crater lakes are the main reasons why many tourists visit these extraordinary destinations.

Man left pit bull to babysit 10-month-old child while he went to bar

A Florida man has been charged with child neglect after sheriff's deputies said he left a pit bull to babysit a 10-month-old while he went out drinking.
James Irvine, 41, of Palm Coast was arrested at about 12:30 am on Saturday. According to investigators, the baby's mother left Irvine in charge while she went to work.

The woman told investigators when she got home, Irvine was trying to get in the garage door and admitted he'd been at a bar.

Officials said Irvine told the baby's mother the baby wasn't alone, because the pit bull was watching him. The dog was sitting outside the room, the door was shut and the baby was crying.

The Birth of a Painted Lady Butterfly

In these stunning photographs, we're treated to a close-up look at a Painted Lady butterfly as it emerges from its chrysalis. It's Mother Nature at her most magical. KMore

How Did Zebras Get Their Stripes?

In our world where so much is manufactured - or created by film magic - it's hard to remember how astonishing nature has been in the creation of so many of her creatures. The exquisite stripes on zebras, for example, must have seemed miraculous to the first people who saw them.

Now some European scientists have presented a mundane explanation for this miracle of nature, saying that zebras' stripes exist to stave off blood-sucking horseflies. This explanation, as it turns out, is one of many possibilities.