The 'Something I always wanted to know the answer to' thread

[Abu]

There is a change of pressure in flight too, it accounts for diminished sensitivity in your taste buds which is why airline food is made to taste stronger than food at sea level. However, not all babies are cry babies. I've noticed that flights to and from the Indian subcontinent are always noisier than flights to anywhere else in the world.

[Tiara Angel]

There is a change of pressure in flight too, it accounts for diminished sensitivity in your taste buds which is why airline food is made to taste stronger than food at sea level. However, not all babies are cry babies. I've noticed that flights to and from the Indian subcontinent are always noisier than flights to anywhere else in the world.

That is so true!!! I am Bengali and every time I travel between my home and Qatar, I have to endure the torture. And my iPod died so I can't listen to music. Babies are cute - but parents need to control them at times. I personally find aeroplane food bland. But it varies from airline to airline.

Another thing I wanted to know - although I should post this in the swine flu thread but is it possible to get swine flu from public facilities (e.g. toilets, ATM's, telephones, etc.)?

[Abu]

There is a change of pressure in flight too, it accounts for diminished sensitivity in your taste buds which is why airline food is made to taste stronger than food at sea level. However, not all babies are cry babies. I've noticed that flights to and from the Indian subcontinent are always noisier than flights to anywhere else in the world.

That is so true!!! I am Bengali and every time I travel between my home and Qatar, I have to endure the torture. And my iPod died so I can't listen to music. Babies are cute - but parents need to control them at times. I personally find aeroplane food bland. But it varies from airline to airline.

Another thing I wanted to know - although I should post this in the swine flu thread but is it possible to get swine flu from public facilities (e.g. toilets, ATM's, telephones, etc.)?

Airline food is disgusting. Bland, tasteless, overcooked, under-seasoned and many-a-time watery schlump.

Yes, you get bacteria from typing on your keyboard. You just have to be careful and lucky! Bacteria or viruses travel by touch and whatnot.

[Sandwich]

Food on aeroplanes makes me feel queasy just thinking about it. Whenever they bring out those trays, I have to breathe into a jumper or something in case I have to smell it. Horrible horrible stuff! Whoever invented the "continental breakfast" had taste/flavour/many many many varied issues going on.

I would like to add to the aeroplane children phenomenon that the only observed method of stopping children crying is to replace the sound of wailing with another extremely loud sound, usually Dora the Explorer blaring out of a portable DVD player. I personally prefer the children, but that may just be me!

[Tiara Angel]

Hey sandwich, I really liked your informative picture. It helped a lot.

However, as far as the airplane is concerned, I personally don't mind it. Like I said, the quality varies from airline to airline. Like for example, Singapore Airlines serves amazing food and they serve ice cream for dessert. Now that's a treat.

I think babies are very sensitive to changes in their environment. They can detect it more easily than a teenager.

[Abu]

Just to add to the whole airline food debacle, do NOT order a Kosher special meal on a flight. Those things are nasty! And they're made to last like a couple of years. I wonder what they add to that chicken so that it'll go 2 years without going back

[Tilia]

What decides when a cricket match will end?

[Abu]

In a Test match, 5 days of play (in which the two teams have to play twice to catch one another, the team with the most runs wins). In a One Day International (ODI), 50 overs. If it's a day ODI match, once it gets dark play gets stopped. In a 20/20, after 20 overs. Each over has 6 balls.

[Sandwich]

I just thought I'd add on the subject of cricket (which for some reason I find fascinating) there's also something called the Duckworth Lewis method, which although it doesn't determine when the match will end, it can be used if a match is forced to conclude early through poor light or rain ruining the wicket. It's basically a mathematical way of working out what sort of score the second team is likely to have come to given the present run rate per over, wickets remaining, time left etc. It generates a predicted score and has been used (particularly recently with the increased popularity of 20/20) to settle matches which're timed out or rained off. Just miscellaneous knowledge there!

Also, each over does not necessarily have 6 balls, as no-balls can force extended overs of 7+ balls, dependent on how many dead balls there are! Hence why it's always counted in overs to work out how far the game has progressed, as opposed to balls played.

Technically light and rain both end matches. That and international terrorism... Apparently sport is not immune.

[Abu]

I just thought I'd add on the subject of cricket (which for some reason I find fascinating) there's also something called the Duckworth Lewis method, which although it doesn't determine when the match will end, it can be used if a match is forced to conclude early through poor light or rain ruining the wicket. It's basically a mathematical way of working out what sort of score the second team is likely to have come to given the present run rate per over, wickets remaining, time left etc. It generates a predicted score and has been used (particularly recently with the increased popularity of 20/20) to settle matches which're timed out or rained off. Just miscellaneous knowledge there!

Also, each over does not necessarily have 6 balls, as no-balls can force extended overs of 7+ balls, dependent on how many dead balls there are! Hence why it's always counted in overs to work out how far the game has progressed, as opposed to balls played.

Technically light and rain both end matches. That and international terrorism... Apparently sport is not immune.

I think the D/L method is a bit annoying. It's all right at times, but at other times it doesn't count for the fact if a team can fight back in the last 10 overs or something.

Technically, it has 6 balls. And not all over has a no-ball, since a no-ball is one run, it'd be crazy if there were 50 more runs in the entire match because of bad bowling

[sweetnsimple786]

How does an automobile engine work? The hydraulics part, I mean. All I know is the minimal basics from physics about adiabatic processes and whatnot.

[Tilia]

In a Test match, 5 days of play (in which the two teams have to play twice to catch one another, the team with the most runs wins). In a One Day International (ODI), 50 overs. If it's a day ODI match, once it gets dark play gets stopped. In a 20/20, after 20 overs. Each over has 6 balls.

Right... Maybe I should ask about the rules as well. Maybe I'll understand this then

How does the game work?

[sweetnsimple786]

Why does hair gray anyways? And why gray?!

[Peachez]

Why does hair gray anyways? And why gray?!

Each hair on our heads is made up of two parts:

• a shaft - the colored part we see growing out of our heads
• a root - the bottom part, which keeps the hair anchored under the scalp

The root of every strand of hair is surrounded by a tube of tissue under the skin that is called the hair follicle (say: fah-lih-kul). Each hair follicle contains a certain number of pigment cells. These pigment cells continuously produce a chemical called melanin (say: meh-luh-nin) that gives the growing shaft of hair its color of brown, blonde, red, and anything in between.

Melanin is the same stuff that makes our skin's color fair or darker. It also helps determine whether a person will burn or tan in the sun. The dark or light color of someone's hair depends on how much melanin each hair contains.

As we get older, the pigment cells in our hair follicles gradually die. When there are fewer pigment cells in a hair follicle, that strand of hair will no longer contain as much melanin and will become a more transparent color - like gray, silver, or white - as it grows. As people continue to get older, fewer pigment cells will be around to produce melanin. Eventually, the hair will look completely gray.

People can get gray hair at any age. Some people go gray at a young age - as early as when they are in high school or college - whereas others may be in their 30s or 40s before they see that first gray hair. How early we get gray hair is determined by our genes. This means that most of us will start having gray hairs around the same age that our parents or grandparents first did.

Gray hair is more noticeable in people with darker hair because it stands out, but people with naturally lighter hair are just as likely to go gray. From the time a person notices a few gray hairs, it may take more than 10 years for all of that person's hair to turn gray.

Some people think that a big shock or trauma can turn a person's hair white or gray overnight, but scientists don't really believe that this happens. Just in case, try not to freak out your parents too much. You don't want to be blamed for any of their gray hairs!

Im guessing that gray because = ashes = end of life = death.

[Tilia]

Why does hair gray anyways? And why gray?!

Some people think that a big shock or trauma can turn a person's hair white or gray overnight, but scientists don't really believe that this happens. Just in case, try not to freak out your parents too much. You don't want to be blamed for any of their gray hairs!

What kind of children raising threat is this?

[sweetnsimple786]

Lol I don't know whether to be more thankful or insulted

But thanks! hahaha

hmm interesting symbolism, but I don't think science is that flowery =/

I remember I had one hair strand that started growing gray and then turned black... it was weird!

[Peachez]

I don't understand how is that insulting, but yet.. I suppose finding out information that is scientifically true that is not as good as you thought it would be is bad..

But hey, its life

[sweetnsimple786]

just how dummied down it was haha

haha what you said might be disappointing, but I'd rather have my views corrected & can accept it =)

[Peachez]

<h1 class="newsTitle">Another article just for you!

</h1><h1 class="newsTitle">Gray Hair Caused by Stress (Cell Stress, That Is)</h1> Work or personal stress may make you want to pull your hair out, but it's cellular stress that actually turns it gray, a new study has found.

That's because DNA is "under constant attack" by damaging agents, such as chemicals, ultraviolet light, and ionizing radiation, according to study lead author Emi Nishimura of Tokyo Medical and Dental University.

A single mammal cell can encounter up to 100,000 events a day that damage DNA, Nishimura added in a statement.

The stem cells within hair follicles responsible for color are the most impacted by this irreparable DNA weathering.

Stem cells are cells in the body that can reproduce indefinitely and that have the potential to "mature" into other, more specialized cells. The stem cells in hair follicles mature into melanocytes, or cells that produce the pigment melanin.

In younger people, the hair's stem cells maintain a balance between those that reproduce and those that turn into pigment cells, so that pigment is constantly being added to growing hair.

But as a person ages, too many of the stem cells mature until the pool of pigment cells gets totally drained and hair grows gray.

Scientists have been unsure what exactly spurs the stem cells to change. According to Nishimura, the answer may be accumulated DNA damage.

Forcing the cells to mature may be the body's "more sophisticated way" of purging the damaged stem cells without killing them off, she said.

Unavoidable Damage

The study focused on graying because it is a typical sign of aging in mammals, the authors wrote.

The researchers put laboratory mice through whole-body x-rays and chemical injections.

When the team examined the mice's hair follicles, they found that the stem cells showed permanent damage. These mice then regrew hair with no pigment.

The research supports the idea that instability in genes may be a major factor in aging, the authors say. It also lends credence to the theory that damage to stem cells may be the main driver of aging.

The DNA damage observed in the study is mainly "unavoidable," the authors write.

Linzhao Cheng, a member of the Johns Hopkins Institute of Cell Engineering, agreed that it's tough to avoid stem cell damage—especially for people who spend a lot of time outdoors, which exposes them to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

However, the study helps scientists understand graying, Cheng said by email, which may lead to new chemicals that can prevent the hair's stem cells from switching roles.

"We may soon have anti-graying creams for aging populations," he said.

The study appeared June 12 in the journal Cell.

[Abu]

In a Test match, 5 days of play (in which the two teams have to play twice to catch one another, the team with the most runs wins). In a One Day International (ODI), 50 overs. If it's a day ODI match, once it gets dark play gets stopped. In a 20/20, after 20 overs. Each over has 6 balls.

Right... Maybe I should ask about the rules as well. Maybe I'll understand this then

How does the game work?

This would be the easiest way to explain it: http://www.cricket-rules.com/