Business & Industrial

The red stuff dropped from airplanes to put out forest fires also acts as a fertilizer.

Business & Industrial /

Phos-Chek C-130E Hercules equipped with a Modular Airborne FireFighting System makes a Phos-Chek fire retardant drop in Southern California in October 2003. Phos-Chek is a brand of long-term fire retardants, class A foams, and gels manufactured by Perimeter Solutions in Ontario, California and Moreland, Idaho. Products Fire retardants A Modular Airborne FireFighting System equipped C-130E […]

The red stuff dropped from airplanes to put out forest fires also acts as a fertilizer. Read More »

WD-40 has never been patented as patenting would force them to disclose their recipe.

Chemicals Industry /

WD-40 This article is about the lubricant. For the company that manufacturers the product, see WD-40 Company. For the biomolecular structure, see WD40 repeat. WD-40 spray can from Germany WD-40 is the trademark name of a penetrating oil and water-displacing spray. The spray is manufactured by the WD-40 Company based in San Diego, California. History

WD-40 has never been patented as patenting would force them to disclose their recipe. Read More »

80% of toilets in Hong Kong are flushed with seawater in order to conserve the city’s scarce freshwater resources

Energy & Utilities /

Flushing Toilets With Seawater Could Protect Marine Life Environment: Salty wastewater is less toxic to some marine organisms than freshwater, despite concern about disinfection by-products In Hong Kong, about 80% of residents flush their toilets with seawater, thanks to a separate water distribution system set up in the 1950s. The approach conserves the city’s scarce

80% of toilets in Hong Kong are flushed with seawater in order to conserve the city’s scarce freshwater resources Read More »

Pringles had to use supercomputers to engineer their chips with optimal aerodynamic properties so that they wouldn’t fly off the conveyor belts when moving at very high speeds.

Business & Industrial /

High Performance (Potato) Chips “I’m going to be talking about things that are very familiar to people,” said Tom Lange, Director of Modeling and Simulation at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Not the kind of introduction you normally think of when someone speaks about high performance computing applications. But this is exactly what Tom Lange talked

Pringles had to use supercomputers to engineer their chips with optimal aerodynamic properties so that they wouldn’t fly off the conveyor belts when moving at very high speeds. Read More »

For every bird killed by a wind turbine, coal kills over 2,000

Business & Industrial /

Wind farms are hardly the bird slayers they’re made out to be—here’s why People who oppose wind farms often claim wind turbine blades kill large numbers of birds, often referring to them as “bird choppers”. And claims of dangers to iconic or rare birds, especially raptors, have attracted a lot of attention. Wind turbine blades

For every bird killed by a wind turbine, coal kills over 2,000 Read More »

NASA ground controllers were once shocked to hear a female voice from the space station, apparently interacting with them, which had an all-male crew. They had been pranked by an astronaut who used a recording of his wife.

Engineering & Technology, Space Technology /

Owen Garriott Owen Kay Garriott (November 22, 1930 – April 15, 2019) was an American electrical engineer and NASA astronaut, who spent 60 days aboard the Skylab space station in 1973 during the Skylab 3 mission, and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 on a Space Shuttle mission in 1983. After serving in the United States Navy,

NASA ground controllers were once shocked to hear a female voice from the space station, apparently interacting with them, which had an all-male crew. They had been pranked by an astronaut who used a recording of his wife. Read More »

In 1970, a fighter pilot was forced to eject during a training mission. His plane, however, righted itself and continued flying for miles, finally touching down gently in a farmer’s field. It earned the nickname “The Cornfield Bomber.”

Military, Transportation & Logistics /

Cornfield Bomber The “Cornfield Bomber” was the nickname given to a Convair F-106 Delta Dart, operated by the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the United States Air Force. In 1970, during a training exercise, it made an unpiloted landing in a farmer’s field in Montana, suffering only minor damage, after the pilot had ejected from the

In 1970, a fighter pilot was forced to eject during a training mission. His plane, however, righted itself and continued flying for miles, finally touching down gently in a farmer’s field. It earned the nickname “The Cornfield Bomber.” Read More »

Pre-electricity theatre spotlights produced light by directing a flame at calcium oxide (quicklime). These kinds of lights were called limelights and this is the origin of the phrase “in the limelight” to mean “at the centre of attention”.

Business & Industrial, Lamps & Lighting /

Limelight For other uses, see Limelight (disambiguation). Diagram of a limelight burner Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light) is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when an oxyhydrogen flame is directed at a cylinder of quicklime (calcium oxide), which can be

Pre-electricity theatre spotlights produced light by directing a flame at calcium oxide (quicklime). These kinds of lights were called limelights and this is the origin of the phrase “in the limelight” to mean “at the centre of attention”. Read More »

Pencils are yellow because in the 19th century, the best graphite came from China. Because yellow was a royal colour in China, pencil companies began to colour their pencils yellow to show both high quality and an association with China.

Business & Industrial, Crafts, Visual Art & Design /

The Bizarre Reason Pencils Are Yellow If you’ve ever stared at your No. 2 pencil and wondered “why are pencils yellow?” you can take solace in the fact that around 210 people a month are typing that very question into an online search engine and contemplating this along with you. But really, why are pencils

Pencils are yellow because in the 19th century, the best graphite came from China. Because yellow was a royal colour in China, pencil companies began to colour their pencils yellow to show both high quality and an association with China. Read More »

In 2008, the country of Rwanda banned plastic bags and, in early 2019, banned all single use plastics.

Chemicals Industry /

Rwanda adopts draft law to ban single-use plastics Rwanda’s Cabinet last week adopted a draft law seeking to prohibit the manufacture, use and sale of single-use plastics, a move that is expected to affect the operations of importers and local manufacturers. The passage of the draft came ahead of the February 1 EAC Summit, in

In 2008, the country of Rwanda banned plastic bags and, in early 2019, banned all single use plastics. Read More »

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