Interesting Facts: April 2013

Interesting Facts about Cocaine

Cocaine is an alkaloid found in leaves of the South American shrub Erythroxylon coca. The drug induces a sense of exhilaration in the user primarily by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

In pre-Columbian times, the coca leaf was officially reserved for Inca royalty. The natives used coca for mystical, religious, social, nutritional and medicinal purposes. Returning Spanish conquistadores introduced coca to Europe.

The active ingredient of the coca plant was first isolated in the West by the German chemist Friedrich Gaedcke in 1855; he named it "Erythroxyline". Albert Niemann described an improved purification process for his PhD; he named it "cocaine". Sigmund Freud, an early enthusiast, described cocaine as a magical drug. Robert Louis Stephenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde during a six-day cocaine-binge. Intrepid polar adventurer Ernest Shackleton explored Antarctica propelled by cocaine tablets.

Doctors dispensed cocaine as an antidote to morphine addiction. Unfortunately, some of their patients made a habit of combining both.

Cocaine was soon sold over-the-counter. Until 1916, cocaine was widely used in tonics, toothache cures and patent medicines, in coca cigarettes "guaranteed to lift depression", and in chocolate cocaine tablets.

When combined with alcohol, the cocaine alkaloid yields a further potently reinforcing compound, now known to be cocaethylene. Thus cocaine was a popular ingredient in wines.

Coca-cola was introduced in 1886 as "a valuable brain-tonic and cure for all nervous afflictions". Until 1903, a typical serving contained around 60mg of cocaine.

Effects of "Crack" on the Individual & Society

A coca leaf, if chewed, rarely presents the user with any social or medical problems. Indeed coca-chewing may be therapeutic. When the leaves are soaked and mashed, however, cocaine is then extracted as a coca-paste. After the organic solvent used has evaporated, the coca-paste is 60 to 80 per cent pure. It is usually exported in the form of the salt, cocaine hydrochloride. This is the powdered cocaine most common, until recently, in the West. Drug testing for cocaine aims to detect the presence of its major metabolite, the inactive benzoylecgonine. Benzoylecgonine can be detected for up to five days in casual users. In chronic users, urinary detection is possible for as long as three weeks.

Sensation-hungry thrill-seekers have long sought the ultimate "rush". Normally, only intravenous administration could deliver the more potent hit they have been seeking. Yet there are strong cultural prejudices against injecting recreational drugs. So a smokeable form was developed.

Since the hydrochloride salt decomposes at the temperature required to vaporize it, cocaine is converted to crack. Ordinary cocaine hydrochloride is concentrated by heating the drug in a solution of baking soda until the water evaporates.

The initial short-lived euphoria of crack is followed by a "crash". This involves anxiety, depression, irritability, extreme fatigue and possibly paranoia. Physical health may deteriorate. An intense craving for more cocaine develops. In heavy users, compulsive and repetitive patterns of behavior may occur, so may tactile hallucinations of insects crawling underneath the skin.

The social consequences of heavy cocaine use can be equally unpleasant. Addicts are likely to alienate family and friends. They tend to become isolated and suspicious. Most of their money and time is spent thinking about how to get more of the drug. The compulsion may become utterly obsessive. During a "mission", essentially a 3-4 day crack-binge, users may consume up to 50 rocks a day. To obtain more, crack addicts will often lie, cheat, steal and commit crimes of violence. Once-loved partners and children may be callously cast aside. Whole communities can be disrupted by crack-abuse.

More Fact about Cocaine/Crack

Cocaine is one of the oldest known drugs but became popular in the last two decades as the ‘drug of the 80s and 90s’. It is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain. However, ordinary people know very little facts about cocaine.
Facts about cocaine are as follows:
It is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant that has a strong stimulant effect on the central nervous system of the body.
In appearance it is a crystalline powder, white in color. On the street it is mixed with vitamins, cornstarch, flour or sugar and looks like a small rock with an off-white or pink color.

On the street cocaine is known by a variety of names such as, Coke, Dust, Toot, Line, Nose Candy, Powder, Girl, White Pony, Flake, C, The Lady, Cain, Neurocain, Rock, and Crack.
Cocaine is sniffed, snorted or smoked and in the deeply addict stage, injected.
Nearly 1 percent of Americans currently use cocaine, and they come from all social and economic levels. It is the second most popular drug in the US.
The drug gives the user a strong sense of exhilaration. Users generally feel highly energetic and euphoric, are alert and have a sense of invincibility. The effects usually last for about two hours followed by a feeling of intense depression, anxiety and paranoia. This is accompanied by loss of appetite.
Cocaine is an extremely potent and highly dangerous drug. It has several adverse effects that include insomnia, blurred vision, high anxiety, irritability and loss of appetite. Users are susceptible to cardiac arrest or respiratory failure preceded by seizures.

Video about Cocaine

How Drugs Work 3/3 - Cocaine (BBC Three)

Eric Clapton - Cocaine

Cocaine Mafia: Vanguard

Pablo Escobar - King of Cocaine

How Cocaine Is Made

How Does Cocaine Affect The Brain? - How Drugs Work, Cocaine, Preview - BBC Three

Colombia mulls decriminalising cocaine

source: drug-testing-forum.com;

Any language
コカインについての興味深い事実 // Faits intéressants au sujet de la cocaïne // Ενδιαφέροντα δεδομένα για κοκαΐνη // Numeri interessanti di cocaina // 有趣的事實可卡因 // 코카인에 대한 흥미로운 사실 // Interessante Fakten über Kokain // Fatos interessantes sobre Cocaína // Datos interesantes sobre la cocaína

Interesting Facts about Benjamin Franklin

Born: January 17 [Jan. 6, Old Style], 1706
Died: April 17, 1790

As a scientist, he is best known for his experiments with electricity. As a writer, he is known for Poor Richard's Almanac and his autobiography. He was the oldest figure of the American Revolution. Franklin also was the only person to sign the three documents that established the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the peace treaty with Britain that ended the Revolutionary War, and the Constitution.

Fun Facts about Ben Franklin

He actually had two birthdays. Franklin's birth certificate says that he was born on January 6, 1706, but on September 2, 1752 the British colonies changed to a different calendar. Over time, calendars no longer line up with seasons and adjustments must be made to make sure that seasons happen in the right month. That is why we have leap year. Therefore, at midnight on September 2, 1752, it legally became September 14 and Franklin's new birthday became January 17.
His picture has been on every $100 bill minted since 1928.
Franklin thought the turkey should be the national bird, rather than the bald eagle. He wrote in a letter to his daughter, Sarah, in 1784 that the turkey is more respectable than eagles and a true native of the United States.
He taught himself five different languages: Latin, German, Spanish, Italian and French.
Franklin crossed the Atlantic Ocean eight times and spent 27 years of his life living in other countries.

Amazing Facts about Benjamin Franklin

Ben earned lots of money, but he could have earned a lot more if he had patented his inventions. He never once patented any of his inventions.
Ben Franklin was the first American to invent an instrument, the armonica.
Ben Franklin was bad at math!
Ben Franklin taught himself how to swim when he was eight, and often taught his friends how to swim. At one time he considered opening up a swim school.
At the age of 16 Ben Franklin read a book about vegetable diets and decided to become a vegetarian.
While working in London, Ben got the nickname "Water-American," because he drank water instead of beer like almost everyone else.
Ben Franklin convinced the Pennsylvania Assembly to switch from coins to paper currency because coins were hard to come by and cumbersome.
Ben wrote a letter that convinced Congress to publicly debate slavery for the first time.
After writing and publishing Poor Richard's Almanac and The Way to Wealth, Ben Franklin became so wealthy that he was able to retire from printing in his early forties.
Ben liked to take "air baths." He would sit naked in his bathtub and let the cold air from an open window clean away any germs!
Ben Franklin founded the prestigious Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania.
Ben nearly electrocuted himself to death while trying to cook a turkey with electricity!
Ben helped Thomas Jefferson revise the Declaration of Independence.

10 Jobs Held by Ben Franklin
An interesting fact about Ben Franklin's life is that he had many different jobs. Here are ten jobs that he had in his career.

Printer
Writer
Politician
Inventor
Scientist
Volunteer firefighter
Librarian
Postmaster
Bookstore owner
Soldier in Philadelphia militia

Inventions
Ben Franklin invented many things that are still used today. Here are just a few of Franklin's inventions:

Bifocals
Lightning rod
Swimming fins
The Franklin stove, an iron fireplace that produced less smoke and used less wood.
Glass harmonica, a musical instrument

Video about Benjamin Franklin

The American Revolution - Biography Benjamin Franklin Citizen of the World

Walter Isaacson: "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life"

Benjamin Franklin Biography Short

The History Channel: Benjamin Franklin's Lightning Conductor

Benjamin Franklin in a Nutshell

Maravilhas.Modernas A tecnologia de Benjamin Franklin

source: www.brighthubeducation.com ( Lynne Ringle )

www.childrenslit.com

Interesting Facts about Tornado

What is a Tornado?

A Tornado is a column of air violently rotating across the earth's surface. The column of air most frequently attached to a cloud or thunderstorm overhead, which then extends down to the ground. Tornadoes can form into any shape, but generally form the shape of a tunnel, narrow near the bottom and larger at the top.

What causes a Tornado?

The most common cause of a tornado is from a thunderstorm. Tornadoes form when warm, moist air or air from a thunderstorm meets cooler, dry air creating an unstable atmosphere. After creating an unstable atmosphere, changes in wind direction and wind speed creates a spinning effect near the earth's surface, eventually forming a tunnel of wind that rapidly grows and violently rotates along the earth's surface, destroying homes and uprooting trees that are in it's path.

Where are they most likely to occur?

Tornadoes are likely to occur anywhere in the world, but most tornadoes occur in "Tornado Alley," which stretches from Texas to Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas and into the Dakotas. The reasoning for "Tornado Alley," is because warm, moist air from the gulf of Mexico mixes with the cooler, dry air from the north creating dangerous tornadoes. Tornadoes can occur during any time of the year, but typically happen during the spring.

What to do in case of a Tornado-

If you find yourself in danger of a tornado, it's important that you take shelter to protect yourself. The safest place to be in the case of a tornado is in the basement of your house or the building that you are in.
Do not go near the walls that face in the southern or western directions, this is generally the direction tornadoes move in. You should seek shelter under a stair case, inside a closet or under a heavy table. You should also use a heavy blanket or trash can for protection against debris.
You may also seek shelter in the bathtub, in many homes that have been destroyed by tornadoes, the bathtub plumbing is the only thing left standing. This is because the plumbing is anchored into the ground. If you driving near a tornado, you should leave your car and find shelter inside, you should not keep driving, you may not know what you may encounter on the road. It's also important to realize that a car cannot outrun a tornado.

15 Facts About Tornadoes

1. In order for a vortex to be classified as a tornado, the violently rotating column of air must be in contact with both the cloud above and the ground below.

2. Though tornadoes do occur on other continents, North America’s geography makes it more vulnerable to them. Bradley Smull, an atmospheric scientist at the National Science Foundation, explained yesterday in a Washington Post online chat: “In particular, the proximity of a major north-south mountain range…and the Gulf of Mexico…all in a latitude range frequented by strong upper-level jetstreams amounts to something of a “perfect storm” for severe (supercell-type) thunderstorm formation.”

3. Tornadoes are rated on the Enhanced F (EF) Scale (the old scale was called the Fujita (F) Scale), which assigns a number (0 to 5) based on estimates of 3-second wind gusts and damage. There have been more than 50 F5/EF5 tornadoes recorded in the United States since 1950.

4. Rain, wind, lightning and/or hail may accompany a tornado, but none of them is a reliable predictor of an oncoming tornado.

5. A tornado can last from a few seconds to more than an hour. On average, they persist for about 10 minutes.

6. It is a myth that a tornado cannot pass over features like valleys, mountains, lakes and rivers. When it passes over a lake or river, a tornado becomes a waterspout.

7. Tornado alley is the region in the middle of the United States where tornadoes are most frequent. However, every U.S. state and every continent (except Antarctica) has experienced a tornado.

8. A tornado watch means that conditions are ripe for a tornado; a warning means that a storm has been spotted on the ground or via radar (and you should take cover immediately).

9. Since the first tornado forecast was made in 1948, tornado warning lead times have been increasing and now average 13 minutes. However, they have a 70 percent false alarm rate, which may lead some people to take them less seriously than they should.

10. Mobile homes aren’t more likely to get hit by a tornado than any other type of building, but their flimsy structure provides little protection against strong winds and flying debris.

11. It’s also a bad idea to take shelter in a car—which can be easily tossed about—or under a bridge, where a person would be vulnerable to flying debris or a bridge collapse.

12. The single deadliest tornado killed 695 people in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on March 18, 1925. The series of tornadoes that struck Tuscaloosa, Alabama and other Southern states in April 2011 set a new record. According to NOAA, there were 312 recorded tornadoes that touched down from 8 a.m. on April 27 through 8 a.m. on April 28. The death toll these storms was over 250 people, and did not break the 1925 record mentioned above.

13. A tornado that struck Washington, D.C. on August 25, 1814, is credited with driving the British invaders out of the city and preventing them from carrying out further destruction. They had burned the White House and much of the city the day before.

14. The city of Greensburg, Kansas was flattened by a tornado in 2007, but instead of abandoning the town, the people are rebuilding with an emphasis on green technology.

15. In 2009 and 2010, more than 100 scientists participated in VORTEX2 (funded by the National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), which set out to track tornadoes as they formed and moved across the landscape. The V2 researchers are trying to answer many basic questions about tornadoes, such as how, when and why they form, how strong the winds get near the ground, how they do damage, and how predictions can be improved. During the two years, they collected data from dozens of storms and tornadoes. In order for a vortex to be classified as a tornado, the violently rotating column of air must be in contact with both the cloud above and the ground below.