origin of shit

Something i got from forwarded emails:

In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common.
It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen.
Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!
Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening.
After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transit" on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
Thus evolved the term " S.H.I.T ", (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.
You probably did not know the true history of this word.
Neither did I.

one lazy blogger

got tired of posting entries hehehe... some days i just go lazy... so after 10 posts for my 1 a day project... decided to drop it off... will be posting new trivia anytym from now on :)

Day #010 - The first SMS ring tone

Do you remember one of the first-ever popular SMS ring tones? Back when polytones and mp3s are not yet around... It goes like "tititit teeteet tititit". Had dinner with some old friends and I just found out why. This sound is S-M-S in morse code.

Do you know your dots and dashes?

S in morse is represented by ...
M in morse is --

So SMS is ...--... or tititit teeteet tititit =)
For Nokia phone, this ringtone is named "Special".

I googled it up further and stumbled upon this site: http://www.eeggs.com/items/31136.html
Apparently, Nokia's "Ascending" tone is morse for "CONNECTING PEOPLE". And I thought that was just an annoying ring tone good for alarms.

Day #009 - NOTHING NEW

I read an article today about how deaf people can hear... how the deaf can enjoy music in a bar... how they can dance to the music. The article says that they do this by either finding the beat by feeling the vibrations in the floor or furniture, watching others dance, and feeling the sound waves among other things.
When on the dance floor, the deaf can communicate with their other deaf friends across the room - 'could you get me a soda?'. Of course, they just use hand signals. As long as they can see the other, that wouldn't be a problem. I find this as a really cool advantage=D.


SHOULD'VE put that in as a learning for today BUT I feel that's nothing new. It's a bit understandable/deducible as I see it... having lacked in one important sense, they'd have developed more in one or more of the other senses. This just points out that some deafs have a more developed sense of touch(?) than non-deafs to compensate for their deafness.

source: Bite Magazine, Nov 2008

Day #008 - Of plate tectonics and our "matter"ial age

One of the videos I watch in my "free" time is this video about how the earth works... lots of trivial and interesting things from this video. This time, two things caught my fancy:

plate tectonics
well, i guess we all know that the earth we're standing on moves sideways. bet you don't know that it moves constantly and slowly - that north america is moving 60 millionths of an inch from europe every 30 minutes. now, how's that for 'moving on' =)

our bodies age
when asked 'how old' or 'how young' our body is at this moment, bet all of us would answer with our age... but really, how old is our body - the matter of it. hmmmm 2/3rds of our body is water; 2/3rds of water is hydrogen; this means that 4/9ths of our body is ~13.7 billion years old. yes, that's hydrogen - one of the elemental components of the earth.


source: 'how the earth works' lecture series by wysession phd

Day #007 - Learned of a cool blog

I learned of a cool fun blog from a friend today. It's also trivial BUT most of all it's fun =)
Check this link out.

Day #006 - Learned how to skate (longboard)

My first time to use a long skate... learned how to turn... got addicted to the feel of a moving board =D

Day #005 - About SLR displays

Watched a photography tutorial video and learned some things...

- adjust your LCD brightness so preview can be closer to what you see on the PC
- when doing macro shots, subject movement is OK for small prints BUT when enlarged, it looks fuzzy

Few learnings =(, had to stop the tutorial since I had an appointment in the afternoon

Day #004 - NOTHING NEW =(

Lame Excuse: TGIF =) learned nothing new today... =(

Day #003 - Learned a Magic Trick

I was late at the gym for a jog... thought i wouldn't have anything new today... but then =D learned a magic trick from AXN ;) It's hard to explain with words so i'll just try my best to mspaint it :D

1. Magician has cloth hanging from a rod and a panel as props.
2. Magician goes behind panel holding clothrod in front of the panel.
3. Magician raises the clothrod and waits a few secs.
4. When magician drops the cloth rod... VIOLA!!! magician is now in front of panel as if passing thru the panel while concealed behind the cloth.

Really a simple trick once the "trick" hac been revealed. =D Read on...

To understand the trick, let's see it from the top...
a. Magician holds the clothrod
b. then goes behind the panel.
c. The "trick" here is a fake hand (glove) which is stuck to the rod. Magician can then freely
d. go to the front of the panel while holding the clothrod with one hand.
e. When he drops the clothrod, he rolls the clothrod with some distraction to conceal the fake hand.

NOTE that this can be done ONLY with the audience in front as audiences watching from the sides, back and especially from the top can see the whole "trick".


I really have no plans on doing this one =D. Lots of props involved... BUT it's a nice thing to know that things are NOT always as they seem.

Day #002 - About Solid Yellow Lines

Nothing much today... just learned about road lines from the taxi driver...
Ever wondered what those lines on the road mean? Honestly, I just ignore them but the taxi driver went on lecturing me about road lines. >:)

Solid Yellow Line - No U-Turn; Do not cross this line when overtaking, go to the right lane instead (if available)
Double Solid Yellow Line - NEVER NEVER cross; when caught, you pay double fine
Broken Yellow Line - usually exist to allow for crossing to opposite road; usually follows after a solid yellow line
Broken White Line - just there to divide lanes



Disclaimer: I didn't bother to verify these. These may be true but I just don't really care >:) I think these apply to Philippines only BUT is not strictly implemented.

Day #001 - About Naps

I learned something good about naps today... =D
Naps refresh us mentally as well as physically. I guess everyone already knows that. What I learned today is how to get the best out of naps =D

Click this link to learn HOW TO NAP properly. =D

One Day At A Time

It has been a long time since I was able to update this blog...
I just got an idea though which would benefit myself and others as well =)
Since this is supposed to be a record of trivial infos... i'll continue doing so but with a twist : I will learn new things one day at a time and write them all here ;)

I'm setting up these guidelines for myself:
1. I should be able to learn something new each day and share it through this blog.
2. Put useful and consistent categories for the entries.
3. If a post is missed for a day, an explanation should be provided in the next post.
4. Initially, I will be doing this for 100 consecutive days starting today. What happens after the 100th day will be decided by then.

... i guess that's it... I'll be starting in the next entry =D