Category: Thanatology

The Earliest Discovered Sewing Tools for Surgery and Textiles

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The earliest discovered eyed needles designed for surgery are from 30,000 B.C. This specific artifact was discovered within a cave located in Aurignacia, France. Additionally, other ancient needles have been uncovered within the region of Altai Krai, Russia, specialist needles without an eye but with a split head designed to grip the thread. These tools which are crafted from bird bone by the Denisovans, date back to 40,000 B.C. – 30,000 B.C. Both discoveries indicate that early human beings had developed sophisticated tools and techniques for sewing, tools which could have been used for many tasks ranging from textile repairs to complex tasks like surgery

The Dietary Abstentions of Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists

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Hindus do not consume beef because the cow is considered sacred within the Hindu religion. Those who are Muslim, do not consume pork because the pig is considered to be impure. Buddhists tend to avoid all variations of meat

How the Rabies Virus Pathogen Infects and Propagates Within Mammalian Hosts

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The rabies virus causes hostility within its host because aggressive behavior (e.g. biting etc.) is crucial for the transmission of the pathogen due to the fact that the virus is primarily secreted within the saliva of its hosts, although it can be present within and therefore transmitted via other tissues as well (e.g. infected brain tissue coming into contact with the open wound of a host etc.). The rabies virus primarily affects the central nervous system of its host, involving both the brain and spinal cord, causing inflammation of the brain referred to as “encephalitis”, and triggering various other neurological symptoms which help aide propogation (e.g. aggression, confusion, hallucinations etc.). The rabies virus travels along nerves from the wound site of the infection to the brain, where it then replicates and causes inflammation. Once the rabies virus reaches the brain, it can spread rapidly throughout the body via the central nervous system, leading to severe neurological symptoms and death in 100% of cases if left untreated

The Origin of Valentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day Cards

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Although the exact origin of Valentine’s Day is unknown during the modern day, the Catholic Church recognizes 3 different individuals named “Valentine” or “Valentinus”, all of whom were martyred, however it is possible these individuals were the same person. The Ancient Roman priest Valentinus, who lived during the 3rd century A.D., was imprisoned, perhaps falsely, by Ancient Roman emperor Claudius II (Claudius Gothicus). Claudius II legally prohibited marriage for young men, as he believed unmarried men without families made better soldiers. Valentinus may have performed wedding ceremonies for these soldiers covertly, until caught and executed on February 14, 269 A.D.. During his detention, Valentinus fell in love with the prison keepers daughter, a woman possibly named “Julia”, allegedly curing her of blindness. Valentinus signed the final letter he wrote to this woman prior to execution “Your Valentine”. It should be noted, this origin point is not supported by strong historical and/or physical evidence and may have been propagandized by medieval writers to romanticize Valentinus as a Catholic saint

The Origin of the Birthday Celebration

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The origin of the birthday celebration tradition within China dates back thousands of years. The Chinese marked birthdays, starting from the first year of survival, as a mark of how long one has survived with the hope of longevity ahead. Besides matching the year with one’s own astrological calendar (based upon 12 years rather than 12 months), the Chinese traditionally celebrated during antiquity and continue to celebrate birthdays during the modern day with noodles, specifically chang shou mian which means “long life noodles” in Mandarin. This is because it is believed within Chinese culture that long noodle strands consumed within a single attempt symbolically represent a long life to come. It should be noted, it is believed the foundation origin of the concept of the “birthday” originated within Ancient Egypt around 3000 B.C. with Ancient Egyptian pharaohs celebrating their own coronation day as a birth of a god, with the Chinese, and later the Germans, developing the concept of a birthday more reminiscent to the modern day

American Cheese Manufacturer Kraft Producing Kraft Singles and Kraft Slices With Ingredients Which Are Not Cheese

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The Kraft Singles and Kraft Slices product lineup Kraft is renowned for are not entirely comprised of cheese. For this reason, Kraft cannot use the term “cheese” upon the product label within North America which is why these products are typically labeled as “Kraft Singles” or “Kraft Slices”. This is also the reason why Kraft Singles and Kraft Slices often display the phrase “pasteurized prepared cheese product” which is due to the fact that cheese within the North America must contain 51% cheese to be legally considered cheese and Kraft falls short of this threshold with these particular products

The Importance of Gastrointestinal Microbes for Weight Loss

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There are 100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) microbes within the gastrointestinal system and scientists have learned that by transplanting microbes from one animal to another, weight gain and weight loss can be turned on and off at will. Scientists now understand that the greater diversity a person has in terms of the types of microbial life which live within their body, the less likely they are to gain weight or maintain a higher than ideal body weight, with the exact opposite effect occurring in those who have lower than average values in reference to the number of microbes living within the body. Diets rich in fiber are typically associated with higher values of microbes, so increasing fiber intake, can significantly reduce overall body weight and promote the existence and health of many different kinds of microbes. Increasing fiber content for only a few days, has a measurable and marked effect upon microbrial gastrointestinal health

The Origin of the Tradition of Bringing Christmas Trees Indoors

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During the Ancient Roman Saturnalia festival near the winter solstice, coniferous branches, boughs, and trees were brought indoors and kept. Although the exact rationale is debated, the concept may have developed as a means to symbolize everlasting life and/or as a method to ensure the god Saturn, the patron deity of time, wealth, and agriculture among other things within Ancient Rome, would prolong summer and shorten winter. In the 4th century A.D. this festival was replaced by the Christian holiday of Christmas which adopted the practice of bringing trees indoors as well. It should be noted, bringing coniferous trees indoors during the winter solstice was a pagan tradition throughout the northern hemisphere, with multiple cultures and empires outside of the Ancient Romans adopting the practice

The Generational Health Effects of Smoking During Pregnancy

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Smoking during pregnancy doubles the risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children. Exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy can persist transgenerationally, being passed from parent to child, and can result within a higher probability of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in 2nd and 3rd generation offspring. Smoking was purported as a remedy for morning sickness during the 1930’s which could explain why Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has been identified more and more throughout the past few decades. It takes a person with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 150 milliseconds longer than a person without, to react to stimuli, which is the equivalent difference between a successful hit and a near miss of a ball with a baseball bat

The Artificial Black Hole Created by U.S. Scientists

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In Menlo Park, United States of America, in May of 2017, scientists working at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center National Accelerator Laboratory (often abbreviated as “SLAC”) fired the world’s most powerful X-ray laser at individual molecules. The reason for this experiment was to observe what would occur when an atom with a lot of electrons is hit by high energy X-ray radiation to observe whether or not those electrons could be knocked out of orbit producing an atom which instead of having many electrons has very few electrons. This system behaved highly unusual and very differently than what scientists expected as it created a miniature black hole like object for 1/1,000,000,000,000,000 (1 quadrillionth) of a second, sucking all remaining electrons into it and exploding the molecule in a dramatic paroxysm