Tag: oil

The Fermentation and Manufacturing Process of Ancient Roman Garum (Fish Sauce)

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The Ancient Roman’s created a special fermented fish sauce called “garum”. Garum was highly valuable and in modern times accounting for inflation, garum would cost $1250.00 for 1 liter. Garum was made from nothing more than salt and decayed fish. The original preparation is unknown as the ancient recipes have been lost. The fishes organs and digestive fluids help in the fermentation process. The container which the garum is made in is left in the sun for a few days to allow the process to ferment as much as possible. The oily slush oozing from the fishes organs and digestive enzymes is the garum and it is loaded with nutrients and contains glutamate which triggers chemical receptors on the tongue to make the brain crave more of it. Glutamate is the primary ingredient/component in monosodium glutamate, commonly abbreviated as “MSG”, and is used by many chefs all over the world

How Armor Was Decorated During the Medieval Period

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Armor was embroidered during the Medieval period by using oil and lead paint to mark off ornate areas which would stand out and perhaps be decorated with gold or other precious metals in a process referred to as “gilding”. Gold does not easily bind to any type of metal and the only way to properly do so is to undergo a process which involves mixing the gold with mercury. Once applied, a mixture of salt, vinegar, and copper sulphate, which is root killer, makes a paste which eats through the metal leaving the painted parts untouched, and resulting in an etched piece of armor. Blacksmiths sometimes heat treated armor which turned it a blueish hue which essentially rusts the metal as it is referred to as an “oxide” and an oxide occurs when a metal comes into contact with oxygen which reacts with the metal and creates a deposit when heated to a very specific temperature, as the heat is what shifts the red color of rust to the blue area of the color spectrum

The Ancient Roman Torture Method of the Roman Candle

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The term “Roman Candle”, most commonly used within the fireworks industry, is in reference to a horrible execution method used most commonly by the Roman Emperor Nero. Nero would instruct his soldiers to forcibly coat the bodies of enemies and victims within pitch, oil, wax, and other flammable materials before lighting the feet of these victims to be used as human candles during formal parties, purposeful in its design to create the most prolonged and agonizing torture possible

 

The First Industrial Revolution, Second Industrial Revolution, and Impending Third Industrial Revolution

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Industrial revolutions require 3 key components to occur, 3 defining technologies which emerge and converge to create the catalyst needed to usher in a new era of human achievement and progress. The first component is new methods of communication technologies to make communication more efficient and to manage economic and social life (e.g. video conferencing), the second is new sources of energy to more efficiently power economic and social life as well as governance (e.g. renewable energy technologies), and the third is new modes of mobility and logistics to more efficiently move economic and social life as well as governance (e.g. on demand ride sharing). The First Industrial Revolution was caused by the discovery of a new source of energy; coal. Coal powered the new communications medium, the steam powered press, and a new logistics structure via the locomotive railway. When these 3 technologies converged, much of the world (e.g. the whole of Europe) changed seemingly overnight. As a direct consequence of the First Industrial Revolution, business models moved toward market capitalism and major city hubs began developing ushering in the modern world format. The Second Industrial Revolution occurred in the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th century with the advent of the telephone in the late 19th century, and the advent of radio and television in the early and mid 20th century. At approximately the same time that the telephone and telecommunications networks were being developed, the U.S found a new source of energy which was oil in Texas, United States of America. Henry Ford compounded this discovery by producing a cost effective combustion engine, powered by oil which provided new logistics and mobility technology. The Second Industrial Revolution however is now fading away due to the impact it has had upon the Earth’s climate and humanity is now upon the precipice of a Third Industrial Revolution. The internet has become the new communication medium, millions of people are now adopting renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geothermal etc.) and it is predicted that when autonomous vehicles connect to smart roads, the last piece of this puzzle will be complete, thrusting humanity into its 3rd epic epoch

The Tragic and Untimely Sinking of the Titanic

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After hitting an iceberg during its maiden voyage, the Titanic stayed afloat for less than 3 hours. Rivets used in the manufacturing process which were also used for many of the United States’ modern megastructures, were fit using a technique in which the rivet is heated and then hammered through a hole subsequently cooling and contracting, which pulled together the pieces of anything it was attached to. As the rivets of the Titanic popped out after impact, it allowed for a zipper like opening of the ship which conceded water to flush inward. Modern ships do not use rivets for this very reason and instead opt for welded hulls. It is impossible to build a ship which can withstand either an iceberg or a rock edifice with both being found below the surface of the ocean quite frequently. The only resolution is to use Radio Detection and Ranging or Radio Direction And Ranging (RADAR) and a global positioning system to steer clear of these hazards. Modern oil tankers have double hulls which reach right upside the entire ship but modern commercial ships normally do not bring their doubled hulls this high as it is an expensive safety feature which is bypassed as commercial ships do not carry oil which is financially and environmentally costly when spilled, alongside the fact that double hulled ships take up valuable space which could otherwise be used for cargo transportation. Instead commercial and industrial ships invest resources into safety systems better equipped for the needs of the people and/or goods which they transport

The U.S.’ Military Budget For Securing Oil Abroad

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The U.S. government spends $638,000,000,000 ($638 billion) per year on its defense budget, with $507,000,000,000 ($507 billion) of that cost spent upon Persian Gulf operations which situate U.S. military bases next to all major middle eastern oil sources. Ironically, the cost to secure and defend these oil sites is nearly 10x more expensive than the oil itself as the U.S. consumes only $56,000,000,00 ($56 billion) of oil annually. This massive offset cost is deemed necessary by the U.S. government to ensure the security of oil and to maintain its stability, making certain that oil is never again compromised as it was during the 1970’s when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to cut off the flow of oil imported into the U.S. The U.S. military occupies these regions on paper to defend democracy, but the truth is that these sites are only occupied to defend against the problem of the consolidation of oil

Saudi Arabian Wealth and Prince al-Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz al Saud

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Saudi Arabia generates $1,000,000,000 ($1 billion) per day in profit by selling oil to the United States of America. There is no social security in Saudi Arabia so it is customary for tribal and/or community leaders to give away money to those in need. The wealthiest person in Saudi Arabia is the grandson of Muhammad ibn Saud who was the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saud’s grandson Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud often gives away hundreds of thousands of dollars within a single evening, a few times per month. Saud’s net worth is an estimated $21,700,000,000 ($21.7 billion). Saud owns shares of hundreds of well known U.S. companies and has given away tens of thousands of vehicles and billions of dollars to those in need

The First American To Drill For Oil

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Edwin Drake was the first American to drill for oil. Drake struck oil in 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, United States of America. Drake pioneered methods still used in the modern day such as using a guide pipe which is 12” in diameter to shield the drilling rig from the well collapsing as well as the use of barrels to store oil. Drake pioneered the method of using barrels because he had nothing else other than old whiskey barrels to store the oil he had acquired once it came pouring out of the ground