/oss/taxonomy/term/2173/all en /oss/article/student-contributors-did-you-know/white-noise-machines-may-have-underlying-fineprint <p><a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/noise-and-sleep/white-noise#references-83455">White noise</a>, also known as broadband noise, is a type of noise that contains all the audible frequencies for humans. White noise is often present in our daily environment in the form of radio or television static, vacuums, fans, and air conditioner hums. When played in the background, white noise can reduce the sound difference between the environmental noise and background noise.</p> Fri, 30 Aug 2024 02:14:16 +0000 Daniela Padres 10051 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-history-did-you-know/weaving-history-persian-carpets <p>Although I could get straight to the point and tell you about Persian carpets, it’s only fitting to begin with a bit of history about the Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great, who reigned from approximately 559 to 530 BCE, founded the first Persian Empire. His legacy includes the Cyrus Cylinder, often regarded as the first declaration of human rights, in which he decreed religious freedom and protection for all within his empire.</p> Fri, 23 Aug 2024 14:17:14 +0000 Hosna Akhgary 10045 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-did-you-know/how-deep-can-humans-really-go <p>Up until the late 1960s, physiologists believed that the maximum depth a person could descend to was determined by the depth at which <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.162.3857.1020?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">their total lung capacity (TLC) was compressed to the same volume as their residual volume (RV)</a> which is the smallest lung volume a person can breathe to.</p> Fri, 16 Aug 2024 03:34:15 +0000 Daniela Padres 10039 at /oss /oss/article/medical-environment-did-you-know/whipping-some-science <p>Want to add a bit of extra delight to that cake or sundae? No need to bother with whisking some cream when you can just reach for that aerosol cannister of whipped cream. Just squeeze the little trigger and perfectly whipped cream gushes out! For the propellant action you can thank nitrous oxide, also known as “laughing gas.” That term was coined by the great English chemist Humphry Davy upon noting that “this gas raised my pulse upwards of twenty strokes, made me dance about the laboratory as a madman, and has kept my spirits in a glow ever since.”</p> Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:25:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10026 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-environment-did-you-know/mystery-milky-seas <p>Imagine sailing through a pitch-black ocean night, only to find the waters around you glowing eerily like a vast field of snow. This enchanting phenomenon, known as milky seas or mareel, has both baffled and mesmerized sailors for centuries. These rare events, occurring roughly zero to two times a year globally, are a spectacular display of bioluminescence that turns the sea into a surreal, glowing expanse.</p> Fri, 09 Aug 2024 14:31:17 +0000 Hosna Akhgary 10022 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/are-your-refrigerator-habits-inviting-unwanted-bacteria <p>As a kid I grew up being told that I had to let food cool down before putting it in the fridge. I was under the notion that placing warm food directly in the refrigerator could cause the other foods in the refrigerator to warm up. I had also been told that placing warm food in the refrigerator was a waste of energy as the fridge would have to work harder to maintain a cool temperature. I was shocked when I learned that leaving leftovers to cool on the countertop posed a potential risk for my health.</p> Fri, 02 Aug 2024 14:39:35 +0000 Daniela Padres 10014 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know-general-science/dracula-enhanced-butts-and-grecian-bend <p>The 1993 Academy Award for costume design went to Eiko Ishioka for creating the magnificent costumes in the hit film, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” Particularly stunning were the dresses worn by Wynona Rider in her role as Mina Harker, Dracula’s main love interest. The film is set in the late 1800s when women’s fashion featured a padded undergarment known as a “bustle” to accentuate the fullness of the buttocks.</p> Tue, 30 Jul 2024 16:15:37 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10012 at /oss /oss/article/medical-student-contributors-did-you-know/seawater-really-antidote-cuts-and-scrapes <p>Recently, a carpet burn removed the epidermis, the top layer of my skin, of my upper middle finger. It left a large open wound on my hand. Fortunately, I was close to the ocean so I could swim in the seawater to speed up the healing process, or so I thought.</p> Fri, 19 Jul 2024 12:29:17 +0000 Daniela Padres 10005 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/why-do-we-feel-sick-our-stomach <p>If you have ever been truly disgusted by something you saw, you have experienced feeling sick to your stomach. Revulsion involves the brain, clearly, but somehow it can be felt in our digestive system. The same is true of anxiety and love: there’s a reason we speak of butterflies in our stomach.</p> <p>To the probing minds of our ancestors, the stomach was mysterious. Unlike the mouth or the eye, it couldn’t be easily accessed and studied. An unfortunate musket shot would change that.</p> Thu, 04 Jul 2024 14:15:59 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9994 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know-general-science/canadian-connection-american-greenback <p>The green in American paper bills is chromium oxide, a refined version of chromite, a naturally occurring ore in the Earth’s crust. This ore is also the source of chromium metal which is produced by heating the ore in the presence of silicon and aluminum. The metal derives its name from the Greek “chroma” meaning colour, because all of the compounds of chromium are coloured. Lead chromate, for example, was the original pigment used in paints for school buses and “yellow” cabs. Because of the toxicity of chromium VI and lead ions that make up this pigment, its use has declined. </p> Tue, 04 Jun 2024 18:33:25 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9970 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/your-earwax-and-sweat-have-something-smelly-common <p>Did you know that there are two types of earwax and that, depending on where you are from, you have one or the other?</p> Fri, 10 May 2024 05:48:17 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9942 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/turkey-doesnt-makes-you-sleepy <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/facts-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-food-for-thought/">The Skeptical Inquirer</a>.</em></p> <hr /> <p>You may have heard the post-meal sleepies explained by the fact that turkey contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that’s a biochemical precursor for serotonin and melatonin, two things that can make us feel tired. This is technically true, but some other facts can help put the turkey claims into context and better explain our need to nap after a bird-heavy meal.</p> Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9884 at /oss /oss/article/history-environment-did-you-know/does-daylight-savings-time-actually-save-energy <p>The surefire signs that Spring is just around the corner have started to appear – trees are budding, flowers beginning to bloom and there’s more rain than snow. (Full disclosure – I live in the UK now, so if the snow is persisting in Canada, I apologize for the false hope.) Very soon it will be time to move our clocks forward one hour, pushing sunrise to post-7 am, but giving us light until nearly 8 pm.</p> Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:36:07 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9861 at /oss /oss/article/medical-did-you-know/dont-blame-teething-most-infant-illnesses <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/facts-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-kids-edition/"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>Teething has been held responsible for everything from fevers to colic, but there’s no reason to believe the protrusion of teeth causes anything worse than mild discomfort, and there’s danger in misdiagnosis.</p> Fri, 12 Jan 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9794 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/kids-dont-feel-pain-growing <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/facts-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-kids-edition/"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> Fri, 05 Jan 2024 11:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9770 at /oss