Monday, October 27, 2025

Honey - Mayo Clinic

Safety and side effects

Honey is likely safe for use as a natural sweetener, cough suppressant, and topical product for minor sores and wounds.

Avoid giving honey — even a tiny taste — to babies under the age of 1 year. Honey can cause a rare but serious gastrointestinal condition (infant botulism) caused by exposure to Clostridium botulinum spores. Bacteria from the spores can grow and multiply in a baby's intestines, producing a dangerous toxin.

Some people are sensitive or allergic to specific components in honey, particularly bee pollen. Although rare, bee pollen allergies can cause serious, and sometimes fatal, adverse reactions. Signs and symptoms of a reaction include:

Monday, October 20, 2025

Is your Protein Powder safe from Lead?


There are similar issues with dark chocolate, where the California standards are too strict.

The Universe Is Speeding Up...


I get the sense that we don't fully understand how the universe works.  Maybe in 100 years we will have it all figured out.

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Why The Depression Was Worse Than War For American Soldiers

Our Solar System Is On A Collision Course

Abiogenic Petroleum Theory

Origin of the term "fossil fuels"..


No, the claim that John D. Rockefeller paid scientists to call oil "fossil fuel" to create a perception of scarcity is false
. The term was in use long before Rockefeller's time. 
The term "fossil fuel" was first recorded in the English translation of the work of German chemist Caspar Neumann in 1759. John D. Rockefeller was not born until 1839, many decades later. 
The claim that Rockefeller was responsible for the term's creation at the 1892 Geneva Convention (likely a reference to the Geneva Nomenclature Congress, which addressed chemical naming conventions) is a debunked conspiracy theory. There is no historical evidence that Rockefeller attended this event or influenced the scientific community's terminology. 
The word "fossil" in the term was originally used in its older sense, meaning "obtained by digging" or "found buried in the earth," long before the word primarily came to refer to the preserved remains of long-dead organisms. The term became more widely used in the early 1900s, after the scientific understanding of their organic origin from ancient biomass (mostly marine microorganisms and plants over millions of years) was established. 
Where does oil come from?


Abiogenic Petroleum Theory



AI Overview

The abiogenic theory of crude oil production is considered false by mainstream science primarily because a vast body of empirical and geochemical evidence overwhelmingly supports the biogenic theory, which states that oil forms from the decomposition of organic matter in sedimentary basins. 
Key reasons and evidence against the abiogenic theory include:
  • Presence of Biomarkers: Crude oil contains complex molecules called molecular fossils (biomarkers), such as porphyrins (derived from chlorophyll) and specific hydrocarbons like pristane and phytane, that can only be formed by living organisms. Abiotically produced hydrocarbons lack these specific biological "fingerprints".
  • Location of Deposits: More than 99% of commercially viable oil deposits are found in sedimentary rocks (e.g., shales, sandstones, limestones) that were once ancient sea or lake beds rich in the remains of marine organisms like algae and plankton. The abiogenic theory predicts oil should be found in deep fault zones within crystalline basement rock (igneous or metamorphic rock), which is not where major fields are typically found. When oil is found in non-sedimentary rock, it has migrated there from nearby sedimentary source rock.
  • Carbon Isotope Ratios: The ratio of carbon isotopes in crude oil is consistent with that found in organic matter, which preferentially selects the lighter isotope of carbon (¹²C). This isotopic signature strongly indicates a biological origin.
  • Optical Activity: Crude oil exhibits optical activity (the ability to rotate polarized light), a characteristic typical of compounds synthesized by living organisms (like cholesterol), but not found in inorganically synthesized oil.
  • Lack of Commercial Success: Attempts to discover commercial quantities of oil based purely on the abiogenic theory have been largely unsuccessful. A prominent example is the drilling of the Siljan Ring impact crater in Sweden, which was predicted to have significant abiogenic oil deposits but only produced uneconomical trace amounts, many of which were later shown to be from drilling additives.
  • Inability to Form from Inorganic Matter at Relevant Temperatures/Pressures: While simple hydrocarbons (like methane) can form abiotically, and some lab experiments have produced trace amounts of more complex hydrocarbons under extremely high pressures and temperatures mimicking the mantle, these conditions do not explain the formation of the large, diverse, and specific molecules found in natural crude oil, nor how they would remain stable as they migrated to shallower crustal depths. 
In conclusion, the abiogenic theory is not supported by the vast majority of direct geological and geochemical observations and has been scientifically discredited as a primary explanation for the Earth's significant crude oil reserves. 

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Will Asteroid Apophis Hit Earth?





AI Overview
If Asteroid Apophis were to strike Earth, it would release an immense amount of energy, equivalent to over 1,000 megatons of TNT, or hundreds of nuclear weapons, causing widespread destruction across a radius of hundreds of kilometers. 
...

Important Note: While a hypothetical strike by Apophis would be catastrophic on a regional and potentially global scale, the scientific community has determined that it is no longer on a collision course with Earth for the foreseeable future. 



Saturday, September 13, 2025

Are Raw Milk, Seed Oils, and Uncured Deli Meat Good for You? - Consumer Reports

Seed Oils
These oils—which include canola, grapeseed, sunflower, and soy—are extracted from the seeds of plants. Critics say that their high levels of omega-6 fats raise inflammation in the body and that consuming them can lead to cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other illnesses.

But the scientific evidence doesn't support that. "In dozens of studies looking at omega-6s and inflammation, I haven't seen one that shows an inflammatory effect, and roughly half of studies are showing anti-inflammatory effects," Willett says. For example, a 2019 review of 30 studies, published in the journal Circulation, found that people with the highest blood levels of a type of omega-6 fat called linoleic acid had a 7 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, possibly because linoleic acid reduces inflammation. Plus, Willett says, we've known for decades that these oils also cut LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels, and a higher intake of them has contributed significantly to the large decline in deaths from heart disease in the U.S."

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Why AA Batteries Still Suck


@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
The problem is that many devices, like remote controls, use AAA batteries that have a third of the power and cost as much.  Some of these devices could have easily used the more powerful AA batteries.

Time