A comment usually heard uttered from those seen enjoying their 12^th vodka Red-Bull. Sorry to shatter fantasies, but there’s a much more sensible explanation for the origins of taurine – the causative agent of that neurological buzz you feel after downing a couple of metallic, bull-adorned cans.

First of all, far form being made from bull sperm, taurine is derived from cysteine, an amino acid. While you’ll find taurine in bull sperm (if you try hard enough), you can also find the stuff in human bodies and in the majority of meats, seafoods, and milks. However, any taurine that you’ll find in your common energy drinks is, perhaps disappointingly, synthetically manufactured.

The rumor above is true in the sense that taurine really was outlawed from French Red-Bulls when the drink was released in 2003; but this was merely a precautionary decision, since the effects of taurine weren’t sufficiently known yet. For a few years Red-Bull contained arginine instead, until 2008 when they switched to good old taurine, since no noxious effects had been spotted. Since then, taurine has been a gregarious molecule, being added to plenty of sweet, awesome cans of concentrated alertness worldwide.

Here my opinion strikes up an opposition with the mother-blog to this blog, Culture Generale (I’m a mere translator and sponge of their delicious French knowledge) which states that Red-Bull is a pretty vile thing to drink; it probably approaches minor ecstasy for me, as far as food goes. I’ll pass on the warning not to chug barrels of the stuff, though.

The sunscreen factores ensures a level of protection against UVB rays (those who tan). The protection offered by an index will be identical whatever the product, its form or its country of marketing. Can be found next to these indices measure for UVA (those that give cancer) but no regulations oblige today.

The calculation is based on international recommendations Colipa. It is spread back portion of volunteer testers 2mg / cm ² of sunscreen, to expose them to a constant source of UVB during a specified period and increasing gradually to measure and test and measurement 24H later redness the epidermis. The sun protection factor equal to the ratio of the time it takes for a tester to blush in a protected area on the time it takes to get a sunburn on unprotected area.

For example, if a tester blushed after 2 hours (120 minutes) on a protected area when he did need 10 minutes to blush on an area not protected, the protection factor will be 12 (120 / 10 = 12). Such a tester who takes a sunburn in 5 minutes without protection, so he needs 3H (180 minutes) to take on a protected area, the index is 36 (180 / 5 = 36).

Finally, the IPS are indications that because all people are equal before the misdeeds of UVB, and pale skin will naturally protect themselves better than matte skin, but somehow as winter approaches, opt instead for a tube of self-tanner:)

Another neat detail: the little hole in the body of said Bic pen assures the same pressure both within and outside, helping avoid leaks and mistakes and similar catastrophes.

Source : BicWorld

While we’re talking about pens, have you noticed that once pens give up on life, you simply have to furiously write (as much as it is possible to furiously write) on a shoe sole and it’ll wondrously start again? It’s a phenomemon that’s caused by the friction of the rubber tread, which helps to dislodge any dried ink. This liberates the oppressed pen of the obstruction, letting it joyously get back to its function.

These enzymes, like the tricky rascals they are, transform the sulfoxydes into a third scoundrel on contact with air -highly unstable sulfenic acid. In turn, this summarily converts to a fourth substance called  (take a deep breath) propanethial-S-oxyde. This is actually a delightful mélange of sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfuric acid, and it propagates through the air around your dutiful culinary head and evokes the familiar tear reflex. This reaction is simply an involuntary defense mechanism which attempts to dilute and flush out the malevolant cocktail now aggregating on your eyeball.

There are a few techniques you can employ to minimise this odious occurence. Chopping an onion underwater deprives it of the oxygen needed to complete its devious eye-hating conversions; chilling or cooking the onion makes the process more agreeable as well. You can also turn on a fan to physically blow away the contemptible fumes. Or, if you’re intense enough, you could perhaps keep a pair of anti-onion fume goggles in the kitchen to form an air-tight and virtually impermeable optical sanctuary.

As for Europe, the importation and consumption of coffee commenced around the 16th century.

There are about 60 types of coffee; however, only two of these are regularly cultivated as ingredients in the ambrosial drink, those being the Arabica and the Robusta (Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora). Arabica is a small and extremely fragile plant whose fine, complex aroma is enhanced in proportion with the altitude at which its grown; fields of Arabica plants are scattered throughout South America and oriental Africa. The Robusta is a relatively stalwart and resistant plant and is capable of maturing in both tropical regions and at comparitively low altitudes.

A good coffee generally consists of 90 to 95% Arabica bean and 5 to 10% Robusta. The sensuous texture and musty fragrance of the latter allow for a thicker cream and a more striking and acute taste, making it an ideal ingredient for espressos and ristrettos. But note well, coffee blending is a fervently contentious domain, with its own sets of zealous purists (usually advocates of 100% Arabica cuppa’s) and visionary avante-garde experimenters.

Sources : Revue Nespresso, Wikipédia.
Image : La lène

“Oh please, rain is simply water, which has absolutely no odor to speak of”, you say. Indeed you’re right! But it’s not the rain that smells rainy, but rather the soil;  more precisely, that beloved characteristic smell is  attributed to an organic compound named geosmin, produced by the bacteria Streptomyces coelicolor (how I adore biology and its poetic monikers!).

What’s more, the human nose is ultra sensitive to this molecule- the infinitesimal amount of a few nanogams is sufficiently strong for our olfactive apparatus to register.

This discovery is due to six years of research by a team of chemists at Brown University. You might suppose that knowing that geosmin is responsible for that musky smell wouldn’t really advance humanity; au contraire, finding easier and more efficient ways of detecting the molecule has lead to the development of quicker ways of rendering water potable.

And that’s already much more scientific than your grandfather’s prescient rhumatism foreseeing the falling of rain.

Ear piercing: The story goes that sailors would don a golden earing so that they might sell it to finance their rescue in the event of a shipwreck. It’s also said that holes in the ear stimulate an acupunctural point thought to ameliorate vision, but this hasn’t been verified.

Nostril piercing has originated principally in India where it was reserved for the superior castes, particularly fiancés. In this case, the prenuptial couple would wear a small chain linking the nose piercing to an earring worn on the same side. This getup would be summarily taken off after the marriage ceremony.

Mayan and Aztec stories were already recounting tales of priests who would pierce their tongues to facilitate better communication with the gods. The origin of piercing the lips also comes from these two illustrious civilizations, who would adorn their fissured lips with jewels. In Central and South America, certain tribes pierce their lower lips and then largen the hole so that it might comfortably fit a decorative wooden plate display.

Piercing of the central strip of cartilage in the nose comes from New Guinea where the Papuans decorate this prized aperture with an ornament made of bone or wood.

Navel piercing seems to come from Egypt; only the pharoah and the royal family were permitted to wear it.

Piercing the nipple became popular thanks to Roman centurions. The guard closest to Ceasar bore a ring through his nipple fissure, a symbol of virility and great courage.

The researchers asked themselves why this might be so and according to them, this preference is an evolutionary vestige. In tribal times, women were usually entrusted with picking out and collecting berries; that is, red and ripe berries against the generally green tint of the bushes that propped up the succulent fruit. This theory would suffice in explaining the results of the study.

- If the horse has its two front paws in the air, this signies that the warrior was has died in combat. A true hero then!

- If the equine has a single front leg raised, it means that the rider was pretty badly beaten up in the course of battle but managed to get out before breathing his last breath on the battlefield. But he eventually died of the wounds inflicted during the brawl. A fighter nonetheless!

- And if your ungulate has his four hooves firmly planted on the platform, then your rider has done nothing glorious enough to be commemorated. Doubtless, he was well-known in his time and he probably died old, riche, and pot-bellied, of a natural death (perhaps by the ‘fires of love’).

Finally, if you happen to encounter an equestrian statue that has 3 legs in the air, then the cavalier was about to be in for a nasty fall flat on his face. But this is nothing but a personal interpretation.

More seriously, try think of these categories the next time you come across a famous statue.

P.S.: It seems that certain sculpteurs scrapped this code which they considered to be rather veiled and far from tacit. Don’t be shocked to discover a statue that isn’t in line with the rule.

American system:
1. Measure the length of your foot. It’s best to do this by setting your bare foot on a piece of paper and marking of the spots where your heel and toe touch, then measuring the distance between the two notches in inches with a ruler or tape measure.
2. Measure the width of your foot. With the same method, mark off the widest part of your foot and measure.

U.S. shoes are categorized by length. Here are two nifty tables for men’s and women’s sizes:
U.S. Men’s:
Size/Length (in inches)

* 6 = 9.25″
* 6.5 = 9.50″
* 7 = 9.70″
* 7.5 = 9.85″
* 8 = 10″
* 8.5 = 10.15″
* 9 = 10.25″
* 9.5 = 10.50″
* 10 = 10.70″
* 10.5 = 10.85″
* 11 = 11″
* 11.5 = 11.15″
* 12 = 11.25″
* 12.5 = 11.50″
* 13 = 11.70″

U.S. Women’s:
Size/Length (in inches)
* 5 = 8.70″
* 5.5 = 8.85″
* 6 = 9″
* 6.5 = 9.15″
* 7 = 9.25″
* 7.5 = 9.50″
* 8 = 9.70″
* 8.5 = 9.85″
* 9 = 10″
* 9.5 = 10.15″
* 10 = 10.25″
* 10.5 = 10.50″
* 11 = 10.70″
* 11.5 = 10.85″
* 12 = 11″

And if you’re based in the UK, or have an inordinate amount of interest in shoes sizes, here is the corresponding table of sizes based on foot length in cm.

Length of foot (cm)/U. K. shoe size

- 25,33 = 5.5
- 26,00 = 6.5
- 26,67 = 7.5
- 27,33 = 8.5
- 28,00 = 9.5
- 28,67 = 10.5
- 29,33     = 11.5
- 30,00 = 12.5
- 30,67 = 13.5
- 31,33 = 14.5
- 32 = 15.5
- 32,67 = 16.5
- 33,33 = 17.5

Happy shoe-ing.