Author name: Threeyzmonkeys

#866 What causes the bends?

What causes the bends? It is caused by the rapid release of nitrogen gas from the bloodstream. You don’t have any risk of the bends if you don’t go very deep. The bends becomes a risk if you dive any deeper than about 9 meters. It is caused because of the water pressure and because

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#864 What is a karat?

What is a karat? It is a way to measure the purity of gold. (In the UK, karat is spelled as carat – more on that later). However, a carat is a unit of mass that is 200 mg. It is used for measuring gemstones and pearls. Both Karats and carats are not used to

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#863 What was the Great Stink?

What was the Great Stink? It happened in Central London during June and August 1858, when the smell of the River Thames was unbearable. The city of London grew up at the point where the River Thames was narrow enough to bridge. There was a ford across the river before the first bridge was ever

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#861 Maurice Hilleman – microbiologist specializing in vaccinology.

During his career, Maurice Hilleman developed over 40 vaccinations. It is thought that his vaccinations save over 8 million lives every year. However, he was not interested in making a name for himself, only that his vaccines helped people. For this reason, despite having received his vaccines, very few people have ever heard of him.

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#860 Is palm oil bad?

Is palm oil bad? It depends. It is bad in terms of health and environmental costs, but it is good because it has more oil than other crops and provides an income for people who would otherwise be living in poverty. What is palm oil? It is made from the fruit of the African oil

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#859 What is survivorship bias?

What is survivorship bias? It is when researchers focus on the individuals that have passed a selection process, while forgetting those that have not. It is an error in logic. Survivorship bias doesn’t have to be about people who have survived, it can reference people or things that have survived a selection process. There are

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