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QUOTE OF THE DAY

Quote of the Day, Be Yourself

Health Benefits Of Fennel Essential Oil


The following statements are not proven facts. Use them as a guideline, but not as medical advice.

The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of fennel essential oil has been used to heal wounds, reduce and prevent spasms in the gut, relieve gas and constipation, treat digestive issues, and aid in weight loss.


Benefits of Fennel Essential Oil
Fennel Essential Oil has lots of benefits

1 - Heals Wounds  
The essential oil of fennel has certain compounds which contribute to its antiseptic properties and protects wounds from becoming septic. Fennel essential oil is also effective in preventing incisions from becoming septic, particularly after surgeries, Caesarian deliveries, and other serious wounds.


2 - Relieves Spasms  
Spasms are abnormal contractions occurring in respiratory tracts, intestines, muscles, or nerves. The spasms can cause continuous coughing, hiccups, acute pain and a pulling sensation in the intestines, cramps, muscle pulls, convulsions, or epileptic attacks. If not treated in time, a patient may have acute pain in the intestines or breathing difficulties. Fennel essential oil has a relaxing effect on nerves, muscles, intestines, and the respiratory system and it pacifies spasmodic attacks, giving quick relief.


3 - Eases Bowel Movements  
Fennel essential oil acts similar to purgative but is a little milder on the intestinal peristaltic motion. Fennel oil can help to clear the bowels and constipation. It protects the stomach from infections and ulcers and maintains the normal function of digestive acids and bile secretions.  Fennel oil is very good for people with chronic gas trouble. It helps gases escape from the intestines and can keep additional gas from forming.  


4- Kills Worms 
Fennel essential oil is an effective worm destroyer. It kills the worms and their spores in the intestines and the excretory tracts. This is great for children who frequently suffer from parasitic worms and can prevent malnourishment or stunted growth.


5 - Stimulates Urination - Diuretic
Fennel oil increases the frequency of urination and the quantity of urine, helping to not only remove excess water, sodium, uric acid, bile salts, and other toxic elements from the body but also lowering blood pressure, cleansing the kidneys and reducing fat. 

A word of caution: if you are not suffering from swelling or accumulation of water in the body, then you should drink more water when taking fennel oil since going to the bathroom so much can cause dehydration.

6 - Menopause and Menstruation 
Women with irregular, obstructed or painful menstruation can benefit from using fennel essential oil. Not only does it help to clear obstructed menses and make them regular, but it also gives relief from the other symptoms associated with periods such as headaches, pain in the abdominal area, dizziness, and mood swings. It can also help to prevent untimely or premature menopause.

7 - Promotes Lactation 
For lactating mothers, fennel essential oil can increase the amount of milk by boosting the production of estrogen. This benefits the baby as well as the mother and also protects the baby from flatulence, indigestion, and gas, which are very common in infants.

8 - Laxative  
Fennel oil is a good laxative and benefits those who have both chronic and acute constipation. However, unlike synthetic laxatives, it has no side effects and it can be used regularly.


9 - Healthy Spleen  
The spleen plays a vital role in our body governing the production of lymphocytes and red blood cells. Fennel oil helps to maintain the spleen.


Unproven Benefits

Fennel oil reduces obesity, wrinkles on the skin, and can be used to treat insect bites and colic, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, hiccups, dyspepsia, rheumatism, and excess cellulite.


Word of Caution
An organic component called trans-anethole, present in fennel essential oil, boosts the production of the estrogen hormone.  Although this is beneficial for lactating mothers, it is harmful to pregnant women and women with breast or uterine cancer or tumor, since excess estrogen is the main cause of such cancers. 


ALERT: In heavy doses, fennel essential oil may have narcotic effects and can result in convulsions, hallucinations, and mental imbalance. People suffering from epilepsy or with a history of that condition should avoid using fennel essential oil.


Fennel oil blends well with these oils: Sandalwood, Lavender, Geranium, and Rose.


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QUOTE OF THE DAY

QUOTE OF THE DAY Tact is
Tact

Queen Victoria's Assassins



Queen Victoria 's would-be assassins all gave different reasons - but most did it for the Fame. 


But that fame worked both ways - for them and for Victoria. 


The attempts on her life and her response to them made Victoria better known and better liked. Victoria said, “It is worth being shot at, to see how much one is loved.” 

It was a shot of much-needed good Public Relations for a throne whose previous monarchs had been unpopular.

None of the would-be assassins made it into the history books like John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln’s murderer. 


All of them lived for many years after trying to kill the Queen.  They came from nowhere, were in the public eye for a short time following their attempts, then disappeared back into obscurity.

Most of them pleaded insanity at their trials which helped to strengthen how future insanity pleas were legally prosecuted.  

After the assassination attempt by Roderick MacLean in 1882 by firing a revolver at her in a train station, Victoria made sure the legal definition of insanity well defined.

Only one attempt on Victoria’s life actually injured her, and it was the only one not made with a gun. 

In 1850, an ex-soldier named Robert Pate hit her over the head with an iron-tipped cane while she was in the courtyard of her home, leaving the Queen with a black eye, a welt and a scar.  

However, she appeared two hours later in Covent Garden to prove that she was well and that her injury wouldn’t stop her from seeing her subjects.

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Quote of the Day

QUOTE OF THE DAY - the easy road


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The Deadly Dare

In 2010 Sam Ballard, a 20-year-old aspiring Australian rugby player, was at a party with friends. He was dared to swallow a live slug from the garden, and Sam took the dare. His friends later said he seemed unaffected because he didn't get sick or act any differently after swallowing the slug.  


Slugs carry parasites which, when eaten, can lead to infections in humans
Slugs are not meant to be eaten

A few days after swallowing the slug, Sam started getting pains in his legs. He was vomiting and he complained of dizziness.  His family took him to the hospital where he only got worse and worse. After doctors ran tests, it turned out that it wasn't just any old slug that he swallowed. 


This one had a parasite called rat lungworm which the slug probably picked up from eating rat droppings. 


Rat lungworm infection can progress into bacterial meningitis, causing symptoms like dizziness, headaches, nausea, weird sensations in arms and legs, brain damage and, eventually, paralysis.  


Within a few hours after arriving at the hospital, Sam lapsed into a coma. He was placed in a nursing home because he required 24/7 care.    While in a coma, Australia's National Disability Insurance cut off his benefits. 


His family took his story to the media and they requested donations to pay for his care. The donations trickled in. When Sam finally woke up from coma 420 days later, he learned his career aspirations to be a rugby player were crushed because he was permanently paralyzed from the neck down.  

After much media publicity, the Australian government reversed their decision but they only approved him for half the money of what his previous benefit had been. 


Split view of Sam Ballard then and now
On the left, Sam Ballard at present day. On the right, Sam Ballard during his heyday.




Sam Ballard requires 24/7 care



After 8 years of dealing with seizures, infections, paralysis, pressure sores and other symptoms, Sam Ballard died on November 2, 2018, at age 28. 


Your takeaways from this story: 

1 - Teach your children to use common sense when accepting a dare.  

2 - If the dare calls for eating something that isn't on your regular diet, don't do it. 

3 - Never eat, swallow or handle anything that could be carrying a parasite - like slugs, snails, land crabs, freshwater shrimp, or frogs to name a few.  

4 - Don't eat or handle vegetables that are grown in a slug's environment.  

5 - Wash your hands often if you come into contact with any of the above mentioned.

6 - Inspect your eating utensils and make sure they are thoroughly clean when they have been in contact with frogs, snails, slugs, etc. 


Sources: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/11/05/young-rugby-player-ate-slug-mates-dare-now-hes-dead



The boys who dared Sam
https://www.mamamia.com.au/sam-ballards-life-changed-after-slug/



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QUOTE OF THE DAY

You've got to take a chance

Legally Married To A Dead Person

A person can legally marry a dead person in France and it's legal! This type of marriage is called a posthumous marriage or necrogamy. Similar forms of marriage are also permitted in Sudan and China.



Necrogamy is legal in some countries
Legally marrying the dead is called necrogamy



During World War I, there were women who used a proxy to marry soldiers that had died weeks earlier. For civilians, posthumous marriage originated in the 1950's, when 400 people were killed in France after a dam broke. 


André Capra was killed in the disaster and he was engaged to Iréne Jodart.  Irene pleaded with French President Charles de Gaulle to let her continue with her marriage plans even though her fiancé had died. She had huge support from the media and within months, she was allowed to marry her dead fiancé. 

After the dam tragedy, France’s parliament made these marriages legal with their own law and since then, literally hundreds of women have formally filed for as postmortem marriages.


As with anything, there are Rules:


1 - Anyone in France who wants to file for posthumous marriage must send a request to the President of France, who forwards it to the Justice Minister, who forwards it to the prosecutor for the surviving member’s district.


2 - If the couple had originally planned on getting married and if the family of the deceased approves, the prosecutor sends the application back to the President. One out of every four applicants for posthumous marriage is rejected.


3 - Examples of ways to legally show good intentions are for the man to have posted banns (official wedding announcements) at the local courthouse or written permission from a soldier's commanding officer.


4 - Requests also include records that show a serious cause for the marriage - such as the birth of a child or the death of the fiancé.


5 - Pregnancy alone or a letter that promises marriage is not enough, partly because such letters have a reputation for being illegitimate.


6 - The marriage date always goes back to the day before the deceased spouse died.


7 - Even if the couple were engaged and had published banns, a posthumous marriage won't automatically happen, partly because living engaged couples can (and do) change their minds at the last minute.


8 - A posthumous marriage can also be denied based on the testimony of a trustworthy individual. The judge’s role is to make sure that the paperwork has been properly filled out. The judge cannot change or question the authority of the documents.




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Miners Transportation System

Young employees taking a joy ride
Miners Transportation System
Young employees taking a joy ride



Kimberly Diamond Mine in the Northern Province of South Africa was the diamond epicenter back in 1869 until it finally shut down in 1914. Workers devised this system to transport workers to the dig site.

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Store Security

Guard dogs in department stores


Before alarm systems, Macy's Department Store in New York City used dogs like the Doberman Pinscher to guard their premises.  Known for their high pitch bark that equally matched their fierceness, they were able to scare off even the boldest trespasser.   

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Painting Tall Buildings

Painters painting Woolworth's Building in New York City 1926


In 1926, these painters were painting the Woolworth Building in New York City.  Buildings were sometimes painted to give them a more presentable appearance, but it wasn't typical to paint all of them. This practice was seen mostly among the wealthier companies.  

Usually when we look up from ground level and see these guys, we know them as professional window washers hanging by a crane.  

But on this day, perhaps they doubled as painters.  The picture is iconic mostly because it was preserved so well and it wasn't everyday in 1926 that one saw men hanging off the side of a tall building.

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Photographing The Dead

In the 1850s, families in Victorian England and in some parts of America, began to commission photographers to make portraits of their deceased loved ones. This came to be known as "postmortem photography." 


Even today in the 21st century, you might see someone at a wake gingerly making their way up to the casket with their camera, hoping to snap one last picture of their loved one as they lay peacefully in their coffin. 


Portraits of the dead dressed in Sunday best
Usually dressed in their best laying out clothes - their Sunday Best  


It became common practice to photograph the dead before burial using pins, tools, and clamps to prop up and hold the body in place until the portrait was taken.


A Personal Story: 
I can remember being a young child of about 10 years old, paging through our family photo albums. I found an yellow dog-eared photograph of a newborn baby, laying in a small coffin and dressed in her christening outfit. I didn't recognize the name of the long-dead infant which was hand-printed on the back of the picture, along with the birth date and death date. At the time, I thought that it was morbid to take a picture of a dead baby to keep in photo albums. 


Years later when I was about 29 years old, I accompanied my fiance' to the viewing and funeral of his sister who had died with her newborn baby in a house fire. Both she and her infant lay in the same casket and he took a picture to show his grandmother who was in a nursing home. It was only then that I remembered the picture of the baby in our family photo albums when I was 10.  As an adult, I knew that the parents took some comfort when they looked at the picture from time to time and that it reminded them that their baby girl really did exist long ago when years later there was nothing but the photograph to mark her place in family history.



******

Because Victorians died young and of injuries and infections that modern medicine helped abolish, there were elaborate grieving rituals to give meaning to the lives of their loved ones.

Victorians would haul their dead out of a coffin, prop them up on stands, and take a picture that were worth a thousand words. These prop stands helped corpses look alive, and allowed the living to pose with their dead family members. Or so the story goes.


In recent years, whether categorized in error or intentionally mislabeled to sell for a profit, faked postmortem photos have become widespread on the Internet. 

They fill online galleries of Victorian oddities and are on Pinterest and Instagram. Some quasi-reputable websites have contributed to the myths by vouching that the photos are real.   


Postmortem posing stands are similar to microphone and guitar stands. Not only were they used to prop up the dead, professional photographers used them with their live models and family portraits to help them hold still when it took ten to thirty minutes to get the exposure just right before snapping the picture.  

By 1839, when the daguerreotype was invented, the longest exposures were a minute and a half. By the 1850s, they were three to eight seconds and posing stands became less in use.


Not all postmortem pictures were of dead people. Some of those people were alive and were "posed" because postmortem pictures can bring a pretty penny on both eBay and Etsy. 

People are easily duped because the majority of armchair collectors are not going to consult a patent library to see how authentic the pictures are before clicking the Buy-It-Now button. 


The more misinformation there is online, the more likely it is that someone’s “research” will turn up myths rather than facts.

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The 1915 New York Subway Disaster

It was rush hour in New York City on the morning of January 6, 1915, when the worst disaster, up until that time, occurred in the underground subway system, injuring 210 people and killing one.  





NY Times headlines 1 dead, 210 hurt in subway fire
The New York Times recapped the story the 
next day on  January 7, 1915






Insulation that was wrapped around two electrical cables which provided electric power to the midtown subway system suddenly shorted out, causing a fire and a blackout. The cables were not fireproof.  Toxic smoke permeated the underground tunnels that, lacking electricity, were plunged into darkness.   






Over 2500 people were trapped inside very smoky subway cars and on station platforms. Feelings of panic and desperation grew.  Everyone had one objective - to get above ground to fresh air and safety.




The firemen who were working the underground part of the rescue found passengers struggling to get out of trains. However, with no electricity, passengers found it very hard to pry open the train doors.  Other victims lay on the floors of the train cars having been asphyxiated from the smoke were getting trampled on. 




Firefighters were overcome with smoke
Firemen recovering from smoke inhalation
January 6, 1915







Firemen handed people onto ladders to bring them up to street-level for emergency aid.  Some victims had to be hospitalized for smoke inhalation.  



Firemen who were working at street level attempted to break through the tops of subway cars.  





NY Subway fire was fought by breaking through the subway roof
Breaking through the subway roof from the street 
January 6, 1915





Firemen who were working the underground part of the rescue quickly found themselves overcome with smoke and came up to street-level to get medical aid.  




NY Firemen take a break at street level from massive amount of smoke
Firemen resting on street level
January 6, 1915



 
As soon as they recovered, they went back to help passengers find their way out the heavy acrid smoke. 


          
The scene above ground was bedlam as well. Police held back the rubber-neckers - spectators - because they were pushing and shoving others and looking for relatives who rode the subway to get to their workplaces. 




Spectators looking through pavement grills at fire in subway below
Crowds of spectators looking through sidewalk
grills at the commotion on the subway below





Streetside spectators in automobiles caused traffic jams as they slowed down to watch the scene.  




Street view of slow moving traffic around subway fire January 6, 1915
The street scene above the subway on January 6, 1915




  
On the street, spectators abandoned their cars to watch the firemen bring victims up to the street.


     
The power was restored to the underground by 4:00pm, just in time for the evening rush hour.  


However, subway service was messed up for a few days until trains returned to their normal schedules.



    
Although there was one death, everyone agreed that this could have been a much bigger tragedy.  Some armchair experts believe this disaster could have been avoided by using fireproof insulation.   


But as Frank Hedley, general manager of the Interborough Rapid Transit System said:  "There is nothing known which will prevent the recurrence of short circuits.  New York received a warning, the next occurrence may be a far more serious loss of life due to the same cause - suffocation. No time should be lost remedying the most serious defect - lack of suitable ventilation at all times."





Here are the headlines of some of the newspapers who covered the story.  The New York Times recapped the story the next day, January 7, 1915, then sort of downplayed it after the crisis was over and services were restored.


The New York Times January 7, 1915 with stories laying blame



                    
The Evening World reported that experts were brought in to remove all perils from the tunnel to prevent another subway disaster.





Headlines of The Evening World on January 6, 1915 detailing the subway fire
The Evening World headlines January 7, 1915 stirring up
public fears






The Star Independent reported that preparations were being made to dynamite the streets to let air into the subway tunnels.


 
Headlines of The Star Independent January 7, 1915 about subway fire
The Star Independent headlines and details of one death












The above video clip is an interesting 2-minute video about the origins of the New York subway.  Take note of the vintage 1915's clothing as people got on and off the subway trains.


            
If you are really interested in history, this is a 46-minute documentary from 1994 on the History Channel about the origins and building of the New York City subway system with Roger Mudd and Jack Perkins.






                


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Philippines National Flag





Philippines National Flag flies different during war time
Philippines National Flag


The Philippines national flag is the only national flag that is flown differently during times of war and times of peace.   The flag's rectangular design consists of a white equilateral triangle, which symbolizing liberty, equality, and fraternity; a horizontal blue stripe which symbolizes peace, truth, and justice; and a horizontal red stripe for patriotism and valor.





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Short Women Likely To Be Killed By Imploding Air Bags


In a news story from November 1996 in the Baltimore Sun:

When Susan Hayes skidded off the road into a drainage ditch in 1996, the air bag in her Mazda Miata slammed into her head and broke her neck.  The 5-foot-2-inch, 29-year-old Baltimore woman spent six weeks in a coma and eight weeks in intensive care. She was wearing a seat belt in the crash.


It was the air bag that caused her the most injuries. Her 4-year-old son was in the front passenger seat next to her with a seat belt, but the seat did not have an air bag option.   


While the risk that air bags pose to children has attracted national attention, that danger has overshadowed the fact that bags also can injure and kill adults, particularly short women.


NHTSA warns imploding airbags can break necks of women who are short
Imploding airbag broke Susan Hayes neck




The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has warned for some time that women, especially those over 70 who may be frail, are among the adults most at risk of being killed by air bags.

Deaths from air bags are also likely to be under-reported, partly because the NHTSA has focused on reducing the deaths of children from air bags.


Because air bags are required to pass a federal safety test involving an unbelted dummy representing a 164-pound adult male in a 30 mph crash, air bags deploy with explosive force, even in fender benders.


The air bags, which come out of the dashboard or steering column at 200 mph, have saved hundreds of lives, but the powerful devices also are blamed for the deaths of at least 47 people who would otherwise have walked away from their accidents.


You can read more about short people and the challenges of driving here:




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