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Ball's Pyramid - Australia's Natural Wonder
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| Ball's Pyramid, home to giant insects, is in New South Wales |
Ball's Pyramid is an incredible piece of New South Wales geology that many Australians have never heard of.
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| Ball’s Pyramid is about 23km east of Lord Howe Island. |
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| More than a kilometer long and200m wide, Ball's Pyramid is 0.5% in size of the once mammoth volcano that stood here 7 million years ago |
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| Another view showing how vast it is. |
In 1964, climber David Roots photographed a dead "stick insect" on the Pyramid. Roots was part of a group led by Dick Smith who were attempting to become the first to climb the island.
Dick Smith’s group didn’t quite make it to the top after being forced to turn around because of bad weather, but a year later a number of climbers from Sydney University successfully made it all the way.
Determined to reach the summit, Smith returned in 1980 and made it to the top where he erected a flag given to him by then premier Neville Wran.
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| The ‘tree lobster’ insect, which is as large as a human hand, had somehow survived despite the lack of food and the harsh conditions |
It was determined that the creature was an extinct plasmid that had been driven from Lord Howe Island by a rat infestation in the 1930's.
Smith’s love of Ball's Pyramid saw him gladly pay for the construction of a detailed scale model of the island in 2017 which marked the 50th anniversary of that first attempted climb.
Almost 40 years later, a group from the National Parks and Wildlife Service made the startling discovery that the insects were still living on Ball's Pyramid. Most of them were collected and taken to Melbourne Zoo in 2001 to become part of a breeding program.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2108736/Extinct-tree-lobster-alive-clinging-Pacific-rock-taller-Empire-State-Building.html
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Our Newest Website
Today we want to use this blog to redirect your attention to our newest website called Break Glass In Case Of Emergency. The premise of the site is to enlighten the reader what happens after an event.
The first post explores lottery winners, what they can expect to pay in taxes and how to get out of paying taxes if you live in the right state.
Here's the link. Leave a comment with your opinion.
https://inemergencybreakglass.blogspot.com/2019/06/be-careful-what-you-wish-for.html
The first post explores lottery winners, what they can expect to pay in taxes and how to get out of paying taxes if you live in the right state.
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| What's the catch to collect the prize money? |
The first post also explores winners of prizes on game shows and contest winners of the Publishers Clearing House contest.
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| It's all fun and games, but at what price?
Do the contestants on The Price Is Right Show really get to take home thousands of dollars of prizes? The answer might surprise you. |
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| Drew Carey, host of The Price Is Right |
Here's the link. Leave a comment with your opinion.
https://inemergencybreakglass.blogspot.com/2019/06/be-careful-what-you-wish-for.html
QUOTE OF THE DAY
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| https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com |
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The Quagga
The Quagga (pronounced "kwa-ha-ha) was a subspecies of the plains zebra that lived in South Africa until the late 19th century.
Quaggas became extinct around 1878 and the last captive died in Amsterdam in 1883.
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| Taken at the Zoological Society of London Zoo in 1870 |
The only Quagga to have been photographed alive was this picture of a Quagga mare, taken at the Zoological Society of London's Zoo in Regent's Park in 1870.
It is different only in that it has brown and white stripes (not black and white) on the front part of the body. The back was brown with no stripes.
Quaggas were pretty long (8 1/2 feet) but not tall (a little over 4 feet). They were found in big herds in the Orange Free State in South Africa and in the Karoo of Cape Province.
Quaggas were heavily hunted after the Dutch settlement. Attempts to breed them in European zoos was not successful.
In 1984, the Quagga was the first extinct animal to have its DNA analyzed. The Quagga Project is trying to selectively breed Burchell's zebras.
You can read more about the Quagga at Wikipedia.
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Loved The Movie, Bought The House
This house in North Carolina was the setting for the romantic movie "Nights in Rodanthe" starring Richard Gere. It was originally built in the 1980s. At that time, there was plenty of beach area between the house and the water; in fact, there was about 400 feet of beach.
Over the years, the storms, hurricanes, and erosion wreaked havoc on the beach so that the house was literally sitting in the water.
After the movie was completed in 2008, the house was condemned by the city.
Along came a couple who absolutely loved the movie and they wanted to buy the house because they heard it was condemned and they wanted to try to save it. After jumping through some governmental hoops, they were successful in purchasing the house. Then because of beach erosion, they had to move it across the beach a short distance. They took their time to do renovations and they are now using it as a romantic vacation rental.
You are here:
https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com/2019/06/loved-movie-bought-house.html
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| The house from the movie "Nights in Rodanthe" |
Over the years, the storms, hurricanes, and erosion wreaked havoc on the beach so that the house was literally sitting in the water.
After the movie was completed in 2008, the house was condemned by the city.
Along came a couple who absolutely loved the movie and they wanted to buy the house because they heard it was condemned and they wanted to try to save it. After jumping through some governmental hoops, they were successful in purchasing the house. Then because of beach erosion, they had to move it across the beach a short distance. They took their time to do renovations and they are now using it as a romantic vacation rental.
You are here:
https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com/2019/06/loved-movie-bought-house.html
Human Chess Game
In 1924, there was a rather unconventional chess match being played in Leningrad Square (St. Petersburg, Russia) by Peter Romanovsky and Ilya Rabinovich, who were two popular chess masters of the 1920s.
The players used the telephone to call each other to say what the moves they had made. Then humans on horses acting as chess pieces were directed to move across a huge chessboard covering Palace Square.
Members of the Soviet Union's Red Army served as the black pieces; members of the Soviet Navy were the white pieces.
Each match lasted a laborious five hours. With relaying moves using the telephone and instructing humans to make the moves, it's a wonder it didn't last much longer than five hours.
The game was primarily designed to promote interest among Russian youth that would ultimately lead to world-wide competitions. This human chess game was so popular that it became an annual event.
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https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com/2019/06/human-chess-game.html
Brain Teasing Games Can Slow Down Mental Decay
Playing brain-teasing games for just two hours a week may help slow the progression of dementia and other mind-altering diseases.
Examining the brains of the two groups using an MRI machine, they found that the gaming group had a rise in gray matter in the right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex, and the cerebellum -- the areas of the brain responsible for spatial navigation, memory formation, strategic planning and fine motor skills in the hands.
While previous studies have shown differences in the brain structure of video gamers, the present study can demonstrate the direct causal link between video gaming and a volumetric brain increase. This proves that specific brain regions can be trained by means of video games.
It's possible that very soon we will see video games potentially be used as a therapy for patients with mental disorders that cause brain regions to shrink or be altered.
Such diseases include schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer's.
"Whether it's a specially manufactured game or something like 'World of Warcraft,' games are cognitively complex and require mental energy and abilities to play them," said Jason Allaire, an associate professor in the department of psychology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, who was not involved with the study. "Whenever you do anything that requires mental energy, you're exercising your abilities -- it's just like if you exercise your muscles, you get stronger."
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https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com/2019/06/brain-teasing-games-can-slow-down.html
So all those people who say your brain is going to go to mush, tell them it isn't true. To study how video games affect the brain, German researchers conducted a study, which was released in July 2013. They asked 23 adults with a median age of 25 to play the game "Super Mario 64" for 30 minutes a day, over a period of two months. A second separate control group did not play video games at all.
Examining the brains of the two groups using an MRI machine, they found that the gaming group had a rise in gray matter in the right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex, and the cerebellum -- the areas of the brain responsible for spatial navigation, memory formation, strategic planning and fine motor skills in the hands.
While previous studies have shown differences in the brain structure of video gamers, the present study can demonstrate the direct causal link between video gaming and a volumetric brain increase. This proves that specific brain regions can be trained by means of video games.
It's possible that very soon we will see video games potentially be used as a therapy for patients with mental disorders that cause brain regions to shrink or be altered.
Such diseases include schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer's.
"Whether it's a specially manufactured game or something like 'World of Warcraft,' games are cognitively complex and require mental energy and abilities to play them," said Jason Allaire, an associate professor in the department of psychology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, who was not involved with the study. "Whenever you do anything that requires mental energy, you're exercising your abilities -- it's just like if you exercise your muscles, you get stronger."
https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com/2019/06/brain-teasing-games-can-slow-down.html
Is This What King Tut Really Looked Like?
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| King Tut |
King Tutankhamun - King Tut - was born in 1341 BC during the New Empire Period and died in 1323 BC (in that era, the years go backward). He was born with some physical deformities that hindered his ability to walk as he got older, forcing him to use a cane or be seated at most functions. He reigned as Pharaoh for about ten years and died when he was 17.
His tomb laid relatively undisturbed for over 3,000 years until 1922 when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered it while on a funded expedition. To his surprise, the tomb was almost completely intact.
Inside the tomb, Carter found many expensive artifacts and treasures had been entombed with King Tut, meant for him to enjoy in his afterlife, as per the custom.
When we think of King Tut, we picture the mask image as seen in the above picture. For years, scientists and archaeologists have wondered what the boy king really looked like because artistic renderings were very different from each other, with no two being the same.
What King Tut looked like physically was directly related to his lifestyle and the massive amount of inbreeding that was acceptable between first and second generational family members. His whole life, he suffered from illnesses that scientists believe were directly related to inbreeding.
Tut's Parentage
Akhenaten, Tut's father, married a woman who, for centuries, was believed to be Tut's mother. But findings from a DNA study say that it isn't true and that Tut's mother was likely one of Akhenaten's long line of consorts, five of whom were his own sisters. Her real name is not known. She is referred to as "The Younger Lady" in Egyptian documents.
Tut's Wife's Parentage
A 2010 study revealed the parentage of King Tut's wife, Ankhesenpaaten. Her father was Tut's own father and her mother was one of his consorts named Nefertiti. This means that King Tut married his half-sister.
When she married King Tut, she changed her name to Ankhesenamun. They had two daughters, but both died in infancy.
Controversy has long surrounded King Tut's cause of death. Egyptian experts claim King Tut was aware that he was surrounded by bad actors among his advisors, and that he always had to be on guard for assassination attempts. Since Tut had no heirs waiting in the wings, the family line would come to an end with his death, and any number of advisors thought they could step into the job.
Not so fast. For King Tut's wife to keep the queenly status she had become accustomed to as the wife of Pharaoh, her only option was to marry again. Then that man could take over as Pharaoh, which is exactly what happened.
In 2008, scientists studied the DNA of Tut's mummy to learn more about Tut's life, health, and possibly shed more light on his cause of death.
The scientists discovered that, for a young man, he had quite a few health problems, and they felt that some of them may have contributed to his death.
Tut was about 5 foot 6 inches tall, which is considered average height for a young teen who was probably still in his growing phase. However, his growth could have been stunted by reoccurring malaria which he suffered with for most of his life. Malaria would have also hindered his immune system's ability to heal from infections and broken bones.
In 2011, another study revealed that Tut was most likely physically challenged so that he had to walk with a cane when he was able to walk.
Tut had Kohler's Disease which is a fragile bone disorder that causes infections to heal slowly. Comfort comes with avoiding weight-bearing activities which probably accounts for why there are so many images of Tut in a seated position, whether he was practicing archery, attending festivals and military campaigns, supervising the building of temples and his tomb.
At the time of his death, King Tut had a broken thighbone and was in the throes of a bout of malaria. Scientists say there was evidence he had a club foot, a trait that is typical of inbreeding between first and second generation family members.
The 2011 study revealed that one of Tut's daughter was born prematurely at around six months of pregnancy. The other daughter was full-term pregnancy but she had scoliosis like her father, as well as spina bifida and Sprengel's deformity.
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| Scientists say this is what King Tut looked like |
Nefertiti and her husband the Pharaoh Akhenaten were known for the religious revolution in Egypt, worshipping just one god named Aten, who was a sun disc.
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| Bust of Nefertiti |
Based on the sculpture, Nefertiti was considered beautiful with her defined facial features. With 3D imaging technology, experts were able to determine what they think Nefertiti may have looked like.
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| This is what scientists say Nefertiti looked like in life |
First, the mummy’s face was scanned, then paleoartist Elisabeth Daynes took about 500 hours to recreate the face on the bust. This project seems to prove that “The Younger Lady” was indeed Nefertiti. Upon its release, the image caused much controversy over the supposed color of Nefertiti’s skin.
So what do you think? Your comments are welcomed.
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https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com/2019/05/is-this-what-king-tut-really-looked-like.html
Dentures in the 18th Century
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| A dentist's advertisement for real human teeth |
The above advertisement from 1792 may seem funny to some of our readers, but it was a reality for dentists who had no other option but to advertise for human teeth so they could make dentures for their wealthy patients.
Upper-class British aristocrats had terrible teeth due to their overconsumption of sugar and sugary foods, liquor, and wines - all of which rotted and discolored their teeth. They tried to whiten their teeth but the procedure ended up destroying the enamel. They needed dentures, preferred to have human teeth, and were willing to pay high prices because human teeth were in very short supply.
Grave robbers jumped at the chance to make some money and used pliers to yank out the teeth of any dead soldier as long as the teeth were in good condition to sell them.
Once the dentist bought the teeth, they would be boiled, the ends chopped off, and shaved down to shape them to fit in with the other teeth on the dentures.
According to a June 2015 BBC article, dentists would acquire the live human teeth, fasten them with rivets onto ivory dentures, then file them to make them uniform.
This next picture shows teeth that were taken from dead Waterloo soldiers and strung up on piano wire to be offered for sale. By 1832, human teeth or "Waterloo teeth" were starting to phase out because of advancements in dentistry.
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| Dentures used to be made from real teeth of soldiers who died at Waterloo |
An ivory denture with human teeth could cost over £100.
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| In early days of dentistry, dentures were held together with springs |
But there were a few rural dentists and jewelers who still advertised as late as 1851 for human teeth.
At the time of the Battle of Waterloo, says the BDA Museum's Rachel Bairsto, anyone could call themselves a dentist and give you medical advice about your teeth. You might even go to a jeweler to get your dentures adjusted.
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Oldest Monks In The United Kingdom
In the 1880s, in Somerset, United Kingdom, a group of archaeologists unearthed the ruins of a cemetery attached to Beckery Chapel, which was a medieval monastery from the Middle Ages. Since its finding, the cemetery has been hailed as the oldest monk cemetery in the UK.
About two hundred years later, during an excavation in the 1960s, archaeologists found around 60 bodies in the ruins. Only one was a woman, which supports the claim that this was indeed a monastic cemetery.
To properly date the skeletons, they knew they would have to wait for technology to advance a little more, so the age of the remains was guestimated.
In 2016, the remains were finally carbon dated and they were from medieval times around 406 AD to 544 AD.
Archaeologists had expected the graveyard to be as old as the chapel but further excavation showed that the chapel was far older than the skeletons and much older than the dates that had been in place since the 1880s.
The finding of the monk skeletons made them among the oldest monks in the United Kingdom. The graveyard also showed signs that the monastery was in use for quite some time.
From the 7th to the 9th centuries, the public was allowed to be buried in the cemetery. Then at the end of the 9th century, the Vikings overran Somerset making Beckery Chapel unusable. This explains why there were no more monks after 544 AD.
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https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com/2019/05/oldest-monks-in-united-kingdom.html
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| The dig site at Beckery Chapel |
About two hundred years later, during an excavation in the 1960s, archaeologists found around 60 bodies in the ruins. Only one was a woman, which supports the claim that this was indeed a monastic cemetery.
To properly date the skeletons, they knew they would have to wait for technology to advance a little more, so the age of the remains was guestimated.
In 2016, the remains were finally carbon dated and they were from medieval times around 406 AD to 544 AD.
Archaeologists had expected the graveyard to be as old as the chapel but further excavation showed that the chapel was far older than the skeletons and much older than the dates that had been in place since the 1880s.
The finding of the monk skeletons made them among the oldest monks in the United Kingdom. The graveyard also showed signs that the monastery was in use for quite some time.
From the 7th to the 9th centuries, the public was allowed to be buried in the cemetery. Then at the end of the 9th century, the Vikings overran Somerset making Beckery Chapel unusable. This explains why there were no more monks after 544 AD.
Please share our posts with your Facebook friends so they can enjoy our websites too. Here is the link to this post. Thanks!
https://nowyouknowthis2.blogspot.com/2019/05/oldest-monks-in-united-kingdom.html
History of Oleomargarine
For those of you who are too young to remember when oleomargarine made its first appearance in your house, this one is for you! Perhaps you recognize "margarine" but not the "oleo" part. Oleomargarine is artificial butter. It is made from the yellow, tasteless and odorless oil that is obtained from beef suet. Oleomargarine was shortened to "margarine" shortly after it became available in the United States in 1851.
In 1869, Napoleon III sponsored a contest where he asked French citizens to invent or create an affordable butter substitute that was less perishable than real butter. He had a good reason. France was going through a butter shortage and Napoleon III wanted a cheaper but buttery tasting product to feed French troops and a product that lower classes would be able to afford.
Hippolyte Mege-Mouries, a French chemist, won the contest. He was well-known to Napoleon III. He was working at la Ferme Impériale de la Faisanderie, which was Napoleon III's private farm in Vincennes near Paris. Formerly he worked as a pharmacist for royal supported Hotel Dieu Hospital in Paris where he was published in medical journals, most notably, his findings of experiments that reduced the side effects of a syphilis medication.
Mege-Mouries was no stranger to obtaining patents. He held patents for effervescent tablets, for techniques in papermaking, for sugar refining, and for the tanning of leather using egg yolks.
He had been experimenting with margaric acid, a new fatty acid discovered in 1813 by Michel Eugene Chevreul, his former teacher.
He mixed processed beef tallow with skimmed milk and created his product which he called "oleomargarine." As requested, it was less perishable than butter and far cheaper. The oil is placed in churns, with one-fifth of its weight of sour milk and churned until an emulsion is formed, a red-orange dye is added to give it the right color. It is then cooled and salted like common butter. It is estimated four thousand tons (eight million pounds) have been consumed in this country in 2018.
Mege-Mouries received a prize for winning the contest and he used it to open his own manufacturing company outside of Paris. However, there were no more shortages of butter and butter manufacturers were back to enjoying high sales of their product which was exported to England and other countries. Mege-Mouries felt his sales suffered because butter exports eliminated the need for people to buy oleomargarine.
In 1951, the W.E. Dennison Company received U.S. Patent 2,553,513 for a method to place a capsule of yellow dye inside a plastic package of margarine. After purchase, the capsule was broken inside the package, and then the package was kneaded to distribute the dye. Around 1955, the artificial coloring laws were repealed, so that margarine could now be legally sold with coloring so it looked like butter.
This next part might make you reconsider or at least cut down how much margarine you consume when you see how it is processed.
With all the hype about eating heart healthy and the pros and cons of butter and margarine, the following sites might be of interest to you.
https://www.ourheritageofhealth.com/the-history-of-margarine-and-why-butter-is-better/
http://blog.fit-fresh.com/butter-vs-margarine-whats-difference/
https://bigpictureeducation.com/lovely-spread
https://wellnessmama.com/2193/never-eat-vegetable-oil/
Please share our posts with your friends so they can enjoy our websites too. Here is the link to this post. Thank you!
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| 1930's advertisement said margarine was nourishing but there was little truth to that. |
In 1869, Napoleon III sponsored a contest where he asked French citizens to invent or create an affordable butter substitute that was less perishable than real butter. He had a good reason. France was going through a butter shortage and Napoleon III wanted a cheaper but buttery tasting product to feed French troops and a product that lower classes would be able to afford.
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| 1940's British advert for Margarine |
Hippolyte Mege-Mouries, a French chemist, won the contest. He was well-known to Napoleon III. He was working at la Ferme Impériale de la Faisanderie, which was Napoleon III's private farm in Vincennes near Paris. Formerly he worked as a pharmacist for royal supported Hotel Dieu Hospital in Paris where he was published in medical journals, most notably, his findings of experiments that reduced the side effects of a syphilis medication.
Mege-Mouries was no stranger to obtaining patents. He held patents for effervescent tablets, for techniques in papermaking, for sugar refining, and for the tanning of leather using egg yolks.
He had been experimenting with margaric acid, a new fatty acid discovered in 1813 by Michel Eugene Chevreul, his former teacher.
He mixed processed beef tallow with skimmed milk and created his product which he called "oleomargarine." As requested, it was less perishable than butter and far cheaper. The oil is placed in churns, with one-fifth of its weight of sour milk and churned until an emulsion is formed, a red-orange dye is added to give it the right color. It is then cooled and salted like common butter. It is estimated four thousand tons (eight million pounds) have been consumed in this country in 2018.
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| Taste so much like butter that you can't tell the difference! |
In 1951, the W.E. Dennison Company received U.S. Patent 2,553,513 for a method to place a capsule of yellow dye inside a plastic package of margarine. After purchase, the capsule was broken inside the package, and then the package was kneaded to distribute the dye. Around 1955, the artificial coloring laws were repealed, so that margarine could now be legally sold with coloring so it looked like butter.
This next part might make you reconsider or at least cut down how much margarine you consume when you see how it is processed.
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| How Margarine Is Processed |
With all the hype about eating heart healthy and the pros and cons of butter and margarine, the following sites might be of interest to you.
https://www.ourheritageofhealth.com/the-history-of-margarine-and-why-butter-is-better/
http://blog.fit-fresh.com/butter-vs-margarine-whats-difference/
https://bigpictureeducation.com/lovely-spread
https://wellnessmama.com/2193/never-eat-vegetable-oil/
Please share our posts with your friends so they can enjoy our websites too. Here is the link to this post. Thank you!
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