The (S) Blog

Smallville is not a small town?

2007-06-29T20:08:00.000+08:00

Smallville, KS, is the town where Clark Kent grew up with his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent. Superman's adult hometown of "Metropolis" is never placed in a specific state in the comics and movies, though in the previous Lois & Clark TV series, it was pretty clearly on the northeast coast of the United States, like New York. Smallville, however, has always been identified as being in Kansas. (In the current series, Smallville is described as a "three-hour drive" from Metropolis. In Lois & Clark, Clark's parents had to buy airplane tickets to get to Metropolis from Smallville.)

Smallville is obviously a small town. It's surrounded by farms, apparently only has one coffee shop (the Talon), and has little of what a "city" is supposed to offer. There's never been a mention of a Smallville Mall, for example, and there is apparently only one high school in the town, Smallville High. Having grown up in a small town about 30 minutes from a big city (and about four hours from Dallas, a really big city), it felt about right.

Then, in one of the third-season episodes, Clark was trying in vain to describe a bad guy to the sheriff, but he didn't have enough details to make it work, so the sheriff said, "In a town of 45,000 people, Mr. Kent, that's not much to go on."

45,000 people?? The linked review for season 1 gives the same figure:

Even in strong "freak of the week" episodes, however, there remains one major flaw in the show's logic. Smallville has a relatively small population of 45,001, but no one in town seems to find it suspicious that two or three teens and other townspeople die each week under strange circumstances. Sure, Chloe keeps track of things on her "Wall of Weird," but even she doesn't seem to acknowledge the extent of Smallville's decreasing population.

That's not the biggest problem. If Smallville had 45,000 people in it, it would be the eighth-largest city in the state of Kansas, barely behind Salina and its estimated 2003 population of 45,833. It would have more people than Manhattan, home to Kansas State University, a Big XII school. It would be at least Mediumville.

Any town with more than about 40,000 people needs more than one high school, and certainly wouldn't be based around a single main street like Smallville is on TV. Such a large population would explain why kids keep arriving and vanishing without too many people noticing, even though at other times, everyone seems to know everyone else. Still, when the producers came up with that figure as a "reasonable size" for a small town that would support their story lines, did any of them bother to look at census data and figure out that it would be close to the seventh-largest city in the state?

I know that in dealing with a teenager from another planet with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal teens, the producers already have enough suspension of disbelief going, but we buy the Superman story. Smallville was supposed to be about life in a small town, and they try to make it look that way - until it's too much of a constraint, when they tripled the size of the town while keeping everything else sized for 15,000 people.

Ironically, Smallville would also be the eighth-largest city in Oklahoma, falling between Enid and Moore on the list. So it's not just that Kansas is full of people - it's that "Smallville," in the eyes of producers who live in large cities, isn't really that small at all.

See also : Superman - The Man of Steel | Smallville episode guide

History of the Sahara

2007-06-26T11:26:00.000+08:00

British explorers Dixon Denham (1786-1828), Hugh Clapperton (1788-1827), and Walter Oudney (1790-1824) were the first Europeans to cross the Sahara successfully from north to south. They started from Tripoli, Libya, in 1822 and reached Kano, Nigeria in 1823.

Only now are the mineral resources of the Sahara being developed. Salt and coal are mined successfully. In 1956 the French discovered huge oil, gas, and coal reserves. There are also deposits of copper, lead, zinc, and phosphates. Trucks can cross the Sahara on four major roads equipped with refueling stations. Oases have been expanded by tapping deep-lying sources of water.

See also : Africa explorer | All about Africa | Desert travel tips

Life in the Sahara

2007-06-25T08:39:00.000+08:00

Even though the Sahara is so vast, few people live there. The only densely settled part is Egypt's Nile Valley. The inhabitants of the rest of the Sahara are mostly Arab and Berber tribesmen. Some live on oases; others are nomads, who wander from one oasis to the next with their camels and goats. The best-known nomads are the Tuaregs, a Berber group who have controlled the caravan routes for years. Islam is the chief religion.

Although large areas of the desert are empty, well watered oases can support several thousand people. Dates are the most important crop, but cereal grains, fruits, and vegetables also are grown where there is enough water to support additional crops. Wandering herdsmen stop at the oases for food and drink. Camel caravans deliver news, exchange goods, and carry export date crops to port cities.

See also : Date and Health

What is the Sahara?

2007-06-24T10:59:00.000+08:00

The Sahara is the world's largest desert. It stretches across northern Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. This vast desert covers about 3,500,000 square miles, or more than 30 percent of Africa.

The surface of the Sahara is covered by high, shifting sand dunes called ergs; rocky desert uplands called hamadas; and flat gravel plains called regs. Rock and gravel cover most of the surface. Sand covers only about 10 percent. Much of the desert is a plateau about 2,000 feet above sea level. Peaks in the Ahaggar and Tibesti uplands stand high above the plateau.

The climate of the Sahara is very dry today, with an average rainfall of less than 10 inches a year. Summer temperatures often reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet rock carvings and paintings have been found that show the region was once fertile. Farmers tilled green fields, and there were herds of elephant and giraffe. The dry beds of rivers and lakes can still be seen. Scientists have also proved the the Saharan region was once down where the South Pole is. It moved to its present location when part of the earth's crust slid northward.

See also : Sahara desert map | Desert animals | Desert features

The three E's of safety

2007-06-23T09:32:00.000+08:00

Engineering, education, and enforcement are the three E's of safety. The three E's provide means for vast reduction of the accident rate. Proper design (engineering) of machines, buildings, highways, and industrial and home equipment eliminates many accident hazards. Through education people can be made aware of the accident problem and the ways of fighting it. Enforcement of safety rules, which have been developed through experience, prevents many accidents.

Many safety rules, strictly enforced in most large factories today, have become laws. Modern machinery safeguards workmen against accidental injury. Industry is also giving more attention to off-the -job safety through educational programs for employees and their families.

The three E's of safety produce financial benefits, and the money spent for safety is small compared with the savings in human suffering, compensation costs, medical expenses, and lost time.

Common sense underlies every rule of safety. Thoughtful good judgment and courtesy will prevent all sorts of needless accidents.

What is a Steam Engine?

2007-06-21T08:26:00.000+08:00

Steam engine, machine for converting heat energy into mechanical energy using steam as a medium, or working fluid. When water is converted into steam it expands, its volume increasing about 1,600 times. The force produced by the conversion is the basis of all steam engines. Steam engines operate by having superheated steam force a piston to reciprocate, or move back and forth, in a cylinder. The piston is attached by a connecting rod to a crankshaft that converts the back-and-forth motion of the piston to rotary motion for driving machinery. A flywheel attached to the crankshaft makes the rotary motion smooth and steady. The typical steam engine has an inlet valve at each end of the cylinder. Steam is admitted through one inlet valve, forcing the piston to move to the other end of the cylinder. This steam then exits through an exhaust valve. Steam from the other inlet valve then pushes the piston back to its original position, and the cycle starts again. In a single-cylinder steam engine the exhaust steam is usually expelled directly into the atmosphere.

A compounded steam engine has several cylinders, which the steam passes through successively until, leaving the last cylinder, it is condensed into water and returned to the boiler. From the Greek inventor Heron of Alexandria to the Englishmen Thomas Newcomen and John Cawley, many persons contributed to the work of harnessing steam. However, James Watt's steam engine, patented in 1769, provided the first practical solution. Earlier engines depended on atmospheric pressure to push the piston into the cylinder, where a vacuum was created by sudden cooling of its steam content. Watt's use of a separate condenser resulted in a 75% saving in fuel. It also made possible the use of steam pressure to move the piston in both directions. Watt's continuing efforts produced a governor, a mercury steam gauge, and a crank-flywheel mechanism, all of which prepared the steam engine for a major role in the Industrial Revolution. Sailing vessels gave way to steamboats, and stagecoaches yielded to railroad trains as the steam engine was perfected. Transmitted by belts, ropes, shafts, pulleys, and gears, the energy from steam engines drove machines in factories and mills. Now, however, steam engines have been replaced in most applications by more economical and efficient devices, e.g., the steam turbine, the electric motor, and the internal-combustion engine, including the diesel engine. They are still sufficiently economical to be used in industries where steam is necessary for some purpose in addition to that of driving an engine.

See also : Inside interior : James Watt

Organizing for safety

2007-06-20T20:33:00.000+08:00

The invention of many new machines, beginning with Watt's steam engine (1769), released great forces for production. But the same machines that meant increased production also meant increased dangers for workers. The development of safety devices for machinery lagged far behind the rapid advance of new productive machinery. Factory injuries and work stoppages became so common that, beginning in 1867, many European employers formed an accident-prevention association and installed some devices to make factory work safer.

Bismarck's government in Germany passed many social welfare laws, among them the Sickness Insurance Act of 1883 and the Industrial Accident Insurance Law of 1884. These laws provided financial payment (compensation) to injured workers and their families, held employers financially responsible for accidents, and required that they be insured against serious and fatal accidents to employees. These laws were the first real workmen's compensation laws. Austria passed similar legislation in 1887, and Norway, Finland, and France all passed compensation acts in the 1890's.

England passed the Employers Liability Act in 1880, which establish the right of injured worker to sue his employer. However, he had to prove personal negligence on the part of the employer. In 1897 England passed the Workmen's Compensation Act, which enable workmen to collect damages except in cases of their own gross negligence. However, the law did not require the employer to carry insurance against such claims.

In the United States, Maryland passed the first workmen's compensation act in 1902, although it was later declared invalid. In 1911 nine states passed such laws, among them New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, and California. These laws held industry responsible for the welfare and safety of employees.

Meanwhile, many new safety devices were invented. Before 1900, air brakes and automatic couplers were developed for use on trains, reducing railroad accidents significantly. Progress had been made also in many phases of fire prevention. Guards and shields protected factory workers from the moving parts of machinery.

In 1912 the First Co-operative Safety Congress met in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and at a second meeting in New York in 1913 the National Council for Industrial Safety was organized. Shortly afterward the new council changed its name to National Safety Council. The council compiled information on safety and co-ordinated efforts toward safety. Its program was expanded to include all types of accident prevention.

See also : James Watt biography | Otto von Bismarck biography

Safety in the water

2007-06-19T22:56:00.000+08:00

Drownings are among the most common fatal accidents. Most drowning victims are not swimmers but people who have fallen accidentally into the water from docks, bridges, or boats or who have drowned in bathtubs.

Children who are not good swimming should not play near the water without the supervision of an adult who is a good swimmer. Even good swimmers should never swim alone. Experienced divers never dive into an unfamiliar body of water, for it may contain rocks or have a shallow bottom on which they might injure themselves.

Boating accidents have become an increasing problem. people who have little or no experience in boats should not take them out alone. An experienced hand should accompany them. Good sailors never take chances. They do not go out in bad weather, and they do not overload their boats with passengers. Some summer resorts and yacht clubs now require that all passengers on a sailboat wear life jackets. Life jackets have saved the lives of many good swimmers injured or knocked unconscious in falls or other accidents.

If you are thrown into the water, try not to panic. Hold your breath, duck down under the water, and take off your shoes and other heavy clothing that might weigh you down. Save your strength, but attempt to stay with the boat. Rest by floating or treading water slowly. If you are caught in a current, do not try to swim against it but swim diagonally with the current until you are able to get out of it.

See also : Seven level of swimming | Great Breaststroke Kick

Superman - The Man of Steel

2007-06-18T21:11:00.000+08:00

Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero, originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. Created in 1932, and rejected by a number of publishers, the character first appeared in Action Comics#1 (June 1938). With a premise that taps into adolescent fantasy, Superman is born Kal-El on the alien planet Krypton, before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father moments before the planet's destruction. Adopted and raised by a Kansas farmer and his wife, the child is raised as Clark Kent, and imbued with a strong moral compass. Upon reaching maturity the character develops superhuman abilities, resolving to use these for the benefit of humanity. With the success of his adventures, Superman helped to create the superhero genre and establish its primacy within the American comic book. Superman is widely considered to be both one of the most famous and popular comic book superheroes of all time, and an American cultural icon.

Whilst referred to less flatteringly as "the big blue Boy Scout" by some of his fellow superheroes, Superman is hailed as "The Man of Steel," "The Man of Tomorrow," and "The Last Son of Krypton," by the general public within the comics. As Clark Kent, Superman lives among humans as a "mild-mannered reporter" for the Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet (the Daily Star in original stories). Here he works alongside reporter Lois Lane, with whom he is romantically linked. This relationship has been consummated by marriage on numerous occasions across varying media, and the union is now firmly established within the current mainstream comics continuity.

Superman 2006 movie trailer.

Superman, both the character and his various comic series, have received various awards over the years. The Reign of the Supermen is one of many storylines or works to have received a Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award, winning the Favorite Comic Book Story category in 1993. Superman came at number 2 in VH1's Top Pop Culture Icons 2004. In the same year British cinemagoers voted Superman as the greatest superhero of all time. Works featuring the character have also garnered six Eisner Awards and three Harvey Awards, either for the works themselves or the creators of the works. The Superman films have, as of 2007, received a number of nominations and awards, with Christopher Reeve winning a BAFTA for his performance in Superman. The Smallville television series has garnered Emmys for crew members and various other awards. Superman as a character is still seen as being as relevant now as he has been in the more than sixty years of his existence.

See also : Smallville episode guide

Safety with motor vehicle

2007-06-18T19:03:00.000+08:00

Every year there are more drivers and more cars on the road. The number of accidents keeps rising, even though automobiles and roads are now built to be safer than ever before.

Most accidents are the result of careless driving. Speeding is dangerous, but slow drivers also are a hazard. They cause traffic jams and irritate drivers behind them. Even a good driver, when irritated, may take a foolish chance to get past the slow driver. Accidents are caused also by drivers who fail to signal for a turn or who speed through crossings. Drivers who cut recklessly in and out of traffic cause many serious accidents. And many drivers who forget to watch the road are unpleasantly surprised when they run into something or somebody.

Unsafe vehicles are another cause of accidents. Automotive engineers have made many improvements to make today's cars safe. Tires have been improved so that blowouts are rare. Brakes are more effective. Seat belts, installed in many cars, have saved thousands of lives. But the owner of a vehicle must make sure his car is in safe working order before he uses it. In many places automobiles must pass a safety inspection before they are licensed for use on public highways.

To help control the accident rate, many high schools offer driver education classes. Drivers trained in these courses have far fewer accidents than drivers taught by friends and relatives.

There are many safe-driving rules, and many have become traffic laws. Accidents have been reduced where these laws are strictly enforced.

See also : Global road accident fatalities | Driving rules you should know

See-Saw - Build it for your own children

2007-06-17T21:33:00.000+08:00

A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter) is a long, narrow board suspended in the middle so that, as one end goes up, the other goes down.

In a playground setting, the board is balanced in the exact center. A person sits on each end and they take turns pushing their feet against the ground to lift their end into the air. Playground seesaws usually have handles for the riders to grip as they sit facing each other. One problem with the seesaw's design is that if a heavier child allows himself/herself to hit the ground suddenly after jumping, or exits the seesaw at the bottom, the lighter child may fall and be injured. For this reason, seesaws are often mounted above a soft surface such as foam or wood chips.

How to build a see-saw〈

This play device is low cost, has a safe design, and will stand up to the abuse children give it. The base of the whole design is a galvanized steel window well from your home center or building materials store. This project uses two window wells for strength and safety. The size of the galvanized steel window wells you will need is 18" x 37" x 16".

Step 1. At the selected installation location, lay the first window well flat on the ground as shown in the drawings. Fasten the flanged edges to the ground with 3/8" x 12" spikes. Drive a spike into the ground through each hole drilled in the window well flange.

Step 2. Lay second window well over first so that the grooves seat with those in the first unit. Note: The purpose of this is two-fold...1. Double the strength of the fulcrum area, and 2. Provide smooth rounded edges on all exposed surfaces for child safety.

Step 3. Drill 6 - 1/4" holes through both units. The 6 hole locations are shown in Drawing 2 at locations A, B & C. Install 1/4" x 3/4" machine bolt through each hole and tighten. Cut off excess threaded bolt and file smooth.

Step 4. The seat will be made from a 2" x 10" x 10' pressure treated lumber. The blocks at the fulcrum point are 2" x 2" x 9 1/2" boards fastened to the underside of the seat. These boards keep the see-saw centered on the fulcrum.

Note: The way to position these boards properly is to lay the seat on the fulcrum exactly centered. Hold each 2" x 2" x 9 1/2" board snug in position and mark the location. Turn seat upside down and install boards securely at marked locations.

For the comfort of the riders finish the seat with little curved cut-outs as shown

Step 5. Handles can be made a variety of ways. Our handles are made from 1 1/2" thick wood and bolted with 1/4" x 3" lag bolts through the bottom of the seat. The upright part of the handle is 5" wide by 6" high. The top of the handle is a 2 x 2 by 9" long with the edges rounded for comfort on the child's hands..

Be sure to file the 1/4" bolts smooth that fastened the two window well units together as children will love to crawl under the tunnel as well as teeter-totter above.

Good luck!

Safety guides for children at school

2007-06-17T18:42:00.000+08:00

Safety measures at school are just as important as those at home. Fire is the biggest danger. School authorities should make certain that the fire escapes, elevators, and wiring are in good condition. Fire extinguishers are kept in many parts of the building. Your teachers conduct fire drills to teach you how to behave in a real emergency. Many lives will be saved if you remember to do as you have been taught. Remain calm and orderly. Move quickly and quietly to the exits. Panic is the greatest danger in any fire.

School corridors are often crowded with students changing classrooms or going out to lunch or recess. For your own safety and the safety of others, always walk, and keep to the right side. Do not turn or push, especially on the stairs.

The gymasium is a good place for fun and exercise. Your gym teacher is specially trained to give classes. He is responsible for making sure that the equipment is safe to use. It is up to you to use it safely. Never attempt show-off stunts. Always use padded mats for tumbling and wrestling-they soften any landing or fall. When using ropes and rings, make sure that no one is in the area in which you are swinging. Never let go of a rope without warning. Bring it to a stop, or have someone ready to catch it.

Outdoor games and exercises also require courtesy and care. keep away from swings whan thay are in use. Never jump off a see-saw without warning your partner, for the jolt he receives could injure him. Do not carry sticks or pointed objects when running. When playing baseball, stay clear of the batter and never throw the bat.

Do not play games in the street unless it is a play street. Never rush into the street to chase a ball or for any other reason. Always stop and look in both directions-be sure the street is clear of traffic.

At many schools police officers help children cross the street in the morning and afternoon. This duty is sometimes taken on by mothers or older students in the school. These guards usually wear white belts, so that adults and children will recognize them and respect their authority. Cross the street only when the guards give permissions.

See also : Fire safety tips | Play the safe way

Safety outside the house

2007-06-17T16:31:00.000+08:00

Safety precautions taken in the yard ad in the street will also prevent many accidents.

Steps leading to the house should be kept in good condition. Handrails should be sturdy, and rotted wood should be replaced. Loose stones and broken concrete in paths should be repaired. Ice and snow in the winter are hazardous, especially to elderly people. Steps and paths should be sanded or sprinkled with rock salt if the ice and snow cannot be completely removed.

Old furniture no longer in use and no longer wanted should be removed from the grounds or building. A discarded refrigerator is a tempting place to hide in a game of hide and seek, but the door opens only from the outside. Old refrigerators have become deathtraps for many children who shut themselves in and could not get out. Doors should be removed from discarded or stored refrigerators.

Electric wires brought down by a storm are very dangerous. Do not go near them, but notify the electric company and the police immediately.

See also : CPSC warning | Refrigerator Safety Act

Safety with firearms

2007-06-17T08:22:00.000+08:00

Rifles, pistols, and shotguns are deadly weapons. Never point a gun at anyone, even if it is ot loaded. Guns should be emptied before cleaning and storing. Failure to do this has caused many tragic and unnecessary deaths. All firearms should be kept in a locked closet. Ammunition should be locked in a fireproof box and stored in a cool, dry place, away from children and away from the firearms.

See also : Firearms injury statistics | Best Guns Ever Made

Safety from poisons

2007-06-16T14:55:00.000+08:00

Households detergents and disinfectants such as ammonia and lye, should be kept away from children. All medicine should be clearly marked and stored out of the reach of children.

Refrigerators should be defrosted and cleaned regularly, and all spoiled food thrown out. If at all possible, meat, milk products, and other perishable foods should be refrigerated. If they spoil, they can cause serious food poisoning.

Check lists:

Keep all medicines out of sight and reach of children – preferably in a locked cupboard.
Keep dangerous substances out of reach of children – these include household chemicals such as cleaners, detergents and bleach, as well as DIY materials such as paints, thinners, strippers, varnishes. glues and other adhesives.
Remember that perfumes, essential oils and alcohol can also be poisonous to children and keep them out of reach.
Keep all dangerous substances in original containers.

See also : Cure food poisoning | Healthy advice

Safety with electricity

2007-06-16T11:05:00.000+08:00

Many home fires are the result of faulty or inadequate electrical wiring. Any electric current running through a wire produces heat, which, if not properly controlled, is dangerous. Electric wires are surrounded by a nonconducting, heat-resistant sheath, called insulation, which separates the two wires in an electric cord and protects them from outside exposure. If this insulation wears or burns away, the two wires touch one another and a short circuit results. This can produce a shower of sparks or enough heat to start a serious fire. Most towns have strict laws covering the installation of electrical wiring and equipment.

All electrical wiring should be installed and maintained by a qualified, licensed electrician. Old wiring should be replaced when necessary. Cords should not be run under rugs, hung over nails, or placed in any way that may cause excessive wear.

An electric wire is made to carry a limited amount of current. It should not be overloaded by addition of multiple-outlet fixtures to sockets. Only fuses of the proper size should be used. Then, if the wire is overloaded, the fuse will burn out and shut off the electricity before the wire overheats and burns away the insulation.

An electric current passes easily through the human body-our skin is just about our only insulation. But the body is not intended to carry electricity, and a strong charge causes our muscles to contract. This is an electric shock. A serious electric shock contracts the muscles so violently that it may paralyze them or it may paralyze a nerve center. Death from electric is usually caused by paralysis of the heart muscles or paralysis of the nerve center that controls breathing.

To avoid shocks:

Never touch any electrical appliance if your hands are wet.
Never touch an electrical appliance and a metal fixture, such as a faucet or radiator, at the same time.
Never touch any electrical appliance or switch when any part of your body is in water.
Never unplug an appliance by pulling o the cord, or eventually you will break the connection with the plug.

Safety from gas leaks

2007-06-15T16:41:00.000+08:00

Gas leaks are extremely dangerous. Any small spark could set off a disastrous explosion in a room full of gas. When a leak is suspected, no matches should be struck and no electric switch should be turned on or off. Windows should be opened immediately. The gas jets on the stove should be checked, and the pilot light extinguished. If the smell of gas continues, the gas company should be notified. They will send a man to repair the leak. To prevent leaks, stove installations should be inspected periodically. The jets should be turned off tightly. Some housewives with small children remove the knobs from their range and replace them only when the range is being used.

See also : Gas leak detector | Safe gas use

Safety guides on how to protect children from scalding and burning at home

2007-06-14T20:52:00.000+08:00

Scalding and burning are other household dangers, especially in the kitchen, where most of the cooking and washing are done. There, too, most trouble can be prevented by following a few simple rules.

Pots and pans should have their handles turned inward when on the stove. Otherwise, a child could easily reach up and pull a pot of boiling water down on himself. Or an adult working in a crowded kitchen could knock the pot off the stove. Cooks should stand away from frying pans that spit hot grease and fat. When a cook opens an oven or a covered steaming pot, she should open it slowly and keep her face turned away. All hot things should be handled with potholders or padded gloves. Towels, aprons, curtains, and other cloth or paper objects should be kept away from the stove. A spark could cause a fire.

Check lists:

Fit smoke alarms and check regularly that they are working
Close doors at night to stop fire spreading
If possible install a fire extinguisher and fire blanket
Keep matches and lighters out of sight and reach of small children
Use fireguards on all heaters and fires and do not use them to dry clothes
Keep children away from ovens, hobs and hotplates
Turn pan handles towards the back of the stove and use back rings for cooking when possible
Never fill a chip pan more than one third full and never leave a hot chip pan unattended
Use short or curly flexes with kettles and keep them out of the reach of children
Do not hold a child when you have a hot drink and keep mugs and cups of hot drinks well out
Of the reach of young children
Turn irons off immediately after use and never leave the flex dangling
Fit a thermostatic mixing valve to your hot bath tap

Safety guides on how to protect children from suffocation

2007-06-14T12:41:00.000+08:00

Plastic bags from the dry cleaner and smaller bags that keep food fresh should be kept away from children. These bags are extremely dangerous, as they can cause suffocation if pulled over the head.

Suffocation is also a danger in a small child's crib. Sheets and blankets should be firmly tucked in, so there is no danger of the child's pulling the bedclothes over his head.

Pillows, too, are a hazard. A baby is not strong enough to lift his head, once he buries it in a soft pillow.

Check lists:

Do not use pillows, duvets and bean bags for babies under a year old.
Never use strings, ribbons and ties on very young children’s clothes.
Strings on toys over cots or playpens should be shorter than 20 cm.
Never string toys across a cot or pram.
Stay with young children when they are eating or drinking and get them to sit still.
Supervise small children if they are eating small pieces of fruit or vegetables. Do not give peanuts to children under six.
Keep small objects like coins and parts of toys away from young children.
Always keep plastic bags and plastic film away from children.
Follow the age recommendations on toys – they are there for a reason.
Don’t take your baby to sleep with you in your bed or on the sofa. You may accidentally suffocated him or her while you sleep.

Safety guides for small children at home

2007-06-13T18:57:00.000+08:00

If there are small children in the house, special care must be taken to make sure they are safe. Gates should be placed at the heads of staircases, to keep children from falling down them. Windows should have tightly fastened screens or window guards, to keep children from leaning out too far and falling. Children's toys should be soft and pliable; hard sharp edges can cut and bruise their mouths ad hands. Coins, buttons, pins, needles, and other small bright objects should be kept away from infants, who like to put these things in their mouths. Poisons, cleaning fluids, and all medicines should be clearly labeled and kept out of children's reach.

Safety guides on how to prevent falls at home

2007-06-13T16:06:00.000+08:00

Home accidents kill more people every year than any other kind except motor vehicle accidents. Falls are the most common kind of accident at home. To avoid them:

Floors and stairs should be in good repair.
Toys, tools, and other objects should be picked up and put away - not left on floors and staircases for people to trip on, especially at night.
Small scatter rugs should not be used at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs. All rugs should have nonskid rubber mattings underneath.
Stair carpeting should be anchored firmly waith brass or iron rods.
Spilled water, grease, oil and other liquids should be wiped up as quickly as possible.
When you reach for something high up, use a ladder or firm chair. (Never stand on a wobbly chair or table or on a pile of boxes or books.) The chair or ladder should be securely placed.
Stairs and doorways should be well lighted; flashlights should be used if necessary.

Safety

2007-06-13T15:34:00.000+08:00

Every year accidents kill thousands of people, injure millions more, and destroy buildings, land, and valuables. Many of these accidents are caused by personal carelessness or by defects in buildings or machines. If a man runs out into a busy street and is hit by a car, his carelessness has caused the accident and he has no one but himself to blame. But if a ceiling falls on him when he is in a building, it is a different matter. The ceiling may have been poorly constructed, or the landlord may have allowed it to decay. Then the builder or the landlord is to blame. A few accidents are so strange and unusual that little can be done to guard against them, and they are nobody's fault. They are usually caused by freaks of nature and so are called freak accidents. Many accidents, however, could easily be prevented by following simple rules of safety in homes, schools, offices, cars and public places.

See also : Accidents statistics

SABIN, Albert B.

2007-06-13T09:26:00.000+08:00

Albert Bruce Sabin, the American microbiologists, is known throughout the world for his work in viral diseases. Millions of people now are protected from paralytic polio because of Sabin vaccine.

Albert Sabin was born near Bialystok, Russia (later Poland), on August 26, 1906, one of four children. When he was not quite 15, he came to the United States with his family. They settled in Paterson, New Jersey.

When he graduated from the New York University College of Medicine in 1931, Sabin already knew that medical research was to be his life work. He began his research in human poliomyelitis at New York University and continued it over the next 25 years. His work on polio was interrupted during World War II, when he had the opportunity to engage in microbe hunting on worldwide scale. As a major and later as a lieutenant colonel i the United States Army Medical Corps, he traveled with troops to remote areas of the globe. During these years he made important contributions to medical knowledge of the American and Japanese types of insect-borne encephalitis, sandfly fever, and dengue.

In 1951, Dr. Sabin resumed his polio studies. He bred millions of viruses in his laboratory. From the he developed a vaccine made up of greatly weakened living polio viruses. Previously, other scientists also had developed live virus vaccines to be taken by mouth. But the Sabin material proved to be the first completely successful oral vaccine. Its safety and value established, the vaccine was adopted for general use by the Soviet Union in 1960. The following year the United States Public Health Service approved it. By the middle of 1965 more than 350,000,000 persons all over the world had received the Sabin vaccine.

Dr. Sabin has worked in many fields of microbiology besides polio research. He has contributed hundreds of papers to scientific degrees from universities throughout the world ad honors and awards from governments. Among these awards are the Legion of Merit Lasker Clinical Research Award.

Dr. Sabin also holds the position of Distinguished Service Professor of Research Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio. His laboratory is located at the Children's Hospital Research Foundation. There he is chief of the Division of Virology and Cancer Research.

See also: Sabin Vaccine Institute | Microbiology | New York city | Ohio state

History of the letter "S"

2007-06-11T22:31:00.000+08:00

S, the 19th letter in the English alphabet, was the 21st letter in the ancient Hebrew and Phoenician alphabets and the 18th letter int the classical Greek alphabet. The Hebrews and Phoenicians called it shin. The Greeks called it sigma.

Phoenician letter names were also used as words. The letter name shin, for example, was also the Phoenician word for "tooth." Some language scholars believe that the form of letter shin was a simplified picture of a tooth. The letter shin looked like this:

The Greeks based their alphabet on that of Phoenicians. I adapting the Phoenician alphabet to their own laguage, the Greeks made several changes in it. They added some letters of their own and modified the old Phoenician letter forms. The letter shin, or sigma, was turned on its side. By the 5th century B.C. it was written this way:

The Romans learned the alphabet from the Etruscans, an ancient people who conquered a third of Italy and ruled in Rome by the end of the 6th century B.C. The Etrusan alphabet was based on a Greek model. The Etrusan letter form for S, however, differed slightly from the Greek version:

The Romans rounded the Etruscan form of the letter. The English alphabet and the alphabets of most Eurpean countries are descendants of the Roman alphabet. Roman soldiers and officials carried their alphabet to the conquered nations of the vast Roman Empire. The S used in English today is the same as the S of the Romans.

In English, S has two main sounds: an S sound, as in the word "has." The S sound is made by forcing the breath thrugh the lips with the tongue behind the lower teeth. The position of the tongue may vary, but the vocal cords are always relaxed. The Z sound is produced the same way, except that the vocal cords vibrate. The letter usually has the S sound at the beginning of a word, as in "salt," or when the S's come together, as in "assassin." The Z sound usually comes when the S is between two vowels, as in the word "reason." Among the exceptions to these rules are the words "dessert" and evasive." The letter S also has a SH sound, as in the words "sugar," "sure," and "mission." In some words, such as "isle" and "aisle," the S is silent. English words in which the S is silent have bee borrowed from Old French.

The letter S is also found in many abbreviations. In chemistry S is the abbreviation for sulfur, Sc stands for scandium, Sb stands for antinomy, and Sn stands for tin. In geography S stands for south or southern. The letters S.S. before the name of a ship, as in S.S. United States, mean steamship. In school an S may indicate either a satisfactory or a superior grade. In Great Britain s.is the abbreviation for shilling, a coin worth about 14 American cents. In many organization names S stands for society, as in PSA for Photographic Society of America.

See also: Hebrews | Phoenicians | The Greeks | The Romans