The Public Opinion Soapbox

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2751 Location: Chambersburg

Someone emails a Question of the Day to DH, due to my love of useless knowledge, he forwards them to me. Now you can share the joy.

Q: At my last eye examination a drug called belladonna was used to dilate my pupils for examination with an ophthalmoscope. How did this medication get its name?

A: "Bella donna" are two Italian words meaning "beautiful lady", and the drug's name originates from its historic use by women to dilate their pupils. This was considered to make them more attractive because pupils normally dilate when a person is aroused; the reaction also creates an artificial pallor. Belladonna's active ingredient is atropine, and it is a plant whose leaves and berries are highly toxic and hallucinogenic. Children have been poisoned by eating as few as three of its berries, which look attractive and have a somewhat sweet taste. Eating one leaf of the plant can be fatal to an adult. It is also called deadly nightshade, and is a common weed in rural areas.
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Curious · Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 34

See Wikpedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadly_nightshade

The drug is derived from the plant Belladonna.

Under the description for medicinal uses of the plant:

Optometrists and ophthalmologists use atropine for pupil dilation in eye examinations, though the dose used is small.[citation needed] Atropine degrades slowly, typically wearing off in 2 to 3 days, so tropicamide and phenylephrine is generally preferred as a mydriatic.[citation needed] Atropine is contraindicated in patients predisposed to narrow angle glaucoma.[citation needed]

This is a shade love, I wonder if it'll grow in my clay soil??

cookieclaygirl · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1800 Location: shippensburg

yes it will...

http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pd_7ab1.html

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2751 Location: Chambersburg

Yah, I have some variety of nightshade growing in my yard. A climbing plant with little gorgeous dark purple flowers.

I luvs it and wherever it sprouts it stays, protected from mowers and any other threats. (I've tried to transplant it, but that doesn't work out so well)
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.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2751 Location: Chambersburg

Remember that I did not put these together---I stole them just like everybody else on the internet does.

Q: The Vernal Equinox, usually considered to mark the advent of spring, occurred at 1:48 AM EDT yesterday. What is the earliest day that this event can take place?

A: In America, the earliest possible date is March 19. On a day which has an equinox, the center of the sun will spend a nearly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth and night and day will be of nearly the same length. In reality, the day is longer than the night at an equinox, because day is defined as the period sunlight reaches the ground in the absence of local obstacles. Because we see the sun as a disc, its upper edge is visible while its center is still below the horizon. Further, the atmosphere refracts light, so even when the sun's upper limb is below the horizon, its rays are bent downward toward the ground. The day is therefore about 14 minutes longer than the night at the equator, and longer still toward the poles. The equinox occurs when the sun crosses over the Earth's equator.
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Curious · Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 34

I believe it can be anywhere from the 19th of March to the 22nd. Idea

mom4 · Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 29 Location: Chambersburg

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2751 Location: Chambersburg

I guess that is one way of looking at it.

Honestly, I didn't know what it was until my mother-in-law came for a visit. We were out at the grapevines and I said, "I know that is a weed, but I'm keeping it." and she replied, "That's nightshade!" and I responded, "Oh, well now I'm definitely keeping it! I hope, for his sake, your son behaves!"

Very Happy

She says she likes me, but I doubt it.

If anyone wants, I will stop minimizing the answers.
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.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2751 Location: Chambersburg

I found this one particularly interesting...

Q: What US company was the leading advertiser in traditional media in 2007?

A: According to the Nielsen list of top ten advertisers, it was Procter & Gamble who spent $2,670,380,692 in advertising in 2007. General Motors was second, with $1,364,245,780 its budget. AT&T was barely behind GM, with their $1,348,474,678. Procter & Gamble got its start on October 31, 1837, when two Cincinnati brothers-in-law, William Procter, a candlemaker, and James Gamble, a soapmaker, joined forces. By 1859 sales had reached $1 million and the company had 80 employees. During the Civil War P&G supplied the Union Army with soap and candles, introducing soldiers from all over the country to their products. In the 1880s the company marketed Ivory soap as a bar that floated. As electricity became more common, the company stopped making candles in 1920. Meanwhile, it expanded and researched new products. As radio became popular in the 9120s and 1930s P&G sponsored a number of radio programs for housewives that became known as "soap operas". The company is now international with a diversified product line. "Pampers" disposable diapers were one of its revolutionary items.
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mom4 · Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 29 Location: Chambersburg

wow, that's hard to believe. I would have guessed COMCAST CABLE. But, I guess Comcast, with their 3 products, doesn't compare to P&G with the gazillions of products they have!

Coppy · Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 2266 Location: Chambersburg

Comcast in traditional advertising probably wouldn't rank in the top 100. A lot of places in the country get their cable from somewhere else that Comcast doesn't have any market share of.

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2751 Location: Chambersburg

March 24, 2008 #780

Q: What is the largest denomination of paper currency issued by the US Government, and whose portrait does it carry?

A: The $100,000 bill, which has President Woodrow Wilson's portrait. This denomination is for use only between the Federal Reserve System and the Treasury Department. Since 1969 the largest denomination of US currency issued is the $100 bill. As previously issued larger denomination bills ($500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000) reach the Federal Reserve Bank, they are removed from circulation.
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.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2751 Location: Chambersburg

March 25, 2008 #781

Q: Former US President Gerald Ford lived to be 93 years old. He was the fourth president to reach the 90-year milestone. Which president was the first to achieve this, and who were the other two?

A: The first was John Adams, the country's second president, who lived to be 90. The other presidential nonagenarians were Herbert Hoover, who also lived to be 90, and Ronald Reagan, who was 93 at his death.
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cookieclaygirl · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1800 Location: shippensburg

just so you know, chel....i love these! keep it up!!! Very Happy

Coppy · Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 2266 Location: Chambersburg

These are great; you should stop giving the answers so we can all lodge some of our best guesses... I had no idea that Adams lived to be 90, which is absolutely ancient considering the time period.

And speaking of John Adams, HBO is currently showing a fantastic miniseries about his life. It may be the most historically accurate production I've ever seen on the era. All history buffs, or anyone interested in what really happened during the birth our nation should definitely check this out.