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chromus
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Post by chromus »

The basic recipe for ginger ale is ginger root stewed in water with lemons, which is strained and added to seltzer water. Other ingredients are added, like honey or vanilla extract to change the flavor, which is why different ginger ales taste different. Sources: http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes ... -ale1.html and http://hcs.harvard.edu/~dins/history/gingerale.shtml

Tonic, also known as tonic water, is carbonated water flavored with sugar, quinine, and sometimes fruit extracts. Source: http://www.webtender.com/db/ingred/29

Club soda, also known as soda water, sparkling water, and seltzer water, is just another name for carbonated water. It usually has sodium bicarbonate added and might be flavored. Source: http://www.webtender.com/db/ingred/443

Hair conditioner is a set of chemicals that are just supposed to make hair more shiny and manageable. This is usally acheived using either an oil base or a silicone base and with a film forming agent added to thicken hair. The only difference between different conditioners is the amount of each of these ingredients. Conditioners usually come in different versions for dry hair, normal hair, and greasy hair. Each formula is just a more diluted version of the previous, (normal hair conditioner isn't as concentrated as dry hair conditioner) so you can use dry hair conditioner on normal hair, or even greasy hair, if you use much less. Source: http://www.keratin.com/ai/ai011.shtml
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Post by Dither »

Where does the saying "pulled the wool over your eyes" come from?
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Post by Pez-Man »

Why does a TV flash right before it turns off?
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Post by ayana »

What's the volume of popcorn? O_o
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Post by chromus »

Sorry about the long delay. I've had an extraordinarily busy weekend. Now, on to the questions!

Having the wool pulled over your eyes was a reference to crime in the time period when a man's status was indicated by the size of his wig, also known as his "wool". This is the origin of the term bigwig referring to anyone in a high position. Since bigwigs had more money, they were worth robbing. Muggers would pull the wool over the bigwig's eyes, confusing him, and steal their money. Hence, having the wool pulled over your eyes refers to being distracted to the point where you could be negatively affected. Source: http://www.briggs13.fsnet.co.uk/book/vwy.htm

According to Sharp, one of the companies that makes televisions, the white flash right as a television turns off is the picture tube flashing off, since electricity was abruptly cut to it. You can note that this flashing doesn't happen to projection, LCD, or plasma televisions, only those televisions that use cathode-ray tubes. Source: http://www.sharpusa.com/products/Functi ... 34,00.html

Umm... what do you mean by the "volume" of popcorn?
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Post by Dither »

Where was the Jersey Wall invented?
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Post by chromus »

Unlike other confusingly named objects (like french fries), the jersey wall was first invented in the state New Jersey of the USA. It was invented in the 1950s and first used in 1955 to redirect objects that strike the median in order to prevent a vehicle of crossing into oncoming traffic. During the early 1960s, states were experimenting with different styles of barriers when the Jersey style became the most widely accepted. Source: http://www.roadstothefuture.com/Jersey_Barrier.html (This page also has descriptions of some of the other styles of barriers used today, as well as pictures)
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Post by chromus »

Whether or not Poker in Athens is supposed to be considered real, (no such statement exists from the sponsor, Full Tilt Poker) it is obvious that this is some sort of marketing ploy by the sponsor to evade illegally advertising online gambling.
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Post by ayana »

My friend said popcorn had no volume.. Doesn't that mean it doesn't exist..? So I don't believe them, so I'm asking you ^_^

I'll explain on aim or something ^_^;;
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Post by Pez-Man »

I don't mean to take the thread away from Chromus, but if it don't got the volume, it don't got the existance...
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Post by ayana »

Isn't that what I just said?
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Post by chromus »

Here are two definitions of the word volume: (courtesy of Dictionary.com)

1) The amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object or region of space, expressed in cubic units.

2) The amplitude or loudness of a sound.

There are more, but we only need these. When I asked for clarification on the question, I thought you were referring to the second definition, so you can see why I was confused. Since you were asking about the volume (definition 1) of popcorn, I can answer it.

Popcorn definetly has volume, since it occupies some amount of space. I can't easily find the average volume per popped popcorn kernel, so we can do a simple experiment to find out. Get a measuring cup that can hold at least a half-liter. (Almost every measuring cup, US or otherwise, can measure in liters) Start putting popped popcorn into the cup, counting carefully. When you reach the half-liter mark, stop. To figure out the average volume, divide 0.5 L by the number of kernels you put in the cup. That will give you the average volume (in L) per popped kernel. My estimation is that you can fit around 100 popped kernels in a half-liter, so I estimate a volume of 0.005 L (0.5 L / 100 kernels) per popped kernel, or 5 mL per popped kernel. Since you are going to get a number that isn't zero, this shows that popcorn has volume. You can try the same trick to find out the average volume of an unpopped kernel.
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Post by Pez-Man »

All I meant was that the person who said that should have been proved wrong simply because of that fact.

How does crossing your eyes make 3-D things appear, like "Magic-eye" or when 2 images are placed next to eachother?
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Post by Chewi »

How does jello work?
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