So the zapping occurs when you touch the water, and not the faucet? Are they insulated?

What I've read is that if you hold something metallic (like keys) and discharge through them, you won't get that zap on your skin. It'll be dissipated through the increased contact area so it won't hurt, but you'll still see/hear the arc. What I've done in the past is put my other hand on something grounded (the wall or the counter) and then touch what usually zaps you.

Try pouring lots of water on the floor in front of the tap, maybe 10 liters.

I would love to. But I think I would get fired.

Thanks, Motorschweiz, I will try that. I tested in another school where I taught classes yesterday, and got zapped, too. They have lino there, might be my tall leather boots, who knows..

But I will ground myself next before touching water. I switch the water on, then I wash my hands, and it's the stream of water that zaps me.

If you are wearing leather boots and have nylon stockings on inside them, then you will have a natural fiber rubbing against an artificial one, and a good source of static charge build up. Mmm, tall leather boots and stockings...

I would try touching the sink with the palm of my hand, assuming that the sink bowl is stainless steel.

I think it's the boots and nylons

But, hey, today, I remembered to grab the counter by one hand, took a little balance and brain focus, since we run like sprinters during our breaks, and I grounded myself while sticking the other hand under the water, no shock!

Sweet, it worked.

Ok, so I saw it! It exists. And they have one in our local Museum.

This.



No zoologists here? Is it just turtles that happen to get polycephaly? And right when I was explaining to the little one everyone gets just one head, she kept pointing at a terarium with that double headed creature.

Wish I could put one head on a back burner sometimes, use the other. I bet the IQ multiplies, too. Or deduct?

Any organism could accidentally grow with two heads..just that captive reptiles are a) quite safe from predators and b) quite long lived.

Even human beings can be born with two heads... look for google images for 'polycephaly' and you'll find plenty of examples...some are 'real' and some are definitely photoshopped!

I won't, too scary, heheh.

Anyways, it seemed to me that turtles might have a higher chance, for some reason, I was just curious and anticipating questions that I will have to answer, soon..."Mami, whyyyy..?"

I got one. Though I'm loathe to use the term "bucket list", mine includes seeing the aurora. The sun's been getting uppity lately since it's at it's 11-year peak and by right we should be seeing tons of these.

So: why does the aurora go so much further south in North America than Europe? They had some in Iowa last week at ~40° latitude. We're closer to 48° but did get any. In fact it was well into the fifties before they started appearing. Why is this? Does it have something to do with the difference between geographic north pole vs. magnetic? IE, magnetic north is more in the direction of North America than geographic north?

There are quite a few examples of dicephalic snakes as well.

Does that count scientifically as attached twins? Siamese twins can sometimes share quite a few organs in common, sometimes they are just joined with each their independent inner organs and blood system. But if joined by the side, it might look like a two-headed body.

I saw a documentary on a case long time ago. Siamese sisters joined by the side, the one arm of each being hidden inside. I don't remember about legs. As babies, they looked like a bicephalic body.

I could help solving issues with microbes, been studying those little troublemakers for a long time now...

A few more random questions:

1. How do they make low alcohol (or alcohol-free beer)? I assume that they must distill some of the alcohol out of the brew. Or is there some other way?

2. Similarly, how do they make decaffeinated tea? I assume that they must soak the tea leaves in something to dissolve the caffeine.

3. How does my car satnav know that there is traffic congestion on the upcoming road? I guess that it must use one of a few different mechanisms:
- some roads have a permanent standing wave of traffic congestion, and this info is in the satnav’s db
- other people have contacted the satnav company re the traffic congestion, and it has downloaded that information to my satnav
- all satnavs continuously broadcast back to the satnav company, and they then broadcast the information to anyone who will listen
- the satnavs use traffic information that is provided by a federal road transport authority
Or is there some other mechanism?

4. There is a recent article about scientists using DNA to store the contents of a book. One of the things it mentions is that DNA is stable and often readable for thousands of years. If DNA is so stable, then why is it so hard to clone/recreate a woolly mammoth, or a sabretooth tiger, or a passenger pigeon, or a dodo, or a great auk, or a moa, or aurochs, or …

Decaffeinated tea and coffee are made by extraction using supercritical CO2. When you compress CO2 enough, it turns into a state in between liquid and gas. Soaking tea in it removes the caffeine. The nice thing is that after draining off the CO2+caffeine, you just open the valve to bring the tea leaves back to atmospheric pressure and all the remaining CO2 evaporates leaving no residue.

Great question about decaf, I was often wondering about the process..Just mind you,even decaf has caffeine in it,albeit much less..You will know when you nurse.

Didn't they used to decaffeinate using Ethyl Acetate? I'm sure I could google, but I won't.

So, it was the paper recycling day yesterday - it made me think. Is it even worth it collecting completely mushy, soaked through carton?

What happens to one eating a week old pizza?