Current Facts 13

Noise May Extinguish Fires

Will sprinkler heads be replaced by audio speakers? It's possible, according to students at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. Next month in Minneapolis, Dmitry Plaks plans to wow the Acoustical Society of America's annual meeting with a report on his team's success in extinguishing flames with sound waves from ordinary speakers. His paper will be tinged with mystery, however: He's not sure exactly how sound waves quench a flame. Plaks, a senior, says his Prometheus Project team needs to run more experiments and hopes to propose a theory next summer. So far, low frequency sounds, ranging in intensity from an ambulance siren to a jet engine takeoff, are consistently effective.

Business Week, October 3, 2005, pp. 93.

Allergies
Researchers reporting in the Journal of Allergy and Immunology have determined that 54 percent of the US population tests positive to at least one allergen-and that men in their 20's sneeze more than any other age qroup. Researchers speculate that a combination of the compulsive cleanliness we've fostered in children and the increased time they've spent sealed up indoors playing video games has created a generation that is more vulnerable to many of life's leading allergens. The following are percentages of the population that are allegic: Dust Mite 28%, Rye 27%, Cockroach 26%, Ragweed 26%, Grass 18%, Cat 17%, Thistle 15%, Oak 13%, Peanut 9%.

Men's Health, December 2005, Pg. 44

Chewing Gum May Boost Colon Surgery Recovery

French biologists say parasitic hairworms, which invade grasshoppers, use a brainshing protein cocktail to drive their hosts to water, where they drown and worms reproduce.

Discover, November 2005, Vol 26, Iss 11, p. 9

Human Light

A Japanese scientist finds that human hands, fohands, and the soles of the feet emit detectable light.

Discover, November 2005, Vol 26, Iss 11, p. 9

Sudoku

The popular number puzzle Sudoku is an economic powehouse. The five best-selling Sudoku books outsold Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in late September.-Fortune

The Week, October 28, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 231, pp 36.

Professional Actors

There were 3,500 fewer television roles for professional actors last year because of a dramatic surge in the number of reality shows, the screen actors guild said.-New York Post

The Week, October 21, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 230, pp 22.

Raises

Teenagers pocketed bigger raises than their parents did last year. While Mom and Dad chalked up less than a 2 percent boost in income, Junior enjoyed a 6 percent hike in allowances, gifts, and other income.-US News & World Report

The Week, October 14, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 229, pp 40.

Car Food

On average, Americans eat 32 restaurant-purchased meals in cars every year, up from19 in 1985.-USA Today

The Week, October 14, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 229, pp 40.

Traffic

Midtown traffic now crosses Manhattan at an average of 4.8 miles per hour.-The Atlantic Monthly

The Week, October 21, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 230, pp 22.

Oil Refineries

There are 148 oil refineries in the US. There were 324 in 1981, but since then overproduction of gasoline, oil company mergers, and environmental rules have forced smaller operations out of business.-Los Angeles Times

The Week, October 14, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 229, pp 20.

Nursing Homes

More than half of the nation's 16,000 nursing homes violate federal fire-safety standard each year, a review of government documents found. Eighty percent of the facilities that had fatal fires over the past five years had gotten waivers allowing them to stay open despite fire-safety deficiencies.-USA Today

The Week, October 21, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 230, pp 22.

Global Warming

Global warming has melted so much ice in the Arctic Circle that the once-frozen North Pole may soon be an open sea for much of the year.-New York Times

The Week, October 21, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 230, pp 22.

Arctic Summers

If temperature trends continue, say National Science Foundation researchers, Arctic summers may be ice free within 100 years.

Discover, November 2005, Vol 26, Iss 11, p. 9