Thursday, November 20, 2008

80-Proof Diamonds

Time for another filler post while I wait for time to write something good. Ready for some randomness?

Yesterday was
International Toilet Day. That's right. It was started in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization. It really exists. They meet and discuss ways to improve sanitation around the world, which is a good goal I guess, but they're a bunch of crazies. They say that "each year lack of toilets causes 200 million tons of human waste to go uncollected and untreated around the world, fouling the environment and exposing millions of people to diseases." Holy crap! They're trying to develop "dry toilets" that you don't have to flush, because apparently any civilization that flushes toilets wastes more water than is sustainable. Stop flushing your toilets, people! If you do, places like this will no longer be necessary.


Scientists have found a way to make a film of synthetic diamonds out of tequila. Apparently they've been doing this for awhile with a solution of 40% ethanol 60% water, but apparently tequila, which is 40% alcohol (that's what 80-proof means), has just the right amount of carbon and other things to make exactly the kind of diamond they need. These diamonds are slightly impure (like the ones in Congo by Michael Crichton), which makes them highly useful in electronics. Read about it here.

Speaking of tequila, this is very informative:



And the effects of tequila on lego figures:

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.


These are some very cool videos I found of Ken Block driving around in a Subaru, doing some incredible drifting and other stunts:











And William Shatner demonstrating why it's a good idea for civilians to have guns:



That was a clip from Boston Legal, and if that's all you've seen of that show you've seen as much as I have. Pretty cool, though.

That's all for now.

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