The Wise Book of Whys by Daven Hiskey, Today I Found Out.com
Authors: Daven Hiskey, Today I Found Out.com
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It’s unknown why the Babylonians, who inherited it from the Sumerians, originally chose to use 60 as a base for a calculation system. However, it is extremely convenient for expressing fractions of time using 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30.
U sing this base 60 system as a means of dividing up the hour was born from the idea of devising a geographical system to mark the Earth’s geometry. The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes, who lived between 276 and 194 B.C., used this sexagesimal system to divide a circle into 60 parts. These lines of latitude were horizontal and ran through well-known places on the Earth at the time. Later, Hipparchus devised longitudinal lines that encompassed 360 degrees. Even later, the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy expanded on Hipparchus’ work and divided each of the 360 degrees of latitude and longitude into 60 equal parts. These parts were further subdivided into 60 smaller parts. He called the first division “partes minutae primae,” or first minute. The subdivided smaller parts he called “partes minutae secundae,” or second minute, which became known as the second.
BONUS FACT
Because the second is based on the number of times the cesium atom transitions between the two hyperfine levels of its ground state compared to ephemeris time, and the fact that the earth’s rotation is slowing down, it becomes necessary to add periodic “leap seconds” into the atomic timescale to keep the two within one second of each other.
Why Salt Enhances Flavor
This is partially due to the fact that “saltiness” is one of the five primary basic tastes the human tongue can detect. Those five tastes being: salt, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami (if you’re not familiar with this one, it is from glutamic acid, which is found in many foods, particularly some meats, and is the basis of the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG).
The extra salt has other effects as well though, outside of simply making things more salty . Particularly, adding salt to foods helps certain molecules in those foods more easily release into the air, thus helping the aroma of the food, which is important in our perception of taste.
A dding a bit of salt won’t just increase your salty taste perception, but it will also suppress your bitter taste perception in any given food (which is why it is often sprinkled on grape fruit, for instance, before eating).
Finally, adding salt to sweet or sour things, while not shown to s uppress sweet or sour flavors like it does with bitter flavors, will help balance the taste a bit by making the perceived flavor, for instance of sugary candies or lemons, less one-dimensional.
BONUS FACT
The word “salad” comes from the ancient Roman practice of salting leaf vegetables; “salad” literally means “salted.”
Why Lead Used to Be Added to Gasoline
“Tetraethyl lead” was used in early model cars to help reduce engine knocking, boost octane ratings, and help with wear and tear on valve seats within the motor. Due to concerns over air pollution and health risks, this type of gas was slowly phased out starting in the late 1970s and banned altogether in all on-road vehicles in the United States in 1995.
For a more detailed explanation of why lead used to be added to gasoline, it’s necessary to understand a little bit more about gasoline and what properties make it a good combustion material in car engines. Gasoline is a product of crude oil that is made of carbon atoms joined together into carbon chains. The different length of the chains creates different fuels. For example, methane has one carbon atom, propane has three, and octane has eight carbon atoms chained together. These chains have characteristics that behave differently under various circumstances; characteristics like boiling point and ignition temperature, for instance, can vary greatly between them. As fuel is compressed in a motor’s
U sing this base 60 system as a means of dividing up the hour was born from the idea of devising a geographical system to mark the Earth’s geometry. The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes, who lived between 276 and 194 B.C., used this sexagesimal system to divide a circle into 60 parts. These lines of latitude were horizontal and ran through well-known places on the Earth at the time. Later, Hipparchus devised longitudinal lines that encompassed 360 degrees. Even later, the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy expanded on Hipparchus’ work and divided each of the 360 degrees of latitude and longitude into 60 equal parts. These parts were further subdivided into 60 smaller parts. He called the first division “partes minutae primae,” or first minute. The subdivided smaller parts he called “partes minutae secundae,” or second minute, which became known as the second.
BONUS FACT
Because the second is based on the number of times the cesium atom transitions between the two hyperfine levels of its ground state compared to ephemeris time, and the fact that the earth’s rotation is slowing down, it becomes necessary to add periodic “leap seconds” into the atomic timescale to keep the two within one second of each other.
Why Salt Enhances Flavor
This is partially due to the fact that “saltiness” is one of the five primary basic tastes the human tongue can detect. Those five tastes being: salt, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami (if you’re not familiar with this one, it is from glutamic acid, which is found in many foods, particularly some meats, and is the basis of the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG).
The extra salt has other effects as well though, outside of simply making things more salty . Particularly, adding salt to foods helps certain molecules in those foods more easily release into the air, thus helping the aroma of the food, which is important in our perception of taste.
A dding a bit of salt won’t just increase your salty taste perception, but it will also suppress your bitter taste perception in any given food (which is why it is often sprinkled on grape fruit, for instance, before eating).
Finally, adding salt to sweet or sour things, while not shown to s uppress sweet or sour flavors like it does with bitter flavors, will help balance the taste a bit by making the perceived flavor, for instance of sugary candies or lemons, less one-dimensional.
BONUS FACT
The word “salad” comes from the ancient Roman practice of salting leaf vegetables; “salad” literally means “salted.”
Why Lead Used to Be Added to Gasoline
“Tetraethyl lead” was used in early model cars to help reduce engine knocking, boost octane ratings, and help with wear and tear on valve seats within the motor. Due to concerns over air pollution and health risks, this type of gas was slowly phased out starting in the late 1970s and banned altogether in all on-road vehicles in the United States in 1995.
For a more detailed explanation of why lead used to be added to gasoline, it’s necessary to understand a little bit more about gasoline and what properties make it a good combustion material in car engines. Gasoline is a product of crude oil that is made of carbon atoms joined together into carbon chains. The different length of the chains creates different fuels. For example, methane has one carbon atom, propane has three, and octane has eight carbon atoms chained together. These chains have characteristics that behave differently under various circumstances; characteristics like boiling point and ignition temperature, for instance, can vary greatly between them. As fuel is compressed in a motor’s
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