Interesting Fact – Counter-balance Weights In Aircraft Are Sometimes Made From Depleted Uranium

I was stunned when I heard this.

Neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the major aircraft manufacturers publish information about which planes and helicopters contain DU components. As one industry insider told a reporter, “No one brags about DU.” However many wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 747, Lockheed L-1011,  McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed military C-130 all require the use of counter-balance weights for proper flight control. The Boeing 747 airplane program utilized depleted uranium for its first 550 aircraft built.  The company obtained in excess of 200 tons of the radioactive material, and cast approximately 12,000 parts.

You can read more HERE and HERE.

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How To Survive A Lightning Strike [infographic]

Supersize it!

original source

Way To Go, New York!

Sadly, it was newsworthy that “No Person Got Shot, Stabbed, Slashed, or Murdered in NYC Monday“. Thirty six hours without a murder is a good start, but really?

Continue reading HERE

Latest GM Recall Harkens Back To Bad Old Days

General Motors’ recall on Chevy Sonics reminds me of the way US car manufacturers were when they thought that they had nothing to fear from import makes. The recall is to check for missing brake pads. If this isn’t bad enough, GM is not notifying the customers for 2 weeks – unbelievable! Imagine if one of the cars is involved in a fatal accident before the customer is notified. This lack of concern for customers is what drove many of them to Japanese cars 25 years ago.

From AutoWeek –

General Motors is recalling 4,296 Chevrolet Sonic subcompact models to inspect for missing brake pads. The missing part could lengthen the stopping distance, potentially contributing to a crash, the company said today in a statement. The recall targets 2012 Chevy Sonic models. The subcompact car–a replacement for the South Korea-built Chevrolet Aveo–went on sale this fall. GM said the company isn’t aware of any crashes or injuries resulting from missing pads. The problem was discovered when a rental Sonic was brought in for warranty service. Customers affected by the recall will start receiving letters from their dealers Jan. 14. GM said it expects “very few cars” to be affected by the problem.

Continue reading HERE

 

Wild Monkeys To Help Detect Radiation From Crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant

MSNBC reports –

Wild monkeys fitted with collars containing detectors and GPS transmitters will help researchers at Fukushima University measure radiation in the forests surrounding a nuclear power plant crippled last March by a powerful earthquake and tsunami. The monkeys will wear the collars for a month and they will be remotely detached, says a team of scientists led by Professor Takayuki Takahashi.

Continue reading HERE

 

Emergency Bra – Product Of The Year?

C Net reports –

Remember that bra we wrote about last year that lifted more than just our spirits when it won the 2009 Ig Nobel Public Health Prize? Well, creator Dr. Elena Bodnar–whose inspiration comes in part from having witnessed as a young physician the devastating effects of the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster in 1986–is introducing the now commercially available Emergency Bra at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass., on September 28. She hopes we can all “get a feel of [sic] the product,” as she has grown fond of saying. The bra is, of course, meant to be taken off, something most adults presumably have experience with. Once removed, it separates into two masks which, when placed over the nose and mouth, filter out particles that were found to be as harmful as radiation in Chernobyl. Now, a year later, what was once a bizarre and intriguing idea has turned into an actual bra that can be purchased online for $29.99. Ladies, it’s a sexy red and comes in a wide range of sizes, from 32B to 40C. Gentlemen, Bodnar assures us that in the event of an emergency, the size of the cup does not matter.

Read more HERE

Order one HERE

Banned Drug Company Produces Walmart’s $4 Prescriptions

WakeUpWalmart.com reports –

Walmart is heavily promoting a program of 30-day supplies of generic drugs for $4, pointing to the program as an indicator of the company’s leadership on making healthcare more affordable. To profit on $4 dollar prescriptions, Walmart is importing drugs from foreign countries, including India. One of Walmart’s Indian drug suppliers, Ranbaxy Laboratories, LTD, has been repeatedly investigated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice for “inadequate” safeguards against contamination, falsification of records and submitting false information to the FDA.

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