wiseGEEK

The mimic octopus is an invertebrate creature, living mostly around Indonesia and Malaysia, and primarily making its home in various estuaries. The animals are about 2 feet (61 cm) long, and their base color is an off-white shade with small brown stripes. These creatures are most famous for their ability to disguise themselves as various different animals, using their natural talent for contortion and their ability change color...

What Is a Mimic Octopus?

Dragon beard candy is a traditional Chinese treat made from finely spun sugar. Many people believe that this candy was invented for the ancient emperors, and has been part of Chinese cuisine for thousands of years. It gets its name from its soft and wispy texture, which closely resembles the beard seen on the mythical Chinese dragon. Dragon beard candy is similar to the cotton candy consumed in other...

What Is Dragon Beard Candy?

A ground proximity warning system, or GPWS, is a type of equipment carried by airplanes to warn pilots if they are at a dangerously low altitude and in danger of crashing. The main purpose of these systems is to prevent what is called a controlled flight into terrain crash, or CFIT, an accident in which an aircraft crashes into the ground, the water, or an obstacle such as a...

What Is a Ground Proximity Warning System?

The main difference between a video cassette recorder (VCR) and a digital versatile disc (DVD) player is the kind of media each uses. A VCR relies on analog magnetic video cassette tapes, which is entirely different than the digital disc-based technology used in DVDs. The tapes in VCRs usually provide lower image quality than DVDs and often have a lot of noise in the images that may appear...

What Is the Difference between a VCR and a DVD Player?

Green lumber is lumber which has not been dried or treated, making it as close to the original tree as it is possible to get. Typically, lumber is dried and treated before it reaches the market, so that it is ready to use. It is possible to obtain green lumber, however, and some individuals actively seek it out for specific projects and needs. When sold, green lumber is usually...

What Is Green Lumber?

An election recount is typically ordered or requested when the margin of victory in an election is extremely small, or when people believe that the election may have been dishonest. As a general rule, only one recount per election will be allowed, although people can potentially contest the results in a court to demand another recount or additional verification of the validity of the election. Recounts can get expensive...

What Circumstances Trigger an Election Recount?

If you have ever thrown out an important item by accident and had to fish it out of the dumpster, you've experienced a small bit of what garbologists do every day. Garbology, a small niche of archaeology, is the scientific study of trash and the way it reflects upon the lifestyles of a group of people. The concept was first introduced to the world of academics in 1971...

What Is Garbology?

A home studio is the dream of many musicians. Having all of the necessary recording gear available any time of the day or night, and not having to pay to use it, can make recording a lot more convenient. A soundproof studio can allow the musician to produce recordings of a higher quality without disturbing family members in the process. One of the easiest ways to make a soundproof...

How Can I Make a Soundproof Studio?

The Roof of the World is an area of very high overall elevation in Central Asia. It is sometimes referred to as "High Asia," and it is generally regarded as the highest area in the world, not least because it hosts Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain. This region has become famous as a cultural site, and some very unique cultures and peoples have emerged from the Roof...

What Is the Roof of the World?

There are a number of variations on the rules of quoits, and people play quoits in slightly different ways, depending on the regions where they live. For people attending matches with people they have not played with before, it may be advisable to ask about the specific rules observed by the host to avoid making mistakes or causing confusion. The game is played outdoors, and it involves throwing heavy...

How Do I Play Quoits?

The Whiskey Rebellion was made up of a series of incidents that occurred during the late summer of 1791 in the American farm country of western Pennsylvania. The federal government had imposed an excise tax on the popular distilled spirit in order to help pay down the new nation's debts from the recent war for independence. The tax noticeably cut into the profits of smaller-scale corn farmers...

What Is the Whiskey Rebellion?

The effectiveness of probiotics for constipation in the general population has never been proven, despite the claims of some who produce information, especially online, who consider it a valid treatment option. At best, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, taking probiotics for constipation has produced mixed results. Still, for those who are considering treatments and may have tried other things, probiotic treatments may be one of several...

How Effective Are Probiotics for Constipation?

While the uncertainty of markets can have a dizzying affect on the future value of an investment, there are some ways to get a good basic estimate on value. If an interest rate is fixed or limited to a foreseeable range, simple equations or free online calculators can help determine the future value of an investment. When considering an investment that is variable, it may help to study market...

What Are the Best Tips for Determining the Future Value of an Investment?

A hopper car, sometimes historically referred to as a jimmie, is a style of car used when transporting freight by railroad. These cars are designed to carry bulk commodities left in a loose state, such as grain, coal, and sugar, among many other things. Several firms manufacture hopper cars and handle repairs and refurbishments on older cars, and numerous freight railroads continue to use them for transport.

What Is a Hopper Car?

Doppler radar is a listening device that uses microwaves to "hear" physical changes. Microwaves reflect off objects at different times based on their relative position to the Doppler radar. Based on how quickly waves bounce back, a precise picture can be created. It is typically used in air traffic control, police speed control guns, and radiology. Commonly associated with meteorology, the pulse-Doppler can measure both distance and velocity...

What Is Doppler Radar?

If you want to become a comedian, the most important quality beyond sheer talent is perseverance. Many comics who appear to be overnight successes actually spent many years honing their stand up routines in any comedy club that would give them a stage. The best comedians are those who didn't give up even when they were booed by their early audiences.

Career comedians learn as much...

How Do I Become A Comedian?

Whether you've just received a promotion at your current place of work or have accepted a leadership position at a new workplace, preparing in advance will ensure you're best able to meet the challenges of the new job. Corporate leadership entails the dual challenge of managing both your own workload and motivating others to handle theirs at the same time. While most people in a leadership position...

How Do I Prepare for a Leadership Position?

Many spiritual traditions have relied on meditation for pain relief throughout the centuries, and recent scientific studies have shown that this practice seems to actually work. Both brain scans and people’s reported experiences suggest that the body's perception of pain is significantly changed by certain meditative practices, generally reducing the overall feeling of pain to a degree that rivals some of the strongest pain medications. Scientists are...

What Are the Benefits of Meditation for Pain?

Labor efficiency is a measure of how efficiently a given workforce accomplishes a task, when compared to the standard in that industry or setting. There are several different ways to measure labor efficiency, depending on the type of products and services being produced, and the end goal. Companies periodically assess efficiency along with other characteristics to identify weak points in the labor force and determine where they have room...

What Is Labor Efficiency?

Skully hats, also known as skullies, skull caps, and beanies, are brimless hats designed to hug the skull and keep the head warm. These hats can be knitted or crocheted using wool or cotton yarn, as these materials achieve a snug, close fit. The look was first associated with blue collar workers and sailors who needed to keep their heads warm without the distraction of a brim. In contemporary...

What Are Skully Hats?