Time Travel Cheat Sheet

Fun idea.  Page 2 of the cheat sheet could include: spears, rope, ships, Anesthesia, dental drill, plywood, writing, soap, plumbing, papyrus, the arch, currency, ink, rubber, horseshoe, wheelbarrow, catapult, rockets, differential gear, hydrolic power,  the steam engine, water pump, steam boat, toothpaste, the cotton gin, woodblock printing, quill pen, clockworks, water purification, the printing press , oil lamp, gunpowder,  vaccination, bicycle, the transistor, the loom, the sewing machine, safety pin, pencil, telephone, ceramic pots,  bronze, steel, glass, the lens (leading to eye glasses, telescopes, microscopes), concrete, dynamite, antiseptic, the battery, solar cells,  … What else?

- the Indo-Arab counting system with 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 with its positional information content (so 111 means one hundred plus one ten plus one unit), zero symbol, and operator property that by adding a zero to the righthand end of a string multiplies the number by the base value of 10.

- The horse collar around 1000 AD in northern Europe, allowed the region to be farmed efficiently and so, it could be argued, was responsible for the rise of civilization there. It also gave its possessors great war-making potential — think of knights in armour.

- the plough: Ploughing (or soil-breaking in general) leads in short to arable farming, which primarily means mass growing of cereals. Ploughing has given us a world population of 6 billion, and transformed the world’s landscape. The plough is the most significant human invention of all.

In looking back at the most significant inventions from the dawn of time (fire) to the present (the Internet), it is interesting to plot an invisible line and to speculate where we might be going. I think the next major human invention will allow us to control our biology to the degree that we can regrow, lost, damaged, or aging parts of our bodies.

Whitecaps’ Fifth Third Burger not for faint of heart

It’s a 5,000 calorie monstrosity created by the West Michigan Whitecaps that’s filled with meat, five slices of American cheese, chili, salsa, nacho cheese and Fritos. … A 16-year-old kid, Steve Landis, managed to be the first to finish. And his mom provided possibly the quote of the year for us. “I wasn’t quite sure. Should I be proud of him or not?” – faniq

Start with an 8-inch sesame seed bun that requires 1 pound of dough and is made specially for the Whitecaps by Nantucket Baking Co. of Grand Rapids.

Spoon on nearly a cup of chili and place five one-third pound hamburger patties on top of that. (Get it, 5/3 pounds of beef for the Fifth Third Burger?)

Add five slices of American cheese and liberal doses of salsa, nacho cheese and Fritos. Top it off with lettuce, tomato and sour cream, and you have a burger that can be sliced with a pizza cutter and feed four people for $20. Jalapenos are optional.

If a single person can consume the entire 4-pound finished product in one sitting, the team plans to give him or her a special T-shirt.

“Besides being unique and large and bizarre, it tastes good,” Lane said. “I’m sure there are going to be crazies that come down and try to eat the entire thing.” …

But what about those health implications?

In addition to more than 4,800 calories — potentially the most caloric item ever offered at a ballpark — the Fifth Third Burger contains nearly 300 grams of fat, 744 milligrams of cholesterol and more than 10,000 milligrams of sodium. The smell alone might be 25 calories.

Not to worry, Lane said. Fifth Third Ballpark has plenty of healthy options, including salads and wraps, although many fans enjoy indulging at sporting events.

- via Mlive