1 Dozen Things I Learned During 2019

Like years past, I am sharing some bits and pieces I learned during 2019.  I hope a few are new to you too.

1.  Words of confusion and miscommunication – Pygg Pots

In the Middle Ages of Europe cookware and dishes were made of special dense clay called ‘pygg’. It was orange in color and a cheap material. Due to its inexpensive nature, aside from being dishware it was used for storage – including a hide-away for money (a habit that seems to have continued to this day). Even during that time, these jars used for that particular banking activity were call ‘pygg banks,’ in honor of their material. That’s where the miscommunication comes in. An English potter commissioned for such a container made it to resemble a pig and voilà – the pig bank, which of course lovingly turned into the piggy bank of our childhoods.

[Photo by Yuri Bodrikhin on Unsplash]

2.  New Bird Feeders

How long does it take for birds to find a new bird feeder, I wondered? The answer is 2. If you are already an avid bird watcher, I suspect you don’t have to contemplate ‘two what?’ If not, the answer is 2 seconds, 2 minutes, 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, etc. Get it? There is no way of knowing. If you are a new bird watcher, don’t give up. They’ll come to your feeder eventually.

3.  Decrease of Killer-T cells

We always like the tidbits that support what we believe. I believe in sleep. I also believe few of us get all we need and it’s to our detriment. Here is one example (from Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker). Studies show that in just 1 night in which we succeed to sleep only 4 hours, killer-T cells are reduced the next day by 70%. That is astonishing. Killer-T cells are vital to cancer fighting in our body, and those who regularly sleep less are putting themselves at risk for greater levels of cancer and other diseases. Thus one of THE best ways to Age with Pizzazz is to make more time for sleep. [And NAPS count, so don’t avoid biphasic sleep if you normally don’t sleep 8 hours a night.]

4.  Use of ‘They’

Here’s another one of those times when you might grouse that you ‘learned the rules in school’ but are being bombarded with lax and changing guidelines. This one makes sense to me. In case you missed the announcement in September – an important announcement for grammar snobs especially – Merriam Webster dictionary added ‘they’ as a nonbinary pronoun. So the word “they” can now OFFICIALLY be used when you are referring to someone in the singular, meaning it is now allowable to substitute “they” for “she or he.” The ‘new pronoun’ is particularly important for a “single person whose gender identity is nonbinary” (not ‘he’ or ‘she’). It may seem like just another “PC” dispute to some. For others attentive to diversity and inclusive issues, there’s no reason not to be sensitive to those with different gender views when it costs us little. For me, it just seems there are times when this ‘sounds’ right.
Perhaps the most surprising point however, is that Merriam Webster claims that the word they has been in use for a singular person since the 1300s.  Who knew?

 

5.  PDT or PST Complications

I generally use the term PST for my time zone. Perhaps it is time to change (pun totally intended). PST is an abbreviation for Pacific Standard Time. PDT stands for Pacific Daylight Time.
It’s becoming an issue as the entire west coast of the US is considering NO CLOCK CHANGE. Plans suggest sticking with ‘daylight savings’ – VERSUS Arizona which doesn’t change clocks but remains on standard time. Ah, it got complicated. But how can you blame Arizona? Who really wants MORE sunlight hours there in the brutal heat of summer?

Currently, both PDT and PST are part of the Pacific Time (PT) zone and encompass California, Idaho, Nevada, Washington and Oregon where I live. But don’t forget that it isn’t just the US. It’s also used in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Yukon, as well as the Mexican state, Baja California Norte. Ah, it got MORE complicated.
Admittedly, I didn’t even know you were supposed to switch your language, using either PST or PDT depending on the time of year.
The difference between these two times is merely one hour; both using the same formula to determine the time. All time is either ahead or back of GMT (known as Greenwich Mean Time), based on where the area is located. The Pacific Time zone – because it is on the 120^th meridian west of Greenwich – is calculated with that location in mind.
Meaning:

PST = UTC – 8 hours (generally starting in November), while
PDT = UTC -7 hours (generally starting in March)

OK, if you’re reading closely you noticed I slipped in something else – UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). So, what’s UTC? Is it the same as GMT? Not exactly, although you could live without knowing this your entire life. They do share the same time in practice. GMT is the actual time ZONE (UTC is not a time zone).   UTC is a standard and is the basis for time zones around the world. Thus, no country (officially) uses UTC for their local time label. Okay, waaaaay too complicated, right?

Still, when you really start to think about it, that 1 hour calculated from where we live isn’t all that convoluted. We could easily stay on just one time if most of the region did the same. For me, (if we keep PST) the extra sunlight would be worth it.

Image: UTC – 7via Wikicommons (Public domain)

 

6.  Cheaper Meds……..for Pets

I know about human pharmaceutical price-gouging, but evidently medications purchased directly from your vet may have a 100% mark-up. If you have a pet, you can reduce many costs. The most important tip is to nicely ask for a prescription rather than a direct purchase. You can then buy the meds through a drugstore (not all carry pet prescriptions, but I guess many do). You can go to a big box retailer with a script-plan card and pay as little as $4 for generic. And don’t forget discounted (or free) programs for spaying, neutering, vaccines, ID micro-chips, and many other supplies (even food). Don’t know about them? Visit the Humanesociety.org and type “afford” in the search box. Other animal organizations may have similar programs.
The biggest question is not really ‘how much is that doggy in the window’ but how much it will cost to take care of that doggy in years to come.

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7.  Insulin levels and heavy lifting?

I have always touted the idea that strengthening (as well as stretching) your muscles is a great way to improve your health and your body composition. However, I did not realize that “weight lifting” (and I put it in quotes purposefully) can greatly improve metabolic health AND insulin sensitivity. See: Resistance training combined with bench-step aerobics enhances women’s health profile. This was a small study and (quite rare) all subjects were women. Thus, it’s difficult to know whether findings can be extrapolated to men or not, but it is encouraging. While some folks swear that the only good approach to weight-lifting is to lift weights, realize that doing bodyweight exercises at home during the day can be just as effective. This includes my favorite – the squat. [Exercise your squatters’ rights.]

A good, well-performed squat can work your hips, glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings without the additional (slight) risk of weights. Now we also know it can have a positive effect on your insulin levels – important for everyone, not just those with current diabetes or pre-diabetic concerns.

8.  Eye Betrays what we see in Nature’s Creatures – BIG and small

A polar bear’s hair isn’t white – it’s transparent. Okay, well, I haven’t seen a polar bear up close and personal. But I have seen a hummingbird. The common Anna male hummingbird’s throat (called the gorget) isn’t colored – although we see it as bright red or rosey. It simply reflects the sun. Often if we see the same bird in shade or dark, it will look dark green or black.   If you want a lovely moment of quiet you may enjoy this video, but it doesn’t demonstrate color change.

9.  Brain Cleaner

[I covered this in my August post, but it’s so neat, I didn’t want people to miss it.] The Glymphatic system (newly discovered) is a waste elimination system of the body – as well as a distributor of other important body compounds. It helps in brain disorders and other disease. The most exciting part (to me) is that its power is amplified by our sleep habits. [uh, see that? I slipped in sleep again.] This is an uplifting sort of thing, and easy to accomplish. Review the AgingwithPizzazz post for more details and an interesting video. Or visit the NIH site https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636982/

10.  Potted Plants – decide for yourself.

Thought I was going to have to retract a post I wrote a couple years ago at AgingWithPizzazz entitled Are Houseplants Fun? Decorative? ….. or a Longevity Asset? The concept was heartening, but in November (2019) the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology published: Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality: a review and analysis of reported VOC removal efficiencies. The article, with more than 77 references, explains that because of some demonstrations by potted plants to remove airborne volatile organic compounds (VOC) in small chambers, their beneficial claims have been exaggerated. The paper explains that “Claims have subsequently been made suggesting that potted plants may reduce indoor VOC concentrations.” They suggest that claims may be misstated and that studies in the future should investigate the mechanisms of VOC uptake and not plants’ ability to clean indoor air. [The authors are calling for more field work and are not ‘anti-plant.’]

But then…………… as I was making note of this new research, the PBS Newshour ran a piece about terrible smog in India and what was being done to combat it. At the 4 minute mark of the 5:45 video, you can see the segment about the country encouraging the use of potted plants. MIT Scientist explains why they are a part of the solution. Admittedly, I lean toward the heavily-cited 2019 article (at least cerebrally), but I sure do like my plants. Maybe it isn’t so clear cut, and you can make your own mind up.

 

11.  Runza

With so much travel in modern times, no location owns a food any longer. Still, folks from the Cornhusker state may declare otherwise. The runza is a regional cuisine and almost ‘official’ food of Nebraska. It’s not uncommon to hear ‘cornhusker football and Runza’ in the same explanatory sentence of their locality. Traditionally, it’s a yeast dough bread pocket similar to savory pastries of other cultures. However, the filling of the runza may be a bit unique, often consisting of cabbage (or sauerkraut), beef, onions and lots of seasonings (guess that’s the secret part). In Kansas, the suspiciously similar ‘bierock’ is usually round, but in Nebraska it can take many shapes: rectangle, square, triangle or half-moon. For those of you who have read enough of my posts to know I am a Pescatarian, Runza are also now available as vegetarian treats or even as desserts.

12.  Elephant – Sperm Whale – Human

What might we guess about the brain power of these three species? Some theories suggest that looking at the number of neurons (perhaps especially in the cortex) is a connection to intelligence.

Sperm Whales (one of the largest sea creatures) have the largest mammalian brain. And their cortex neuron count is about 10 billion.
[Neuron numbers are sometimes determined by an isotropic fractionator but many modern estimates are calculated by multiplying the density of neurons in an animal by the volume of the animal’s brain; obviously they are averages. There isn’t a fixed amount per species, which makes sense as we certainly know people who probably have a lot fewer neurons than others.]

Humans have the sperm whale beat, as the average adult brain contains 16 billion neurons in the cortex, and a total of 86 billon throughout the brain.

Elephants not only have much larger brains (than humans) but have 3x the neurons. The mass of the elephant brain is larger than any other land animal. They have a total of 300 billion neurons. What’s the missing piece here? There is disagreement about how many of those neurons are in the cortex. Some say 98% of their neurons are in the cerebellum; some say less. Science Direct article states that the elephant has more than the typically cited 5.6 billion and instead has 11.2 billion neurons in the cortex. Thus the elephant has a much larger brain in terms of mass than the human, but still not quite as much activity in the cortex. Of course, it is the human declaring that this is the definition of what intelligence means.

[Suggested great reading: Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are? by Frans de Waal.]

World Elephant day is actually in August (the 12^th ), but now we have plenty of time to get ready for it.

 

Here’s to a happy, healthy and interesting New Year.

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