after more than year, the questions continue.

After seeing everyone at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital wearing facemasks...
Q: How effective are facemasks in preventing spread of infection?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: Pretty effective, if you seriously use facemasks.
"Adherence to mask use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of ILI-associated infection. We concluded that household use of masks is associated with low adherence and is ineffective in controlling seasonal ILI."

Being in a hospital makes me generally think about diseases...
Q: What exactly is heart disease? It kills a lot of women , so I should probably know more about it.
WIKIED THAT SHIZ. GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: It's actually the number one killer of women. An umbrella term including Coronary Heart Disease (not enough blood to the heart), Cardiomyopathy (heart just doesn't work for some reason), Cardiovascular Disease (disease of blood vessels i.e. veins and arteries), Hypertensive Heart Disease (heart isn't doing its job well), Inflammatory Heart Disease (inflamed hearts), Valvular Heart Disease (disease of the heart valves)

summer is winding down

I was looking at the almost-full moon...
Q: What song has the lyrics, "The moon is full, look at the dark cloud"?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: E-40 - Tell Me When to Go. Classic.

I was at Coronado...
Q: How are waves formed?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: Wind. as simple as that.

I saw a Baja California license plate...
Q: So is Baja California part of Mexico..or what?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ. GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: Mexico is split up into states like the US. Baja California is a state of Mexico. It's the Washington of the U.S. (northwesternmost corner...haha northwestern). Since it's so close to the border, it's no surprise that they roam around SD.

I was getting off the 710...
Q: Who are the Honanese?
GOOGLED MAPPED THAT SHIZ.
A: People from Henan, China. Not to be confused with those from Hunan, China.

i'm bringing shiz back

I was on the el...
Q: How does the el/trains know when to make announcements?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ. TWIZE.
A: "train announcements are triggered by the train occupying a section of track and the announcement system knowing the train number and hence it's stopping plan. It must also know the route selected into stations with more than one possible arrival platform." Also, conductors have the ability to repeat the previous or current announcement, play the coming announcement and play the door-open/close chime.

I was on a charity website...
Q: What does it mean when something is tax deductible?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: The amount you donated/the amount that is tax deductible is subtracted from your income, so you don't have to pay as many taxes.

I was looking at ice cream...
Q: What is the difference between vanilla, vanilla bean, and french vanilla?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ. TWIZE.
A: The vanilla beans found in ice creams are exhausted vanilla beans, "ground residue of the extraction process." They hold some flavor and probably make the ice cream more vanilla-y. French vanilla ice cream means that there's an egg custard base used in the ice cream.

I was at the sketchy ITASA motel...
Q: Why do they put a bible in every hotel room?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: The Gideon Society and the International Bible Society put it there. Apparently, if you look close enough, the bible will have some mention of the Gideons. There's a more comprehensive answer in the link.

I was reading a Christian magazine...
Q: What does the mustard seed have to do with Christianity?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: Matthew 13:31 says "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
Matthew 17:20 says "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you can move mountains."

I don't remember...
Q: What the hell is cricket?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: It looks like baseball, but it isn't. It's popular in Britsh-y countries. I don't really want to read over the rules, but the site gives a pretty good and simple explanation.

Q: Is "Some Like it Hot" written by Shakespeare?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ. GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: No. That's a movie with Marilyn Monroe. Shakespeare wrote "As You Like It."

Q: What is ubuntu?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: The concept of unity. It's used in African politics.

ugh ASG

I was waiting 5 hours in line to NOT get an autograph from BoA...
Q: How was BoA discovered?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ
A: In 1998, "BoA was discovered by SM Entertainment talent agents when she accompanied her older brother to a talent search."

I was doing yoga...
Q: How popular is yoga in India?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: Couldn't find the answer :( It's only been asked/answered in Yahoo! questions. But it's probably pretty legit because of all the yoga schools in India.

Q: Are yoga and karma sutra related?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: Somewhat. There wasn't a totally clear answer, but there is a field of yoga called tantra yoga that deals a lot with sex. There are also some poses that are the same in both yoga and karma sutra practices. I just think that since both come from India and deal with positioning and making the body flexible, it would make sense.

Q: Will all the heavenly bodies align during the Aquarian age?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: No. During the Aquarius period, Jupiter aligns with Mars. The yoga instructor said that during the next Aquarian Age, massive alignment will happen, but I didn't find anything amazing about this next "age."

I was on the freeway and saw a billboard...
Q: What is Anatolian?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: region whereTurkey is

I was eating at at restaurant...
Q: What is halal meat?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: meat that Muslims are allowed to eat. Some types of forbidden meat includes pork and blood.

Q: What are the benefits of eggplant?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: WOW. Eggplant is a fruit! It's actually a berry. Benefits include treatment of high blood pressure, and is good source of potassium and folic acid. It's also got lots of NICOTINE. yea!

I was watching a beer commerical...
Q: What are hops?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: female flower cones of the hop plant. It is used as a flavoring and stabilizing agent in beer.

I was reading the news...
Q: Who is Fareed Zakaria?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: Indian journalist. I recognized his name from Newsweek.

We were waiting for the El...
Q: Are mosquitos more attracted to O-type blood?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: No. They're attracted to people with high concentrations of cholesterol, uric acid, and carbon dioxide.

I was talking to Esther...
Q: What happens when we consume excess Vitamin C?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ. WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: You usually just pee out the Vitamin C you don't need. However, megadoses can lead to an increased risk of arthritis, indigestion, diarrhea, and other negative side effects. So maybe Esther shouldn't be eating 6 oranges a day...

I think I was with TASCerinis...
Q: Does "Nintendo" mean something in Japanese?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: According to Nintendo's Touch Generation website, the name "Nintendo" translated from Japanese to English means "Leave luck to Heaven". I shall ask Mieko and Emi to confirm.

I was on JetBlue watching MTV...
Q: Is "Taking the Stage" staged?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: No. Sure seems like it though. But it's still an entertaining show...kind of like real-life Step Up. yessss

We were driving back from the airport...
Q: Is muscatel a type of grape?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: Yes. Well that was easy.

because i'm tired of studying

I was at Filanthropy and saw Tonik Tap...
Q: Where/how was tapping invented?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ. TWIZE. WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: Master Juba claims he did, but I think he's taking too much credit. Others say that slaves invented it because they didn't have instruments to create music when they danced. Either way, people in America were influenced by Irish clog, African and West African dancing.

I was at SPAC...
Q: Why do we need to poo more when we run? Is it bad for us?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ. TWIZE.
A: It's called runner's trots. Common sense: when we move around, our bowels move and process things quicklier. Also, when there's poo in us, we feel it more when we run because it's moving with us so we're more aware of it than if we were to just be still. Common sense: holding in shit when you don't want to isn't good for you. It's funny how common of a problem this is among runners.

I was talking to Chris...
Q: Do teachers have a more difficult time maintaining a relationship?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: This was a hard question. Chris says it's because teachers come home and just talk about the problems at school that their partners can't take it. The article above says it happens to seconday ed/college male teachers because men are dogs: "being a male secondary school teacher or university lecturer did predict a much higher chance of getting divorced and subsequently not remarrying than men in the general population...the consequence of constant exposure to younger women with whom they inevitably compare women of their own age unfavourably. "
Forum contributers say it's because teachers are too devoted to their work. In general, there was no overwhelming answer. I had to dig to find this, so most likely the answer is no.

I was at Plex eating lunch...
Q: How do they get curly fries to curl?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: A special curly french fry curler. Ooh, exciting.

adventures from chicago

I don't remember where this question came from...
Q: Who is Johnnie Walker?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: Scotch whiskey!!!

I passed by a "Chinese" restaurant...
Q: What IS Chop Suey?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: Meat, rice, and rice/fried noodles. A bunch of mixed crap. I'm curious to try it.

We were eating ribs...
Q: How many racks of ribs make a pig?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ. TWIZE. THRIZE.
A: About 14-16 pairs. A rack is about 8 ribs. So this is about 4 racks a pig.

We passed by a store...
Q: What/Where is Rapa Nui?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: Rapa Nui is another name for Easter Island. Also, it is the name of the native people and their language.

We passed by a restaurant...
Q: Where is Kathmandu?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ.
A: The capital of Nepal!

I read an article...
Q: How many prisoners escape from jail every year?
GOOGLED THAT SHIZ. TWIZE.
A: In 1998, 6530 people escaped. That seems like a lot, but this is less than 1 percent of the total number of prisoners. But this information is a decade old. An interesting fact from another site: "In FY 2003-04, there were 109 completed escapes, 102 or 93.6% were recaptured as of July 1, 2004. Of the 102 who were recaptured, 58 or 56.9% were recaptured within 24 hours of their escape." from Florida.

I was talking with Chris...
Q: Why do we shiver after we pee?
WIKIED THAT SHIZ. GOOGLED THAT SHIZ.
A: 3 theories. 1-our autonomic nervous system (ANS). 2- we lose heat when our warm pee exits, so we shiver to compensate. 3-no medical proof.