What does sniffing chocolate fragrance have to do with losing weight?
How would you like to lose weight without dieting? All you have to do is inhale a certain odor when you get hungry. This may sound like just another diet scam, but it could actually have a scientific basis.
The idea is based on research carried out by Dr. Alan Hirsch, a scientist at the Smell and Taste Research Foundation of Chicago. Hirsch conducted a six-month-long study involving 3,193 people who were at least ten pounds overweight. Subjects were each given a vial and told not to reach for food whenever they felt hungry but to sniff the vial's contents instead. So the subjects happily sniffed — some of them up to 285 times a day.
Hirsch's subjects lost an average of five pounds a month. He and his researchers experimented with different smells, but it didn't seem to matter — banana, apple, and peppermint yielded similar results. Hirsch's findings are still considered preliminary, because the study has not been independently reproduced, but that hasn't stopped entrepreneurs from marketing sniff-and-lose-weight products. Of course, if the smell method truly works, then all you should have to do is sniff your favorite food whenever you feel hunger pangs. If you like chocolate, try sniffing the wrapper — three sniffs per nostril, as prescribed in Hirsch's study.
But even if this doesn't satisfy your hunger, it may do you some good. Researchers at England's University of Westminster have shown that pleasant smells can boost the immune system. They measured antibody levels in the saliva of thirty-six subjects after they had sniffed either melted chocolate or rotten pork. Levels rose significantly with the chocolate and fell significantly with the pork. My guess is that the odor of rotten pork also ruined the subjects' appetites.
When Was Toilet Paper Invented And What Was Used Before Then?
The Chinese invented toilet paper in the fourteenth century, and the Bureau of Imperial Supplies began to produce paper for use by the Chinese emperors However, it wasn’t until 1857 that the first factory-produced toilet paper was made, by American Joseph Cayetty, who named his product “Therapeutic Paper” and sold it in packs of 500 sheets Cayetty’s name was printed on each sheet Before the invention of toilet paper, different areas of the world used many different things Public toilets in ancient Rome provided a moist sponge on the end of a stick, while the wealthy used wool and rosewater In Viking-occupied England, discarded wool was used, while in the Middle Ages this had been replaced by hay balls In Hawaii, meanwhile, coconut husks were used, while the early Eskimos used snow and tundra moss Wealthy people around the world often used hemp and wool, with lace being used by the French royalty British lords used pages from books Poorer people used their hands, grass, stones, moss, seashells or wood shavings, while the use of water was also common around the world In India, the left hand was used to wash with, while in Africa it was the right hand The other hand in each place was used to greet people, and it was considered rude to offer the incorrect hand In the U S , newspapers and telephone directories were commonly used, as were other books The Old Farmer’s Almanac was actually printed with a hole punched through the corner of each page so that it could be hung in outhouses, and the Sears catalogue was widely used until it was produced with glossy pages, after which its use as a hygiene product became unpopular Corncobs were also used in the United States.
What Is the History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
The Leaning Tower of Pisa—originally a campanile (bell tower)—is located in the Campo dei Miracoli in the Italian city of Pisa It measures just over 180 feet high and is famous for leaning approximately 14 feet to one side—an inclination of about 10 percent—when measured from the seventh floor It’s not known for sure who the architect of the tower was, but it’s thought to be Bonanno Pisano The tower was originally designed to stand vertically but began leaning soon after construction commenced in 1173, as the soil on which it was built was unstable, having once been the sand bed of a river delta The ground beneath the tower started to sink in 1178 after three stories had been built Building was then stopped due to a lack of money and wasn’t resumed until 1272, when another four stories were built and counterweights added to the north side to prevent further leaning Construction stopped again in 1301 and was eventually completed in 1372, 200 years after it had begun, with the inclusion of the final floor and bell chamber This bell chamber was originally fully functional and the public was permitted to climb the 296 steps to the top. A lot of effort has gone into straightening the tower Mussolini ordered its renovation in the 1930s, and so cement was poured into it, but this only exacerbated the problem and the tower sank further After other failed attempts, the tower was closed in 1990 due to safety concerns, then underwent stabilization work and was reopened to the public in 2001. Legend has it that it was from the Leaning Tower of Pisa that Galileo Galilei famously dropped two cannonballs in order to demonstrate his theory on gravity, although many believe that this experiment occurred elsewhere.
