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Essay

【No. 0398】Snow Shoveling

Jan 20, 2016 19:41
It was sunny yesterday, but today it snowed heavily again.

For sake of safety, I shoveled the snow in various places.

Actually, I wear sandals through a year, but a lot of snow got through my sandals and it was cold.

I think I was idiot.

Also, I got tired from shoveling.

I searched for shoveling later, and it was found that the knack is to use whole your body, and not to twist your torso.
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【No. 0397】There's No Limit to Things (Ue niwa ue ga aru)

Jan 19, 2016 15:06
Today, I'd like to introduce a Japanese phrase that we often confused.

It's "ue niwa ue ga aru (which means there's no limit to things, or there's always somebody above you.)"

This is the phrase, which express there is no limit to things, but we often say "ue niwa ue ga iru ("iru" means a person is present, while "aru" means a thing is present)."

I think the reason is because when we say this phrase to people, "iru" sounds more natural.

However, originally, using "aru" in this phrase seems to be accurate even when the subject is person.

Actually, I had also thought that "ue niwa ue ga iru" was a correct Japanese expression until today.
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【No. 0396】Warm Snow Day

Jan 18, 2016 14:39
Today the snow piled up high after a long interval.

It was scared for me to drive a snowy road as ever.

However, since I felt that it was warmer than usual, I searched for the reason.

When the snow falls, the height of cloud become low, and radiative cooling is suppressed.

Also, when the snow is piled up, the effect of solar radiation reflected from snow surfaces becomes large, and it could make us feel warm.

Furthermore, if a condition that wind is calm is added, we seem to feel the snow day as a warm day.
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【No. 0395】Cows Have Best Friends

Jan 17, 2016 13:43
According to the research of Northampton University, cows have best friends of the same sex.

When separating a particular partner from the cows, their heart rates and cortisol blood levels increase.

This means that they feel a strong stress.

This research also implies that cows have high sociality.

Researchers point out to be able to increase the productivity of cows by letting them see their best friends always.
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【No. 0394】Body Fat Percentage of Pigs

Jan 16, 2016 12:50
Obese people are sometimes referred as "豚(buta, which means pig)" in Japan.

(I have no idea whether such a figurative expression is used as well overseas.)

However, the body fat percentage of the pig is actually about 13% to 18%.

That is, it is lower than the body fat percentage of the average human.

Also, some people seem to use "豚(pig)" as the meaning of "dirty" or "idiot."

However, pigs are a cleanly animal, because they distinguish clearly a toilet, a bedding, and a place to eat.

Furthermore, since they can recognize themselves when they watch a mirror, it's able to be said that they have high cognitive abilities.

The expression "pig" might be a compliment.
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【No. 0393】Classroom Cleaning

Jan 15, 2016 13:38
Today, I'd like to introduce a custom of Japanese schools.

Japanese schools (except university/college) usually don't hire a cleaning staff, students clean their classrooms and equipment.

In most cases, all students are separated into several groups, and each group cleans a classroom, a hallway, a toilet, or a schoolyard, respectively, everyday.

If you search for "Japan school cleaning" on Google Images, you will find the scenes (which are so nostalgic for me...).

For these reasons, I think we would become to use public facilities carefully so as not to blemish them.

By the way, in most Japanese elementary/junior high/high schools, we change into indoor shoes when we enter the school buildings.
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【No. 0391】Tickling Sensation

Jan 13, 2016 15:59
If your feet bottom or armpit is touched by somebody else, you will feel a tickle and laugh.

Why is that?

Since regions that artery passes close to your skin are danger, a lot of nerve is concentrated so as to be acutely aware of stimulation.

However, even if you touch such regions by yourself, you will not feel a tickle because your cerebellum will predict the stimulus and control it.

On the other hand, if somebody else touches you, your brain will fall into chaos and generate an unpleasant sensation, because your cerebellum can't predict the stimulus.

This sensation is called tickling sensation, it make us laugh to relieve/escape the status.

There is experimental data that monkeys and rats also laugh when they are tickled.

By the way, tickling had been performed as a kind of torture at a time in the past.
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【No. 0390】Obesity Rate

Jan 12, 2016 21:55
According to a study that summarizes 188 countries data, one third of the world's population seem to be obese.

Furthermore, there are no countries that succeeded in reducing obesity population in the past 33 years.

WHO has defined people with more than 30 BMI as obesity, and in the criteria, about 5% Japanese are obesity.

However, most Japanese develop diabetes before their BMI reach 30, so we can't gain weight in healthy.

For the reason, the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity has defined Japanese people with more than 25 BMI as obesity.

The obesity rate in Japan also tends to increase, but the BMI average value of 10-20's women was decreased.

Most Japanese women desire to lose their weight, and it's said that around one in eight is too skinny.

In particular, the average calorie intake of 20's Japanese women is 1628 kcal, which is lower than the food shortage days immediately after the end of the war, and the number seems exceptionally low level in the world.
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【No. 0389】Polar Bear Trivia

Jan 11, 2016 14:17
Today, I will share some trivia about polar bears.

The polar bear looks white, but the skin color is actually black, and the hair color is transparent.

If the body hair color is transparent, the heat of the sun will be absorbed effectively because light is transmitted easily through the hair.

Furthermore, the inside of the hair is hollow, and light is scattered, so it looks white, and it has an heat accumulation effect.

Since the body temperature of the polar bear is hardly released, there are very little infrared light that is radiated from the body, and it's really difficult to capture the figure using an infrared camera.

Also, the body hair, which looks white, plays a role of protective coloration, and polar bears seem to hide their black noses when they have a hunt.

【No. 0388】Age of Mario

Jan 10, 2016 16:06
Mario (proper name: Mario Mario) is the most famous game character in the world, which is created by Mr. Miyamoto.

According to Mr. Miyamoto, Mario is around 26 years old.

I had played various Mario games when I was a child, but I exceeded the age of Mario insidiously.

The age of Dr. Mario hasn't been revealed, but it seems to be thought that he is a little more elder, because he is a doctor.

The age of Princess Peach also hasn't been revealed, but her age seems to be similar to Mario's age, because when Mario is a baby in Mario & Ruigi RPG 2, Peach is also a baby.
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【No. 0387】National Fungus

Jan 9, 2016 12:21
Yesterday, I told you about national gemstones, but today I will introduce a national fungus.

The national fungus symbolize the country, and only Japan defined it as far as I know.

The national fungus in Japan is Aspergillus oryzae, which is indispensable for the Japanese food culture.

The Aspergillus oryzae can make various enzymes by decomposing grain components.

By using this property, we have produced ingredients such as soy sauce, miso, and sake, that are used for Japanese foods.

This fungus indeed represent Japan.
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【No. 0386】National Gemstone

Jan 8, 2016 12:58
Many people may be familiar with national flowers (also known as floral emblems) and national birds, but today I will show you national gemstones.

National gemstones are stones that symbolizes the countries, and a national gemstone in Japan is a crystal.

The reason is because that once high-quality crystals were able to be extracted in Japan, and we had an excellent crystal polishing technique.

Basically, stones that are known as specialties become the national gemstones.

For example, the national gemstone in; India and Arab is a pearl, Austria and Australia is an opal, Thailand and Myanmar is a ruby, and Colombia is an emerald.

There are also many exceptions, e.g., the national gemstone in; the US is a sapphire, the UK is a diamond, and China is a jade, but the localities of these gemstones are not these countries.

These national gemstones were decided by the national flag color, the national image, or the trade culture.
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【No. 0385】Snails

Jan 7, 2016 20:03
We often see snails on concrete walls after the rain.

Do you know the reason?

Since snails' shells are mainly made of calcium carbonate, they are able to extend their shells by incorporating calcium.

Also, when concrete gets wet, calcium carbonate ooze out.

Yes, they come on concrete walls to eat calcium carbonate that oozes out of concrete.

By the way, snails have about 12 thousand teeth, and don't have genders.
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【No. 0383】Sneeze

Jan 5, 2016 21:11
When you sneeze, you will close your eyes naturally.

This is because to prevent your eyes from popping out (eyeball dislocation).

If you close your eyes strongly, your cheek muscles will rise, and your nasal cavity will expand.

As the result, the breathability of your nose will become smooth, and the pressure on your eyeballs will become suppressed.

Therefore, if you sneeze without closing your eyes, your eyeballs may pop out literally.

【No. 0380】First Dream of the Year

Jan 2, 2016 16:25
First Dream of the Year is called Hatsuyume in Japan.

Japanese people often forecast the year's fortune from the contents of Hatsuyume.

There is the saying "Ichi fuji ni taka san nasu," which represents highly auspicious tokens in Hatsuyume.

This means that the most auspicious one is Mount Fuji, the second one is a hawk, and the third one is an eggplant.

Also, dreams of death, disaster, excrement and blood also seem to auspicious.

On the other hand, dreams to be encouraged by oneself and to be chased seem to be bad.

In my Hatsuyume, I was riding my road bike with old friends.
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【No. 0377】Year-Crossing Noodles

Dec 30, 2015 18:03
Tomorrow, December 31 is the New Year's Eve.

In Japan, there is a custom of eating year-crossing noodles called "toshikoshi soba" on New Year's Eve.

According to a survey, about 60% of Japanese seem to eat toshikoshi soba.

As the reasons to eat soba, there are some hypotheses like the following:

・In order to cut off disaster seeds of the year, we eat soba that is easy to cut.

・In hope of a long life and a long-lasting bond between families, we eat soba that are long noodles.

Lazy people will eat instant soba.
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【No. 0376】Rotation Direction of Screws

Dec 29, 2015 17:00
I think many people know the rotation direction of screws when tightening.

That's right, it's clockwise.

The reason is because that right handed people are the majority in the world, and it's easy to strain in a clockwise for them.

However, there are some exceptions.

For example, since fan blades rotate in clockwise, screws of fans are tightened in counterclockwise to prevent from loosening.

For the same reason, bicycle pedals of the left side are also tightened in counterclockwise.
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【No. 0375】Certificate Exam of Santa Claus

Dec 28, 2015 16:44
Today, I will introduce a harsh exam to become Santa Claus recognized by Greenland International Santa Claus Association.

As qualifications of candidacy for the exam, you need to; be married, have children, have activity experience as Santa Claus, and weigh more than 120 kg.

If you pass the document review, you have to go to the exam venue in Copenhagen while dressing up as Santa Claus from your home.

At the venue, a physical fitness test is performed, and only the top two candidates are able to be interviewed from the elder Santa Claus in English or Danish.

After the interview, a grooming/appearance check, such as if the costume is self-made in accordance with the tradition of their hometowns, is conducted.

Finally, the candidates have to read aloud the oath words of Santa Claus by using only the phrase "Ho Ho Ho."

After the exam, if the elder Santa Claus and all other official Santa Clauses give approval, a new official Santa Claus will be born.

Currently the number of official Santa Clauses is 120, and only one of them seems to be Japanese.
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【No. 0374】Delicious Mikan (Mandarin Orange)

Dec 27, 2015 14:23
The season of mikan is approaching.

Today, I will share how to identify delicious mikan.

Firstly, the darker mikan is, the greater the amount of sugar is.

Secondly, the smaller the size/hull is, the stronger the taste is.

If there is creases on the coat, it means that the mikan grew up in a less water environment, and the taste is sweet, rich, and delicious.

You could find some damages on the coat, but it does not affect the taste.
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【No. 0373】Zebra Trivia

Dec 26, 2015 16:53
Few days ago, I wrote an article about cheetahs and zebras.

Today, I will write interesting (maybe) trivia especially about zebras.

Zebras' bodies are black, and white hairs grow in a stripe pattern.

The stripe pattern makes their bodies look big, and it has an effect to keep their body temperature by creating air flows on their body surfaces.

Also, stripe patterns of zebras are different for each individual, and they identify fellows using the patterns.

By the way, the more hot the region is, the more the stripe line grow.