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【No. 0372】Christmas Trivia

Dec 25, 2015 14:37
Did a Santa Claus visit your home?

Since today is Christmas, I will introduce trivia about Christmas in some countries.

Once in the UK, Santa Claus had worn green clothes, but they seemed to be changed to red by a Coca Cola campaign.

In the Netherlands, there are two Christmas in December, people will receive gifts in the 6th and the 25th.

In Russia, there are three Christmas, December 25th, January 1st, and January 7th.

A Russian Santa Claus seems to be often with his granddaughter (Snegurochka).

In Spain and Italy, Christmas continues from December 15th to January 6th, and the day that children receive gifts seems to be January 6th.

【No. 0370】The Emperor's Birthday

Dec 23, 2015 12:02
Today, December 23 is a Japanese national holiday called "The Emperor's Birthday."

The date changed since 1989, and we celebrate the emperor Kinjo's birthday on this day.

Various events will take place in the emperor's court and the Ise Jingu Shrine.

However, most Japanese will spend the day freely as a mere holiday.

I will spend leisurely in this morning at my apartment, and go to my university in the afternoon.
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【No. 0369】Winter Solstice

Dec 22, 2015 14:50
Today is the winter solstice, which is marked by the shortest day and longest night of the year.

In Japan, it is said that eating pumpkins and taking yuzu-yu on the winter solstice can prevent catching cold.

In fact, since pumpkins contain a lot of vitamin A and carotene, they are effective in preventing cold.

Also, yuzu-yu means a bath that is floated some (or many) yuzu citron.

The yuzu-yu is effective in preventing cold, promoting blood circulation, beauty care and relaxation.

As a hypothesis of the custom of taking yuzu-yu on the winter solstice, there is something like the following: the reason is because that the term "冬至, toji" （winter solstice） is similar to "湯治, toji" （hot spring cure）, and the term "融通, yuzu"（adaptable） is similar to "柚子, yuzu"（yuzu citron）.
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【No. 0368】Cheetah and Zebra

Dec 21, 2015 12:08
In Yokohama Zoo "Zoorasia," cheetahs and zebras are living in the same area.

Since cheetahs are carnivores, you might think cheetahs would attack zebras.

However, there is no problem because cheetahs don't attack herbivores whose bodies are bigger than cheetahs.

In fact, zebras seems to be more strong than cheetahs.

By the way, lions are living in a different area.
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【No. 0367】Kilimanjaro

Dec 20, 2015 14:29
Kilimanjaro is the 5,895-meter-height mountain located in the northeastern part of Tanzania, and is the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

This name is also famous as a coffee brand, and it is one of the most popular brands in Japan.

Japanese often call "Kilimanjaro" of coffee "キリマン(Kiliman)" in abbreviation, but this split way is wrong in a narrow sense.

"Kilima" in "Kilimanjaro" means "mountain" in Swahili, amd "njaro" means "shining white" in Chaga languages.

Therefore, we actually have to split "Kilimanjaro" as "Kilima-njaro(キリマ･ンジャロ)."
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【No. 0365】365

Dec 18, 2015 14:01
This is my 365th post.

Previously, I wrote that a sum of playing cards number become 365 (when a joker was counted as 1).

Today, I will introduce more information about the number 365.

365 is expressed as a sum of consecutive square numbers, like 13^2 + 14^2.

In addition, it can also be expressed as 10^2 + 11^2 + 12^2.

In 27x27 magic square, the center is 365.

The average body temperature of us is about 36.5 ℃.

Personally, I wanted the number 365 to contain more hidden interesting facts.
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【No. 0364】Bookworm

Dec 17, 2015 12:08
Those who love reading books are called "bookworm" in English.

Such people seem to be compared to worms that eat books and live in books.

Actually, there is also a Japanese phrase called "本の虫(hon no mushi: hon means book, and mushi means bugs or worms)," and the etymology is the same as "bookworm."

We always say just "虫(mushi)," but the bug that actually eat books is called "silverfish," "booklice," or "deathwatch beetle."

Silverfish eat not only books, but also grain and clothings.

Since they have a long life-span (about 8 years), they will propagate rapidly if you do nothing.

Therefore, if you found them, you should do a thorough house cleaning.
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【No. 0363】Boring things (Tsumaranai mono)

Dec 16, 2015 10:30
There is a Japanese traditional expression "tsumaranai mono desuga (which means something like 'this is a boring thing')."

We would say this phrase when we brought someone something (presents).

You might think "to give someone gift with such a bad word is strange."

Actually, this phrase implies something like "I chose this present wholeheartedly, but it could be a boring thing for splendid people like you."

I mean, this phrase is a kind of Japanesey honorific expressions.

However, some people oppose to use this phrase because it's difficult to carry the nuance to recent generations.

By the way, my dictionary translate this phrase into "Here's a little something for you."
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【No. 0362】Pulling Out Beards

Dec 15, 2015 11:13
As a result of a questionnaire to Japanese 20s-30s men, about 60 percent people pull out their beards on a daily basis.

Although it is not frequently, I also sometimes pull out my beards while thinking algorithms or math problems.

However, this habit involves much danger, such as "ingrown hair," "folliculitis," "comedo," "pigmentation," "dehydrated skin," "hair-pulling disorder."

Therefore, we should shave our beards using a shaver.

By the way, the best shaving time seems to be morning, because our beards are easy to grow at 6:00 to 10:00 a.m.
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【No. 0361】The Diameter of Holes in CDs

Dec 14, 2015 10:42
The diameter of holes in CDs is perfectly 15 mm.

This length is the same as the seven size of rings.

People seem to express it as "four" in the US, "H" in the UK, respectively.

If your girlfriend are putting a CD's hole on her finger and it looks just fit, you should remember it.

If you give a perfect size ring for your girlfriend, she must be surprised.
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【No. 0360】Janet's Law

Dec 13, 2015 13:58
Have you ever feel like a year passes by faster?

In the 19th century, a French philosopher Janet invented a law.

It is something like that the length of years that are memorized subjectively is evaluated as; longer for young persons, shorter for elders.

According to Janet, for five-years-olds one year is one-fifth of their life, while for fifty-years-olds one year is one-fiftieth, so there is a difference of 10 times in the perceptions of their one year.

It is also said that as we get older, fresh experiences decrease and lives become monotonous, so we become to feel like a year passes by faster.

As long as we continue new challenges every day, we might be able to spend quality time at any age.
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【No. 0359】Should We Eat Breakfast?

Dec 12, 2015 14:12
Although various discussions about breakfast has been performed, it eventually seems to depend on individuals.

It is said that if you eat dinner at six o'clock in the evening, the best time of your next meal is about twelve o'clock in the next day's noon.

The reason is because your body need about eighteen hours to completely absorb and digest meals.

However, if you are getting hungry in the morning or you are a growing youth, eating breakfast is good for your health.

One of the worst things seems to be that you eat breakfast even though you're not hungry.

When you force yourself to eat breakfast, not only your intestinal functions for excretion will be inhibited, but also your satiety center will fail to work normally.

In the event, you will tend to gain weight.
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【No. 0358】Honey Trivia

Dec 11, 2015 15:28
I wrote about bees' dance yesterday, but I will write about honey today.

Honey, which is produced by mixing nectar and bees' enzyme, is known as a food that will never rot.

The reason is because the sugar concentration is high and the water content is low.

When the sugar concentration is high, bacteria can't survive.

When the water content is low, fungus can't reproduce.

In fact, Dr. Davis found a 3300-year-old honey jar from an Egyptian tomb, but the quality hasn't deteriorated.

By the way, the honey amount that a bee can collect using its whole lifetime is around 5 grams(a spoonful of honey).
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【No. 0357】Bees' Waggle Dance

Dec 10, 2015 10:00
Honeybees share information about locations of nectar or their nest with peers by dancing along a figure of eight or a circle.

The accuracy of their information transfer is surprisingly high.

They can obtain a distance by integrating what they see, and a direction by sunlight information.

When they found nectar, they inform the distance by the humming length, and the direction by the angular of their dance.

Then honeybees who received the information depart with a three times of food(honey) that can fly the received distance.

They consider a possibility that they could get lost.

Once they realize that the information is right and there is no chance of getting lost, they will become to fly with only appropriate quantities of food.
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【No. 0356】Japanese Titles of Foreign Movies

Dec 9, 2015 10:58
When foreign movies are imported into Japan, the titles may completely different.

Today, I will introduce some Japanese titles from among them.

[Highly acclaimed Japanese titles]
・「The Notebook」・・・「きみに読む物語（A Story I Read for You）」
・「Sisters Act」・・・「天使にラブ・ソングを･･･（Love Song for Angels）」
・「The Legend of 1900」・・・「海の上のピアニスト（The Pianist on the Ocean）」

[Hypercriticized Japanese titles]
・「The Italian Job」・・・「ミニミニ大作戦（Mini Mini Great Mission）」
・「Gravity」・・・「ゼロ・グラビティ（Zero Gravity）」
・「Napoleon Dynamite」・・・「バス男（Bus Man）」

The meaning of "Zero gravity" has the opposite meaning of "Gravity."

With regard to "Bus Man," it just mimicked "Train Man," which was popular in Japan at that time, and the movie has almost no relevance to a bus.

Since the name was too terrible, the Japanese title of "Napoleon Dynamite" was changed to "ナポレオン・ダイナマイト（Napoleon Dynamite）" last year.
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【No. 0355】Ground Beetle

Dec 8, 2015 14:56
Do you know how to say "ground beetle" in Japanese?

It's "ゴミムシ (gomimushi; means garbage insect)," because we can often see them in garbage pits.

It's a little pitiful name, and is used as a calumny.

In particular, "メクラチビゴミムシ(mekura-chibi-gomimushi; means sightness dumpling garbage insect)," which is a kind of ground beetle, is awful name.

For a long time, Japanese entomology researchers have discussed whether "ゴミムシ" should be renamed or not.
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【No. 0354】Should I capitalize 'X' in 'X-ray?'

Dec 7, 2015 19:50
I write an upper case X whenever I write 'X-ray.'

However, the other days, my boss told me something like "when the x-ray isn't placed in the top of the sentence, the lower case x is better, isn't it?"

Then I searched for various pages, and found that both cases are used.

As a general tendency, the upper case X seems to be used (especially when the X-ray is used as a noun or an adjective).

Also, as a result that I examined 200 theses that include the word x-ray on Google Scholar, it's found that the number of X-ray is about three times as many as 'x-ray.'

Therefore, I will continue to use a capitalized X, like "An X-ray CT image is..."

I would appreciate it if you could share any thoughts on that with me.
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【No. 0353】The Temperature of Palms

Dec 6, 2015 16:51
Today, I learned the relationship between a temperature of palms and a sociability.

I don't know whether this is true or not, but those who have a low palms temperature tend to be socially awkward.

The main reason why palms become cold is a poor circulation, and this is often observed in people who are nervous, sensitive, and diligent.

On the other hand, those who have a high palms temperature tend to be relaxed and sociable.

However, it is also reported that those who have sweaty palms tend to be introverted even if their palms have a high temperature.
(I think I'm this type.)

Japanese seldom shake hands like Westerners, but we can choose an effective way of approach to other people by shaking hands.

【No. 0351】Insect Food

Dec 4, 2015 14:56
Have you ever eaten insects?

My hometown of Aichi Prefecture don't have a culture of insect food, while those living in Nagano Prefecture where now I live sometimes eat locusts and hachinoko(which means bee larvae).

In fact, cooked locusts and bee larvae are sold in grocery stores.

I have an experience of eating such insects, but the taste wasn't too bad.

However, only the taste of silkworms was hideous for me, so I will never eat them again.

In the former Nagano Prefecture, since these insects were valuable protein sources, eating them was very important.
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【No. 0350】Escalator

Dec 3, 2015 12:06
In Japan, there are two major ways to ride an escalator.

In Kanto region (Tokyo area), people stand on the left side, and give the right side to other people in a hurry.

On the other hand, in Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto area), people stand on the right side, and space the right side.

According to the Internet, people seem to stand the left side in some countries, such as UK, Australia, or Singapore.

Also, people seem to stand the right side in other countries, such as the US, Canada, or France.

However, the correct riding way is to stand the center, and not to walk on the escalator.

These days, Japanese railway companies have appealed such a usage to people.