Sunday, August 19, 2007

UFOs ARE HERE! - The Deyo Diaries Vol. 1

"Featuring: Steven Spielberg, Stan Deyo, Jacques Vallee, Prof. Allen Hynek, Stanton Friedman, Margaret Mead, Ken Arnold, Betty Hill, Rev. William Gill, Klaus Nobel, RAAF Sqdn Ldr White, Ray Palmer and Colin Cameron. This amazing UFO documentary film was produced in 1977."

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posted by Crackpot! @ 9:42 PM 0 comments

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Fun Food Additive of the Day -- EDTA!

While investigating the ingredients contained within a can of Lipton® Iced Brisk - Iced Lemon Tea, I found this tasty gem -- calcium disodium EDTA.

Wikipedia description:

EDTA is a widely-used acronym for the chemical compound ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (and many other names, see table). EDTA refers to the chelating agent with the formula (HO2CCH2)2NCH2CH2N(CH2CO2H)2. This amino acid is widely used to sequester di- and trivalent metal ions. EDTA binds to metals via four carboxylate and two amine groups. EDTA forms specially strong complexes with Mn(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), and Co(III).[1]


According to the dubious nutrition list on the can, the job of EDTA is "to protect freshness," but the Wikipedia page explains it's use in soft drinks(among other things) a bit more throughly:

Soft drinks containing ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate, to mitigate formation of benzene (a carcinogen)

Why would you want to drink anything that could possibly create benzene in the first place? Never mind anything else that is added to prevent it.

Benzene in Soft Drinks

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posted by Crackpot! @ 3:47 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Mr. Wizard (1917-2007)

(via boingboing /cryptomundo)

Have a hoot in the next dimension you crazy bastard!

Man, I watched the 'Mr. Wizard' show religiously when I was a wee sapling. The Mr. Wizard show, in my opinion, one of the best shows Nickelodean ever produced.

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posted by Crackpot! @ 12:14 PM 0 comments