DANDY DEVELOPMENTS

THE NEFF ZONE -- BY JIM NEFF

CADILLAC NEWS -- NOVEMBER 16, 2024

As time marches on, all sorts of innovations prove that humans are thinking a lot of important thoughts. Big or small, many of these developments have the potential to make the future a better place. 

 

For instance, anything that helps mankind fight cancer is wonderful. The hopeful headline predicts: “Cancer-Detecting Lollipops Could Sweeten the Future of Diagnostic Testing.” 

 

Right now, this applies to mouth cancer. “The colorful candies may soon be sweetening a diagnostic process. This new method, being developed at the U.K’s University of Birmingham, would prove less invasive and would be tasty to boot.”

 

The end game is to reduce the diagnostic time to ten minutes. Research is forging ahead. “The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the charity Stand Up 2 Cancer recently granted the project over $450,000, which will fund the research for another three years.” (https://nicenews.com/health-and-wellness/lollipops-that-can-detect-mouth-cancer/)

 

Meanwhile, there is exciting news from outer space. “New satellite imagery technique allows scientists to see plastic on beaches from space. The technique can identify differences in how sand, water, and plastic reflect light, enabling researchers to spot debris on shorelines from over 372 miles overhead.”

 

There's a lot of plastic fouling our ecosystem. “It is now estimated that between nineteen and twenty-three million metric tons of plastic enter the sea or coastal environments each year, a number that may double by 2030. The detection of plastic debris is a significant step in planning clean-up operations.” (https://www.iflscience.com/plastic-on-beaches-can-now-be-seen-from-space-with-new-satellite-technology-76670)

 

Down here on terra firma, another development in the plastics arena comes to us in the form of a warning from the Food Network. “ New research shows that many types of black plastics contain harmful flame retardants that shouldn’t be coming into contact with food. That means the black plastic spatula you use to scramble your eggs should get tossed.” 

 

According to the network, here's what to know. “Manufacturers aren’t adding flame retardants to black plastic kitchen items on purpose. These toxic compounds are making their way into the black plastic supply through the recycling of black plastic electronics. When the electronics get recycled alongside other types of black plastic, they contaminate the whole lot.” 

 

So, what to do? You might consider getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils and replacing them with stainless steel or other plastic-free alternatives. “If you choose to get rid of the black plastic items you have in your kitchen, you should throw them in the trash instead of the recycling bin.” (https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/news/throw-away-black-takeout-container-kitchen-utensils)

 

Sometimes all it takes for a genius innovation is for some thinking from outside the traditional box. This could be the case with housing. “Across the United States, people are struggling to find homes they can afford. Also throughout the country, an abundance of retail space is sitting empty. A rising real estate trend could make a dent in both problems: turning abandoned malls and shopping centers into affordable housing.”  

 

It's an interesting concept. “As affordable housing needs and costs keep going up and a shortage of available vacant land is growing, why not use what we already have? Why not creatively turn it around from being a blight on the community to an asset?”

 

Ah, but could this work in the real world? “A nonprofit development group, PathStone, retrofitted an empty Sears department store that was part of a former mall outside Rochester, New York, transforming it into Skyview Park Apartments. The complex opened in 2022 and features 157 rental units affordable for adults fifty-five and older.” Photos and a video at: https://nicenews.com/humanity/turning-abandoned-malls-into-affordable-housing/.

 

Then there are occasions where an innovation is really a validation. You know, proof that something you assume is true is (in fact) really true. An example? “Do not lick any cold metal objects, no matter who triple dog dares you.”

 

The movie “A Christmas Story” comes to mind here. “It’s a scene that will play on countless televisions this holiday season. Nine-year-olds Ralphie, Schwartz, and Flick are gathered outside school on a cold winter day. Schwartz wields the triple dog dare. Flick has no choice but to press his tongue to the metal pole. It sticks, and he can’t pull himself away. The police and fire department are called in to save the poor boy’s tongue.”

 

But is this scenario true? “As many kids have learned over the years, you actually can get your tongue stuck to a cold metal object. Metal can conduct heat very quickly. When a warm tongue hits cold metal, the metal immediately starts taking heat from the appendage. The saliva from the tongue will freeze, and very quickly, leaving that tongue essentially glued to the metal pole.” (https://www.mentalfloss.com/can-you-get-your-tongue-stuck-to-a-metal-pole)

 

Finally, a good way to wrap up this discussion is with a hearty helping of soup. In this case, the soup is comprised of calculators. “Calculator Soup is a free online calculator. Here you will find free loan, mortgage, time value of money, math, algebra, trigonometry, fractions, physics, statistics, time & date and conversions calculators.” There are hundreds of these at: https://www.calculatorsoup.com/. If you can calculate something, the calculator is on this page. 

 

The service also includes explanations. “Many of the calculator pages show work or equations that help you understand the calculations.” Fat chance for me. I got stumped in the “General Math” section. 

 

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Read Neff Zone columns online at CadillacNews.com and NeffZone.com/cadillacnews.