Aviva Trivia

We all take Aspirin pretty much for granted, but did you know that before Aspirin was available, people used willow bark! They didn’t understand how or why it worked, but chewing on a section of bark did in fact relieve pain. It was even suggested that it should be used during childbirth. Can’t see that helping!

I did a little searching and went through some books to see what else I could find out. Actually, the history was quite interesting, but then I found something else¦ a few bizarre uses!

Aspirin as we know it was supposedly created in 1897, but it can be traced back about 3500 years.  Hippocrates (the father of  technical medicine) discovered recipes that used the bark of the willow tree (mentioned above) to produce a powder that would relieve headaches, pain and fever. This substance would be used for generations.
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An autopsy is a procedure performed on a non-living body in order to learn valuable clues as to the cause death.  The word ‘autopsy’ comes from the Greek words ‘auto’ and ‘opsis’, meaning ‘to see for oneself’.  Who performs autopsies and how?  Why does it take so long to receive results, and how is the determination of death made?  To understand the answers to these questions, an explanation of the procedure known as an autopsy is helpful.

Before an autopsy is considered, of course, a death has to occur.  An autopsy is often required when a death seems to be from mysterious or suspicious circumstances.  Whether a murder, suicide, or natural causes, often these can be determined by autopsy.  The police, a coroner, or even the family of the deceased can request an autopsy.  An autopsy will not adversely affect the possibility of an open casket at the funeral.

A coroner is usually a medical doctor, or pathologist, who investigates suspicious deaths.  A pathologist or pathology assistant usually performs an autopsy.  A pathologist is a medical doctor who specializes in normal and diseased human tissue.  He or she is responsible for examination of the tissue and may oversee the medical professionals who perform testing on blood and body fluids.  Tissue will be obtained from several or all of the body’s organs, including the liver, kidneys, heart, brain, skin and others.
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* The stapes, also known as the stirrup bone, located in the middle ear, is the smallest bone in the body. It is .28 centimeters (.11 inches) in length.

* The motor neurons are the longest cells in the body. They run from the big toe to the lowers spinal cord and can be as long as 1.37 meters (4.5 feet.)

* Every year our eyes blink 4, 200,000 times each.
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It doesn’t take much research to learn that a diet based on fast foods makes one feel sluggish while eating a healthier diet results in more energy and overall health.  Some foods are packed with healthful benefits causing researchers to term them as healing foods.  The following facts discuss various foods that help ward away illness and promote a healthier state of being.

Research has demonstrated that an antioxidant-rich diet can significantly help ward off heart disease, stroke and some cancers–also cataracts!

Calcium-rich foods include yogurt, almonds, sardines, tofu, milk, hard cheese, and green leafy vegetables.
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I thought that I knew everything there was to know about coughs. But after a little research, it seems that I had a lot to learn and some of what I found is just plain bizarre!

We are so accustomed to running to the drugstore for a bottle of cough syrup, but what about when there wasn’t a drugstore handy, or perhaps it was just too far away? What did people do then? Yes, they made their own. And believe it or not, I even dug up some coughing superstitions.

* I had heard of the highly addictive drug … laudanum being used for sleeping purposes in romance novels set in the 19th century, but apparently it was also used to stop coughing. On the other hand, it was used for just about any ailment imaginable, sometimes with horrific results.
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Some of the earliest evidence of medical instruments comes from Babylon c.1800 B.C.  A surgeon’s use of a bronze knife is referenced in Hammurabi’s Code in which it states that if a patient dies due to the surgeon’s use of the knife, the surgeon’s hand “shall be cut off.”

Chinese Emperor Shen Nung developed a guide for the use of herbal medicines in 2900 B.C.

The Etruscan people of central Italy were the first to use false teeth in c.700 B.C.  Early dentists used gold straps to attach animal teeth to their patients’ mouths.  Porcelain false teeth did not arrive on the scene until c.1770 in France.
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Everyone dreams. No exception. You may not remember your dreams, but you are having them. And learning to remember them is easier than you might think.

Every night, we pass through several iterations of what’s known as the REM stage. REM stands for “rapid eye movement,” and it refers to the period of sleep during which the sleeper’s eyes dart about underneath the eyelids. This is when our most vivid and memorable dreams take place. (Some dreams do occur during non-REM sleep, but memory of these dreams tends to be more hazy.)

We typically enter our first five-minute-long REM cycle some 90 minutes after falling asleep. As the night wears on, REM cycles become gradually longer and more frequent. In all, we enter REM sleep at least four or five times a night. And each time we do, we dream.
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Most of us know what blood is and a little about what makes up blood. January was blood donor month. Here’s some blood trivia and facts.

Blood Trivia:

What precentage of our body weight is blood?

– Blood makes up about seven percent of your body’s weight.
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