In this world full of wanderlust, with all the planes, trains, and automobiles, we can travel to remote islands and the deepest jungles or the most crowded and impressive cities. Covering these distances is something early explorers couldn’t even dream of. Still, like those early explorers, we need to be prepared for possible diseases in unfamiliar territory. A rare and unfamiliar disease for many today is Lassa Fever.
The existence of “super-bugs,” or antibiotic resistant bacteria, has become a growing fear among public health experts. Antibiotics have had a near miraculous effect on public health. But, their overuse has created bacteria resistant to many antibiotics.
It would be fairly safe to assume that if given a mauve bridesmaid’s dress or mauve curtains, most modern women would be less than enthusiastic. For years, the color mauve’s reputation has been far from fashion-forward, maybe even backward? But this wasn’t always the case.
Mauve enjoyed time in the limelight during the 19th century when the first synthetic dye mauveine, later nicknamed “mauve,” was accidentally and serendipitously discovered during the search for a malaria cure.
Smallpox, is a contagious illness that has a mysterious origin, as well as a long history.
Recently, tiny particles of the disease were discovered on an Egyptian mummy, identified as Pharaoh Ramses the V. The pharaoh reigned from 1150 – 1145 B.C., leaving the mummy 3,000 years old. In recent years, traces of smallpox were also found on two other Egyptian mummies, reigning during the Egyptian Dynasty from 1570 – 1085 B.C.
If smallpox can be found in ancient pharaohs, then how old can it be? Millennia later, there’s still much debate over this issue.
Everyone has loose change in a pocket, cupholder or piggy bank, but how often do we look at what’s on these coins? Since 1946, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, has been on the coin’s face. But, did you know that Roosevelt didn’t end up being on the face of a coin due to leading the nation? Instead, he is on this coin because of his drive to stop polio.
