First, the general definition:

Brain freeze, ice cream headache, freezie Frozen Brain Syndrome or it’s given scientific name Spheno Palatine Gangleoneuralgia are terms used to describe a form of cranial pain or headache which people are known to sometimes experience after consuming cold beverages or foods such as ice cream or slurpees, often as a result of rapid consumption.

And the cause:

The reaction can be sometimes triggered within a few seconds after a very cold substance consumed comes into contact with the roof of the mouth. The body’s response to cold environments is to to reduce the diameter of blood vessels. This is in place to reduce blood flow to the area, and thus minimize heat loss to keep warmth at the body’s core. The return to normal status and artery size results in massive dilation of the arteries that supply the palate. The nerves in the region of the palate sense this pain and transmit the sensation of this pain back to the trigeminal ganglia. This results in pain that is referred to the forehead and below the orbit. (Edited slightly to be read easily)

What to do to relieve the pain?

It has been reported that the pain can be relieved by moving the tongue to the roof of the mouth, which will cause greater warmth in the region; it is also believed that the pain can be relieved by slowly sipping room temperature water. Laying the head to the side may also provide relief.

And look, I’m not the only one who has trouble having brain freezes!

It has been estimated that 30% of the population experiences brain freeze. Some studies suggest that brainfreeze is more common in people who experience migraines.

I hope this time was as informative for you as it was for me. Until next time kiddies!

via Wikipedia

Tagged: Brain Freeze

Well, you’re wrong! Actually, I’m making perfect sense. The sentence, “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.” is perfectly gramatically valid. Let’s review:

The sentence is unpunctuated and uses three different readings of the word “buffalo“. In order of their first use, these are:

1. The city of Buffalo, New York.
2. The animal “buffalo“, in the plural (equivalent to “buffaloes”), in order to avoid articles.
3. The verb “buffalo”, meaning to confuse, deceive, or intimidate

Marking each “buffalo” with its use as numbered above gives:

Buffalo¹ buffalo² Buffalo¹ buffalo² buffalo³ buffalo³ Buffalo¹ buffalo².Thus, the sentence turns into a description of the pecking order in the social hierarchy of buffaloes from the Buffalo zoo:

[Some] buffalo(es) from Buffalo [that] buffalo(es) from Buffalo intimidate [themselves] intimidate [other] buffalo(es) [from] Buffalo.

Other examples of wacky sentences:

• Badgers badgers badger badger badgers.
• Dogs dogs dog dog dogs.
• Who polices the police? – The police police. So, who polices the police police? Police police police police police police.
• The last boss she had had had had enough of her.
• That that that that had been had been that that that had been had been unexpected.

Ok. Now I’m confused. I think I’m going to go rock back and forth while mumbling, “Buffalo, buffalo, buffalo…”

via Wikipedia

Tagged: Buffalo, Badgers, Dogs, the English language

Just in case you ever get an interview with Microsoft, here’s the answer:

Reasons for the shape include: A round manhole cover cannot fall through its circular opening, whereas a square manhole cover may fall in if it were inserted diagonally in the aperture (A Reuleaux triangle or other curve of constant width would also serve this purpose, but round covers are much easier to manufacture.) Round tubes are the strongest and most material-efficient shape against the compression of the earth around them. The bearing surfaces of manhole frames and covers are machined to assure flatness and prevent them from becoming dislodged by traffic. Round castings are much easier to machine using horizontal boring mills. Circular covers can also be moved around by rolling, and they need not be aligned to put them back. If we look it from pure mathematical point of view, for the same surface area round will consume the least amount of metal. Hence it is cheaper to make round covers for the same amount of surface area.

Well, now you know. And much better off because of it!

via Wikipedia

Tagged: Manhole covers, Microsoft

But now, courtesy of Howstuffworks, we can all know exactly what those four letters stand for:

R.S.V.P. stands for a French phrase, “répondez, s’il vous plaît,” which means “please reply.” The person sending the invitation would like you to tell him or her whether you accept or decline the invitation.

You’re welcome. Now you can tell people, “répondez, s’il vous plaît,” and when they look at you with a blank stare, you can sigh and say, “Oh, please ARE ES VEE PEE,” (even though it is so internationally redundant.)

via Howstuffworks