The Truth About Swallowing Spiders in Our Sleep

The Truth About Swallowing Spiders in Our Sleep No matter what generation you grew up in, chances are you heard the rumor that we swallow a certain number of spiders each year as we sleep. However, the truth is that the chances of you swallowing a spider while sleeping are slim to none.   Research Findings Not a single study has been done to date to quantify the number of spiders people swallow while sleeping. Scientists do not give this topic a moments glance,  however, because it is nearly impossible. You can rest peacefully because the chances of swallowing a spider while you are asleep are almost none. The only reason they do not say the chances are zero is that nothing is impossible. In order for you to unknowingly swallow a spider in your sleep, a number of unlikely occurrences would all have to happen in sequence: First, you would have to be sleeping with your mouth wide open. If a spider crawled on your face and over your lips, you would likely feel it. So a spider would have to approach you by descending from the ceiling above you on a silk thread.Then, the spider would have to hit the target- your mouth- dead center to avoid tickling your lips. If it landed on your tongue, a highly-sensitive surface, you would feel it for sure.Next, the spider would have to land at the back of your throat without touching anything on the way in. Finally, at the very moment of landing on your throat, you would have to swallow. This series of coincidences is highly unlikely.   Spider Behavior Spiders are not going to voluntarily approach the mouth of a large predator. Spiders view humans as a danger to their well-being. Sleeping humans are most likely viewed as  terrifying. A slumbering person breathes, has a beating heart and perhaps snores- all of which create vibrations that warn spiders of an imminent threat.  We appear as big, warm-blooded, threatening creatures that might eat them on purpose. We Do Eat Spiders- Just Not in Our Sleep The rumor about swallowing spiders in your sleep may be debunked, but that does not mean that you do not eat spiders. Spider and insect parts make it into our food supply every day, and it is all FDA approved. For example, according to  the FDA, there is an average of 60 or more bug fragments per quarter pound of chocolate. Peanut butter has  30 or more insect fragments  per quarter pound. Everything you eat likely has critter parts in it, but this is normal. It is fairly impossible to avoid having these mini body parts in our food. As it turns out, bits of arthropods in your food will not kill you and can make you stronger- protein and nutrient levels in some insects and arachnids can match that of chicken and fish. Misleading Information on the Internet To test a theory that people were susceptible to accepting anything they read online as true, Lisa Holst, a columnist for PC Professional in the 1990s conducted an experiment. Holst authored a list of fabricated facts and statistics including the old folkloric rumor that the average person swallows eight spiders per year. As Holst hypothesized, the statement was readily accepted as fact and went viral.   Thanks to Holst, the younger generations now know the old fashioned rumor. It might have faded into the past if left in the past, but now, some still believe the rumor is true. Sources Spiders Swallowed Per Year, Snopes.com.Defect Levels Handbook. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2016).

The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock.(T.S.Eliot) Essay

The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock.(T.S.Eliot) - Essay Example Through an irregular rhyme scheme, Eliot presents emotional focus and certain sets of descriptions. â€Å"Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains, Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys, Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap†. Eliot tells the troubles of Alfred Prufrock through the city life to the ocean images that represent the way he moves from a normal life surrounded by people, to distance himself from humanity. Alfred sees himself as a second-rate individual after emotionally distancing himself from life and other human beings. He is absorbed in an inferiority complex and isolates himself from life. In addition, he is concerned with ageing in Eliot’s assertion, â€Å"With a bald spot in the middle of my hair — (They will say: â€Å"How his hair is growing thin!†)†. The transitions in the poem are mostly emotional rather than reasonable, as evidenced by the irregular reflections of the narrator. Even so, his enable Eliot to present the frustrations of a middle-aged man who cannot voice opinions, and eventually does not say anything. At times, it is hard to determine whether Prufrock is on his way to act, or whether it is visions running through his mind. This is evident in the line, â€Å"pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas†; the yellow fog that â€Å"rubs its back upon the window panes†; the evening â€Å"spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table.† The stylistic devices and symbolism does not help much in his quest to express himself. His environment does not look friendly at all. Eliot tries to say that there cannot be a meaningful existence in the modern world full of characters who are careless about their surroundings or are too afraid to raise their opinions on matters that affect the society. The poem represents the disappointment and disheartened desires

Leadership in Customer Service Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership in Customer Service - Article Example There are so many kinds and interpretations of a leader, but which one does it take to make a customer-service-driven business successful? Leadership needs to have a vision of what is wanted to achieve. Leaders possess not only this but are driven by passion—the strength and the energy to work against the odds to achieve the vision (Williams, 2005). Great leaders delegate and empower. Leaders do not just pin point on people and tell them what to do instead they create structure, allocate responsibility, help create systems, provide support and training and resources, and empower subordinates to make decisions thus making them feel significant in the business group. Through empowerment, a leader is set differently from an authoritarian. A leader does not dictate but respect employees and treats these people as customers as well. Great leaders sometimes have to take tough decisions but there's always respect for the subordinates (Williams, 2005). Workers are encouraged to: participate in the action plan; develop awareness of the goals; participate in the change plan; have reasonable expectations and attitude. Communication flow is always open to a leader and is never one way. Successful business leaders are always keeping their people informed thus key performance indicators are displayed; targets are set, accomplished and celebrated. Everyone is made to feel as part of a community to create a sense of unity (Williams, 2005). A leader motivates people to do what is important and leads an example. There's a famous story about a group of visitors to Disney who was walking in the Magic Kingdom when they saw a grey-haired man walk out of his way to pick up a piece of litter. One of the members of the group approached the man and asked, "How many custodians are there here?" The man replied, "45,000". The guest was surprised at so many.

Legal and Ethical Issues in Management Paper Essay

Legal and Ethical Issues in Management Paper - Essay Example The doctrine stipulates that the manufacturers of drugs prescribed by doctors and other necessary medical devices will perform their duties of caring for their patients through the provision of warnings to the physicians charged with the duty of administering the drugs. The manufacturer is therefore responsible for issuing warnings to the physicians concerning the usage of their drugs by patients. This is mainly because the patients are not able to purchase the products directly from the manufacturers and must go through the physicians to obtain them (Strom, Kimmel & Hennessy, 2012). The majority of the people believe that the rule on learned intermediaries should not apply to adverts that make the patients to become more informed and healthier. They also perceive adverts that include brief summaries which stipulate the risks involved in consuming different types of drugs (Mullner, 2005). However, the inclusion of brief summaries on the risks involved in consuming the drugs has been difficult for the manufacturers since this action would require more time along with spaces in the media. The high costs of attaining the above two factors in the media has made it very expensive for them to comply with the stipulations laid out by the rule (Strom, Kimmel & Hennessy, 2012). For instance, in the case of Perez v. Wyeth Laboratories Inc., in New Jersey, the courts decided that the doctrine on the learned intermediaries since the Norplant implants in the case had been advertised directly to the women consumers instead of the doctors. Since the drugs had been directly mar keted to their customers, the defendants were absolved from any charges that had been brought against them (Mullner, 2005). The dissenters on the issue claim that physicians should convey the relevant information concerning the risks in the drugs to their consumers. They additionally state that physicians are normally at the best position

American Hegemony in the Twenty-First Century: Consensus and Legitimac

American Hegemony in the Twenty-First Century: Consensus and Legitimacy Abstract: Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the world’s only unquestioned superpower. How the United States evaluates its position as global hegemon has important consequences for American foreign policy, particularly with regards to the potential for future policy constraints. Thus, this paper seeks to consider the question: How durable is American hegemony? The paper first defines the state of American hegemony and then considers the primary challengers: Europe, Russia, China, Japan and imperial overstretch. It will conclude that in the long-term, East Asian geopolitical instability poses the greatest threat to American hegemony, but that in the short-term, the hegemony will prove to be quite durable as long as the United States can counteract the phenomenon of imperial overstretch. In order to diffuse both internal and international threats to hegemony, American leaders should work to pursue national interests within a framework of consensus an d legitimacy as much as possible. American Hegemony in the Twenty-First Century: Preserving the Status Quo by Fostering Consensus I. Introduction: Why Hegemony Matters The Soviet Union’s collapse at the end of the Cold War left the United States without its major global rival. Now alone at the top, the United States’ strategic imperatives have shifted remarkably. The shift has been significant enough to prompt fundamental questions about the international order and whether this new â€Å"unipolar moment† will last. Indeed, since 1989, political scientists have clamored to define the United States’ status relative to the rest of the world. Indispensable nation? Sole super... ...002. Mastanduno, Michael and Ethan B. Kaplan. â€Å"Realism and State Strategies after the Cold War.† Unipolar Politics: Realism and State Strategies after the Cold War. Eds. Ethan B. Kapstein and Michael Mastanduno. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 1-27. Nye, Jr., Joseph S. The Paradox of American Power: Why the World’s Only Superpower Can’t Go It Alone. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Rielly, Dr. John. â€Å"The Future of American Hegemony,† Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 29 November 2004. Sicherman, Harvey. â€Å"A Cautionary Tale: The U.S. and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.† In Eagle Rules? Foreign Policy and American Primacy in the Twenty-First Century. Ed. Robert J. Lieber. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002. 152-172. Wohlforth, William C. â€Å"The Stability of a Unipolar World.† International Security, 24.1 (Summer 1999), pp. 5-41.

Against Working Mothers

Fatima Saucedo Mr. Lewton English 101 6 December 2012 The Value of Stay-At-Home Moms Now days, many people tend to look down at stay-at-home moms rather than working mothers. This happens to many women, making it more difficult for them to choose between their children or work. For the first time in twenty-five years, the percentage of mothers returning to the workforce has fallen from fifty-nine percent in 1998 to fifty-five percent in 2000 (Adrienne Fox, Jan. 2002). This shows that women have more of a lifestyle choice rather than an economic choice.For mothers, it is a hard decision to make, but staying at home with their children is a better choice. Children need the affection and attention of their mothers. The reason I am against working mothers is because it is important to have a motherly figure during growth, as children behave better, and daycare is not the appropriate substitution for proper motherly care. Stay-at-home mothers also have the privilege of enjoying their chil dren’s â€Å"firsts†. Their first steps, their first words, and their first haircut.Experiencing these â€Å"firsts† while giving them praise and encouragement will induce children to feel secure and wanted. According to Dr. Laurence Steinberg, a professor of physiology at Temple University in Philadelphia, good parenting helps lower the chances for anxiety, depression, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, alcohol and drug use. No mother would want their children growing up with a higher chance of these disorders or behaviors. Having a mother at home brings daughter and son to mother relationships closer, not only physically but also emotionally as well.Infants who receive enough attention †¦ from a loving adult right from the start are more likely to succeed socially and emotionally (Betty Holcomb)       It is risky for infants to be away from their moms for more than twenty hours per week. Psychologists claim babies who are separated from their moth ers may tend to act out in school, cause trouble in life, or even have poor relationships as adults (Betty Holcomb). A very important advantage a mother has is she can discipline her child more consistently when being at home.The child’s values and morals can be guided. Kids are going to behave better and act out less for attention; especially if these values and morals are enforced since newborns. Not only will they behave well in school, they will have good grades. This is because parents will be able to manage their time more effectively to be able to focus on their children’s education. The children’s homework will be making sure it is completed, with a stay-at-home mom looking out for them.In some families, it is actually less expensive for one parent to stay at home than to pay for childcare. Not only the cost of childcare is saved, there is also the issue of feeding the family. If there is a stay-at-home mom, the need for quick â€Å"take-out food† is dramatically reduced. This is usually the case for working mothers, because they are either too tired or do not have enough time to cook a meal for her family. Also, mothers do not need to worry about how their child is doing in daycare.Two studies, one by the National Institute of Child Health & Development and the other by the Institute of Child Development from the University of Minnesota have both found that children who spend all day in daycare have higher levels of stress and aggression than kids who stay at home with moms. The research in the year 2010 confirmed these results. They show that it continues to negatively impact even after they’ve reached adolescence. Just like the other studies, biological psychologist Megan Gunnar and her colleagues found stress in babies.In their research, three-month old babies who received the mother’s consistent care had less cortisol stress than those who did not (The Natural Child Project). On the other side, studies cla im that children of working mothers have more chances of being successful in life. From 1975 to 1990, the work labor force for women has grown especially for those with children (Howard Hayghe 1998). Mothers like to be independent and have a feeling of satisfaction; it makes them happier, therefore better mothers. They can’t be fulfilling happy if the know someone else is enjoying them in daycare.According to the opponents, children who are in daycare starting from one month and on have a better language and cognitive ability than children at home. Due to this they will tend to have higher reading scores as well (Peters 1997). Because it is important to have a motherly figure during growth, as children behave better, and daycare is not the appropriate substitution for proper motherly care, mothers should take in mind of staying at home with their children. Children shouldn’t be forced to a routine out of their reach. Not only will children of stay-at-home moms will be comfortable, but mom will too.

Communism In The Soviet Union And Why It Failed Essay

Communism in the Soviet Union and Why it Failed Communism is defined as quot;a system of political and economic organization in which property is owned by the community and all citizens share in the enjoyment of the common wealth, more or less according to their need.quot; In 1917 the rise of power in the Marxist-inspired Bolsheviks in Russia along with the consolidation of power by Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, the word communism came to mean a totalitarian system controlled by a single political party. This came to justify that the means of production is controlled and the wealth is distributed with the goal of producing a classless or possibly a stateless society. The ideological meaning of communism arose in 1848 with the†¦show more content†¦This led to Lenin and Bolsheviks coming into power in 1917. The Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communist party and under the leadership of Lenin took control of government and outlawed all of the other political parties. In 1918 they became the ruling party of Russia and formed a dictatorship so they could ensure the Soviet transition from capitalism to socialism. The communist party arose in opposition to both capitalism and socialists of the Second International who had supported their capitalist governments during World War I. The name communists was specifically taken to distinguish Lenins followers in Russia and abroad from such Socialists. Following their victory in the Russian Civil War in 1918, the Soviet Communists followed a cautious policy of limited capatalism during the New Economic Program until Lenins death in 1924. Lenins successor, Joseph Stalin, forcibly accomplished the transition from capitalism to socialism. During his years in power the party grew from about 470,000 to millions. He nationalized the Soviet industries and agriculture. A rapid industrialization program was pushed on the people even though they lacked materials. Police terror was also used to suppress dissent and opposition. This became known as Stalinism. Communist rule was confined to the Soviet Union until the end of World War II. The Soviet Red Army liberated several countries in eastern Europe from the NaziShow MoreRelatedCommunism in the Soviet Union and Why It Failed1561 Words   |  7 PagesCommunism in the Soviet Union and Why it Failed Communism is defined as a system of political and economic organization in which property is owned by the community and all citizens share in the enjoyment of the common wealth, more or less according to their need. 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