h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yes. With words.

agcB

What do you mean suck? Oh God all those years and years of pain and suffering.

Thank you AGC Ben

When you speak of emancipated women, is it right to expect that there must be ewomancipated men?

Going back, if I may, to the asthma topic. I was watching something the other day that stated that the reason for the increase in the number of people suffering from asthma/hayfever is due to the hyper-cleanliness of our lives.

Basically, our immune systems don't have enough to do. In the past where our bodies were constantly battling disease, asthma/hayfever was not a major issue. Now, because everything is sanitised to within an inch of its life, our bodies react to the smallest things; pollen and housedust for example. The immune system thinks that these are major threats and goes hell for leather to stop it, making us feel pants in the mean time.

Sorry Ekki but I am going to interrupt you...

Can I just jump in with the quesiton that has always worried me namely what do plain clothes police wear on their days off?

Are there any second hand clothes shops in New Jersey?

Yeah, basically.

There has been a lot of resurch into the increase in atopy; the tendency to produce IgE (immunoglobulin, or antibody E) to common environmental agents; peanut proteins, the fungi that grows on dust, and esp dead skin.

It seems that it is both linked with exposure to allagins themselves and exposure to bacteria/viruses/helminths/fungi etc, in through the gastrointestinal route.

The allagen exposure is quite weird;
low exposure to, e.g. cat/dog hair, gives high risk.
Really high exposure to allagins gives high risk of atopy/allergy.
medium exposure, reduces risk.

exposure to microbial antigens, mainly via the gut, reduces risk, essentially by teaching the immune system to be able to switch from IgE sublass antibody/immunoglobulin, to other classes; IgG mainly.
As IgE has the features necessary for causing mast cell degranulation*, and as IgG doesn't, the IgG protects against atopy.

*; First exposure to allagin; IgE is produced and this coats the outside surface of mast cells; on second/subsequent exposure to the causitive agent, the allagen binds the IgE, causing cross links to form, which then causes degranulation of mast cells; this releases histomean etc, which causes most of the symptoms/signs.

(I hope this was what you were talking about, and I haven't just gone off on one for no reason.. Excuese the spelling; its late and I am tired) Hope it helps if thats what you ment?

Why is it called babysitting when they aren't and they don't?!?

38-J

JOTD: If you tell a joke in a forest and nobody laughs, was it a joke?

Why is it called babysitting, when you don't sit on them?

Could AC/DC ever play unplugged, and if so, what would they be called?

Surely in some countries they should be AC/AC?

Does a forest know it is a forest if there is no one there to notice the forest noting this fact/fiction/?

Not sure about forests but I have seen perfectly lovely gardens and parks cease to be perfectly lovely gardens and parks by the failure of passers-by to notice them.


On a larger scale this is exactly what is happening to our planet.



I have actually witnessed flowers brighten up when someone admires them.

Wallflowers, perhaps?

If plain-clothes poliecemen are suppossed to blend in unnoticibly with "normal" people, how come you can always spot a plain clothes police person so easily?

Maybe because everyone else isn't normal?

People who are deliberately trying to look normal end up looking too normal, and other people think they're either plainclothes cops or undercover aliens.

Also, why when you make salad dressing from a salad dressing mix, are you supposed to add the mix, vegetable oil, and water, and then try to mix it up? Since its impossible to mix oil and water, what's the point?

What?
Why?
Mad?
me?
salid?
Can carrots see really well in the dark?

Why do oranges need so much Vit C?

What?
Why?
Mad?
me?
salid?
Can carrots see really well in the dark?

Why do oranges need so much Vit C?

What?
Why?
Mad?
me?
salid?
Can carrots see really well in the dark?

Why do oranges need so much Vit C?