Here's how it works

Post a question about something you were wondering about but too lazy to find out the answer to.

I'll research it and do a short writeup with pictures on what I find out

Heres an old one I did awhile back

A Brief History of the Western Style Toilet


Do you need to impress your boss, girlfriend or wife? Then I have the solution for you. Toilets. No, not cleaning them or actually wiping up the mess you made on the seat (thats what the cleaning lady or wife is for) Im talking about your new found authoritative history and knowledge of the toilet.

Throne, privy, john, water closet, loo, the commode. These words all describe the greatness that is the toilet.



Indoor plumbing was invented in Great Britain during the mid 1800's. During that time the British plumbing industy moved quickly to install the new toilets throughout the country. The new toilets greatly improved sanitation and allowed the common folks to feel like royalty.

Before the 18th century and the advent of indoor plumbing the throne like toilet was reserved for members of royalty and upper class.

During the late 1800's the rest of western europe and early America quickly adopted this new toilet, not wanting to appear less civilized then Great Britain.

However not all was well in poo land.



There is a growing controversy over what style of toilet is actually better.

There are several advantges of the old fashioned squatty potty over the new Loo.

1. Makes elimination faster, easier and more complete. This helps prevent "fecal stagnation," a prime factor in colon cancer, appendicitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
2. Protects the nerves that control the prostate, bladder and uterus from becoming stretched and damaged.
3. Securely seals the ileocecal valve, between the colon and the small intestine. In the conventional sitting position, this valve is unsupported and often leaks during evacuation, contaminating the small intestine.
4. Relaxes the puborectalis muscle which normally chokes the rectum in order to maintain continence.
5. Uses the thighs to support the colon and prevent straining. Chronic straining on the toilet can cause hernias, diverticulosis, and pelvic organ prolapse.
6. A highly effective, non-invasive treatment for hemorrhoids, as shown by published clinical research.
7. For pregnant women, squatting avoids pressure on the uterus when using the toilet. Daily squatting helps prepare the mother-to-be for a more natural delivery.

Most of Asia still uses the squat pot and frowns uppon the western toilet. Some places are slowly adopting the new commode but people are slow to change.

Dear Chris,

Why do the horses chilling in pastures have to wear the blinder things over their eyes? I've seen like 5 eating grass blindly.

Skatchkins wrote:Dear Chris,

Why do the horses chilling in pastures have to wear the blinder things over their eyes? I've seen like 5 eating grass blindly.

Good question. Were the horses you saw wearing blinders or actual eye coverings? I suppose it does not matter in the end though as I will cover both topics for you.

To understand why a horse would need blinders (or blinkers as they are often called) on their eyes the first question we must answer is do horses have good vision.

The equine eye is the largest of any land mammal. It's visual abilities are directly related to the animal's behavior and the fact that the horse is a flight animal. For the kindergarten level readers out there that means the horse likes to run away from danger rather then fight.



Like most animals of prey, horses have the ability to use monocular vision. This means they have a near 360 degree field of view



The horse can also use binocular vision to focus on distances far away by raising its head, or objects close up by lowering its head.

The visual acuity of the horse, or how well he is able to see details, is around 20/33. This is slightly worse than the usual 20/20 in humans, but much better than the visual acuity of dogs (20/50), cats (20/75), and rats (20/300).

Another interesting fact is that horses are not color blind. In fact horses have two-color, or dichromatic vision. This means that they see two of the basic three wavelengths of visible light, compared to the three-color trichromic vision of most humans; horses naturally see the blue and green colors of the spectrum and the color variations based upon them, but cannot distinguish red.


How a horse sees a red or a green apple (bottom)
compared to how red or green apples are usually seen by most humans (top)

Usually blinders are placed on a horse to keep them focused on looking straight ahead. They are often worn when they are pulling carts or other work. Without blinders on the horse may get distracted and spooked causing them to rear up or other problems.



If you were referring to the mesh covering though, that is used to keep flies off of their eyes.

I would suspect that in your case, the horses in the pasture were wearing blinders to keep them from being spooked by traffic and people.

Hopefully after reading this you feel a sense of enlightenment and gratification from reading my answer. If my answer was not good enough, well then I urge you to go sit in a closet filled with angry bees and contemplate life.

Have a good day.

Thanks answer man!

offroadaz wrote:
I would suspect that in your case, the horses in the pasture were wearing blinders to keep them from being spooked by traffic and people.

Have a good day.

As noted Blinders are used when woking they would not be used if a horse is just out to pasture. I only know this as my sister leased a horse for a year. Just to add...The mesh face covering to keep the flys out of their eyes do not blind the horse. They can still see fine.

fatbob309 wrote:As noted Blinders are used when woking they would not be used if a horse is just out to pasture. I only know this as my sister leased a horse for a year. Just to add...The mesh face covering to keep the flys out of their eyes do not blind the horse. They can still see fine.

We used to put them on the horses at my grandpa's place because they got spooked by trucks that drove by

:)=)

OK, I'll play: Why is Pink a "girls color" and blue a "boys color" and why do 8 year old girls lose their MIND (in a good way) when you paint their room Pepto Bismol pink?

offroadaz wrote:We used to put them on the horses at my grandpa's place because they got spooked by trucks that drove by

:)=)

Hmmmmm.... I had always been told not to do that. Then again its kinda like anything else in life. Do what works and screw the rest of it.

fatbob309 wrote:Hmmmmm.... I had always been told not to do that. Then again its kinda like anything else in life. Do what works and screw the rest of it.

lol youre probably right. I don't think you should bite a horses ear if they are acting up but my grandpa did that too :clap:

God I love grandpa's!

Why do farts smell worse in the shower/bathtub??

YellowSub wrote:Why do farts smell worse in the shower/bathtub??

It's not just me! Yay!

What happens to all the tortoises when it rains like this and the flood watters come... Can they float?

How much water each year is saved by peeing in the shower? Back yard?

wow guru answer machine must be stumped three new questions and no answers:neutral:

Fail :(

Fail Bump

offroadaz wrote: ....I urge you to go sit in a closet filled with angry bees and contemplate life.

Have a good day.

;) .

Love you!