How to Spot A Liar Effectively

behavior safety values

How to Spot A Liar Effectively

Unknown Friday, October 30, 2015 Komentar

Liars, liars everywhere. But then you have to admit that you too have lied sometimes, if not many times. Knowing that someone is lying to you might not be as annoying as finding out a little bit later that you have been deceived. You are upset with your being unable to observe and understand the body language of your conversation partner, how you have missed important clues to what they are really thinking and feeling while talking with you. It feels like you have failed to get the whole truth.

As we might have known, body language is a kind of nonverbal communication where thoughts, intentions, or feelings are expressed by physical behaviors such as facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the space bubble (the sense of authority over the “territorial bubble” around you). Understanding body language will help you in many areas of your life and at workspace, especially when you are required to face people with your role as parents, teachers, policemen, or such. There, you will find liars and you have to be able to spot their lies. Below are some steps to spot a liar:

1. Firstly, try to be as empathetic as possible in the conversation, and the chance is you will get the liar to open up more.

2. Liars will try to predict your questions so that their answers will sound honest and natural. Professional liars even practice answering certain questions ahead of time. Ask them questions they do not expect.

3. Liars tend to speak more than honest people in the attempt to sound honest. Using complex sentences can be a sign that they are trying to hide the truth. Stress usually makes people speak faster. Stressed persons often talk louder. Repetitive coughing and clearing the throat are signs of tension.

4. How a person says “No” can be an indication that he might be lying to you. Pay attention on these: Saying "No" and look in a different direction; Saying "No" and close their eyes;

Saying "No" after hesitating; Saying "Nooooo," stretched over a long period of time; Saying "No" in a singsong manner.

5. A subtle change in behavior can be a strong sign of deceit. Pay attention on these: Showing lapses in memory at critical times (despite being alert in earlier conversation). Let’s say that in a sudden he forgest everything; Answering your questions with very short answers, declining to provide more details; Starting to speak more formally (the person is getting stressed); Using exaggerated responses (for example, "awesome" or "brilliant" instead of “good”).

6. When truthful people repeat the story, they tend to add details and remember more facts. On the other hand, liars memorize their stories and try to keep them the same. Rather than forward in time, ask them to recall events backward.

7. Beware of too many compliments. If they are trying too hard to create a good impression, such as are agreeing with all of your opinions, constantly giving praises and laughing at all of your jokes, be cautious.

8. People are uneasy with certain questions due to personal embarrassment, or because they are extremely dependent on the final conclusion. If you are confused, ask some follow-up questions. If you are suspecting that he is hiding the fact of being fired from his previous job, ask the questions like this: "You know, I (or a friend) once lost a job for making a stupid mistake. Have you ever experienced anything like that? How do you think mistakes on the job should be handled?"

9. A smile will not disguise the true feeling as facial expressions will reveal what he is really thinking about. Try to find out if anxiety causes them to blush. Also, flared nostrils, lip nibbling, deep breathing and rapid blinking can also be the clues that you need to spot a liar.

10. Find out if their body language follow the story. Liars may pull their arms and legs inward or keep his movements to a minimum, anything to appear smaller so that, like animals, they can hide from “predators”. Liars often shove their hands behind their back as well as they are afraid if their being uneasy is spotted.

11. Pay attention to how your conversation partner smiles as well as other facial movements. A true smile will incorporate both the lips and eyes.

However, in your attempt to spot a liar, proceed with extreme caution as the body language of a Westerner can be totally different from those of Asian or African persons. Read more articles about various cultures and/or make friends with people of many different cultures so that you can spot a liar effectively.

***

Via rd, inc
Photo: Freeimages,com/Bjorn de Leeuw

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Laugh Till You Die: How Laughter Can Kill You

health

Laugh Till You Die: How Laughter Can Kill You

Unknown Thursday, October 29, 2015 Komentar

Charlie Chaplin said that a day without laughter was a day wasted. That is absolutely true. But recent studies have also suggested that laughing too hard can possibly kill you, literally, in spite of the fact that laughter has a lot positive benefits for your health. In other words, you can laugh till you die, and now let us see how laughter can kill you.

According to Wikipedia, "laughter is a physical reaction in humans and some other species of primate, consisting typically of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system". Thus, when you laugh, your body is actively reacting to external or internal stimuli such as being tickled or reading humorous stories or having funny thoughts. This physical reaction, especially when hysterically made, can drive certain organs of your body to stop working and lead you to death.

Here are several negative impacts to your body that can be triggered by uncontrolled laughing: Psychological harms. Laughter reduces your determination and interrupts your concentration; Cardiovascular harms. Laughter can trigger conduction anomalies and arrhythmias, and also cardiac rupture; Respiratory harms. The quick intake of breath that accompanies laughter can incite inhalation of foreign objects. It could also trigger an asthma attack; Central nervous system harms. Laughter, like many other pleasurable things such as sex, can cause headaches; Gastrointestinal harms. A good belly laugh can cause a hernia protrude. But failure to laugh is an important indication of intra-abdominal infection in children; Musculoskeletal harms. Laughing ecstatically can displace your jaw; Urinary tract harms. Laughing can cause stress incontinence or the loss of bladder control. Well, I guess it means you will laugh till you pee your pants.

Sometimes the laughter itself may not kill you, but it can be an indication about something really bad in your body, something that can definitely kill you. For example, pathological laughter can be the first sign of a stroke in some people. In others, outbursts of unexpected laughter may actually be the manifestation of seizure. These seizures may be the first sign of brain tumors, tuberous sclerosis, hydrocephalus and other stuff that absolutely can and will kill you if you do not take any precautions. 

Let us now see the case examples below to find out who had died of laughing throughout history:

• Zeuxis, a 5th-century BC Greek painter, had died of laughter at the humorous way he painted the goddess Aphrodite.
• Chrysippus, a 3rd-century BC Greek philosopher, had died of laughter after he saw a donkey eating his figs.
• King Martin of Aragon had died from a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughter in 1410.
• Pietro Aretino had died of suffocation from laughing too much in 1556.
• Thomas Urquhart had died laughing in 1660 upon hearing that Charles II had taken the throne.
• Farmer Wesley Parsons had died two hours after laughing for an hour over a joke in 1893.
• Alex Mitchell from England had died of laughter on 24 March 1975 while watching the "Kung Fu Kapers" episode of The Goodies. The diagnosis suggested that Mitchell might have died of a cardiac arrest caused by long QT syndrome.
• Ole Bentzen, a Danish audiologist, had died of laughter while watching A Fish Called Wanda. His heart was estimated to have beaten at 250–500 beats per minute before he suffered cardiac arrest in 1989.
• Damnoen Saen-um, a 52 year old Thai ice cream salesman, died after two minutes of laughter. He was believed to have suffered heart failure in 2003.
• In Papua New Guinea, there is an infectious disease called kuru (similar to Mad Cow Disease) also known as “laughing sickness”.

Now, how do you know if you are just laughing normally or having a serious condition with your health? Checking out the cause of your laughing can be helpful. If you are laughing while watching funny movie or when someone is tickling you, it is probably normal. But, if you find yourself laughing to yourself for no apparent reason even when you have no funny thoughts in your mind, you probably have a brain tumor.

Well, we are all going to die anyway when the time has come. Keep laughing as laughter is still the best medicine for most people and it will positively enlighten your day and the people around you. Laughter can kill you, but it can not kill your spirit. Cheers! 

***

Via bmj, wikipedia
Photo: Freeimages.com/nas kamui

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A Cup of Coffee for A Long and Healthy Life

beverage health life style

A Cup of Coffee for A Long and Healthy Life

Unknown Thursday, October 29, 2015 Komentar

We might have never realized that having a cup or even several cups of coffee a day may do more than just to wake us up in the morning. Well, in fact, coffee could be part in a longer and healty life as the substances it contains have important health benefits. Besides the fact that coffee would improve your health, it helps you live longer as it may lower your risk of dying from chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Have a cup of coffee for a long and healthy life.

However, the main substance of coffee, i.e. caffeine, might have negative effects on your blood pressure, cholesterol and heart rate which in turn contributes to heart disease. Still, there are hundreds of other substances in a cup of coffee. Many of these substances are antioxidants that keep oxidation away from our bodies. Oxidation is one of the mechanisms behind ageing and common diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. The health-boosting substances in the coffee beans will mix with hot water while brewing, and become part of our drink. The risk of developing chronic diseases below will be reduced when you consume coffee in regular basis: 

• Type 2 diabetes. Increasing coffee consumption daily by more than one cup for more than four years would give you a lower risk for type 2 diabetes thanks to chlorogenic acid. This antioxidant substance turns on genes that increase insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• Parkinson's disease. Caffeine helps prevent the loss of nerve cells producing dopamine, a low level of which is believed to be the cause of Parkinson’s disease. 
• Alzheimer's disease. Caffeine enhances certain memories for at least 24 hours after consumption. Caffeine may also reduce swelling in the brain, and decreases the level of a type of protein that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
• Cancer. There is evidence that regular consumption of coffee may lower the risk for some types of cancer, such as colon cancer and liver cancer. Polyphenols, antioxidant phytochemicals found in coffee, have demonstrated anticarcinogenic properties and help reduce the inflammation that could be responsible for some tumors.
• Heart disease. Although it is clear that caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, releases free fatty acids from fatty tissue, and increases urination, it remains unclear if it helps protect your heart. However, having up to two cups of coffee daily does not appear to be harmful.

It is good to hear the positive health benefits of consuming coffee, especially for coffee lovers. But, more coffee does not necessarily mean better. For certain people, coffee can cause irritability, nervousness or anxiety in high doses, and it can also affect your sleep quality and cause insomnia. For people with hypertension, coffee consumption can raise blood pressure for several hours. 

Be wise. Caffeine affects every one differently, so if you suffer any negative side effects, always consider reducing your coffee consumption. It will take about 6 hours for the caffeine effects to wear off, so limit coffee drinking to early in the day, or switch to decaf which only contains 2–12 mg of caffeine per 8 ounces. That way, you do not have to worry about having a cup of coffee as it is for a long and healthy life.

Every morning I long to hold you, I need you, I want you, I love your warmth, your smell, your taste. Oh, coffee. I love you! ~ Anonymous

Via everydayhealth, cnn, harvard; Photo: Freeimages.com/Lena Povrzenic

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The End of The Great Wall of China and 14 Fun Facts

history

The End of The Great Wall of China and 14 Fun Facts

Unknown Wednesday, October 28, 2015 Komentar

The thousands-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Great Wall of China becomes extremely famous due to its being a historical gigantic structure and one of the oldest and the longest structures ever constructed by man. The Wall is even larger than the legendary pyramids in Egypt and other massive structures on Earth. Inspite of the fact that it is a protected site, The Wall has been suffering from vandalism, including from local peddlers picking its parts to be sold to tourists.

The construction of The Wall had begun in the 5th century BC by the Qin Dynasty in their attempt to to protect the kingdom from foreign invaders. The Wall is about 4,000 miles (6,400 km) long and up to 26 feet (8 meters) in height. Many parts of the structure were made of bricks, although some earlier parts were made of stones, earth, and tiles. However, there are a few facts you might not have known about it.

1. It took 1,800 years to build The Great Wall
In their efforts to keep out foreign invaders, the Qin Dynasty built several fortifications. In the 8th century BC, they also built some barriers to repel enemies. When Qin Shi Huang ruled in 221 BC, he began to construct a 5,000-kilometer wall to protect the kingdom. The construction was progressed and finished by the next ruling dynasties.

2. The Great Wall Is A Collection of Smaller Walls
The Great Wall of China is not a long united structure, but a 20,000-kilometer network of smaller walls across the ancient Chinese territories.

3. Traditional Building Materials Were Used
The Great Wall is largely crafted from traditional building materials like earth and stone. Moreover, glutinous rice (or sticky rice) was mixed into the mortar paste to help strengthen The Wall.

4. The Construction Workers Were Mostly Convicts and Soldiers
Under the reign of the Qin Dynasty, the construction and maintenance of the structure were given to convicts and soldiers. The work was so dangerous that 400,000 workers perished in the construction process.

5. Honoring the Dead with A Rooster
To keep the spirits of the dead from being trapped forever within the structure that had costed them their lives, the family members would cross over the Great Wall in a tow.

6. The Great Wall Was Predicted in An Ancient Poem
A collection of ancient Chinese poems, Shijing, were written between the 11th and 7th centuries BC, predicting the future construction of the Great Wall of China to repel foreign invaders.

7. Many Temples Were Built to Honore Some Figures
General Guan Yu of the Han Dynasty is honored with temples built on the Great Wall.

8. The Great Wall Had Failed at Keeping Out Invaders
Despite all the effort that went into making Great Wall the primary part of the kingdom’s defense, many invaders had managed to cross the Wall. Manchurian invasion through the Wall in the 17th century resulted in the fall of the Ming Dynasty

9. The Wall Is Not Visible from Space
Reliable sources, including the astronaut Neil Armstrong emphasized that the Great Wall is by not visible from space. It can only be spotted from a low orbit on a clear sunny day.

10. Thousands of Miles of the Original Wall Have Disappeared
The existing elements of the Great Wall of China stretch for 13,171 miles which means that about 1,200 miles of the original construction no longer stands today.

11. Parts of The Great Wall Were Recycled to Build Houses
During as the Cultural Revolution on the 20th century, Mao Zedong and the Red Guard considered the Great Wall as merely a relic whose materials would better serve in building civilian houses.

12. Certain Existing Part of The Great Wall Might Disappear in The Future
Weather and human are the key reasons why certain parts of the Great Wall might disappear before 2040. Parts of the Great Wall in Gansu Province are currently in danger.

13. New Sections of the Great Wall Are Still Being Discovered
New stretches of the Great Wall have been discovered in 2012. In the past decade, archaeologists have located some of the northernmost sections yet to be identified, standing on the border of present day Mongolia.

14. The Great Wall Has Many Names
Among the people of the United States of America, United Kingdom, France and Germany, “The Great Wall of China” is commonly used, while other Western nations prefer a to use: “The Chinese Wall.” Within China, the Wall is known as “The 10,000-Li-Long Wall” and “The Long Wall of 10,000 Li”. Over time, the Wall earned new names, including “The Purple Frontier” and “The Earth Dragon”. Ultimately, China christened the Wall with a simple but appropriate name: “The Long Wall”.

15. The End of The Great Wall of China
Any idea? See the photo below.

***

Via mentalfloss, chinahighlights

Photo: Freeimages.com/Vorarlberg; likeyesterday / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

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Australia The Origin of Komodo Dragons

animal history

Australia The Origin of Komodo Dragons

Unknown Tuesday, October 27, 2015 Komentar

“I shouted and he came to help me but he didn’t like to come up because the dragon was still moving around,” Maen explains. “Then he saw the blood on the floor and he got everyone from the kitchen. All the people come running here, but other dragons follow along as well.” ~  quoted from timetravelturtle

Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) are the largest of the monitor lizards, the largest living lizards to date, and the top predators in their habitat due to the size and ferocity. A fully grown komodo dragon can grow up to 3 meters in length and 70 kilograms in weight. A female dragon can lay dozens of eggs without mating, and her size is smaller than that of the male. Fossil record shows that komodo dragons are the last of a group of lizards called varanids.

These lizards are cannibals and they can smell blood kilometers away. They eat their young and sometimes their eggs as well. Young komodo dragons will roll themselves in entrails and faeces to prevent being eaten by mature dragons. Young komodo dragons are also able to climb trees. Their saliva contains over 50 types of bacteria, 7 of them are highly septic, which come in handy when hunting their preys, e.g. birds, rodents, snakes, fish, crabs, snails, and mammals including goats, deer, wild boar, water buffalo, and sometimes even humans. For nearly a million years the lizards have been about the same size. It is indeed a fearsome ancient species.

Komodo dragons have been living on five islands (Komodo, Rinca, Gili Montang, Gili Dasami and Flores) in southern Indonesia as their natural habitat. Komodo dragons are endangered due in part to their limited range. It appears that they have been hunted over the years, but not to the extent of decimating the population. Komodo National Park and strict anti-poaching laws in Indonesia have helped protect the giant lizards. But, how come they can only be found roaming freely on those islands? Where is the origin of komodo dragons?

Komodo dragons were discovered for the first time by Western scientists back in 1910. Under harsh environmental conditions, komodo dragons have been so far known to be able to swim within short range distance between islands—and those five islands are close to each other. But now scientists have also found out that komodo dragons most likely evolved in Australia and dispersed westward to their current habitat in Indonesia.

In the past, scientists suggested that komodo dragons might have developed from a smaller ancestor isolated on the Indonesian islands, evolving into their current size as a response to the lack of competition from other large predators or as specialist hunters of pygmy elephants known as Stegodon. But recently, a team of scientists have unearthed numerous fossils from eastern Australia dated from 300,000 years ago to 4 million years ago that they now know belong to komodo dragons. The fossils and the bones of komodo dragons are identical. They also said that the ancestor of komodo dragons most likely had evolved in Australia and then they spread westward, reaching Flores island about 900,000 years ago. Comparisons between the fossils and the bones of the living komodo dragons show that they have been about the same size since then.

However, one question remains unanswered: Why did komodo dragons go extinct on Australia while surviving on a few isolated Indonesian isles? No matter what the answer is, now we can also mention that Australia is the origin of komodo dragons.

***

Via livescience, sandiegozoo, komodonationalpark

Photo: Freeimages.com/Lauren Burbank; herval / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

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10 Tips for Safe Online Charity Donation

internet safety

10 Tips for Safe Online Charity Donation

Unknown Monday, October 26, 2015 Komentar

Charities and voluntary organisations are invaluable to society as they help people in the greatest need, and they rely on donations to carry out their work. Nowadays, giving donation to charities can be very effective and convenient thanks to the Internet. Yet, aside from the fact that most of them are authentic and legitimate, we have to be aware of fraudsters and scammers. So how do you make sure your donation is secure? Below are 10 tips for safe charity donation:

1. Collect information about your charity 

Before giving to an online or offline charity, dig more information about them. The mission statement, the list of program accomplishments and the board of directors will give you a clue. Doing a further re-check on the Internet about their reputation could prove useful. 

2. Contact information is a must 

The charity should give you an option to contact it online (e-mail address) and offline (phone number and physical address). That way, if the website of the charity is not functioning properly, you can contact it offline. Also, you can protect yourself against scammers attempting to raise a lot money but then they disappear after collecting your money. You can contact the charity to make sure if the site or e-mail is genuine. 

3. Check the date of information 

Find out when the donation event put on the website of the charity was last updated as some charities, if not many, do not update their event information for months or even years, which make it no longer accurate. 

4. Donate safely 

Sharing any credit card information online requires extra caution due to the hazard caused by frauds and scammers. 

• The website should use encryption technology to protect you against online threats. The URL of the site should begin with "https" instead of “http” as the "s" letter stands for "secure", and it indicates that any of your private and sensitive information will be encrypted and transmitted securely.
• Check that you are visiting the correct website address, and not a fake one created to harvest private information including credit card numbers from its unaware visitors. Links embedded in e-mails, text messages, instant messages, and pop-up ads can take you to websites that look legitimate but are not. Type the address yourself or use your own bookmark to visit the site.
• A trustworthy website will contain signs or symbols that indicate that it is legitimate for doing money transaction. For example, third-party seals of approval.

5. Say no to third parties 

Avoid using a third party including money transfer companies to donate to a charity. Besides the fact that some of them are scams, they often charge you a transaction fee, and then charge the charity additional fees for having received money from you. Such sites might also seek to earn bank interest on your donation by delaying its transmission to the charity. 

6. Protect your online privacy 

Read privacy policy of the site carefully. Make sure their privacy policy really safeguards your privacy. Before revealing your personal information, especially your credit card number, find out how the site is planning to use your information. 

7. Keep the transaction record 

Keep the copy of your on-screen confirmation notice or an e-mail confirmation of your donation. If you do not immediately receive such notices, check with the charity to make sure that it has safely received your donation. 

8. Do not respond to any spams 

Spams or junk mails may contain some harmful links to scam sites that loke like those of the legitimate charities. Ignore or delete e-mails from unfamiliar senders or sources, especially when you are not expecting any e-mails from anyone. Your email providers usually have a spam protection activated so most spams or junk mails will not enter your inbox. But, one or two spams may escape the filter. Use “unsubsribe” option if any, if you do not wish to receive similar e-mails from the sender. Otherwise, simply filter any e-mails from the sender as spams. 

9. Update your firewall, antivirus, and antispyware software 

Updated softwares will help you protect all your online transactions better. The wireless connection you are using at home should be encrypted as well. Activating the automatic update feature will help you keep these softwares current. 

10. Online donation should be safe 

Online donation provides a chance for everyone to do something good for humanity in a more effective way. Just make sure your favorite charities have taken all the required precautions for any of your online transactions. 

By following the 10 tips for safe charity donation above, you should now be able to reduce any risks in online transaction. Do not stop donating money to the good cause of your choice.

***

Via charitywatch, microsoft
Photo via huffingtonpost

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20 Natural Toothache Remedies

health

20 Natural Toothache Remedies

Unknown Sunday, October 25, 2015 Komentar

Having toothache all night long might be worse than being ignored by Mr. or Ms. Right, not to mention you have to say good bye to your favourite foods, loud musics, TV programs, outdoor sports, or such. But, have you heard about these 20 Natural Toothache Remedies?

The pain is usually caused by any infection that reaches the tooth root, and such infection often comes from bacteria in the mouth that are thriving on sugary and starchy foods that cling to the teeth and gums. The bacteria produces acids that damage your teeth, and when the damage reaches the nerve, your painful day begins. Yet, there are other causes such as excessive grinding of the teeth; not brushing teeth for a longer period of time that leads to the formation of cavities inside the tooth; and falls or accidents.

The dentist is your only hope, but it’s 2 o’clock in the morning now. So, is there any other way to ease the pain? Natural home remedies to cure toothache are all you need. We have 20 methods here both in Oriental and Western way. However, be advised that these remedies are not meant to substitute the professional treatment by your dentist.

1. Coconut Shell Oil

Burn coconut shells to extract the oil. Use a cotton ball to apply the oil on the tooth or gum. The pain will recede in just a few minutes.

2. Betel and Clove Leaves

Mix equal parts of betel and clove leaves into boiling water, and swish it around the affected tooth or gum several times or until the pain recedes.

3. Clove Oil

Put 1–3 drops of clove oil on a cotton ball and place it against the tooth until the pain subsides. Use clove oil carefully. Pouring the oil on the aching area can worsen the pain if it reaches the sensitive gum tissue or tongue. Chew the whole clove a little to release its oil and leave it for half an hour or until the pain subsides.

4. Garlic

a. Garlic and Salt

Mix 1 clove of garlic with a sprinkling of salt and crush into a fine paste. Using a cotton ball, apply the paste on the tooth. Rinse with warm salt water after several minutes.

Salt water does not only ease the infection and eliminate bacteria, it also removes the burning sensation from applying the garlic paste.

b. Garlic and Peanut Butter

Mix 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic with an equal amount of peanut butter. Apply the paste around the aching tooth. Rinse with warm salt water after several minutes. Peanut butter contains resveratrol—a natural antibiotic and antioxidant, but it is less effective than garlic. Peanut butter will disguise the taste of garlic.

c. Garlic Clove Halves

Cut a garlic clove in half, place the cut side of each “half clove” against the tooth or gum, and gently rub for 7–10 minutes. Once the pain begins to subside, chew on the garlic clove halves to release more of its healing essence. The pain should recede in 15–30 minutes. Rinse the mouth out with warm salt water.

d. Garlic Mouthwash

Crush 4 cloves of garlic into a cup, add one teaspoon of salt, fill in hot water and stir well. Leave until warm, and then swish around the affected tooth and gum area. Repeat when necessary.

e. Garlic Powder

Garlic powder can be used if you do not have fresh garlic at hand. Dip a cotton swab in the powder and apply directly to the affected gum or teeth. Leave for several minutes until the pain recedes before rinsing with warm salt water.

5. Sunflower and Ginger

Boil 5 grams of ginger and 50 grams of sunflower in 600 cc of plain water until half of the liquid remains. Sift out the ginger and sunflower, and then drink it while warm.

6. Castor Bean 

a. Mash a grain of castor bean, put it into a cup of hot water and stir. Sift out the bean, wait until cold and rinse the mouth until the pain recedes.

b. Castor Oil can be used through a compress on the outside of your mouth against the cheek or jaw. As castor oil is a laxative, you will experience its effects if you put it on the gum or tooth.

7. Warm Tea

Swish the warm tea around the aching tooth and wait for about 15 minutes. You can place the used tea bag on the aching gum to help stop the inflammation. Hot tea helps eliminate bacteria in the mouth and reduce the pain temporarily. No sugar please.

8. Cayenne

a. Mash enough (red) cayenne and mix with hot water. Use a cotton ball and apply on the affected tooth. Avoid your gum and tongue. Swishing it around the tooth afterwards could also prove useful. Cayenne contains capsaicin that helps block the pain messages from reaching the brain.

b. Mix equal parts of cayenne and garlic with hot water to make a paste. Place a cotton ball with enough paste on it on the tooth. Avoid your gum and tongue. Leave the cotton ball until the pain recedes.

9. Lemongrass

Boil 40 grams of lemongrass in 2 cups of water until half the liquid remains. Swish it around the tooth or gum until the pain recedes. Lemongrass relieves all types of inflammation and irritability associated with aches and pains.

10. Salt Water

Dissolve the salt in a cup of boiling water. Swish it around the tooth or gum for 30 seconds before spitting it out. Salt water will cleanse the affected area and draws out some of the fluid that causes swelling. Repeat when necessary.

  

11. Hydrogen Peroxide

Use 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash to kill bacteria dan produce a relief. Swish around the tooth or gum or soak the aching area for several minutes. Hydrogen peroxide is only for rinsing. Afterwards, spit it out and then rinse several times with plain water.

12. Ice Cube

Put a small ice cube in a plastic bag and apply it to the aching tooth for about 15 minutes to numb the nerves. Cold ice would cause numbness in that affected area due to which 50-80% of pain will recede instantly. The other option is the ice pack can go on your cheek, over the painful tooth. Massage it gently over the part of the tooth where you feel pain for a minute. The pain will begin to recede as the ice cubes directly target the exposed nerves of your aching tooth.

13. Baking Soda

Moisten a cotton swab with a bit of water, and then dip it in baking soda. Apply to the aching tooth. Alternatively, rinse your mouth with a mix of a heaping spoonful of baking soda and a small glass of warm water. Dissolve the soda then swish it around the tooth.

14. Peppermint Leaves

Dip a cotton swab on peppermint oil and apply it on the affected tooth. Alternatively, you can take a drink of peppermint leaves with warm water. Peppermint oil is very effective in relieving toothache and curing dental carries.

Hopefully the 20 Natural Toothache Remedies above can give you various options to produce temporary relief to the pain. Don’t forget to see your dentis immediately.

***

Via rd, umpah

Photo: Freeimages.com/Cecile Graat

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Borobudur, The World’s Largest Buddhist Temple Buried for Centuries

culture history unesco

Borobudur, The World’s Largest Buddhist Temple Buried for Centuries

Unknown Saturday, October 24, 2015 Komentar

Some of us must have heard about Borobudur Temple while the others may have already visited it. This grand and majestic holy site of Buddhism is located in Central Java, Indonesia, and was built by Sailendra dynasty between 778 to 842 AD—four hundred years before most cathedrals in Europe were begun to construct. The size of the cultural legacy itself is so huge that it has been labelled the world largest Buddhist temple and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Besides the fact that Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple ever recorded in human history, there are several interesting historical facts about it. Firstly, the temple had been abandoned by the dynasty who built it possibly due to the mysterious migration of the kingdom to East Java in the 1500's. Secondly, the world's largest Buddhist temple had been buried for centuries under several layers of volcanic ash before it was rediscovered when Java was under British control in 1814. There is a hypothesis that a famine resulting from a volcanic eruption during the years had prompted the depopulation of the region and the abandonment of the site. Another explanation is that the rise of Islam had hastened the downfall of Buddhism in Java and the neglect of the temple. Yet, it is unknown when the active use of the site and Buddhist pilgrimage to it started to cease.

Borobudur with erupting Merapi Volcano
on the background in 2010

However, when Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles of the British administration revealed the holy temple in 1815 after being advised of its location by native Indonesians, volcanic ash and the lush of Java vegetation was covering the site, making it almost completely hidden. Upon seeing the site condition, an archaeologist, H.C. Cornelius then received order from the governor to excavate and clear the site from the vegetation and to do thorough investigation. More than 200 men were occupied to cut down and burn trees and bushes, and to dig away at the earth for 45 days.

Several restoration projects has since been conducted but the largest restoration was undertaken in 1975 until 1982 by the Indonesian government with the help of UNESCO. More than one million pieces of stones were disassembled and removed from the site to be individually identified, catalogued, cleaned and treated for preservation during the massive restoration. The restoration project on Borobudur temple had become a testing ground for various new conservation techniques, including brand new procedures to battle the microorganisms attacking stones.

A painting by G.B. Hooijer (c. 1916-1919) reconstructing
the scene of Borobudur during its heyday (Wikipedia)

However, microorganisms and climate are not the only threats for the cultural legacy site. Back in 1985 (read about Borobudur bombing here), the relic was targeted by right-wing extremists who had detonated bombs at the site, damaging nine stupas. And in 2014 (read about ISIS threats here), another threat was released by the Indonesian branch of ISIS terrorists (infamous for their criminal acts on humanity now targeted by the police and security forces), resulting in the tightening of security by the police within and around the complex at day and night.

No matter what happened, the magnificent Borobudur temple is still used for pilgrimage until today. Once a year, tens of thousands of Buddhists in Indonesia, along with hundreds others arriving from various countries all over the world, flood into the site to celebrate Vesak Day at the holy ground. And Borobudur is still Indonesia’a single most visited tourist attraction.

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Via travel.nationalgeographic, whc.unesco
Photo: Freeimages.com/Daniel Bouwmeester

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