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Today I learned about altitude sickness. You can get altitude sickness starting at about 8000 feet. Symptoms include headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea/vomiting, and swelling in the extremities. Symptoms will usually subside after you have a day or two to adjust to the altitude. In rare cases you can wind up with pulmonary or cerebral edema (fluid in the lungs or brain). High altitude cerebral edema can kill you. If you go up slowly (1000 feet per day) you won't have a problem.

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Today I learned how to blow my nose. Don't blow too hard, support your back if you're coughing or sneezing. That's great. I will continue to ignore that advice and blow my nose until my brain hurts and I see spots, as I have been doing for the past several days. Seriously, I have weird pains and I smell blood. That's ok, right?

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Today I learned about the history of tuberculosis. The earliest signs of TB show up in bison remains from 17,000 years ago. Prehistoric humans, Egyptian mummies, ancient Greeks...tuberculosis has been found in all of them. Before the industrial revolution, people with TB were sometimes thought to be vampires, or to be communing with fairies at night, or being turned into horses by witches. The advent of antibiotics and increased public health awareness (no spitting in public, y'all) were what really turned TB around, although plenty of people still get it.

More on tuberculosis later, I'm sure, as I continue reading The Air We Breathe.

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Gah! Why do I keep forgetting about this blog?!

Thursday I learned some stuff about rabies. One interesting things is that, the one episode of Scrubs where Dr. Cox kills a bunch of people by transplanting rabies-infected organs into them? That has really happened. Skunks and raccoons are two of the big rabies carriers in the US. Remember when Matthew's girlfriend Ingrid got rabies and died on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman? That was hilarious.

Today I learned about www.abebooks.com and their "book sleuth," which is where you can post a book if you can't remember the title or author and people will help you figure out what it is. One day I will get around to posting my stupid horror story about the tiger (or whatever it was) and somebody better be able to help me.

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Saturday I learned that one explanation for why "the clap" is called "the clap" is that guys would clap their wang in between their hands in order to expel pus out of the urethra when they were all grody and infected. Yikes. Grossest thing ever. (Other less terrifying explanations include a shortening of the old French word "clapier" which meant brothel. Yeah. Let's go with that one.)

Sunday I learned why DVDs and CDs always come out on Tuesdays; or, I sort of did. There are a lot of explanations (see here and here): the timing of sales figure releases, slow business on Tuesdays, not having to stock the shelves on a busy weekend night, etc. I think, in the end, that it's all of these reasons combined with the fact that Tuesday has been the release date for many years now and it's just when people know to look for new stuff.

Today I learned that Skybus may start selling tickets to Cancun and Nassau beginning in October. Hmmm. I can has spring break?

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Friday I learned that generalized itching without a rash can be a symptom of Hodgkin's lymphoma, so now I'm convinced that I have that.

Saturday I learned that season 3 of The Office is coming out on DVD on September 4. Season 3 was kind of disappointing to me, but I will still buy the DVD. They always have good extras. BUT GUESS WHAT ELSE. 30 Rock also comes out on DVD that day! Now that I'm excited about.

Today I learned the recipe for a "brandy Alexander:" 1.5 ounces of brandy, 1 ounce dark creme de cacao, 1 ounce of half and half or heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg. Brandy Alexander is also an awesome, awesome song off of Feist's latest CD, The Reminder. Give it a listen.

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Saturday I learned what cat scratch fever is...not the song. It's a bacteria that cats (usually kittens) carry in their blood and can transmit to people through scratches. It causes symptoms like fever, headache, pain, and mental alteration, but it is usually mild and resolves itself quickly.

Today I learned about skunks. Skunk spray comes from 2 glands on either side of the anus. The spray can be accurately aimed up to 10 feet away. It can cause skin irritation and temporary blindness, and is strong enough to be smelled from at least a mile away. One time a skunk got run over down by the high school, and I could smell it in my room for at least two nights. Fortunately skunks don't spray that often because they don't "carry" that much spray at a time. It is legal in some states to own a domesticated pet skunk. Ohio is one of those states, as long as you have a permit. There was a skunk in our patio tonight, and Fudgems was shitting his pants over it. If Fudgems is whining like a kindergarten girl, you can bet there's some weird creature in the patio.