CULTURAL QA 12-2022-15 BEING A COMPILATIONTHERE MAY BE ERRORS
Q1 What are some things every Indian should know about Indianhistory? A1 Shaunak Bhattacharjeee, Lives inKolkata, West Bengal, India (1996–present)Tue In Indian history, Marathas are always glorified.While they were great warriors and there is no doubt regarding that, when itcomes to writing about the Marathas, historians have always chosen to portraythe good side of them. There also lies a barbaric side to them that only fewpeople are aware of. This often gets omitted from Indian history and unless youare a local or research extensively about the Maratha Empire, you will neverget to hear about it. Last Monday, I went to this place called Garh Panchkot inWest Bengal. While coming back to Kolkata fromChota Nagpur Plateau, this place lies on the way and hence, I thought of makinga halt and seeing the place. History has it that this place used to be the fort of the Panchetkingdom but was attacked by the Marathas (locally called Borgis) inthe early 18th century. Around 1741, a Maratha cavalry was sent by RaghojiBhosale to attack Bengal. Theyattacked this fort and looted the countryside. The Marathas continued to loot the countrysidefor 10 years, damaged the fort, the temples and destroyed the houses ofvillagers. In 1751, the Nawab of Bengal reached an agreement andsigned a peace treaty with the Marathas and thenthe attacks stopped. Garh Panchakot is one of the remaining witnesses of thebarbaric side of the Maratha Empire that many Indians are unaware of. If you visit Garh Panchakottoday, there is a temple called the Pancharatna Temple, which is the onlystanding structure. The ruins of thefort, other temples, walls etc. lie scattered here and there. It is also saidthat when the Nawab of Bengal was defeated by the Marathas, the 17 wives of theNawab committed suicide by jumping into a well inside this fort. Below is whatremains of that well in today's date. There is also alocal folklore that originated here and has become a common lullaby in the restof West Bengal. Thesong states that night has fallen and the Borgis will be coming to collect thetaxes. However, the villagers are so poor that they cannot pay anytax. The lullaby seemed so innocent until I realised the horror that hidesbehind it. Q2 Why is Dubai called a fake city? A2 Another Observer, Lives in Dehradun,Uttarakhand, India (2021–present) Nov 20 Dubai is acity built on sand. Both literally and metaphorically. Let me explain.Howlong can you sustain a city specifically built for tourism? The hope thatpeople will forever be attracted to a city that is essentially nothing but aseries of towers and malls? Dubai is known to break many world records with itsinsane constructions like Burj Khalifa. But that is whatthere really is. It’s in adesert. So you really don’t have many natural resources. The natural climatefor most of the year is extremely hot. You cannot walk there for a long time inthe daytime. The city is designed for CARS, not people. Many stupid projects. Why would you build a ton of skyscraperswhen you have plenty of lands? Trust me, you couldsucceed at tourism without skyscrapers too. Just take one look at Oman. I get that they arealmost totally dependent on tourism but they could be so much better off ifthey EMBRACED the fact that it’s a city in a desert and not pretend like it’sNYC or something. Overall it is a VERY boring city which just happens tohave a lot of money. Soon this tourism-based model willcrash unless they change things up and do some meaningful development insteadof just making things for tourists. My note- What is told about climate is correct. Butwhat about the oil refineries which bring wealth, above tourisam. Sky scrappersare built after reaching hard stone at depth. Once told a fake city, it is not so now.How many people from other countries and bring wealth to their station? Q3 Woman have evolved to the same level of intelligence asmen. What complex tasks did women do in the last 100,000 years that requiredthem to be so clever? A3 Claire Jordan, Degree in biology andfolklore; programmer, shop owner, secretary on newspaper Sun Men and women arethe same organism, withminor tweaks caused by a single gene called SRY which kick-starts thedevelopment of male characteristics, and a few genes on the Y-chromosome that refine them.We’re not separate organisms, and the evolution of one is the evolution of theother. Q4 What are the benefits of ashwagandha for your health? A4 Answered by, Aisha Azeem Sun Ashwagandha and thepower of relaxation What is ashwagandha and what is it used for? Ashwagandha is oneof the most important herbs in Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine. The herbhas a revitalizing effect on your body, specifically on your adrenals andthyroid. Ashwagandhacalms you down and makes you more resilient to physical and mental stress.Because you are relaxed and can rest better, ashwagandha ultimately gives youmore energy. Studies show thatashwagandha significantly improves stress, anxiety and fatigue compared to aplacebo. It also lowers cortisol levels and relieves fatigue in athletes. Inaddition, ashwagandha supplements are safe and have a low risk of sideeffects. What can I expect when I start taking ashwagandha? Ashwagandha restores the balance between tension andrelaxation in your body. If you start taking ashwagandha,you may therefore be a bit more tired at first. This is normal and it isimportant to listen to it. The fatigue that has accumulated in your body, as itwere, is now making itself felt. To help your body recover, B vitamins andmagnesium are essential. This will bring you back to your optimal energy level. Tip: because of the soothing effect, it is best to takeashwagandha later in the day or before going to sleep.Avoid coffee or other stimulating drinks so that the ashwagandha can workoptimally. How does ashwagandha work? Each of our cellscontains DNA. When a cell divides, it matters the DNA remains intact. That'swhy we have 'telomeres', which protect our DNA from damage. When we're young,those telomeres are long. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres shorten. Theshorter the telomeres become, the less quickly your cells divide. Sinceashwagandha is an adapt genicherb that calms the adrenals and thyroid, it helps keep telomeres long. Thisprevents premature aging and is important for the condition of our skin,heart, insulin function, muscle mass, hormonal balance and bone density. My note- I was once prescribed aswagandharasayanam to relieve tension. It has a specific smell and told asthat of meat from horse. Q5 Why do airline companies in India fail often (recentexample of Jet airways)? A5 Balaji Viswanathan, Studied a fewcases on airline profits in Business school.3y Airlines business is among the hardest to run.A while ago I have written a longer post on how air tickets are too cheap to besustainable. Why areairlines so loss making? Often times we payless than Rs. 2/km for a transportation that fast, that highly taxed and onethat provides a lot of safety standards. Going on even Honda Activa is costlierthan going on an airplane [for a given kilometer] This is a problem not specific to India. Airlines acrossthe world struggle. However, what is specific to India isthat we tax theairlines too much — ‘India needs to reduce taxes levied on aviation sector’ — we don’t haveenough procedures to help a failing business. The bankruptcy code has to bestrengthened far more. In the US when acompany starts failing to repay the debts, they enter into something called a Chapter 11 protection. What thismeans is that the company would ask the court for time to reorganise thebusiness and pay the lenders in an organised fashion in a way that the businessdoesn’t die. The court will provide a path that would given thelenders more say in running of the business without ruining the management orthe company. The company’sshareholders would lose their equity, but the company would survive in mostcases. A lot of USairlines have used that protection to get back to business: List of airlinebankruptcies in the United States In the worst case an airline that could not be saved byChapter 11 would be sold of — either as a whole or in pieces.This process is very swift so that the lenders get at least a part of what theyloaned. Everything gets wiped clean and people move on. Indian bankruptcy code has to get more matured to allowfor Chapter 11 protection so that we can protect many of the failing companieswhile punishing the shareholders who didn’t act aheadof time. Q6 What are the consequences of turning off an airconditioner? A6 Gopala Krishnan, Former AssistantGeneral Manager 1996-2004 at Department of Telecom (1966–2004)Oct 14 Probably the questioner intended turning OFF airconditioner for one or two months. Air conditionengineers suggest if at all in winter no air conditioning required just turn ON for half anhour a week. This would enable any problem with AC unit will be identified. Mainly squirrels, sparrows building nest inside, enteringsomehow in spite of best covering usingnet.Honey bees can make nest./storage. Problems could be settled. Normally some switch ON AC onlyin summer and find them not working. Further dusting canoccur in filter units if at all the AC unit is not working. Only lesser thanwhile working. They areto be cleaned if cooling occur lesser even while compressor and fan working. My note- I saw this QA in today’s Quora digest Q7 What is the relation between brain health and curd? A7 Nagma Khatoon,2h Brain health is abig topic in today's world. But most of us don't even realise that we should betaking care of our brains. It is important to know that a healthybrain requires a healthy lifestyle. One way to take care of your brain is byeating foods like curds.These foods contain a lot of nutrients, especially vitamin B12. A recent studyshowed that people who eat more dairy products and who have higher levels ofvitamin B12 in their blood were less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Q8 What are some interesting facts? A8 Pradip Karmakar, IITian- IITB,Researcher , Blogger, Biotechnologist Updated Dec 3 Have you everlooked at the camel, how amazing it is and how is it created so perfectly!! 1) Camel is a marvel of nature, it survives in 53-degreeheat and minus -1 degree winter. 2) Leaving his feetfor hours on the hot sands of the desert. 3) It goes on for months without drinking any water. 4) Eats cactus withbig thorns in the desert. 5) One hundred and fifty kilograms of weight on the backof a hundred miles to walk. Animals with suchextraordinary designs as camels are a marvel to zoologists. The bodytemperature of most mammals, including humans, is usually around 37 degreeCelsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). If the internal temperature of the bodyrises more than 107.6 [1]degree Fahrenheit, then the internal organs begin tobe damaged. This is why when the internal temperature of mammals rises abovenormal, the body sweats and cools by releasing excess heat. But it is a luxuryfor camels to waste water in this way. Because water is the rarest resource in the desert. Thatis why there is a special arrangement in the body of a camel. Themorning body temperature is 34 degrees. Then when the weather gets very hot,the internal temperature rises to 41 degrees (105.8 F). From then on it startedsweating. Until then it holds water. Thus every day the camel endures fromnormal temperature to high fever temperature. It has a system inside the body so that it does not causemajor damage to the internal organs even after enduringhigh fever day after day. Camel blood is specially made to hold large amountsof water. Once a camel starts drinking water, it can drink about130 litres of water, about the equivalent of three tank fuel tanks, in 10minutes.[2] If any other animaldrank this huge amount of water, excess water would enter the bloodstream andthe blood cells would swell and burst due to the osmotic pressure. But camel blood cells have a special coating,which can withstand much higher stress. It is because of this special bloodthat a camel can drink so much water at once. The camel's hump is a source of fat. Fat providesenergy and nutrition to camels. And water keeps all the internal functions ofthe body active, keeps the body temperature right. Once enoughfood and water are consumed, a camel can survive without food or water for upto six months.[3] Camels are calleddesert ships. it weighsup to 180-260 kg and it moves with a smile.[4] This huge, powerfulcreature had no reason to be calm, loyal to humans. Rather, such aself-sufficient creature should be violent, so that no one would dare to touchit but in reality, This creature is also very innocent, calm, and loyal. If the camel wasn't made suitable for human beings, itwould have been impossible for human beings to build a civilization in thedesert [edit: it is the evolution definitely which madethe camel survive in desert-like condition and we human took advantage of it ]. Another notable ability of the camel is its ability tochew cut plants, which no other animal has. Cactus with large thorns can eatit. If it was any otheranimal, the gums, cheeks, and tongue would have been injured by the thorns ofthe cactus. But camels are nothing. Inside the camel's mouth is a wonderful arrangement. Onthe inside of its mouth, there are numerous small hard finger-likearrangements, which protect it from cut wounds. There is a tongue that cannotpierce thorns. The camel'seye has two layers of petals. Due to which it can keep its eyes open even indust storms in the desert. This special petal arrangementworks like sunglasses to protect the eyes from the scorching sun of the desertand retain the moisture of the eyes. At the same time make it specially curved so that it cantrap dust. I have listed downall the facts about the camel, do let me know if this post was interesting.Also do visit one of my related insta page sciencomaniacs for more suchinformation or logical explanations.[5] Footnotes [1]Can Fevers Cause Brain Damage? [2]Camel: 10 Most Interesting Facts You Should Know…. My note- For mesome good information is there in the answer. Same may be formost of the friends also. But someone who knows above all may comment- Mr Gopalakrishnan, your knowledge ispoor. Hence it is new information to you. Q9 Why is it called air conditioner? A9 Dean Hough, Former ElectricalEngineer \ Computer Science Dec 8 Because AC cooling was initially used for dehumidificationpurposes for textile workers in factories to improve work conditions, hence“conditioner”. You know how aglass of ice water will “sweat” as humidity condenses on the cool glass insummertime? That is basically dew forming on the glass from the water vapor inair. Humidity makes hot weather sweltering and unbearable. Working in a textile factory in thesummer was horrible in large factories. Can you say “Heat Exhaustion”?You become keenly aware of what an effective dehumidifier AC is when your drainline backs up and you have a drainage leak in your home from your AC. Causes of heatexhaustion include exposure to high temperatures, particularly when combinedwith high humidity, and strenuous physical activity. Without prompt treatment,heat exhaustion can lead to heatstroke, a life-threatening condition. Counterintuitively,extreme heat kills more people in the USA than extreme cold, in terms ofimmediate death. If you factor in side effects of exposure to cold weather andsubsequent illness like pneumonia, then cold weather could be considered a moreserious cause of death. However, delayed affects from heat such as heart attackor stroke days or weeks later are not accurately tracked. In 1906, Stuart Cramer, who was a textile mill engineer,was the first person to coin the term “air conditioning.” The first residentialunit was installed in 1914 and needed a room of itsown: it was seven feet high, six feet wide and 20 feet long. One of these earlyunits carried a price tag of $10,000 to $50,000, which translates to $120,000to $600,000 at today’s rate of exchange. Willis Carrier, who worked as an engineer at the Buffalo(NY) Forge Company, was given the task of solving a big humidity problem in aBrooklyn publishing company that made magazine pageswrinkle. He designed and patented his “Apparatus for Treating Air” that usedcooling coils to either humidify the air by heating water or dehumidify bycooling water. He ran tests to perfect his technology and then built andpatented an automatic control system that regulated the humidity and airtemperature in textile mills. With the success of his apparatus, he realizedthat other kinds of businesses could benefit from temperature and humidityregulation, so he leftBuffalo Forge and formed his own company—Carrier Engineering Corporation—withsix other engineers. The AC invention date—1902—is credited to Carrier. My note- Once a Samsung AC technician whiletalking told me- Sir, though I am working in Samsung, Carrier is thebest AC, they are more experienced in air-conditioning. This answer makes me torecollect that incident. All the above QA are from Quora website on 14-12-2022 Quora answers need not be100% correct answers . Compiled and posted by R. Gopala Krishnan,former ITS, 79 years, on 15-12-2022 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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