Facts!
Entry posted by Marginali
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Why don’t cats like to swim?
MANY PEOPLE THINK that cats are afraid of water. They’re not. Occasionally, one can see a cat pounce spontaneously into the water. Nature documentary fans can attest to the fact that many of the cats’ larger relatives, such as tigers and jaguars, love to swim.
So why isn’t your cat likely to stick a paw into the pool? For the same reasons it always drives you nuts: it has a cleanliness fetish, and it’s lazy. Your cat refuses to have a good time. It won’t get wet because it figures it isn’t worth the effort needed to dry and clean itself with its tongue to enjoy something as superficial as marine frolic. Unless you starve it and stock your pool with fish, your cat is likely to remain landlocked.
Can regular corn be popped?
THERE ARE FIVE DIFFERENT types of corn. Popcorn is the only variety that will pop consistently. According to Greg Hoffman of American Popcorn, other corn might pop on occasion but with little regularity. The key to popcorn’s ability is, amazingly, water. Each popcorn kernel contains wa-ter, which most popcorn processors try to maintain at about 13.5 percent.
The water is stored in a small circle of soft starch in each kernel. Surrounding the soft starch is a hard enamel-like starch. When the kernel is heated or popping, the water inside heats and begins to ex-pand. The function of the hard starch is to resist the water as long as possible.
When the water expands with such pres-sure that the hard starch gives way, the water bursts out, causing the kernel to explode. The soft starch pops out, and the kernel turns inside out. The water, converted into steam, is released, and the corn pops.
The other four varieties of corn are able to store water effectively. But their outer starch isn’t hard enough to withstand the water pressure of the expanding kernel, so nothing happens.
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