Pat Shingleton: "Oddities and Smells..."
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Today's column offers some oddities... Certain species of migratory birds, fish and insects can sense the Earth's magnetic field and use magnetsome cells in their brains to orient themselves and navigate during migration. The next item concerns human breath destroying the pyramids. In Egypt, visitors breathing inside the great pyramid Chephren at Giza are contributing to the destruction of the structure. About 0.7 ounces of water vapor is exhaled per person, raising the humidity and damaging limestone blocks. A ventilation system is in place to alleviate the problem. Can you be allergic to cold weather? Some people may step outside on a cold day and break out in hives. To check for this, take a resealable plastic bag, filled with ice and place it on your arm for two minutes. If an itchy welt appears, you need an antihistamine. In closing, November provides additional frontal passages that activate showers, clearing, cooler temperatures and a northerly wind shift. In addition to the changing wind direction is the "air smell." The north-northwest winds sometimes send us a whiff of the paper mills in St. Francisville and Flowers Baking Company on Florida Blvd. transport my memories back to Grandma Shirley's kitchen in Pennsylvania. Back-in-the-day," Mom's "bakin' of bread" on Thursday's meant fresh, hot bread after basketball practice, layered with jams and peanut butter, topped off with a cold glass of milk. Another pleasing aroma comes from the Community Coffee facilities, across the river, when they're roasting the beans. Maybe you'll catch the scent of a sweet olive tree.