What I Learnt For The Week 10: Wearable Washing Machine, Mushroom Plastic, Tetrachromacy, Hippopotomonstrosesequippedaliophobia (fear of long words), Adermatoglyphia

Hello Buddies!! Welcome once again to another exciting episode in the series of "What I Learnt For The Week". And I still extend my sincere appreciation to @mobbs for the privileges.

Over the period of the week (19th-23rd March), I made some amazing discoveries, of which I am going to pick out some random five to represent the lessons learnt for the week.

Okay; let's go straight to the lessons learnt for the week.

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Monday: Wearable Washing Machine

Just like my usual custom is; and without exception to this episode; I normally begin with lesson learnt from emerging technology on "Robotics and Machines".

We live in an era in which the advancement of technology is only mind-limited; as long as you can conceive it in your mind, it can be actualized. Before now, we have seen advances in the field of wearable electronics, but not much has been seen in making larger machines wearable. But like you may have already known, technology can only get better.

As humans have the need to wear cloths, so also is there a need to wash them, so as to keep them clean and reusable. Before the advent of technology, washing of cloths was majorly done with the hands, which was characterized by the exertion and the expending of physical strength. But as technology came, the washing machine was introduced, which eased up the process of washing cloths with hand. Now, in this era of wearable electronics, another possibility has arisen; and that is the "wearable washing machine". This machine looks like a bagpack and would enable you wash your cloths on-the-go.

Okay! Too much talk.. Before I proceed, here's a YouTube video I found to help you understand how this machine works.

How does it work?

This employs the mechanism of the conventional washing machine. You can pack your cloths into it; just like your normal washing machine; and add detergent and water. Because the inside of the bag in incorporated with nodes which serve as the washboard, it provides the friction needed to scrub off dirts from cloths. And of course; the bag is designed with waterproof material (I'm sure you would want water to escape from the bag before you're done washing :D).

So when next you need to go for camping, you can pick up this bag with you to assist in washing. This is actually the beginning of advances in wearable machines; more will yet come. Maybe one day, we could have a wearable refrigerator (if it hasn't already arrived). Well, that's the nature of wearable electronics.

Wanna know more about wearable electronics? Click here.

Tuesday: Mushroom Plastic

Plastic pollution has been a growing challenge facing the future of our Mother Earth. As a matter of fact; a particular study (28th June 2017) has revealed that; with the current rate of plastic bottle usage; by the year 2021, over 500billion plastic bottles would be used just in a single year (the rate has stood at the average of 1.2million plastics in a single minute worldwide). And majority of these bottles are petroleum-based.

Okay do you know what that means? Some of these PET bottles (polyethylene terephthalate) are almost non-biodegradeable, and some take up to 500years to breakdown. These would not only cause land pollution, but would hamper the balance of the marine habitat, as these are also dumped into bodies of water. So what is the solution? Among some proposed solutions; there is a particular one that piqued my interest, and we will be looking at it. This is the bio-degradeable Mushroom Plastic.

[Image Source: Pixabay. CC0 licensed]

Just like the name suggests, this plastic is made from mycelium (this is actually a vegetative part of mushroom which hosts the fibre. This is also the mushroom tissue). Now this is sounding weird, but just hang on.

Here's how the mushroom plastic is gotten. Agricultural wastes (which include; seed husks, ground tree barks, etc) are collected. These wastes are then mixed with water, and with mycelium. These are then packaged in bags and left for a while (in a special bio-reactor). Remember, these are the conditions necessary for the growth of fungi.

After a while, the mycelium would grow over the agricultural waste, and because of the fibrous nature, they can be molded and shaped into any desired form. After the completion of the shaping process, the mushroom is then transferred to a drying chamber to stop any further growth of the fungi.

Advantages of mushroom plastic

First of all; because this is fungi-based; it is decomposable. Which is actually the main goal of this type of plastic. So after you've used the plastic, you can feel free to throw them into your garden. It would not only decompose, but will also add some mineral nutrients to your garden. Secondly, because of the availability of the raw materials for the mushroom plastic, it is also cost-effective.

Have I piqued your interest? Check for more info here.

Wednesday: Tetrachromacy

The normal human eyes are known to have three types of cones (trichromacy). And these cones are sensitive to the blue, red, and green wavelength of light. Hence, the average human eye can distinguish about 1million different colour shades (each of these cones can independently distinguish 100 different colour shades. Then combining the three cones in apposition to each other, you will have 100x100x100=1,000,000 different colour shades). That is why multimedia images use combination of blue, red, and green light for representation. But there is a mutant condition which causes an individual to posses four cones instead of the normal three. This condition is known as "Tetrachromacy".

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. Authors: Mike Horvath, Jacobolus, SharkD. Public Domain licensed]

This is an extremely rare condition, and only less than an estimated 1% of the entire world's populations possess tetrachromacy. We have seen the blue cone, the red cone, and the green cone in trichromacy; but in the case of tetrachromacy, an extra cone (which is called the "yellow cone") is present.

We saw earlier that these cones are adapted to distinguish between 100 difference colour shades each. So the combination of them: 100x100x100x100=100million distinctive colour shades. Yes! A tetrachromat can distinguish between 100milion colours; even to the details that would appear non-noticeable to trichromats. This is just like saying; hey Sammy, my blue is different from your blue :D.

To know more about tetrachromacy, click here.

Thursday: Hippopotomonstrosesequippedaliophobia (fear of long words)

Phobias are very real, and we may have been affected by one or more of them before. As a matter of precision, humans are born with the fear of falling (Basiophobia) and the fear of loud noise. So there are some measures of phobias inherent in us as humans. But do you know that there are people that have irrational and unconditional fear for long words? Though it is very rare, but it is an actual fear which is called; Hippopotomonstrosesequippedaliophobia. Damn!! So much word for the description of this type of fear. How humourous. I'm sure that the mention of this word alone can trigger panic attack in the sufferer.

[Image Source: Pixabay. CC0 licensed]

Here's how the name was derived: "Hippopoto" (from the word Hippopotamine; meaning: something big), "monstro" (from "monster"; terrifying being), "sesquippedalio" (gotten from the Latin word "sesquippedali", which is a form of measurement), and of course "phobia" (fear of). I'm thinking; why can't we just shorten the word to; maybe; "Hippophobia"? Lol. Maybe we can't.

Causes of Hippopotomonstrosesequippedaliophobia

It is worthy to note that this type of phobia is not in-born, it is actually acquired. And this could be caused by past and unfavorable experience resulting from inability to pronounce some certain words. This memory could linger in the brain, and grow into this monstrous phobia. Or maybe, as a kid, he/she may have been ridiculed for his/her inability to pronounce long words. These are some circumstances that can create the fear of long words. Though some people can’t even say how they picked up this fear.

Symptoms

• Emotional distress at the sight of long words.

• Un-natural avoidance of longwords.

• Panic attack.

Okay! Quick tip here!! If you felt comfortable after pronouncing "Hippopotomonstrosesequippedaliophobia", then you probably do not have this phobia.

Wanna know more about Hippopotomonstrosesequippedaliophobia? Click here.

Friday: Adermatoglyphia (no fingerprints)

Humans are born with ridges on their fingers which are called "fingerprints". These fingerprints are uniquely different from individual to individual. No wonder why emerging technology has leveraged on this ability for the designing of the fingerprint recognition systems. But the truth is; there are some people born without these ridges on their fingers, though very rare. And it is called "Adermatoglyphia".

[Image Source: Pixabay. CC0 licensed]

Till date, there are just four families known to posses this kind of genetic disorder in the world. Not only does this condition affect the fingers, but the toes. And yes! Human toes have prints too (just like the fingers). This condition; though relatively presented without symptoms; it can also be linked to some other forms of abnormalities in the skin. For example; skin blisters, reduction in the population of the sweat glands both in the fingers and toes.

Did I mention that this condition is caused by genetic mutation in a particular gene; SMARCAD1? Yeah it is. And on a very rare case of adermatoglyphia, the fingers could appear club-shaped. But apart from these, this condition has relatively no much side affect.

Okay, here's a very humorous question: How would they be able to cope with all these technologies that require fingerprints? Like; fingerprint scanner, fingerprint lock system, fingerprint attendance system, etc.

Wanna know more about Adermatoglyphia? Click here.

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Okay buddies! This is the summary of some of the amazing discoveries I made over the week. And until I come your way again, don't stop learning. @samminator says so.

Thanks for reading

References for further reading: Ref1, Ref2, Ref3, Ref4, Ref5, Ref6, Ref7, Ref8, Ref9, Ref10

gif by @foundation