What I Learnt For The Week 11: Self-Parking Slippers, Somniphobia, Alice In Wonderland Syndrome, Edible Plastic, Tree-Man Syndrome

Hello Buddies!! Welcome once again to another episode of "What I Learnt For The Week" as heralded by @mobbs, of whom I'm still very appreciative for the privileges to be a partaker.

Over the period of last week (26th-30th March), I made some amazing discoveries, of which I will select some random 5 to represent the lessons learnt for the week.

Okay Buddies, let's go straight to the lessons for the week. And this episode promises to be very educative and exciting.

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Monday: Self-Parking Slippers

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

We have seen amazing advancements in the self-driving technology, but most of them are just in the automobile industries, where cars are equipped to drive/park autonomously. But this technology has seen further advancements and it is no longer exclusively preserved for the automobile industry alone, but for a whole lot of other things too, including your footwear. Now that sounds cool, right?

Imagine after returning back from a road walk and feeling too tired to even keep your slippers together. Don't worry, this technology is actually meant for you, as the slippers would park themselves in their designated spots. This technology was initiated by the car manufacturing giant; Nissan, with the same techniques used for their self-parking car, in a program they codenamed "ProPILOT Park". The slippers are equipped with sensors that relate them to their designated spot at the press of a remote button.
Ok, too much talking! Before I continue, let me give you a video (from YouTube) on how the slippers park themselves.

Did someone say that this technology would cause humans to live a sedentary life? Well, in my opinion, technology is meant to provide assistance to us. Maybe in the future, we could have a slippers that; when you wear them; would drive you across the street, and you won't need to walk.

I would also tell you for free that the "ProPILOT Park" is not only incorporated in slippers, but even in tables and foot mats (yes; the self-parking foot mats and tables). This is what the self-parking technology can offer to us. Remember technology keeps getting better.

I'm sure you may want to read up on the self-parking technology, click here.

Tuesday: Somniphobia (fear of sleep)

Coming home late at night and feeling very tired, the only thought that would come to your mind is to lie down and have some good sleep. But do you know that there are actually some people that the story is quite different for? They have an irrational and unconditional fear of sleep. This condition is called "Somniphobia".

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: Henry Fuseli. Public Domain licensed]

"Somniphobia" is gotten from "Somnus" (Latin term for sleep), and of course "phobia" which means "fear of". The sufferers tend to believe that something bad might happen to them when they fall asleep. And when they eventually fall asleep, they would almost immediately be awakened by; maybe; nightmare. Some people have also feared dying from their sleep, which is also a manifestation of another form of phobia called "Thanatophobia" (fear of dying).

Causes of the fear of sleep

There are lots of factors that can trigger Somniphobia, this include:

• Repeated nightmare. When one continuously experiences scary dreams, he could develop fear of sleeping. He would always see his falling to sleep as entering into "war zone" of nightmares.

• Horror movies and scary stories. This can trigger the fear of sleep in younger folks. And the fear can actually grow.

• Fear of death. Some people with thanatophobia (fear of death) are more susceptible to develop somniphobia. Also, people who; maybe; have lost their loved ones (particularly through sleeping and not waking up) could develop this fear. This can be called "sympathy Somniphobia".

Effects of Somniphobia

The effect of this fear is related to the effect of lack of sleep. Because the sufferers of this phobia tend to deny themselves of sleep. These effects include:

• Mood swings

• Tiredness

• Lack of concentration

Does this phobia have a cure? To know more about somniphobia, click here.

Wednesday: Alice In Wonderland Syndrome (AiWA)

Now someone is laughing because of the name of this medical condition, but believe me, after reading through, you would discover it's not as funny as the name suggests.

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain Licensed]

You may have seen the movie "Alice in wonderland" and how the character; Alice: was made to assume various sizes. This is exactly the illusion that this condition replicates. AiWA is a very rare psychological condition which causes the sufferers to experience a form of illusional distortion of sizes. This condition was actually named by Dr John Tod (British Psychiatrist) in the year 1955. So by inference, it is not an entirely new medical condition.

Majority of the sufferers of AiWA are kids (in their childhoods). But even as adult, a normal person can experience this particular syndrome seconds before falling asleep or waking up from sleep. Have you ever experienced waking up suddenly from sleep and losing consciousness of the position of the bed you actually woke up from? This could be a manifestation of the AiWA.

Symptoms of AiWA

• Distortion of perception: You may be looking at something straight, and they appear curly. Or objects may look distorted

• Excruciating migraine

• Epileptic seizure (in extreme cases)

Now you see, the name of this condition could sound funny, but there's nothing really funny about the symptoms.

Wanna know more? Click here.

Thursday: Edible Plastic

Still in the fight against plastic pollution, so many substitutes have been proposed. The other time, we saw the mushroom plastic which can decompose. Now we are looking at another alternative that has been proposed, and this is the "edible plastic". So, maybe, after you've finished consuming the content, you can consume the container, lol :D

[Image Source: Pixabay. CC0 licensed]

Now everything is going "green" and plastics are not left out too, It could be farewell to the PET plastic (polyethylene terephthalate). The edible plastic is made from "casein" gotten from the milk of cow, which is then mixed with a special kind of pectin gotten from fruits. The work of the pectin (which is polysaccharides) is to give strength to the casein. And yes! The plastic looks like the regular plastic.

This would serve as a single-use type of plastic, which after eating the content, you can eat the plastic too. Also, plans are underway to incorporate vitamins, food supplements, and flavours into the plastic. Mehn, that would be a very nutritious plastic. Maybe instead of eating the food, you can choose to eat the plastic. Sounds fascinating, right?

With this type of plastic, the threat of plastic pollution would soon go into oblivion. And maybe, this would gain massive acceptability soon and become adopted worldwide. Let's just keep our fingers crossed and watch what the future holds.

Wanna know more about the edible plastic? Click here.

Friday: Tree-man Syndrome (Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis)

This is rare medical condition that causes tree-like warts (or barks, as the case may be) to grow over the skin. A very pathetic case was the case of "Dede Koswara" (An Indonesian man that suffered an extremity of this syndrome), he was nicknamed "Tree man".

[Image of Dede Koswara. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: Tamaaall. CC BY-SA 3.0]

Symptoms of Tree-man syndrome

About 25% of people suffering from this rare condition had their first symptom of this at the age of five to eleven. Then, about 50% were manifested at infancy. The symptoms at the unset include:

• The appearance of Papules (small bumps on the skin)

• Tree-bark-looking lesions on the skin. Particularly the feet, hands, and face.

• Inflamed plagues appearing on the skin

In the case of Dede, it was extremely severe that both his feet and hands were covered with tree-like barks (cutaneous horns) in the excess of 13pounds. Even after undergoing surgical sessions, the "tree" would grow back (behaving pretty much like the vegetative tree).

Causes of Tree-man syndrome

It has been proven that this condition is a genetic disorder which is commonly referred to as the "autosomal recessive disorder", in which the sufferer had inherited two genetically transmutated abnormal Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis genes. And are susceptible to the HPV (human papilloma virus) and subsequently leading to the growth of carcinogenic cells (cancerous cells).

Treatment of Tree-man syndrome

The truth is, there is no definitive cure for this. The only thing is to manage the symptoms. Then for the tree-like warts; it can be removed surgically. But in most cases, it grows back. Apart from surgical removal, there are other options too, like; using chemical compound (like salicylic acid) to destroy them or even through cryotherapy.

I'm sure you want to know more about the tree-man syndrome, click here.

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Ok buddies, this is the summary of some of the lessons I learnt for the week. And until I come your way again, keep learning. @samminator says so.

Thanks for reading

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

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