Recent research done by Anne Steinemann of the University of Washington in Seattle has discovered that the fragrance chemicals found in detergents and dryer sheets release toxic chemicals into the air.

Our analyses found more than 25 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from dryer vents, with the highest concentrations of acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethanol. Seven of these VOCs are classified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and two as carcinogenic HAPs (acetaldehyde and benzene) with no safe exposure level, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. As context for significance, the acetaldehyde emissions during use of one brand of laundry detergent would represent 3% of total acetaldehyde emissions from automobiles in the study area.

It’s time to break out the good ole washing board and head to the river.

via springer

As proof that Iran is at least 30 years behind most other civilized nations, an official from the Iranian Organization of the Holy Quran has asked import companies to stop bringing Chinese Qurans into Iran, his reason for it being that the Chinese printed books are full of spelling mistakes.

“These tableaus are made quite cheaply in China but are sold for much more than they are really worth to make that much more profit.”

In other words, according to the Iranian official the Chinese are to blame for this, not the greedy Iranian businesses.

Maybe in 2041 these people will finally understand that when it comes to outsourcing production to China, businesses get exactly what they pay for. China is not some magic place where work is 10 times cheaper and quality is 5 times better. It’s the same as everywhere else on this planet: If you want a quality product you don’t commission the cheapest possible manufacturer to do it.

Now I don’t really care about either Iran or the Quran, but I’m sick of seeing people equate China with shoddy quality products. The reason why markets everywhere are flooded with low quality Chinese products is because that’s exactly what they’ve been commissioned to manufacture. Also, that’s exactly what most people want to buy.

It’s true that work is cheaper in China, but you can’t expect the Chinese to produce Apple quality products in exchange for peanuts and assorted shirt buttons. Quality has its price.

source tehrantimes

Ever wondered what Earth looks like during a solar eclipse? It’s kind of a difficult picture to imagine given that seeing our planet from space isn’t a perspective many of us are familiar with. But thanks to the Mir 27 Russian space station we can bypass our imaginations and see that incredible sight in a photo.

The shadow of the Moon can be seen darkening part of Earth. This shadow moved across the Earth at nearly 2000 kilometers per hour. Only observers near the center of the dark circle see a total solar eclipse – others see a partial eclipse where only part of the Sun appears blocked by the Moon. This spectacular picture of the 1999 August 11 solar eclipse was one of the last ever taken from the Mir space station. The two bright spots that appear on the upper left are possibly Jupiter and Saturn, although this has yet to be proven. Mir was deorbited in a controlled re-entry in 2001.

via apod.nasa.gov

Confirming reports that it’s lost control of its cache of US diplomatic cables, WikiLeaks on Thursday announced a security breach resulting in the disclosure of hundreds of thousands of unredacted documents.

In other words, Wikileaks leaks leaks. I guess you could call them meta-leaks.

businessinsider