Every time you take a sip from your water bottle, you are depositing bacteria inside and over the course of a day these can multiply by the millions. Here's what scientists say you can do about it.
Carl Behnke had always wondered how clean his reuseable water bottle was. When he stuffed some paper towels inside and smeared them around, he was in for a shock.
"The towels were white – until I pulled them out," says Behnke, an expert in food safety at Purdue University in Indiana, US. "I realised that the slippery sensation I felt in the interior of the bottle was not because of the material but rather because of a bacterial build-up."
His next step was to design a study. Behnke and colleagues stopped passers-by in a corridor at Purdue and asked if they would be happy to loan their water bottles to them as part of their research – to see how clean they were.
"One thing that stood out from the project was the number of people who didn't want to know the results," recalls Behnke. "Basically, they knew that their cleaning habits were poor to non-existent – something the data later confirmed." The results confirmed that those bottles were brimming with bacteria.
A View from the Beach
One day you wash up on the beach, wet and naked. Another day you wash back out. In between, the scenery changes constantly.
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
The Wednesday Wetness
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Declares Biden's Autopen Pardons Void and Vacant
Oh my. This should be fun. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, The Biden Years: 'I've Got a Pen and I'm Not Afraid for Someone Else to Use It' and then BREAKING: This Will Cause Some Heartburn: Trump Declares POTATUS Auto-Pen Pardons 'Void' Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social@TrumpDailyPosts "The “Pardons” that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!" Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, NEW: Trump Declares Biden Pardons 'VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT'. At NRO, Trump Declares Biden’s Last-Minute Pardons ‘Void’ over Autopen Signature. Sundance at CTH, President Trump Calls Biden J6 Pardons Null and Void Following Revelations of Auto Pen Use. Ace breaks out the flaming skull for Trump Declares the Presidential Pardons Signed Not by Biden But By His Aides Operating the Auto-Pen to be "Void". PJM's Matt Margolis explains The Brilliance Behind Trump’s Move Declaring Biden’s Pardons ‘Void' "Trump's second Truth Social post cuts right to the heart of the matter: "The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime." This isn't just about pardons; it's about who was really running our government." Althouse reads the NYT, "President Trump wrote on social media on Sunday night that he no longer considered valid the pardons his predecessor granted to members of the bipartisan House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol..." ""... and a range of other people whom Mr. Trump sees as his political enemies, because they were signed using an autopen device....But Mr. Trump’s assertion, which embraced a baseless right-wing conspiracy theory about former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., was a new escalation of his antidemocratic rhetoric. Implicit in his post was Mr. Trump’s belief that the nation’s laws should be whatever he decrees them to be. And it was a jolting reminder that his appetite for revenge has not been sated. . . AND: Based on the text of that Truth Social post, I'd say Trump is, first, clearing the way for doing an investigation that will produce evidence of wrongdoing (if there was any and perhaps even if there wasn't) and that will feel deeply painful to the persons whose actions are targeted. He wants those people to "fully understand" what it's like to be subjected to a "Witch Hunt," as he believes he was. And, second, he wants to smoke out who took over and exercised the power of the presidency if/when Biden was incapacitated. He's already asserting that the people who received the pardons/"pardons" were "probably responsible" for manufacturing the fake/"fake" documents." Volokh at the Volokh Report asserts Pardons and Autopen Signatures: A 2024 Appellate Decision Says Pardons Don't Have to Be Signed (or Even Written) at All, "Of course, something is required, and that something is presumably a statement by the President that he is pardoning someone. If (and this is a very big if) a President actually didn't make such a statement, and an assistant just affixed the President's signature to a document purporting to be a pardon without the President's authorization, then I don't see how that would be a valid pardon (at least unless it's somehow ratified by the relevant President). But that turns on a factual question about whether the President was actually involved in the creation of the pardons, not on a legal question about whether an autopen signature renders the pardon invalid." Laughing Wolf, SQT: Pardon Invalidation. "By making his declaration, Trump just waved a red flag in front of the Deep State. Those holding pardons now are directly effected and five will get you ten that some are already with lawyers looking to both judge shop and challenge the declaration. Since they are directly effected, they have standing. What’s more, it will be them and the DNC who start the ball rolling in the courts." Sarah Arnold at TownHall, Is This the Aide Behind Biden's Controversial Autopen Signings? "Reports suggest Neera Tanden, Biden's former White House Staff Secretary, may have used the autopen to sign pardons while President Biden was golfing in St. Croix in December 2022." Benny Johnson@bennyjohnson, "BLOODBATH! Karoline Leavitt is undefeated against CNN's Kaitlan Collins. LEAVITT: "Was he aware of his signature being used on every single pardon?" COLLINS: "Do you have any evidence on that?" Leavitt: "You're a reporter, you should find out." Capt. Ed, Leavitt to Media: Trump Was Just 'Begging the Question' You Should Have.
NYPo, Trump strips Hunter and Ashley Biden of Secret Service protection ‘effective immediately.’ When he found out Hunter was dodging subpoenas in South Africa.🔥Holy Smokes: @StephenM takes a smug, combative Kasie Hunt to the WOODSHED as she tries to “gotcha” on Trump using an autopen, ignoring the ACTUAL POINT:
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) March 17, 2025
"This is the most important point. It's not just that Joe Biden used the auto pen - it's that he didn't know it. He was not… pic.twitter.com/3FY4dm7it4
Complete Colorado reports Biden appointee makes $360K soft landing at University of Colorado. Andrew Mayock became the vice chancellor for sustainability as of March 10, for a whopping $360,000 per year. According to a CU media release, the position is “newly created.”Federal Judge Orders Astronauts Be Returned To Space Station https://t.co/j8XQJbA3Cs pic.twitter.com/wEcVnLAJrb
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) March 17, 2025
@POTUS , his marriage, our first lady, and frankly implying something distasteful about me, I am responding. I was very pregnant and at the time experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms, but was not diagnosed. As soon as @realDonaldTrump boarded the plane, being the gentleman and good person that he is, said if I did not feel well, I could use the back room. He did this in a respectful way and in front of my husband, of which we thanked him. He also assured me that they had a medical team on board in case anything happened and they were aware of how pregnant I was. This was the most compassionate thing that could’ve been done at the time. I find it disgusting that the author fails to recognize that. A few weeks later, I was induced because I did have pre-eclampsia . The author of this book never reached out to me for comment. Which means that this book is likely going to be a shit hit piece. If people in POTUS orbit are talking to this author, they need to be cut off immediately. This is gross." The Daily Beast @thedailybeast "The new revelations reveal how Trump reportedly offered a female congresswoman his bed, as long as she kept it a secret from his wife."
A Tuesday Tune - Nothing Else Matters
The pianist with the appearance of a top model conquers the world with her musical talent and virtuosity.
Her extravagant approach to music and fashion, explosive virtuosity, sensibility and beauty of musical arrangements, and model looks have made her one of the most desired artist at the most luxurious corporate parties around the world in the field of fashion, beauty and business
Performing on luxury yachts such as the premiere of Sunreef Yacht at the Dubai and Monaco International Boat Shows, events at the famous W Doha hotel in Qatar, luxury birthday parties in India, and prestigious music stages such as the Salle Bourgoe Hall (Montreal, Canada), at festivals in Italy and Spain (Beyond Music), at Alexei Kozlov's club in Moscow, Zhanna is a true a star, combining musical talent with a bright model appearance.She knows the classics, too.