met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter. He says, "Ladies, you all led such wonderful lives, that I'm granting you six months to go back to Earth and be anyone you want."
The first nun says, "I want-a to be Sophia Loren"
The second says, "I want-a to be Madonna" and poof!
she's gone.
The third says, "I want-a to be Sara Pipalini."
St. Peter looks perplexed. "Who?" he says.
"Sara Pipalini" replies the nun.
St. Peter shakes his head and says "I'm sorry but
that name just doesn't ring a bell."
The nun then takes a newspaper out of her habit
and hands it to St. Peter. He reads the paper and
starts laughing. He hands it back to her and says
"No Sister, this says 'Sahara Pipeline laid by 500
men in 7 days'
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Drinking Champagne at New Year's Can Be Painful (I thought this was quite interesting...)
Updated 11:12 AM ET December 30, 2000
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Just call it cham-PAIN instead of champagne this New Year's Eve.
Two party-pooping California researchers have found that the familiar tingle on the tongue caused by the fizzy drink revelers love to guzzle as they toast the New Year is no pleasure at all. In fact, it is downright painful.
"The tingle you get from a chili pepper is working on the pain system," Michael O'Mahony, a food scientist at the University of California, Davis, who co-led the study, said on Friday. "But it also turns out that the fizz or the carbonation you get from a fizzy drink works on the same system."
The research helps to show that these sensations may be an important part of food flavor, alongside taste and smell, even though they deliver messages of pain to the brain, O'Mahony said.
He added that most cultures had their own foods that hurt, with examples ranging from strong malt vinegar on fish and chips and pretzels crusted with salt to spicy curries.
"The pain is giving you the message, watch out for this stuff, be careful," Mahony said. "We are interested in the mechanisms of how pain and irritation work in the mouth."
The two researchers compared the effects of capsaicin, which gives chilies their burn, with nicotine on nerve activity in rats. When dripped onto the tongue, both the capsaicin and nicotine caused a firing of trigeminal nerves, the first pain relay on the way to the brain.
But if the capsaicin was stopped for a few minutes, the nerves became desensitized and the response decreased --- which is like eating a spicy meal and finding the food less hot the more you eat.
"If you walk into a smoky room, you immediately have an irritating sensation in the eyes, but you quickly become desensitized," added Earl Carstens, who co-led the study.
But for carbonated drinks, like soda, sparkling wine and, of course, champagne, blame the bubbles. The fizz in those drinks are made of carbon dioxide, which produces the carbonic acid that hurts the tongue, the researchers said.
The researchers say the same principal applies to any drink that gets its fizz from carbon dioxide. "If you stick your tongue in carbonated water for a few seconds, that gets painful," Carstens said.
One way to avoid the pain, however, was to drink Guinness beer instead. That liquid gets its frothy fizz from nitrogen which produces a different, smoother feel in the mouth, the researchers said.
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In thinking of the New Millenium, my thoughts turn to happiness, peace, prosperity and of course, pain free days and nights. May we all have a taste of a glass overflowing with these things, and have the after effects for as long as possible... Even though I try to begin each day as a New day, the New Year is even more exciting. So much to look forward to, and many trails hiked in the past, there is nothing in my mind that says this won't be better than the years past. Everyone have a safe night, if you're traveling, or even going to family or friends, please do watch out for others. If you will be home, pain free or not, remember to hold on to all that you have, and think of the future, because yes my friends, there are better days ahead. Just need to keep that grip on DJ's site, the people here, and those in your life. I believe in my heart and soul, that each new day, and new year, is a chance to move forward, no matter how much you feel it's moving backwards, or not moving at all.
Those that are thinking of going to Atlanta in June, please do go. It'll be just one moment out of this year, I bet you'll be thankful for. I know I'll be, and I've never attended one before!
And now, my New Years resolution...
To be here more often for those that may need me.
Peace All,
melissa
- This will happen in Atlanta.... Riccardo 11:32:32 12/31/00
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- Riccardo... melissa 12:09:42 12/31/00
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- Riccardo... melissa 12:09:42 12/31/00
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