Phew! What's that Smell?

You walk into class and the kid next to you speaks and you smell the foul odor from his mouth. Suddenly you wonder if you breath smells too. Therefore, you do the usual trick of blowing on your hand and smelling your hand to see if you have halitosis,(bad breath). This is wrong! This is a common myth that many people believe in but this trick does not accurately tell if you have bad breath or not. This is due to the fact that when you breathe your throat does not function the same way it does when you talk. Talking brings out the odors in the back of your mouth (where that horrible stench comes from).

Another common myth about bad breath is that mouthwash can take away bad breath forever. While mouthwash can take away bad breath for a short period of time, it cannot eliminate of your bad breath problems if you don't regularly use it. Therefore, when picking a mouthwash make sure it is ADA (America Dental Association) approved, so your mouth does not smell bad.

When I first read this article, I was shocked at the information it gave about bad breath. For instance, I did not know that bad breath generates from the back of your mouth. Also, I learned that most people cannot smell bad breath because they are more used to smelling their own smells. In addition, I learned that there are ways to hide the foul odor by using mouthwash and eating sugar-free gum!

A boy with bad breath picture was taken from : http://www.stopbadbreath.co.uk/images/bad_breath.jpg.

Information was taken from :

http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/mouth/halitosis.html#cat20217.

Shining Scorpions

This is a picture of a fluorescent scorpion.

When you glance at a picture of a scorpion, it looks terrifying with its claws pointed towards you. However, when you glance at a picture of a neon blue scorpion on a full moon night, you wonder if this is a picture of a real scorpion. Don't let your eyes fool you- scorpion can be fluorescent on a full moon night. Sounds scary, right?
There are several hypotheses as to why the scorpion has fluorescence but scorpion scientists are still rubbing their heads about the reason for this odd phenomenon. One hypothesis states that scorpions may be using UV light (their fluorescence) as a method of tracking prey down. Another hypothesis states that since scorpions are nocturnal creatures who avoid UV light (like on a full moon night), the fluorescence could be a way that they respond to the ultraviolet light from the full moon.
Although scorpion scientists are still looking for the answer to this raging mystery, the fluorescence from scorpions does provide one useful use. The bright colors that the fluorescence produces under a black light or a full moon helps a humans to kill deadly scorpions in their house. Therefore, remember to keep a black light handy if you ever visit a place that is heavily populated by deadly scorpions!

Information and picture was taken from http://www.livescience.com/14155-full-moon-scorpions-glow-dark.html.