Instant facts- Just add water

Apples are fat, sodium, and cholesterol free.
in http://urbanext.illinois.edu/apples/facts.cfm

University of Princeton email about the magnetic effect on food

Ana received on of those spam emails. The message was about the danger of having magnets on the refrigerator door. The email seemed somewhat exaggerated, this was the message:


"Researchers at Princeton University have discovered a terrible thing. For several months they feed two groups of rats, one group with food stored in a refrigerator, and the other one with food stored in a refrigerator with several decorative magnets on the door. The purpose of study was to see how they affect the electromagnetic radiation in food. Surprisingly, after rigorous clinical studies they concluded that the group of rats that ate irradiated foods by the magnets has 87% more chances of contracting cancer. "

We found several explanations, some more scientific then others. We found some people that swore this was true, others had a cousin, that has an uncle that has a friend in Princeton University.


Some facts:

• Fridge magnets magnetic field is very low.
• In any case the iron from the refrigerator absorb most of radiations, therefore what goes "inside" the refrigerator is not measurable.
• All electric refrigerators are inevitably driven by electrical motors, in those, electric field changes are much stronger than the magnets.
• The earth has a magnetic field, we live surrounded by it.
• Food is not magnetic therefore is not influenced by magnetic fields.

Some logical arguments:


This email says, the researchers at Princeton University with headquarters at USA found out the fridge magnets on the refrigerator doors of many families all over the world should be trashed because they have a adverse effect on the food, and could significantly increase cancer risk.

As we can read on the email: "rigorous clinical studies", using two groups of rats, shown that, the group that consumed "irradiated" food from the fridge with the magnets has 87% more chance of having cancer, then the other group.

First of all, as always my mother taught me, if you are going to lie avoid the  details, there is no reference to such a study at Princeton University.


Besides, there is no credible evidences to say that a fridge magnet can have such a impact on food. A fridge magnet is a  small low power permanent magnet. A permanent magnet is made from magnetized material, and create his own persistent magnetic field.


There is a intensive debate about magnetic radiation and adverse health effects, like the one generated by cellphones.
However, permanent magnets have been used for a variety of proposes, and there is no evidences that allow us to connect them with cancer or any other health problem.


The email seems to ignore the fact the refrigerator use several components that generate magnetic fields. Many modern fridges have door seals with magnets and contain magnetic strips which help to keep the door closed.

Lastly if the message informations were true, the study would be widely publicized in the media, and in the specialized press, the absence of any of these reports is, in itself, sufficient to identify the false alert.

Sources: Hoax- Slayer; Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia
Universidade de Princeton- Investigação

Et voilá
Don't believe everything you read


Enjoy!

How to do a stencil?

Today we will share some tips on "how to do a stencil". With a stencil you can print the same pattern, over and over again, in almost any kind of surface.
Cut a stencil is a boring job, but at the end is worth.

What we need:

• exact-O knife.
• a surface to cut the transparent plastic sheet cardboard/paper/rigid plastic,
• transparent plastic sheet, rigid plastic or cardboard, from a cereal box for example,
• a print of the draw you want to make stencil from,
• tape, any kind.

How to:

1. Place the transparent plastic sheet on top of your print;
2. Hold them both with tape. The plastic sheet must be a little bigger then your print, about 1in all around;
3. With the exact-O knife- allways use a new blade- cut the image.
4. First cut the longest straight lines, cut in one stroke, without hesitate, hesitation cuts will make a sloppy final result;
5. To make the task easier you must pressure the plastic+print with your free hand, Keep your hands AWAY from the blade!!!!
6. When you finish, feel free to use it on anywhere you wish

 
Your restless will love to use stencils, he can do a lot of crafts, including t-shirts, paintings, walls, whatever your imagination dictate. Keep your stencils clean and in a safe place, away from restless hands.

Check those patterns:
Free Stencils
About


Et voilá!
Similar drawing everywhere.

Enjoy!

Explosive lunch bag

Explosions are most of the time messy. Usually it's dangerous, but what Restless Minds bring you today is a nice, cool and harmless prank. 

This demonstration uses the same reaction we saw here, with the volcano, and here, with the balloon.
In this reaction acetic acid reacts with sodium bicarbonate, the product of that reaction is carbon dioxide and water. 

What we need:

• zip lock plastic bag,
• paper napkins,
• 2 tablespoons of baking soda, sodium bicarbonate,
• 1/2 cup of vinegar, without any flavors,
• 1/4 cup of warm water.

How to:

1. First of all, do not do this at home, do it outside in a place you can clean easily.
2. Make sure bag has no holes, fill it with water the easiest way,
3. Empty the bag,
4. Dry it,
5. Place the baking soda on the napkin,
6. Fold it like an envelope,
7. Inside the zip lock bag place the vinegar and the warm water;
8. Quickly but carefully  place the "envelope" inside;
9. Close the zip;
10. Place the bag on the floor and step back, again quickly but carefully;

What happen?
The bag will swell and open with a BANG!

Results:
As we saw here and here, acetic acid (vinegar) reacts with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and neutralizes it.
This reaction is very fast and results in the production of CO2- a gas. This gas fill the balloon raising the pressure inside, when the pressure is unsustainable the bag open with a loud BANG!


Chemical reaction:

from here

Et Voilá!

Enjoy!

Stamp and dye t-shirts, summer DIY

With the summer a question pops up, what do kids need to buy... and where to buy? Most of the times this is a problem because the cloths we find in stores are not exactly the ones we are looking for besides having an exclusive T-shirt is much more "stylish".

Painting a t-shirt is not that hard, there are several ways to do this, some more expensive then others, but all of them will make your restless the "number one" at school.

First of all do some shopping, buy a few basic t-shirts, the color doesn't matter, but they must be plain., those are normally cheaper and will work best.

Buy also some fabric painting (dye, paint, spray or a pen, all depends on the method you want to use).

Using transfers with iron
How to:

1. Pick an image, scanned;
2. If the image is not on your computer scan it, high definition;
3. If you are a medium user use a image edition software to center image, adjust colors and luminosity as you wish;
4. When it's done, print the your design in transfer printer paper;
5. Place a card inside the t-shirt, stretch it.
6. Use the paper on T-shirt, follow the instructions on the package; 

One idea is to use the children drawings.

Using painted iron transfers
How to:

1. Pick a black and white image, or scan it;
2. If you are a medium user use a image edition software to center image, adjust luminosity as you wish;
3. When it's done, print your design in transfer printer paper;
4. Place a card inside the t-shirt, stretch it;
5. Use the paper on T-shirt, follow the instructions on the package;
6. Color the image with fabric paint;
7. Let it dry for 48h before you wash it.

Using your restless hands/feet
How to:

1. Buy fabric paint and a sponge;
2. Cut the sponge, 1 piece for every color you want to use;
3. Place a card inside the t-shirt, stretch it;
4. Put both on the floor;
5. With the sponge paint your restless hands/feet, you can also try this with your cat or your dog;
6. Stamp the t-shirt as you wish.
7. Let it dry for 48h before you wash it.

One great idea is to stamp the feet on the back and write something like "My son/daughter/can/dog walk over my back" on the front.


Stamp with a sponge or a potato 
How to:

1. Buy fabric paint;
2. If you use a potato: cut it in half, with the exact-O knife try to crave a pattern, you can do a star, a moon, squares, hearts, keep it simple; 
3. If its a sponge you can try to do the same thing, or you can buy them already shaped;
4. Place a card inside the t-shirt, stretch it;
5. Wet the sponge/potato on paint;
6. Stamp as you wish;
7. Let it dry for 48h before you wash it.

Using dye
How to:

1. Buy dye and some rubbers (about a dozen)
2. Use rubber gloves and a craft coat;
3. Follow instructions to prepare the paint;
4. Fold the t-shirt on her own, form some clusters and use rubbers to keep them in place;
5. When you done folding, deep it in the dye, again follow instructions. if you want a multicolor t-shirt wait about 5 hours before you deep the t-shirt on the second color;
6. Wait 5h;
7. Rinse well with water;
8. Let it dry for 48h before you wash it.

Using a stencil
How to:

1. Buy fabric paint, with stencil spray works better;
2. Buy or do your own stencil; 
3. Place a card inside the t-shirt, stretch it; 
4. Place the stencil, cover all area you don't want to paint;
5. With the spray, paint the stencil, chose a safe place, spray can do a mess;
6. Let it dry for 48h before you wash it.

Et Voilá!

New wardrobe for the whole family

Enjoy!

"Super cute" wool pom-pons

We talked here about pom-pons, about colors, about wool and about how easy is to do this little wool balls. Today we leave you with some pictures about this craft, just some ideas

From Mariana's Blog:

From BananaCraft's blog

Et voilá!

Enjoy!

Bookmarks with paperclips

So simple... and so practical.

What we need:

• paper clips,
• fabric strips,
• scissors,
• needle and thread, or a stapler.

How to:

1. Cut the fabric in several pieces, different widths and lengths; 
2. Fold in half; 
3. Staple, or use the needle to join both ends;
4. Attach tissue on the paper clip by sliding it, just like a key ring;
5. Use the paper clip as bookmark, like shown in picture.

Use different paper clips sizes, or different fabric colors and patterns, customize your books!

Et Voilá!
Thank you Fabiana Tardochi

Enjoy!