The Green Papyrus

We all see how fast Snow White falls on an eternal slumber after taking one bite from a poisoned apple. In some versions, Snow White wakes up by unchoking herself after a good shake, other versions look up to the romantic version of true love's kiss ... Fairy Tales, always so unreal... I started searching for what kind of poison could have been the one that Queen used to rid herself from her stupid stepdaughter. It cannot be true love’s kiss, so what made her wake up from her slumber? Some while ago, I found a video from The Film Theorist , in which he explains what really saved Snow White , after having an amount of Deadly Nightshade poison. If someone else has done the research and posted the results... What am I doing with this?! Well, I became suddenly curious about how the hell could I do some homemade poisons. My studies changed from what poison did the princess took, to what poisons could I make in my home, just like the evil character in the movie. Some of what I found are...

The first time I came in contact with the idea was when I saw the movie “ Journey to the Center of the Earth ”. I was in awe when our protagonists fall to the center of the Earth, and Hannah sees a glowing, blue bird. It wasn’t until someone introduced in my personal vocabulary the word ‘bioluminescence’ that I understood what that magical creature was. Bioluminescence is a light, produced by a chemical reaction in a living organism. It is a type of chemiluminescence, which is simply the term for a chemical reaction where light is produced. For this reaction to occur, the species must contain luciferin, a molecule that, when it reacts with oxygen, produces light. Some organisms can even choose the intensity and color of the lights too! Not all bioluminescent animals produce luciferin though. Some, like fireflies or some fungi, produce their own luciferin, while others, like the midshipman fish or the squid, absorb it through other organisms, either as food or in a symbiotic relat...

Alex, played by Nick Jonas in the new movie of “ Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ”, has weaknesses as every other player in the game, but the most important of them is the ‘allergy’ to mosquitoes. In the scene where he makes margaritas for everyone, we see that his house (built by Alan Parrish ) is loaded with lots and lots of citronella candles to keep away mosquitoes... But what does citronella exactly do to these creatures? First of all, let's define what citronella is. What we call citronella is an oil obtained from the stems of mainly two species of the Lemongrass family: the Cymbopogon Nardus and the Cymbopogon Winterianus . This oil contains a majority of aldehydes and alcohols , being the active compounds in citronella oil (for the purpose of repelling mosquitoes) camphor , eucalyptol , eugenol , linalool , citronellal and citral . What does it do to mosquitoes? Well, some evidence suggests that these compounds interfere with mosquito olfactory receptors. It is sa...

Everyone knows what a Jedi is... Or do we? Generally, we only see a person wielding a light-saber (or some kind of a Kyber crystal -based weapon), just like a soldier wields a sword, and talking about something called The Force. But then, what exactly is a Jedi? A Jedi is a powerful ‘ Force-wielder ’ and mediator, with the purpose of being the guardian of peace and order among the Galaxy, defending and protecting all sapient life (species with the ability to think, that is). But that’s not all! Knowledge, the Force, and self-discipline were considered the three pillars of Jedi strength... Now, let’s examine more in depth these points: The Jedi Order praised knowledge, so in order to be a member of the Jedi’s, one should have to become a polymath , an individual that knows about a variety of subjects. They weren’t just soldiers, but some had a learning in agriculture, others had an understanding in biology, some others specialized in technology... You can see throughout the movies that...

Some of you may have seen the movie The Book of Life . I liked, one way or the other, all the characters presented in the plot: some of them are odious, some are lovable... And one of the characters that’s the most pitiest, for me, is Joaquin. In the movie, we see a fearless General, ready for whatever comes in the way... Is it? Actually, no. He is consumed by guilt, really thinking that he doesn’t deserve all the medals and achievements he has. Even when he no longer has his ‘special medal’ to protect him (we have to see how ‘special’ was... Maybe it was something to lift his self-confidence, like the ‘ beauty patch ’, or the trick that Harry Potter plays on his friend Ronald ) and fights along with Manolo, almost sacrificing himself on the way, he doesn’t feel himself worthy of a medal anymore. This kind of thinking, self-doubting your competence and capacities, the overwhelming feeling that you don't deserve your success, is what we call ‘Impostor Syndrome’. As Joaquin, pe...

What could have happened if Elsa could not learn how to revert her magic on Arendelle? What could have happened to the town’s people? Well, the kingdom should be prepared to have a horde of people with something called Seasonal Affective Disorder (also known as SAD). Sometimes called the “Winter Blues”, Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that comes and goes with the seasons, typically starting in the early winter and going away during the spring or summer. It is thought that SAD is caused by the decreased sunlight, resulting in people that become more tired, sad, agitated, fat and depressed. It is still not exactly sure how this happens in the body, but it seems to occur due to changes in the body’s natural sleep/wake cycle, decreasing levels of serotonin (a brain chemical that affects mood) and/or a decrease in your level of melatonin (which affect mood and sleep patterns), which is caused by the decreased daylight hours. SAD can lead to many problems, such as s...