The Green Papyrus

Everybody knows at least one of the synonyms for the word “soulmate”: androgynous, soulmate, destined, mate, ‘true love’, ‘one's promised’... But there’s only one definition: a special affinity, understanding, or powerful bond that exists between one person and another. For example, we see Jacob Black (one of the principal characters of the movie “ Twilight ”) in the penultimate movie of the saga finding out that Bella and Edward’s daughter, Reneesmé, is his soulmate. As I thought about this, I became very curious about one thing... How many people believed in having a soulmate? Well, according to a Marist poll , 73% of Americans believe in soulmates; more men than women believe in the ‘soulmate’ theory (males: 74%, females: 71%); and 79% of people younger than 45 believe in soulmates, while only 69% of those over 45 do. Now, that’s a lot of people! And again, thinking about this, how would this theory, believing in a ‘soulmate’ affect their minds? Luckily for me, I found some sci...

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...

When I was a little girl, I watched Disney's version of “ The Beauty and The Beast ”. When you are a child, you see all through a rosy glass, and think about how Belle ends up loving the Beast, therefore he becomes a prince, and all live happily ever after... But when you get older (and actually read the classic fairytale ), you start to think that, well, Beauty was not a guest at all! ‘Be Our Guest’, Lumiere? She couldn’t leave! So she was, by all means, literally a prisoner . Once that registers in your mind, you start to ponder that the Beast is helding Belle captive throughout the whole movie (excluding the tiny part on the end when the Beast lets Belle go to tend to his father), and that our ‘heroine’ falls in love with her captor, even when he harasses her sexually ! How twisted is that?! Apparently, there is something called ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, that poses the basis for this perverted idea of liking your enslaver. This situation is given when a hostage creates a psyc...

Maybe you have heard of the story of ‘The Princess and the Frog’. Maybe you saw the Disney movie . But one part is the same: a princess kisses a frog. Ain’t that disgusting? Apparently, for some little girls, it’s not. On the same year the Disney movie was released, in 2009, there was an increasing number of girls hospitalized with salmonella disease (77% of the total infected, the girls ranging from 4 to 10 years old) all across the globe, the infection one of the possible diseases you could get from even touching a frog. And that made me question... Only one possible disease? What else could happen if you kiss a frog? According to Jeremy Goodman , director of the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, you could get Salmonella typhimurium, usually known as Salmonella, an infection that can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, starting from 12 to 72 hours after infection. Or you could get Cysticercosis, that causes the apparition of painful and swollen solid lumps under the skin...

Sometimes the world doesn’t look right when you have a migraine. Colors change. Straight lines turn wavy. Objects move. Time may even seem to shift... Are you going crazy? Well, maybe... Or you could have the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (a.k.a. Todd’s Syndrome). AiWS involves changes to parts of your brain that deal with sensory information -- what you see and hear. Is a disorienting neuropsychological condition that affects perception. These changes affect how you see your own body and its relation to the world around you. Doctors aren't sure why some people have these unusual changes in perception. Epstein-Barr Virus appears to be the most common cause of AiWS in children, while for adults it is more commonly associated with migraines or to a lack of sleep.... But it also can happen to patients with epilepsy, stroke, depression or schizophrenia, or after taking medication like cough syrup, allergy medicines, and the anti-seizure drug topiramate (Topamax). AiWS symptoms ...

Almost everybody has seen Pocahontas at least once. The most curious part of the movie for me? Well, it was quite shocking to see Grandmother Willow, a talking willow tree, that somewhat guided Pocahontas. Some years later, I’m asking myself this... Can trees talk? Can they communicate with us? Could we learn from them like the protagonist? Recent evidence says that trees can communicate with each other. Suzanne Simard ’s research shows that below the earth there are vast networks of roots working with fungi to move water, carbon, and nutrients among trees of all species. These complex, symbiotic networks, also known as Wood-Wide Web or mycorrhizal networks, mimic human neural and social networks. This network even has mother trees or hub trees, managing information flow, helping younger seedlings and passing wisdom from generation to generation. Peter Wohlleben , a German forester and author, also researched in this area, proving that not only through the soil can trees communi...

You know the story of ‘The Sleeping Beauty’. She pricks her finger, falls asleep, and wakes up with true love’s kiss... But what if she died instead of falling asleep, and revived some years later? Cryonics is about freezing a deceased person when she dies, with the idea of reviving the patient when the cure to that disease shows up, and the procedure is the one that follows: The body is cooled in an ice bath, lowering its temperature bit by bit. The head is the first part of the body that has to be submerged in ice water. The patient's blood has to be removed and replaced with antifreeze fluid, to stop harmful ice crystals forming in the body.  Last, but not least, the body is then stored in a cooling unit. The appropriate program is selected to steadily cool the patient to liquid nitrogen temperature, that’s about - 196°C. Did you know that it could take five and a half days to completely cool the entire body?  Freezing your body AFTER you are dead can present a risk of...

We all love Raja, Jasmine's tiger from the movie “Aladdin”. It’s hilarious to see how he protects her from her ugly suitor, lives in luxury and has a beautiful friendship with the princess... Just a perfect symbiosis. Symbiosis? What it’s that? It’s like an ‘arrangement’ between two different groups or species, to the advantage of both parties... It’s a win-win situation. Raja provided the princess with protection, and the princess provided him with food and shelter. But... Aren’t they more like friends in the movie? The answer to this is yes, and there’s a good explanation for that, because in the movie, we don’t actually see a symbiotic relationship. In the case of some animals (like cats and dogs) and over the last centuries, this symbiosis was replaced by something else: domestication. First, we have to know the definition of this word. Domestication is the process of breeding reorganization of wild animals and plants into domestic and cultivated forms according to...

How could Ariel like a man she had not even spoken to? For his appearance? Well, actually it could be his smell... Everyone knows what it's like to be powerfully affected by a partner's smell—witness men who bury their noses in their wives' hair for example. And this isn’t some cliché, it really has a scientific foundation: Claus Wedekind, a biologist at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, made in 1995 an experiment called ‘The Sweaty T-Shirt Study’. This study consisted in giving to 44 men new T-shirts and instructing them to wear the shirts for two straight nights. To ensure that the sweat collecting on the shirts would remain "odor-neutral", the men were provided with scent-free products, and instructed not to drink alcohol, put on perfume, or anything that could change their natural smell. After the men were allowed to change, his shirts where put in boxes and displayed to 49 women, that sniffed the shirts and specified which odors they fou...

Mulan, for some strange reason, is considered one of the Disney princesses. Everybody can see the difference between the other ‘princesses’ and her. The movie “Mulan” was released in 1998, and not even modern princesses can make their dreams come true without a man. Take for example Anna, from “Frozen”... All she wants is someone to love, specifically, a man who can be her husband. And so, Mulan is considered the first “feminist” movie made by Disney... Why did it take so long to make a movie that breaks with stereotypes? The history of feminism can be traced back to the 3rd century BC, but it does not have a high peak until the Renaissance arrived, after the French Revolution. One of the leading feminists of this era was Olympe de Gouges, that rewrites the “Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen”, the Declaration Rights created after the Revolution, to include women, and publishes her version of the book in 1791. The following year, the english lady Mary Wollstonecraft...

In Cinderella's version of the Grimm Brothers, there is no Fairy Godmother. Cinderella's wishes do come true, but not through some magical fairy, but rather from a hazelnut tree growing on her mother's grave.  Cinderella would walk towards the tree, would ask for a wish she deeply desires, and all of a sudden a white bird would come down out of nowhere, carrying every single thing she needs to fulfill her heart's desire. A magical wish-fulfilling tree... sounds odd, does it not? Magical thinking is about linking one’s inner personal experience with the external physical world. “I  asked the tree from my mother’s grave for beautiful clothes to wear to the ball, and he gave them to me!”... That an example of what I’m trying to say. It doesn’t make much sense... Well, actually it could have it. In the 20th century, Freud did a small study about this. He argued that there are two fundamental forms of thought: primary and secondary process. The primary process is the...

Is it true? Does the Fire Waterfall really exist? Why is it called that? These are the questions that I asked myself when I saw the first two or three scenes of ‘Brave’... And I’m here to answer those questions.  Yes, the Waterfall really exists, and it’s called the “Horsetail Fall”, a seasonal waterfall that flows in the  winter and early spring. Unlike what we see in the movie, this waterfall is not located in Scotland, but in the east side of El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California. The “Horsetail Fall” is also known as the “Firefall” because of a beautiful optical illusion that takes place here only a few days in the year. Around the second week of February, the setting sun hits Horsetail Fall at just the right angle to illuminate the upper reaches of the waterfall. And when conditions are perfect, Horsetail Fall glows orange and red at sunset. These ‘Perfect Conditions’ are: First and foremost, Horsetail Fall must be flowing. This depend...

The other day, I was in the Taj Mahal, and I noticed something that caught my attention: the lily-like flower carved in the marble walls of the great mausoleum. I remembered that, in the Tangled movie, the Golden Flower was a Lilium, a very similar (not to say the same) flower. Why would they use a Lilium? The plant that Rapunzel’s mother ingested in the original fairy tale was a Rampion, that has a totally different flower... So I started researching. The first time a Lilium appeared in history was in a painting in Crete, in the year 1580 BC. For the Greeks, this flower was very precious: a myth says that it was created with Hera’s breast milk. For many cultures, this Lily symbolizes purity, chastity and virtue, and in a few cases death. In some others, it even represents Heaven on earth, or reaching a paradise in the afterlife. As for it’s pharmaceutical value, it was commonly believed to have magical qualities, using it to treat fever, wounds and arthritis in the Victorian Era. In E...