My iPod Went Through the Washing Machine and IT STILL WORKS!

I came home from the gym, and took off my earbuds, but I left the iPod snapped to my waistband as I went to water the plants. Afterwards, I put the clothes in the wash, and as it was washing day, the next thing I knew, Jenny found my iPod in the dryer.

I was so sure it was wrecked that I ordered another one from Amazon the next day. I have had terrible problems with my iPod shuffle in the past because of water. See four previous posts. There was no change it would work after drying out.

However strangely and miraculously the iPod lives. It was working the next day, although I needed to recharge it.

The iPod works fine as an iPod. The docking port is a little noisy when I plug it into my car. Maybe that will get better.

Apple gets static for gluing the nano together which prevents users from changing the battery and so on. In this case, the glue is probably keeping the water out as well.

Kudos to Cupertino.

Fake Eggs for Easter

Fake egg being dipped in a wax/calcium chloride mix to make
a shell. 

Because its Easter, I want to post on eggs, specifically fake eggs. Fake eggs are being sold in China in place of real chicken eggs. Some people think this is a hoax, but even if it is a hoax, the hoaxers have developed a great craft technique to make realistic looking eggs from goop.

There are even recipes for how to do it.

Below is a youtube link to a Chinese news report including undercover footage on how to make the eggs. If  you want to see him making a pretty convincing egg, fast forward to about 3:30 minutes.

This link has a recipe: it has three different gelants, "sodium alga" (which might be sodium alginate), gelatin, and carboymethyl cellulose. The white is the same as the yoke except for food coloring in the yoke. The egg is "set" in place with calcium chloride, and that solidifies the gels, making a skin around it.

The egg looks and feels realistic, but I don't think anyone would be fooled by these eggs if they were eating them.  The egg shell looks pretty convincing too. I bet a con man could pass them at a farmers market.

The other kind of fake egg is a human egg that is made with stem cell techniques. More on that next time.