Lead Crystal Glassware: Is It A Health Risk? Reason to Use Lead Crystal

Source: Dazzler1308, cc-by-3.0, flickr

Crystal glassware is beautiful, but the lead that may be found in some older glassware might lead to concerns regarding the health risks. The art deco style of Rene Lalique glassware is stunning, but worries related to the health risks of using those glasses may make it easier to hesitate before making a purchase. By understanding the risks, it is easier to finalize a decision regarding any crystal glassware for the home.

Reason to Use Lead

Lead crystal glassware is not a new concept. The lead is used instead of calcium deposits in the process of making glass for two main reasons: the ability to cut the glassware easily and the shine that develops after cutting the crystal.

When Rene Lalique, a popular glasswork and jewelry artist, created his pieces of art, it was not uncommon for lead to be part of the process. Antique crystal and other glasswork from the early 1900s may contain lead to improve the appearance of the final work of art.

Safety Impact

Due to cases of lead poisoning, authorities looked into potential causes and places where lead may end up in food, beverages and other items. Testing crystal glassware showed a surprising and worrisome trend. Lead may leak into beverages that are stored in crystal glassware.

When authorities discovered that lead was leaking into beverages, they did further testing to determine how long it would take and potential solutions to reduce the risks. Although testing did show that lead could bleed into a beverage, it was determine that it is safe to use lead crystal glasses and glassware as long as certain precautions are taken.

Reducing the Risk

Antique crystal glassware may contain lead, so it is important to take steps to reduce the risk of lead poisoning by ensuring that the lead does not have time to leak into the glassware.

Clean the glassware thoroughly before placing any item in the glass. Never use an uncleansed or dirty glass. If the glass has been sitting in storage, then clean it well before use.

The way that the lead leaks into beverages is through the glass. It gradually leaks into the drink over the course of several hours. If the glass is not cleaned before use, then it may already have some traces of lead that immediately get into the beverage.

The secondary method of reducing the risk is limiting the amount of time that beverages are in the glass. It takes a few hours before the lead can leak into the beverage. That means it is safe to use a fresh, clean glass to drink a glass of wine without worrying about lead poisoning. On the other hand, if it is a glass flask, then remove the drink after an hour and re-clean the flask. Do not leave beverages in lead crystal glassware for an extended period of time.

The fact that some glassware may contain lead does not mean that it is necessarily dangerous. The key is limiting the amount of time that items are placed in the glass and taking steps to reduce the risk of bleeding when glassware is used on a special occasion.

+DJL Lalique is the forum of David Weinstein for buying and selling the artwork of Rene Lalique. He travels all over in search of Lalique's work and shares his experiences on www.djllalique.com.

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Start Seeds Indoors In The Winter - Heating and Caring for Seeds

Starting Seeds
Source: boboroshi, cc-by-3.0, Flickr

Starting your seeds indoors during February or March is a simple way to get a head start on spring gardening. Starting seeds inside has several advantages over purchasing plants, including the ability quite a bit when you choose seeds over sprouted seedlings from the local nursery. You will need some basic supplies to help sprout your own seeds inside before spring begins.

Soil and Containers

The soil that you choose is perhaps the most important aspect of starting seeds inside. Most gardeners prefer a combination of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite for optimum growth. You will definitely want to avoid standard potting soil because it lacks the nutrients and characteristics seeds need to begin growing well. You can also use a basic combination of sphagnum peat and perlite. Peat moss disks are a super easy option. You just need to put the pellets in your container and add seeds and water for an excellent growing medium.

You will need to have enough containers for your seedlings before you can begin. An easy, and affordable, option is to use old egg containers. Paper egg cartons are ideal because they are often biodegradable. If you are using plastic or styrofoam egg cartons, line each cup with newspaper then carefully pull the peat moss, plant and paper out together when it is time to transplant the seedlings. The newspaper will disappear after the seedling is planted. When you don't want to use egg cartons, opt for small, biodegradable planters from your local garden store.

Heating and Caring for Seeds

Seeds grow best with an average of twelve hours of sunlight per day. Providing this much sun is impossible for most of the United States during winter. Try installing a heat lamp and florescent light to provide your new plants with enough warmth and light to thrive. You should place the lamps about eight to twelve inches above seeds to help them grow efficiently. Along with warmth and light, you will need to provide seeds with enough water to grow.

Your soil should be moist but well drained. Try using a small soda bottle with a slit cut in the cap to water seeds. This type of container will prevent you from over watering but is a little faster than misting plants with a spray bottle. Keeping your seed containers on a tray can help reduce any excess water runoff. After gathering your tools, you will want to make sure that you read the seed packet for each type of plant that you want to grow. Each seed packet contains specific information for the plants that you are growing, including how often to water plants, the ideal time to plant the seeds in the outdoors and how long it takes the plants to produce fruits.

Timing

Timing is an important factor when you start seeds indoors. You will generally want to start most types of plants about six to eight weeks before the last frost. You can determine the right time to start your seeds by looking at your local hardiness zones and freeze charts for your region.

In the United States, frost charts are available to help you plan a spring garden. Frost charts show the last date that freezing temperatures occur in cities across the nation. Choose the city that is nearest you to estimate how much time you have before you can transplant seedlings to the outdoors.

American Tree Masters LLC is a full-service tree trimming and removal company in Gilbert, Arizona.

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Himalayan Salt - Benefits of Himalayan Salt You Must Know

There are many reasons that influence your health. Some of the major harmful factors that affect your health are pollution, stress and deficiency of vitamins and minerals. The food you take in your day to day life is not sufficient to provide proper nutritional supplements to your body. In this busy life one has no time to eat all different foods having different, nutrition, vitamins and minerals, to get complete nutrition nowadays people are taking nutritional and vitamin supplement to be healthy and fit. There are many people who are not aware the even eating white table salt is not healthy.

Everyone should understand that there is a lot of difference between normal white table salt and Himalayan salt. Normal white salt have sodium chloride in it which is very unnatural and not at all good for human body. You should always use Himalayan crystal salt. This Himalayan salt is also known as pink salt.

About Himalayan salt:

This Himalayan salt has many benefits in using it. It not only tastes good but it also has many health benefits which other normal table salts do not have. It has rich minerals in it which are very helpful for the human body. This salt has 80 different elements in it has supply calcium, minerals, potassium and sulphate to the human body. It has very less quantity of sodium in it which is very advantageous for many sugar and heart patients as they need to take care that their food do not have high levels of sodium and when you are using this Himalayan salt then you dont have to monitor these levels. Taking a glass of water mixed with this pink salt can help you to purify your blood and also help you to get rid of cold and flu. It also helps you in improving the digestive system.

Benefits of Himalayan Salt:

·         Himalayan salt helps you to maintain a good PH levels in the body

·         It is also used for balancing the water content in the body

·         It helps you to fight common signs of aging.

·         It prevents cramps in muscles

·         It helps women in preventing menstrual cramps.

·         It helps in strengthen your body bones

·         Helps you in regulating blood sugar levels

·         Very helpful for heart patients

There are many studies that say that you need to avoid the normal iodized salts white salt as they are not good for the human body. Reducing the salts intake can help you to handle the heart problems easily. At the same time many studies also have proved that the Himalayan salts can improve the human health. It keeps you health and safe. Every part of the human body needs the salt for them to function properly. So when the salt is so important for the human body then it is essential to select the right salt for your body and to stay healthy. Salt is very important health wise and you cannot make to eat the food also without salt but if it is really important then you should the importance of the salt and use only the best Himalayansalt in your daily food to stay healthy for a longer time.

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Staying Active In An Increasingly Non-Physical World | Things Make You Less Healthy

Staying Active in Physical World

The latest CES really had two major themes: things to make you healthier, and things to make you less healthy.

From column A, we have a number of wearable devices, like the Spark wearable fitness tracker. This can be worn and then plugged into a PC or device via USB to help keep you up to date on your progress and where you could stand to improve. There are eye glasses for computer uses to protect their eyes during long hours of coding, bracelets to track sun exposure, and devices to gamify exercise to keep kids interested.

From column B, we have more curved monitors and televisions than you can shake a stick at, creating a more immersive gaming experience. We have consumer grade drones, which will help to revolutionize delivery and shipping so you might never need go out to eat again. 3D printers will allow you to shop for consumer goods right at your desktop. Self driving cars ensure that you can play on your phone while you head to work.

Theoretically, using the tech shown at 2014's CES, you could telecommute to work, have food delivered, 3D print anything you need, and never leave your house. Just make sure to get a little fresh air by popping a window open now and then, and you can live a totally encapsulated lifestyle. With curvable monitors, you could even enjoy sitting in your swivel chair for, well, forever.

We live in interesting times. Some theorize that we may eventually transcend the corporeal world, we may one day be strings of data floating through space-bound computers in some far-future version of the internet. We're not there yet, but we are looking at the infancy of a new wave in human evolution. Within the next few years, we may be looking at a world where nobody ever really needs to go outside of their homes. Even houses can now be 3D printed with large devices.

Unfortunately, right now, we still need our corporeal forms. Right now, we don't have the technology to keep our bodies in great shape while we sit in our recliners and zone out to Netflix and Xbox Live. Right now, exercise, proper diet and health care are as important as ever.

An interesting note: while this year's CES brought as many ways to stay in shape as to laze out, the health and fitness devices demand as much effort as staying in shape ever has.

We're not looking to preach. Likely you're here to read insights on new technology, not to be told to put down the potato chips. That said, it is worth noting that it is easier than ever to live a sedentary lifestyle, using the internet to stay in contact with friends and family and using advanced tech to help meet our basic daily needs. Simply put, it is easier than ever to fall into bad habits. The health hazards that come with long periods of sitting are very real, however. Simply by working at a job that demands 23 hours of sitting a week, we find ourselves at a much higher risk for heart disease than those who spend more time on their feet.

"It is worth taking a moment to consider whether we're more excited about new technology for its own sake," said technology entrepreneur Jason Hope, "or for how it can benefit and enrich our lives."

Again, we're not looking to preach, only to point out that CES brought with it just as many reasons to start a serious workout routine as distractions to keep us from living the lives that we truly want to live.

About Author: 

Amy Taylor is a technology and business writer. Amy began her career as a small business owner in Phoenix, Arizona. She has taken that knowledge and experience and brought that to her unique writing capabilities. She really enjoys new business related issues that are tied directly to technology.

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When Did The Modern Era Of Technology Begin? Motor Technology to Biotechnology

Advanced Technology
Source: QuotesEverlasting, cc-by-3.0, flickr

Technology has completely revolutionised the way we live our lives, changing everything from how we gather news to how we know when the cookies are ready to come out the oven. Nothing has been left untouched by this powerful and omnipresent influence.

But when exactly did the era of modern technology begin? Let’s take a quick look at some forms of modern technology and the history behind them, so that we can determine when everything began to change.

Motor Technology

Travelling is a necessity in life, and has been made so much easier with the creation of the motor engine. The days of horse-drawn carriages are a thing of the past, even though it’s a rather charming image.

We can thank a shamefully unknown Swiss called François Isaac de Rivaz for bringing forth the era of the motor engine. His invention in 1806, the hydrogen powered engine, was the world’s first internal combustion engine, which of course features in most vehicles today. Without this early stroke of genius, the ICE may not have been invented for years to come, if not at all.

Instant Communication

How amazing is it that we are able to instantly and rapidly communicate with someone on the other side of the planet? It truly boggles the mind, but fortunately its simple beginning is much easier to get your head around.

The advanced electrical signals which makes instant communication possible is considered to be a development of Alexander Graham Bell’s first transcontinental telephone call in 1915, using the audion.  This one simple call led to much effort being put into setting up a transatlantic cable network (1956), and then to the 1964 invention of fibre optics. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow...

Electronic Data Processing

A computer’s ability to process vast amounts of complicated data should be at the top of the list for reasons to love technology. No longer do we have to face such a monumental task, our face distorted with confusion whilst clawing for the paracetamol.

The first example of electronic data processing begins in Blighty in 1951, with the J. Lyons and Co. catering company developing a computer to process all their commercial data. Marked the Lyons Electronic Office, it became widespread throughout the 1960s and 70s, until software began to rear its wonderful head and took over the task.

Electronic Data Storage

Of course before you can process any amount of data, you have to have some way of storing it. Today, unimaginable amounts of data can be stored on a memory card the size of a pea. Minimalism at its absolute best. Looking back on the older, much larger forms of electronic data storage though, it’s easy to see why we wanted to go smaller.  

As computers began to emerge during the 1940s, so did the first form of computerised data storage. Called the Selectron tube, this 1946 invention could store very little indeed, and so they were quickly scrapped. But seeing as we were using hole-punched cards to store data before the Selectron tube, it should definitely be considered what sparked the progress within this form of modern technology.

Biotechnology

Without the development of medicinal drugs, food production or even genetic engineering, through the use of biotechnology, it’s safe to say that humans would be in the history books alongside the Dodo.

Biotechnology began in 1919 with a Hungarian called Károly Ereky, who developed slaughterhouse technology to convert raw materials. Albeit distasteful, this radically improved the production of food.

Similarly, during the 1970s, the notion of “food from oil” (growing single-cell proteins on oil to be used as food) was birthed to tackle food shortages. The biotechnology involved then led to the field of genetic engineering, which blew the roof off of how we now develop proteins and therapeutic drugs.

Looking to the past like we have, it would appear modern technology can find its roots within the first half of the 20th century. Although the history of communication technology can be traced as far back as the 1840s, it is the 20th century which witnessed the biggest surge in technological advancements.

Overall it is safe to say, it is during this century that the era of modern technology dawned, and we can only hope that we continue to prosper from it for many years to come.

Are you wise to the history of modern technology, and can you think of anything else to add? Share your comments below.  

Ben Kettlety is  a writer and gadget-lover who is enthralled by the history of modern technology, and can’t wait to see how it will develop in the future.

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So Sweet - The World's Most Famous Dessert Locations

The only thing better than indulging in your favourite decadent dessert is doing so in the very place where it was invented or perfected. Whether your favoured dessert is an all-American apple pie, luxurious Belgian waffle, or cold, creamy gelato, somewhere around the world there is a place renowned for doing it just that little bit better.

Pack your passport and find out where your dream dessert awaits you with our round-up of four of the world’s most famous dessert locations, sating your travel bug and sweet tooth all at once!

Gelato: Noto, Sicily

Italy proudly flaunts its gelato credentials, and gelaterie throughout the country serve top-notch quality gelato for insanely good value. Tracing this delicious cold, creamy treat to its finest source is a deliciously difficult challenge, but Noto is a contender a cut above the rest. This small Baroque town in southern Sicily is said to boast the creamiest, most flavoursome gelato in the entire world. Pick your favourite flavours and enjoy this perfect accompaniment for Sicily’s balmy Mediterranean climate. There’s nothing as blissful as eating gelato on the Italian coast with an unbeatable view and a cool and creamy gelato to tide you over until your next meal. Prego!

Apple pie: Julian, USA

Nothing says good old-fashioned Americana like a warm homemade apple pie. Simple, wholesome and oh so satisfying, the humble apple pie’s tangy apple and golden crust combination baked to delicious perfection, could teach the fancy pants European desserts a thing or two about how to end a meal. For apple pie even better than your grandmother’s, sample the world-famous apple pies of Julian, California in the backcountry of San Diego. Mom’s Pies is particularly renowned. Try some cream with your apple pie for an irresistible dessert that is warm and agreeable.

Waffles: Brussels, Belgium

Belgian chocolate on its own is enough to make hearts flutter and mouths water. Drizzle some of that goodness onto some freshly baked waffles and you’ve got yourself a dessert worth travelling to Belgium for. Yes, Belgium and waffles are a match made in culinary heaven, with no country coming even close to Belgium’s waffle quality and quantity.

Before I waffle on any further – terrible pun intended, be sure to check out the thick, chunky and deliciously sweet Liège waffles available at cafes, biscuiteries, and even street stalls throughout Brussels, the Belgian capital. With lots of picturesque sightseeing to do you can work off those calories with ease.

Ice cream: Waterbury, USA

Where else to indulge your penchant for ice cream than a Ben & Jerry’s factory?! This iconic American brand, renowned for the creamy goodness and fun flavours of its ice cream repertoire, was established by two childhood friends named – you guessed it – Ben and Jerry, in Burlington, Vermont. Just half an hour away, near the town of Waterbury, you can go behind the scenes at the Ben & Jerry’s Factory on a guided factory tour, including a free sample for your tasting pleasure. Be sure to try my personal favourite, Chunky Monkey as well as sample all their best sellers. 

Sarah Trevor is a freelance writer, avid traveller and notorious chocoholic who considers herself an expert in the all-important dessert field, from loukoumades to the most delicious ice cream cakes.

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