CULTURAL QA 01-2023-09 BEING ACOMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS
Q1 What are the things that are made inIndia but never sold in India? A1 Aamrapali Bhogle, Indian Updated 2y The Ratna varetyof Mango. It is larger, morepulpy, infinitely tastier and sweeter than even Ratnagiri Alphonso (Hapus) which is by farconsidered the King of Fruits. Most Indians have never had the fortune oftasting Ratna in India. It is a product of the Konkan region of Maharashtra,especially Sindhudurg District. As soon as rawmangoes are ready, they are exported all over the world. And consider this, there is no bargaining over theprice of this fruit! While only the bestlots of Alphonso (about 90% of the crop) are exported, and the rest (exportrejects) are retained for local consumption…. In the case of Ratna Mango, the entire crop is exported,raw, ripe or sick! The harvest periodof Ratna is around the last week of May. Hence, Ratna arrives when all other varieties of mangoesare making an exit from the market. It bears a fleshy,pulpy fruit that's much softer than Alphonso. It's deep orange inside, and is so saccharine that you'llsuspect if they've injected sugar artificially into it. While a typicalRatna may weigh around 400gms, there are smaller varieties available too. Mostly, producers of packaged natural juices purchase themin thousands of tonnes for the pulp. USA, UK, Europe,Gulf and Canada are major buyers of Ratna Mango. Even Indians living abroad import and resell thevariety for a huge margin. I have a cousin whoproduces and exports this variety since decades. So, have had the fortune oftasting this elixir many a times. But this fruit is considered soprecious, the farmer feels like he is parting with a real Ratna (jewel) tooffer it locally at all…. You may never getto see a genuine Ratna ever in Indian markets. EDIT : I received a fewqueries from curious Quorans. Attempting to answer those here : Ratna Mango is different from Ratnagiri Alphonso,although their names sound similar. In fact, Ratnabotanically does NOT belongto the Alphonso category in the first place. It's an indigenous hybrid. To those whoenquired about Alphonso…. Due to its sheer international popularity, nowadaysall kinds of Alphonso mangoes (and also hybrids) are packaged as RatnagiriHapus to increase their saleability. Only a hardcore Konkan farmer can figureout the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between taste and pulps ofdifferent Alphonso varieties. (We'll keep those details for another question,another day). Farming is asensitive profession, considering that it involves huge investment in terms ofTime, Money and Effort..andconsidering that the products are all perishable in short term. Hence, it isonly fair that farmers should want to sell their crop to a single purchaser whobuys the entire season's produce in tonnes (and compensates well for it). Selling the crop in dozens andkilograms (or on wholesale on a compromised margin) will only add to thefarmer's risk factors on an unimaginable scale. How do I know aboutthe export part? My ancestral family are mango farmers in Konkan. And my fatheris a Dairy & Food Technologist, specialising in Quality Assurance. He hasformulated the tastes of packaged natural Mango juices for leading globalbrands, while working abroad for 20 years. My name beingAamrapali is a funny coincidence. I am not a producer or seller of mangoesmyself! :D This answer is agenuine attempt to contribute to the thread. It is not a marketing gimmick to raise local sales of Ratnamango! As evident, the variety is indeed produced in India but soldonly abroad, and hence is unknown to most of us. Q2 How can an airplane’s wheels supportthe weight of an airplane? A2 Joe Shelton,Author, Pilot (Comm.MEL/SEL/MES/SES, Inst), Aircraft Owner Updated 5y It’s not the wheels that are really the issue, it’s thetires. The heavier the aircraft’s weight themore the tires have to support. There reaches a point where the existingtires can’t manage the load and more tires are designed in. When theairplane carries the heaviest load of any airplane in the world, and might becalled upon to operate runways that aren’t necessarily strong, they spread theweight out over many tires.NicolasMartinho points to that spreading the aircraft weight over many tires alsoprotects weaker runways. This is the AntonovAn-225 Mriya. It was originally designed to carry the Soviet Union’s SpaceShuttle. There is only one completed An-225 in existence. For a better senseof the size of the tires, notice the size of the men: The maximumtake-off weight of the Antonov An-225 is 1,410,958 lbs. That means that the 28 main tires and 4 nose tirescan support 44,092 pounds per tire… My note- Ihave read elsewhere closing the check in counter before one hour is to rearrangethe weight of luggages, and passeengers uniformly Q3 Why do Egyptologists not believe Egyptiansused slaves to build any pyramid in Egypt? I doubt the working conditions wouldhave been safe and that everybody worked on them on their own for free willmust have a mandate of some sort. A3 Matt Riggsby, MA Archaeology, BostonUniversity Jan 3 We don’tbelieve the pyramid builders were slaves because it appears that they weretreated too well. Archaeologicalfindings around the Giza plateau indicate diets including substantialquantities of foods like meat and beer. There are also tombs commemoratingworkers from that time. Whileit’s not physically impossible that slaves might have been treated well, itseems unlikely. Now, this doesn’t rule out some “carrot and stick”approach to obtaining free-ish labor (for example, workers might have been compelled to work on thepyramids but treated well to keep morale up), but nevertheless the evidence suggests that the workers on the pyramids were people thepharaohs wanted to treat well, which further suggests essentially free ratherthan slave labor. Q4 Why did Sri Lanka not become a Hinducountry? A4 Devala Rees, Hindu practitioner andscholar of Pagan religions Wed Well… are you sureit didn’t? Yes, at firstglance, according to the census, Sri Lanka’s population is only 12.6% Hindu. Sri Lanka is apredominantly Buddhist country, at 70.2% Buddhist. But what happens when you take a closer look atmany of those Sri Lankan Buddhists? I spent a monthtraveling around Sri Lanka, mostly in the southern regions, the least Hindupart of the country, since I was repeatedly warned the north was unsafe at thetime. Hindu Devatas were on display everywhere. Most restaurants, shops, homes, and offices hadprominently displayed altars to Ganesha, Shiva, Lakshmi, Vishnu, and/orKataragama Deviyo (Murugan), along with Buddha. They clearlyreceived regular ritual worship. The worship of these Hindu Devatas was highlyprominent; I saw it every single day, being performed by SinhalaBuddhists. Shrines to Hindu Devatas also abounded on roadsides and evenin the jungles. I spoke with manySinhala Buddhists, pretty much everywhere I stayed for the night and at manytemples, beachside huts, etc., and expressed interest in their worship of theDevatas. Often, when they saw me pranam in respect to the altars and shrines,they asked me if I was Buddhist. When I said I was Hindu, the reaction was veryconsistent: they hand waved it and said something like “Oh, very similar,”clearly as if to say that in their mind there was little important difference. Many Sinhala Buddhists told methat they regularly worship the Hindu Gods (they themselvescharacterized them as “Hindu Gods”) for blessings, despite their beingBuddhist. MultipleBuddhists told me that their main annual pilgrimage is to the great temple ofKataragama, a Hindu temple, to worship Murugan, whom theycharacterized as the main guardian deity of Sri Lanka. Again, they explicitlycharacterized this pilgrimage as a Hindu pilgrimage. One Sri Lankanwoman - I don’t necessarily want to present her as representative, but just asan interesting case - said to me something like this: “We are Buddhists, we aresupposed to be Buddhist in our main spiritual practice for Enlightenment, butmostly we worship the Hindu Gods for blessings in our lives.” Even many ofthe Buddhist temple compounds in Sri Lanka contain a mixture of Hindu templesalong with Buddhist ones.Forexample, the ancient, sprawling stone Buddhist compound abutting the famousTemple of the Tooth (holding Gautama Buddha’s left canine tooth) contains twoHindu temples, one to Kalki and one to Pattini Devi. In another Buddhist templecompound that I visited in Negombo, there is a Vishnu shrine building. When I sat in front of it, aBuddhist monk came, opened the Vishnu shrine, invited me in, performed a 100%Hindu-style Puja to Vishnu, and tied a rakhi around my wrist, allwithout either of us saying a word to each other. In many areas Itravelled through, I heard local legends from the Ramayana, about specificevents that happened in that valley, at that cave, at that waterfall, all overthe place. Sometimes whole villages are named in honor of Sita or other suchHindu figures. Nowhere in SriLanka did I find Hindu temples scarce; everywhere I went, I came across Hindutemples I hadn’t known about. Most of them are not mentioned in guidebooks,since they are not seen as tourist attractions, but they are very much presentand active. Part of whataffects how people self-report their religious identity in the Sri Lankan census is that in SriLanka, the term “Hindu” is commonly seen as tied to Tamil ethnicity.If you ask a Sri Lankan “Are you a Hindu or a Buddhist,” you have alreadyframed it as a binary choice. Most of them will say “Buddhist” simply becausethey are Sinhala, not Tamil, and in Sri Lanka everyone knows“Hindu” means Tamil and “Buddhist” means Sinhala. But their actual spiritual practicesmay be almost as much, or in some cases even more Hindu than Buddhist. Thenumbers were further skewed because many Hindu Tamils left the country duringthe recent civil war that brutally oppressed them - enough to shift thenational demographics by several percentage points. My note- Includedon academic interest. Authority not checked. Q5 What country is poorer than most peoplethink? A5 TrầnAnh Cường,Lives in Ho Chi Minh City (1998–present) Updated Oct 12 SOUTH KOREA. HANDSDOWN. There is a lot offoreign perception that South Korea as a whole is an incredibly rich, modernand high-tech country, often because of misleading Korean media, such as K-Popand K-drama (the whole K-Industry). While this perception isnot ENTIRELY false, wealth and development within South Korea is often verycondensed and concentrated within a few affluent areas. Once you leave the rich areas of the city, you willarrive in very horribly run-down slums with squalid living conditions-don’t get me wrong, every country has these areas (even wealthy ones), but to the level South Koreaexperienced such poverty shocked me, especially since I had visitedJapan sometime earlier, which although had poverty, was in general a muchricher and more developed cousin of Korea. As a result of international media, I had a false belief the developmentand wealth of Korea would be similar or near the level of Japan (Ididn’t expect it to match, I always knew Japan was richer, however I thought itwould be much more even). Other than media, I havenoticed, South Korea is also often made to look incredibly an rich andprosperous nation as a result of its poorer brother, North Korea’sextreme poverty. I got my firstglimpse of urban poverty in Korea shortly after I landed in the country- infact on the first day. One of the first attractions I visited was the SeoulWall, a famous Joseon Dynasty-era attraction. When I was walking around thearea, I was utterly shocked at the poverty I saw; the whole area was dottedwith dilapidated houses in an extremely poor conditions, something I had neverexpected out of a ‘First World’ country, such as Korea. And right in the MIDDLEof it all was a luxury hotel (I believe it was J.W. Marriott), however I can’texactly remember. Eitherway, the contrast was shocking; who would want to stay in the hotel, it wassuch a downtrodden area? Beneath is image ofthe Seoul City Wall from Wikipedia: If you take aglimpse in the bottom right corner; you can see houses and shacks in apoorly-kept condition- although the way the area is presented in the image ismuch better than in real life. Often times, poorly-kept slums in Seoul would be locateddirectly next to very affluent districts, creating astark contrast much like one famously seen it South Africa; this came as ashock to me, Seoul isone of the only places in the world where you can walk for 10 minutes along theroad, and see a transition from glistening, polished, modern skyscrapers toextremely crowded and dirty encampments, often lined with beggars onthe streets (the conditions for these residents are even worse in winter). There are many moreexamples of this; but overall Korea is DEFINITELY MUCH POORER than many wouldexpect to me; especially ‘Koreaboos’ who see it as some sort of amazing‘heaven’. P.S. I have nothing against South Korea as a whole, orKorean people, however I think it is an issue that should be shed light upon,and is an honest opinion from my Korea travel experiences (I’m sure many willthink differently). EDIT: A LOT of people in thecomments have mentioned how I am from Vietnam, which is much more impoverishedthan Korea, and that I must have an inferiority complex, jealous ofKorea. However, remember whatthe question is 'What country is poorer than most people think?’, not ‘Whatcountry is poor in general?’ Everyone knows that Vietnam ispoor, not so much the case for Korea, especially among the Koreaboos who areall over the internet. SECOND EDIT: I didnot want to do this, but I have turned off comments for this posts. Many peoplein the comments don’t seem to understand what is being asked the question, orhave a lot of national pride (fair enough if you’re Korean). Please understandthe point I am trying to communicate before making assumptions. My note- Includedfor academic information only Q6 How long will a tomato plant live ifyou keep picking the tomatoes? A6 Ray Rizzel, Head Gardener at In MyGarden (2012–present)Jan 5 To start, it'simportant to note thatthere are two main types of tomatoes: vine tomatoes and bush tomatoes. One type will keep producing tomatoes for as long as youkeep the plant alive, while the other will produce all its tomatoes at once andthen die. Keep reading tofind out which one is which. Vine tomatoes, also known as indeterminate tomatoes, arethe type that grow on long, sprawling vines and continue to produce fruitthroughout the season. Bush tomatoes, also known as determinate tomatoes, on theother hand, are a smaller, more compact variety that produce fruit all at onceand then stop. I hope this answerwas helpful and provided some insight into the lifespan of the two types oftomato plant… Q7 What is the best time to eat papaya? A7 Suchandra Nandy, Content Writer atInfoqwiki Media (2019–present)Thu Papaya can be eatenat any time of the day, as it is a healthy and nutritious fruit. However, many experts recommend eating papayain the morning, as it is a great source of fiber and can help support regularbowel movements. Eating papaya as apart of breakfast can also provide a boost of energy and nutrients to startyour day. In addition, eatingpapaya before a workout can also provide a source of energy and help withmuscle recovery. Papayashould be eaten ripe and fully mature, as unripe papaya can cause stomachdiscomfort. My note- In Keralarural areas papaya raw is used for thoran- dish. In Tamilnadu even fully maturepapaya fruit or juice is not given to pregnant ladies, though there is no proof that itcan cause abortion. I found this information is discussed in Malayalam serial Kudaumbasree Saarada in ZEEKeralam TV channel. Q8 Why white Powder Used inside Electricalcables? A8 Rameez Gujjar, Studied at Universityof Engineering and Technology, Taxila (UETT) (Graduated 2018)Jan 4 Hey, you may noticesome white powders are used in high current carrying electrical cables andquestions arisen in your mind why they are used. So in this article, we are going to know why whitepowders are used inside electrical cables, what is the name of these powders. According to capacity, applications of the electricalcables different types of powder are used such as talcum powder, magnesiumoxide(MgO) Powder, Swellable powder, Chalk Powder, etc. Talcum Powder in Electrical Cables Talcum Powder isused in some lowcurrent-carrying cables such as computer power cable to make it flexible,to stop the internal wires from getting stuck to the outer rubber casing. When a cable is used over a longperiod of time, its outer rubber gets sticky and can be broken down. So toprevent this problem talcum powder is used in some electrical cables. Magnesium Oxide Powder in Electrical Cables Magnesium oxidepowder is used in highcurrent carrying cables, Mineral Insulated(MI) cables. Magnesiumoxide powder has two very useful properties that are high thermal conductivity, low electricalconductivity. Magnesium oxide powder gives a lot of features andadvantages in an electrical cable which are given below, 1. When a highcurrent flowing through a cable, heat produced which can damage the cable. Dueto the high thermal conductivity property, magnesium oxide powder can conduct the heat from insideof the cable to outside and prevent the damaging of the cable fromthe heat. 2. Due to low electrical conductivity property, magnesiumoxide powder provides good electrical insulation. 3. Magnesium oxidepowder provides good lubrication to electrical cables. 4. Magnesium oxidepowder makes electrical cables fireproof. 5. Magnesium oxidepowder makes electrical cables flexible. Swellable Powder in Electrical Cables Swellable Powder isused in electrical cables toblock the water and to eliminate the moisture issue. These powderscan form a gel-like material when contacting with water and block the flow ofwater. These powder swell and expands to block the water permanently. Chalk Powder in Electrical Cables Chalk Powder usedin some cables toprovide fire resistance. To prevent wires inside a cable from fire,chalk powder used in some electrical cables. My note- Powdersare used in telecom PVC cables also. This detailed description isenhancing my information. If one observe the power cable from EB post laid to home, opening and connecting todistribution box, onecan see the powder, which the technician does not remove Q9 It takes 2-5 days to pass food you atethrough stool. How can eating something bad that results in diarrhea bypass allthe other food in your system? A9 Ayala Choma, Former Retired Banker atIsrael Discount Bank Jan 4 There are strong nerve connections between the stomachand the large intestines. The food that does not agreewith you does not have to get through to your bowels to cause your bowels toreact. If you ate somethingyour body perceives as dangerous that cannot be quickly and fully vomited out, themessage will go out to the whole body to pass it through quickly and digest aslittle as possible of it. That will take the form of diarrhea, and it will dispelleven good stuff that you haven’t finished digesting because it is an emergency. Similarly, if you were constipated and took something oral tostimulate your bowels, it doesn’t have to physically travel all the way throughto have its effect. And if you have diarrhea for some other reason andtook Dehydration saltsto stop it, they wouldn’t have to make their way through the whole system to dotheir work. The stomach is in contact with the rest of you. My note- Water added with dehydration salts areconsumed quickly because of some temptation. If a person drinks a glass full ofwater when feeling thirsty, dehydration salt water is consumed 1-1.5 bottles especiallyby diabetics and boost the energy. I have no description how itprovides, but it works. Something like paracetamol working. Q10 What abilities do humans havethat other animals lack in terms of the senses? A10 Claire Jordan, Degree in biology andfolklore; programmer, shop owner, secretary on newspaper Tue None. Our senses arereasonably good, especially for a vertebrate, but not the best. The things we’rebest at aren’t “senses” but (that we know of) the greatest flexible intelligence and language skills,the greatest ability to throw objects with both distance and accurate aim(very important when hunting), the greatest dexterity among land animals, andthe ability to maintain a fast trot for very long distances withoutoverheating, in which we are rivalled only by horses. All the above QA are from Quora website on 14-01- 2023. Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers . Compiled andposted by R. Gopala krishnan on 15-01-2023 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/708340955.927687.1673742782810%40mail.yahoo.com.
