In 1912 a chemist by the name of Wilbur Scoville, working for the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company, developed a method to measure the heat level of chile peppers. He devised a way of measuring the substance that makes a chile hot; Capsaicin. The test is named after him, the "Scoville Organoleptic Test".

In the original test, Wilbur blended pure ground Chiles with sugar-water and a panel of "testers" then sipped the solution, in increasingly diluted concentrations, until they reached the point that the liquid no longer burned their mouths. A number was then assigned to each chile pepper based on how much it needed to be diluted before they could no longer taste (feel) the heat.

Today a more scientific and accurate method called liquid chromatography is used to determine capsaicin levels. In honour of Dr. Wilbur the unit of measure is still named Scoville.

The scale below shows some of the more common peppers and how they rank on the Scoville Scale. Of course, being a natural product, the heat of a given pepper can vary widely, so this scale is just a guide.

Scoville Rating	Type of Pepper
15,000,000 - 16,000,000	Pure capsaicin
2,000,000 - 5,000,000	Standard US Grade pepper spray
350,000 - 577,000	Red Savina Habanero
100,000 - 350,000	Habanero Chile
100,000 - 325,000	Scotch Bonnet
100,000 - 200,000	Jamaican Hot Pepper
50,000 - 100,000	Thai Pepper
30,000 - 50,000	Cayenne Pepper
2,500 - 8,000	Jalapeño Pepper
2,500 - 5,000	Tabasco Sauce (Pepper)
0	Bell Pepper

Those ‘ad people’ really know how to make something stick in your head. Even years after a company has stopped marketing using a certain slogan, mere mention of it can bring the product back to mind. Even Darrin Stephens with the help of his nose-twitching wife couldn’t make that kind of impact with an ad campaign every time.

See how many of these products you can identify from their famous tag lines (answers at bottom):

1. "Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman."
2. "Betcha can't eat just one."
3. "Quality is Job 1."
4. "Just do it!"
5. "Gets the red out."
6. "It's the cheesiest"
7. "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth - not in your hand."
8. "It takes a licking, but it keeps on ticking!"
9. "The night-time sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so-you-can-rest medicine."
10. "Manly yes, but I like it, too."
11. "It slices, it dices..."
12. "Does she or doesn't she?"

Get out of the house and enjoy the fresh air, wonderful harvest, and happy faces you’ll find at Canadian Fall Fairs. A complete listing can be found at http://www.canadian-fairs.ca/fairfacts/fairdatesintoeng.html.

If you have ever left a few bananas sitting out, you know all too well the problem with fruit flies. And once they've found a home in your kitchen, getting rid of them can be a real problem. But there is a solution …

Fruit flies find their way into our homes as eggs on the fruits and vegetables we buy at the grocery store. The good thing about fruit flies is that they only live for about a week. The bad thing about fruit flies is that before they die, they can lay up to 500 eggs! And they will lay eggs in and on anything they can find - fruits & vegetables left on the counter, sink drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles & cans, garbage bags, and even mops and rags.

Keeping the counters clear of target fruit and making sure you clean up after preparing foods will help keep the numbers of flies to a minimum. But this simple Fruit Fly Trap really works – trapping the little pests so they can be disposed of or set free – outside:

1. Wash a small jar (baby food jar or similar), making sure it is both clean and odorless.
2. Place a piece of fruit inside the jar. (Banana seems to work the best)
3. Stretch a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the jar, making sure that it fits tightly and is well sealed around the edges.
4. Using a pen or pencil, poke a few holes in the plastic, just big enough for a fruit fly to fit through.
5. Place the jar in an area where you have seen the most fruit flies.

Once a fruit fly crawls into the trap, it can't get out. You would think they would escape by simply flying back out through the holes, but they don't! Depending on the amount of fruit flies you have, you can expect to start seeing the jar fill up within just a few hours. If you have a lot of flies, make a few traps and place them in different places around your kitchen. Before long, your kitchen will be back to normal.

Toilet Trivia

A few facts about a rather inescapable aspect of our daily lives:

• An average person uses the toilet 2500 times a year.
• Before toilet paper was invented, French royalty wiped their bottoms with fine linen.
• In 1391, China began producing toilet paper for use by it’s Emperors.
• In 1890, Scott Paper produced the first toilet paper to be available on a roll.
• An average roll of toilet paper lasts about five days in the bathroom.
• In a survey conducted in 2000 by Kimberly-Clark, it was found that men prefer to fold their toilet paper, and women like to wad it.
• On a ship a toilet is called a head.
• A U.S. company came out with a toilet night-light that sends out a green warning beacon when the seat is up.
• Toilets, while consuming nearly one quarter of our municipal water supply, use over 40% more water than needed.
• Every day, over five billion gallons of water are flushed down toilets in the US.
• Residential indoor water use in Canada: Toilet - 30%; bathing and showering - 35%; laundry - 20%; kitchen and drinking - 10%; cleaning - 5%.

As another school year begins, kids all across Canada are back in school learning all the stuff they need to know to survive in the world. But it’s not simply ‘back’ to school, as that suggests a return to the same old routine. The fact is, in many ways most children have to adjust to a new scene altogether – new teacher, new subjects, new classmates, and possibly new schools. All these changes can add stress to a kid’s life as they adjust to the new demands and expectations from them in the way of homework. And even though you may not even know the subject itself, you can still make a positive impact on your child’s homework experience.

Why Homework?
Before listing homework help tips, it’s important to understand why teachers give out homework. Homework can help children;
• finish assignments.
• review and practice what they've learned.
• get ready for the next day's class.
• learn to use resources, such as libraries, reference materials, and encyclopedias.
• explore subjects more fully than time permits in the classroom.

Homework Benefits
Homework can also help children develop good habits and attitudes by teaching children to work independently, encouraging self-discipline and responsibility (assignments provide some youngsters with their first chance to manage time and meet deadlines), and encouraging a love of learning.

Homework can also bring parents and educators closer together. Parents who supervise homework and work with their children on assignments learn about their children's education and about the school.

Start by Showing an Interest
Talk about school and learning activities in family conversations. Ask your child what was discussed in class that day. If he doesn't have much to say, try another approach. For example, ask your child to read aloud a story he wrote or discuss the results of a science experiment. Attendance at school activities, such as parent-teacher meetings, talent shows and sports events will also show your interest.

Follow these simple steps to show you think education is important;

Set a Regular Time - The best schedule is one that works for your child and your family, but depends in part on your child's age and individual needs. For instance, one youngster may work best in the afternoon after an hour of play, and another may be more efficient after dinner. Late at night, when children are tired, is seldom a good time. Outside activities, such as sports or music lessons, may mean that you need a flexible schedule. Your child may study after school on some days and in the evening on others. If there isn't enough time to finish homework, your child may need to drop some outside activity. Homework must be a high priority.

Pick a Place - A study area should have lots of light, supplies close by, and be fairly quiet. And it doesn’t have to be fancy. A desk in the bedroom is nice, but for many youngsters the kitchen table or a corner of the living room works just fine. Comfort is important, so if they want to, allow your child to decorate a special study corner - a plant, a brightly coloured container to hold pencils, and some favorite artwork taped to the walls can make study time more pleasant.

Remove Distractions - Most people work better without distractions, so turn off the television. No loud music, no social phone calls (unless it is a call to a classmate about an assignment), and if you live in a noisy household, encourage all family members take part in a quiet activity during homework time.

Provide Supplies and Identify Resources - Basics include pencils, pens, erasers, writing paper, an assignment book, and a dictionary. Other things that might be helpful include glue, a stapler, paper clips, maps, a calculator, a pencil sharpener, tape, scissors, a ruler, index cards, a thesaurus, and possibly a computer.

Set a Good Example - While the above pointers will help with homework, a child’s learning never truly stops, so parents need to set a good example. Children are more likely to appreciate learning if they see you reading, writing, and using the lessons you have learned in day-to-day activities. Tell them about what you do at work. Encourage activities that support learning--for example, educational games, library visits, walks in the neighborhood, trips to the zoo or museums, and chores that teach a sense of responsibility.

Googled anything lately?

You know when a company’s name becomes a common, everyday verb that the company has been doing something right. Finding a website isn’t the only thing you can search for at Google. That very same Google Search Engine can do math, convert volume and weights, provide word definitions, even tell you how much 100 bucks Canadian is worth in American greenbacks. Who knew?!

If you need to calculate or convert quantities from time to time, you’ll enjoy Google’s built-in calculator function. Google’s calculator is able to perform simple and complex mathematic equations, convert cups to ounces, or Yen to Rupees in an instant.

To use the calculator function, go to google.ca, enter the expression you’d like to evaluate in the search box, and hit Enter (or click the Google Search button).

For definitions, Google utilizes various web dictionary resources. Just put ‘define’ then the word in the search window and hit enter.

To learn more about these and other capabilities of Google’s search engine, click on the About Google button toward the bottom of their home page, then Google Web Search Features in the Our Search area of the screen.

Cool Sites

Number Tricks 
Rickie, age 11, says, “I’m going to try these tricks on my friends. They’ll be amazed. They’ll think I’m magical or something.”

Where Do Hurricanes Come From?
Maria, age 13, says, “It always seems like there are a lot of hurricanes in the fall. I wanted to find out why and learn more about them and this website is great – lots of information and even pictures.

Fall Crafts
Penny, age 11, says, “We always do a lot of crafts in the fall. We use leaves, pine cones, and other things like that, plus other crafts that are about Thanksgiving and the season change. This site has a whole bunch of things you can make. We made a pine cone wreath. That was pretty easy.”

Sports Cars
Brad, age 10, says, “This site has some of the sickest sports cars in the world. All the best ones are there, like Ferrari and Lamborghini. I like the newest Ferrari best of all.”

‘Make no bones about it’

Meaning - speak plainly and tell the truth, make no excuses for your actions.
Example – ‘He forgot to take out the garbage and made no bones about it.’
Origin - This expression dates back to the 1500s and some people believe it had to do with soup. If there were no bones in a soup, a person could swallow it without worrying about choking. Likewise, when you make no bones about something, people can feel confident "swallowing" your answer.

Sand Tight Places using your Power Drill – It can be tough to reach small spaces with sand paper and even tougher to move the paper back and forth so it can do it’s job. But your power drill will come in handy for this.

Find a drill bit that is smaller than the space you want sanded. Curl a piece of sandpaper tightly around the drill bit with the sand side facing out. Use masking tape at the top and bottom of the sandpaper to keep it in place. Be sure the tape is touching the sandpaper and the drill bit, so that both will turn together when the drill is turned on.

Put the drill bit into the space you want sanded, and turn it on. As the drill bit rotates, it will also turn the sandpaper, making your drill into a simple but effective sanding machine. And if you’ve wrapped the paper onto the bit in the wrong direction, simply reverse your drill.

“Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.” ~ Tori Filler

“I don't mind growing old. I'm just not used to it.” ~ Victor Borge

“Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which we will not put.” ~ Winston Churchill

“Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded.” ~ Yogi Berra

1. Secret Deodorant  2. Lay's Potato Chips  3. Ford  4. Nike  5. Visine  6. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese  7. M & M Candies  8. Timex  9. NyQuil  10. Irish Spring Soap  11. Veg-O-Matic  12. Miss Clairol