Officer of the Week: Kenneth “Chewy” Anthony
Officer Anthony is a Correctional Officer with the Frederick County Sheriffs Office. He is a big sports fan, helps coach softball, likes doing yard work and is desperately trying to figure out the Secret Sound!
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Some Roads Have Two Names
If you’ve ever had to follow directions while driving, you’ve probably ended up flustered or confused when you come across a road or street that has more than one name. Chestnut Street can become Loblolly Street before going back to being Chestnut Street; Whippoorwill Lane can morph into Hoot Owl Drive; Buckeystown Pike is also Highway 85. It all seems frustrating & overly complicated. So why do street names suddenly change?
Different cities have different criteria for naming their streets, but the most likely explanation for streets that seem to have an identity crisis is that they didn’t start out as one single road. For instance, a Wine Street that turns into Beer Street were each probably, at one time, separate Wine & Beer Streets that were later joined due to development. So, instead of having only one street absorb the name of the other, they each hold on to their original titles.
So, why should changing the name be such a big deal? Well, you have to consider all the people living on Wine Street who would be affected by a new residential address. Instead of imposing a change on dozens or hundreds of folks, municipalities consider it more practical to simply let the merged roadways keep their separate names.
Another explanation involves changing street names to honor individuals. Say that a road was renamed in honor of Abraham Lincoln; it might be changed for just a specific stretch before it would revert back to, say, Millard Fillmore Avenue.
So, if you’ve ever thought about petitioning for a particular road to get a name change, you might want to first get the support of the residents who’d be affected by the change. Oh, and have your checkbook handy, too, because, for a lot of places, anyone applying for a new street name has to pay for the new signs.
Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].
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Wake Up Crew Highlights: May 25, 2021
Aaron-The Jay Day and The Day Home Team ‘Pet of The Week’
Aaron was featured about 2 months ago and he is such a nice cat. He is 2 years old and is a domestic short hair.
Aaron has been in the shelter’s care since November 11, 2020.
If you would like to make Aaron a part of your family call 301-600-1546.
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Can’t You Drink Saltwater?
Saltwater is obviously wet. And we eat things with salt in them all the time. So why can’t we drink saltwater?
It isn’t really because of germs (though that’d also be a valid reason). It’s mainly because…well, it’s salty. Sodium is the main element in salt, but salt isn’t inherently bad for you. It’s actually an electrolyte that’s vital in helping your body regulate blood volume & other functions). Whatever salt your body doesn’t need gets filtered out through the kidneys in the excretion process, which requires water. That’s why, after eating a big bag of potato chips, you probably feel super thirsty. Your brain says “drink more water” so that your kidneys can flush out all that extra salt.
While seawater has both salt & water, it’s too salty for your body to process using just the water that’s in it. Seawater’s salt concentration, or salinity, is around 35 grams per liter. Meanwhile, your blood’s salinity level is only about 9 grams per liter. So, seawater is 4 times saltier than your blood. So, if you were to drink saltwater, that huge increase in salt would shift the water that you need inside your cells to your blood, which quickly affects how the brain functions. It can actually cause death.
Essentially, the sodium & water inside your cells have to be balanced with the sodium & water outside your cells. But, when seawater sodium enters your bloodstream, your cells will try to maintain the balance by dumping their water into your bloodstream. Then, your kidneys will use that water to excrete as much sodium as possible, which is what can cause extreme dehydration.
What if you accidentally swallow some seawater during an ocean swim? While that can bring on mild dehydration (including dry mouth, dizziness, fatigue, etc.), you can counteract the effects by drinking fresh water. But, if you were to get stranded at sea with no fresh water in your vicinity, drinking seawater would absolutely be a terrible call, worse than drinking nothing at all. Gulping saltwater would actually cause a much more severe, life-threatening form of dehydration. In that survival situation, rainwater is what you should look for. Or you could also look for fish eyes, which contain low enough salt levels that they could actually help hydrate you, as would the flesh of fish, birds, and turtles. (So, maybe just avoid this situation by keeping your head above water & your feet on solid ground.)
Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].
BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Airtron Heating & Air Conditioning