How To Stop Cats From Clawing

Toilet Paper

     Toilet paper has a long history. In the past wealthy people wiped themselves with wool, lace or hemp while the commoners used their hand when defecating into rivers, or cleaned themselves with various materials such as rags, wood shavings, leaves, grass, hay, stone, sand, moss, water, snow, maize, ferns, many plant husks, fruit skins, or seashells, and corncobs, depending upon the country and weather conditions or social customs. 
     In Ancient Rome, a sponge on a stick was commonly used, and, after use, placed back in a pail of vinegar. Several talmudic sources indicating ancient Jewish practice refer to the use of small pebbles, often carried in a special bag, and also to the use of dry grass and of the smooth edges of broken pottery jugs.

     In Colonial America they used corncobs and leaves. In the early American West they also used corncobs and pages torn from newspapers and magazines. The Sears Catalog was well known for this purpose and gave rise to referring to it as the "Rears and Sorebutt" catalog. The Farmer's Almanac had a hole in it so it could be hung on a hook and the pages torn off easily. 
     Rolled and perforated toilet paper as we know it today was invented around 1880. Various sources attribute it to the Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Company and to the Scott Paper company. Being from a different era, Scott was too embarrassed to put their name on it so they customized it for their customers and the Waldorf Hotel became a big name in toilet paper. 
     In 1935, Northern Tissue advertised "splinter-free" toilet paper. The reason? Early toilet paper production sometimes left splinters embedded in it. Two-ply was introduced by St. Andrew's Paper Mill in Great Britain in 1942. 
     In 1391 the first report of toilet paper is that it was used by the Chinese emperor. It was a luxury item that was available only to royalty. It came in 2 foot x 3 foot sheets. 
     In 1596 the flushing toilet was invented by Sir John Harrington, who was a British nobleman and godson to Queen Elizabeth I. His invention had a valve that released the water from a tank. He recommended flushing it at least twice a day. In 1819 a silent valve was patented by Albert Giblin in England which allowed a toilet to be flushed more efficiently. Albert worked for Thomas Crapper who had a successful plumbing business and marketed the toilet (a French word meaning ‘the act of washing, dressing and preparing oneself) from 1861-1904. Hence the term “crapper.” 
     By the late 1800's the public was demanding better hygiene products that coincided with improvements in residential and commercial indoor plumbing. In 1857 a man named Joseph C. Gayetty of New York first produced and packaged toilet paper. His product consisted of pre-moistened flat sheets medicated with aloe and was named "Gayetty’s Medicated Paper". He printed his name on every sheet. His company was located in New Jersey and a package of 500 sheets sold for 50-cents. He marketed it as “Therapeutic Paper” and it was loaded with aloe to help cure sore butts. He also had his name printed on each sheet! 
     In 1890 toilet paper on a roll was introduced by the Scott Paper Company and it quickly became the nation’s leading producer of toilet paper. They sold it through private labels and drug stores because they didn't want to be associated with an “unmentionable” product. In 1902 the Waldorf brand was a big seller in Philadelphia by a paper jobber, Albert DeCernea, when Arthur Scott's son convinced his father that Scott paper should control their own brands and product specifications so Scott bought this private label and by 1921 the Waldorf brand was 64 percent of Scott’s sales. 
     In 1901 Northern Paper Mills from Green Bay Wisconsin became a competitor when they introduced Northern Tissue. It consisted of 1,000 4×10 inch sheets of tissue and each bundle came with a wire through it so it could be hung from a nail. 
     In 1910 Scott built its first manufacturing plant in Chester, PA to make toilet paper consisting of either 650 or 1,000 perforated sheets. The roll of 1,000 sheets sold for $.10 and it was considered a medical item. By the next year Scott eliminated all private-label manufacturing and no longer sold through resellers. 
     Not much changed in the toilet paper industry until 1932 when Charmin Acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1957) introduced its 4-roll package, making a convenient bundle purchase for shoppers. There was another big gap in the industry until 1954 when Northern introduced colored toilet tissue. Then, in 1955 toilet paper was first advertised on television by Scott. 
     Older Americans will remember Mr. Whipple who first appeared on television in 1964; he hawked Charmin toilet paper on television for over 20 years. Mr. Whipple was actually the president of the Benton & Bowles advertising agency and he came up with “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin” ad and sold the rights to Procter and Gamble for $1. On TV Mr. Whipple was played by Dick Wilson, a vaudeville actor. Other celebrities also advertised Charmin on television: in 1970 their commercials featured former Knots Landing star Joan Van Ark and Charlotte Rae from the sitcom The Facts of Life. Another popular brand, Cottenelle Toilet Paper was introduced by Kimberly Clark in 1972. 
     A big breakthrough came in 1973 when Charmin patented a process to make paper softer by air-drying which fluffed up the paper instead of the conventional method that squeezed it flat. 
     In 1986 Georgia Pacific jumped on the toilet paper bandwagon and introduced Angel Soft and Charmin introduced unscented Charmin that was free of inks, dyes, and perfumes. 
     The U.S. Government stuck their nose in the toilet paper business in 1992 when it introduced regulations that required toilet paper to flush using much less water. This new design parameter creates a condition where the ‘flushability’ of toilet paper is important.
     The Jamanese Hanebisho brand is the most expensive...they use the finest wood pulp from Canada and water from Japan's cleanest river and each roll is signed and dated by the maker and inspected by firm's president. It'll cost you $17 a roll.

• The Wolf Files on abcnews.com
• Toilet Paper World
• Plumbing, Bath & Toilet History on inventors.about.com
• History on a Roll by Don Rittner
• Toilet Paper - Mentioning The Unmentionable
• Wikipedia
• The History of Toilet Paper presented by Patrick A. Tollefsrud
• Quilted Northern's Toilet Tissue through the Centuries
• From Russia: Brief Insight in the History of the Most Delicate Paper

Coffee

     Coffee is prepared from roasted coffee beans, which are the seeds of "berries" from the Coffea plant. Coffee plants are cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in the equatorial regions of the Americas, Southeast Asia, India and Africa. The two most commonly grown are arabica, and the less sophisticated but stronger and more hardy robusta. 
     Once ripe, coffee beans are picked, processed, and dried. Green (unroasted) coffee beans are one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Once traded, the beans are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor, before being ground and brewed to create coffee. 
     The bean is a seed of the coffee plant; it is the pit inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a cherry. Even though they are seeds, they are referred to as 'beans' because of their resemblance to true beans. The fruits - coffee cherries or coffee berries - most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together. 
     Coffee is a complex mixture of chemicals. Caffeine is the major compound in coffee and it is a mild central nervous system stimulant. A typical cup of coffee provides approximately 80 – 100mg caffeine and extensive research has shown some beneficial effects of caffeine in the diet. In some individuals, however, there can be adverse effects, such as disturbed sleep patterns or gastric upset. 
     The effect of coffee on human health has been a subject of many studies; however, results have varied in terms of coffee's relative benefit. The majority of recent research suggests that moderate coffee consumption is benign or mildly beneficial in healthy adults. 
     According to Dr. Donald Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic, coffee has a long history of being blamed for many ills - from stunting your growth to claims that it causes heart disease and cancer. But recent research indicates that coffee may not be so bad after all and, get this, the health benefits outweigh the risks. 
     Recent studies have generally found no connection between coffee and an increased risk of cancer or heart disease. Most studies find an association between drinking coffee and decreased overall mortality and possibly cardiovascular mortality, although this may not be true in younger people who drink large amounts of coffee. Also, it seems earlier studies didn't always take into account that known high-risk behaviors, such as smoking and physical inactivity, tended to be more common among heavy coffee drinkers. 
     Studies have shown that coffee may protect against Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes and liver disease, including liver cancer. It also appears to improve cognitive function and decrease the risk of depression. 
     That's not to say that there are zero risks. High consumption of unfiltered coffee (boiled or espresso) has been associated with mild elevations in cholesterol levels and some studies found that two or more cups of coffee a day can increase the risk of heart disease in people with a specific genetic mutation that slows the breakdown of caffeine in the body. So, how quickly you metabolize coffee may affect your health risk. However, coffee consumption is associated with increases in several cardiovascular disease risk factors, including blood pressure and plasma homocysteine. Also, the diterpenes in coffee may increase the risk of heart disease.
     According to Authority Nutrition – An Evidence Based Approach article, 13 Proven Health Benefits of Coffee, coffee is actually very healthy because it's loaded with antioxidants and beneficial nutrients that can improve your health. The studies show that coffee drinkers have a much lower risk of several serious diseases. 
     WebMD reports that Australian researchers looked at 18 studies of nearly 458,000 people and found a 7 per cent drop in the odds of having type 2 diabetes for every additional cup of coffee drunk daily. There were similar risk reductions for decaf coffee drinkers and tea drinkers. But the researchers cautioned that data from some of the smaller studies they reviewed may be less reliable. So it's possible that they overestimated the strength of the link between heavy coffee drinking and diabetes. 
     Dunkin' Donuts and CareerBuilder did a survey on U.S. coffee drinking in the workplace and complied a list of the 15 heaviest coffee drinkers. They were:

1-Scientists and lab technicians 
2-Marketing and public relations 
3-Education administrators 
4-Editors and writers 
5-Healthcare administrators 
6-Doctors 
7-Food preparers 
8-College professors 
9-Social workers 1
0-Financial professionals 
11-Personal care givers 
12-Human resource benefits coordinators 
13-Nurses 
14-Government workers 
15-Skilled tradesmen 

     The world's most expensive coffee, Kopi Luwak, is "produced" by the palm civat of Indonesia. Also called toddy cat, it is a small animal native to South and Southeast Asia. Long regarded by the natives as pests, they climb among the coffee trees eating only the ripest, reddest coffee cherries. The coffee beans are then subjected to fermentation in their gastrointestinal tract which lowers the caffeine content. 
    Despite its high price, some drinkers claim it's pretty much indistinguishable from regular coffee. Others disagree. The aroma is rich and strong, and is almost syrupy, has a hint of chocolate, and lingers on the tongue with a long, clean aftertaste. 

   There are also similar types of coffee available. Elephant crap coffee: Black Ivory Coffee is made by passing coffee beans through the stomachs of elephants and then picking the beans out of their droppings. Or, if the idea of drinking coffee made from beans dug out of cat or elephant dung offends you, monkey parchment coffee may be the way to go; it's produced by the beans spit out by the Rhesus monkey.

Fake Name Generator

     This is a fun site. It randomly generates fake names, addresses, telephones numbers, etc. from databases. It even generates fake credit card numbers. Obviously, the credit card numbers can't be used to buy stuff, but they look real. 

     The site also generates a temporary workable e-mail address. 

     Assuming you are not a crook, why would you want all this fake information? The site lists several reasons. Also, they have a smiley face generator that allows you to create your own unique smiley by picking a head, eyes, and a mouth.

     For example, I did a German-American name and here is some of the generated information:

Markus Reinhardt

3094 Mulberry Lane

West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Phone: 334-333-2336

Birthday: July 4, 1993

Age: 22 years old

Mr. Reinhardt works for Singer Lumber and he is in Accounts Receivable. He is 5 ft.-11 in. tall and weighs 158 lbs. He drives a 2003 Lexus IS.

     Obviously with billions of people in the world, there is a possibility that you will, as here, get a real person's name. The address may or may not be real. In this case, there is no such street in West Palm Beach.

You Can't Ride a Zebra

      They look sort of like horses, so why can't you ride them? Zebras can be domesticated and trained, but it's not practical or humane to do so. Efforts were made to train zebras for, among other chores, riding during the late 19th and early 20th century.

      One of the most famous of these attempts, and the most successful, was that of the accomplished but eccentric zoologist, Walter Rothschild, 2nd BaronRothschild.

      He put considerable effort into training zebras to pull carriages, eventually driving a carriage drawn by six Zebras to Buckingham Palace in order to prove the viability of doing so, but never trained zebras to be ridden. He realized that this wasn't practical. First, they are small animals and have not had the benefits of thousands of years of breeding to produce animals with backs strong enough to support the weight of a man. And, second, he realized zebras are very aggressive. They have to be.  They have to survive in Africa where lions are their main predator. In fact, there are recorded cases of zebras killing lions, usually by a kick to the head, which kills it or breaking its jaw causing the lion to starve.

      Zebras are mean and dangerous! Few people have walked away after being kicked by a zebra because a zebra doesn't just kick with its leg. It looks between its legs to see where it's kicking and then it bucks and kicks violently with both back legs. They also inflict nasty bites, not only on each other, but on people. They will bite even when tamed if people get too close.

      In order to get them to draw a carriage, Rothschild used their wild behavior. Zebra herds are made up of groups of females and young with one adult male. The females follow a strict order where the most dominant female walks in front followed by the other females in order of dominance. The male goes wherever it wants, but usually stays by the side or at the back of the herd. If there is a threat, the male will place himself between the danger and the herd. If a zebra passes or attempts to pass another zebra that is more dominant than themselves then they will be bitten or kicked by the more dominant animal. The young zebras inherit the position of their mother.

      Attempts were made by the Zimbabwe Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management to train zebras for work in the 1970s and 1980s, but it was determined that in order to train them, it was necessary to drastically change their natural instincts and the project was abandoned because in order to accomplish that, inhumane treatment was required.

      It can be done though. An American teenager named Shea Inman trained a zebra to be ridden by using persistence and lots of treats. She discovered that zebras have short attention spans and are not as good as retaining information as horses. As mentioned though, generally zebras aren't strong enough to carry most people on their backs. Another practical factor is that a zebra's body shape doesn’t take a saddle very well.

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Fake News Stories

     ScamBusters published an interesting article: “But in a new twist, con merchants are trying to pass off their websites as genuine newspaper or TV sites to convince victims about whatever it is they’re trying to sell. The really frustrating thing is that often they are not breaking the law. They invent a legitimate-sounding name for their “publication” or fake TV news station and dress the web page up to look like it’s a real report. Pretending to be impartial, the report usually either promotes a particular product or explains how you can easily make a fortune on the Internet. Sometimes, they carry videos that purport to be objective TV news reports explaining just how fantastic this new product or money-making idea is.” Read more… 

Cracked has an article, 5 Easy Ways to Spot a B.S. News Story on the Internet, that's worth reading. Business Insider says, “There’s a new online army of internet trolls, and instead of trying to hack networks they're simply trying to create chaos with false reports of breaking news.” 

“Rather than acting as a source of accurate information, online media frequently promote misinformation in an attempt to drive traffic and social engagement,” said the study led by Craig Silverman, a research fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. 

     On Facebook,Twitter and YouTube “news story” often make the rounds. You see posts made by people, many of whom are unaware the stories are made up or hoaxes, linking to these fake sites containing stories designed to spread disinformation and attack those who are deemed enemies. One site, The Internet Research Agency, is housed in a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg is a so-called “troll farm.” Its employees spend their days creating phony news stories, anti-American and anti-Ukrainian propaganda and engage in online harassment and endless arguments in comment sections of websites. Read more on The Daily Signal…
     Some sites do give warnings in the fine print that their stories are for entertainment purposes or satirical, but most people never read the fine print. You'll see sites that look like they are from NBC, NY Times and USA Today, but they're fake. 
     You might think these sites are meant to be funny, but in many cases they are not. They are designed to trick people into sharing false information. Many of them are by groups trying to brainwash us into believing whatever it is they want us to believe. Always look for the original source of any story. Also, in some cases, they are nothing more than advertisements disguised as news stories and it is possible clicking on links to these articles will give you a nasty virus. 
     According to a June 20th article in Reuters and Business Insider, Facebook said it has taken steps to clamp down on "hoaxes" and fake news stories when it introduced an option to allow Facebook users to flag a story as "purposefully fake or deceitful news" to reduce the distribution of news stories reported as hoaxes. 
     However, Facebook said it will not remove fake news stories from its website. Instead, the company's algorithm, which determines how widely user posts are distributed, will take into account hoax reports. At the same time Facebook said "satirical" content, such as news stories "intended to be humorous, or content that is clearly labeled as satire," should not be affected. At least they have made a half-hearted effort to weed out the junk.
     AmericanNews.com is one of many fake news sites on the Internet and its source is unknown. One interesting thing about the site is that when you click on the “About us” nothing comes up. Their mission seems to be to make the Tea Party and conservatives look bad. They frequently take video clips or facts from a real story and make up the rest. The intent is to get people angry and discredit those they oppose. I see people posting stories on Facebook from them all the time. 

Other fake news sites are: 
EmpireNews.com 
NationalReport.net 
The Daily Currant 

One list of fake Internet news sites included the following: 
The Onion 
Indecision Forever 
News Biscuit 
The Spoof 
Unconfirmed Sources 
Cap News 
Enduring Vision 
DERF Magazine 
News Mutiny 
Private Eye 
News Biscuit 
Empire News 
Empire Sports
Free Wood Post 
Global Associated News 
Huzlers 
Lapine 
Media Mass 
National Report 
The Racket Report 
Weekly World News 
World News Daily Report

Eye Witness to History

Eye Witness to History offers tons of stuff… 

Making an Ancient Egyptian Mummy 
The Battle of Marathon, 490 BC 
Everday Life in Ancient Greece 
The Suicide of Socrates, 399 BC 
 Ku Klux Klan, 1868 
Completing the Transcontinental Railroad, 1869 
Shoot Out with Wild Bill Hickok, 1869 
A Walk with President Roosevelt, 1908 
Children At Work, 1908-1912 
On Safari, 1909 
Birth of the Hollywood Cowboy, 1911 

plus more…like film clips from the past such as: Flying Ace, 1918 Advancing to the Front, 1918 Combat, 1918 Bond Rally, 1918 Armistice, 1918 and there are personal stories like…Captured by the Arapaho, 1875 and Massacre At Wounded Knee, 1890 just to name a couple and they even have “Voices from the past.” 

If you like history, this is a must visit site!!

Collection Agencies

     All banks have sleazy, underhanded practices designed to fleece unsuspecting customers. In fact, at least on of the dirtiest of the dirtbag collection companies is owned by one of the dirtiest of the dirtbag banks in the United States.
     Debt collectors are vicious and they make millions, much of it illegally. It may not be your debt, but it could be your problem. One of the collection agency's latest tactics is bullying blameless consumers into paying debts they never owed. They use illegal tactics to collect money and they don't care who they collect it from. They will try to collect from the wrong people even if that person never owed a debt.

     For example, the FTC charged that as much as 80 per cent of the money collected by Capital Acquisitions and Management, a large debt-collection firm, came from consumers who never owed the original debt in the first place. CAMCO agreed to a $300,000 civil penalty in March 2004, but that didn't stop them; they evidently considered the fine just another cost of doing business. The FTC eventually succeeded in shutting CAMCO down. Here's a guess: they reopened for business under another name.

     In July 2005, the FTC won a record $10.2 million court judgment against National Check Control after accusing the debt collector of illegally threatening consumers with arrest and wage garnishment. Again, many of the consumers targeted by National Check Control didn't owe the original debt, the FTC said.

     Allied Interstate was sued by the Minnesota attorney general for repeatedly calling innocent consumers despite requests to stop. Allied eventually agreed to a settlement that prohibits it from contacting such consumers after being orally told that they don't owe the debts in question.

     Applied Card Systems hassled relatives, neighbors and employers with repeated phone calls in its efforts to track down debtors, according to the FTC. The company ignored requests to stop calling, and its representatives sometimes used obscene language when its hapless targets protested that they didn't know how to contact the debtors. The company agreed to a consent decree that prohibits it from harassing consumers.

They frequently engage in illegal practices such as:

• Filing lawsuits with no documentation
• Pursuing debts that are not actually owed by the person being targeted
• Attempting to collect, improperly suing, or threatening to sue people on debts that are past the applicable statute of limitations or were settled and closed via bankruptcy
• Reporting inaccurate creditor information
• Impersonating law enforcement and threatening to have a person arrested, garnish a person's wages, seize their property, etc.
• Failing to validate debt in writing when requested
• Continuing to call a person's place of employment when instructed not to
• Ignoring cease-and-desist notices to stop telephoning and communicate only via mail
• Verbally abusing, using obscene language, threatening consumers

     Debt collectors protest that most firms are ethical, law-abiding and provide a needed service that helps reduce borrowing costs for all consumers. But the economics of debt collection often encourage the dogged pursuit of innocent consumers.

     They often attempt to collect on debts so old that they used to be considered uncollectible and even many that have been discharged through bankruptcy. Getting a list of people who used to owe money can be had for as little as 25 cents for each $100 which means they can make a profit if they can get debtors to repay even a tiny fraction. They have also learned they can also extort money from people who don't owe it.

     Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collectors are supposed to advise consumers that they have a right to dispute the debt, but that if consumers don't do so promptly, in writing, the collector can assume after 30 days that the debt is valid.

     Once collectors are notified that they've contacted the wrong party or that the consumer denies owing the debt they are supposed to provide proof of the debts and if they can't they are supposed to cease all attempts at collection. Usually, they don't.

If you're contacted about a debt you don't owe:

• Know your rights! 
• Assuming the sleazy operators will provide it, get the name of the collector, its address and a telephone number. 
• You can tell the collector on the phone to stop calling, but that won't preserve your rights under Federal law. 
• Send a certified letter, return receipt requested and make clear they contacted the wrong party, that you don't owe the debt and that you don't want to be called again.
• If they continue to call, contact your state's attorney general's office, but don't always expect them to do a lot; as government officials, they're always super busy (that's a joke). You can also complain to the Federal Trade Commission, but they won't intervene in individual cases.

You need an account at the FREE Credit Karma! If a collection agency posts false information on your credit report, dispute the item immediately with the credit bureaus. Include copies of the certified letter you sent the collector and any complaints you filed with regulators. Don't wait until you're about to apply for a loan to check your credit report! Check it regularly!!

Consumers can bring lawsuits against collectors but that can cost you. You can contact the National Association of Consumer Advocates for referrals to attorneys who handle such cases.

Debtors Rights

Cease and Desist Letter

Sue Debt Collector

Your Right to Validation of Debts to Collection Agencies

Dealing With Debt Collections

Dealing With Debt Collectors

Get Debt Collectors Out of Your Life

Federal Trade Commission Opinion Letter on Validation

Federal Trade Commission Publications

Using Coupons

     It may be surprising but only about one percent of shoppers bother to redeem coupons. In 2011, U.S. Consumer Packaged Goods distributed coupons valued at $470 billion for products like food, beverages, clothing, tobacco and household items with an average value of $1.54. Only $4.6 billion coupons were redeemed leaving $465 billion that went in the trash. The estimated average savings for the people that used the coupons was about $30-$50 a week. 
     One expert said the main reason why many people don't use them is because they think it is embarrassing. It either makes them look cheap or poor. Whatever it may look like, the reverse is true. Households with an income of over $100,000 and those with college educations are twice as likely to use coupons. 
     Using coupons is a serious way to save money not just at the grocery store, but on almost all purchases. It takes some time to sort through all the coupons available and organize them, but when you can save a lot of money, in the end it's worth a little time and effort. Coupons not only save money on items that are regularly purchased at the grocery store, but can be used to try new products and get free stuff.
     Usually people think of coupons as only being good for saving money on things like food, personal care items and paper products, but they are also valuable for purchasing things like clothing, restaurants, services and even large ticket purchases like refrigerators. For an example of what you can save on at department stores just check out the J.C. Penny or Sears sites. 
     If you're an extreme couponer it might be possible to save 50-90 percent on your grocery bill!! There are television programs showing folks spending days planning their shopping so they can go to the store and clear shelves buying tubes of toothpaste and boxes of cereal by the hundreds then stockpiling everything in their house. That's ridiculous because what are you going to do with a couple hundred boxes of breakfast cereal?! But buying, and stockpiling some things, if kept to a reasonable level, makes sense. It doesn't hurt to get a deal on deodorant, for example, and not have to buy any for a year. Or, you can share with family and friends, but there's no reason to go be greedy. 
     Living Rich With Coupons has a page called Couponing 101 that offer some good advice on how to get started that's worth a visit. In addition to browsing this site, you can find tons more information by simply Googling “couponing.”