Laughter, Best Medicine?

Introduction

I'm pretty sure that we've all heard this saying,"Laughter is the best medicine." But,there are also some negatives, and positives, associated with laughing. Think about it, what happens if you laugh too hard or too much. However, a good laugh can also make your day. The question is, is it the best medicine? Want too find out? Read on.

Opinion

Honestly, I think it is okay to laugh. Just don't laugh too hard. Laughing too hard can cause many aliments such as a dislocated jaw, headaches, etc. The New York Times says,"The force of laughing can dislocate jaws, prompt asthma attacks, cause headaches, make hernias protrude. It can provoke cardiac arrhythmia, syncope or even emphysema." Haven't you ever has shortness of breath after laughing? I have, and it doesn't feel good, at all. Still, on my worst of days, a laugh has made me smile. It has made me want to jump up and down, and feel as if I would live forever. It gives me a sense of humor. Helpguide.org states,"Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert." So, laughing is good and bad.

Conclusion

Laughing has two sides, like most things do, one good and one bad. It is good to laugh, just not too much. If I had to choose between laughing or not, I would laugh. How do you feel about laughing? Answer in the comments.

• I will remember the Boston Bombings the most. (My sister was in Boston.)
• The most pop culture memorable moment for me was hearing my favorite band, Imagine Dragons, on the radio. (FINALLY!)
• The most memorable in my personal life was having realization.That is what 2013 taught me, to find that every single second we have on Earth is precious. Don't waste your time.
• I look forward to learning more about the world in 2014. Learning more about myself in the process.  

The Sting of a Bee

Introduction

Have you ever gotten stung by a bee? If you did, you probably got too close to a nest. People get too close to bees and scare them all the time. The real question is why do they sting those people? Even if they are scared, they sometimes don't sting the person. All they are, sometimes, focused on is collecting nectar from flowers. Some are even allergic to the insects.The honey bee even dies after it stings you. So, why would they protect themselves just to die? Want to find out why they sting? Read on.

Opinion

After researching, I think that bees actually have a pretty good reason to sting, to protect their hives. Most of the time, bees only sting if you go too close to their hive and the queen. Males bees don't even have stingers! After one bee stings you, it calls other bees using a pheromone to sting you, too. http://www.buzzaboutbees.net stated," Not all bees sting. Male bees cannot, and bees are not out to get anyone! They will only usually sting if they are provoked or feel threatened." However, that doesn't mean that you can just go up to a bunch of bees, in a hive, and they won't sting you. You could possibly have an allergic reaction to them, if you have one then you are in trouble. http://wonderopolis.org said,"Some people are allergic to the venom in bee stings. For these people, a sting can trigger an allergic reaction that causes a dangerous — and sometimes deadly — condition called anaphylactic shock." So, be careful around bees, better to be safe than to be sorry.

Top Ten Facts about Bees

1. Honey bees can sting other insects repeatedly. 
2. They are the only insect that makes food eaten by humans.
3. A queen bee can lay up to 2500 eggs in a day.
4. Male honey bees, or drones,do not work at all. 
5. Worker bees can live four to six weeks. Their life span is actually longer during the winter.
6.  Honey bees were brought to America by Europeans. 
7. The stinger of a honey bee is barbed.
8. Honey bees will sting you if they see you as a threat.
9. Queen bees have stingers, but they don't use them often.

Conclusion

Bees aren't really bad. They are just protecting themselves and their home. Now that you know a little more about bees, what are your view on them? Answer in the comments below. 

*http://www.todayifoundout.com and http://www.beeright.com were also used to get some of the information here.

Why Aren't There More Holidays?

                                                                             Introduction                                                                           

     The Independence Day, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. These are just a few of the national holidays people in America celebrate. However, the real question is, why aren't there more of them? Holidays like April Fools' Day are actually unofficial, believe it or not. Even if they are unofficial, some of these holidays are still important to some people. There is even a Make Your Own Holiday Day that is usually celebrated on March 26. 

Opinion

I think that it is actually a good thing that we do not have too many holidays.Wonderopolis states,"Plus,too many holidays would make the most important holidays seem less special." My family's celebration of Christmas and Thanksgiving would be a lot less meaningful if there were a lot more holidays, like it, celebrated at around the same time. Besides, it can take a long time for a holiday to become official. History.com stated,"......Massachusetts, in 1621. More than 200 years later, President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941." If it took Thanksgiving that long to become an official holiday, imagine how long it would take for a holiday to be made official, today. Christmas took even longer than that to become a national holiday.

Top 10 Favorite Holidays(Official and Unofficial)

1.Christmas

2.Thanksgiving

3.Independence Day

4.Easter

5.Halloween

6.April Fools' Day

7.St.Patrick's Day

8.Labor Day

9.New Year's Eve

10.Presidents Day

So, now that you have seen some of my favorite holidays, what are yours?(Answer in the comments below.) I dare you to do a little research on them, you might be surprised at what you find. Even though there aren't many holidays, I cherish every one of them. You should try it too, it make just make you smile.

Commercials and their Techniques

Introduction

 This commercial is trying to get you to buy Mountain Dew by using endorsement and bandwagon. Endorsement is using a celebrity or someone who is well known to recommend a product. Bandwagon is taking advantage of people's desire to be part of the crowd. They are using endorsement by having Paul Rodriguez Jr., an actor and professional street skateboarder, featured in this commercial. If  someone is a fan of Paul Rodriguez Jr., they would probably buy this soda just because he is a big part of this commercial. The technique, bandwagon, is being used throughout the whole commercial. It telling audiences that if you drink Mountain Dew, you will have skateboarders and a dragon all around you and be awesome. Think about it, who would not want to be awesome like the picture alone looks.(To watch another commercial using bandwagon, click this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa07K9V1cdc)

Opinion

 When I watch this commercial, I actually like it a lot. The reason is that it uses bandwagon very well, it kind of makes me want to buy the soda for one reason.It looks amazing. The setup makes it seem as though a lot of time and money was put into it. So, they are using bandwagon very well. Who wouldn't want to be like the main man in this commercial? If there was an audience for this commercial, I think it would be kids. In my opinion, since the commercial looks pretty awesome that might be why they buy the soda. For them to be awesome like the person in the commercial. If I think about it, I think this commercial would make money. Plenty of people already drink Mountain Dew, but this commercial would probably get more people to buy it because it uses the commercial techniques so well. When I watched the commercial for the first time, all that was going through my head wasn't what techniques it was using, it was that I kind of wanted to get some Mountain Dew.
   In all honesty, there were some parts of the commercial that I didn't like. It is how they used endorsement. Before I watched this, I didn't even know who Paul Rodriguez Jr. was. It was probably effective for people who are his fans, but the fact that he was in this commercial didn't make me want to buy this product any more than I already did. The target audience was definitely his fans and people who want to be like him when they grow up. I think that the commercial will make money because it has a little something for everyone. Endorsement for people who like Paul Rodriguez Jr., and bandwagon for those who don't know who he is.

Top Ten Commercials that use:Endorsement

                          This commercial uses endorsement by featuring a celebrity. The movie star known as 

                          Ashton Kutcher is using the Nikon camera. He is also taking pictures of a wedding for                                   some reason.

                              This Weight Watchers commercial is using endorsement by featuring Jennifer Hudson.

                              She is a famous singer. She is also telling you that Weight Watchers will work for you                                   because it worked for her.

                             This commercial on the Fiat 500 is featuring J-Lo. She is driving a Fiat 500 and

                             voicing a commercial.

                                     This commercial for Neutrogena is using an actor, Emma Roberts, to endorse their

                                       product. She is seen using the cleanser for her own face.

                                   This commercial for tap water is featuring Selena Gomez. She is seen putting tap   

                                    water in her cup.

                                       This commercial features a famous pop singer, Justin Bieber.

                                        He is promoting his new perfume.

                                     This commercial has Gwen Stefani,a singer, using a windows phone. She is also                                            voicing over for most of the commercial.

                                    As you can see, this commercial is also for Mountain Dew. It features Dale                                                  Earnhardt Jr.

                                 Looking at this ,you can tell Zooey Deschanel is being featured in this commercial.
                                 She is trying to get you to buy Pantene products.

                                  This commercial for htc is using Robert Downey Jr. to endorse their product.
                                  He is seen dancing along to music it is making.

Conclusion

So, now that you've seen some commercials that use, what commercials have you seen that use endorsement?(Answer in the comments below.)

The Giant Clay Army

Introduction

     Cruel, powerful, and somewhat crazy. This is the first emperor of China, also known as Qin Shi Huang . He was the man who ordered his servants to create the army, the Terracotta Warriors. Even though he empowered China, people hated him.

Opinion

    According to National Geographic,"Qin created thousands of clay warriors to follow him into death." If I Were living during that time, I would have supposed that he was crazy. Think about it, who spends a lot of money just to get someone to make a bunch of statues for you? There are so many other things he could have use his money for. This is also one of the reasons that people hated him. He also made a high taxes, killed thousands of soldiers form six states, and punished his people with forced labor.

Question

Now that you have learned about the first Chinese emperor,what do you think of Qin? Answer in the comments below.

  

Reptilian Monster

Introduction      

 Over 100 million years ago, a giant reptilian monster walked the Earth. The beast struck fear into even the biggest of dinosaurs. It's name was "SuperCroc." It weighted as much has eight tons and its jaw alone was six feet long. Even the mighty T-Rex was no match for this cold blooded beast. If this beast was still here, it could easily dominate the earth.                                                                        

Opinion

Based on the article "This Croc Really Rocks" "Armor-like bony plates called scutes covered the head, body, and part of the tail" of SuperCroc. This can make us assume that SuperCroc was made to stand up to anything. After reading various articles on SuperCroc I think that this crocodile could have easily reached the top of the food chain. Fortunately, these monsters weren't plentiful when they lived, and died years ago.

Top Ten Facts About SuperCroc

-40 feet in length                          -6 feet jaw

-ate large dinosaurs                     -250 bones

-impossible(currently) to determine gender               -had 5 other cousins

-could have lived in the Sahara     -lived during the Cretaceous Period

-good runners and swimmers       -weighted 8 tons 

Question

So, now that you know a thing or two about SuperCroc, what would you do
if you found one in your backyard? Leave answer in the comments below.