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1. Joel's back was bothering him so we applied Icy Hot, and he wondered how it worked. “The main ingredients in topical rubs that cause such a big fuss are menthol and methyl salicylate, which is also known as wintergreen oil. Menthol is made from peppermint oil. It can trigger nerves that are sensitive to coolness. This is why it is frequently used in mouthwashes, chewing gum and cough drops for its cooling and soothing sensation. However, no research has shown menthol to actually cause a decrease in the temperature of the skin or muscles.
“While nerve receptor stimulation gives menthol its counter irritation effects, the analgesic or pain-relieving properties are due to stimulation of opioid receptors. Methyl salicylate is a chemical that causes vasodilation (opening of the blood vessels) close to the skin surface. The increased blood flow can have some pain-killing effects on nerve receptors in the treated area.” Short version - it doesn't heal anything by itself, but relieves pain (salicylate sounds similar to aspirin) which probably makes it easier to do stretches and whatnot. Though maybe you can tear things worse if you're not feeling the pain? Unclear.
2. Nature documentaries invariably have three repeating acts: grand sweeping vistas of nature being majestic, pretty or funny; nature fucking up other nature (e.g wolves hunting caribou); and man fucking up nature. Netflix series ‘Our Planet’ is no exception. The man-fucking-up-nature bit in the first episode included a lot of information about glaciers, including that they can move up to 45 meters a day.
3. Rainforests have half of all life on Earth, according to this docco, but it wasn’t clear if that was total number of organisms, mass of organisms, number of different species or what exactly.
“While nerve receptor stimulation gives menthol its counter irritation effects, the analgesic or pain-relieving properties are due to stimulation of opioid receptors. Methyl salicylate is a chemical that causes vasodilation (opening of the blood vessels) close to the skin surface. The increased blood flow can have some pain-killing effects on nerve receptors in the treated area.” Short version - it doesn't heal anything by itself, but relieves pain (salicylate sounds similar to aspirin) which probably makes it easier to do stretches and whatnot. Though maybe you can tear things worse if you're not feeling the pain? Unclear.
2. Nature documentaries invariably have three repeating acts: grand sweeping vistas of nature being majestic, pretty or funny; nature fucking up other nature (e.g wolves hunting caribou); and man fucking up nature. Netflix series ‘Our Planet’ is no exception. The man-fucking-up-nature bit in the first episode included a lot of information about glaciers, including that they can move up to 45 meters a day.
3. Rainforests have half of all life on Earth, according to this docco, but it wasn’t clear if that was total number of organisms, mass of organisms, number of different species or what exactly.
