Courtesy of Visual China
Can bananas be wrapped in tin foil to extend shelf life? Can you fall asleep quickly by spraying sleep spray on your pillow before going to bed? Toothpaste, baking soda, white vinegar, salt and dish soap mixed together to remove aged dirt? And what more magical instant noodles can repair everything? These "life tips" circulated in the short video of Douyin have pictures and truths, simple operation and effectiveness, and look at people's hearts to "plant grass" and are eager to try. However, some netizens said that the effect was not ideal after trying. So are these tips reliable? Hear what the experts have to say.
Will banana root tin foil extend shelf life? not necessarily!
In the video, in order to save bananas for a long time, simply wash and wipe the bananas clean, and then wrap the banana rhizomes in tin foil. It is based on the principle that the ethylene gas released by bananas can accelerate the browning and ripening of bananas, and will also accelerate the ripening process of any nearby fruit. Because most of the ethylene is released from the root of the banana, wrapping it in tin foil or plastic wrap can ease the ripening process of the banana and thus achieve the purpose of prolonging the preservation time.
In this regard, Wang Hao, associate professor of the Food College of Tianjin University of Science and Technology (Tianjin Food Safety Science Popularization Base), said that bananas belong to the respiratory leap type of fruit, which will release a large amount of ethylene during the ripening period (which will make the banana ripe), and the fruit respiration rate will be greatly improved at this time, and it will quickly reach maturity. Bananas must be plucked from the tree before they are fully ripe for long haul and long-term storage.
"Generally speaking, when consumers buy yellow-orange-orange bananas, they are basically artificially ripened before they are sold." Wang Hao said that therefore, the banana is bought back, first washed and dried with clean water, which can reduce the adhesion of ethylene gas on the surface and help extend the shelf life of bananas. Wrapping the root of a banana with tin foil or plastic wrap is also to inhibit the release of ethylene gas, which should have a certain effect, but the effect is not necessarily so obvious. If you want to extend the shelf life of bananas, or mainly control the temperature of banana storage, generally in the best degrees Celsius, can slow down the breathing speed of bananas. At the same time, reduce the pressure surface, it is best to hang the banana, because after the tissue is pressed, it will slowly become soft, and the freshness of the pressured surface is the worst.
Wang Hao said that in general, bananas that have been artificially ripened can be stored for about a week, and through technical means, the shelf life can be extended to two weeks. If you want to store bananas for a long time, it is best to buy green bananas that have not been artificially ripened and let them slowly ripen on their own.
Is Sleep Spray the "Insomnia Buster"? The effect is limited!
At the end of the year, it is a critical period for many office workers to rush performance, high-intensity work and pressure, so that many people are deeply anxious, insomnia has become a common thing. At this time, the sleep spray recommended by various Internet celebrities on Douyin and Xiaohongshu has become a life-saving straw for many office workers. All kinds of sleep sprays are said to add lavender, vetiver, chamomile essential oil and other pure natural sleep aids, spray 2-3 times on the pillow or quilt cover before going to bed, you can relax and ease anxiety, thereby helping to fall asleep.
In this regard, Wang Lina, director of the Department of Mood Disorders of Tianjin Anding Hospital, introduced that some plants do have the effect of calming the gods, and the compound plant essential oil covers 3 major components of terpenes, alcohols and esters, of which the main ingredients are linalyl acetate, aromatic alcohol and limonene. In general, alcohols have a good sedative effect, and relevant studies have confirmed that linalool has a soothing effect on the central nervous system, including helping sleep, anticonvulsant, lowering body temperature, etc. In addition, esters also have a sleep aid effect, can prolong sleep time, these substances will be appropriately enhanced with the dose increased their effect.
"This sleep spray containing essential oils is used as a health supplement, which can be used in short terms by patients with acute insomnia, and also has a certain sleep aid effect." At present, there are also surveys that about 70% of patients with acute insomnia can slowly recover by self-regulation. Wang Lina said, but about 30% of patients will transition from acute insomnia to chronic insomnia, and this part of the population needs to find a professional doctor for examination and professional systematic evaluation.
Chronic insomnia and sleep rhythm disorders are not solved by these health care products. If you do not receive treatment from a professional doctor in time, it will lead to many emotional problems, the most common of which are depression and anxiety disorders. Conversely, depression and anxiety can also cause sleep disturbances. The two influence each other, a vicious circle.
"Mouse" ultrasonic dishwasher can free hands? The actual test wash is not clean...
In winter, the most painful thing is to wash the dishes. Without hot water, greasy dishes are difficult to clean. A dishwashing artifact about the size of a mouse on Douyin has given people hope of freeing their hands. In the video, the ultrasonic dishwasher is placed in the sink, and as the instrument vibrates, the oil on the dishes also falls off. However, some people have sent videos to verify that by using an ultrasonic dishwasher, the oil stains on the dishes are still there.
In this regard, Zhang Sheng, a professor at the School of Chemical Engineering of Tianjin University, explained that ultrasonic cleaning is in principle to use the cavitation effect to clean the objects, which is popularly speaking, the micro-explosion and shock wave generated when the bubbles formed by the ultrasonic wave are ruptured instead of the hands to scrub the dishes, so that the dirt on the surface of the cleaned matter is destroyed and quickly falls off. In general, adding some additional surfactant (detergent) will be better for cleaning.
"The effect in the video is not ideal, mainly due to the small power of the machine and the location of the dishes." Zhang Sheng said that large ultrasonic dishwashers are generally densely packed with ultrasonic transducers at the bottom, so that dishes can be cleaned from all directions. And this mouse-sized dishwasher is placed in the sink, the ultrasonic wave generated can only diffuse outward, the energy near the dishwasher is strong, and the shock wave is weak from the far place, which will affect the cleaning effect. In addition, the amount of water in the sink is also very important, when the amount of water and power do not match will also affect the use of ultrasonic dishwasher.
Toothpaste, baking soda, white vinegar and other blends for potent decontamination? Theoretically possible...
Before the Spring Festival, every household had to be cleaned, and the old dirt in the kitchen was difficult for many housewives. Some netizens sent a good recipe for decontamination in a timely manner, so that many people were like treasures. In the video, toothpaste + baking soda + white vinegar + dish soap are mixed together and smeared on the bottom of the black pot, instantly bright as new.
Zhang Sheng said that the main component of the black scale at the bottom of the pot is a mixture of carbon deposits, iron oxide and oil scale that are not enough to burn gas. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate that can help remove oil scale. The main ingredient in white vinegar in addition to water is acetic acid, which can help remove iron oxides. The main component of toothpaste is friction agent (calcium carbonate, dibasic calcium phosphate), and the main component of table salt is sodium chloride, both of which can help remove carbon deposits. Dish soap can also remove oil scale, so this formula can remove dirt from the bottom of the pot in principle.
Although it has a cleaning effect in principle, in the follow-up experiments of many netizens, this formula has not played a strong decontamination role. Compared with the "touch as new" of the original video, the dirt at the bottom of the pot is still stubborn in the netizen experiment. In this regard, Zhang Sheng said that the formula is feasible in principle, but the specific degree of cleanliness should be related to the thickness of the dirt at the bottom of the pot and the specific conditions for formation. In addition, too much water is added to the netizen video, and the formula raw materials are excessively diluted, which is not conducive to cleaning up the dirt. In addition, although the iron oxide and oil scale at the bottom of the pot are relatively easy to remove, the carbon deposit is not easy to remove. This is also one of the reasons why the formula fails.
Is instant noodles reliable to repair all things? The key is to look at the craftsmanship...
Since the existence of vibrato, people have seen the "master in the folk". At present, the popular videos of instant noodles repairing broken furniture, toilets, floors and other videos on Douyin are breathtaking. Carefully study the repair steps, add instant noodles and glue - scrub - polish - paint - complete, the process is simple and rough, and the repaired furniture looks almost invisible to the naked eye.
For this "craft", Zhang Sheng analyzed that the repair mainly uses fillers and adhesives to fill holes. Traditional repair furniture will be filled with wood powder, atomic ash, etc., and then fixed with specific glue, and finally sanded to color. And the use of instant noodles as a filler is not impossible, but its oily, loose, large particles, if the glue is not uniform enough, the repair craftsmanship is not exquisite enough, may affect the effect and quality of the repair.
Editor-in-charge: Li Wenyao