5 Things You Should Know – Part 13

Here is this week’s you should know segment.

01. How to put out grease fires

1. Turn the Heat Off. Don’t try to move the pot. You might accidentally splash yourself or your kitchen with burning oil. And that would be bad.
2. Cover the Pot with a Metal Lid: Fire cannot exist in the absence of oxygen. With the lid on (and the heat off), the fire should quickly consume all the oxygen and put itself out. Use a metal lid since glass will shatter.
3. Pour on Baking Soda: Baking soda will extinguish grease fires, but only if they’re small. It takes a lot of baking soda to do the job.
4. Spray the Pot with a Class B Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher. This is your last resort, as fire extinguishers will contaminate your kitchen. Still, it’s better than the alternative if the fire is getting out of control.
5. Get Out and Call 911: If the fire does break out of control, don’t try to be a hero. Get out and find a phone to call 911.

I must urge additional caution with fire extinguishers, they are a last resort before fleeing, and could actually cause the fire to spread due to the pressure they’re under. Turning off the heat and using a lid are your best options.

02. About Cubital Tunnel Syndrome especially if you sit at a desk all day

Cubital Tunnel Syndrome is a condition that involves pressure or stretching of the ulnar nerve (also known as the “funny bone” nerve), which can cause numbness or tingling in the ring and small fingers, pain in the forearm, and/or weakness in the hand. The ulnar nerve runs in a groove on the inner side of the elbow.

If you sleep with your arm under your pillow, repeatedly lean on your forearm/elbow (work an office job), bend your elbow for sustained periods (using your cell phone), holding a tool (mouse) in a constant position performing a task, and/or are obese, you are at an increased risk.

Symptoms

• Pain and numbness in the elbow, hand, little/ring finger.
• Weakness affecting the ring and little fingers.
• Decreased ability to pinch the thumb and index finger.
• Decreased overall hand grip.
• Muscle wasting in the hand.
• Claw-like deformity of the hand.

Prevention

Minimize the amount of time you lean on your elbows or keep them bent. If you like to sleep with your arm under your pillow, correct your sleep posture. Make sure your work environment is ergonomically correct. Get a pistol grip/vertical mouse and ergonomic keyboard, and make sure your desk is not too tall for you. Make sure to take frequent breaks from sitting at a desk.

Treatment

• Aside from simply avoiding activities that cause CTS, performing Ulnar Nerve glides to stretch out the nerve may relieve pain.
• Ibuprofen can also alleviate the pain or numbness.
• Surgery should be used as a last resort, but is a simple procedure that has a high success rate.

03. How to get the price of your auto insurance down

One month before you go shopping for insurance, do this and the quotes you get will be much lower.

This works if you are currently carrying your state’s minimum BI/PD (bodily injury/property damage) limits of liability. Insurance companies give cheaper rates to new business when the customer previously had higher than their state’s minimum liability requirements. Underwriting models show that people with more than the minimum are less of a risk, ergo, they get cheaper insurance.

All you have to do is call up your current insurance company a month before you’re ready to switch, and tell them you want to raise your current limits to something like 100/300 for BI, and 50 for PD. After about a month, your current insurance company will have reported your new limits, so when you call a new company for a quote, they can now see this, and your quotes will be lower. You don’t have to keep the new higher limits when you switch either, you can lower them back down and you’ll still get the cheaper discounted rates!

04. About Skiplagged

Skiplagged.com is a travel website that uses hidden-city ticketing to provide you airfares up to 80% less than regular price. This is an airfare search engine that is capable of finding hidden-city opportunities, being kosher about combining two one-ways for cheaper than round-trip costs, etc. The first of these has received the most attention and is all about itineraries where your destination is a layover and actually costs less than where it’s the final stop. This has potential to easily save consumers up to 80% when compared with the cheapest on KAYAK, for example. Finding these has always been difficult before Skiplagged because you’d have to guess the final destination when searching on any other site.

Let me get this right. Say you want to go from City A to City B. You would book a flight plan that goes from City A, to City B, to City C. Then you just get off at City B, and say screw City C. So, why is the trip A-B-C cheaper than the trip A-B? This has to do with market competition, i.e., Airlines want to offer City A to City C, but can only do that with multiple flights. Consumers are less inclined towards multiple flights unless it offers them savings.

05. Many sugar free candies use sugar alcohols as a sweetener

Sugar alcohols are commonly used as sweeteners in sugar free candies and gum. Most of these have highly pronounced laxative properties in moderate amounts. Erythritol is the only sugar alcohol that does not have these effects on people however.