Here are this week’s 5 Things You Should Know.
01. Under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
30 hours per week is considered full time. There is a common misconception that is echoed by the media and politicians that if you drop your employees to 30 hours per week, they are no longer eligible for health benefits. They would be wrong. Source
“The term ‘full-time employee’ means, with respect to any month, an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service per week.”
02. Unless the label specifically says ‘mineral water’…
That bottle of water you’re drinking is probably just filtered tap water.
You should also really know that though media portrays bottled water to be a lot cleaner than tap water, but in reality tap water has shown to be cleaner than bottled water in a lot of cases, with even some bottled water containing fecal matter. Watch the movie Tapped, it opens your eyes to how the media and privatization of water tries to (and succeeds) to fool consumers into purchasing their product.
Tap water is extremely regulated compared to bottled water. They even publish reports of the exact minerals and other things in your water and it is publicly available. You can just call them and they will send you the fact sheet from the last time they tested the water. Some counties even send it out to all homes once a year. No bottled water company will do that.
03. If you get sore teeth due to the pressure inside an Airplane
It might not be because of air in your teeth. It might be due to sinus problems. Take a sinus decongestant an hour before you get on the plane and it might help. This applies to your top teeth. If the pain is in your bottom teeth, it’s probably a cavity or a compromised filling.
04. Your pupils should be the same size, even if light is shone in only one of your eyes
This is due to the pupillary light reflex. A difference in the size of someone’s pupils is known as anisocoria. Causes of anisocoria can range from being physiologically normal to immediately life threatening. If you notice a sudden, unexplained, or persistent difference in your pupil size you should seek the professional advice of a doctor.
05. Some random useful tips
Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza.
Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper weeds away
Put wet newspapers in layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken glass pieces of glass- the fibers catch ones you can’t see.
No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn’t hurt the plant and the squirrels won’t come near it.
Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gif wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and – voila – static is gone.
Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don’t dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.
Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It’s a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It’s also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn’t like when you tried it in your hair…
Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2″ with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it “home,” & can’t digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don’t have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
Take baby powder to the beach
Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When your ready to leave the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder and the sand will slide right off your skin.
