“Rocket Man” Terrorizes Drivers on Florida Highway

Florida Highway Patrol launched into high alert last week after a barrage of 911 calls from motorists who swore they had just spotted a truck hauling a payload of missiles down the highway. The situation escalated quickly when a trooper equipped with a description of a blue pickup truck traveling on Interstate 4 spotted the vehicle. The officer quickly moved in to intercept the truck. The driver, Michael Nipper (pictured above) from nearby Tampa, said he wasn’t shocked by being stopped. The rockets looked dangerous, but they weren’t military weapons. “I figured right away they were pulling me over, but I knew the rockets weren’t dangerous or illegal, so I showed them to the officer and explained that they were hobby rockets,” said the 69-year-old. The model rockets are miniature versions of the real thing that people build and launch for fun. They’re made from lightweight materials like plastic or balsa wood, and the engines are pre-packaged and come with the kit. They typically fly between 300 and 2,500 feet and land with a small parachute. Nipper, a longtime rocket enthusiast, explained to cops that he’s part of local groups that regularly gather to have fun, put on exhibitions, or teach kids about basic aeronautics. Still, the traffic stop set off alarm bells when the cop spotted a label reading “15 lbs. of explosives” with a “load weight of 45 lbs.” engraved on the side of one of the rockets. He ultimately called his superior and the bomb squad. Authorities — including the Plant City Police Department, fire department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office — established a safety perimeter around the scene as experts moved in to defuse the situation. After a closer inspection, officials confirmed that the “missiles” were indeed harmless plastic models, and the threat fizzled out as quickly as it had ignited. With the all-clear given, troopers sent Nipper on his way without a ticket, but did offer him a better plan for transporting his high-flying hobby without sparking mass panic on the highway: buy a tarp and cover them up. In the end, what looked like a full-blown missile crisis turned out to be a dud.

 

 

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This Fast-Food Chain Offers the Best Value on Burgers, and No, It’s Not McDonald’s

We’ve all been there: You’re pulling into the drive-thru, craving a juicy burger and crispy fries, when reality taps you on the shoulder — groceries cost more, gas costs more, and now fast-food doesn’t feel so cheap anymore. You ask yourself: Is this tiny burger actually worth it? A recent survey revealed the fast-food chain that offers the best value on burgers. Researchers removed the bun and any other ingredients (cheese, pickles, onions, tomatoes, sauce, etc.) and weighed each hamburger patty on kitchen scales. Then they divided the menu price by the patty’s weight to determine the cost per ounce of beef, a far more revealing measure of value than sticker price alone. So, which burger took the No. 1 spot? The classic Whataburger cheeseburger came out on top, with a cost of $1.66 per ounce of beef, the lowest among all chains in the study. With 1,100-plus locations concentrated in Texas, it’s clearly punching above its weight in the value department. A big reason is size. At 3.56 ounces, the Whataburger patty was the largest in the analysis. Although its $5.92 menu price is higher than a McDonald’s cheeseburger at $2.39, the larger portion ultimately delivers more meat for your money. Here’s how the burgers stacked up:

 

 

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Things You Should Never Clean with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Magic Erasers took the cleaning world by storm when they were introduced 20 years ago. They’ll remove sticker residue, soap scum, crayon marks and tons of other stuff from your household surfaces. No other cleaning product in recent memory has such a notable reputation, but they can’t be used on everything. Here are a few of the things you should never use a Magic Eraser to clean.

• • Stone countertops — especially granite and marble — often have a sealant that Magic Eraser’s tiny melamine threads can easily scratch, dulling sealants and finishes in the process. For a safer option, stick with warm water, dish soap and a soft cloth. 
• • Nonstick pots and pans are no match for the microscopic, razor-fine abrasive melamine resin on Magic Erasers. Teflon will chip off if you use a Magic Eraser on it and can leave “forever chemicals” on your cookware that could end up in your food. Instead, use water and dish soap on a soft sponge to clean nonstick cookware.
• • Stainless steel appliances are another thing that should never see a Magic Eraser. That’s because it will scratch the surface, dulling it in the process. When cleaning stainless steel, use a stainless steel cleaner or simply baking soda and water.
• • Vehicle paint is another no-no when it comes to Magic Erasers. They will create even more problems if you try to use them to buff out scuffs and scrapes. Simply use soapy water to wash the car and then car wax or polish to buff out minor scuffs and scrapes.
• • Glossy paint finishes will also not come out well if you use a Magic Eraser. It can scratch the surface and make it dull. Weekly dusting will help, but you can also use mild dish soap and water solution to clean up dirt on high-gloss painted walls.
• • Never, ever use a Magic Eraser on varnished wood surfaces or furniture as it can easily scuff and dull when subjected to the resin in Magic Eraser. Instead, use a wood-safe cleaner or dish soap and water.
• • Collectibles and jewelry can be damaged by cleaning with Magic Eraser. Instead, use gentle jewelry cleaners and a soft microfiber cloth.
• • Computer, television, phone and tablet screens should never be cleaned with a Magic Eraser. They make look like plain glass or plastic, but these highly specialized screens have anti-glare coatings, all of which a Magic Eraser can permanently damage. Confine your cleaning methods to a damp microfiber cloth and invest in a screen protector.
• • Do we really have to say this? DO NOT clean your skin or your teeth with Magic Eraser. It can cause painful abrasions on your skin and damage the enamel on your teeth. Take a shower and brush your teeth, period.

 

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Scientists Discover Lab Gloves Are Skewing Microplastics Data

A University of Michigan researcher stumbled upon a crucial caveat for every study of microplastics that has been scaring us for years now. Lab gloves may have skewed the data in the research. Chemistry grad student Madeline Clough discovered that residue from latex or nitrile gloves may be unintentionally contaminating lab equipment used to measure microplastics in the air and water, thus inflating estimates of the pollution. She knew the numbers were “many thousands of times greater” than what she expected. That led to a wild goose chase of trying to figure out where the contamination was coming from, and it wasn’t long before Clough decided to look at the gloves the researchers were wearing. Particles called stearates — a kind of salt or soap — were found to be the culprits. Manufacturers coat disposable gloves with these particles to make them easier to peel from the molds used to form them. They are chemically similar at a structural level to microplastics and look nearly identical, which can lead to false positives or inflated numbers of microplastic pollution. Researchers designed a new experiment to figure out how widespread the problem is, testing seven different kinds of gloves. They found that, on average, the gloves imparted about 2,000 false positives per millimeter squared area. The team began to warn other researchers to wear cleanroom gloves and take other precautions so as not to skew the data and unknowingly make the microplastics outlook even more alarming.

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