The Force

“Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, and it holds the world together.” (Oprah Winfrey)

Duct tape can be found in the tool box of any self-respecting handyman, but the versatile product's potential extends far beyond home repairs.  Have you heard that it can be used for such things as a drink holder, to remove pet hair, warts, to prevent deer electrocution, for holiday footwear, sweaters, and pants, for a kayak, gardening, a camper, or a toothpaste tube fix? Are you familiar with the origins of duct tape?

Before the invention of duct tape, packages of ammunition that were sent to the military were sealed with wax to keep their contents waterproof. The cardboard flaps were held shut with a strip of paper tape with a tab hanging loose that would allow soldiers to rip open the boxes in a hurry. Because this type of tape wasn’t very strong, the tabs would often tear off in their hands and leave soldiers struggling to free their ammunition in the heat of battle. 

Hoping to solve the problem, Vesta Stoudt, a mother of two Navy sailors and a worker at the Green River Ordnance Plant in Illinois, wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt with an idea: "I suggested we use a strong cloth tape to close seams, and make tab of same … I have two sons out there somewhere, one in the Pacific Island the other one with the Atlantic Fleet. You have sons in the service also.  We can’t let them down by giving them a box of cartridges that takes a minute or more to open, the enemy taking their lives that could have been saved."

Roosevelt passed along the letter to the War Production Board in Washington, D.C., who contacted Johnson & Johnson to develop the product. The result was a strong, waterproof tape that soldiers could still tear apart with their hands in a pinch. Here are some surprising facts about this reliable adhesive called “duct tape.”

1.   A WHOLE LOT MORE: The TV series, Mythbusters, has devoted three entire episodes to exploring some of duct tape’s most extreme applications. The team was able to successfully use duct tape to patch a damaged airplane fuselage, construct a functioning cannon, build a usable bridge, and lift a 5000-pound car. Of the 18 myths they tested, only one was busted (turns out you can’t use duct tape to barricade a car driving at 60 mph).

 

2.   DUCT TAPE HELPED SAVE APOLLO 13: Following an explosion aboard the ship’s service module, the three members of the Apollo 13 crew transferred to a lunar module designed to hold two people for 36 hours. They had to find a way to last more than twice that long, and the biggest threat to their survival was the carbon dioxide being created by their own bodies. While they had plenty of square carbon dioxide filters on board, they were incompatible with the lunar module’s round holes.

 

Engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) devised a solution that involved using cardboard, plastic bags, space suit components, and duct tape that was kept on board to create an adapter that would filter out carbon dioxide. This hack ultimately saved the astronauts’ lives.

 

This wasn’t the only time duct tape proved to be useful in outer space. The tape has been stored on board every NASA mission since the early Gemini era. Some of its handy applications include making emergency rover repairs, fixing leaky pipes, and keeping items secure in zero gravity.

3.   DUCT TAPE TO SUIT EVERY NEED: Specialty varieties of the product include outdoor duct tape, double-sided duct tape, glow-in-the-dark duct tape, and nuclear-grade duct tape (the latter is certified for use in nuclear power plants).

 

4.   IT HAS BEEN USED TO PREVENT INFECTION: Hospital-acquired infections account for 99,000 preventable deaths in the U.S. each year. In order to safely fight infection while saving doctors time and effort, the Trinity Medical Center system of hospitals in the Midwest came up with a rather simple solution. They used duct tape to mark 3-foot-square “safe zones” extending from the doorway into a patient's room.

 

This allowed physicians to casually converse with their patients without having to change into full sterile gear every time they wanted to check in. Research shows that the duct tape idea saved the hospital system $110,000 a year and 2700 hours of staff time.

5.   IT OWES ITS STICKINESS TO PHYSICS: While many adhesives, like Elmer’s glue, need to undergo a physical change in order to stick to something, duct tape works a little differently. Its stickiness is created by a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA), which is a soft polymer blend that employs van der Waals forces to attract two surfaces.

These intermolecular forces are weak on their own, but with enough of them, they are capable of supporting very heavy loads (this is the same principle that allows geckos to stick to walls). Other adhesives, like glues and epoxies, are liquid when you apply them, but they react chemically and harden,

They don't change at all. They are in the solid state when you apply them, and they stick in their solid state. This makes duct tape the perfect option if you’re looking for a super strong adhesive that's also removable.

6.   THE NAME "DUCK TAPE" CAME FIRST: Since its origins, the tape has consisted of three major components: a bottom layer of glue, mesh fabric, and a polyethylene plastic coating on top to keep it water-resistant. According to Johnson & Johnson, soldiers nicknamed the material "duck tape" in reference to its ability to repel moisture "like water off a duck’s back."

 

7.   THERE’S AN ANNUAL DUCT TAPE FESTIVAL: Since 2005, Avon, OH, has hosted an annual duct tape festival dedicated to celebrating "duct tape, its enthusiasts, and its wacky and fun uses." The event features duct tape sculptures, a duct tape fashion show, and a parade of giant floats constructed using duct tape. 

 

 

8.   WEARING DUCT TAPE TO PROM COULD EARN YOU A SCHOLARSHIP: Duck brand duct tape offers a rather unusual scholarship to high schoolers who are willing to get creative with their product. Every prom season, they call upon students to design and create their own suits and dresses for the big day using duct tape. The winning couple of the "Stuck at Prom" competition is awarded a $10,000 scholarship each along with an additional $5000 for their high school.

 

9.   YOU CAN’T USE IT IN DUCTS: Following World War II, duct tape began to catch on in the U.S. as a handy tool for home construction. People were using it to hold metal air ducts together, so the company rebranded the product as "duct tape" and updated it with a matching silver color made from powdered aluminum. Today, its namesake usage is one of the few things that duct tape isn’t recommended for.

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted tests in 1998 to see how well different types of tape performed at sealing ducts, and, compared to the other products, duct tape was the clear loser. Of all the things we tested, only duct tape failed. It failed reliably and often quite catastrophically. Using duct tape on actual ductwork is now considered a code violation in many buildings.

“You only need two tools in life: WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.” (Anonymous) [i]

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[i] Sources used:

·     “10 Durable Facts about Duct Tape” BY Michele Debczak

·        “12 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Duct Tape” by MSN.com

·        “NASA” from Wikipedia

 

Silent

“I hate it when the voices In my head go silent...I never know what they are planning.” (Anonymous)

All people experience some degree of dissociation. This is a disconnection between various aspects of yourself (feeling unplugged). Common examples of dissociation include daydreaming, being fully absorbed in the internet, a movie, or book, or driving somewhere familiar without remembering much of the drive later (highway hypnosis).

When dissociation becomes a more serious problem, people may be diagnosed with dissociative amnesia, which causes people to have difficulty remembering important information about their self, or depersonalization disorder, which involves feelings of detachment and unreality.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) was formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder (until 1994). DID is a mental disorder condition in which a person's identity is fragmented into two or more distinct personality states. People with this rare condition are often victims of severe abuse.  DID is diagnosed six times more often in females than males. Some common misunderstandings and truths about DID include the following:

Myth: People with DID have multiple personalities.

Fact: Therapists stress that despite how it looks that all the identities are parts of one single person, with each identity expressing a part of the whole. The American Psychiatric Association notes that people with this disorder do not have more than one personality, but rather less than one personality.

Myth: DID is a rare condition.

Fact: DID is much more common than once thought. It affects 1.5 percent of American adults. Prevalence rates for DID are similar to those for major depressive disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and more common than Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Schizophrenia.

Myth: The cause of DID is unknown.

Fact: Although it may not be possible to say with certainty why any one person develops DID, it’s thought to generally develop as a response to trauma (particularly in childhood). Dissociating is a way to escape feeling the full extent of a traumatic event and to run away mentally when it isn’t possible to run away physically. It appears that the younger a person is when the trauma occurs. The more likely it is for periods of dissociation to turn into completely dissociated identities.

Myth:  DID is always obvious.

Fact: The presence of DID isn’t always obvious either to onlookers or even to people who suffer from the condition themselves. In the beginning, people with DID may simply be aware of lapses in memory. Whether or not they’re aware of their tendency to dissociate, people can often function quite well with their disorder. When a person’s “alters” are fairly similar in the way they present themselves, the condition is harder to detect than when they’re more distinct.

 Myth: DID is easily diagnosed.

Fact: Because the presence of DID isn’t always obvious, it can mimic other conditions and can co-occur with other disorders, it often takes time for people to receive the correct diagnosis. People with DID are in the mental health system for an average of seven years before their condition is diagnosed correctly.

 Myth: The likelihood of recovery from DID is low.

Fact: DID won’t resolve on its own. When people receive and complete proper treatment, DID may carry a favorable prognosis, when compared to other severe psychiatric disorders. Patients may receive benefit from a variety of treatment modalities including traditional psychotherapy, art or music therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Sometimes, people with mental health conditions don’t seek help because they fear being stigmatized.

  “I have different friends that fit with different parts of my personality.” (thegoodvibe.co)[i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)” by Psychology Today

·        “Dissociative identity disorder” from Wikipedia

·        “The Myths and Facts about Dissociative Identity Disorder” by Martha McLaughlin

 

 

 

Outdo

“In response to all he has done for us, let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good.”  (Hebrews 10:24, TLB)

Have you ever noticed the contagious nature of kindness? When someone goes out of their way to show kindness just because, it makes you want to do the same. It’s a beautiful domino effect that can shift an entire atmosphere from negative to positive.  Oftentimes, kindness seems to be short supply these days.

Kindness is a rare gem, hidden among the impatient people we pass daily in our lives. Be intentionally kind when you see someone who needs a little thoughtfulness. When we are kind, we have more energy and feel better about ourselves (and the world we live in). Here are some simple ways to be kind.

 

1.   Acknowledge Other People’s Presence:   As you fly by those people in your life that you may pass over and over again, it’s a really kind thing to acknowledge their presence. It takes little effort, and yet it goes a long way to acknowledge those people you pass on a regular basis. They are out there in your community, doing their job as best they can. Wave, nod, smile, say please and thank them, would you?

 

2.   Compliment Someone:  If we have nice thoughts about people, why not tell them? It doesn’t take much time at all, and I promise it’s worth those few seconds of discomfort when approaching someone with kind words. I wish more people did this. If you are naturally shy, I understand your hesitancy. But may I challenge you to step out of that safe place and go for it? It won’t be as painful as you anticipate it to be.

 

I promise. And the payoff is totally worth it. We all live in a world where kindness is so desperately needed. I’m still working on all of these ways to be kind, especially on those bad days. I think those are the days I need to invest more kindness into the world, because it ultimately makes me feel more kind, and that’s always a win. It is certain others will copy our kind gestures.

3.   Give Eye Contact:  This one is interesting to me because I rarely see eyes anymore. I’m out and about, and no one looks at each other. We are all drifters in our own little worlds that head into our phones or our business not interested in what wonders are around us. What really fascinates me, are the conversations I can have with people without them looking at me at all.

I’m always looking around me and spotting people here and there going about their business without so much as a glance toward other human beings in their path. Have you ever noticed when you do make eye contact with someone else? Connection happens. We need more connection.

 

4.   Say “Thank You”:  What happened to manners? I know many of you have them, and use them, but there are some rude people out there. A simple thank you can have an enormous impact on a person don’t you think? I might as well add “Please” to this task too. Any time you have a chance, say these words and mean them. Appreciation goes a long way in this world. We need more of it.

 I think there are many people who do their jobs or live in their roles without the gratitude they deserve. I’ve witnessed people walking away from others with no mention of a thank you, and I’ve also seen many request or demand things with no “please”. Why are we so intolerable these days? These words translate into respect. We all deserve that, yes? Two words, they make a difference. Let’s all use them more.

 

5.   Smile:  Just smile in every life situation throughout your day. You know how it feels when someone smiles at you, right? Just think how many people you can show kindness to with simply curving up your lips and showing your teeth. It’s infectious, and in this simple act itself you are lighting up the world because what often happens when you smile? Others smile too.

 

 “Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other the same as God forgave you through Christ.” (Ephesians 4:32, ERV)[i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “25 Random Ways to Show Kindness” by: Allie Holcomb King

·        “5 Simple Ways to Show Kindness” by Christine Carter

Suffice

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” (Meister Eckhart)

Life can be overwhelming at times. We can easily get discouraged, and burned out by circumstances that are beyond our control. In those seasons where we are feeling helpless, the best thing we can do is turn away from the challenges and turn toward God by living a life of thanks to Him. When we remember that God is in control of our lives, we keep in mind we have a loving Heavenly Father who gives us strength when we are weak, and comforts us in our times of need.

We love and serve a good, gracious Heavenly Father. We are undeserving of the love, grace, and mercy He freely lavishes on us. What else should we do, but live lives of endless thanks to Him in return for all our Heavenly Father has given us? God has given us so much to be grateful for. Look around you find all the wonderful things your Heavenly Father has done as a love gift just for you. In gratitude, for how we have been rescued from ourselves, God wants us to …

Treat our parents with honor

 ^“Honor your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12, MSG)

Children, obey your parents the way the Lord wants, because this is the right thing to do. The command says, “You must respect your father and mother.” This is the first command that has a promise with it.  And this is the promise: “Then all will go well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3, ERV)

Help others in need
“No murder.” (Exodus 20:13, MSG)

“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. (Matthew 5:21-22, MSG)

Act in complete purity
“No adultery.” (Exodus 20:14, MSG)

^“ You may think you have abided by this Commandment, walked the straight and narrow, but I tell you this: any man who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart. “(Matthew 5:28, VOICE)

Negotiate fairly with others
^“No stealing.” (Exodus 20:15, MSG)

^“If you have been stealing, stop. Thieves must go to work like everyone else and work honestly with their hands so that they can share with anyone who has a need. “(Ephesians 4:28, VOICE)

Keep your whole testimony from evil
“No lies about your neighbor.”  (Exodus 20:16, MSG)

^“Don’t lie to each other. You have taken off those old clothes—the person you once were and the bad things you did then.” (Colossians 3:9, ERV)

Seize every evil desire
^“No lusting after your neighbor’s house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don’t set your heart on anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17, MSG)

 ^“ Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.” (Hebrews 13:5, MSG)

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.[i]

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[i] Poem at end of post, “Be Thankful” by Author Unknown

 

 

Inspired by the sermon “ThanksLiving: Live THANKS” (installment three, final) Sunday November 25, 2018, Pastor Jon Fulton (of CenterPoint Westerville), CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.

 

Additional source used:  “7 Prayers to Say "Thank You" to God Today” by Rachel Dawson

 

 

Together

Together, we have the chance to make a real difference for an entire generation of young children.” (Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge)

Children and teenagers are growing and constantly changing. It’s normal to change as we learn new things and our bodies transform into our adult selves. At what point should we start worrying that our child’s tantrums or teenager’s mood swings are more than growing pains? Children can develop all of the same mental health conditions as adults, but sometimes express them differently.

 If your child is showing one or more of the changes below, and it’s impacting their daily life, the best thing to do is talk to them about how they’re feeling. Then talk to your family doctor to rule out other explanations

 

·        Shown sudden changes in their behavior? (e.g., an active child becomes quiet and withdrawn or a good student suddenly starts getting poor grades)

·        Suddenly changed their feelings? (e.g., a child may show signs of feeling unhappy, worried, guilty, angry, fearful, hopeless or rejected)

·        Started avoiding places or situations that others don’t routinely avoid?

·        Recently complained of physical problems like frequent headaches or stomach aches, problems eating or sleeping, or a general lack of energy?

·        Started suddenly keeping to themself?

·        Started to use (or is using more) alcohol or other drugs, especially when alone?

·        Shown signs that they’re having trouble coping with regular activities and everyday problems?

·        Shown little regard for the feelings or property of others?

·        Expressed terror or disgust over their weight, or changed how they eat, in unhealthy ways?

·        Started making odd or repetitive movements beyond regular playing?

·        Deliberately hurt themself or talked of suicide?

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The good news is that mental illnesses can be treated successfully, and early treatment can help reduce the impact of a mental illness on your child’s life. The kind of treatment that works best for your child will depend on your child’s diagnosis. Here are some of the more common mental illness diagnoses for a child:

1.   Anxiety Disorders are the most common illness to affect children and youth. About 6% of kids experience an anxiety disorder at some point. People who experience an anxiety disorder often have strong feelings of fear and worry.

They feel this much more intensely than the average person. They might worry continuously about things that seem small to others or have fears that might stop them from doing normal, everyday things (like sleeping or going out in public). When people start to avoid things that worry or frighten them it’s called a ‘phobia’.

2.   Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) makes it very difficult for kids to focus their attention. This condition typically includes these symptoms: hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. Some children with ADHD have symptoms in all of these categories, while others might have symptoms in only one.

 

3.   Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder that may affect up to about 1% of young people. It usually starts during the teenage years, but in rare cases, it may be seen in younger children. Bipolar disorder can cause a young person’s moods to change back and forth between extremely high moods, called mania, and extremely low moods, called depression. People who experience bipolar disorder (which used to be called ‘manic depression’)

 

4.   Depression is a mood disorder that shows up most often during the teenage years. About 3.5% of young people experience depression. Depression can affect a child or youth’s attitudes and emotions, making them feel unusually sad or irritated for more than two weeks at a time. People who experience depression often feel very miserable or exhausted for long periods of time. They often have no energy to do anything at all. Sometimes even to get out of bed or to eat. They might sleep all day and not want to do the things they once enjoyed. They might also feel stressed, grumpy or cry for no reason. They can’t get out of it’ or make themselves feel better no matter how hard they try.

 

5.   Eating Disorders are less common in young children, but the risk increases with age. Anorexia affects up to 1% of young males and females aged 15-24, and bulimia affects up to 3% of young people in Canada. Eating disorders involve a distorted body image along with seriously harmful behaviors to manage food and weight making it difficult to nourish oneself properly. People experiencing eating disorders are often obsessed by thoughts about food and their body weight.

This includes people who deliberately don’t eat much at all (anorexia nervosa), and people who ‘binge’ on lots of food in a very small time period and then make themselves vomit the food back up (bulimia) or overeat all the time (compulsive overeating). Eating disorders — such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder — are serious, even life-threatening, conditions. Children can become so preoccupied with food and weight that they focus on little else.

A person with an eating disorder can put huge effort into hiding it and may be constantly dieting, making excuses not to eat, avoiding social situations where there’s food and exercising a lot. They might spend a lot of time worrying about what they look like and feel depressed, anxious or irritated.

Might at times feel down and miserable. At other times they may feel energetic, over-excited and unable to calm down. When they’re feeling over-energetic they might not sleep much, go on huge shopping sprees, cook or clean lots or be really talkative or have big ideas. They might also be stressed and only able to concentrate for a very short amount of time.

6.   Psychosis is a condition that involves loss of contact with reality. People who experience psychosis have difficulty thinking clearly. It affects 3% of the total population but most often appears later in adolescence and early adulthood. It can be seen on its own or combined with others.

 As a person loses touch with reality, they might see or hear things that aren’t really there (hallucinations) or have unusual ideas that aren’t shared by other people (delusions). For example, they might believe that someone is trying to harm them or their family. It can be really frightening for people who are unwell and for their children and families, especially if they don’t know that this is a form of illness.

7.   Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the total population, and usually shows up between the ages of 15 and 25. Schizophrenia makes it hard for people to think and speak in an organized way. It can also cause people to lose touch with reality. If a person has had more than one episode of psychosis and other symptoms that last longer than six months, they may be described as experiencing schizophrenia. Schizophrenia most often appears in the late teens through the 20s.

 

8.   Suicide often goes alongside a mental illness. Suicide continues to be the second leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year-olds in British Columbia (BC) after motor vehicle accidents. Suicidal thinking or attempts are also common. A BC survey found that in one year, 5% of youth had made a suicide attempt and 12% seriously thought about suicide.

 

.“The mental health of our children must be seen as every bit as important as their physical health,” she wrote. “For too long we have been embarrassed to admit when our children need emotional or psychiatric help, worried that the stigma associated with these problems would be detrimental to their futures.” (Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge)[i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “Different types of mental illness” by CoPMI

·        “Mental illness in children: Know the signs” by Mayo Clinic Staff

·        “Mental Illnesses in Children and Youth” by Heretohelp