全民知識王

49-year-old celebrity Blackie Chen (Chen Jianzhou) recently suffered from acute myocardial infarction. He felt unwell while watching a basketball game, was rushed to the hospital, underwent surgery, and is currently recovering. Many people believe that during a heart attack, individuals will clutch their chest in pain, break out in a cold sweat, and then collapse in agony. However, in reality, it's not always like what's depicted in dramas, as the symptoms of a heart attack can be quite diverse. What are the warning signs of a heart attack? When your chest suddenly feels uncomfortable, should you sit and rest to observe, or is it necessary to go to the hospital immediately? Dr. Zhou Zonghan, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner at Ruimingtang TCM Clinic, states that from a TCM perspective, the heart is closely related to the body's circulation of Qi and blood. However, the most dangerous aspect of acute myocardial infarction is that its symptoms are often not as typical as people imagine. While some individuals do experience significant chest pain during an attack, many others feel chest tightness, shortness of breath, cold sweats, or even nausea, dizziness, or sudden general weakness. Therefore, one absolutely cannot rely solely on whether there is 'pain' to determine if there's a heart problem. Dr. Zhou Zonghan points out that a feeling of pressure, tightness, heaviness, or dull ache in the chest are the cardiac distress signals that require the highest level of vigilance. If the discomfort in the chest lasts for several minutes, doesn't improve significantly after sitting down to rest, or recurs, do not simply assume it's just a stomach upset, muscle soreness, or that you're too tired from work recently.

Around the year 2000, something strange happened at the Berlin Zoo in Germany— A black cat of unknown origin, named Muschi (a common German nickname for cats), wandered into the enclosure of an Asiatic black bear named Mäuschen. Everyone expected trouble, but the bear's reaction seemed to be: "Oh, a cat. Alright, you can stay." 🤣 And so, Muschi actually stayed, living there for nearly 10 years! The two would rest together and share sleeping spots. During feeding time, Muschi would brazenly sit next to Mäuschen and eat the choice food the bear received. There were even records of Muschi sleeping curled up between Mäuschen's massive paws. 🐈⬛💤🐻 Later, when the bear enclosure was renovated, the two were forced apart for a time. However, Muschi refused to leave the facility where Mäuschen was housed, so the zoo eventually let her back in to be with her friend. In 2010, the elderly Mäuschen passed away. Muschi didn't move out and continued to live in the bear enclosure where they had shared their lives. Even more remarkably, when the zoo looked back on this friendship in 2018, Muschi was still living there and doing very well! 🤣 A stray cat stumbled into a bear's territory and ended up making the bear enclosure her home. 🐈⬛🏠🐻

Swallowing with Eyes: When frogs swallow food, they forcefully close their eyes. This action uses the pressure from their eyeballs to help push food down into their stomachs. Stomach Washing Miracle: Frogs sometimes accidentally eat poisonous things. They can literally 'puke' out their entire stomach, clean it with their front feet, and then swallow it back down. Closing Ears: If a green toad finds the outside world too noisy, it can 'close' its ears to selectively ignore sounds it doesn't want to hear.

Fear of Loneliness: Alpacas are timid and accustomed to living in herds. If left alone for extended periods, they can become depressed and may even die from loneliness. The Secret Behind Spitting: They spit when angry or defensive. This is actually a mixture of regurgitated stomach fluid with undigested food, capable of reaching up to 10 meters. Vegetarianism: Alpacas are strict vegetarians, primarily eating grass, which results in a relatively low carbon footprint. Intelligence of a Toddler: An alpaca's intelligence is roughly equivalent to that of a 3 to 4-year-old human. They become very affectionate once they get to know their owner. Precious Soft Gold: Alpaca fiber is fine, doesn't secrete lanolin, and offers excellent warmth, earning it the nickname 'soft gold' in the market.

In an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee, USA, an Asian elephant named Tarra made an unlikely friend – a stray dog named Bella, despite their huge size difference. The two pals spent about 8 years together, walking, eating, and playing daily. They even slept side-by-side. One time, Bella suffered a spinal injury that left her temporarily paralyzed, requiring her to stay in the office for three weeks of treatment. Despite the sanctuary having about 2,700 acres of space, Tarra refused to go anywhere else. She would wait by the fence outside the office every day. Eventually, the staff had to bring Bella out for them to meet. Bella started wagging her tail as soon as she saw Tarra, and the staff then arranged for the two friends to see each other daily. 🥹 Fortunately, Bella eventually relearned how to walk, and the two resumed their inseparable life together. In 2011, Bella was suspected to have been killed by a coyote attack. Strangely, when the staff found Bella near the elephant enclosure, there were no signs of a struggle at the scene. Given her injuries, it was also unlikely she could have walked back on her own. Then, they discovered blood under Tarra's trunk. The sanctuary concluded that it was likely Tarra found Bella and brought her back near the enclosure. Why Tarra did this remains unknown. After this, staff observed that Tarra became quiet and seemed depressed for a while, even wandering alone to Bella's grave at night. Tarra never found another dog to be such a companion, instead spending more time with her elephant friends.

"Gopchang" (Intestines): Smoked Meat Jelly vs. Blanched Black and White Slices Southern (Red Gopchang): Southern gopchang is a "processed meat product." It's made by mixing lean pork chunks with sweet potato starch, red yeast rice, and spices, stuffing it into casings, cooking it, and then slicing it to achieve a pink, jelly-like, chewy texture. It's typically eaten with soy paste and shredded ginger. Northern (White Gopchang): Northern gopchang is "pure black and white slices." It's the pig's duodenum (a part of the small intestine), cleaned and directly blanched, then cut into small pieces to be eaten as is. It has a chewy texture with a unique, powdery internal organ consistency.

Since Si Shen Tang came up in conversation, I decided to make a post about it 😆 Growing up in a Hakka family, the Si Shen Tang I drank as a child was always sweet. It was only when I grew up that I learned – wait, there's a savory version? And then I also found out that many people don't know there's a sweet version of Si Shen Tang 😆 Si Shen Tang was originally a medicinal diet. Common ingredients nowadays include Chinese yam (Huai Shan), Poria cocos (Fu Ling), Euryale ferox (Qian Shi), lotus seeds, and Job's tears (Yi Ren), and the recipes vary slightly by region and family. The Taiwanese version, which is more familiar to many, usually includes pork intestines, stomach, or ribs, and is cooked as a savory soup. However, in some Hakka families in areas like Taoyuan and Hsinchu, there's a tradition of adding rock sugar to make it a sweet soup. Some versions don't include any meat at all, like a sweet soup with Job's tears and lotus seeds; there are also versions that add pork trotters or tail and still add sugar (though I can't quite accept the latter 🤣). Some families even cook it initially without any sweetness or saltiness, and then people decide whether to add sugar or salt when they eat it. But not all Hakka people drink the sweet version, and there's a lot of variation between families. Personally, I don't particularly like sweets, but because I grew up eating it this way, sweet Si Shen Tang is like mung bean soup or red bean soup to me – a refreshing and smooth sweet dessert 😁

The notion that 'soy is forbidden for those with uterine fibroids' mainly stems from soy containing 'isoflavones'. However, the activity of phytoestrogens is very weak, only about one-thousandth to one ten-thousandth of human estrogen. When estrogen levels in the body are too high, natural soy isoflavones actually compete for receptors, acting as a bidirectional regulator to balance hormones. Natural Soy Products (Consume Safely in Moderation): Unsweetened soy milk, tofu, dried tofu, edamame, black soybeans, and other minimally processed or whole-food soy products. Drinking about 300 ml of soy milk daily or eating half a box of tofu can safely supplement quality protein and dietary fiber. Highly Concentrated Health Supplements (Avoid Recommended): Commercially available high-dose 'soy isoflavone extract capsules or tablets' have dosages far exceeding daily food intake, and their impact on fibroids is still uncertain. It's recommended to consult with your OB/GYN first. Dietary Pitfalls That Truly Need Attention Compared to natural soy products, the following dietary habits are more likely to promote inflammation or interfere with hormone metabolism: 1. High-Fat and High-Calorie Foods: Excess body fat can convert and secrete additional estrogen, stimulating fibroid growth. 2. Excessive Red Meat and Processed Meats: Bacon, sausages, and high-fat red meats can easily trigger inflammatory responses in the body. 3. Excessive Alcohol Consumption: Alcohol burdens the liver, slowing down its ability to metabolize excess estrogen. 4. Animal Hormone Supplements: Such as royal jelly and placenta extracts, which have stronger hormonal activity and are not recommended for long-term, high-dose consumption. 'If your doctor tells you not to eat soy, tell them to update their brain.'

The first photo shows the ingredients for Si Shen Tang that I looked up. The second photo is the Si Shen Tang sold at my part-time job. It doesn't have these ingredients, only barley and offal. So, is it still called Si Shen Tang? I saw a Google review calling it 'fake Si Shen Tang', but many people buy it. Our menu lists it as Pork Intestine Si Shen Tang, Pork Stomach Si Shen Tang, and Mixed Si Shen Tang. We also have Barley Soup (without offal), Clear Soup, Meatball Soup, Pork Intestine Soup (without barley), and Pork Stomach Soup. If it needed a proper name, although I don't have the authority to change it for the owner, I'm just curious what everyone would call it???