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An observant chemist made this discovery reach almost all households all over the world!

You can apply if over intact skin or dry ones or even your lips!

The chemist used to even eat it!

The chemist was Robert Chesebrough (1837–1933) who was a British-born American chemist

In 1859, Chesebrough visited oil fields in Titusville, Pennsylvania, where he observed oil workers using a waxy residue called “rod wax” to heal cuts and burns.

He then spent a decade refining the waxy residue into a clear, odorless gel using vacuum distillation and filtration through bone char.

The name he gave to the ‘mix’ was a combination of German word for water and Greek word for oil! Now that is a combination!

He opened his first factory in Brooklyn, New York and later on merged with Pond’s Extract Company to form Chesebrough-Pond’s!

As late as 1987; the brand was acquired by Unilever, which continues to own and manufacture it today!

What is interesting is that Chesebrough was a fervent believer in the medicinal properties of his invention, leading to several famous claims!

He reportedly ate a spoonful of his product every morning and attributed his longevity—he lived to the age of 96—to this practice!

During a severe bout of pleurisy in his later years, he had his body completely covered in his product and credited his recovery to the treatment.

To prove the product’s effectiveness to skeptics, he would publicly burn his skin with acid or fire and then apply his product to the wound to show its healing power!

Even now many use this for its healing and moisturising properties!

No household is complete without it and the trade name is as well known as Coke!

The German word for water is wasser and the Greek word for oil is elaion!

Did you get the name of the product now?

It is wasser plus elaion or VASELINE!

The one stop solution for everything from cuts to burns! Giving solution to many problems also was the role of many great leaders like MGR!

Now apply some Vaseline over your dry lips and sleep!

Subh ratri!

Many of you would have played Snakes and Ladders or as the Americans know it; Chutes and Ladders!

The worst is above 90 when you get a big Chute or Snake and you are almost back to the starting point!

It has been played all over the world since 1960s! While Indians have been playing the ‘original’ version for centuries!


Yes! You read that right!

That original game was called the Moksha Patam!

This is the ancient Indian precursor to the modern game of Snakes and Ladders and was a series of moral lesson disguised as a board game, teaching virtues (ladders) uplift you towards enlightenment (Moksha), while vices (snakes) lead to downfall, reflecting Hindu philosophy on karma and spiritual journey.

It was originally designed to illustrate concepts from the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita, helping players understand the consequences of their actions as they race to the top square, representing liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

Developed in ancient India, possibly around the 2nd century BC or later by saints like Sant Dnyaneshwar.

The game had deep spiritual meaning with a metaphor for life, where good deeds (ladders) and bad deeds (snakes) influence one’s spiritual progress!

The Moksha Patam features a grid board with ladders (virtues like generosity, faith) and snakes (vices like lust, anger).

Of course the final goal was to reach the final square, symbolizing Moksha or  (liberation).

The game powerfully illustrates that virtuous actions lead to spiritual ascent, while vices lead to moral descent, guiding players on their path to self-realization.

The modern version of course is simply fun!

The game was brought to the United Kingdom in the 1890s by colonial rulers and introduced as “Snakes and Ladders”, where the moral and religious aspects were diminished and the number of snakes and ladders were equalized.

It was later introduced in the United States by Milton Bradley in 1943 as Chutes and Ladders, which used a playground theme instead of snakes!

Now that is history! You must look into the future but do remember your history! A brief lesson in history that was! A brief history of time though was the classic novel written by the one with a sharp mind; Stephen Hawking!

Now you may be old to play snakes and ladders; you are never old to play Moksha Patam in real life! Think about it!

Shubh Ratri!

A Brief History of Intelligence by Max S Bennet is an interesting novel about, well Intelligence! Not necessarily human!

When you see the raw feeling then it is really simple!

Let me explain (Or try to at least!)

Why does a hungry person steal? Duh! Because he or she is hungry!

So whether or not anyone would steal is a simple matter of proportion!

If one person is very hungry and the risk of getting caught is medium to high then he or she would still steal! He or she would anyway steal if he or she is hungry and the risk of getting caught is very less! In fact he or she may steal even if he or she is not hungry if the risk of getting caught is less or nil!

If the risk of getting caught is high and the hunger or motivation is less then he or she will not steal!

This is only one simple example!

This is true even in the case of an investment!

If the risk is low then you or anyone would invest provided he or she had enough money! If the risk is high and the money is low or not there then no one would invest!

Most confusion happens only in the middle ground!

Risk is moderate and so is the money! Then you may have some variations though most of the time it is static in that case! Like your hunger is mild and risk to getting caught is very much present though just moderate; you will not steal in most cases!

This is the attitude of the most intelligent species in the universe!

It is always a matter of risk versus benefit!

Now let me tell you about the Nematode! It is a worm with a single opening for both food and well, excreta! The brain is just as small!

It does not have eyes or ears!

If you place a nematode in a dish with food on one side then it will slowly wriggle towards it! But if you place it along with copper which it does not like or is bad for it then it will not go towards it!

Now in the scenario of the human and food! If you place both food and copper together just imagine what it would do? Copper here is akin to the risk of getting caught!

The result is the same! If the worm is starving then even if the copper is high, it will still go for the food! If the worm is well fed then it will not! Only variation is when it is moderately fed and the copper levels are medium!

Then the simplest creature with a rudimentary brain does what every human would do!

Risk versus benefit analysis!

So the next time you feel proud writing the pros and cons list! Just know that even a nematode does that!

Then again an average nematode may not go to the space! That only some special talented humans can do like Rakesh Sharma!

Now understand the pros of sleeping on time and do!

Shubh ratri!

The seven habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey talks about one of the most effective way of doing a job or completing a work!

The best thing to do is to tabulate the work!

Now you can do this mentally or physically! But that is only the first part!

Or if you have a paucity of time and patience then you can divide the work into major, medium and small or minor task!

After that you can simply follow the 1-3-5 rule!

This is a new trend which of course is a remix of several old trends but then if it works do not disturb the system!

So the 1-3-5 Rule is a productivity method for creating a balanced daily to-do list!

Everyday you have to do this task; One major, 3 medium and at least 5 small!

By doing this you prevent overwhelming of tasks by focusing on manageable chunks and ensuring progress on high-impact items.

It provides structure, reduces procrastination by tackling the biggest item first and offers flexibility by mixing quick wins with larger goals, applicable for freelancers, students, and professionals alike!

The first step of course is to identify you task! You can either use the Stephen Covey table of just a to do list!

Then zoom in on the one big task! This is a high-priority, time-consuming, or mentally demanding item (e.g., finish a project report).

Then find three important but lesser critical tasks and complete them!

Finally the five small tasks would then be easy quick wins (e.g., reply to emails, tidy desk, make a quick call!)

It is similar to answering questions on a paper! You must tackle the questions with the highest marks first! Once that is done you can do your own assessment and carry on! You can actually finish the smaller tasks before medium or vice versa!

This is because you tackle the big task first when you have the most energy, then move to medium, and finish with small tasks for momentum!

The benefit is that the list breaks large lists into a manageable nine items.

It also builds momentum and the finishing of small tasks provides quick wins, while the big task gets the most important work done!

You can also mixes challenging tasks with easy ones to keep the day varied and productive!

There are couple of tips and some flexibility though!

You have to be realistic and adjust the scope if tasks change, but try not to exceed nine total items; you can add a couple of smaller items though!

Like mentioned above, even though finishing the big task gives a big momentum you can still adapt to your day! You might do your medium tasks before your big one, or shift priorities as needed!

Like in an examination as before; answer a couple of easy questions to get a confidence boost and momentum and jump on to the big Guns…I mean ones!

All said and done, anytime you see someone who is as busy as you but still manages to do so much work; there is always a measure of organization involved!


Great people are amazing time managers!
Great and incredibly amazing was also Swamy Vivekananda

Now plan your tasks for tomorrow and sleep!

Shub ratri…

The Bitcoin Standard is a NOVEL novel!

Mainly because it tells about the different currencies of the past and then some!
One interesting currency was a block of Limestone!

It was called the Limestone currency!

Limestone currency refers to Rai Stones (or fei), large, circular, carved limestone discs from the island of Yap in Micronesia, used for centuries as a unique form of money, valuable not just for size but also for their difficult history of quarrying in Palau and perilous sea transport!

The value of the stone was determined by size, quality, and the dangerous journey (storms, lives lost) involved in bringing them to Yap!

The way it was used is very interesting!

The stone would be placed in the middle of a street or wherever it was and it remained there! Only the ownership changed!

It was used for significant social transactions like marriages, inheritances, and payments, though smaller ones traded for goods!

The ownership only used to get transferred through community consensus and oral history, with stones sometimes staying in place for generations! One fine day a big guy would come and tell that the stone is his while the next day he would ‘give’ it to another for some other material or even as a ‘payment’ to marry his or her daughter! All the while the STONE would simply stay there without a care of the world! Only the ‘owner’ moved!

This is actually a powerful symbol of wealth, history, and cultural identity for the Yapese people!
The limestone currency demonstrates a sophisticated, non-centralized economic system!

In fact one of the ‘latest’ currencies to have a similar character is the Bitcoin!
You do not actually have the bitcoin when you ‘buy’ it! It stays there! All you have is ownership!

So for all the ‘modern’ tags to the coin, we are still using a system which is centuries old!

Centuries old are also the great amazing musical history of India! And also the musicians like santoor specialist
Shivkumar Sharma!

Now stop thinking about your immovable assets like limestone and sleep!

Shubh ratri!

The Glitch in the Glitz by Dr Subbroto Ghoshal

Book review

Fictional stories based on real life experiences of an HR professional and a close friend!

Since I know Subbu (I call him that!) for some time now, this was a mighty drift from his routine!
He has already written or rather sketched two book on cartoons based on his corporate and family life! They were very well received and pretty hilarious!

So a serious novel on corporate politics and some romance was a big change!

The book is a simple collection of short stories with his added ‘life’ inputs! Most stories are inspired by his own interactions while some are the stories he would have heard!

I could relate to all his stories since I was a part of that messy corporate world of office politics some eons back!

My personal favorite was the beautiful love in office story told in a very tactful way while am sure many would find the ‘Life in Africa’ story really surprising and even scary!

There is a sense of being too ‘personal’ in the CEO story which Subbu confirmed to be true! Then the story of that pseudo hard worker was so relatable since there is always one in every office!

The language is simple and straightforward without any complication and you can finish the short and really true to life story in a short time indeed!

By keeping many of the stories open ended Subbu is telling us that life just continues! Every other day only a chapter gets over!

Overall an amazing light read! Do check it out!

According to British bacteriologist Ernest Hanbury Hankin the rivers Ganga and Jamuna were found to have natural healing properties!

Of course when anyone else would have said this they would have been summarily rejected! But when a ‘Gora’ ‘angrez’ says it then the words get heavy!

Now now! Do not start jumping yet!

This was way back in 1896!

Ernest first observed in 1896 that the Ganges (Ganga) and Jumna rivers in India possessed a mysterious, heat-labile substance that killed cholera bacteria, linking this antibacterial property to local beliefs about the river’s healing powers!

He noted the water’s natural ability to destroy bacteria and noticed significantly fewer gastrointestinal infections, particularly cholera, in villages along the Ganges, despite common belief in the river’s sacred, self-purifying properties!

He of course scientifically confirmed that water from the Ganges and Jumna actively killed Vibrio cholerae (cholera bacteria).

His chief crucial finding was that this antibacterial activity was heat-labile (destroyed by boiling in open containers) but could pass through fine filters, suggesting a very small, non-bacterial agent!

This was not magic! But scientific! Enter a phenomenon later understood as the action of bacteriophages, which attack and lyse bacteria, leading to modern phage therapy!

Hankin’s work provided early evidence for bacteriophages, though he didn’t name them.

Years later, scientists like Félix d’Hérelle built on these findings, isolating and naming the “bacteriophage” (bacteria eater) and developing phage therapy, which is seeing renewed interest today due to antibiotic resistance!

In essence, Ernest Hankin’s pioneering bacteriological work on the Ganges river waters provided some of the first scientific clues to the existence and properties of bacteriophages, linking ancient beliefs with modern microbiology!

Which goes to prove that the ‘Magic’ of today is simply the undiscovered ‘science’ of tomorrow!

Of course it was magical watching Arun Govil as Bhagwan Ram in the serial Ramayan!

For now take some warm bacteria free water and sleep!

Shubh ratri!

This was the answer to one of the clues in the NYT crossword yesterday and since I did not know it; time for investigation!

Of course you may know different aspects of it and may have had similar ‘pranks’; this particular prank was very famous at a time apparently!

The answer was RICKROLL!

Do you know what that is?

The clue of course was the answer! A famous internet prank!

Have you head of this song called “Never Gonna Give You Up”? That was by Rick Astley. It is a pretty famous song and many would have heard of it.

Rickroll is thus a popular internet prank where someone is tricked into watching the music video for Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song!

Once clicked, the user is redirected to the Rick Astley music video instead of the expected content. This moment is known as being “Rickrolled”!

Of course beyond links, rickrolling has evolved to include QR codes, ASCII art, hidden lyrics in speeches, and live performances!

Then again it was not even the original! Rickrolling has actually come from Ducks!

“Duckrolling” was the original prank which originated on the imageboard 4chan as a variation of “duckrolling,” where users were tricked into clicking a link that showed an image of a duck on wheels!

The First Rickroll was in 2007! When on May 15, 2007, a 4chan user posted a link that was supposed to be a trailer for the highly anticipated game Grand Theft Auto IV, but it led to the Astley video!

The meme peaked in 2008 when it was used by the group Anonymous to protest the Church of Scientology and featured in YouTube’s April Fools’ Day prank!

The prank was so popular that Rick Astley himself participated in a “live” Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (2008) Rickroll by appearing on a float and lip-syncing to his song!

The official White House Twitter account rickrolled a user who complained about the entertainment value of their briefings!

Then the popular band Foo Fighters invited Rick Astley on stage during a festival in Japan to perform the song, effectively rickrolling the entire audience!

As recent as (2022/2025); pranks have used drones to form giant QR codes in the sky that lead to the video!

Now when I saw Rickroll you do not be a blank slate or wall! Wall reminds me of Rahul Dravid! A quick sketch on a hyper busy day!

Now ROLL over and sleep!

SHub Ratri!

Do you know Quitter’s day? Now do not ‘Quit’ reading this blog!

Today is the second Saturday of the new year! That is not the reason to celebrate but you just passed the second Friday of the new year!

Wait; do not celebrate yet!

Apparently most who start the new year with resolutions and plans in their minds; QUIT by the second Friday of the new year! This is why the second Friday of the year (January 9th in this case!) is known as the Quitter’s day!

If you had not made any resolutions (lazy you!) or if you are still keeping your resolutions then LUCKY you!

May be one resolution can be do LEARN more! Like what is the history of the Quitter’s day!

So Quitter’s Day is an unofficial holiday that marks the date when the majority of people are most likely to abandon their New Year’s resolutions.

Many fitness enthusiasts know the fitness app Strava! Most like me stick to dear old Health app of the iPhone!

So after analyzing over 800 million user activities, they identified a significant drop in commitment and activity patterns around the second Friday of January!

This research is also based on the famous 80 percent rule which can be applied to many things! In this case the research indicates that approximately 80% of people fail to stick to their New Year’s resolutions, with many giving up by this mid-January milestone!

Of course the common reason of quitting is the “resolution fatigue,”!

Also it is the setting of overly ambitious or vague goals, and a lack of a structured plan as primary reasons for the early decline in motivation! Some people also keep goals which are too high or need more consistency and grit which they actually lack in the first place!

Many organizations and wellness experts use Quitter’s Day as a “reset point” rather than a failure point! Meaning that the new year or the Quitter’s day are simply stumbling blocks! Not concrete failure; the war is still going on! This is just a small fight!

Of course we can make sure this does not happen by making sure that resolutions are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely!

It has also been suggested to not be robotic! Your body is not a machine! You cannot ‘measure’ your resolution by grades or points!
Now if your resolution was to lose weight then even if that has not happened your actual resolution should be to have a new outlook! Like it can be that your resolution can be; “I will be more careful or I will take care of my health and body”

You can build small habits one at a time rather than attempting a total lifestyle “factory reset”. This is the whole point of books such as THE ONE THING or ATOMIC HABITS! Small consistent achievable goals are better that one big huge difficult one! Remember that EMI at least in health is really good!

The best thing of course is to have a support system, such as a coach, a friend, or a community group, to remain committed when initial motivation fade!

Motivational also were K J YESUDAS’S songs especially during the Sabarimala season!

Choose your motivation so that you don’t be a part of Quitter’s day!

Shubh ratri!

If you know Ross from friends then you will know Unagi! But that was turned out to be joke! In general though being aware is an essential human as well as other living things’ trait.

We thus have a range of senses to be aware! That capability is called perception!

Now you know the five senses and then some nonsense but do you know other senses like Chemosensory and Magnetoreception? You will by the end of this blog!

Now everyone knows the five standard sensation like taste smell vision touch and hearing but there are apparently some special senses!

One of them is called the Spacial sense! This is  the ability to be aware of your relationships with the environment around you and with yourself. It is related to the haptic and kinesthetic perception.

Others include form, vestibular, thermal, kinesthetic and time which are special and self explanatory.

Now some more senses are theorized like

Chemosensory which is the ability to interpret chemical substances dissolved in saliva that translate into strong tastes. It is a modification of the taste sensation.
This may be why you have those who are expert ‘tasters’ and ‘chefs’ who can make out the subtle nuances in the taste and flavour of the food!

Then you have the latest entrant to make sense! It is of course been there for long; we have just got more information now!

Magnetoreception or magnetoception!

Magnetoreception is the remarkable biological sense allowing animals like birds, turtles, and foxes to detect Earth’s magnetic field for orientation, navigation, and mapping, acting as an internal compass, though the exact mechanisms are still under scientific investigation, with emerging evidence suggesting even subconscious human detection!

There are several proposed mechanisms;

One of them is the
Chemical or Radical Pair Mechanism which involves cryptochrome proteins in the eye, where magnetic fields influence the spin of electrons, creating a visual signal for birds, potentially appearing as light patterns.

Then you have the Magnetic Particles  or Magnetite which are tiny magnetic crystals within cells which can act as miniature compass needles, connecting the magnetic field to the nervous system, possibly in fish or birds’ beaks.

These are just not theories since many animals use it in their day to day life!

For birds this is essential for long-distance migration while sea turtles use this to guide hatchlings offshore and help adults navigate vast oceans.

Even the most important species in the world the Bees use it for navigation!

In animal it has been seen that foxes use it for hunting, while studies suggest dogs align with the field when defecating!

Some researcher also indicates subconscious human brain responses to magnetic fields, hinting at a dormant ability!

Humans also have deposits of ferric iron (magnetite) in their ethmoid bone! For years the role of sinuses especially the ethmoids which is a complex bone with porous nature; has been unclear! In fact it is a favourite bone of the Rhinologist!

Whether it is involved in Magnetoreception is a good future research! Of course digging into it too much may cause some headache!

Many senses are also activated when you sketch and most of the times they join together to give you some satisfaction or headache depending on the outcome!

That is the internal affair of the body! Then again if it is external affair; you have no one better than S Jaishankar!

Now give all your senses some well deserved rest!

Shubh ratri…