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Have You Seen This? Oompa loompa doompety d'oh! Chocolate spilled all over this road
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Twelve tons of chocolate spilled on a highway in Poland Wednesday. A very sticky traffic jam ensued. Willy Wonka was nowhere to be found. - photo by Mary Dalrymple
Mary Dalrymple
KSL.com
Published: May 11, 2018, 3:59 PM
THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Remember that part in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when chocolate spills all over a highway and Augustus Gloop tries to lick it up while the Oompa Loompas roll their eyes and clear off the road?

Oh, wait. Thats not Willy Wonka. Its real life. Sort of.

Wednesday, a truck carrying 12 tons of chocolate crashed on a highway in Poland. As the truck tipped over, thick, gooey chocolate spilled out and covered the road. Obviously, Augustus Gloop was not really around, and there were no Oompa Loompas (that we can verify), but the scene still feels like it could come straight out of a Roald Dahl novel.

The spill covered all four lanes of the highway and caused traffic to back up on both sides of the spill, but the driver of the truck only received minor injuries, according to The New York Times. This video from ABC News Australia shows a bit of the cleanup, but authorities said it took several hours before the roads were clear. Bogdan Kowalski, a firefighter at the scene, told ABC News that chocolate is actually harder to clean up than oil.

Its a time-consuming task, Kowalski said. Layers of chocolate can only be removed from the tarmac with warm pressure water.

I guess the cleanup crew probably wouldve been pretty grateful for the help of some magical Oompa Loompas after all. Enjoy the video and be glad youre not sitting behind a sticky chocolate traffic jam right now. Oh, and Im sorry if this activated your sweet tooth and now you cant stop craving chocolate.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.