A sneeze, known technically as a sternutation, is a major deal for the body. The typical sneeze removes air from your body at speeds up to 100 mph (160 km/h), tremendous velocities that can cause serious injury if incorrectly stifled. That's why you should never try to stop a sneeze that is in progress. For example, do not hold your nose or block your mouth while sneezing. Doing so can cause serious injury. The force and velocity of the average sneeze, if prevented from ejection from the body, can eventually cause hearing loss and damage the blood vessels in your head, especially if you make a habit of stopping a sneeze when it's already begun. If you're around others, you risk spreading harmful bacteria when you let one (or two or three or maybe even four) out into the air. The "spray" you emit can reach up to 5 feet (1.5 m) away from you! That's a radius that encompasses a lot of people. So be careful! If you can, sneeze into a tissue and dispose of the tissue. If a tissue isn't available, sneeze into your sleeve. If you do end up sneezing into your hands, be sure to wash them afterward. Your hands touch doorknobs, your face, surfaces, and other people constantly. And, if you happen to be away from water, carry hand sanitizer to save the day. When you're in a group of people, you'll surely be given the evil eye if you wind up for a sneeze and deliver with flying success. You're spreading germs and disrupting the flow, so it's best to sneeze as discretely as possible. Sneezing into your elbow can diffuse the sound. If that's not an option, grab a tissue, tilt your head down, and sneeze as quietly as possible. If you have a broken rib, a sneeze can hurt very badly. Exhale as much air from your lungs as you can. This will reduce the amount of pressure placed on your ribs and weaken the sneeze greatly, and the pain will be less. Really, if anything in your core hurts, a sneeze can be the last thing you want to encounter. Take the precautions listed above, but concentrate on the exhale. With little air to expel, your insides won't lurch, preventing the sneeze from having a longer-lasting effect.

Summary: Know when not to stop a sneeze. Sneeze healthily. Sneeze politely. Sneeze safely.


The pitch of a theremin is controlled by creating a circuit between a variable oscillator and a reference oscillator, which should be available at specialty electronics stores as individual units. Each should be tuned to the same frequency, ideally in the middle of the low frequency radio range.  The pitch-reference oscillator should work around 172kHz, used in conjunction with a 10k potentiometer. The signal this oscillator creates should be fed into the mixer with screened cable. The pitch-variable oscillator should also work around 172khz, and will be affected by the stray capacitance of the reference unit. Potentiometers need to be wired into the circuit to make the relationship of your hand movement to the change in pitch more linear. Without them, the instrument's pitch be almost impossible to control, changing wildly with only a microscopic movement of the hand. Using screened cable, wire the circuit of the pitch control components into the antenna when you're finished. When playing the theremin, your hand changes the capacitance of the antenna, which will change the frequency of the variable oscillator. Essentially, you're sending the signal into the antenna to be manipulated manually. This should also be in the low frequency radio range and carefully tuned, operating somewhere in the neighborhood of 441kHz. This signal will be influenced directly by the volume antenna, manipulating it by hand. A 10k trim potentiometer needs to be installed to enable the operator to tune the theremin appropriately.  Send the output of this variable oscillator into a volume resonant circuit. The output will be a DC voltage that varies according to the output of the variable oscillator.  Tuned correctly, the oscillator frequency will match the tuning of the volume-resonant circuit as the operator's hand approaches the antenna, causing the signal to cut off gradually. In other words, the closer the hand to the antenna, the quieter the sound. The purpose of the mixer is to compare the frequency of the variable oscillator with the reference frequency. The output will be an audio signal between 20Hz and 20kHz. Assembling the mixer is the simplest step in the process. Fed with two slightly different frequencies from the oscillators, the mixer will produce an output with a complex waveform, giving it the distinctive warble we associate with the sci-fi sound of the theremin. The output actually contains two distinct frequencies, which require the need of a low pass filter, that is two 0.0047uF capacitors and a 1k resistor, used to extract the output and boost it into a listenable range. Route the outputs of the mixer and the volume resonant circuit into a voltage-controlled amplifier. The voltage from the volume resonant circuit changes the amplitude of the audio signal from the mixer, helping to boost the sound and control the volume of the instrument.

Summary: Connect the pitch control. Connect the variable oscillator to the pitch antenna. Connect a variable oscillator to the volume antenna. Feed the output of each oscillator into a mixer. Route the signal from the mixer into an amplifier.


Lavender is a scientifically proven natural calming fragrance and nighttime sprays are available at your local health store. Just spray a little on your pillow and find yourself floating off to sleep. Chamomile is an excellent calming tea that for some is a powerful, all natural sleep-aid. It is most potent if you can find it in bulk, organic form but even tea bags will help ease you into a fitful sleep. A hormone that controls sleep, melatonin is a safe, all natural sleep aid that works wonders. Take a low dose, approximately .3-.5mg, before bed and relax. Another all natural sleep remedy, numerous studies have found that valerian improves every facet of sleep including the ability to fall asleep. About 200-800mg before bed should do the trick. A small percentage of people, roughly 10%, get the reverse effect from valerian, meaning it gives them energy. Try this one at home ahead of time to make sure it has the right effect on you.

Summary: Try lavender. Drink chamomile tea. Bring some melatonin. Take valerian root.


A fraction is written correctly when there is no radical in the denominator. If the denominator contains a square root or other radical, you must multiply both the top and bottom by a number that can get rid of that radical. Note that the numerator can contain a radical. Don't worry about the numerator.   Failed to parse (syntax error): {\displaystyle \frac{7\sqrt{3}}{2\sqrt{7}}  We can see that there is a 7{\displaystyle {\sqrt {7}}} in the denominator. A fraction with a monomial term in the denominator is the easiest to rationalize. Both the top and bottom of the fraction must be multiplied by the same term, because what you are really doing is multiplying by 1. 7327⋅77{\displaystyle {\frac {7{\sqrt {3}}}{2{\sqrt {7}}}}\cdot {\frac {\sqrt {7}}{\sqrt {7}}}}
Summary: Examine the fraction. Multiply the numerator and denominator by the radical in the denominator.