ratio of word probabilities predicted from brain for pliers and lettuce

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pliers

lettuce

top 10 words in brain distribution (in article):
steel head cut handle form metal tool design hand edge
top 10 words in brain distribution (in article):
species century form type water plant food produce cover world
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article):
iron blade cell type hair size shape produce plant body
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article):
wear horse bird woman egg clothe saddle time fish dress
times more probable under pliers 30 20 10 6 4 2.5 1.25 1 1.25 2.5 4 6 10 20 30 times more probable under lettuce
(words not in the model)
History. Pliers in the general sense are an ancient and simple invention, no singular point in history or singular inventor can be credited. Early metal working processes from several millennia BC would have required plier-like devices to handle hot materials in the process of smithing or casting. Development from wooden to bronze pliers would have probably happened sometime prior to 3000 BC. Among the oldest illustrations of pliers are those showing the Greek god Hephaestus in his smithy. Today, pliers intended principally to be used for safely handling hot objects are usually called tongs. The number of different designs of pliers grew with the invention of the different objects which they were used to handle: horse shoes, fasteners, wire, pipes, electrical and electronic components. Design. The basic design of pliers has changed little since their origins, with the pair of "handles", the "pivot" (often formed by a rivet), and the "head" section with the gripping jaws or cutting edges forming the three elements. In distinction to a pair of scissors or shears, the plier's jaws always meet each other at one pivot angle. Pliers are an instrument that convert a power grip—the curling of the fingers into the palm of the hand—into a precision grip, directing the power of the hand's grip in a precise fashion on to the objects to be gripped. The handles are long relative to the shorter nose of the pliers. The two arms thus act as first class levers with a mechanical advantage, increasing the force applied by the hand's grip and concentrating it on the work piece. The materials used to make pliers consist mainly of steel alloys with additives such as vanadium or chromium, to improve alloy strength and prevent corrosion. Often pliers have insulated grips to ensure better handling and prevent electrical conductivity. In some lines of fine work (such as jewellery or musical instrument repair), some specialised pliers feature a layer of comparatively soft metal (such as brass) over the two plates of the head of the pliers to reduce pressure placed on some fine tools or materials. Making entire pliers out of softer metals would be impractical, reducing the strength required to break or bend them. Lettuce'" ("Lactuca sativa") is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. In many countries, it is typically eaten cold, raw, in salads, hamburgers, tacos, and in many other dishes. In some places, including China, lettuce is typically eaten cooked and use of the stem is as important as use of the leaf. Both the English name and the Latin name of the genus are ultimately derived from "lac", the Latin word for “milk”, referring to the plant’s milky juice. Mild in flavour, it has been described over the centuries as a cooling counterbalance to other ingredients in a salad. In his humorous essay "100 Things I chew", filmmaker John Waters refers to iceberg lettuce as "the polyester of greens". Description. The lettuce plant has a short stem initially (a rosette growth habit), but when it blooms, the stem lengthens, branches, and produces many flower heads that look like those of dandelions, but smaller. This is referred to as bolting. When grown to eat, lettuce is harvested before it bolts. Lettuce is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera. The largest lettuce head, of the Salad Bowl cultivar, weighed 11 kg (25 lb) grown by Colin Bowcock of Willaston, England, in 1974. Cultivation. Lettuce is grown commercially worldwide, hardy to Zone 6, requiring light, sandy, humus rich, moist soil. It dislikes dry conditions and can cause plants to bolt (go to seed). Early and late sowing in sunny positions or summer crops in shade. It is considered fairly easy to grow and a suitable crop for beginners. "Planting Depth:" Some resources suggest planting seeds by covering lightly with soil while others suggest a depth of 1 4 to 1 2 inch "Planting Spacing:" Thin seedlings to 10 cm (4 in) apart for leaf lettuce [1 sq. m (9 sq ft)] and 6 to 8 inches apart for Cos or Butterhead (4 sq ft 1 sq ft), transplant Crisphead seedlings 10 to 12 inches apart in the row (1 sq ft). "Row Spacing:" 12 18 inches apart History. The earliest depiction of lettuce is in the carvings at the temple of Senusret I at Karnak, where he offers milk to the god Min, to whom the lettuces was sacred. Lettuce was considered an aphrodisiac food in Ancient Egypt, and appears as such in "The Contendings of Horus and Seth". Later, Ancient Greek physicians believed lettuce could act as a sleep-inducing agent. The Romans cultivated it, and it eventually made its way to France cultivated of the Papal Court at Avignon. Christopher Columbus introduced lettuce to the new world. Cultivars. There are six commonly recognised Cultivar Groups of lettuce which are ordered here by head formation and leaf structure; there are hundreds of cultivars of lettuce selected for leaf shape and colour, as well as extended field and shelf life, within each of these Cultivar Groups: Some lettuces (especially iceberg) have been specifically bred to remove the bitterness from their leaves. These lettuces have a high water content with very little nutrient value. The more bitter lettuces and the ones with pigmented leaves contain antioxidants. Breeding. "L. sativa" can easily be bred with closely related species in "Lactuca" such as "L. serriola", "L. saligna", and "L. virosa", and breeding programs for cultivated lettuce have included those species to broaden the available gene pool. Starting in the 1990s, such programs began to include more distantly related species such as "L. tatarica". Seed Saving. Inbreeding plant, flowers form in heads of 10-25 individual florets of perfect flowers. Considered suitable for seed-saving beginners Production. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that world production of lettuce and chicory for calendar year 2007 was 23.55 million tons, primarily coming from China(51%), United States(22%) and Spain(5%). Nutrition. Lettuce is a fat free, low calorie food. It is a valuable source of vitamin A and folic acid. Lactucarium (or “Lettuce Opium”) is a mild opiate-like substance that is contained in all types of lettuce. Both the Romans and Egyptians took advantage of this property eating lettuce at the end of a meal to induce sleep. Religious restrictions. The Yazidi of northern Iraq consider eating lettuce taboo.