Dear Ms. Bunn,
We would like your help in publicizing a new nonprofit organization that highlights the achievements of women who utilize wheelchairs in Connecticut . A committee formed during the summer of 2007, anticipating a contest that would be held in late winter 2008. In the meantime, the group had to start establishing a new nonprofit from the ground up. While a national competition honoring the achievements of wheelchair-bound women was founded in 1972, this year will be first that Connecticut women will have the official opportunity to take part. Recognizing the need for a well-spoken advocate, Ms. Wheelchair Connecticut strives to hold an annual contest, selecting an accomplished woman to represent the state at the U.S. level. This is, under no pretext, a beauty contest. Regardless of whether Ms. Wheelchair Connecticut wins the national title, her duties are numerous. Responsibilities include traveling extensively, networking with other wheelchair-bound individuals and various organizations, striving to end misconceptions about the disabled and promote awareness of architectural and attitudinal barriers within society. We are now seeking women across the state who are interested in becoming contestants, as well as volunteers and donors. If you could share the word about Ms. Wheelchair Connecticut with anyone who might be interested, we would be most appreciative! If you wish, we can email or mail a poster to hang in your office. For more information, go to www.mswheelchairct.org . Sincerely,Joanna MechlinskiSecretary/PR liaison
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Wasabi Fire Alarm for deaf in Japan
TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Wake up and smell the wasabi.
Japan has developed a smoke detector for deaf people that is based on the pungent smell of Japan's spicy green horseradish, an eye-watering condiment more typically found tucked under fish in a piece of sushi.
If it detects smoke, the alarm sprays out a synthesized wasabi smell that wakes up people who might have slept through a conventional fire alarm.
Assistant professor Makoto Imai from the Shiga University of Medical Science, who built the alarm in collaboration with Seems, a company that makes perfume, says the smoke detector may save lives among the hard of hearing.
"The proportion of the elderly among fire victims was nearly 50 percent. So, the staff at Seems ... thought that the decline of hearing ability may be one of the causes for delay in noticing and getting away when a fire breaks out," he told Reuters in an e-mail.
He said the Wasabi smoke detector was tested on 14 people, including four deaf people. Except for one person with a blocked nose, all woke up within two minutes of the smell reaching them.
Imai said trial production of the Wasabi smoke detector would be completed in a year and the product would be sold in shops within two years.
(Reporting by Sophie Hardach; Editing by Rodney Joyce)
Japan has developed a smoke detector for deaf people that is based on the pungent smell of Japan's spicy green horseradish, an eye-watering condiment more typically found tucked under fish in a piece of sushi.
If it detects smoke, the alarm sprays out a synthesized wasabi smell that wakes up people who might have slept through a conventional fire alarm.
Assistant professor Makoto Imai from the Shiga University of Medical Science, who built the alarm in collaboration with Seems, a company that makes perfume, says the smoke detector may save lives among the hard of hearing.
"The proportion of the elderly among fire victims was nearly 50 percent. So, the staff at Seems ... thought that the decline of hearing ability may be one of the causes for delay in noticing and getting away when a fire breaks out," he told Reuters in an e-mail.
He said the Wasabi smoke detector was tested on 14 people, including four deaf people. Except for one person with a blocked nose, all woke up within two minutes of the smell reaching them.
Imai said trial production of the Wasabi smoke detector would be completed in a year and the product would be sold in shops within two years.
(Reporting by Sophie Hardach; Editing by Rodney Joyce)
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