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The simple scarf has a remarkable history that many people may not be aware of. The very first uses of scarves are unclear with historians and archaeologists differing in their assessment of the very first use of scarves.

Archaeologists believe that the first use of scarves (silk or otherwise) as an adornment was about 2000 years ago. In 1974 there was a discovery of a huge tomb dating back to ancient China about 260BC. This tomb held more than 7000 Chinese warrior figurines who had pieces of cloth wrapped around their necks.

May historians believe china may well have been the birthplace of the "scarf" but a few centuries later. Around 230BC the Chinese Emperor Cheng used pieces of cloth wrapped around the necks of his warriors to designate rank. His "officer" warriors wore silk scarves and the ordinary rank warriors were issued with cotton scarves.

Ancient Egyptians used scarves as an indication of social status and authority. Ancient drawings show even Queen Nefertiti wearing a scarf under her conically shaped headdress - ancient writings of the time seemed to indicate that the Queen's scarves were made from silk.

The Roman Empire furthered the tradition of silk scarves which they often wore as a sign of social status either around their necks or their waists. In ancient Rome they used pieces of cloth to clean their faces after exercise and it soon became an essential accessory. These scarves were either tied around their belts or simply hung over their shoulders. The higher social standing Romans preferring silk for their scarves.

Can you picture the scenes on the day Julius Caesar was assassinated by the Roman senators - they were all probably wearing togas and silk scarves. Even Emperor Nero insisted on wearing scarves and he was probably adorned with his favorite silk piece as he watched Rome burn to the ground.

As early as the 17th century Croatian soldiers and mercenaries rampaging through Europe wore silk scarves to signify their rank.

Around about the same time there are stories about Napoleon Bonaparte being obsessed with Indian silk scarves and the famous composer, Beethoven who would not consider performing without having his clothing adorned with one of his silk scarves.

By the late 17th century when the Croatian army arrived in Paris as part of their numerous victory celebrations, their soldiers wore scarves as a flamboyant accessory and king Louis 14th was immediately smitten with this type of accessory. He is reported to have created a special royal court position responsible solely for the acquisition and care of the King's Royal silk scarves.

During the French revolution of the 18th century massive scarves called "incroyables" were all the rage and their very size required special training in order to master the skill of tying and arranging these huge pieces of fabric.

One truly ironic chapter in the history of silk scarves involved the Emperor of Russia, Pavel the 1st. He disliked scarves so intensely that he had forbidden them to be worn by anyone in the Russian army. What is fascinating is that Emperor Pavel the 1st was assassinated by being strangled with a forbidden Russian army officer silk scarf!

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the popularity of silk scarves grew rapidly and not just for the privileged higher class. Today in the early 21st century silk scarves are not only fashionable but also one of the most versatile and enduring clothing accessories for men and women of all ages.

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Gas Additives

If an Electric Car is on your, to-get list, but you can't get it yet... try to save gas.



One of the most popular types of gas saving devices are oil and gas
additives. Chances are you have seen many of them advertised in
magazines and you can find them on the shelves of the stores you
frequent. If you haven’t noticed them before you should take
a look for them.

One thing you will notice is that they all have claims that they can
provide you with better gas mileage than you get right now. Some of
them claim to be FDA approved and such but that isn’t the
case. It does make you wonder though why they are able to place such items on the shelves when the FDA denies approving such products.

Some of these are products you pour into your gas tank when you fuel up at the pump. You simply put the contents into your tank first and then continue to fuel up as you normally would. Since it does take up some room it will reduce the amount of gas you have to put into it but not improve your overall miles per gallon that you will burn while operating your vehicle.

There are a variety of ingredients added to your gas when you pour such an additive into your gas tank. They include tin, magnesium, and platinum which these marketers will tell you is good for removing compounds that settle into the bottom of your gas tank.

Never use a fuel additive that contains acetone as it can damage plastic parts in your fuel system by dissolving them. Some individuals claim that a small amount of acetone won’t harm your fuel
system but it can be hard to gauge when you have gone over that amount. Also, it really hasn’t been proven to help cut back on the cost of gas so that is quite a risk to be taking.

In general, these additive products won’t harm your vehicle but generally aren’t necessary to add. Such gas saving products are marketed in a way to give you the impression that you are
getting something your gas tank needs to be more efficient.

That is the key selling point and many consumers take the bait. They go out and buy several bottles of this additive and keep it in their vehicle. Each time they approach the pump to fill up they dump a bottle of it in there thinking they are doing the right thing. However, doing
so really isn’t necessary.

This is because gasoline has ingredients in it that will naturally do the same thing without you adding anything. Even though these fuel additives are very reasonably priced they still seem to be a waste of money as they haven’t been proven to be effective. The gas you have to pay for to move your vehicle is already taking care of the same concerns so why pay for something you don’t need?

Those that are offered for the oil generally come already mixed in the oil for your car. You just add it like you would any other brand or type of oil. It is important that you always use the right grade of motor oil in order to get the most fuel mileage from your vehicle. You can find this information in your owners’ manual as well as on the internet.

The understanding of gas savings behind these oils is that the lower velocity that is present the less friction will be created. However, you can really do severe damage to your vehicle if you are using something other than what it requires. You may end up needing to replace your entire engine before it is all said and done.

Some testing has shown changing the velocity of the oil doesn’t seem to affect the operations of certain vehicles. As a consumer though you have to ask yourself if you are willing to take the chance that such a product may damage your vehicle. Most people will agree it isn’t something they want to risk being on the losing side of.

There doesn’t seem to be a good reason to take that risk either. There hasn’t been any substantial evidence to suggest oil additives are going to increase your gas mileage. Yet these are
very popular products that people continue to buy and place into their vehicle.

Oil and gas additives aren’t very expensive and you can generally buy them at any location that sales automotive products. Most full stores offer oil, filters, and these various additives so you can get all the supplies you need for the maintenance of your vehicle at one time.

You may be tempted to buy such products that you see on the shelves while you are buying the other items you need. However, you need to be careful about what you put into your vehicle. It could end up doing more damage than good. You can read reviews about specific products out
there online so it is a good idea to do so before you go ahead and purchase any of them.

It could be time to look into an Electric Car!

Cut your gas costs to practically nothing

Want to cut your gas costs to practically nothing, then this will be the most important message you ever read. You're about to discover exactly how to convert your car into a high tech electric car -- and it doesn't matter what kind of car you currently drive, or how much experience you have with mechanics.

Sound too good to be true? Well, here are the facts (and keep reading to discover WHY this works so well)...

• With an electric car, you can completely eliminate gas costs;

• An electric car has far lower emissions than regular gasoline cars, and entitles you to IRS refunds;

• You can convert your car into an electric car for just a few hundred dollars

Since you're here now, you've probably already heard about electric cars. You may have heard that it costs somewhere between $8,000 to $12,000 to convert your vehicle into an electric car. With our new methods adapted from years of research and hard work, we can show you how to do an EV conversion for just a few hundred bucks.

The TRUTH About Electric Cars

Electric cars are being utilized all over the world (see this wikipedia article). They are a VERY powerful alternative to regular gasoline-guzzling cars, and in 1996, General Motors made a few Electric cars of their own (the EV1)... It was never publically available for sale -- only a few hundred people ever got to drive them.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of consumers had never heard of the electric car at the time. Oil companies supported efforts to kill the ZEV mandate (a mandate that would allow electric cars to be produced mainstream), as did large car companies. In 2006, a documentary "who killed the electric car" was released, which is well worth watching.

How Electric Cars Can Benefit YOU

Experts estimate that the world's oil supply could be depleted in the next 20 years! This is going to send gas prices skyrocketing, up to a potential $8/gallon. Moreover... global warming is a massive problem, and it isn't going away anytime soon. Everytime you drive your regular car, you are hurting the environment (not to mention supporting massive, money-hungry oil companies)...

With oil companies making billions, the planet getting in worse shape every year and gas prices skyrocketing, you need to make a choice. Oil companies, together with major car companies, are only interested in safeguarding their profits and making money. They may have prevented the public release of the EV1... but there is nothing stopping you from saying NO to these money hungry corporations and building your own electric car.

The good news is that anyone can do this. In fact, recently we had a mother of 4 buy our guide, and convert the family car to run on electricity (and she had no mechanical knowledge whatsoever). If she can do it -- so can you.