Michael Phelps’ first gold medal of the Rio Olympic Games was momentarily overshadowed by widespread interest in the red circles across his back and shoulders.
While the guesses as to their origin offered on social media ranged from crop circles to tattoos to a symptom of the Zika virus, the real answer is they are the result of “cupping” therapy — a suction-based massage popular in the US Olympic team.
In the ancient form of the therapy, believed to originate in China or Egypt, the air inside the cup is heated before being placed on the skin, creating suction in that cupped area. The modern form of the therapy, and the one that Phelps has been photographed receiving, uses cups attached to suction pumps.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
The cup stays in place for between five and 15 minutes and is thought to draw blood to the treated area, allowing overworked muscles to heal more quickly, although there is some doubt about the efficacy of the treatment.
(Guardian)
泳將麥可菲爾普斯在里約奧運得到首面金牌的光芒,一度不敵他的背部和肩膀上的紅色圓形印記所引發的關注。
社群媒體上對於那些印記起因的猜測五花八門,有人說他們像神秘的麥田圈、刺青,或茲卡病毒的病徵。但答案卻是「拔罐」療法的結果!而這種以抽吸為主的按摩法,在美國奧運代表隊大受歡迎。
這種古老的治療形式,據說是源自於中國或埃及,先將罐中的空氣加熱後,再將罐子放置於皮膚上,便能在該區域產生吸力。現代版本的療法,就像菲爾普斯被拍攝到的那樣,則是將罐子連接到抽吸的幫浦。
雖然此一療法的功效仍有些疑慮,將罐子放置於患處約五至十五分鐘,據說可以促進體內血液流動至該處,讓過度疲勞的肌肉能迅速恢復健康。(台北時報張聖恩編譯)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)