Latest news with #LisaHaney
Forbes
16-06-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Scientists Recreate 5000-Year-Old Blue Pigment
Ancient Egyptians used pigments to create dyes and paints, but the origin of one blue pigment was lost to time. This dye was regularly found on artefacts from ancient Egypt, and still used by the Romans. After that, though, it was gradually used less and less until nobody remembered how to make it. But now, researchers from Washington State University have recreated this blue pigment. Researchers Travis Olds and Lisa Haney from the Carnegie Museum examine an ancient sarcophagus that ... More was painted with Egyptian blue pigment. The researchers worked with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute. After studying the blue pigment on materials from museum collections, they made their own version of it with different recipes using silicon dioxide, copper, calcium, and sodium carbonate. They shared their recipes in a research paper last month. Egyptian blue is different from many other ancient pigments, because it wasn't a pigment found in nature. So rather than trying to find the plants or minerals that naturally produce this blue, the search was on for the lost recipe that would have created this bright blue. Everything the researchers tried would have to resemble methods that people would have access to 5000 years ago. So to heat the materials, they had to limit the temperature to about 1000 degrees Celsius (about 1800 degrees Fahrenheit). That sounds pretty hot already, but modern industrial furnaces can reach much higher temperatures. After doing a chemical analysis of the pigments they produced, the researchers compared this to samples they took from museum artefacts. For example, they measured the exact wavelengths of both visible and near-infrared light that are characteristic of the pigment. One thing they noticed was that there wasn't just one version of Egyptian blue. Often the pigment was mixed with other materials and just slightly different based on where or how it was made. 'You had some people who were making the pigment and then transporting it, and then the final use was somewhere else,' John McCloy, lead researcher on the study, told Washington State University. 'One of the things that we saw was that with just small differences in the process, you got very different results.' But often these differences didn't have a big effect on the color. Even with only 50% of the blue pigment, the color dominated over other materials in the mixture. The newly created pigments are now part of the collection at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But there could be more to these ancient blue pigments. 'It started out just as something that was fun to do because they asked us to produce some materials to put on display at the museum, but there's a lot of interest in the material,' said McCloy. Egyptian blue has caught the eye of people who are interested in using it for new technological applications, because the pigment produces near-infrared light that could be used for fingerprinting in forensic science or for security solutions such as counterfeit-proof inks. But even without these modern applications, the recreation of Egyptian blue gave an insight into a long lost recipe for the world's first synthetic pigment.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Where do Girl Scout Cookie funds really go? Earnings support projects, trips, and goals
It's the most delicious time of the year – Girl Scout Cookie Season. The Girl Scout Cookie Program launched in January across the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida Council, including Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto, and Charlotte counties, and ends on March 9. Girl Scout Cookie fans can still order in person or online by entering their zip code into the Cookie Finder at and support local Girl Scouts. When community members buy a box of Girl Scout Cookies, every penny stays local. Profits are divided between individual Girl Scouts and their council. The girls use their earnings to fund projects, trips, and personal goals, while the council reinvests in programming that creates camp adventures and dynamic activities for girls all year long. Troop 610 recently turned their profits from the fall "Mags and Munchies" program, the sister program to the Girl Scout Cookie Program, into a community project – creating 50 Birthday Cake Kits, each filled with the ingredients to bake a cake, balloons, candles, and a disposable pan, and a hand-colored birthday card. The kits were donated to schools, ensuring that every child, regardless of financial situation, could celebrate their birthday. 'They really enjoyed doing this, and I'm glad we were able to donate to their schools so it could hit closer to home for them,' said Lisa Haney, Troop 610's leader. Last year, a group of local Girl Scouts turned years of cookie sales into a Girl Scouts Destinations trip to London and Paris. The European adventure exemplifies the life-changing opportunities cookie funds can provide, empowering girls to explore the world and gain independence. The Girl Scout Cookie Program also is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. By participating, girls gain five essential skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. 'Our Girl Scouts learn so much through the Cookie Program. It's not just about selling cookies; it's about building confidence, learning life skills, and giving back to the community,' said Mary Anne Servian, CEO of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida. 'When you buy Girl Scout Cookies, you're supporting these incredible experiences and helping develop the leaders of tomorrow.' Girl Scouts across the Gulf Coast are still taking orders for the 2025 Girl Scout Cookie season. To find Cookies, visit Text 59618 to stay up to date on the latest Cookie news. For more information about Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida or how to join or support a troop, visit Submitted by Jessica Miano This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Did you buy Girl Scout Cookies? Here's where the money really goes
