Sometimes I look at the online comic xkcd. It's quite nerdy, and sometimes the author crosses over from funny to informative. He posted a radiation dosage chart that I thought was interesting – given my own brush with radiation. It was particularly notable that, in terms of ionizing radiation (i.e. the kind that is associated with cell mutations and necrosis), a banana puts out more of that kind of radiation than a cellphone.
Apparently, a banana puts out about 0.1 µSv of ionizing radiation. If my math is correct, with my 3-monthly CT scans, I'm getting about 80,000 bananas' worth of radiation per year. I'm not sure what the dosage was of my radiation treatment, but at minimum it was the equivalent of about 30 full CT scans, which would amount to 210 mSv, or 4,200,000 bananas. Given I have a (mild) banana allergy, I think the radiation was a better deal.
Notes for Korean (finding meaning)
- 외방 = "upstate" – the parts of Korea outside of Seoul
- 버팀목 = one of those wooden supports attached to trees to hold them up or force them to grow in a certain direction
- 미륵 = Maitreya
- 돌무덤 = a cairn, a grave
- 육군 = land army (as opposed to navy)
- 해군 = navy
- 공군 = air force
- 중위 = army first lieutenant
- 대위 = army captain
- 대령 = army colonel
- -기는 하다 (긴 하다) = a "concessive" verb phrase ending, perhaps "… although …" or "… admittedly …"
[daily log: walking, 6km]