INCREDIBLE FACTS.com

Even an Ancient Egyptian Mummy needs a passport!

incredible — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:11:04 +0000

…AND DID YOU PACK YOUR CASE YOURSELF, SIR?

The ancient Egyptian mummy of famous King Rameses the Great, or Rameses II as he is more commonly known had his own real-life passport! On the passport it listed his occupation as “King (deceased)”!

In 1974, the mummy had to be flown from the Cairo Museum to Paris where experts could examine it’s rapidly deteriorating condition. Scientific analysis in Paris revealed a fungal infection, for which the ancient cadaver was treated. The examination also revealed old battle wounds and bone fractures in addition to the Pharaoh’s poor circulation and arthritis.

The king was an incredible 90 years old when he died, after a rule of 67 years – at a time when the life expectancy was only a few decades. He was also taller than average, about 6 feet tall in comparison to the average Egyptian at just over 5 feet.

By the time of his death, Ramesses was suffering from severe dental problems and was plagued by arthritis and hardening of the arteries. When he finally died, he was about 90 years old. He had outlived many of his wives and children and left great memorials all over Egypt, especially to his beloved first queen Nefertari. Nine more pharaohs would take the name Ramesses in his honour, but few ever equalled his greatness. Nearly all of his subjects had been born during his reign and thought the world might end without him.

Ramesses II did become the legendary figure he so desperately wanted to be, but this was not enough to protect Egypt. New enemies were attacking the empire which also suffered internal problems and it could not last. Less than 150 years after Ramesses died, the Egyptian empire fell, his descendants lost their power and the New Kingdom came to an end.

wikipedia

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Think you know about “Robbie Burns”? Er, who’s that?

incredible — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:41:21 +0000

The famous Scottish bard, the Ayrshire ploughman, the people’s poet – Robert Burns was called many things – but was not known by the contraction, “Robbie” in his lifetime. Nor Rabbie. He was known as Robert, or Rob; and he refers to himself as Rantin’ Robin in a poem, but Robbie was a later, sentimental invention.

The great Romantic poet died aged just 37 from a complication of dental surgery resulting in blood poisoning and aggravation of his long-standing rheumatic heart condition. The image of the alcoholic philanderer was wide of the mark. Like many a man of the time, and since, Rob enjoyed life’s pleasures, but was no brute. The Edinburgh literati worked to sentimentalise Burns during his life and after his death, dismissing his education by calling him a “heaven-taught ploughman”. The truth is that Burns, while not of aristocratic birth, was certainly schooled and had a firm grasp of literature and classics.

Despite his tragically short life, Burns has had arguably more worldwide influence than any other poet. His themes of freedom, fraternity and love, being masterfully presented, have won him admirers in every country. When asked to say which lyric or verse was the greatest influence on his own work, Bob Dylan chose “My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose,” by Burns.

Burns night is the celebration of his life and work, marked each 25th of January on the poet’s birthday. Burns suppers are held round the world, with readings and songs and of course the famous haggis, tatties and neeps.

In 2009, in a poll by Scottish Television, Robert Burns was voted by his own countrymen as the Greatest Ever Scot, narrowly beating William Wallace into second place.

More iformation on wikipedia

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The Antikythera – a 2000 year old computer!

incredible — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 09:17:04 +0000

From second-century BC Greece, the Antikythera is a mechanical computer that, in terms of complexity, was 1,500 years ahead of it’s time!

It is a shock to discover that the ancients had the abilty to not only design a device of this complexity, but that they had the metallurgucal precision to create it.

Discovered in a wreck in 1900, the device was encrusted with corrosion and it’s true purpose remained unknown until it fell apart some days later, revealing large gears and small cogs and engraved writing in ancient Greek. Advanced imaging has enabled researchers to reconstruct the workings of the Antikythera, showing it could compute and predict astronomical events, including lunar and solar eclipses and the motion of the moon in the sky. The number of teeth on the gears suggested the device followed the 235-month Metonic cycle, commonly used to predict eclipses in the ancient world.

Sources:

Scientific American

io9.com

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Christmas trees used to be hung upside down!

incredible — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:18:30 +0000

Best available evidence reveals that Christmas trees were originally hung upside down from ceilings, rather than sitting the right way up in tubs.
The Christmas tree originated in pagan mid-winter festival symbology, with sacred ash and oak branches being introduced to the hearthside. When Christianity came along, the symbol was adapted to suit the new religion. The triangular form of the pine and fir trees became more popular as a representation of the Christian trinity. However the upside-down tradition continued at least as far as the 12th Century.

The baubles on our trees also originate in pagan times, as fruit was used to decorate the trees. Electric lights, however, didn’t become popular until the 20th Century!

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Heartburn makes hairy babies!

incredible — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:49:53 +0000

Researchers from John Hopkins university studying 64 pregnant women in Baltimore, found that 23 of the 28 who suffered heartburn gave birth to hirsute newborns.

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Blue Moon – 31st December 2009

incredible — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:12:45 +0000

This month is a blue moon month!

Commonly speaking, we call a moon ‘blue’ when there are two full moons in the same calendar month. This happens every 2.8 years.

An alternative definition declares a moon to be blue when it is the fourth full moon of a season, marked by equinoxes. This definition was quoted in the “Maine Farmers Almanac” in the 1930’s.

This month there is a full moon on 1st December and on 31st December. So it will be a blue moon on new year’s eve (hogmanay).

The next blue moon when there are two full moons in one month will be in August 2012.

By the “four in one season” (Maine) reckoning, the next blue moon will occur in November 2010.

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The relative cost of war – sad and astounding.

incredible — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:25:07 +0000

David McCandless (Information Is Beautiful .net) prepares interesting diagrams to present information and statistics in an accessible way. This one really brings home the cost of the Iraq war when a meaningless figure merely bamboozles the brain.

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Man awake during 23 year coma – or was he?

incredible — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:11:46 +0000

As widely reported this week in the Daily Mail, abc , msn and other news media, a man in Belgium who was diagnosed with persistent vegetative state 23 years ago after a car crash, was actually consciously aware the whole time!
Incredible as this may be, what might be almost as incredible if found to be true, is the suggestion that the miracle reassessment which appears to have liberated Rom Houben is itself a cruel hoax, or at best self-deluded wishful thinking by the family and medics of the patient.

Paranormal debunker, James Randi and others have dismissed the communication methods apparently used by Mr Houben – Facilitated Communication – whereby another person ‘helps’ type messages on the patient’s behalf, as a discredited fake.

Whatever the truth, we find the story incredible and also incredibly sad. What may be worse is the suggestion that Mr Houben may actually be aware but still trapped in the prison of his own body and unable to communicate, watching others use his hand to type their own messages on his behalf.

If we find out any more on this, we will update this article to let you know.

Quotes from Yahoo article:

While a 23-year error is highly unusual, the wrong diagnosis of patients with consciousness disorders is far too common, according to the study, led by Steven Laureys of Belgium’s Coma Science Group……

Over the years, Houben’s skeptical mother took him to the United States five times for tests. More searching got her in touch with Laureys, who put Houben through a PET scan.

“We saw his brain was almost normal,” said neuropsychologist Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, who has worked with Houben for three years.

The family and doctors then began trying to establish communication. A breakthrough came when he was able to indicate yes or no by slightly moving his foot to push a computer device placed there by Laureys’ team. Then came the spelling of words using the touchscreen.

Houben’s condition has since been diagnosed as a form of “locked-in syndrome,” in which people are unable to speak or move but can think and reason…..

With so much to say after suffering for so long in silence, Houben has started writing a book.

“He lives from day to day,” his 73-year-old mother said. “He can be funny and happy,” but is also given to black humor.

Recently he went to his father’s grave for the planting of a tree.

“A letter he wrote was lowered into the grave through a tube,” his mother said. “He closed his eyes for half an hour, because he cannot cry.”

There is little hope that Houben’s physical condition will get better, but his mother said she refuses to give up: “We continue to search and search. For 26 years already.”

Undoubtedly there are genuine cases of locked in syndrome and mediated communication, as described in a BBC article. Whatever the truth, miracle revelation and release from silence; cruel hoax; terrible abuse of power; or simple clutching at straws, we hope this unfortunate man and his family find some peace from their suffering soon.

sources:

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Hallowe’en is 31st October, right? Well, think again…

incrediblefacts — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:12:14 +0000

We all know Christmas is on 25th December, and Bonfire Night is remembered on the 5th November, and Hallowe’en is on 31st October, and….wait a minute…in the town of Kilmarnock in Scotland, the town where Burns’ poems were first published, the home of Johnnie Walker whisky, they don’t believe in following the crowd. If a custom adhered to by the rest of the world isn’t to their taste, they just change it to suit themselves!
The rest of the world celebrates Hallowe’en on 31st October every year, but in Kilmarnock, the annual festival of freakish frolics is a moveable feast.
Rather than stick to this one simple date, the whole town celebrates Hallowe’en on the LAST FRIDAY in October! No matter which date this falls on.

The odd custom has been a tradition in the town for “dunkeys” (donkey’s years) – as long as anyone can remember – and no-one quite knows why. Maybe the custom dates to the industrial and mining past of the town when men were paid on Fridays, but this explanation doesn’t account for the fact that other nearby settlements don’t follow the same rules.
It is a bizarre mystery that may never be satisfactorily solved, but is cherished by the townspeople, who have fun baiting incomers to the area when the kids are trick-or-treating (or “guising ” in the Scottish tongue). Many a kid from a family new to the town has wandered the streets in vain on the 31st, in the forlorn hope that eventually one door he “chaps” on will be answered with a welcome, rather than the frosty “We’ve already had it” response from the born-and-bred occupants.
Spooky!
see: East Ayrshire Council
first published: July 8th, 2008

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Most tigers in the world live in the USA!

incredible — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:33:36 +0000

You would be forgiven for thinking that tigers, although endangered, would be most prevalent in their native lands of India, Africa and Tibet etc. The sad truth however is that most tigers are in captivity rather than their natural wild habitats.

The USA has the most tigers in ownership, with an estimated 4,000 in Texas alone. Mike Tyson personally owns 4 tigers as pets. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association estimates that there are up to 12,000 tigers in the US.

Some scientists estimate that there are only between 5,000 and 7,000 wild tigers left on the planet. To put this in some perspective, a century ago there were 40,000 in India alone.

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