Insomniac Diaries

Oldest School in the World

2009-11-11T07:23:00.003+08:00

The Shishi Middle School in Chengdu, China is considered as the oldest school in the world as it stands on the site of the first local Chinese public school which was founded between 143 BC and 141 BC.

With the advancements in information technology however, students are no longer limited to attending brick and mortar schools to get their degrees. Aspiring masters degree holders, for example. can now enroll for Masters degrees online. The Gonzaga University, an accredited, non-profit university now offers online masters degree programs that include Masters in Organizational Leadership, Masters in Communication & Leadership and Master of Science in Nursing.

Comedian Record Holder

2009-11-11T06:19:00.003+08:00

Tim FitzHigham is an award winning British comedian and author but he's not just an entertainer you watch in your lcd monitor. Tim FitzHigham is also a holder of several world records:

In 2003, he paddled a paper boat down 160 miles of the River Thames to raise money for Comic Relief. In 2005, he became the first man to cross the English Channel by rowing a bathtub.

Sleeping position and wrinkles

2009-11-04T11:47:00.002+08:00

Resting your face on your pillow every night when you sleep may cause wrinkles called sleep lines. People who sleep on their backs are less likely to develop these wrinkles because their facial skin does not lie crumpled against their pillows.

Source:

http://www.skincarephysicians.com/agingskinnet/basicfacts.html

*Women often resort to using a wrinkle cream for their aging skin.

Poison Feast

2009-11-04T11:23:00.004+08:00

Some tiny animals like bookworms may feast on old papers and paper business gifts but some insects eat poisonous plants on purpose. Some caterpillars, for example, are known to eat a poisonous plant called milkweed. Milkweed does not kill them but it makes them poisonous so birds won't eat them.

Glow in the Dark Fungi

2009-10-20T17:45:00.003+08:00

Car accessories and neon signs are not the only ones that glow in the dark. There are some rain forest fungi that glow in the dark. Researchers have not yet established the reason behind this characteristic but it is suspected this scares off insects that eat at night and/ or attract flies that can pick up and scatter these fungi's spores.

Plant that Squirts Seeds

2009-10-20T17:22:00.002+08:00

Ecballium elaterium or the squirting cucumber, as its name implies, is a seed squirting plant. This plant bursts open and shoots out its seeds like bullets being fired out of guns. The squirted seeds are then scattered around where they grow into new seed squirting cucumbers.

The elliptical shaped fruit of the squirting cucumber

Swelling Tree

2009-10-20T11:18:00.003+08:00

A tree called baobab can swell up to twice its original size. This happens when it rains and the tree sucks in lots of water. While humans may need Lipofuze to go back back to their normal weight or size when they get too fat, the tree shrinks back to its original size when it uses up the water.

Mice Eating Plant

2009-10-20T11:10:00.002+08:00

The rajah plant, considered as the largest pitcher plant in the world is known to eat insects and even mice. The rajan plant attracts its prey with its sweet nectar.

Mice Eating Plant: The Rajan Pitcher Plant

Insects and animals that fall prey to rajan pitcher plant trap are swallowed whole but who cares? They do not have insurance marketing anyway...

Most Popular Beverage in the World

2009-10-12T18:03:00.005+08:00

Though second only to water in terms of consumption, tea can be considered as the most popular beverage in the world. People drink the same amount of tea as all other beverages in the world put together which include coffee, soft drinks, chocolate and alcohol. Needless to say, this means more people in the world are familiar to drinking tea than knowing about social security disability.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea#Origin_and_history

Origin of Consumer Protection Law

2009-10-12T17:54:00.003+08:00

Thanks to consumer protection laws, consumers are safeguarded for their purchases even when buying expensive items like laptop. The first consumer protection law however was made over beer. It was enacted in 1516 by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria to limit the ingredients of beer to hops, barley and water.

Source: http://www.professorshouse.com/food-beverage/wine-and-spirits/beer-facts-trivia.aspx

Beer Baptism

2009-10-12T17:45:00.002+08:00

In the thirteenth century (yes, the time when Mesothelioma lawyers still do not exist), beer was so popular with the medieval priests and monks that they no longer baptize babies with the holy water, they baptized them with beer.

Source: Alcoholica Esoterica by Ian Lendler

19 Pound Baby

2009-09-25T07:34:00.003+08:00

If you think that your child who weighed 11 pounds at birth is big enough, then imagine giving birth to a 19 pound baby.

A baby born born in Indonesia is currently getting media attention for weighing 19.2 pounds at birth. See video below and decide for yourself whether the child needs weight loss at an early age.

Head for Ad Space

2009-09-23T06:33:00.002+08:00

In 2005, Karolyne Smith auctioned the space in her forehead as a permanent site for a tattooed advertisement. The online bidding ended when the buy now option was made by the Golden Palace, an online casino.

No reports have been made however whether Smith gets through job employee screening because of the ten thousand dollar ($10,000) tattoo on her forehead.

$4,000 French Toast

2009-09-22T11:49:00.002+08:00

Singer Justin TImberlake's half eaten slice of french toast was sold on ebay for four thousand dollars ($4,000). The sale included a fork and syrup for the french toast. 4,000 dollars is more than enough to buy MWF filter and even an apple laptop. A 19 year old fan, Kathy Summers, reportedly bought this ebay item.

Source: Ripley's Believe It or Not: Exteremely Weird

Sniffing Cellphone

2009-09-14T09:04:00.003+08:00

Do you think that your voice activated cellphone is high tech enough? Then wait until you read this:

A telecom company in Germany is reportedly developing a cellphone-- the world's first, that will alert its users when their breath smells bad.

So what would be next in this line of high tech gadgets, fire alarms that sniff smokes and automatically alarm fire fighters?

Source: Ripley's Believe It or Not: Extremely Weird (2009)

$2 Million Shoes

2009-09-08T17:02:00.004+08:00

Women shoes need not be very expensive to look good in your feet but there are just shoes that are worth a fortune. A 4½-inch stiletto sandals worn by singer Alison Krauss during the 2004 Oscar ceremony, for example, reportedly costs 2 million US dollars. The cinderella slippers designed by Stuart Weitzman are studded with diamonds.

Since 2002, Stuart Weitzman has been providing million dollar shoes to one oscar nominee to be worn during the Oscars.

Alleged Bank Robber Leaves Wallet with ID

2009-09-04T11:05:00.002+08:00

Authorities claim they have identified a suspected robber in eastern Pennsylvania when the alleged robber forgot his wallet that he placed on the teller's counter during the bank robbery. The wallet had two identification cards and police claim that the photos in those IDs match the robber's image in the surveillance footage.

If you'll get into a bank robbing situation, check out the bank tv stands, a careless robber might also leave another identifying item.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090903/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_bank_robbery_wallet

Man Finds Frog Remains in Softdrink Can

2009-09-04T07:52:00.003+08:00

A man who opened a can of ice cold softdrink found dismembered remains of a frog and this was confirmed by the US Food and Drug Administration. A spokesman of the FDA Charles Watson verified that the animal was identified by the FDA lab as a frog. The FDA already investigates how the incident happened.

Imagine finding a frog inside your softdrink can while you are in Branson vacations...

source: Yahoo

Halloween Holiday

2009-08-29T07:00:00.002+08:00

Did you know that Halloween is considered as the second most commercially successful holiday? Shops and entrepreneurs tend to earn money during halloween. Halloween candies, for example can average two billion dollars in sales in the United States alone.

Besides buying candies for trick o treaters, people also spend money on costumes, decors (jack-o lanterns, candles, cobwebs, etc) parties and Halloween invitations on halloween.

Most Expensive Sofa

2009-08-25T17:27:00.002+08:00

A stainless steel sofa by Israeli- born designer Ron Arad currently holds the distinction as being the world's most expensive sofa. The highly polished Europa stainless steel sofa is worth more than 300,000.
Personally, I see this furniture as more than just costlier than a business insurance. Whoever buys this sofa also have to deal with a hard, non-cushioned, cold and uncomfortable seat.

source: http://mostcostlythings.blogspot.com/2009/08/worlds-most-expensive-sofa.html

Most Expensive Lighter

2009-08-25T17:15:00.002+08:00

Many low end cigarette lighters can be bought for less than a dollar but the price range of the 3 x 6.5 x 0.8 cm Caran d'Ache Ecaille Chinese Lacquer gold plated lighter can be as high as $2,100 making it the most expensive luxury lighter in the world. More expensive than a bottle of appetite suppressants: the world's most expensive lighter

Most Expensive Donut

2009-08-25T16:56:00.004+08:00

A donut offered for bidding on ebay by the staff of the morning show KMHX-FM in Houston made it to become the most expensive donut in the world. The "official Roula and Ryan Show hot, glazed, delicious, shipley donut" was sold for $5,200.00 US dollars.

A doughnut usually sells cheaper than a box of the best weight loss supplement but the world's most expensive donut was also sold to help raise funds for the victims of the Hurricane Katrina.

source: http://xpensivethings.blogspot.com/2009/07/donut.html

Mouse Uses $20 Bills to Make Nest

2009-08-10T10:16:00.002+08:00

A mouse managed to get inside an ATM in Oregon and built a nest inside using chewed up 20 dollar bills (which could have been more than enough to buy faucets). The mouse has torn up two bills and damaged 14 others for its nest .

The bank already replaced the money that were not extensively damaged and the ATM continued to work just fine. The mouse was also already evicted although it still remains a mystery how it got inside the automated teller machine.

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/169348/Mouse-builds-nest-in-Oregon-ATM-with-20-bills

Baby Walker Ban

2009-08-08T09:12:00.003+08:00

The Canadian Health Minister in 2004 announced a ban on baby walkers because of more than 1000 reports of babies being injured while using baby walkers. The most common accident happens when babies fall down the stairs. Canada is the only country that has banned the use of baby walkers.

Other countries, on the other hand, ban chewing gums, smoking in public places and the Hydroxycat fat burner.

World's Most Expensive Laptop

2009-08-01T07:37:00.002+08:00

In 2007, Luvaglio of London released what is considered the world's most expensive laptop.

The laptop has a 17-inch wide-screen LED display with an antiglare coating; 128 GB hard drive, blu ray player and of course laptop memory. It also has a self cleaning feature and has a security feature that requires you to insert a colored diamond into the power button to start it up.

The cost? $1,000,000 USD.

source: http://xpensivethings.blogspot.com/2008/04/laptop.html