INTERESTING THINGS

Interesting facts about India !

2015-05-27T23:42:00.000-07:00

When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).

The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.

The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.

Chess was invented in India.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India.

The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.

The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.

India is the largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.

The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.

The largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.

The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.

Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days.

The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also orignated in India. Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).

Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world (Source : Gemological Institute of America).

The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.

Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries.

Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.

India exports software to 90 countries.

The four religions born in India - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.

Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.

Islam is India's and the world's second largest religion.

There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.

The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.

Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D respectively.

The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.

The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.

Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.

Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.

India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.

Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.

Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

Source: http://india.gov.in

Aliens live on Earth, under the ground

2014-01-08T06:30:00.000-08:00

A lot of respectable scientists and writers believed that Earth is hollow inside.

Rumors about underground towns appeared for the first time in 1946. The person to launch the rumors was Richard Shaver – writer, journalist and scientist. His incredible story about contacts with aliens living under the ground was published in Amazing Stories Magazine. Shaver said that he had spent several weeks living under the ground with demon-looking aliens, whose descriptions can be found in ancient legends and fairytales. Almost every nation has a tale of an ancient race, who settled in planet Earth long before humans appeared on it. Those underground creatures are described as inconceivably talented, brilliant and culturally educated – they do not want to have anything in common with humans.

One could refer to the story from the American writer as a fruit of his vivid imagination. However, hundreds of readers responded to the publication. They wrote that they had visited underground cities, talked to their residents and saw unimaginable technical inventions, which guaranteed a comfortable existence in the very depth of the planet. Furthermore, the technologies of underground aliens give them an opportunity to control the minds of humans.

The unbelievable story exerted an immense influence on scientists and gave an incentive to the study of paranormal activities.

English astronomer of the 17th century, Edmund Halley, writers Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe and some others wrote in their works that planet Earth is a hollow sphere. American authorities were preparing a special scientific mission in 18-19 centuries to explore the Earth's hollow depth.

The scientists of the Third Reich were very interested in the mysterious underground world too. A special top secret expedition was organized in 1942. German scientists also hoped to install new radar systems under the ground and draw closer to global reign. Unfortunately, the outcome of the intrigue is not known, but the hypothesis of the underground civilization developed further on during the second half of the 20th century.

In 1963, two American coal miners, David Fellin and Henry Throne, found a large door in a tunnel, behind which they discovered a marble stairway. In England, miners can hear the sounds of mechanical devices under the ground, as they dig a tunnel. An English miner said that they had also found a stairway to an underground well. The sound of machines became more distinct, and the workers fled in fear. When they returned to the tunnel, there were no stairs and no entrance to the well.

An American satellite took very interesting photographs at the end of the 1970s. The photographs were published in many Western scientific magazines: the pictures depicted a dark, regularly shaped spot on the North Pole. The photographs were not defective: similar pictures depicting the same dark spot on the pole were taken several years later.

Anthropologist James McKenna explored an ill-famed cave in the State of Idaho. McKenna and other members of the expedition could hear screams and moans, as they were moving hundreds meters deep into the cave. The researchers found human skeletons soon, but they had to stop their quest: the smell of brimstone was unbearable.

Geologists do not share the theory of the Earth's huge cavity, although they do not exclude a possibility of numerous large hollow spaces in planet's depths. Human life is hardly possible in those cavities: the temperature is too high and there is very little oxygen there. Some researchers believe that the underground civilization might be of an extraterrestrial origin. Aliens were probably tired of people's eternal wars and atrocities, and moved under the ground, from where they comfortably observed the development of the mankind. What if UFOs appear in the sky from under the ground, not from other galaxies? However, if planet Earth is hollow inside, someone should have found the gateway to the underground world long ago. A group of American scientists believes that underground cities exist on Earth in the fourth dimension. When the Earth's electromagnetic field changes from time to time, entrances to the tunnels open, and accidental “visitors” may see the underground cities and their inhabitants.

One of the theories says that many mysterious constructions, like the English Stonehendge for example, were built to designate entrances to underground cities. If there is a reasonable race living under the ground, it would be an explanation to a lot of inexplicable phenomena.

Courtesy: http://english.pravda.ru/

2012-06-03T00:38:00.000-07:00

"Your Body's Many Cries for Water"

AMAZING SECRETS FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Cure # 1: Water prevents and cures heartburn.

Heartburn is a signal of water shortage in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a major thirst signal of the human body. The use of antacids or tablet medications in the treatment of this pain does not correct dehydration, and the body continues to suffer as a result of its water shortage.

Tragedy: Not recognizing heartburn as a sign of dehydration and treating it with antacids and pill medications will, in time, produce inflammation of the stomach and duodenum, hiatal hernia, ulceration, and eventually cancers in the gastrointestinal tract, including the liver and pancreas.

Cure # 2: Water prevents and cures arthritis.

Rheumatoid joint pain - arthritis - is a signal of water shortage in the painful joint. It can affect the young as well as the old. The use of pain-killers does not cure the problem, but exposes the person to further damage from pain medications. Intake of water and small amounts of salt will cure this problem.

Cure # 3: Water prevents and cures back pain.

Low back pain and ankylosing arthritis of the spine are signs of water shortage in the spinal column and discs - the water cushions that support the weight of the body. These conditions should be treated with increased water intake - not a commercial treatment, but a very effective one.

Tragedy: Not recognizing arthritis and low back pain as signs of dehydration in the joint cavities and treating them with pain-killers, manipulation, acupuncture, and eventually surgery will, in time, produce osteoarthritis when the cartilage cells in the joints have eventually all died. It will produce deformity of the spine. It will produce crippling deformities of the limbs. Pain medications have their own life-threatening complications.

Cure # 4: Water prevents and cures angina.

Heart pain - angina - is a sign of water shortage in the heart/lung axis. It should be treated with increased water intake until the patient is free of pain and independent of medications. Medical supervision is prudent. However, increased water intake is angina's cure.

Cure # 5: Water prevents and cures migraines.

Migraine headache is a sign of water need by the brain and the eyes. It will totally clear up if dehydration is prevented from establishing in the body. The type of dehydration that causes migraine might eventually cause inflammation of the back of the eye and possibly loss of eye sight.

Cure #6: Water prevents and cures colitis.

Colitis pain is a signal of water shortage in the large gut. It is associated with constipation because the large intestine constricts to squeeze the last drop of water from the excrements - thus the lack of water lubrication.

Tragedy: Not recognizing colitis pain as a sign of dehydration will cause persistent constipation. Later in life, it will cause fecal impacting: it can cause diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and polyps, and appreciably increases the possibility of developing cancer of the colon and rectum.

Cure # 7: Water and salt prevent and cure asthma.

Asthma, which also affects 14 million children and kills several thousand of them every year, is a complication of dehydration in the body. It is caused by the drought management programs of the body. In asthma free passage of air is obstructed so that water does not leave the body in the form of vapor - the winter steam. Increased water intake will prevent asthma attacks. Asthmatics need also to take more salt to break the mucus plugs in the lungs that obstruct the free flow of air in and out of the air sacs.

Tragedy: Not recognizing asthma as the indicator of dehydration in the body of a growing child not only will sentence many thousands of children to die every year, but will permit irreversible genetic damage to establish in the remaining 14 million asthmatic children.

Cure # 8: Water prevents and cures high blood pressure.

Hypertension is a state of adaptation of the body to a generalized drought, when there is not enough water to fill all the blood vessels that diffuse water into vital cells. As part of the mechanism of reverse osmosis, when water from the blood serum is filtered and injected into important cells through minute holes in their membranes, extra pressure is needed for the "injection process." Just as we inject I.V. "water" in hospitals, so the body injects water into tens of trillions of cells all at the same time. Water and some salt intake will bring blood pressure back to normal!

Tragedy: Not recognizing hypertension as one of the major indicators of dehydration in the human body, and treating it with diuretics that further dehydrate the body will, in time, cause blockage by cholesterol of the heart arteries and the arteries that go to the brain. It will cause heart attacks and small or massive strokes that paralyze. It will eventually cause kidney disease. It will cause brain damage and neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Cure # 9: Water prevents and cures early adult-onset diabetes.

Adult-onset diabetes is another adaptive state to severe dehydration of the human body. To have adequate water in circulation and for the brain's priority water needs, the release of insulin is inhibited to prevent insulin from pushing water into all body cells. In diabetes, only some cells get survival rations of water. Water and some salt will reverse adult-onset diabetes in its early stages.

Tragedy: Not recognizing adult-onset diabetes as a complication of dehydration will, in time, cause massive damage to the blood vessels all over the body. It will cause eventual loss of the toes, feet and legs from gangrene. It will cause eye damage, even blindness.

Cure # 10: Water lowers blood cholesterol.

High cholesterol levels are an indicator of early drought management by the body. Cholesterol is a clay-like material that is poured in the gaps of some cell membranes to safeguard them against losing their vital water content to the osmotically more powerful blood circulating in their vicinity. Cholesterol, apart from being used to manufacture nerve cell membranes and hormones, is also used as a "shield" against water taxation of other vital cells that would normally exchange water through their cell membranes.

Cure # 11: Water cures depression, loss of libido, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy.

These conditions are caused by prolonged chronic dehydration. They will clear up once the body becomes well and regularly hydrated. In these conditions, exercising one's muscles should be part of the treatment program.

For More Information, Read the Book:

Your Body's Many Cries for Water.

by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.

Stem Cell Therapy

2011-11-17T01:50:00.000-08:00

Stem cell facts:

By Priya Pandey

The controversial thing related to stem cell facts is that how they are used in healing the human body suffering from different diseases. There is no doubt that there are debates still going out on whether extraction of the cells from embryo is ethical or not but at the same time it is also a known fact that advantages of anything always overcome its disadvantages. Same is the thing in this case where people are being benefitted by using the stem cell therapy. Many chronic diseases have now become curable with the help of this technique.

In the underlined article we will be discussing about the stem cell facts. Basically stem cells are those cells which have the ability to differentiate in the body of the organisms. In other words the term organisms can be replaced by multi cellular organisms as well. These multi cellular organisms include animals, plants and even human beings. These cells not only divide in a large number without any restriction but they are also able to transform into many different types of cells. These cells produce tissues and organs of the multi cellular bodies. Division of cells has the basic purpose of healing the body.

Stem cells are viewed on a computer screen

Stem cell facts that how these cells work is like a fantasy. It sometimes happens that division of cells is not enough for healing the body. It is due to the fact that there are some of the cells which cannot be replaced. Moreover there are some cells which were not supposed to be replaced a few years back. For example there are certain cells which are lost on continuous basis in people undergoing chemotherapy in case of cancer. Now stem cell research has made it possible for the people to replace the damaged cells due to this therapy.

There are some other stem cell facts which people must know like the most experienced physician in the world for this therapy is Dr. Gonzalez of Mexico. He is bilingual that he can speak fluent English as well as Spanish. His success rate is enormous and people from all around the world come to him for the treatment of their chronic diseases. These chronic diseases include cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, dental surgery, organ replacement like liver and renal, lung surgery, permanent treatment for diabetes, spinal cord injuries, autism, retinitis, Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, baldness, depression, anti aging, cancer, arthritis etc.

Visiting Mexico for medical tour is not very expensive. It takes only $19,000 to be there. A Person also has the facilitation to receive treatment in the hotel in which he will be staying. He will not be required to visit any Mexican hospital. In addition, a person can have the entertainment in the most beautiful part of the world. Mexican food is very delicious. In short medical tour of a person can also entertain him as well as the treatment of his chronic diseases.

In short stem cell facts are mentioned here and it totally depends on the reader that how he takes them and treats them.

Treatments:

Here are just a few of Stem Cell Therapy treatments that are available:

Lung Diseases:

When you breathe, your lungs take in oxygen from the air and deliver it to the bloodstream. The cells in your body need oxygen to work and grow. During a normal day, you breathe nearly 25,000 times. People with lung disease have difficulty breathing. Millions of people in the U.S. have lung disease. If all types of lung disease are lumped together, it is the number three killer in the United States.

The term lung disease refers to many disorders affecting the lungs, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, infections like influenza, pneumonia and tuberculosis, lung cancer, and many other breathing problems.

Multiple Sclerosis:

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the nerves of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) degenerate. Myelin, which provides a covering or insulation for nerves, improves the conduction of impulses along the nerves and also is important for maintaining the health of the nerves. In multiple sclerosis, inflammation causes the myelin to disappear. Consequently, the electrical impulses that travel along the nerves decelerate, that is, become slower. In addition, the nerves themselves are damaged. As more and more nerves are affected, a person experiences a progressive interference with functions that are controlled by the nervous system such as vision, speech, walking, writing, and memory.

Retinitis:

Definition of Retinitis Pigmentosa:

Retinitis pigmentosa is the name given to a group of diseases that affect the retina.
The retina, located in the back of the eye, acts like the film in a camera. It is a delicate layer of cells which picks up the picture and transmits it to the brain – where the “seeing” actually occurs.

In retinitis pigmentosa, the retina begins to degenerate, which first causes peripheral (side) vision and night vision to diminish, and then, usually only decades later, the central vision as well.

Toxoplasmic retinitis, which may be either acquired or congenital, is caused by a microorganism. If the condition is congenital, the microorganism was passed to the fetus through the placenta. A similar type of retinitis is caused by a blood-borne infection that settles in the eye.

Exudative retinitis stems from unknown causes but may result in detachment of the retina from the internal surface of the eyeball.

Hepatitus:

The word hepatitis simply means an inflammation of the liver without pinpointing a specific cause. Someone with hepatitis may:

have one of several disorders, including viral or bacterial infection of the liver

have a liver injury caused by a toxin (poison)

have liver damage caused by interruption of the organ’s normal blood supply

be experiencing an attack by his or her own immune system through an autoimmune disorder

have experienced trauma to the abdomen in the area of the liver

Hepatitis is most commonly caused by one of three viruses:

the hepatitis A virus
the hepatitis B virus
the hepatitis C virus

In some rare cases, the Epstein Barr Virus (which causes mononucleosis) can also result in hepatitis because it can cause inflammation of the liver. Other viruses and bacteria that also can cause hepatitis include hepatitis D and E, chickenpox, and cytomegalovirus (CMV).

Diabetes:

The diseases which are listed under Diabetes Mellitus are many with the most common being Type-1 diabetes and Type-2 diabetes. These are diseases of the metabolic system and involve the body’s ability in metabolizing sugar using the hormone insulin. Insulin helps the cells use the simple sugar glucose which is needed for repair, growth and energy.

In Type-1 diabetes, the body produces little or no insulin so those with this type of diabetes need to be on insulin therapy for their entire lives. Before 1924 Type-1 diabetes usually ended with dead after a couple of years but with the advent of insulin those who have this disease are now able to manage this chronic condition. Type-1 diabetes is also known as juvenile diabetes because those who have this type of diabetes are usually diagnosed with it between the ages of 9 and 15 years of age.

Lupus:

If you have lupus, your immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake. This can damage your joints, skin, blood vessels and organs. There are many kinds of lupus. The most common type, systemic lupus erythematosus, affects many parts of the body. Discoid lupus causes a rash that doesn’t go away. Subacute cutaneous lupus causes sores after being out in the sun. Another type can be caused by medication. Neonatal lupus, which is rare, affects newborns.

Anyone can get lupus, but women are most at risk. Lupus is also more common in African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American women. The cause of lupus is not known.

Lupus has many symptoms. Some common ones are:

Joint pain or swelling
Muscle pain
Fever with no known cause
Red rashes, often on the face (also called the “butterfly rash”)
There is no one test to diagnose lupus, and it may take months or years to make the diagnosis. There is no cure for lupus, but medicines and lifestyle changes can help control it.

Parkinsons:

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects nerve cells, or neurons, in a part of the brain that controls muscle movement. In Parkinson’s, neurons that make a chemical called dopamine die or do not work properly. Dopamine normally sends signals that help coordinate your movements. No one knows what damages these cells. Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease may include:

Trembling of hands, arms, legs, jaw and face
Stiffness of the arms, legs and trunk
Slowness of movement
Poor balance and coordination

As symptoms get worse, people with the disease may have trouble walking, talking or doing simple tasks. They may also have problems such as depression, sleep problems or trouble chewing, swallowing or speaking.

Parkinson’s usually begins around age 60, but it can start earlier. It is more common in men than in women. There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. A variety of medicines sometimes help symptoms dramatically.

Anti Aging:

Medical Tour Cancun offers Stem Cell Therapy as an effective anti-aging treatment with placenta stem cells. Anti-aging therapy helps to improve overall physical condition of the patients resulting in less fatigue, improved gait and posture, and work capacity. Mental capacities improve, leading to acceleration of decision making and restoration of the short-term memory. Emotional balance is achieved. Anti-aging treatment with placenta stem cells leads to marked cosmetic effects, such as skin color improvement, fewer wrinkles, smoother skin, and sparkling eyes.

Stress Disorder:

Stress is simply a fact of nature — forces from the outside world affecting the individual. The individual responds to stress in ways that affect the individual as well as their environment. Hence, all living creatures are in a constant interchange with their surroundings (the ecosystem), both physically and behaviorally. Because of the overabundance of stress in our modern lives, we usually think of stress as a negative experience, but from a biological point of view, stress can be a neutral, negative, or positive experience. Stem Cell Therapy can be extremely beneficial to the patient who suffers from stress disorder.

Regeneration:

Stem Cell therapy can replace damaged tissue and aging parts of our bodies in what we call regeneration.

Source :
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8248116-stem-cell-facts
http://www.medicaltourcancun.com/

Interesting Facts

2011-08-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

Interesting facts about Recycling :

Did you know that people are used to recycle since ancient times?

58% of U.S. newspapers are recycled. If all of our newspapers were recycled, we could save about 250 million trees each year!

There is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can be recycled.

It takes half a barrel of crude oil to produce the rubber in just one tire.

Up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled.

It takes just 25 two litre drink bottles to make one adult size fleece.

Austria is the “recycling champion” in the European Union. Austria reuses about 60% of all of the waste produced.

Greece, on the other hand, recycles only 10% of the total waste it produces, being the last place of the list.

In the 70s , Woodbury city in the U.S. state of New Jersey was the first city in the country to introduce mandatory recycling.

In 2 weeks, Americans throw enough glass bottles and jars out to fill the New York Trade Center’s twin towers.

Birthday interesting facts :

Your birthday is a very special day. Only eighteen million other people share it (unless you were born on February 29, in which case you really are special since only 4.5 million people have your birthday).

The custom of lighting candles originated with people believing that the gods lived in the sky and by lighting candles and torches they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods so they they could be answered. When you blow out the candles and make a wish this is another way of sending a signal and a message.

The volume of blood in your body is approximately 5 litres. The heart pumps about 280 litres of blood around your body every hour – thatâ€™s 2,688,000 litres per year!

The Earth is zooming around the sun at around 66,780 miles per hour! Since your last birthday the Earth has completed one journey around the sun travelling about 584,337,600 miles.

The earliest birthday parties in history were held because it was feared that evil spirits were attracted to people on their birthdays.

Interesting facts about Barbie Doll :

Barbie is named after the daughter of the original inventor, Barbara.

The first Barbie dolls were made in Japan. On the bottom of the right foot they are marked Made In Japan.

Barbie doll was introduced in Europe in 1961.

Every second, two Barbie dolls are sold somewhere in the world.

The first Black, and Hispanic Barbie dolls were introduced in 1980. Barbie has appeared in over 40 various nationalities.

The first Barbie doll sold for $3.

Barbie has had over 80 careers. The first was as a teenage fashion model.

Only stamp collecting is more popular in the U.S. than doll collecting.

Barbie has over 40 pets. Among them are cats, dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub and a zebra.

Barbie is eleven and one half inches tall.

Interesting Facts About Sleep :

Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for 10 hours.

Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.

Over 20% of the american population suffers from significant sleep disorders.

One in six road accidents happens because of sleepy drivers.

Eight hours of sleeping gives sixteen hours of work.

REM sleep is so called because our eyes can be seen to move under our eyelids.

If you average only 6 hours of sleep at night, your immunity to viral infection can be affected by 50%.Poor sleep can make us more vulnerable to viruses which cause the common cold or influenza.

60% Males and 40% Females over the age of 60 snore.

One-third of young adults are pathologically sleepy during the day.

We move on average 40 times in bed per night.

Laughing facts :

If you laugh 100 times it’s the same thing with cycling 15 minutes on your bike. Energetic laughter boosts the heart rate deepens the breathing rate, and bring into play muscles in the face, stomach, and diaphragm.

Apart from enhance our moods, laughter can cut down stress, cooperate fighting infection, and reduce pain.

Laughter generate helpful changes in brain chemistry by delivering endorphins, and it leads more oxygen into the body with the deeper inhalations.

Laughter is instinctive and contagious. Our laughter is under minimal conscious control, and it challenges the hypothesis that we are in full control of our behaviour.

Italian author Pietro Aretino who in 1556 was laughing so hard at a bawdy story being told to him by his sister that he fell backwards in his chair and died of suffocation from “laughing too much.”

Laughter amplify the natural killer cells that attack viruses and some types of cancer and tumour cells.

Exercises that prevent joint pain :

Joint pain, extremely unpleasant, can occur with age, due to inactivity or because of various ailments. But there are exercises that can eliminate the joint pain.

To prevent joint pain, the most important thing is to keep you active. The exercises keeps the blood moving and lubricates joints, eliminating pain.

To burn calories without joint pain, the best are cardio exercise such as walks, jogging, swimming or cycling.

Swimming is good for sore joints serious, because it eliminates the impact. Cycling not only eliminate pain, but helps you burn about 500 calories per hour. If you have back pain too, you can choose a bike with low saddle.

In general, avoid activities that involve sudden movements and stretching, such as playing tennis, because joints are required.

Courtesy: http://www.strange-facts.info

Interesting Facts

2011-07-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

1. Interesting facts about NOSTRADAMUS:

NOSTRADAMUS real name was Michel de Nostredame ( French origin).
Was born on December 14 1503 in the area of Saint-RÃ©my-de Provence (located in southern France) and died on July 2 1566.

Although his fame is due to the prophecies, Nostradamus was a doctor and pharmacist quite appreciated at the time. He had published poems since the year 1555 under the original name of “Les Propheties” (The Prophecies).

The Legend says that in several nights before the birth of Nostradamus celestial activity was extremely important.

The Thessaloniki archives , the city where the great prophet spent his last days, still keeps the records of stories about the existence of shining objects in the sky above the city Saint-Remy de Provence.

The great prophet was incredibly smart, while still very young he learn more languages and higher mathematics.

At 23 years became a licensed doctor has received her doctorate later almost effortlessly.

Nostradamus predicted the world will end in 3797.

According to the New York Times, in the days following the 9/11 attacks, the top search term on Google was “Nostradamus.”

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2. Interesting Albert Einstein facts:

On the day Albert was born, his mother – Pauline Einstein thought that Albertâ€™s head was so big and misshapen that he was deformed!

Einstein was born in Ulm, WÃ¼rttemberg, Germany. As a boy he was fascinated by the compass needle, how it always pointed north. He felt that “something deeply hidden had to be behind things.”

Einstein Had Speech Difficulty as a Child .

He studied mathematics and physics in Zurich, Switzerland, then from 1902 to 1909 he worked in the Swiss Patent Office in Bern.

In 1905, at age 26, Einstein contributed four papers to the German scientific publication, “Annals of Physics.” Any one of them would have been enough to secure him an important place in the history of science.

In one article he said light could sometimes be described as particles, or “quanta.” This explained some puzzling experimental results, such as the photoelectric effect, and it became the starting point of quantum physics.

In the second and most famous paper, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” he outlined his special theory of relativity, which says that the speed of light is the same, regardless of how the observer moves. This means, he said, that the time between two events depends on the speed of the observer measuring it. Time, in other words, is “relative.” In a follow-up paper later that year he showed another aspect of special relativity, that energy and matter are equivalent. This is expressed in his famous formula: E=mc2 (Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared).

Einstein was born in Ulm, WÃ¼rttemberg, Germany. As a boy he was fascinated by the compass needle, how it always pointed north. He felt that “something deeply hidden had to be behind things.”

He studied mathematics and physics in Zurich, Switzerland, then from 1902 to 1909 he worked in the Swiss Patent Office in Bern.

In 1905, at age 26, Einstein contributed four papers to the German scientific publication, “Annals of Physics.” Any one of them would have been enough to secure him an important place in the history of science.

In one article he said light could sometimes be described as particles, or “quanta.” This explained some puzzling experimental results, such as the photoelectric effect, and it became the starting point of quantum physics.

In the second and most famous paper, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” he outlined his special theory of relativity, which says that the speed of light is the same, regardless of how the observer moves. This means, he said, that the time between two events depends on the speed of the observer measuring it. Time, in other words, is “relative.” In a follow-up paper later that year he showed another aspect of special relativity, that energy and matter are equivalent. This is expressed in his famous formula: E=mc2 (Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared).

In a fourth paper, he explained Brownian motion, the irregular movements of particles in water. He showed that random collisions of water molecules would exactly produce the motion. This is considered one of the first proofs of the existence of atoms.

In 1915 Einstein completed his general theory of relativity, which greatly expanded on special relativity. In fact, it explained the universe in a radically different way. Einstein’s theory of gravitation is based on the “curvature” of space and time, which explains phenomena that Newton’s theory could not. It also predicts totally new phenomena, such as black holes and the expansion of the universe.

However, Einstein was bothered because it failed to explain electromagnetism. He spent the remaining 25 years of his life unsuccessfully trying to develop a Unified Field Theory that would explain all natural forces. He was concerned that if he couldn’t find the answer, nobody would.

Albert loved taking long walks around town. His walks gave him time to think and relax him with the world. Albert also inherit his love for music from his mother – Pauline Einstein. Albert played and loved the violin.

Beginning in 1909 Einstein accepted various teaching positions in Europe. Then, in 1933, Nazi Germany took away his citizenship, property and positions because he was Jewish. He moved to the United States and took a position at Princeton University.

On Aug. 2, 1939, he wrote a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt, urging him to provide government help in creating an atomic bomb, and warning that Germany might already be working on one. The bomb was later used to end World War II.

Einstein was offered the Presidency of Israel in 1952 but he refuse it. An element named einsteinium was unwrap in 1952 and named in respect for him.

Einstein’s brain was take away anterior to his cremation, and hold, to be studied in the future when neuroscience might clue us in to what made him so smart.

In 1988 the American Society of Civil Engineers American Society of Civil Engineers created the Hans Albert Einstein Award to recognize outstanding achievements in erosion control, sedimentation and/or waterway development.

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3. Interesting facts about the big bang:

Using theories and observations from many scientists, this theory has been proven time and again. Despite some flaws, the Big Bang provides a simplistic and logical explanation regarding the origin of the Universe.

This theory was born of the observation that other galaxies are moving away from our own at great speed, in all directions, as if they had all been propelled by an ancient explosive force.

The big bang is believed to have started as a tiny volume of space, which suddenly expanded and created all the matter and energy in the universe. It happened more than 10 billion years ago.

Big Bang cosmology, with the addition of inflation, predicted the kind of lumpiness we see in the cosmic background radiation, and an earlier version of big bang cosmology with an added ‘cosmological constant’ predicted we would be living in an accelerated universe.

Reference: http://www.strange-facts.info/

Interesting Health Facts

2011-05-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

Getting Your Family into Fitness and Fluids:

Getting your family into fitness is easier than you may think. You don’t have to join an expensive health club or buy a lot of fancy exercise equipment.Specialists recommends that you accumulate a total of 30 minutes or more of moderate activity on most days of the week. This means that sweaty workouts aren’t essential for a healthy lifestyle. Even three 10-minute walks around the block can help you get fit.

It is definitely time to take advantage of all the fun fitness activities available wherever you live – in your house and yard; at the park and the mall; out on the river and beach; and up at the lakes and mountains. Getting fit can be as simple as a regular 30-minute noontime walk with friends; an after-school walk to the park with the dog; walking around the field while your kids play ball; or just taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.

And, to go hand-in-hand with increased physical activity, you definitely need to think about your family’s fluid intake. Water is sometimes called “the forgotten nutrient” because so many people do not get enough to drink. Staying well hydrated is important for everyone – and the more active you are, the more fluids you need.

Unfortunately thirst is not a particularly good indicator of when you need to drink more. When you feel thirsty, you are probably already a bit low on fluids. The thirst mechanism is even less accurate in children and older people. They can become seriously dehydrated quite quickly, especially when the weather is hot or dry.

The best defense against dehydration is a good offensive. Here are five ways to make sure that your family gets the fluids they need in any climate. With these tips, you can stay hydrated and perform better during all your spring fitness activities.

#1: Be proactive. Plan ahead and keep plenty of beverages on hand:

* Keep your fridge and cupboards stocked with your family’s favorite fluids. In addition to water, stock up on low-fat milk, 100% juices, and sports drinks.

* Always carry fluids when you leave the house. Never leave home without a water bottle, sports bottle or thermos filled with cold, refreshing beverages.

* Get kids into the water habit. Encourage them to drink whenever they pass a water fountain – whether they feel thirsty or not. Offer cold water with after-school snacks.

#2: Be realistic. Make small changes in your usual beverages. Despite the ads, pop is not the best beverage for active people. To gradually switch to more refreshing choices:

* Serve fat-free or reduced-fat milk with all your meals.
* Buy only a limited amount of pop and sweetened juice drinks.
* Make cold water and 100% juice readily available.

#3: Be adventurous. If you’re tired of the same-old beverages, try some refreshingly different ways to quench your thirst – without lots of empty calories or caffeine:

* Explore iced herbal teas like mixed berry or mandarin orange spice.
* Mix club soda with cranberry or another of your favorite juices.
* Add a wedge of fresh lime or lemon to water and juices.

#4: Be flexible. Balance what you drink with your activity level. Since thirst isn’t always a good indicator of fluid status, remember to:

* Drink several glasses of water before any planned activity.
* Drink often during physical activity – at least every 15 to 20 minutes.
* Drink at least 16 ounces of fluids after being active.

#5: Be sensible. Enjoy a variety of beverages – just don’t overdo it. A moderate intake of caffeine is probably OK for most healthy adults. To keep your intake sensible:

* Go caffeine-free when you do drink pop.
* Switch to decaf coffee or tea after a cup or two in the morning.
* Try herbal tea or hot tea with a lemon wedge.

Bottom line: Get up off the couch – and enjoy some springtime fitness with your family. And, be sure to bring along plenty of refreshing beverages!

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Know your family’s health history:

To find clues to your future health, look to your family tree an important source of information about the genetic and environmental factors that combine to influence your personal health. Physicians use family health histories all the time to help in diagnosing and preventing disease. They can offer invaluable information about diseases or conditions a person may be predisposed to.

A family health history is a record of pertinent medical information about your relatives. Family histories should be traced back at least two generations. Grandparents and parents provide the most important information about direct risk. However, information about the health of siblings and aunts and uncles can help provide a more complete family picture.

Health histories should note the age, or age of death, of these relatives, as well as any specific medical conditions, such as heart disease or cancers. Especially important is a history of colon cancer and, for women, breast or ovarian cancer. It is essential to note the age of onset of diseases.

Your family’s health history can be gathered by speaking directly with your immediate relatives or other family members. If parents are deceased, it is possible for children to request their medical records from the hospital within five to 10 years following their death.

Armed with information about pertinent health problems within your family, a physician can help tailor your own health plan.

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Healthy foods that we ignore:

There are hundreds of foods with amazing health benefits that we should eat. Some are exotic fruits, which can’t be found in nearby grocery store , nor in the market. Others in turn, we see every day on the stall but we don’t give them any importance.

Beet – Studies have shown that people who drank 500 ml of beetroot juice were reduced blood pressure in an hour. The results are measurable, even after 24 hours of consumption. The survey shows that beetroot can fight certain cancers.

Pumpkin – a pumpkin provides significant amounts of vitamins A, C and E, beta carotene, calcium and iron. Is a food supplement that helps digestion due to its high fiber content .

Cabbage – A low-calorie vegetable, cabbage can be included in many diet programs. It is also an excellent source of vitamin C and has significant levels of glutamine, an anti-inflammatory.

Blueberries – the risk of inflammation and certain cancers can be reduced by eating blueberries. Blueberries also contain, anthocyanins and other chemicals that inhibit the formation mechanism of cancer cells. Studies have shown that blueberries are excellent and memory.

Sardines – are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins D and B12, calcium and protein.

Turmeric – A key ingredient in Asian cuisine, this sauce is probably the most beneficial to health. It has many medicinal properties, being an important antiseptic. In Japan, it served as a tea. It benefits against Alzheimer’s disease or cancer.

Cinnamon – Rich in antioxidants, is associated with type 2 diabetes treatment. Traditionally, it is used to prevent colds, constipation and treat toothache.

Pomegranate juice – used in Persian cuisine, pomegranate juice is used both as fresh and as a concentrated syrup. Although it has a very high sugar content, which means it is also high in calories, juice provides 50 percent of daily requirement of vitamins A, C and E, folic acid 100 percent and 13 percent potassium .

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Interesting rice facts:

More than 90 percent of the world’s rice is grown and consumed in Asia, where people typically eat rice two or three times a daily.

More than 40000 varieties of cultivated rice (the grass family Oryza sativa) are thought to exist but the exact number remains a mystery.

Of the 40,000 varieties more than 100 grow world-wide, but only around 10% are marketed and sold.

In Burma a person eats 500 pounds of rice a year.

The Chinese word for rice is the same as the word for food.

Rice is so important in some countries, that they have festivals and celebrations to honor this wonderful food.

Rice provides 20% (i.e. one fifth) of the world's dietary energy supply.

Rice is a good source of insoluble fiber, which is also found in whole wheat, brand and nuts.

Reference: http://www.strange-facts.info/

Interesting Facts

2011-04-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

American Revolutionary War – interesting facts

Nobody knows who fired the “shot heard round the world,” but it launched the American Revolutionary War. The shot was fired at Lexington in 1775. Here 73 British soldiers, marching to capture rebel guns and powder, met colonial farmers and townspeople called “Minutemen.” The Minutemen were trained to be ready at a minute’s notice to fight.

The British tried to march past the Minutemen when someone fired a shot. There was panic; the British returned fire and soon eight Minutemen were dead. In nearby Concord, Minutemen attacked British soldiers, killing 73 and wounding 174.

The Second Continental Congress met on May 10th, in Philadelphia, and voted Virginian George Washington as commander of the Continental Army.

The American Revolutionary War lasted eight years, ending in 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Unlike the British, American soldiers were untrained and under-armed. Much like the Vietnamese whom the Americans fought almost 200 years later, the Americans had the advantage since the war was fought on their turf. They knew how to get around and could get support from local families.

Also, the French gave America lots of support with money and gunpowder. France didn’t like England and wanted to get back at England for the French-Indian War.

Interesting Facts About Credit Cards

Credit cards become popularly successful in the 1920s.

Visa was originally called BankAmericard, a card offered by Bank of America in 1958 in California.

78 percent of American households — about 91.1 million — had one or more credit cards at the end of 2008. A year earlier, there were 90.4 million households with cards.

41 percent of college students have a credit card.

Eighty percent of American households have at least one credit card. (Source: cardweb.com)

The average level of debt for a middle-class American family is $9,827 (out-of-pocket medical expenses account for $2,194 of that, on average).

Interesting Facts About The Ivory Coast

CÃ´te d’Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power personified in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the official language is French. The country is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments.

Most people in the Ivory Coast live near the beaches and coastlines of the country, while some live in the forested areas.

17 million people live in the Ivory Coast, with birth average of 4 per women and literacy rate of over 50% .

The Ivory Coast is among the worldâ€™s largest producers of cocoa, coffee beans and palm oil.

The Ivory Coast is known to be a country that loves Soccer, this can be seen by itâ€™s great soccer team that has reached the world cup twice in recent years.

Largest island and the longest river on Earth

Largest island – Greenland, 839,999 square miles (2,175,600 square kilometers), seems to have been misnamed by Vikings hoping to attract settlers to a colony on the southern coast, which, to be fair, is green for a short time in summer.

Longest river – Africaâ€™s Nile River, at 4,241 miles (6,825 kilometers) long, barely beats out the Amazon in South America (approximately 4,000 miles; 6,437 kilometers) as the worldâ€™s longest river. The Nile runs northâ€”through Uganda, Sudan, and Egyptâ€”into the Mediterranean Sea.

Largest river system – The Amazon wins hands down with a drainage basin of approximately 2.5 million square miles (6.7 million square kilometers), an area equal to three-fourths the contiguous United States. It also carries the greatest flow of waterâ€”around six million cubic feet per second, or one-fifth of all the river water in the world.

Red Blood Cells Functions – interesting facts

Red blood cells function by carrying oxygen to every part of the body, and then carrying carbon dioxide back to the lungs. Red blood cells are very well designed to perform this important job. First, they are packed full of hemoglobin, which is an iron-bearing protein that transports oxygen to other cells. Interestingly, red blood cells have no nuclei, a feature which makes even more room for hemoglobin. Red blood cells are the only cells in the body that do not have a nucleus.

Second, they are shaped like disks. This shape greatly increases their surface area compared with a sphere of the same volume. The large surface area is important because it improves the efficiency of oxygen transfer between hemoglobin and the tissues where the oxygen is needed. Red blood cells are formed in the bone marrow, where special cells called stem cells divide repeatedly, then lose most of their internal parts before they are released into the blood. Red blood cells have an average life span of about 120 days. After this, they tend to become misshapen and they are removed from the circulation system by the spleen. A typical human body makes about 2.5 million red blood cells every second, or about 200 billion every day!

Red cells normally comprise about 40% of the blood volume. When doctors measure this number, it is called the hematocrit. Sometimes the number of red blood cells drops too low. This condition is called anemia. Generally, anemia results either because too few red blood cells are being made, or because they are being destroyed prematurely. The most common cause for underproduction of red blood cells is iron deficiency. Iron is a necessary component of hemoglobin, so iron deficiency results in inadequate formation of new red blood cells.

Interesting facts about Mount Everest

Mount Everest – also called Qomolangma Peak or Mount Chomolungma – is the highest mountain on Earth, and the highest point on the Earth’s continental crust, as measured by the height above sea level of its summit, 8,848 metres (29,029 ft).

Everest was formed about 60 million years ago.

First man who ascent Everest: Sir Edmund Hillary, NZ and Tenzing Norgay, NP, via the South Col Route in May 29,1953.

Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, is growing!
Millions of years ago, India was an island. Due to the motion of continental plates, India drifted North and crashed (very slowly!) into Asia about forty million years ago. Its northward motion created the Himalayan mountain range, and continues today. As a result of this motion, Mount Everest is growing by an average of about four centimeters (or one and a half inches) per year!

First person to summit Everest twice was Nawang Gombu-Nepal(once with Whitaker in ’63,and again two years later in ’65)Gombu now works for the Himalayan mountaineering institute.

About 120 corpses remain on Everest.

Courtesy: http://www.strange-facts.info

WHO INVENTED WHAT ?

2011-04-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

WHO INVENTED SEWING MACHINE ?

A German named Charles Wiesenthal who lived in England got patented the needle that he designed for sewing machine in 1755. It was in 1790 Thomas Saint, who was an English inventor and a maker of cabinets got a copyright for a sewing machine as a whole. This machine was designed to sew leather but it could not produce results and failed. Though Balthazar Krems invented an automated sewing machine to sew caps in 1810 but he did not get it patented. There were few unsuccessful tries too. In 1814 Josef Madersperger was able to get patent for his unsuccessful machine. Thomas Stone and James Henderson got French patent for their machine and Scott John Duncans for his embroidery machine in 1804 but both machines were a great failure.

The French tailor Barthelemy Thimonnier invented the first sewing machine that could function in 1830. The machine used a single thread and a needle which was hooked. The other tailors burnt his shop and almost killed him as they thought the new invention might bring unemployment.

It was in 1834 that America’s first successful machine came up and the man behind this was Walter Hunt who took no interest in getting a patent for it due to the fear that it might cause unemployment. It was in 1846 that Elias Howe got the first American patent for a sewing machine that had one pointed eye and accepted thread from two sources.

The mass production of machines started in 1850 when Isaac Singer invented the machine that was commercially successful.

WHO INVENTED REFRIGERATOR ?

It was in 18th century that the process of invention of refrigerator started. In 1748 William Cullen of University of Glasgow developed a process for creating an artificial cooling medium. No one took interest in it for commercial or home consumption, it only attracted scientific attention. An American inventor Oliver Evans made the first design for the refrigerator in 1804 but until 1834 none was interested in the same. Jacob Perkins built the first refrigeration machine in 1834. In 1844, a physician John Gorrie built a working unit on the basis of Oliver’s designs. He constructed this unit to create cooling atmosphere for his patients who were suffering from yellow fever.

In 1876 Carl von Linden invented the improved method of liquefying gas and got it patented. This was a great help in the creation of practical refrigerator. Ammonia, sulphur dioxide and methyl chloride were utilized for the formation of this gas which led to many accidents. The need led to the development of Freon and was used in bulk till it was found that it was not environment friendly and affected the ozone layer.

The gas compounds have now changed to safer compounds which compress and heat up working to cool the inside air of the refrigerator. Without this adjustment the working of the refrigerator seems impossible. It has been a work of many great inventors that the present form of refrigerators has simplified the work.

WHO INVENTED WALKMAN ?

Walkman is actually a Sony trademark and was the name used for portable tape or cassette deck players. These were meant for the listening pleasure of a single person and the trademark was later expanded for other portable Sony devices for audio and video entertainment. The term Walkman is also given to a range of the Sony Erricson range of mobile phones which also became immensely popular. Walkman was a device that was designed and created by audio engineer Nobutoshi Kihara who worked for Sony.

The Sony co-chairman Akio Morita wanted a device where he could listen to his favorite operas during the Trans Atlantic flights. The concept was well liked and was originally marketed in Japan in 1979 and was sensational, since it gave freedom to young people to listen to their music with light weight headphones.

Even though Morita hated the name Walkman, the name stuck on and the promotional campaign using the name had already begun and to change the name midway would have been extremely expensive for the company. In 2007 March, the digital flash based video walkman was released and was named the A800 series.

The Walkman by Sony faced stiff competition from other companies such as Toshiba, Aiwa, Panasonic etc, but the personalization of the gadget worked in its favor for almost 20 years and the essential design remained unchanged.

WHO INVENTED TELEVISION ?

The names of many are associated with the invention of the television. The two people who worked on the same appliance at two totally different places were Vladimir Kosma Zworykin; a Russian who was born in America and worked for Westinghouse Corporation, the other was a farm boy from Utah, Philo Taylor Farnsworth. Zworykin was the one who got his electron scanning tube also known as iconoscope patented first, in the year 1923 and was thus thought of as the inventor of modern television. The quality of his work was very poor and not appreciated.

It was on September 7, 1927 that Fransworth gave a successful demonstration for the transmission of the television signals for which he used his self designed scanning tube and received the patent for the same in the year 1930.

The patent for a similar type of tube was also applied for by Zworykin in 1923 but he was refused the same as the tube was not in a functional state. He could make a functional tube in the year 1934 and got the patent for it in 1938.

Many people acclaim John Logie Baird to be the original inventor of television as he was the one to give the very first live demonstration of the working television which had images that moved and had tone graduation on 26 January in the year 1926.

WHO INVENTED TOILET ?

Toilets as we know today have existed for about a century only. Earlier homes didn’t have the flushing toilet and even taking a bath was considered quite a luxury. The flush toilet is the most popular toilet that is used the world over and were known as water closets in the 19th century. Though the concept has been in use for a long period. Around 4000 years ago, in the Indus valley Civilization, toilets and sewers were an integral part to the city planning. The water flushing toilets were usually used by the affluent and these were linked to the drains that were also covered.

Remnants of water flushing toilets were also found at Skara Brae in Oakney, Scotland around 3100 BC – 2500 BC. The Pharaohs and ancient Persia also had toilets around the 18th century BC. While toilets during the roman times were a part of the public bath houses.

In the US, it was estimated that 90 liters of water were used by individuals in the flushing toilets everyday. Now newer designs are being implemented and researched that will reduce the water consumption and wastage. In many homes and offices, dual flush toilets are in use that is meant for reducing the wastage of water. The dual system uses less water for flushing smaller loads of wastage.

WHO INVENTED VACUUM CLEANER ?

Vacuum cleaners are used for residential, commercial and industrial purposes. They are also known as hoovers or even sweepers are used for sucking up both dry and wet wastes from the surroundings. The dirt that is collected is collected in a bag for later disposal. The first documented Vacuum cleaners were invented by Daniel Hess in the United States in 1860 and were called a carpet sweeper. Just like the modem Vacuum cleaners, it also had a rotating brush and had a bellow mechanism that was quite complex for sucking out the dirt and the filth from the carpets. Hess received a patent for his vacuum cleaner on July 10, 1860.

The first few vacuum cleaners that were invented were operated manually. Till 1900’s most vacuum cleaners that were invented by Ives W McGraffy, Melville Bissell and others were manual ones. Soon after the motorized versions of the vacuum cleaners began to be produced. John H Thurman created a gasoline powered carper cleaner for the General Compressed Air Company. However this design wasn’t very successful, since the dust was blown into receptacle rather than the dust being sucked in as the cleaners do now.

The first vacuum cleaners were quite bulky, stand up and couldn’t be easily moved. After Electrolux launched its model V that lay on the floor with metal runners future machines would standardize this pattern. Now robotic vacuum cleaners can clean the place effortlessly.

Couretesy: http://whoinvented.org/

Tallest Man Facts & Coca Cola Facts

2011-03-25T03:59:00.000-07:00

Tallest Man Facts:

The world's tallest man ever recorded in the history of mankind - Robert Wadlow, was born in Alton, Illinois, in 1918, and was 6 feet tall by the time he was even eight years old. He suffered from the disorder Gigantism that makes the lower portions of the body extremely large, while the head and torso remain at normal sizes. This is caused by a pituitary gland tumor that excretes large amounts of growth hormone, resulting in the disorder that is technically called as acromegalic gigantism. He reached a final height of 8 feet 11 inches at the age of twenty-one years, and finally died of an inflamed leg.

Coca Cola Facts:

　

What the bleep do we know about this revolutionary beverage? Coca Cola has been invented by doctor/pharmacist John Pemerton in 1886. John believed that this drink was medicine and since it was made from coca leaves it can relieve you from pain and exhaustion. This all makes sense since coca leaves contain cocaine (from 0.1% to 0.9% depending on altitude where grown). Today Coca Cola is produced without cocaine. Interestingly, Coca Cola Company still imports around 100 tons of coca leaves each year from Peru firm called National Coca Co. In order to import coca leaves into United States you need special license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

It takes 2 liters of water to produce one liter of Coca Cola. Lack of the clean water made Indian farmers protest in 2004 against the Coca Cola Company and their water consumption in third world countries. Interesting Coca Cola fact is that few years earlier Coca Cola launched program called "Just Say No to H2O" which involves spreading the idea to drink Coca Cola instead of water. Main idea of the program was to serve Coca Cola for free in restaurants where customers ordered plain drinking water.

It is the urban myth that Coca Cola was originally green. Coca Cola has always been the same brownish color. As much as we hate Coca Cola we can't resist drinking it. Why? The truth is that we are addicted to the soft drinks containing caffeine and large quantities of sugar.

What are the ingredients of Coca-Cola? From the Coca Cola label: carbonated water, cane sugar, caramel color, food acid (phosphoric acid 338), "flavor" and caffeine. However, there is also a secret ingredient in Coca Cola called 'Merchandise 7X' and description of this ingredient is kept in a security vault in Atlanta, Georgia. Only few very high positioned officials know what is hidden behind this secret ingredient. The questions arises what do we really drink?

What we know today is that Coca Cola is very acidic drink with a high quantity of sugar that masks the acid taste. The acid in Coca Cola is called phosphoric acid which is known to dissolve teeth, metal and it will eat away your liver. In reality Coca Cola won't kill you instantly. It will make your body prone to many other diseases like: osteoporosis (lack of calcium due high levels of phosphorous), cancer, mild depression, flu-like feelings, teeth problems, and fatigue.

Ref: http://www.interestingfacts.org

USELESS FACTS & COOL FACTS

2011-03-21T00:23:00.000-07:00

Useless Facts:

The term "rule of thumb" comes from the old English law that men couldn't beat their wives with anything wider than their thumb.

Less than one percent of people who entered Germany's Auschwitz concentration camp survived, after being liberated by the Russians in 1945.

American poet Edgar Allan Poe was once thrown out of West Point Academy in 1831 after showing up for inspection stark naked.

A monkey's skull wrapped in leather and paper was used as a soccer ball in the very first World's Cup Soccer Championships in Uruguay.

Ants never sleep in their wholelife.

A reward of $1,000 was offered for information leading to the capture and conviction of a man robbing taxi drivers. The man turned himself in and demanded the reward as a result. He received a 20 year sentence for aggravated robbery instead.

The "pound" key on your keyboard (#) is called an octotroph.

Elvis Presley's hip-wiggling started out as a stage fright. He was so nervous, that his legs would shake.

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

A man was arrested and charged with the robbery—of vending machines. The man posted bail, entirely in quarters.

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore were freshman roommates at Harvard.

Abdul Kassam Ismael, Grand Vizier of Persia in the tenth century, carried his library with him wherever he went. Four hundred camels carried the 117,000 volumes.

Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula"

The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

A polar bear's skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear.

Experts at Intel say that microprocessor speed will double every 18 months for at least 10 years.

Hitler and Napoleon both had only one testicle.

Celery has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

In 1386, a pig was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child.

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20.

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."

Cool Facts:

The story of the 256 old year man:

In our today world it is impossible for one to believe that a man can live up to the age of 150 years let alone 256 years. According to Time magazine and the New York Times that were published in the year 1933, there died a man whose age was 256 years. I am not sure if he was lucky to have lived up to this age or not.

He went by the name of Li Ching-Yun. In his lifetime he was able to bury 23 wives. He was able to get 180 descendants by the time of his death. If he were in Africa he would have been the role model of many men as the worth of a man was measured by the number of wives and children one had.

Li Ching-Yun claimed that the secret to his long life was sitting like a tortoise, sleeping like a dog, walking sprightly like a pigeon and keeping a quiet heart. He shared this information with a warlord that wanted to know what to do to live that long. Li insisted that peace of mind and calmness were the main contributors to his long life. For those that wonder what the man ate, you will be surprised to learn that he mainly consumed rice and wine.

Not much is known about the early life of Li Chung. The information that is known would be that he was born in the same town where he died. This would be in the province of Szechwan in China. He was literate by the age of ten and often traveled to Shansi, Tibet, Kansu and Manchuria to get herbs.

He continued selling herbs for almost 100 years. He sold his own herbs and also other peoples herbs. Time magazine also indicates that his fingernails were six inches long.

Many people by the age of 80 are usually shriveled and cannot do a lot of things for themselves. Surprisingly Li was very youthful and could do a lot for himself. This lead to many people doubting if he was that old.

Li admitted that he was born in the year 1736 and us this would make him only 197 years contrary to the supposed 256 years. It is a professor at the Minuko University that proved that Li was born in the year 1677. He was able to proof this by producing records that show that the Chinese government honored him on his 200th birthday.

This leads to the huge question if Li had forgotten his own age or was he even the legit Li. Looking at it from a medical perspective, it seems impossible for one to be able to live for that long. The age of Li has surpassed the official record by more than 130 years. It is claimed that he looked like a sixty year old.

The only reasonable conclusion would be that he either had a superhuman body or all this stories are mere exaggerations. Problem is we may never know the complete truth.

Ref: http://www.interestingfacts.org

Hiding An Airplane Factory

2010-07-19T03:40:00.000-07:00

Hiding An Airplane Factory-Interesting

During World War II the Army Corps of Engineers needed to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant to protect it from a Japanese air attack. They covered it with camouflage netting and trompe l'oeil to make it look like a rural subdivision from the air.

Before

After

INTERESTING ARTICLES

2009-02-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

6 companies born during downturns

Think a recession is a bad time to start a company? Imagine if the founders of these major corporations had thought the same...

4. A bright idea in a financial crisis

Company: General Electric
Industry: Energy and other
Founded during: Panic of 1873

Picture: A woman demonstrates a General Electric Toaster, ca. 1920.

Kicking off the Long Depression was the Panic of 1873, which began when major investment firm Jay Cooke & Co. collapsed, causing the NYSE to shut down for days. The ensuing financial crisis lasted six years. Sound like an ideal time to open a laboratory? That's what Thomas Edison thought as he set up a facility in Menlo Park, N.J., in 1876. There, he produced the first light bulb in 1879 - the same year the panic officially ended. Although economic conditions would remain poor until 1896, Edison had gained enough momentum to start a company he called Edison General Electric Company. In 1896, Edison's GE landed a spot on the first-ever Dow Jones Industrial Average. Today, it is the only remaining company of the original twelve.

Status today: GE posted $183 billion in revenues in 2008, but its earnings were down 19%. Profits from GE's consumer and industrial segment dropped 65% during the year, and GE Capital's profits fell almost 30%. While GE's energy sector saw a modest growth in profits, the company is bracing for a rough 2009.

5. Outliving a long depression

Company: IBM Industry:
Industry: Computer
Founded during: The Long Depression, 1873-1896

Picture: A tabulator from 1890

Aptly named, this era comprised a series of unfortunate events. The Vienna Stock Exchange fell. The Coinage Act of 1873 demonetized silver, pushing investors away from making long-term loans. U.S. banks collapsed twice, causing the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1893. But three startups - the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company and the Computing Scale Corporation - developed technologies during this 23-year period that were in demand despite the sour economy. A time clock for recording workers' hours, for example, was needed as industrial production at the end of the century surged. Also, a tabulating machine was vital during the immigration wave, to tally up the expanding population. These three companies merged in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, which changed its name to IBM several years later.

Status today: If it's true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, IBM came into this recession well-fortified: Big Blue is a veteran of near-death experiences.

IBM's wild success in the 1960s led to antitrust action by the U.S. Department of Justice. The fallout from U.S. v. IBM took its toll over the next decade and radically reshaped IBM's business operations. IBM eyed oblivion again in the early 1990s, as its traditional hardware and mainframe computing business dried up. Under Lou Gerstner's leadership, IBM overhauled its business model, shifting the emphasis from products to services. Although consumers are spending less on technology in the current economy, IBM recently posted a strong quarter, which it attributed to an increased demand for its outsourcing services. Last year, the company had record revenue of $103.6 billion. However, thousands of layoffs are reportedly underway in IBM's sales and software units.

6. Rising above inflation

Company: Procter & Gamble
Industry: Household products
Founded during: The Panic of 1837

Picture: A P&G distributor makes his rounds in the 1870s.

Candle maker William Procter and soap maker James Gamble joined forces to start a small household-goods business in Cincinnati. It was a risky move for the brothers-in-law: The shaky economy had a full six years of financial crisis ahead. Massive migration to the West caused land prices to rise, and inflation soon followed. Under President Martin Van Buren, bank failures and concerns about the paper economy spurred the greatest economic decline since the birth of the country. But P&G survived and went on to score lucrative contracts to supply necessities to the Union Army during the Civil War.

Status today: With $83.5 billion in revenue in 2008, Procter & Gamble has built a portfolio of some of the most recognizable brands in the U.S., including Tide, Pampers, Oral-B, Iams, Pantene, Duracell and Pringles. The company's shares took a hit this past year, but it has held steady against smaller competitors such as Johnson & Johnson and Colgate-Palmolive, and its earnings remain strong: P&G had net earnings last year of $12.1 billion.

Because consumers rely on P&G products in good times and bad, it is considered a titan even in a rough economy.

Courtesy:cnnmoney.com

INTERESTING ARTICLES

2009-02-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

6 companies born during downturns

Think a recession is a bad time to start a company? Imagine if the founders of these major corporations had thought the same...

1. Speeding around oil prices

Company: FedEx
Industry: Shipping
Founded during: The Oil Crisis of 1973

Picture: CEO Frederick Smith boards Federal Express Corp.'s first Falcon fanjet.

Entrepreneur Frederick W. Smith identified a pressing business need: important documents had to reach their destinations within one or two days. He incorporated a company called Federal Express in June 1971 and began operations in 1973 from Memphis International Airport. On its first night, in April, FedEx shipped 186 packages to 25 U.S. cities. But all was not well on the international front, and within months, several Arab states had embargoed oil exports to the United States. While this news could have been disastrous for a company that relied on petroleum-fueled transportation, Federal Express stayed alive and became profitable in July 1975, when oil prices finally leveled off.

Status today: 2008 seemed at first to be a deja-vu replay of the company's nascent years, as soaring fuel prices hurt operating costs. But when prices retreated, FedEx faced a new whammy: The weakening economy has reduced demand for prompt shipping. Average package volume for daily ground shipping dropped 2% year-over-year for the quarter ended Nov. 30. Warning that FedEx faces "some of the worst economic conditions in the company's 35-year operating history," CEO Frederick Smith took a 20% pay cut for 2009 as part of a sweeping cost-cutting plan.

2. Taking flight in the great depression

Company: United Technologies Corp
Industry: Aerospace
Founded during: In 1929, amid the Great Depression

Picture: With seating for 18 passengers, this fabric-covered transport of 1929 was an enlarged version of the Model 80 - the first true Boeing passenger airliner - of the year before.

The notorious year that the stock market crashed, spurring a 10-year global downturn, also marked the birth of an aerospace giant. United Aircraft and Transport Corporation began life as a holding company for airlines, airplane parts manufacturers and aviation companies such as Boeing.

Most industries floundered under the financial crisis, but the Golden Age of Aviation was in full swing and kept United Aircraft aloft. In fact, the company pulled so many other businesses under its umbrella during its initial years that it quickly smacked up against antitrust laws. In 1934, Boeing and United Airlines became separate companies and United Aircraft turned into what is now UTC, a diversified industrial manufacturer.

Status today: UTC reported $58.7 billion in revenue in 2008. Thanks to increased revenue at UTC's aerospace companies, profits were up in the last quarter of 2008. But orders were slow for products such as elevators and air conditioners, which is a big deal for the company that owns Otis Elevator and Carrier Corp. In the past year, UTC has laid off thousands of workers, and the company plans continue slashing in the early months of 2009 as it undergoes major restructuring.

3. Smooth riding through a panic

Company: General Motors
Industry: Automobiles
Founded during: The Panic of 1907

Picture: The first Buick of 1903.

Back in the days of President Theodore Roosevelt, before a central bank had been established, lending institutions were dependent on their own currency resources. This became a problem in 1907 when numerous large banks made a bid for controlling shares of United Copper Company. When the attempt failed, the public pulled their money from the banks, causing runs that led to the failure of many trusts and lending institutions. These events didn't deter William Durant, a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles, from trying his luck on a new technology called the automobile. He founded GM on Sept. 16, 1908 in Flint, Mich. That year, it became a holding company for Buick and Oldsmobile, which had been established several years. Historians consider the Panic of 1907, also known as the Banker's Panic, to have ended in June 1908, even though the market didn't reach pre-1907 levels until 1909. That was perfectly timed for GM, which went on to acquire many more companies in that rebound year.

Status today: Hit with a double whammy in 2008 from sky-high fuel prices and a terrible market, GM has seen its stock price fall 85% in a year. Its competitors aren't faring much better - in December, GM went to Washington with Chrysler and Ford to seek $34 billion in government loans. The company is currently under scrutiny: Iit must prove it can cut costs enough to be a viable recipient of the billions it needs to stave off bankruptcy.

Courtesy: cnnmoney.com