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Monday, November 29, 2010

Do You Know These Facts….

Every day, over 1,300 babies are born prematurely in the USA

The sun is approximately 149 million kilometres from the earth

The Great White Shark can grow to be more than twenty feet long and can weigh approximately 4,000 pounds

In 1832, in Paisley, Scotland the first municipal water filtration works was opened

The only popcorn museum in the world is lcoated in Marion, Ohio, USA

Any animal that has skin hair or fur can get dandruff, but in animals it is called “dander.”

The average ice berg weighs 20,000,000 tons

In 1819, the USA purchased Florida from Spain for the cancellation of a $5 million debt

In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times

Jewelers Tiffany & Co., based in New York, are responsible for making the Super Bowl trophy

Skippy Peanut Butter is sold more in the world than any other peanut butter

The highest bridge in the world is located in the Himalyan mountains. It was built by the

Indian Army, in 1982, and is about 5,600 metres above sea level

In 1893, the first mosque in the United States was built

Apples are part of the rose family

Every eleven minutes in the U.S., a woman dies of breast cancer

Mr. Butts invented the game SCRABBLE. The game was originally called “Criss Cross Words.”

Actress Meryl Streep holds the record for the most Oscar nominated actress, with a record of 13 nominations

In a year approximately 900 million trees are cut down to make the raw materials needed for American pulp mills and paper

Enamel is hardest substance in the human body

A leech has 32 brains

Thomas Edison designed a helicopter that would work with gunpowder. It ended up blowing up and also blew up his factory.

In the late 1800′s, washing machines and butter churners were sometimes powered by dogs walking on treadmills.

In China, people eat a bar of chocolate for every 1,000 chocolate bars eaten by the British

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors

Clarence Crane the inventor of “Crane’s Peppermint Life Savers” sold his rights to the popular candy for less than three thousand dollars.

Namco, who are the manufacturers of Pac Man the video game, has estimated that the original arcade game has been played over 10 billion times by individuals

In Ivrea, Italy, thousands of citizens celebrate the beginning of Lent by throwing oranges at one another

The sloth moves so slowly that green algae grows in the grooves of their hair

In the world, the United States and France have the most pet dogs. Approximately one out of every three families has a pet dog. Switzerland and Germany are the lowest only having one dog per every ten families

There are 50% more males that are left handed compared to females

Armadillos breed in July, but get pregnant in November after delaying implantation. This allows the young to be born during the spring when there is an abundance of food

Carbon monoxide can kill a person in less than 15 minutes

Really Great

The Nobel Peace prize was first awarded in 1901 to Jean Henry Dunant, who was the founder of the Swiss Red Cross

In August 1999, Lori Lynn Lomeli set a record by spinning 82 Hula Hoops at the same time for three full revolutions

The wheelbarrow was invented by the Chinese.

The colour blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones

Over 20 million BluBlocker sunglasses have been sold since its debut in 1986. They now come in over 100 different styles

Crabs have very small hairs on their claws and other parts of their body to help detect water currents and vibrations

In 1962, the first Wal-Mart opened up in Rogers, Arkansas

Duracell, the battery-maker, built parts of its new international headquarters using materials from its own waste

Vampire bat saliva has been responsible for many advances in research into stroke recovery

During the making of the the movie “Fight Club,” actor Brad Pitt chipped his tooth. However, he did not get his tooth capped until after the movie was done filming as he thought it would look better chipped for his character

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted peoplewithout killing them used to burn their houses down – hence theexpression “toget fired.”

In ancient Rome, it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose

The word “checkmate” in chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah-Mat,” which means the king is dead

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee

A common drink for Tibetans is Butter Tea which is made out of butter, salt, and brick tea

Bourbon was first made by a Baptist minsister from Bourbon County in Kentucky in 1789. That is where it got its name

The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms as is necessary. When it was built in the 1940s, the state of Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet facilities for blacks and whites

McDonald restaurants serve food and drink to an amazing 43 million customers on a daily basis

The game Monopoly was once very popular in Cuba; however, Fidel Castro ordered that all games be destroyed

Nearly half of all Americans suffer from symptoms of burnout

During the era of Louis XIV, women used lemons to redden their lips

70% of the poor people in the world are female

The thickness of the Arctic ice sheet is on average 10 feet. There are some areas that are thick as 65 feet

The adult human body requires about 88 pounds of oxygen daily

The biggest pumpkin the world weighs 1,337.6 pounds

The highest consumption of Pizza occurs during Super Bowl week

During World War II, condoms were used to cover rifle barrels from being damaged by salt water as the soldiers swam to shore

Facts For You

The Roman emperor Domitian took great pleasure in being secluded in his room for hours and catching flies and stabbing them with pens

Tarantulas can live up to 30 years

On average redheads have 90,000 hairs. People with black hair have about 110,000 hairs

More than half the time spent in United States courts is cases that involve automobiles

One barrel of petroleum holds 42 gallons

The smoke that is produced by a fire kills more people than a burn does because of carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases

The Saguaro Cactus, found in South-western United States does not grow branches until it is 75 years old.

In Belgium, 172,000 tons of chocolate are produced in a year

The word Nike comes from Greek Mythology. Nike is the goddess of victory and was often depicted as a small winged figure whom the goddess Athene carried

The biggest bug in the world is the Goliath Beetle which can weigh up to 3.5 ounces and be 4.5 inches long

Leaving the water running while brushing your teeth can waste four gallons of water in a minute

Steve Fletcher holds the record for the largest gum wrapper collection. His collection has 5300 gum wrappers from all across the world

There was once a country called Prussia. After World War II, it was divided among Poland, Germany, and the USSR

The word Spain means “the land of rabbits.”

In 1936, the first practical helicopter was invented. It was the German Focke-Wulf Fw 61.

The word tulip comes from the Turkish word for turban

Psychokinesis refers to the ability of moving objects through psychic power

The fat that comes from sheep, which is called tallow, can also be used to produce soap and candles

In Britain, one out of every four potatoes is eaten in the form of french fries

In the movie Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock, chocolate syrup was used for blood in the shower scene

The movie “Chicken Run” made in 2,000 had the most plasticine used in an animated movie. They used 2,380 kg of plasticine for the movie

During WWII, because a lot of players were called to duty, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles combined to become The Steagles

The titan arum flower is the largest flower in the world and gives off a horrible odor that smells like rotting flesh when it blooms

Every day, the average person swallows about a quart of snot

When the only queen ant dies, so does the entire colony, because no new workers are born

The Dutch people are known to be the tallest people in Europe

Facts For Your Knowledge

The average American kid will eat approximately 1.500 peanut butter sandwiches by high school graduation

Goats do not have upper front teeth

It has been suggested that shepherds are responsible for inventing the game golf. It is said that they used to use their staffs to hit the stones

There are about 6,800 languages in the world

Studies have shown that by putting on slow background music it can make a person eat food at a slower rate

By walking an extra 20 minutes every day, an average person will burn off seven pounds of body fat in an year

Ironically, when doctors in Los Angeles, California went on strike in 1976, the daily number of deaths in the city dropped 18%

Octopus and squid are thought to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates

On average, a beaver can cut down two hundred trees a year.

The name of the first menthol cigarette in the United States was “Spud.”

A world record 328 pound ovarian cyst was removed from a woman in Galveston, Texas, in 1905. updated

The fastest shark is the “Shortfin Mako,” which can swim as fast as sixty miles per hour

The flatulation from domesticated cows produce about 30% of the methane on this planet

Ironically, watermelons, which are 92% water, originated from the Kalahari Desert in Africa

The first tattoo machine was invented by Samuel O’Reilly. He did this by using equipment

that Thomas Edison used to engrave hard surfaces.

In a lifetime, an average human produces 10,000 gallons of saliva

A slug has four noses

Chili Powder was invented in the 19th century in the American Southwest

The sea cucumber spills its internal organs out as a defense mechanism

Approximately 25,000 workers died during the building of the Panama Canal and approximately 20,000 of them contracted malaria and yellow fever

Braces were first invented by Pierre Fauchard in 1728. The braces were made by a flat strip of metal, which was connected to the teeth by thread.

Marilyn Monroe had six toes

There is a town in Texas called Ding Dong. In 1990, the population was only twenty-two people

The total volume of mail that went through the Canadian postal system in 1950 was 1,362,310,155 items

The highest toll paid by a ship to cross the Panama Canal was by the Crown Princess on May 2, 1993 in the amount of $141,349.97 U.S. funds

The name of the famous snack “Twinkies” was invented by seeing a billboard in St. Louis, that said “Twinkle Toe Shoes.”

Thursday, August 19, 2010

When did Cricket start?

The game of cricket was started about 600 years ago, according to some sports researchers. An old picture in the Oxford Library shows two persons playing with a bat and a ball.

But according to written records, the first cricket match between Kent and London was played on 18th June 1744. In this match, London was defeated.

The rules of this game were framed a few years later. The length of the pitch was fixed at 22 yards. The wicket was made of two sticks. cricket startThe bat for cricket was designed on the pattern of hockey sticks.

Now there are some changes in these things. The wicket now consists of three sticks and the bat is a straight one, being narrow at the point where it is held by the hand and broader at the bottom.

In 1803, when this game was started, the Australian team came to England in 1868 and played 47 matches with the English team. Australia won 14 matches, lost another 14 matches, and drew the rest of the 19 matches.

The first world Test match was played between England and Australia in Melbourne from 15th to 17th March 1877. This match was won by Australia by 45 runs but Australia was defeated in the second Test Match played at the same place.

Gradually after this, the system of Test matches spread all over the world. More than 800 players of the world have taken part in various Test matches during the last one hundred years.

Nowadays this game has a great attraction for millions of people. Tickets for the test matches are obtained with great difficulty. The commentaries of these test matches are broadcast over radio and television. Every body enjoys these test matches.

Article is taken from:-thegeminigeek.com

Who Invented Jazz?

Jazz took its modern look in the United States in the later part of 19th century and early 20th century when Black musicians there begin playing European music in their own style. Therefore, no single person can be said to have invented jazz. Jazz is often called the classical music of the United States. It was a cultural phenomenon. But there is a musician and a song writer, Clarence Williams, who claims to have invented the term jazz. Critics argue that the term ‘jazz’ originated in the jargon of English poet and play-write Chaucer and Shakespeare respectively.

JazzThe jazz originated when the slaves brought from Africa sang songs, told stories, shared grief and happiness etc in the 18th century. The singer would often call out a line and the rest of the folk would respond to that. These were the beginnings of jazz. In the following century, a lot of Europeans immigrated to the United States, each bringing their own unique musical tradition. An African-American composer, Scott Joplin, combined the European style with the music of the African community. This new genre was then called ‘ragtime’.

In the early 20th century, the ‘ragtime’ started getting popular as more and more black musicians and singers came to sing. In the 1930s a new style of jazz emerged with its highly energetic beats and swing music. The changes continued and the next big impression was left by the Civil Rights Movement of Martin Luther King in the 1960s. The jazz continued to evolve and now we have retro jazz, smooth jazz and other versions.

What Is Swine Flu?

Health experts, doctors and researchers have not only heard of and identified swine flu, they continue to work on preventing and treating this form of influenza. Known by the virus-identifier H1N1, swine flu is causing illness in human beings.

First identified in United States residents in April of 2009, the virus is spreading around the world. The movement of H1N1 has occurred at such an alarming rate that the World Health Organization quickly declared the influenza experience was a pandemic.

Some confusion has resulted from associating H1N1 with the term swine flu. The virus that is making people sick is similar to viruses that usually are found in pigs. But there are major differences between the two, human and swine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) most of the people who contract swine flu recover without the assistance of doctors or other medical personnel. According to CDC, “Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something – such as a surface or object – with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.”

Swine flu or H1N1 symptoms include body aches, chills, fatigue, cough, fever, runny nose and most of the common influenza symptoms. While many normally healthy people get over this flu without serious complications, there have been severe illnesses, even death, in some individuals. Almost all medical information about H1N1 includes warnings for older people (over 65), the very young (under 5) and for those who have a serious chronic medical condition that weakens the system. People in the high-risk category include the pregnant, those with diabetes and heart disease and so on.

One of the problems with new influenza viruses such as swine flu is that medical personnel don’t have good information about when it occurs, how long it lasts etc. With more common flu viruses that society has dealt with for years there is plenty of information about when to expect them and how to deal with them.

Records indicate that with more common flu viruses, 90 percent of the people who become seriously ill or die are over 65. A few months of study in 2009 shows that H1N1 flu “has caused greater disease burden in people younger than 25 years of age than older people.” (CDC report).

Studies have also shown that those who have swine flu may infect others from about one day before illness to approximately 7 days after.

Vaccines have been developed for H1N1 and the medical community continues to feel this is the best, level-one preventive measure. But people can help limit the spread of H1N1 by carefully covering the mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. Careful washing of hands may also help. The CDC “recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone, except to go to a medical expert or for absolute emergencies. Avoiding those already ill and avoiding crowds when can be strong preventive measures.