Friday, November 9, 2007

INTERESTING FACTS



Golf Ladies And Gentleman
It is the internet myth that the name of the popular Scottish game Golf stands for "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden." The word golf originates form medieval Scottish and Dutch dialects. Back in a day before the creation of dictionaries, there was no standardized spelling of any given word. So it is believed that word golf originates from Dutch word "kolf" or "kolve" which meant "club." Later on old Scots dialect transformed the word into "gouf" or "golve ."

East And West Germany Sports
Some say that 1974 FIFA World Cup was the one of the most intense world cups ever played. Juergen Sparwasser scored the most famous goal in the German soccer history, giving East Germany a win over the West in the only meeting between the sides. That was the only lost game for West Germany in the World Cup and that year West Germany became new World Cup Champion. Juergen was arrested later on for re-painting street signs in East Germany.

Curling Sport Without Judges
Curling is a Olympic sport founded by Scots in the 1540's and it is played on ice by two teams of four players each, using heavy stones which they slide down the ice towards a target area. It was brought to North America by Scottish immigrants and since it is played in the cold, founded by Scots surely back then alcohol was a regular part of playing. Interesting fact is that there are no judges in the Curling competition.

Berlin Marathon Cheaters
Marathon in Berlin is 26 miles long and it was apparently too long for thirty three runners who decided to take a shortcut by riding the subway. They obviously forgot the computer chips they were wearing, which automatically record their time every three miles. They were of course disqualified and their times were removed from the scoreboard.

Farting Contest
In ancient Japan, public contests were held to see who in a town could fart the loudest and longest. Winners were awarded many prizes and received great recognition.


Andy Warhol Facts
Andy Warhol was American Pop Artist famous for his painting of Campbell's Soup cans. Andy almost died when he was shot three times in the chest by Valerie Solanis. Valerie said that Andy Warhol had too much control over her life. Valerie was a founder of club called SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) and she was the only member of the group. For those who didn't know Andy Warhol was homosexual, but also very religious man. He died in hospital from heart attack because hospital stuff overloaded him with fluids after his routine gallbladder surgery.

Albert Einstein Facts
Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honor of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and send it to all his friends.

Edgar Allan Poe And Alcohol
Edgar Allan Poe, American poet, was seventeen years old when accepted into Virginia University. First year he managed to gamble all his scholarship money. It was also reported that Edgar owed around $2500 to local gamblers. Gambling addiction led to alcoholism, which is still debated by many Poe's followers. However, it was reported by school systems that Edgar showed up in class drunk even during the examinations. The interesting fact is that Edgar Allan Poe finished with highest grades in his class and became best student of his generation.

Uma Thurman Facts
Uma Karuna Thurman, daughter of Robert Thurman and Nena Thurman, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 29, 1970. Uma's father was the first American to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Her mother is a Swedish psychotherapist and former Vogue model once married to the LSD guru Timothy Leary. Uma's mothers father, german baron, was held by Nazis because he didn't want to reveal his Jewish friends hideout. Uma Thurman had been briefly married to Gary Oldman when she was nineteen.

Jagger In Clockwork Orange?
Before Stanley Kubrick took over, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones were considered to play the "droogs" in the Clockwork Orange. Anthony Burgess the author of Clockwork Orange wanted to sell his novel rights to Mick Jagger for few hundred dollars. Luckily for the sake of film industry Malcolm McDowell got the main part in the movie and Stanley Kubrick directed what is considered to be the most controversial movie of all time.

Hemorrhoid Relief Commercial
Johnny Cash (1932 – 2003) was an influential country song writer and singer from Kingsland, Arkansas, who sang to himself while picking cotton in the fields. His song “Ring of Fire” was refused by his family to be in hemorrhoid-relief commercial. "The song is about the transformative power of love …"said Cash's daughter, Rosanne. "Love is a burning thing and it makes a fiery ring bound by wild desire," the song goes.

Is Someone Lying To You?
Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of "ums" and "ahs.", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.

Five Richest People Today
You may believe that the richest person in the world is a certain sheik who controls oil companies. Nah. The top three spots hold computer, newspaper, and steel industry giants. The top five richest people are: 1.Bill Gates, 2.Warren Buffett, 3.Lakshmi Mittal, 4.Carlos Slim Helu, 5.Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud.


2012 Interesting Facts
2012 is expected to be year of great positive change. It is not the end of the world! Back in 1899 something was identified called Schumann Cavity Resonance. It is the heart beat or frequency of the Earth. Since its discovery till 1986 this heart beat frequency was constant 7.8 Hertz per second. From 1986 it started to raise dramatically and in 1998 it was reported to be 10 hertz per second. On other hand magnetics of the earth are dropping dramatically and it is expected they will reach zero point in 2012. Maya calendar and other calendars end in 2012, but it is not the end of the world just beginning of the new one since every 26000 years Earth goes through grand cycle of evolution.

The Blue Hole Facts
The Blue Hole is located just off of the coast of Belize, near the Ambergris Caye. The Blue Hole began as a limestone cave in our last Ice Age. After ages of erosion the cave collapsed leaving the scenic beauty we see today! The Blue Hole is almost perfectly circular reaching 300m (1000ft) across and 120m (400ft) deep. The blue cave is perfect spot for all divers because of its beauty and geological history.

The Pyramids Were White
The stereotypical vision of the Egyptian Pyramids are large mountain like brown piles of stone uprooting from the desert having a rough contour. Though when first constructed around 2500 BC. The pyramids were paper white and as smooth as glass, toping the pyramid was a golden capstone that gleamed in the desert sun. It was an amazing spectacle. The pyramids somewhat stayed in this state until the Arab invasion of Egypt around AD 500. The Arab invaders stripped the pyramid of it's smooth limestone and built a huge section of Cairo. Many of the Mosques and Palaces of Cairo consist of the Ancient stones of the pyramids. Quite sad actually.

Bachelors Leading 1 Billion
India which is one of the densely populated country had a bachelor (a man who has never been married) prime minister, president and defense minister in 2000. For 4-5 years when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. Coincidence? India is the second country in the world after China to cross the one billion mark. India's population rose by 21.34 % between 1991 - 2001.

The First Marathon Facts
In 490 BCE, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from Marathon to Athens (about 25 miles) to inform the Athenians the outcome of the battle with invading Persians. The distance was filled with hills and other obstacles; thus Pheidippides arrived in Athens exhausted and with bleeding feet. After telling the townspeople of the Greeks' success in the battle, Pheidippides fell to the ground dead. In 1896, at the first modern Olympic Games, held a race of approximately the same length in commemoration of Pheidippides.

Earth's Record Holders
Highest mountain on Earth, Mt. Everest grows about 4 millimeters a year since two tectonic plates which collided millions of years ago to form the Himalayas, continue to press against each other. Earths highest waterfall is at Angel Falls in Venezuela which drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). Hottest place on earth is Azizia in Libya 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 Celsius) and coldest was in Vostok, Antarctica -129 Fahrenheit (-89 Celsius). Pacific is the biggest ocean (32.6% of the Earth's surface)and Nile River in Africa is longest 4,160 miles (6,695 kilometers).

Number Thirteen Facts
The fear of number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia and it was derived from treiskaideka, the Greek word for thirteen and phobia. There were thirteen people at Christ's Last Supper before his captivity, it is recorder that Christ was crucified on Friday. Routine mission to the moon goes drastically wrong on Apollo 13. Some hotels skip number thirteen when numbering rooms. In Formula 1, there is no car with the number 13.

Dubai Facts
Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world. No taxes on income and there are no personal taxes either. In Dubai Emirates Mall you can ski indoors while shopping, measuring 400 meters and using 6000 tons of snow. Burj Dubai will become the world's tallest building, along with the world's tallest man-made structure when it is completed. Eighty percent of Dubai residents are foreigners.

Monopoly Facts
Monopoly was invented by Charles B. Darrow during the Depression in the 1934 and at first it was rejected by Parker Brothers due to "52 design errors"! Streets in Monopoly are taken from Atlantic City, New Jersey. Game was very popular in Cuba until Fidel Castro took power and burned all the Monopoly sets. Standard Monopoly bank starts with $15,140 and it is estimated that Monopoly has been sold 250 million times through out the world.

Maya Predicts Our Future
Maya people were masters of mathematics and calendars and they were keeping track of time using three separate calendars. For predictions about the beginning and end of the “world” they used “Long Count” calender. And on December 21st 2012, the Long Count will be at the point zero which Maya predicts as the end of time and beginning of the new world. The Mayas were very accurate in their predictions and they predicted invasions on their soil and the World Wars.

Testis Or Testify
The word "testis" cames from the Latin meaning to bear witness. In ancient Rome, only men could bear witness or testify in a public forum. In order to show importance to their testimony, they would hold their testicles as they spoke, and an oath was declared while holding another's testicles.

Is This The Last Pope?
St. Malachy, (d. 1148) Irish Bishop and Seer, produced an accurate list of future popes which began with Pope Celestine II in the year 1143. The prophecy is concerned with the succession of the Popes and there will be one more Pope after the current Pope Benedict XVI according to the prophecies of St. Malachy.

The Seven Wonders
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World compiled by ancient Greek historians are: The Great Pyramid of Giza, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, The Colossus of Rhodes and The Lighthouse of Alexandria.

The Great Wall Myth
It is common mistake to say that The Great wall of China is visible from outer space. It is too thin to be noticed from such a great distance. Only two man made structures visible from space are: The Pyramids of Giza and the Hoover Dam.
Printers Spy On You
Printer manufacturers print invisible yellow dots on consumer's prints that check to see if a person is printing counterfeit money. If you call your printer manufacturer and ask them to "please stop spying on you", they will send secret services to your address to find out why you care about your privacy. Upset? You should be. The more people who call their printer's manufacturers and make this request, the more likely secret services will refuse to investigate.

Hitler, Porsche And Beetle
Probably the most popular car in the world, Beetle had fascinating past. It was proposed by Adolf Hitler to make peoples car that can fit 5 people and deliver speed of 100km/h (62mph) later known as "Volks-Wagen" ("People's Car"). Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche founder of automotive design company, which became known as the Porsche Büro. Ferdinand also designed German tanks, Tiger I and Tiger II. The first Porsche ever build was Porsche 356 created by Ferry Porsche son of Ferdinand Porsche. Porsche currently owns 31% of the Volkswagen car company.

Building Spins 360 Degrees?
Company in Brazil (Suite Vollard) constructed a building in which each floor can rotate 360 degrees. Each building has 11 apartments and each apartment can spin individually in any direction. One rotation takes a full hour, but apartment owner can set rotation speed through apartment control panel. Facades are made of three different types of glass which give wonderful effects when building spins during the sunset. Cost of each apartment is $US 300,000.00.

Cars Fuelled By Hydrogen
Cars today put out a lot of pollution, and use up fossil fuels. Predictions are that hydrogen cars with combination of solar and electricity source, are the future of transportation. Device that is the size of microwave oven may be all you need to fuel your car in the future. Using small device, hydrogen can be easily and cleanly extracted from water and power family car for up to 150 kilometers.

Subway Ticket Gates
The East Japan Railway Company (JR-East), as part of research aimed at developing more environmentally friendly train stations, is testing an experimental system that produces electricity as people pass through ticket gates.

Richest People Today
You may believe that the richest person in the world is a certain sheik who controls oil companies. Nah. The top three spots hold computer, newspaper, and steel industry giant


Broken Speed Of Light
The speed of light was broken by two physicists, Gunter Nimtz and Alfons Stahlhofen, in Germany from the University of Koblenz. This seriously questions Einstein's theory that no object or information can move faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. An example of what could happen with this is time travel, but not like you imagine: If you went for a car trip faster than the speed of light, you'd arrive at your destination before you'd even leave, theoretically, of course. As Dr Guenter Nimtz said: "The effect cannot be used to go back in time, only to reduce the time between cause and effect a little bit."

Nikola Tesla Facts
Nikola Tesla (Serbian scientist) the greatest genius since Leonardo da Vinci. Few people even know that man who invented the 20th century even existed. His ideas and inventions were credited by others. Nikola invented X-rays (credited to Roentgen), radio (credited to Marconi), the microwave oven, speedometer, automobile ignition system, basics behind radar, fluorescent bulb, electron microscope, neon lights and on top of all Tesla designed the first hydro-electric power plant in Niagara Falls (invented alternating currents). Tesla had biggest competitor Thomas Edison, who did everything to prove Tesla wrong and to erase him from history books. Tesla's ideas were so extreme that scientist community thought he was lunatic. He believed that both voice and image could be transmitted through the air (in the late 1800's), which of course was true since we have wireless Internet today.

Dogs Head Lives Without Body
In 1940 Dr. S.S. Bryukhonenko at the Institute of Experimental Physiology and Therapy, Voronezh, U.S.S.R conducted research where he experimented with dogs and proved that dogs head can live without its body for three days. Special artificial conditions were created to power the head with arterial and venous pumps. Dog's isolated head reacted to all basic external stimulants: light, sound, pain and taste. This disturbing Russian experiment helped scientist around the world to create artificial organs that are used by many medical institutes. More recently Dr. Robert White of Ohio claims that he transplanted a monkey's head onto another monkey's body. If you have a good stomach check this odd video which shows in detail how dog's head is living without body.

The Age Of The Universe
After several debates, astronomers have determined the age of the universe by using a Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. By examining the microwave background radiation that WMAP provided, astronomers were able to pin down the age of the universe, accurate to 1%, to 13.7 billion years old.

Numbers And Words
If you spell all the numbers and try to find letter "A" you will have to count to thousAnd. Did you know that: 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 Weird huh?

What Does WD-40 Stand For?
Maybe you didn’t know but WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. Name was coined by the chemist, Norm Larsen, while he was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try.

Coffee Beans Aromas
The full chemical name for caffeine is 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine and its chemical formula is C8H10N4O2. When coffee is roasted, and when the coffee beans begin to cool, they release about 700 chemical substances that make up the vaporizing aromas.

Two Million Years Road Trip
Closest galaxy to our Milk Way galaxy is Andromeda and even traveling at the speed of light it would take 2 million years to reach it. There are 100 billion galaxies that we can observe. Prediction is that there is much more, but Hubble Space Telescope couldn’t detect them.s. The top five richest people are: 1.Bill Gates, 2.Warren Buffett, 3.Lakshmi Mittal, 4.Carlos Slim Helu, 5.Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud.

No comments: