Unusual Interesting Facts

1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

2. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt"

3. Almonds are members of the peach family.

4. The symbol on the "pound" key (#) is called an octothorpe.

5. The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.

6. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.

7. The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.

8. "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."

9. There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

10. The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

11. The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosesl.

12. The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukup okaiwe-nuakit natahu, a New Zealand hill.

13. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size,L.A.

14. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

15. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

16. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.

17. Telly Savalas and Louis Armstrong died on their birthdays.

18. Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

19. The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers.

21. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

23. There is a seven-letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the,there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.

24. Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

27. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

28. Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.

30. The letters KGB stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti

31. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.

33. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

34. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

35. Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."

36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

37. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.

38. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."

39. The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases

Source:http://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/read/80502761/

Interesting facts about India

# India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history.

# 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.

# 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 magnificent 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 7th 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 leveling 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 originated 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 Terra: 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 anaesthesia 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.

# His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.

# 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.

Todays Facts

• Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th"
• Your foot is as long as your forearm, from your wrist to your elbow
• Your eyes dilate when you look at something you like
• Your waist size is double your neck size (so if you want to try a pair of pants on, see if the waist band goes completely around your neck, if it doesn't then it definitely won't fit you.)
• A good link for legit free movies is filmmetro.com
• Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.
• The 3 most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.
• There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
• Humans are the only primates that don't have pigment in the palms of their hands.
• Snails can sleep for 3 years without eating.
• Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of vodka.
• Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades-King David; Clubs-Alexander the Great; Hearts-Charlemagne; and Diamonds-Julius Caesar.
• It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.
• The only two days of the year in which there are no professional sports games (MLB, NBA,NHL, or NFL), are the day before and the day after the Major League All-Star Game.
• All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.
• James Doohan, who plays Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott on Star Trek, is missing the entire middle finger of his right hand.
• The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

Interesting Facts and Figures : Amitabh Bachchan

Even today as he is 66, he is busy as ever and shows the same energy and enthusiasm for his work which is commendable. Legends like Amitabh Bachchan come but once in a lifetime. 

 Cool Facts –

·        He launched a multi-faceted commercial enterprise known as Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited, or ABCL. ABCL is engaged in production, distribution and all other aspects of the movie industry.

·        Is a vegetarian

·        Was a former stage actor, radio announcer and freight company executive in Calcutta, India.

·        When he was just trying to get a break in movies he was told to soften his 'deep' voice. However it was soon realised that his deep rich voice was excellent for narration. He has provided narrations for several films

·        The first Asian actor having a wax model of his likeness displayed at Madame Tussaud's in London, UK

·        Was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of such luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Marlon Brando.

·        At the age of 58, he jumped from a height of 30 feet, along with co-star Manoj Bajpai, for his 2001 movie Aks

·        Suffers from asthma.

·        His favourite screen name is Vijay, which he had as his character name in over 20 movies.

·        He hates the word Bollywood, the word that describes the Hindfilm industry.

·        Had a very close association with the former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi (also Prime Minister) and he was elected to parliament with a huge majority from his home town of Allahabad. But his stint in politics did not last long and he was implicated in the infamous Swedish Bofors Gun deal scandal along with Rajiv Gandhi, the U.K. based Hinduja brothers, and others.

·        While filming Coolie (1983/I) he received a near fatal injury. He was hospitalised and the Indian press issued daily bulletins on his health.

·        Following a near fatal accident while shooting Coolie (1983/I), during which he suffered internal bleeding and required 17 bottles of blood, he became a champion for the cause of encouraging more people to donate blood.

 

Other Facts

 

·        Birthdate -11th Oct 1942 

·        Nicknames - BIG B, Munna, One Man Industry, Angry Young Man, Bollywood's Shahenshah, Amith, Big A 

·        Early Films - Reshma Aur Shera (1971). Parwana (1971), Anand (1970) and Namak Haram (1973) Saudagar (1973) 

·        Breakthrough Film - Zanjeer 

·        Angry young man image in films like -Deewaar (1975) Trishul (1978), Kaala Patthar (1979) and Shakti (1982) (Don (1978), The Great Gambler (1979)), Parveen Babi (Deewaar, Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Kaalia (1981)) or Rekha (Mr Natwarlal (1979), Suhaag (1979), Silsila (1981)). 

·        Romantic roles in - (Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Silsila (1981)) 

·        Manmohan Desai entertainers - Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish (1977), Suhaag (1979), Naseeb (1981)

·        Sucessful films - Sharaabi ,Coolie ,Mahaan ,Nastik ,Andhaa Kanoon Pukar ,Shakti ,Desh Premee... ,Satte Pe Satta ,Khud-Daar ,Namak Halaal ,Silsila ,Laawaris

·        Dual role films - Adalat (1976/I), Don (1978), Kasme Vaade (1978), The Great Gambler (1979), Bemisaal (1982), Desh Premee (1982), Satte Pe Satta (1982), Aakhree Raasta (1986), Toofan (1989), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Lal Baadshah (1999) and Sooryavansham (1999)

·        Triple Role - Mahaan

·        Last three films before going on a break - Agneepath (1990, Hum (1991), Khuda Gawah (1992)

·        Comeback disaster - Mrityudata (1997)

·        Popular game show that got him back in the limelight-Kaun Banega Karorepati?

·        No turning back after - films like Baghban (2003) , Khakhee (2004), Dev (2004),Bunty aur Babli (2005), Nishabd (2007), Cheeni Kum and The Last Lear (2008), Black

·        Personal front - wife Jaya Bhaduri, 2 children- Shweta and Abhishekh,  Daughter in law Aishwarya Rai 

Source:http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-78196.html

Cool facts - Sex

1. Sex burns about 70-120 calories for a 130 pound woman, and 77 to 155 calories for a 170 pound man per hour.  That's saying you can make it all the way to an hour! ;)

2. Humans are the only mammals who continue to have sex past the age of fertility

3. Kissing can aid in reducing tooth decay because the extra saliva helps clean the mouth

4. Most arousing time of day for a man is early morning when hormone levels are at a peak

5. You can still have an erection after death . However, it's not after the most pleasant of circumstances - a death by hanging.

6. A man's beard grows fastest when he anticipates sex

7. Humans are the only mammals that have intercourse in the face to face, missionary position

8. In Sea horses the male carries the baby instead of the female. They are the only life form that does this.

9. It's estimated that there are about 22,500 penile implants currently in use in the U.S.

10. On the same note, about 1.5 million women have breast implants in the U.S. (and growing!)

***The best way to improve sexual function is to quit smoking, start excercising, and lose weight. Of course, you knew that! ;)

Source:http://thefitnessdiva.blogspot.com/2009/01/cool-body-facts-4.html

Cool facts

Cockroaches can live for 9 days after their head has been cut off.

The world's largest amphibian is the giant salamander. It can grow up to 5 ft. in length.

The first coast-to-coast telephone line was established in 1914.

A car traveling 100 mph would take more than 29 million years to reach the nearest star.

In Cleveland, Ohio it is illegal to catch mice without a hunting license.

In Sweden there is a ski-thru Mcdonalds.

Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head."

Since 1313, it is illegal for an MP to enter the House of Commons wearing a full suit of armour.

In York, excluding Sundays, it is legal to shoot a Scotsman with a bow and arrow.

If you add up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5 etc) the total is 5050.

Source: http://www.mouthshut.com/diary/jdgirprtm/Cool-Facts

Soft Drinks

Carbonated beverages

In the 1770s, scientists made important progress in replicating naturally carbonated mineral waters. Englishman Joseph Priestley impregnated distilled water with carbon dioxide. Another Englishman, John Mervin Nooth, improved Priestley's design and sold his apparatus for commercial use in pharmacies. Swedish chemist Torbern Bergman invented a generating apparatus that made carbonated water from chalk by the use of sulfuric acid. Bergman's apparatus allowed imitation mineral water to be produced in large amounts.

Soda fountain pioneers
Artificial mineral waters, usually called "soda water," and the soda fountain made the biggest splash in the United States. Beginning in 1806, Yale chemistry professor Benjamin Silliman sold soda waters in New Haven, Connecticut. He used a Nooth apparatus to produce his waters. Businessmen in Philadelphia and New York City also began selling soda water in the early 1800s. In the 1830s, John Matthews of New York City and John Lippincott of Philadelphia began manufacturing soda fountains. Both men were successful and built large factories for fabricating fountains.


7up
The soft drink 7Up was originally named "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" when it was formulated in 1929 because it contained lithium citrate. The beverage was a patent medicine marketed as a cure for hangover. Lithium citrate was removed from 7Up in 1950.

Coke
The first sales were at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886.[5] It was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents[6] a glass at soda fountains, which were popular in the United States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water was good for the health.[7] Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured many diseases, including morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 of the same year in the Atlanta Journal.[8] When launched Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine (benzoylmethyl ecgonine) and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leaf and the caffeine from kola nuts — Coca-Cola (the 'K' in Kola was replaced with a C for marketing purposes)

The exact formula of Coca-Cola is a famous trade secret. The original copy of the formula is held in SunTrust Bank's main vault in Atlanta. Its predecessor, the Trust Company, was the underwriter for the Coca-Cola Company's initial public offering in 1919. A popular myth states that only two executives have access to the formula, with each executive having only half the formula.[31] The truth is that while Coca-Cola does have a rule restricting access to only two executives, each knows the entire formula and others, in addition to the prescribed duo, have known the formulation process.

Fanta
Fanta has its origins in Germany. When a trading ban was placed on Germany by the Allies during World War Two the Coca-Cola company was not able to import the ingredients to produce Coca-Cola in Germany. As a result their chief-chemist Dr. Schetelig had to create a new product for the Germany market created using only ingredients available in Germany

Pepsi
Pepsi was first made in New Bern, North Carolina, in the United States in the early 1890s by pharmacist Caleb Bradham. In 1898, "Brad's Drink" was changed to "Pepsi-Cola" and later trademarked on June 16, 1903

Dr Pepper
It was formulated by German pharmacist Charles Alderton in Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas.[2] To test his new drink, he first offered it to store owner Wade Morrison, who also found it to his liking. After repeated sample testing by the two, Alderton was ready to offer his new drink to some of the fountain customers. A popular belief is that the drink was named after Morrison's former employer in Texas, but this has been disputed by the Dr Pepper company itself

IKEA

IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden and it is owned by a Dutch-registered foundation controlled by the Kamprad family. IKEA is an acronym comprising the initials of the founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad), the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home county (Agunnaryd, in Småland, South Sweden).[2] IKEA was founded in Älmhult, Sweden, in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, when he was 17. The acronymIKEA is incidentally similar to the Greek word οικία [oikia] (home) and to the Finnish word oikea (true, correct, right), but was originally an abbreviation for "Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd" which is the initial letters of his first and last name, the farm where he grew up and the town he lived in.

Originally, IKEA sold pens, wallets, picture frames, table runners, watches, jewelry and nylon stockingsor practically anything Kamprad found a need for that he could fill with a product at a reduced price.Furniture was first added to the IKEA product range in 1948 and, in 1955, IKEA began to design its own furniture. The company motto is: "To create a better everyday life for the many people."

At first, Kamprad sold his goods out of his home and by mail order, but eventually a store was opened in the nearby town of Älmhult. It was also the location for the first IKEA "warehouse" store which came to serve as a model for IKEA establishments elsewhere. On 23 March 1963, the first store outside Sweden was opened in Asker, a Norwegian municipality outside Oslo.