Top Interesting World Facts!

I came across these very interesting facts - Facts that should be of interest to every one. The Top 10 in so many categories. Check yourself - How much do you know?

Just as I had thought - Paris France should take the top spot. The USA is missing in the list!

Can't comment on this - I am not an American nor do I live there...

The Best Discount Brokers in the USA

Best Cities to visit - Paris is down to 6th spot - Rome takes the number one place.

Finland is the cleanest - Canada had to figure. Switzerland and Sweden had to be here.

No wonder Switzerland Chocolates are the best!

I have heard of Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and Jesse Owens. Who are the others? Of course I'm no sports buff!

Ireland is no surprise.

Where are the UK & USA in alcohol consumption? Surprising that they don't figure.

This is for the first 6 months of 2005 - By now Toyota Camry must be at the top.

I am telling you - India's population will beat China's in 20 years time.

No surprise America has the maximum number of airports. Speaks volumes about the development in the USA.

What's wrong with Lithuanians? Love killing themselves? Surprisingly Finland, a rich country figures in the list.

Who can tell me why Maldives is so high on Divorces? USA is of course no surprise. Divorce is a way of life for Americans. They are such an unhappy lot.

I had expected UK to be on the top of the list. Strangely it does not even figure in the list. Finnish it appears love coffee.

I have heard of Maradona, Pele and Michale Owen. Who are the others? As I already said I am not a sports buff.

I'm not a car lover but would still love a drive in a "Dauer 962 LeMans". Is this German?

Cows are holy animals in India. They are worshiped. But I thought Brazil had more cows.

Nothing compares to India! Bearing children is a way of life. Millions are born every year. Thousands are born every day. I became a father on 17th last month! Honestly I would like to see the numbers go down.

USA has the maximum billionaires - it is a known fact. Expect to see India take at least the 10th place in the next few years.

The bigger the country the better. I'm happy to see India in the top 10 of the biggest countries.

I thought New Zealand consumed the most ice cream. Well; they take the second spot.

Average Iraq Family Size at 7.7 - India is there as well.

Death rates - Most of them are African Countries. Not one European country in the list.

Great World Cup goals - I've known Maradona, Owen, Pele and Baggio to be great soccer players.

India will beat China in 25 to 30 years as the nation with the worlds largest work force.

Japan and cars are synonymous - No disagreeing that Toyota is value for money.

I thought Alsatians were also very intelligent. Not in the list.

This most surprising - The most prosperous of nations suffer from low birth weight babies. Poorest of nations like India, Bangladesh are not figuring.

I just read in yesterday's newspaper that the Amazon river is the Longest River now. Nile is the second longest. List to be modified!

Source: unknown, via mail

Loan For Plastic Surgery!

We all know of mortgage loans, personal loans, auto loans, commercial loans, education loans…but have you heard of loans for Plastic Surgery? This looks like a new segment. There are banks that lend for your personal beautification – For Plastic Surgery also. This is cool! Well, there is no arguing that looks for a person is the best passport to a better life.

Go ahead and take the loan if you can afford it. But as the person who sent me this picture rightly put it: “How to recover / repossess in case of a default in this kind of a loan?” Reset the “Nose” to how it was before the loan!?

Weak American Dollar Not Good News For Expatriates

The mighty American Dollar is losing in strength. This is not good news to some one like me who lives in Dubai – A country where the UAE Dirham is pegged to the dollar. The last couple of years have seen the greenback getting weak against most currencies. The weakening dollar drastically affects my purchasing power back home in India and this is cause for concern. Things will seem far too expensive back home when the dollar or dirham is converted.

The dollar has lost more than 10% in the past year or so. A UAE Dirham which was close to rupees 13 at on point (1.5 to 2 years ago) is now languishing at rupees 11.30. The dollar has fallen from rupees 45 to a little over 41/- now. That’s a near Rs 4 loss to every dollar. Expatriates in this country are not a happy lot with a weak greenback. To worsen things this coincides with a very strong pound sterling and a strong euro as well. One pound has surged to $2. The pound is at its highest against the dollar in the past 25 years. One Euro now fetches a high $1.35. All this has hit hard on expatriates whose income is in Dollars or dollar linked currencies and who want to spend the money in sterling, euro or Indian rupees. It becomes difficult to send money back home to countries like India, Britain and Germany from a country like the UAE. Those wishing to send their children for education to Britain or Europe will be affected. Those who save in dollars only are protected but if an expat wishes to go back home it hits him. The UAE Dirham was expected to be revalued but it has not happened.

Analysts are not expecting a rebound of the US Dollar any time soon. America's growing military commitments in Iraq and elsewhere is likely to keep the dollar low for the next few months. The greenback at the moment is reflecting the state of America vis-a-vis the rest of the world. Of course the mighty dollar might bounce back again. With a change in government at the white house the dollar could regain its lost glory. After all, the dollar has been the best performing currency over the last two decades.

Cricket: India in World Cup 2007

It is time Indian cricket underwent a sweeping revamp. Indians went to the Caribbean with a bang and returned with a whimper. I think the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) should change its name to BSCI (Board of Control for Sports India). Indians would do well to promote so many other sports that are not given the importance they deserve. Why not promote games like hockey, football, tennis, badminton, table tennis or athletics? The BCCI has tons of public money. India would have made a mark in one of these sports had they received the attention required. Cricket has been responsible for destroying all sport in India. At least now other sporting disciplines should be given some importance.

The cricket board should be professionalized. Only cricket players of good standing must hold positions and not politicians and non-players. Instead of hiring foreign specialist coaches by paying huge sums of money; a good alternative would be to hire specialists from within the country and conduct training camps at the school and university and town levels where great talent can be scoured. Talent should be discovered at the grass roots level.

The BCCI’s move to limit sponsorships to three per cricketer is a good move and should be implemented. The sponsors in India have learnt a lesson by putting large money on cricketers and the sport. I hear that one leading nationalized bank withdrew its sponsorship to India’s top chess player Koneru Humpy and opted for Rahul Dravid. With India’s dismal shown in the World Cup I am hoping it will mean seeing less of cricketers selling and endorsing products on television.

Our cricketers are generally a non performing bunch, and yet a billion Indians insanely cling to them. Indians in any sport usually enter with a fatalistic attitude resigned to defeat lacking the competitiveness that is so necessary. Added to this is the fact that the media in India over hypes cricket to unimaginable levels. I only hope the BCCI and the sponsors come to their senses for a better Team 11 for the next world cup.

Watch these 2 videos…sad and funny!

Also check out for this post on Indian cricket

Cricket, India and the World Cup!

It's curtains for India on cricket; a sport watched by millions with its shameful loss to Lanka in the world cup. It was disastrous performance by Indians all the way. The match looked like a joke. Although I generally consider the game of cricket as a sport of 11 + 11 + 1 fools (2 teams of 11 each & the one watching it) I wouldn’t want to miss that critical match when India plays. After all I am an Indian; a country of cricket lovers and can’t be cut off from the sport completely!

India’s loss to Sri Lanka can only lower my interest in the game. It was sickening to see our 11 put up such a lackadaisical show. What has happened to the players? What is wrong with the top order batsman? What’s going on with Sachin Tendulkar? He couldn’t be dismissed more easily. I couldn’t believe that he got out trying to defend a ball! He literally threw his wicket away. A normal; regular pitch was what they were batting on.

Cricketers have been made demigods; the huge viewer ship making them so. They make millions but sadly their performance does not justify their fortunes. Cricket is a game of hype, big money, betting, match fixings and a platform for the corporate world to sell its wares. It is the man on the street with his inexplicable love of the sport that has contributed to what the sport is today. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket of India) is one of the richest sporting bodies of the world.

Frequent allegations of match fixing has waned my interest in cricket. There is every chance that the big match that you are watching is a “fixed” one. Bob Woolmer’s murder shows the gory nature and complexities the sport involves. As one newspaper reported “cricket is war without bullets”.

With India's defeat I must ask Team India this: Can you guys beat Bermuda?

With India’s ignominious defeat to Bangladesh and abrupt exit from the world cup scene all kinds of jokes are doing the rounds on the World Wide Web. Here is a good joke I received.

Rahul Dravid Got Caught!
After the shameful defeat of Team India, the team members were not able to show their faces to people and they chose not to go in public and rather just pack up in hotel rooms.

Dravid could not resist for too long to be in the hotel room and still not be able to go out shopping. So he disguises himself as an Arab and goes out. He meets a woman at the exit of the hotel who greets him "Hi Dravid!"

Surprised for having been caught he comes back and makes himself up as a muslim woman - in Burkha etc and goes out. Yet the same woman greets him "Hi Dravid!"

Dravid comes back determined to give it yet another try with the make up of a Hippie wig and shorts etc. All in vain, the same lady catches him again and greets him "Hi Dravid!"

Bewildered by now, he could not help asking, "How did you recognize me?"

The lady replied - "I am Sachin!"

Stress At Work And Six Ways to Handle It

While it’s not a great idea to dwell on problems you can’t do anything about, it’s important to realize that most problems reach the can’t-do-anything-about stage, only because you’ve turned a blind eye. Ignorance is not always bliss.

When you have workplace issues staring you in the face 24/7, you may find a dip in productivity, efficiency, commitment and concentration levels. Which is why it makes sense to take immediate action, when you find yourself in the thick of the following six situations.

1 Bad apples
One bad apple in a team can spoil the entire barrel, suggests new research conducted by William Felps and Terence Mitchell of the University of Washington Business School

Whether it’s the office bully, the lazy Joe/Jane in the next cubicle, the team slacker or the chronic pessimist, a single employee “can seriously damage an entire company”. The study says a “single toxic agent” can be the catalyst for a downward spiral in workplace productivity.

What you can do: People may argue that the positivity of other co-workers could balance out negative vibes, but this doesn’t hold true, apparently.

And ignoring the problem person won’t make him/her vanish into thin air. Take some action, even at the cost of sounding like the office snitch. Your career is at stake too, after all.

2 Unfair boss
Nearly 20% bosses don’t keep their word, more than 25% badmouth their subordinates to co-workers, says a Florida State University study

You’ve probably heard the saying: Employees don’t leave their job or company, they leave their boss. But you don’t realise how true it is, till you’ve been at the receiving end. Poor managers create problems for companies too, leading to poor morale, less production and higher turnover.

Their “victims” report more exhaustion, job tension, nervousness, mood swings and mistrust. They are also less likely to take on additional tasks, such as working longer or on weekends, and are generally less satisfied with their job.

What you can do: Most organisations hold anonymous feedback sessions; give vent. You could also approach your boss’ boss; take sufficient proof along. And if all fails,consider putting in your papers. No job is worth emotional torture and political games.

3 No-Time Syndrome
55% employees say they don’t have enough time for themselves, 63% don’t have enough time for their spouses or partners, and 67% don’t have enough time for their children,says a new US survey

Clocking in never-ending hours is part and parcel of most jobs. But as the months go by, you realise that the only “life” you’re left with revolves is the one at the workplace.

What you can do: Something — anything — before it’s too late. Take up the issue with your department head, probably with a few colleagues who feel time-drained too.

Determine if your team is short-staffed, or if there’s an unfair load on you. Don’t take on another employee’s work (in part or whole) just because you’ve been made to believe that you are much better at it.

4 Techie stress
Nearly 50% employees believe technology increases stress, the US-based Kensington Stress & Technology in the Workplace Survey reveals

Also, 51% report that the possibility of losing documents due to computer crashes causes them “a lot of, or some, stress”. The demands of email and voice mail have also contributed to an overall increase in stress in the last year.

But the study concludes that technology is a double-edged sword. It reveals that 55% workers felt more productive at work, when compared to the last year.

What you can do: Ask yourself if you have made yourself more dependent on machines, than you ought to have. Don’t spend hours gazing at documents on your computer screen; do your eyes a favour and hit “Print”. Also determine if can do with a little less email dependency.

5 Burnout
Fast pace of work, role conflicts, lack of role clarity, emotional demands, and the need to mask emotions at work — have been recently reported as unidentified causes of burnout

Research conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Health, Denmark, measures burnout according to three scales, reflecting different domains of life and of job content: personal, work-related and client-related burnout.

Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is used to measure burnout, by assessing emotional exhaustion, reduced personal accomplishments and depersonalisation.

What you can do: If you aren’t in the mood to get into the how and why of MBI, do the time-honoured thing — just take off. And when you get back to work from your break, start from scratch. Set realistic work targets: spell out what you plan to do now, and stuff that can wait or can be delegated.

6 Sexual harassment
The Supreme Court’s 1997 Vishaka Judgment opened up a discourse on sexual harassment at the workplace, but little has been done to ensure effective resolution of complaints

Women’s organisations, that have been lobbying for a law, say it is ridden with loopholes — it does not cover professionals (only employees), students and those who are part of the unorganised sector. Plus, it does not permit the complainant to talk to the media when the case is on.

What you can do: A new bill is due to be tabled in the Parliament’s summer session, but don’t refrain from taking whatever action you can. Stunned into silence as you may be, react.

Even a strong reaction can be threat enough to the perpetrator. And don’t think you are the only victim; if you chance upon even one person who is sailing in the same boat, consider approaching the top brass.

Source of this article: Mid Day

Akrit Jaswal - The Genius Wonder Kid

In February last; Akrit Jaswal; the miracle kid appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. Akrit is a child prodigy who has been termed a genius right after his birth in 1993. When Oprah asked if he could understand Shakespeare at the mere age of four he answered, "I could understand it. That's why I was reading it".

Years ago, footage emerged from a remote village in India. The video shows a young girl receiving surgery to separate her fingers, which were badly burned and fused together. Why did this operation make headlines around the world? The surgery was performed by a 7-year-old boy named Akrit Jaswal; a teenager from Himachal Pradesh, India .

Now 13 years old, Akrit has an IQ of 146 and is considered the smartest person his age in Indi; a country of more than a billion people. This is an IQ level that beats even that of Albert Einstein. Before Akrit could even speak, his parents say they knew he was special.


"He learned very fast," says Raksha, Akrit's mother. "After learning the alphabet, we started to teach him joining of words, and he started writing as well. He was two." While in class II he cleared exams meant for class V. His mother realized he was special when he would answer graduate level questions.

At an age when most children are learning their ABCs, Akrit was reading Shakespeare and assembling a library of medical textbooks. When he was 5 years old, he enrolled in school. One year later, Akrit was teaching English and math classes.

Akrit developed a passion for science and anatomy at an early age. Doctors at local hospitals took notice and started allowing him to observe surgeries when he was 6 years old. Inspired by what he saw, Akrit read everything he could on the topic. When an impoverished family heard about his amazing abilities, they asked if he would operate on their daughter for free. Her surgery was a success.

After the surgery, Akrit was hailed as a medical genius in India. Neighbors and strangers flocked to him for advice and treatment. At age 11, Akrit was admitted to Punjab University. He's the youngest student ever to attend an Indian university. That same year, he was also invited to London's famed Imperial College to exchange ideas with scientists on the cutting edge of medical research.

Akrit says he has millions of medical ideas, but he's currently focused on developing a cure for cancer. "I've developed a concept called oral gene therapy on the basis of my research and my theories," he says. "I'm quite dedicated towards working on this mechanism."


Growing up, Akrit says he used to see cancer patients lying on the side of the road because they couldn't afford treatment or hospitals had no space for them. Now, he wants to use his intellect to ease their suffering. "[I've been] going to hospitals since the age of 6, so I have seen first hand people suffering from pain," he says. "I get very sad, and so that's the main motive of my passion about medicine, my passion about cancer."

Currently, Akrit is working toward a bachelor's degrees in zoology, botany and chemistry. Someday, he hopes to continue his studies at Harvard University.

However, Akrit’s progress came at a price: frustrated with the perceived lack of support for his gifted son, Akrit’s father became depressed and left the family home some time back, telling him not to get in touch until Akrit had found a cure for cancer. Adored by his self-sacrificing mother and treated as a genius, Akrit has no doubt he will do this. Akrit does not come from a rich family.

Watch out for this boy in the days to come. Looks like a Doogie Howser is in the making.

Here is a small sketch of Akrit in Wikipedia

Sigmund Freud's Priorities - A Short Test!

Here is a short test for you.....interesting......try it! It could give a clue of your life's priorities.

The following five things are happening in your house at the same time. In which sequence would you solve them?

1. The telephone is ringing!
2. The baby is crying!
3. Someone's knocking or calling you from the front door!
4. You hung the clothes out to dry and it is beginning to rain!
5. You left the tap on in the kitchen and the water is already overflowing!

In which sequence would you solve these problems? Write the sequence and check below how your decisions were made.

First write YOUR sequence from 1 to 5 then scroll below and read after!

Answer:
Every individual point represents something in your life.
On the list you can see which meaning every point has:

1. Telephone represents Work
2. Baby represents Family
3. Door represents Friends
4. Clothes represent Money
5. Tap represents Love Life

Your chosen sequence determines the priorities in your life.

Shilpa Shetty, Racism and the Big Brother Celebrity Show

So much has been made of racism in the ‘Big Brother Celebrity’ show in UK in which Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty took part. The show in which participants Jade Goody and Danielle Boyd hurled nasty comments on her lead to widespread condemnation and public anger.

As if to prove that racism does not exist; the masses voted Shilpa Shetty to a thumping victory. Now does her victory mean that British people are not racist? I beg to disagree here. The fact is that racism has existed for centuries and will continue to exist. The only difference was that in this reality show it was open and brazen; which it ought not to have been. Racism is that which man has to learn to live with. You experience racism right from your childhood. Ultimately it is with one’s roots that one associates. Even among one’s own country men racism exists. For example two people from the same state in India (a country of 30 states) might relate better than from two people from different regions. Language is another thing that makes people racist. No wonder Shilpa Shetty was looked at as a person who doesn’t even know English. Two Texans in America might better understand each other than a Texan and a New Yorker. You identify yourself closest with some one who knows your roots and your mother tongue Even a white American is not very welcome in Britain. He might be looked at as racist. Similarly an Australian might be unwelcome in Britain and vice versa. It does not always have to do with the color of the skin.

In America and UK an Indian immigrant is generally not treated on par with a native. An Indian in a first world country like the USA, Canada or UK will always remain a third rate citizen. This is the sad truth that an Indian knows but will not always acknowledge. The economic standing of a nation can aggravate or alleviate racist feelings. Poverty ignites racist tendencies. Wealth and racist feelings often go hand in hand. If a subcontinent Asian in America wants to be perceived better there; the one thing that can (to some extent) cover racist feelings is his social standing – His Wealth. If he is rich he is looked at and treated better.

For Shilpa Shetty she couldn’t have got luckier - Publicity surrounding the racism row drove viewer figures to a record high for the show, with 7.8 million people tuning in. Further it has opened doors with a slew of new offers from which she can rake in a few millions. She must be thanking her stars for the racist attack that she experienced!

World's Oddest Jobs - Ever Imagined These?

In the United States, where a varied group of 9-to-5 professionals appear to dominate the working world, there is still room for unique employment. Nancy Rica Schiff's books, "Odd Jobs," and its sequel "Odder Jobs," showcase portraits of individuals across America with some of the most out-of-the-ordinary occupations. From dog food testers to odor judges, Schiff introduces readers to people and jobs existing beyond the usual classifieds.

Some of these jobs require additional educational training, natural talent or relocating to find the work, but if you're willing to do whatever it takes to avoid a more ordinary occupation, and don't mind steep competition, working in any one of these professions will provide a more interesting response the next time someone asks, "What do you do?"

Here are some of Schiff's Odd Jobs:

1. Coffin Maker
What they do: Build customized coffins, ranging from simple pine caskets to bejeweled boxes.

2. Potato Chip Inspector
What they do: Oversee potato chips on an assembly line and check for overcooked or clumped chips to discard.

3. Wax Figure Maker
What they do: Mold wax to create figures, often, but not limited to, the human form. Figures are often made in the likeness of people who have achieved historical or celebrity recognition.

4. Foot Model
What they do: Work as a "parts model," modeling their feet for advertisements that feature footwear, lotions and other related-products.

5. Golf Ball Diver
What they do: Search the depths of golf course bodies of water to find lost golf balls to refinish and resell.

6. Doll Doctor
What they do: Repair, repaint and reassemble doll parts to doctor-up dolls that have missing, broken or damaged parts.

7. Egg Inspector
What they do: Examine eggs for cracks and other irregularities before they are graded and stamped for approval.

8. Knife Thrower's Assistant
What they do: Act as human targets for the knife thrower, which can involve mastering feats such as being tied to a spinning wheel while having knives thrown within inches of their bodies, or having objects cut above their heads.

9. Foley Artist
What they do: Use random items and whatever else they can find to create and record the noises used to make the sounds effects in films, such as heavy footsteps, rolling thunder or creaking doors.

10. Solfeggist
What they do: Listen to recorded music and monitor notes in indistinguishable compositions.

11. Snow Researcher
What they do: Collect and analyze ice crystals in snow to study the effects of pollution on area snowfall.

12. Wig Maker
What they do: Create and fit hair pieces such as wigs, beards, mustaches and eyebrows for clients requesting hair for costume or personal needs.

13. Gross Stunt Producer
What they do: Create new ways to gross out contestants on television shows, using insects, animal products and other things considered that could be considered "gross" by society's standards.

14. Mermaid
What they do: Entertain crowds as an underwater performer.

15. Whiskey Ambassador
What they do: Drink and explain the proper ways to serve and savor various whiskeys.

16. Dog Food Tester
What they do: Taste and analyze dog food samples and write reviews on the results.

17. Bonfire Builder
What they do: Gather discarded wood from trash bins, beaches, construction scrap heaps and similar areas to expertly build bonfires.

18. Dice Inspector
What they do: Inspect dice used in casinos for lopsided angles, misspotting and other blemishes that could cause error when the dice are rolled for gambling purposes.

19. Ethnographer
What they do: Research and study single groups of human behavior through fieldwork, observing and questioning participants.

20. Gum Buster
What they do: Remove gum stuck to sidewalks, street benches and other unwanted areas by de-sticking the gum through a steaming process.

Source of this article

Saturn: The Best Astronomy Picture of 2006

What else could it possibly have been?

This image has it all. (click for a full sized view of the photo) It’s of a familiar object, seen in an unfamiliar way: back-lit by the Sun, a view impossible from Earth. It shows the whole planet, a rarity from space missions. The image shows very faint details and has very high resolution, a must.

The spacecraft Cassini viewed the rings as never before, revealing previously unknown faint rings and even glimpsing its home world. This was taken on September 15, 2006 using Cassini’s wide angle camera. Cassini was approximately 2.2 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Saturn when the images in this mosaic were taken.

But there is sheer artistry at work here. The colors, the lighting… look at the sun splash in the lower left limb of the planet, and the fans of ethereal mistiness shooting out from the rings. The shading on the planet itself is lovely, while the rings provide a geometric symmetry that is very appealing to the eye.

All this is necessary for the image to be the best, and together they may even be sufficient. But like all true winners, it has that extra addition, the over-the-top detail that pushes it into "all-time" status:

That dot in the center of 2^nd image is the Earth. It’s us. Cassini was nearly one billion miles from us when it took this image, orbiting a giant ball of gas as exotic and alien as any place we can imagine. From such a terribly removed location, the entire Earth is reduced to a single point of light, just one among an anonymous many as seen from our robotic proxy as our generation, for the first time in all of history, seeks out our neighborhood and takes a really good look.

That’s why this is the best astronomy image of 2006. And it’s one of the best of all time. For more info about the source of this picture click here

Interesting Stuff..Knew This?

The most common name in the world is Mohammed

The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond.

It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.*

If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history.

>Spades - King David*

>Clubs - Alexander the Great,*

>Hearts - Charlemagne*

>Diamonds - Julius Caesar.*

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111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
(Count out the answer)*

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If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has a all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural
causes.

What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers all have in common?
Answer - All invented by women.

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

A snail can sleep for three years.

All polar bears are left handed.

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive
from each salad served in first-class.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

Shakespeare invented the words 'assassination' and 'bump'.

Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

An ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps to squirt blood 30 feet.

Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.

Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

35 Funny Facts You Never Knew (Rather Completely Useless Facts!)

1. The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.
2. Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions!
3. What is called a "French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an "English kiss" in France.
4. "Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.
5. "Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.
6. A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!
7. Dolphins sleep with one eye open!
8. The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds.
9. You can't kill yourself by holding your breath
10. Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
11. Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people
12. The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!
13. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different!
14. One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet!
15. Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!
16. The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.
17. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
18. Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, and had only ONE testicle.
19. Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.
20. Coca-Cola would be green if coloring weren’t added to it.
21. More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.
22. You're born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult, you only have 206.
23. Some worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food!
24. It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open
25. The world’s oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old!
26. A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue!
27. Owls are the only birds that can see the colour blue.
28. Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not
29. The placement of a donkey's eyes in it’s' heads enables it to see all four feet at all times!
30. More people are killed each year from bees than from snakes.
31. Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."
32. The average lead pencil will draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English words.
33. Earth is the only planet not named after a God.
34. Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!
35. The word 'Typewriter' is the longest word in English that has all the letters in the top row of the keyboard.
    

Casino Royale Stunt Sets World Record

While ‘Casino Royale’ has yet to make its world premiere, it has already broken a Guinness World Record. The James Bond production team staged a dramatic car crash that saw 007’s Aston Martin roll seven times - a Guinness World Record for a single take.

The scene, which features in the movie, is performed by stunt double Adam Kirley in the Bond Aston Martin. It beat the previous record of six rolls performed by BBC’s
Top Gear stunt man last year.

Casino Royale’s stunt coordinator Gary Powell, designed the manoeuvre for the film. In his initial attempt Powell decided to raise the ramp to just under two feet in the end, but the car just literally took off in the air, levelled pretty much, and landed on all four wheels. The car had no chance of rolling whatsoever because of the stability of the car.

Eventually the special effects guys decided to use cannon which sits just behind the driver’s seat. It has a cylinder that, as you press a button, releases a load of air which punches the cylinder into the road which then, in turn, turns the car over. “We rehearsed the stunt several times driving test cars, which were a similar weight to the Aston Martin, at 80mph towards a 10in ramp. That worked very well, causing the cars to flip over at least five times in rehearsal,” Press Association quoted him as saying.

“But we knew, due to the design and suspension of the Aston Martin DBS, it would probably level itself out in mid-air. When we came to filming the stunt on the night, as suspected, the Aston Martin DBS levelled itself out in mid-air refusing to flip over,” he said. “Adam, the stunt driver, had to drive the cannon fitted Aston at high speed and hit the release at exactly the right moment, resulting in the record breaking stunt. We are thrilled to have broken the Guinness World Record,” he added.
The movie sees Daniel Craig driving off the road in order to avoid Vesper Lynd, who is lying in the middle of the road.