Facts About All: November 2010

Fast facts about Death Valley

Death Valley receives very little rainfall. The highest average recorded was in 1913 at 4.5 inches.
Annual (potential) evaporation is the highest in the world at 128 inches (3.25 m).
Death Valley holds the record for the highest reliably reported temperature in the Western hemisphere, 134 °F (56.7 °C) at Furnace Creek on July 10th, 1913
Death Valley is a desert located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America.
The Badwater area is the lowest point in the western hemisphere at 282 feet (86.0 m).
The atmospheric pressure is higher at very low altitudes than it is under the same conditions at sea level because there is more air (more distance) between the ground and the top of the atmosphere.
2001 saw a record of 153 consecutive days with daytime high temperatures above 100 degrees.
The Telescope Peak is the valley's highest point at 11,043 ft (3,366 m).
President Herbert Hoover proclaimed Death Valley as a National Monument on Feb 11th 1933.
Death valley is believed to have nearly 900 different species of plants existing.
During the Pleistocene era, the floor of Death Valley was once a lake.
In 2005, Death Valley received four times its average annual rainfall of 1.5 inches (38 mm).

Dead Sea facts

The Dead Sea is the 2nd saltiest body of water in the world (The first is Lake Assal in Djibouti).
The Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east.
The Greeks called it “Lake Asphaltites”.
Its surface and shores are 1,385 ft (422 meters) below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land.
Rainfall is scarcely 100 mm per year in the northern part of the Dead Sea and barely 50 mm in the southern part.
In the Bible, it is said that the Dead Sea will one day come alive and fill with marine life.
The Dead Sea is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean. This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name.
The Dead Sea is 3,000,000 years old.
The Dead Sea is 1,240 ft (378 meters) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world.
The Dead Sea is considered to be the world's largest 'natural spa'.
The salt in the Dead Sea treats acne, psoriasis, hives, cellulite, dry skin, dandruff, stress, muscle aches, and more.

Deodorant facts

Ancient egyptians were the first to applying scents to underarms.
The first commercial deodorant, Mum, was introduced and patented in the late 19th century.
Antiperspirants are classified as drugs by the Food and Drug Administration.
Odours from strong foods (garlic, curry, onions, etc.) are emitted through your sweat.
Aluminum chloride, the ingredient that blocks glandular openings and prevents sweating, is notorious for turning T-shirts yellow.
Offensive body odor or BO is actually illegal in libraries in San Luis Obispo County, California.
Human perspiration is largely odorless until it is fermented by bacteria.
Deodorants work by making the skin an unfriendly environment for the bacteria.
Of the worlds population around 2.5% have problems with excessive sweating.
When Nirvana's Kurt Cobain wrote the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit," he didn't know Teen Spirit was a popular deodorant brand.
As children approach puberty, hormones cause an increase in sweating which then results in body odour.
Today, sticks are the most popular type of antiperspirant.
Producing too much sweat is known as hyperhidrosis.

Facts about the Deinonychus or "terrible claw" dinosaur

Deinonychus was one of the most deadly dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period.
Fossils have been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.
The name Deinonychus literally translates to, 'terrible claw'.
Deinonychus may have hunted in packs, attacking even very large animals, perhaps even large sauropods and ankylosaurids.
Deinonychus was 5 feet (1.5 m) in height and 3.4 metres (11 ft 2 in) in length and weighed around 80 kg (43.5 lb).
Deinonychus is part of an extinct prehistoric family of dinosaurs that are called dromaeosaurs.
Their intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was the highest among the dinosaurs.
Deinonychus had a bird-like metabolism and it is believed to have been covered by feathers.
Deinonychus possessed large hands with 3 claws on each forelimb. The first digit was shortest and the second was longest. Each hind foot bore a sickle-shaped claw on the second digit, which was probably used during predation.

Facts about detectives

In many police systems, detectives are university graduates who join directly from civilian life without first serving as uniformed office
Detectives may rely on a network of informants they have cultivated over the years.
About 21% are self-employed.
Much of their work is done with a computer.
Investigators may spend months posing as employees of a company in order to find misconduct.
Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is any licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into records.
Private detectives and investigators often work irregular hours because of the need to conduct surveillance.
Sherlock Holmes was a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who first appeared in publication in 1887.

Detroit fast facts

From 1805 to 1847, Detroit was the capital of Michigan.
Detroit built the nation’s first urban freeway, the Davison, in 1942.
Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County.
Detroit is the potato chip capital of the world, based on consumption.
Detroit was the first city to pave a concrete road.
Nicknames: the Motor City and Motown.
Detroit has the most registered bowlers in the U.S.
The city name comes from the Detroit River (French: le détroit du Lac Érié), meaning the strait of Lake Erie.
Detroit was the first city in the nation to assign individual telephone numbers in 1879.
The city population dropped from its peak in 1950 with a population of 1,849,568 to 910,920 in 2009.
Detroit supplied 75 percent of liquor during Prohibition.

Denmark facts

Denmark together with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe.
The average temperature in the country changes from 0 °C in January to 16 °C in August.
Denmark’s population is 5,475,791, giving Denmark a population density of 129.16 inhabitants per square km (334.53 inh/sq mi).
In 2009, 90.5 percent of Denmark’s population was of Danish descent.
The ice free part of Greenland is almost ten times larger than Denmark.
Denmark has the best business climate in the world, according to the U.S. business magazine Forbes.
Denmark borders with only 1 country, Germany.
The Vikings lived from 800 to 1200 in the period of time known as the Viking Age. Originally , they come not only from Denmark but also from Norway and Sweden.
In 2010, Transparency International ranked it as least corrupt country in the world.
Danish women are on average almost 29 years old when they give birth to their first child.
The Great Danes dog breed probably did not originate from Denmark, but from Germany.
From 2006 to 2008, surveys ranked Denmark as "the happiest place in the world", based on standards of health, welfare and education.
Only 3 Danish films have sold more than one million tickets.
Danish is the official language in the country.
43 percent of all Danes own a car.
The Danish monarchy has existed for over 1000 years.
The average tax rate in Denmark is 49 percent.

Facts about tourism
Facts about airports
.

Death facts

Death is the cessation of the biological functions that sustain a living being.
In the Nineteenth century, Egypt had such an excess of mummies that they started using them as fuel for trains engines.
Many cultures have viewed biological death as a portal into an afterlife.
Approximately 100 billion people have died since humans began.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for the two sexes, followed by cancer.
80% of people who die in the U.S. die inside of a hospital.
In 1900, only a small fraction of Americans died in hospitals, and infectious diseases like influenza were among the leading killers.
Causes of death in humans as a result of intentional activity include suicide, homicide and war.
Burials in the United States put 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid, into our soil each year.
150,000 people die around the world each day.
There are more than two hundred euphemisms for death.
Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat and of breathing, but the development of CPR and prompt defibrillation have rendered that definition inadequate because breathing and heartbeat can sometimes be restarted.
In the United States, a person is dead by law if a Statement of Death or Death certificate is approved by a licensed medical practitioner.

Facts about depression (mood)

Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless.
66 percent of people suffering from depression do not seek necessary treatment
92 percent of depressed African-American males do not seek treatment.
Females experience depression about twice as often as males.
Depression is associated with changes in substances in the brain (neurotransmitters) that help nerve cells communicate, such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
Fifteen percent of the population of most developed countries suffers severe depression.
Suicide was the 9th leading cause of death in the U.S. in 1996.

Dwight Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the last president to be born in the 19th century.
During World War II, Eisenhower served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe.
Historians typically rank Dwight Eisenhower among the 10 greatest U.S. presidents.
Parents: David Jacob Eisenhower and Ida Elizabeth Stover.
As president, Eisenhower's favorite dessert was prune whip.
Eisenhower's mother was a devout pacifist.
Eisenhower married Mamie Geneva Doud on July 1, 1916, in Denver, and had two sons.
In his retirement years, Eisenhower was a member of the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Interesting facts about dwarf planets

A dwarf planet is a celestial body that orbits the Sun, too small to be considered a real planet but too large to be called a asteroid.
It has to have sufficient mass to overcome its compressive strength and achieve hydrostatic equilibrium.
The Solar System currently has 5 dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris.
The term dwarf planet was adopted in 2006.
Ceres at first was classified as a large asteroid.
It is suspected that at least another 40 known objects in the Solar System are dwarf planets.
Pluto was first considered a small planet in itself.
For almost 50 years Pluto was thought to be larger than Mercury.
Eris was discovered in 2005 beyond the orbit of Pluto.

Czech Republic fast facts

Czech Republic split itself from Czechoslovakia into a separate country in 1993.
The capital of the Czech Republic is Prague.
The country shares its borders with Slovak Republic in the east, Germany in the west as well as northwest, Poland in the north east and Austria in the south.
The official language of Czech Republic is Czech.
Land Size of Czech Republic : 78,866 sq km.
Literacy rate: 99%.
The two major rivers of the Czech Republic are Vltava and Elbe.
Main Industries in the country: metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments.

The first BlackBerry device, the 850, was introduced in 1999 as a 2-way pager.A recent study found that 33% of people who used wireless handheld devices (aka: the BlackBerry) showed the same signs of addiction of that of alcoholics and drug addicts.
BlackBerry is widely referred to as "CrackBerry.
BlackBerry commands a 14.8 percent share of worldwide smartphone sales, making it the fourth most popular platform after Nokia's Symbian OS, Google's Android, and Apple's iOS.
The device is actually made in Canada, by Research in Motion.
There is actually a class for people on how to use their BlackBerry and the right etiquette to use.
President Barack Obama is obsessed with his BlackBerry.
This handheld device is mostly used by corporate workers but is becoming more mainstream.
In June 2010, according to RIM, they had sold up to 100 million BlackBerry worldwide.

Some facts about Classical music

The term classical music was not used until the early Nineteenth century.
Classical period lasted from 1750-1820.
The best known composers of the Classical period: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.
The instruments used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-Nineteenth century, and codified in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries.
More seats are sold every year in the United States to arts events (opera, concerts, symphonies, etc) than to ALL professional sports combined.
The first reference to "classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836.
The major time divisions of classical music are the early music period, which includes Medieval (476–1400) and Renaissance (1400–1600), the Common practice period, which includes the Baroque (1600–1750), Classical (1730–1820) and Romantic (1815–1910) periods, and the modern and contemporary period, which includes 20th century classical (1900–2000) and contemporary classical (1975–current).
Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' was adopted as the European National Anthem in 1972.

Some facts about chickens

The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Jungle Fowl.
Chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) are not capable of sustained flight.
Chickens can travel up to 9 mph.
The longest distance flown by a chicken is 90.4 m (301½ feet).
There are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird.
Hens start laying eggs at about 6 months.
Alektorophobia is the name given to " the fear of chickens "
Life expectancy: 5 to 10 years depending on their environment.

Churros are fried-dough pastry-based snacks. They are often referred to as "Spanish doughnuts" or "Mexican doughnuts".
Churros were originally about the size of a breadstick and were eaten plain or rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Today, churros have become increasingly popular throughout the United States and other non-Latin countries.
Churros are typically fried until they become crunchy, and then are sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon.
In Cuba, churros are filled with guava.
In Spain, Mexico, and Argentina, they are available in cafes for breakfast.
In Chile, Argentina and Brazil, churros are filled with dulce de leche.
There are about 116 calories in one churro.

Some facts about Frédéric Chopin

Full name: Frédéric François Chopin (in Polish: Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin).
Frédéric Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola, a village in the Duchy of Warsaw (February 22, 1810).
Already at the age of seven, Frédérik Chopin was the author of 2 polonaises (in G minor and B flat major).
As a pianist, Frédéric Chopin was ranked among the greatest artists of his epoch.
When Chopin was 10 years old, his piano teacher told him that he has nothing more to teach him, because he was just too good.
Chopin was one of the great masters of Romantic music.
All of Chopin's works involve the piano.
Frédéric Chopin agonized for days, or even weeks, over a couple of bars of his compositions.
For most of his life, Chopin suffered from poor health; he died in Paris in 1849 at age 39 (tuberculosis).
Age at Death: 39 years, 7 months and 25 days old.

Cholera disease facts

75% of people infected with cholera do not exhibit any symptoms.
Cholera's short incubation period of 2 hours to 5 days enhances the potential for increased outbreaks.
Worldwide it affects 3-5 million people and causes 100,000-130,000 deaths a year as of 2010.
Cholera is mostly spread through contaminated water and food supplies.
Treatment for cholera typically includes antibiotics and fluid replacement.
The main symptoms of cholera are profuse painless diarrhea and vomiting of clear fluid. If untreated, as many as 1 in 2 people may die.
An untreated person with cholera may produce 10-20 liters of diarrhea a day.
In the developed world, seafood is the usual cause of cholera while in the developing world it is more often water.
Cholera is rarely spread directly from person to person.
The first cholera pandemic of 1817-1823 spread from India to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Russia leaving hundreds of thousands of people dead in its wake.

Some facts about chocolate

The word 'Chocolate' comes from the nahuatl word ‘xocolatl’. This means 'bitter water'.
Chocolate is derived from cacoa (cocoa) beans.
Emperor Montezuma of Mexico partook a Chocolate drink before entering his harem.
A single chocolate chip can provide enough energy for an adult human to walk 45 meters (150 ft).
Chocolate does not appear to raise blood cholesterol.
Chocolate does not cause acne.
Chocolate contains an ingredient called "Theobromine" which can be toxic to a dogs central nervous system and cardiac muscles.
The average Swiss eats 9.5 kg (21 pounds) a year.
Each person in the US consumes (5.4 kg) 12 pounds of chocolate each year.
Allergies to chocolate are very uncommon.
U.S. manufacturers use 1.6 million kg (3.5 million pounds) of whole milk every day to make chocolate.
Chocolate has over 500 flavor components. This is double the amount found in strawberry and vanilla.
Chocolate is very sensitive to temperature and humidity. Ideal storage temperatures are between 15 and 17° C (59 and 63° F), with a relative humidity of less than 50 percent.
Consumers worldwide spend more than $20 billion a year on Chocolate.
On Valentine's Day, a box of chocolates is traditional, usually presented with flowers and a greeting card.
Cocoa or dark chocolate benefits the circulatory system.
A study reported by the BBC indicated that melting chocolate in one's mouth produced an increase in brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than that associated with passionate kissing, and also lasted 4 times as long after the activity had ended.

Interesting info about cheetahs

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is described as the fastest mammal on Earth.
The genus name, Acinonyx, means "no-move-claw" in Greek, while the species name, jubatus, means "maned" in Latin, a reference to the mane found in cheetah cubs.
The name cheetah comes from the Hindu word ''chita'' meaning 'spotted one'.
There are five subspecies of cheetah in the genus Acinonyx - four in Africa and one in Iran.
Cheetah fur was formerly regarded as a status symbol.
The diet of cheetahs consist of small and larger game including antelope, zebra hares and rodents
The cheetah's paws have semiretractable claws (known only in 3 other cat species: the fishing cat, the flat-headed cat and the Iriomote cat), offering extra grip in its high-speed pursuits.
Cheetahs are 67 to 94 cm (26 to 37 in) in height at the shoulder.

Crack cocaine comes in a rock crystal form that can be heated and inhaled or smoked.
Crack cocaine is highly addictive, possibly even more than other forms of cocaine.
It is called 'crack' in reference to the cracking sound it makes when it is heated, presumably from the sodium bicarbonate that is used in the production of crack.
Crack cocaine, became enormously popular in the mid-1980s due in part to its almost immediate high and the fact that it is inexpensive to produce and buy.
The US justice department statistics indicate that about 1-2 million people regularly use crack.
27.5 percent of those incarcerated had been regular users of cocaine/crack.
Crack is a readily available form of cocaine. Cocaine is used because it produces euphoria, is a stimulant, suppresses appetite, and can be used as a pain reliever.
3.3 percent of students (high school and college) reported being current users of cocaine, meaning that they had used cocaine at least once during the past 30 days.
The pleasant effects of crack wear off quickly (5-10 minutes), causing users to feel 'down' or depressed, more than before taking the drug.
The average age of those admitted to treatment for crack cocaine is 35.7 years.
Smoking crack cocaine can cause particularly aggressive paranoid behavior in users.

Interesant facts about cruise ships

The ‘Royal Olympic Cruises Olympic Voyager’ is the fastest cruise liner in the world. The average speed is 27 nautical miles an hour.
The most popular cruise destination is the Caribbean.
The ‘Royal Clipper’ It is the largest sail cruise ship still in service. The total weight that the ‘Royal Clipper’ can carry is 5000 tons.
The title of the largest cruise ship goes to ‘Oasis of the Seas’. The ship is 1,181 feet (360 meters) in leght.
Modern cruise ships are like large, floating hotels.
The average age of a cruise passenger is 50.
There are more than 300 cruise ships currently active in the world.
The number of people taking a cruise each year easily exceeds 10 million.
Cruise boats became so popular to travelers with the help of the Pacific Princess, the cruise boat used in the 1970s television show, "The Love Boat."
The "average" weight gain on a cruise is 8 lbs (3.6 kg).

Facts about crime

The U.S. has 5 percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of the world's incarcerated population.
Violent crime constitutes 4.6 percent of arrests in the United States.
There are approximately 12 million crimes committed in the United States every single year.
Organized crime is estimated to account for 10% of the United States' national income.
About 20% of the victims of violent crime nationally went to a hospital emergency room.
There are over 100,000 rapes in the United States every single year.
Only 1 out of 700 identity thieves gets caught!
Half of all identity thieves are either relatives, friends, or neighbors of their victims.
Every year an inmate spends in prison costs taxpayers an average of $22,000

Credit card debt is an example of unsecured consumer debt, accessed through credit cards.
The median credit card debt per household with credit card debt: $16,007
Debt accumulates and increases via interest and penalties when the consumer does not pay the company for the money he or she has spent.
Total U.S. consumer debt: $2.42 trillion (June 2010).
When a consumer has been late on a payment, it is possible that other creditors, even creditors the consumer was not late in paying, may increase the interest rates the consumer is paying. This practice is called universal default.
80% of consumers currently own a debit card, compared to 78% who own a credit card and 17% who own a prepaid card.
Of the college students with cards, about 65% pay their bills in full every month, which is higher than the general adult population.
The first widely accepted plastic charge card was issued in 1958 by American Express.

Binney and Smith Company developed their own famous line of wax crayons beginning on June 10, 1903.
Edwin Binney, working with his wife, Alice Stead Binney, came up with their famous Crayola brand of crayons.
Alice came up with the name Crayola by combining the French word for chalk, craie, with the first part of oleaginous, the oily paraffin wax used to make the crayon.
All Crayola-branded products are marketed as non-toxic and safe for use by children.
Crayola crayons come in 120 colors.
The Crayola brand has ninety-nine percent name recognition in U.S. consumer households, and its products are sold in over 80 countries.
The best seller is the 24 count box of crayons.
Kids, ages 2-8, spend an average of 28 minutes each day coloring.
The average American child will wear down 730 crayons by his tenth birthday.
100 billion crayons have been made since before World War I.
According to the Crayola Company, you can eat 3,500 of its crayons a day and still not reach the level of toxicity found in an ordinary glass of drinking water.

Facts about domestic cats

Domestic cats can jump between five and seven times as high as their tail.
Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years.
A cat's heart beats twice as fast as a human heart, at 110 to 140 beats per minute.
Domestic cats are currently the most popular pet in the world..
Ailurophobia is the hate or fear of cats
Twenty-five percent of cat owners blow dry their cats hair after a bath.
Killing a cat was punishable by death in ancient Egypt.
The smallest domestic cat breed is the Singapura. Males weigh about 6 pounds (2.7 kg), while females weigh about 4 pounds (1.8 kg).
Cats rely more on smell than taste.
The largest cat breed in the world is the Ragdoll. Males weigh 12 to 20 pounds (5.4 to 9 kg), with females weighing 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 6.8 kg).
Domestic cats use a variety of vocalizations. These include meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting.
An average cat has one-eight kittens per litter, and two-three litters per year.
The earliest direct evidence of cat domestication is a kitten that was buried alongside a human 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.
A domestic cat has 5 more vertebrae in her spinal column than her human does.
The average cat sleeps between twelve to fourteen hours a day.
The average age for an indoor cat is 15 years, while the average age for an outdoor cat is only 3 to 5 years.
Cats' sense of smell is fourteen times stronger than that of humans.
Cats spend 30 percent of their waking hours grooming themselves.
Domestic cats have a body temperature of between 101 and 102.2 °F (38 and 39 °C).
Ninety-five percent of all cat owners admit they talk to their cats.
Twenty-one percent of U.S. households have at least one cat.

Cameron Diaz facts

Cameron Diaz lived with video producer Carlos De La Torre for 5 years.
Her father is Cuban.
At 15, Diaz began her career as a fashion model.
Cameron Diaz gained fame in the 1990s with roles in the blockbuster films The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary.
Her mother, Billie, is of Native American, Italian and German descent.
Diaz likes snowboarding and surfing.
Cameron Diaz is 5' 9" tall (1.75 m).
Became only the second actress to join the coveted $20 Million Club (after Julia Roberts).
Cameron Diaz was born in San Diego, California.

Digestion is a form of catabolism: a break-down of larger food molecules to smaller ones.
In a healthy human adult, digestion can take between one and three days.
Organs that make up the digestive tract: mouth, esophagus, stomach, small Intestine, large intestine, rectum and Anus.
Every day 11.5 liters of digested food, liquids and digestive juices flow through the digestive system.
The whole digestive system is around 30 feet long.
Hundreds of different kinds of enzymes are needed to properly digest food.
Over 90% of digestion and absorption takes place in the small intestine.
A rumbling stomach is a sign that the digestive system is working well.

A digital camera takes photographs digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor.
Steven Sasson, a Kodak engineer, developed the first digital camera prototype in 1975.
In 1988, Fuji DS-1P became the first digital camera that captured images as a computerized file.
In 1991, Kodak DCS-100 was the first commercially available digital camera.
Digital cameras surpassed the sale of film cameras for the first time in 2003.
The optical system works the same as in film cameras, typically using a lens with a variable diaphragm to focus light onto an image pickup device.
You can easily connect the digital camera to your laptop and transfer the pictures in your hard disk.
Digital cameras have high power requirements.

Beards are the fastest growing hairs on the human body.
By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 50 trillion cells, the basic unit of life.
Both lungs contain over 300,000 million capillaries.
The brain requires 20% of the oxygen and calories the body needs.
Human bone is as strong as granite in supporting weight.
The human body has 6 pounds of skin which is, on average, 1/20 of an inch thick.
80 percent of the brain is water
The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body.
Each finger and toenail takes 6 months to grow from base to tip.
The ovum (female egg) is one of the largest cells in the human body, typically visible to the naked eye without the aid of a microscope or other magnification device.
Fingernails grow faster than toenails.

There are generally more than 240 sunny days a year in Cancún, Mexico.
The estimated population for Cancún is 705,000 in 2010 an increase 20% from the census in 2005.
When development was started on Jan. 23, 1970, Isla Cancún had only 3 residents.
Due to the reluctance of investors to bet on an unknown area, the Mexican government had to finance the first nine hotels.
Cancún's average temperature is 80° F (27° C).
Cancún is a world-renowned balneario and tourist resort.
Cancún is the Mayan word for "pot of snakes."
Contrary to other tropical zones, Cancún does not have a specific rainy season and the constant breeze makes it an extremely pleasant place, even during the summer.
The Cancún region is sometimes known as the Mexican Caribbean or the Mayan Riviera.
Cancún can be divided into three main areas: The Hotel District, the Town and the Ecological Reserve, blessed with incredible lakes and mangrove swamps.
Cancún is located in one of the main Caribbean hurricane impact areas. Although large hurricanes are rare, they have struck near to Cancún in recent years, Hurricane Wilma in 2005 being the largest.
Amount of sand that was transported to Cancun to restore the beaches after hurricane Wilma in 2005: 3,354,893,338 cubic feet (95,000,000 cubic meters).

Some facts about Cable TV

Cable TV was invented in June of 1948 in Mahoney City, Pennsylvania by John Walson.
The abbreviation CATV is often used to mean "Cable TV". It originally stood for Community Antenna Television
Cable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables.
More women than men subscribe, with the median age of a cable subscriber being in the mid-forties.
The biggest group of people who watch cable TV are families with children.
Percentage of Americans who pay for cable TV: 56
Despite the failing economy, Cable companies increased their revenues by 5 percent.
“ESPN alone already accounts for nearly $3 of every monthly cable bill.
Percentage of Americans who say they watch too much TV: 49

Cabo San Lucas facts

Cabo San Lucas, commonly called Cabo, is a city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the municipality of Los Cabos in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.
Cabo is known for its sandy beaches, several world-class Scuba diving locations, balnearios and the distinctive sea arch El Arco de Cabo San Lucas.
Cabo San Lucas has become an important vacation and spa destination, with a great variety of sites of interest, and timeshares that have been built on the coast between San Lucas and San José del Cabo.
Cabo San Lucas has the largest marlin tournament in the world.
U.S. Dollars are widely accepted in Cabo.
The majority of inhabitants (70-80 percent) in Cabo San Lucas is of American origins, thus Americans may outnumbered locals.
The legal drinking age in Mexico is 18 years old.
Cabo San Lucas is less rainy than San José del Cabo although hurricanes can bring heavy rain for large periods.
Cabo San Lucas is on Mountain Standard Time, 1 hour ahead of the west coast, and 2 hours behind the east coast.
Average rain in the year: 9.63 inches or 244.7mm

Facts about dental cavities (caries)

Dental caries, also known as tooth decay and dental cavities, are a disease of the teeth that results in the destruction of tooth enamel.
Two groups of bacteria are responsible for initiating cavities: Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus.
Dental problems related to dental cavities result in more school absences than any other childhood disease.
Cariology is the study of dental caries.
Some dental cavities, can only be detected by using X-rays or other sophisticated dental equipment.
If left untreated, dental cavities can lead to pain, tooth loss, infection, and, in severe cases, death.
It’s the acid produced by bacteria in your mouth that causes dental caries.
Caries are more likely between teeth.

Cacao (cocoa) was exported to Europe in 1585 but the first chocolate bar was not made until 1848.
The purine alkaloids theobromine and caffeine are responsible for the stimulant effect of cocoa and chocolate and contribute to bitter cocoa flavor.
After 2-3 years the cacao tree produces many cauliflorous flowers and fruits develop after about 5 years.
Theobroma cacao (Mayan: kakaw, Nahuatl: Cacahuatl), is a small (15–26 ft tall) evergreen tree, native to the deep tropical region of the Americas.
The scientific name Theobroma means "food of the gods".
Cacao seeds are used to make cocoa powder and chocolate.
Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40–50 percent) as cocoa butter. Their most noted active constituent is theobromine, a compound similar to caffeine.

A small calorie is technically the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.
The large calorie, kilogram calorie or food calorie approximates the energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 °C. This is exactly 1000 small calories.
A calorie comes from 3 nutrients: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Each gram of fat contains 9 calories.
Carbohydrates and protein contain four calories per gram.
Water, vitamins and minerals are all calorie-free.
Etymology: French calorie, from Latin calor meaning "heat".
Each pound of body fat stores roughly 3500 calories.
Calories can help us lose weight if we burn more calories than we take in.
One athlete typically consumes upwards of 7000 calories a day.
A Whopper contains 660 calories and 40 grams of fat.
You burn more calories sleeping than watching television.

Calcium facts

Calcium is the fifth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, present at a level of about three percent in the oceans and soil.
Calcium is essential for living organisms, particularly in cell physiology, where movement of the calcium ion Ca2+ into and out of the cytoplasm functions as a signal for many cellular processes.
Calcium participates in many biochemical reactions, including building skeletal systems and moderating muscle action.
Calcium is the lightest of the alkaline earth metals.
Calcium is created in extremely large, extremely hot stars. It requires one atom of argon and one atom of helium.
The element name "calcium" comes from the Latin word "calcis" meaning "lime".
Calcium is the 5th most abundant element by mass in the human body.
Ninety-nine percent of the body’s calcium is stored in the bones and teeth.
As a major material used in mineralization of bones and shells, calcium is the most abundant metal by mass in many animals.
High-fiber foods may interfere with your body’s ability to absorb calcium.
It is recommended that postmenopausal women 50+ who are not on estrogen should take 1500 mg.of calcium per day.

Cadillac automobile facts

Cadillac is a luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors.
The Cadillac automobile was named after the Seventeenth-century French explorer Antoine Laumet de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701.
The Cadillac car was born in 1902.
Cadillac was purchased by the General Motors (GM) company in 1909.
Cadillac cars are sold in over fifty countries, but mainly in North America.
Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind Buick and among the oldest automobile brands in the world.
Cadillac was the first production automobile to use, amongst others, a distributor, power steering, and a synchromesh transmission.

The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum which is a diminutive of the word castrum, meaning "fortified place".
Castles had their origins in the 9th and 10th centuries.
From the eighteenth century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture, but they had no military purpose.
Framlingham Castle was built under a Saxon cemetery.
The first castles were built by the Normans
The great age of castles began almost a thousand years ago and lasted for nearly 500 years.
Castles were also developed to defend key part of the countryside such as a mountain pass or river estuary, and often made use of the natural geography to support the defensive walls through exploitation of cliffs, rivers, hills, and the like.
A Castles ability to survive a long siege often depended on how much food they could stash within their walls.
Each country in Europe developed its own architectural designs copying from that of the castles in other countries.

Facts about casinos and gambling

The State of Nevada first legalized gambling in 1931.
Las Vegas has the largest concentration of casinos in the United States. Based on revenue Atlantic City, New Jersey ranks second, and the Chicago region third.
Annual visitors to Las Vegas, in millions 36.7
17 of the 20 biggest hotels in the U.S. are in Las Vegas.
The term "Casino" is of Italian origin, the root word being "Casa" (house) and originally meant a small country villa, summerhouse or pavilion.
A "fruit machine" is the British term for a slot machine, or "one-armed bandit."
Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships and other tourist attractions.
The precise origin of gambling is unknown. The Chinese recorded the first official account of the practice in 2300 BC, but it is generally believed that activity of gambling, in some way or another, has been seen in almost every society in history.

About 65% of American candy brands have been around for more than fifty years.
Candy is made by dissolving sugar in water or milk to form a syrup, which is boiled until it reaches the desired concentration or starts to caramelize.
Halloween is the holiday with the highest candy sales.
90% of parents admit to sneaking goodies from their kids' Halloween trick-or-treat bags.
Milk chocolate accounts for eighty percent of all the chocolate Americans consume each day.
Less than 2% of the fat and 10% of the sugar in our diets are supplied by candy.
The word "candy" began to be used in the late thirteenth century, coming into English from the Old French çucre candi, derived in turn from Arabic qandi and Persian qand, "cane sugar."

One in 3 people will contract cancer, and one in 4 will die from the disease.
Cancer accounted for 30% of all deaths in men and 25% in women.
From mid 20th century, the overall cancer incidence has increased by 44%; breast cancer and male colon cancer by 60%; testis, prostate and kidney by 100%; malignant melanoma, multiple myeloma and some lymphomas, by over 100%.
Cancers are primarily an environmental disease with 90-95 percent of cases due to lifestyle and environmental factors and 5-10 percent due to genetics.
The estimated annual cost of cancer to the United States, is approximately 2% of the GNP.
For the majority of cancers, a higher proportion of females than males survived for at least 5 years after diagnosis.
Common environmental factors leading to cancer death include: tobacco (25-30 percent), diet and obesity (30-35 percent), infections (15-20 percent), radiation, stress, lack of physical activity, environmental pollutants.
Particular dietary practices often explain differences in cancer incidence in different countries (e.g. gastric cancer is more common in Japan, while colon cancer is more common in the United States.
Some 75% of all cancers develop in people over 55.
Malignant tumors (cancers) are usually named using -carcinoma, -sarcoma or -blastoma as a suffix, with the Latin or Greek word for the organ of origin as the root. For instance, a cancer of the liver is called hepatocarcinoma; a cancer of the fat cells is called liposarcoma.

Facts about Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is the primary harbor and airport in the Western Cape.
Cape Town is Africa's most popular tourist destination.
The first permanent European settlement was organized in the mid 17th century by Jan van Riebeeck, a Dutch merchant.
Cape Town was the site of first settlement of Dutch and English settlers, in the Nineteenth century.
Whale watching is quite popular in Cape Town, South Africa.
Cape Town's land area of 948 sq miles (2,455 sq km) is larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 3,690 inhabitants per square mile (1,425 inhabitants per sq km).
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa after Johannesburg.
The currency in South Africa is the Rand with 100 cents equally 1 Rand.
Cape Town is the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa.
National Geographic has also listed Cape Town as one of the most iconic cities on the planet and "Places of a Lifetime".
Britain captured Cape Town in 1795, but the Cape was returned to the Netherlands by treaty in 1803.
Because of its placement along the coast, Cape Town offers a wide variety of seafood restaurants serving fresh catches with refined flavors.
A 14 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) is levied on all sales of goods and services. Foreign visitors can claim back VAT paid on items that are taken out of the country.

Cape Verde facts

Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 15 islands, 570 km off the coast of Western Africa.
Due to the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green, as the country's name suggests (verde is Portuguese for "green"). The name of the country stems instead from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast.
Languages Portuguese
The islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century.
Currency Cape Verdean Escudo
The country has an estimated population (most of it of creole ethnicity) of about 500,000.
In the 16th century the islands became an infamous trading center for African slaves.
Capital city: Praia
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Cape Verde Islands were uninhabited.
In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded a settlement they called Ribeira Grande (now called Cidade Velha.
The local economy depends on agriculture and limited tourism.

Facts about death penalty

Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences.
As of 2006, Ninety percent of all executions were carried out in Asia and the United States.
Around 13,000 people have been executed with capital punishment, since the colonial times.
The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" (Latin caput). Hence, a capital crime was originally one punished by the severing of the head.
The United States ranks fourth in the number of executions every year.
Over 60 percent of the world's population live in countries where executions take place.
The United States court banned the practice of capital punishment in 1972, but it was later reinstated in 1976.
In China, human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are punished by the death penalty.
Between 2005 and May 2008, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen were reported to have executed child offenders, the most being from Iran.

The Cayman Islands are around 150 miles (240 km) from Cuba and 180 miles (290 km) north west of Jamaica.
All 3 Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman) are submerged mountain tops so there are walls around the islands, some up to 20,000 feet or more in depth.
English is the official language in Cayman Islands.
Christopher Columbus, sighted the islands in May 10, 1503. He named the islands Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles there.
Cayman Islands, along with Jamaica, were ceded to England by Spain in 1670.
The Cayman Islands remained largely uninhabited until the Seventeenth century.
The majority of Caymanians are of African and English descent, with considerable interracial mixing.
The first recorded permanent inhabitant of the Cayman Islands, Isaac Bodden, was born on Grand Cayman around 1661.
The Cayman Islands have more registered businesses than they have people.
The Cayman Islands Dollar (KYD) is the official currency, which is divided into 100 cents.
The islands are almost exclusively Christian, with large numbers of Presbyterians and Catholics.
Travelers entering the Cayman Islands may take 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 225g of tobacco, as well as one liter of alcohol, without paying duty on these.

Facts about Carbohydrates

A carbohydrate is an organic compound which consists only of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
Carbohydrates are the most common source of energy in living organisms.
The carbohydrates (saccharides) are divided into 4 chemical groupings: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides.
Carbohydrates are divided into 2 types; simple and complex carbs.
In food science and in many informal contexts, the term carbohydrate often means any food that is particularly rich in the complex carbohydrate starch (such as cereals, bread and pasta) or simple carbohydrates, such as sugar (found in candy, jams and desserts).
Monosaccharides are the major source of fuel for metabolism, being used both as an energy source (glucose being the most important in nature) and in biosynthesis.
Foods high in complex carbs include breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals.
Foods high in simple carbs include fruits, sweets and soft drinks.
Carbohydrates also provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals and fibre.
You can still gain weight on a low carbohydrate diet because you may be still eating more calories and fat than you need.
Low carbohydrate diets can work well for people who have a lot weight to lose.
Based on the effects on risk of heart disease and obesity, the Institute of Medicine recommends that American and Canadian adults get between 45–65 percent of dietary energy from carbs.

Augustus Caesar facts

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.
Augustus was born in the city of Rome on 23 September 63 BC.
It was during his reign as Roman Emperor that Jesus Christ was born.
Because of the various names he bore, it is common to call him Octavius when referring to events between 63 and 44 BC, Octavian (or Octavianus) when referring to events between 44 and 27 BC, and Augustus when referring to events after 27 BC.
Augustus Caesar, as described by historians, was unusually handsome.
Octavian, unlike Julius Caesar, was short of stature.
The title ‘Augustus’ was awarded to him in 27 BCE by the Roman Senate.
His father, also named Gaius Octavius, had been governor of Macedonia. His mother Atia was the niece of Julius Caesar.

A ceramic is an inorganic, non-metallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling.
Early pottery vessels were used primarily for storing liquids, grains and other items.
Traditional ceramic raw materials include clay minerals such as kaolinite.
The earliest ceramics were pottery objects made from clay, either by itself or mixed with other materials, hardened in fire.
9,000 year old sites in Turkey with ancient pottery have yielded mostly bowls and cups.
The potter’s wheel was invented in Mesopotamia in 4000 B.C.
The word ceramic comes from the Greek word "κεραμικός" (keramikos), meaning "of pottery" or "for pottery".
High-tech ceramic is used in watchmaking for producing watch cases. The material is valued by watchmakers for its light weight, scratch-resistance, durability and smooth touch.

Central Park initially opened in 1857, on 770 acres (3.1 km2) of city-owned land.
Central Park receives approximately 25 million visitors annually.
Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States.
While foliage in much of the park appears natural, it is in fact almost entirely landscaped.
The 6 miles of drives within the park are used by joggers, bicyclists, skateboarders, and inline skaters.
The real estate value of Central Park was estimated by the property appraisal firm, Miller Samuel, to be $528,783,552,000 in December 2005.
In 2005, safety measures held the number of crimes in the park to fewer than 100 per year (down from approximately 1,000 in the early 1980s).

The massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is more than 4 million solar masses.
It is now widely accepted that the center of every or at least nearly every galaxy contains a supermassive black hole.
A black hole is the result of the deformation of spacetime caused by a very compact mass.
It is called "black" because it absorbs all the light that hits it, reflecting nothing, just like a perfect black body in thermodynamics.
The known closest black hole to Earth is Cygnus X-1, located about 8000 light years away.
Some of the most notable galaxies with supermassive black hole candidates include M87, the Andromeda Galaxy, M32, NGC 3115, NGC 3377, NGC 4258, and the Sombrero Galaxy.
The idea of a body so massive that even light could not escape was first put forward by geologist John Michell in a letter written to Henry Cavendish in 1783 to the Royal Society.
"Dark stars" (black holes) were largely ignored in the 19th century, since it was not understood how a massless wave such as light could be influenced by gravity.
Currently, the best evidence for a supermassive black hole comes from studying the proper motion of stars near the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.
Although white holes are mathematically possible, there have yet to be observations to prove their existence.
Despite its invisible interior, a black hole can be observed through its interaction with other matter.
Black holes can suck up other black holes when they come in close proximity.
The center of a black hole, the singularity, is the point where the laws of physics break down.

Important facts about blindness

80% of all blindness is preventable or curable.
Approximately 2.5 million people in the U.S. are “legally blind”.
The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that in 2002 there were 161 million visually impaired people in the world (about 2.6 percent of the total population).
In the United States today, it is estimated that only 10% of blind children are taught Braille.
Worldwide some 180 million people are blind or visually disabled.
Just over 7,000 Americans use dog guides.
People in developing countries represent ninety percent of the world’s blind population.
19% of persons 70 years of age and older had visual impairments.
In California, over 13 million people are age 40 or over, and 356,000 are visually impaired or blind.
People with diabetes are twenty five times more likely to become blind than people without diabetes.
Nearly one in 5 blind adults (19 percent) lives in poverty.
Blind adults are less well educated than the general population.
The expression "blind leading the blind" refers to incapable people leading other incapable people.
Some sports have been invented or adapted for the blind such as goalball, association football, cricket, and golf.
People with vision impairments have participated in the Paralympic Games since the 1976 summer Paralympics in Toronto.

According to WHO estimates, the most common causes of blindness around the world in 2002 were:

1. cataracts (47.9 percent),
2. glaucoma (12.3 percent),
3. age-related macular degeneration (8.7 percent),
4. corneal opacity (5.1 percent),
5. diabetic retinopathy (4.8 percent),
6. childhood blindness (3.9 percent),
7. trachoma (3.6 percent)
8. onchocerciasis (0.8 percent).

Quick facts about blogs

77 million users in the United States are visiting blogs every month.
Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.
The term blogosphere implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions.
15 percent of bloggers spend ten or more hours each week blogging.
The term blogosphere was coined on September 10, 1999 by Brad L. Graham, as a joke.
One in 5 bloggers report updating on a daily basis.
A new blog is created somewhere in the world every ½ second.
The majority of blogs use tags (85 percent).
44 percent of all bloggers are parents, 75 percent have college degrees, two-thirds are male and 50 percent of them lie in the 18-34 age group.
Fewer than 10 percent of bloggers say they don’t know the traffic to their blogs.
46 percent of bloggers post about the brands they love (or hate).
As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.

Quick cereal facts

The word cereal derives from Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture.
Of the more than 300 million people in the United States, 49 percent start their day with a bowl of cereal.
A refined cereal strips 66 percent fiber, 62 percent folate, 92 percent selenium and 99 percent phytochemicals that are essential for a healthy living.
The average American eats 160 bowls of cereal each year.
Fat content in cereals is very low, around 2 – 5 percent per 100 gm.
85 percent of all protein consumed throughout the world is provided by cereal grains.
Grain is both a fruit and a vegetable.
Maize (corn), wheat and rice together accounted for 87 percent of all grain production worldwide
Breakfast cereal is the third most popular item sold in grocery stores after carbonated beverages and milk.
Cereals lack in vitamin C and vitamin A (only yellow maize and few varieties of sorghum contain small amounts of vitamin A).

Some facts about cervical cancer

More than twice as many African-American women die from cervical cancer as Caucasian women.
Worldwide, cervical cancer kills one woman every 2 minutes
In developed countries, the widespread use of cervical screening programs has reduced the incidence of invasive cervical cancer by 50 percent or more.
The highest rate of cervical cancer is in underdeveloped countries.
The early stages of cervical cancer may be completely asymptomatic.
The 5 year survival rate for early invasive cancer of the cervix is 92%.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a necessary factor in the development of almost all cases of cervical cancer.
HPV types 16 and 18 are the most common cancer-causing virus types and account for over 70% of all cervical cancer cases globally
In the U.S. each year there are more than 6.2 million new HPV infections in both men and women.
Human papillomavirus is very common and affects roughly 80 percent of all sexually active people, whether they have symptoms or not.
The number of cases of invasive cervical cancer increases with age.
Women who had first sexual intercourse at an early age or who have had many sexual partners, or have partners who have many sexual partners, have a higher-than-average risk of developing cervical cancer.

Ballet quick facts

The term ballet comes from the French and was borrowed into English around 1630s. The French word in turn has its origin in Italian balletto, a diminutive of ballo (dance) which comes from Latin ballo, ballare, meaning "to dance", which in turn comes from the Greek "βαλλίζω" (ballizo), "to dance, to jump about".
A Male dancer lifts over 1½ tonnes worth of ballerinas during performances.
Classical ballet is best known for its unique features and techniques, such as pointe work, turn-out of the legs, and high extensions; its graceful, flowing, precise movements; and its ethereal qualities.
A 3 hour ballet performance is roughly equivalent to two 90-minute soccer games back to back.
Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century.
This genre of dance is very hard to master and requires much practice.
Most ballerinas wear out 2-3 pairs of pointe shoes per week
In the 20th century ballet has continued to develop and has had a strong influence on broader concert dance.
A tutu is a skirt worn as a costume in a ballet performance.
One tutu costs up to 2,000 dollars to make
Classical ballet is the most methodical of the ballet styles; it adheres to traditional ballet technique.
Neoclassical ballet is a ballet style that uses traditional ballet vocabulary but is less rigid than the classical ballet. For example, dancers often dance at more extreme tempos and perform more technical feats.
Contemporary ballet is a form of dance influenced by both classical ballet and modern dance.

Fast facts about badminton

About 1,000,000 Americans play badminton at least twenty five times a year.
The beginnings of Badminton can be traced to mid-18th century British India, where it was created by British military officers stationed there.
Badminton is an Olympic Sport played first in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
Only three countries have won the Thomas Cup since it's inception in 1948: Malaysia, Indonesia and China.
Badminton is by far the world's fastest racket sport.
At high levels of play, the sport demands excellent fitness: players require aerobic stamina, agility, strength, speed and precision.
The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World Federation) was established in 1934.
Only four countries have won the Uber Cup since its inception in 1956: USA, Japan, China and Indonesia.
Badminton is the second most popular sport in the world, after football (soccer).
A badminton player can cover more than two kilometers in just one match.
Sixteen feathers are used to make a shuttle.
Because shuttlecock flight is affected by wind, competitive badminton is played indoors.
The 2 most successful badminton countries are Indonesia and China which between them have won 75 percent of all IBF events.
The American Dave Freeman has not lost a singles match from 1939 until his retirement in 1953.

Barbie doll facts

Barbie's full name is Barbra Millicent Roberts.
It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries.
Three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys.
In 2000, Barbie doll has a belly button for the first time.
In 2007 the average 3- to 10-year-old girl in the U.S. owns eight Barbies.
Mattel estimates that there are well over 100,000 avid Barbie collectors.
Barbie has had more than eighty careers.
Barbie was introduced in Europe in 1961.

The first battery was created by Italian Alessandro Volta in 1800.
A battery is a device that converts chemical energy directly to electrical energy.
The world's largest battery is in Fairbanks, Alaska, composed of Ni-Cd cells.
Lead-acid batteries use over 80% of the lead produced in the United States.
There are 2 types of batteries: primary batteries, which are designed to be used once and discarded when they are exhausted, and secondary batteries, which are designed to be recharged and used multiple times.
The energy used to manufacture rechargeable and single-use batteries is fifty times greater than the electrical energy they produce when been discharged.
Sodium-sulfur batteries are being used to store wind power.
About 60% of the world’s lead comes from recycled car batteries.
The single largest source of mercury metal is found in household batteries.
Car batteries have the highest recycling rate out of all recycled materials.
Even if never taken out of the original package, disposable batteries can lose eight to twenty percent of their original charge every year at a temperature of about 20°–30°C.
One NiCad mobile phone is enough to pollute 600,000 litres of water.
Few car batteries last beyond 6 years of regular use.
Battery life can be extended by storing the batteries at a low temperature, as in a refrigerator or freezer, which slows the chemical reactions in the battery.

Interesting facts about bathrooms

Women takes three times longer than men in the bathroom.
The earliest surviving bathtub dates back to 1700 B.C, and hails from the Palace of Knossos in Crete.
70% of house guests snoop through other peoples medicine cabinets and drawers.
People spend at least three years of their lives on the toilet.
55.2 percent will let someone else come in the bathroom while they're using the toilet.
The WC refers to the initial letters of Water Closet.
An average person visits the toilet 6-8 times per day.
7 million cell phones are dropped in the toilet anually.
700 million km of toilet paper is how much Americans use annually.
There are 45.2 percent of people that pee in the shower.
200,000 bathroom related injuries are reported by U.S. hospitals each year.
90% of pharmaceuticals taken by people are excreted through urination.
43% of homes in the U.S. have two or more bathrooms.
Although some sources suggest that bathing declined following the collapse of the Roman Empire, this is not completely accurate. It was actually the Middle Ages that saw the beginning of soap production, proof that bathing was definitely not uncommon. It was only after the Renaissance that bathing declined.

Batman quick facts

Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger.
Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939.
Nicknames: "The Caped Crusader", "The Dark Knight", and "The World's Greatest Detective".
Batman's secret identity is the billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Robin is the name of Batman's sidekick, and he was introduced in Issue #1 of "Batman".
Having witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, Bruce swore revenge on crime, an oath tempered with the greater ideal of justice.
Batman operates in the fictional American Gotham City.
Several people in the comics have taken on the role of Robin, but the most famous one is Dick Grayson, the original.
In the early years of the Batman publication not only did he use a gun but also killed when necessary.
Unlike most superheroes, Batman does not possess any superpowers; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, an indomitable will and intimidation in his continuous war on crime.
Batman is well-versed in over 125 styles of combat.
Enemies: the Joker, Two-Face, the Penguin, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, etc.
The very first vehicle of Batman was not the famed Bat-mobile but a Bat-plane.
The late 1960s Batman television series used a camp aesthetic which continued to be associated with the character for years after the show ended.
The first Batman story, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate," was published in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)

Interesting facts about Bono

The U2 frontman was born on May 10, 1960.
Bono was born Paul David Hewson.
The singer's nickname derives from the Latin word "bonavox" - meaning "good voice".
It is said he was nicknamed "Bono Vox" by his friend Gavin Friday.
Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2.
In 2007, he was given an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his tireless campaigning.
His height is 5' 8".
Bono has collaborated with a huge range of artists in his career - including Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Jennifer Lopez, Frank Sinatra, and Luciano Pavarotti.
Bono is married to Alison Hewson. Their relationship began in 1975 and the couple were married on 21 August 1982. The couple have four children:
Bono has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and was named as a Person of the Year by Time.
Bono worked at a gas station before joining U2.
Bono was listed as #17 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists.
Bono is allergic to red wine.
He's a good friend of George W. Bush.
Bono is fluent in English, Italian and Spanish and also knows some Gaelic.
Bono lives in Killiney in south County Dublin with his family and shares a villa in Èze in the Alpes-Maritimes in the south of France with The Edge.

What is a depressant?

statscounter

Facts about birthstones

Pages