Super Moon 2011 - March 19th Closest Position in its Orbit to Earth - Amazing Facts

The astronomer Richard Nolle coined the term "Super Moon" which means a new or full moon at 90% or greater of its closest perigee to Earth. Well on March 19th the moon will be at perigee (its closest position in its orbit to Earth). This will be the closest perigee in 18 years.

The largest effect will be on the tide which occurs at the full moon every month as the closer to the earth the moon orbits, so the effect on tides increases. A 5% increase in proximity makes about 20% difference in the power the moon exerts so those in coastal regions should anticipate stronger tides.

An extreme "SuperMoon" is when the moon is full or new as well as at its 100% greater mean perigee (closest) distance to earth. By this definition, last month's full moon, this month's and next month's will all be extreme "SuperMoons".

Some largely internet-based claims say such events are related to catastrophies such as extreme siesmic events or extreme weather and some coincidential strong events have happened at the same time as Super Moons, however no definitive scientific research has concluded that.

2008 Interesting Facts and Amazing Things in the World

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

And 'lollipop' is the longest word typed with your right hand.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

'Dreamt' is the only English word that ends in the letters 'mt'. ?

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

The sentence: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses every letter of the alphabet.

The words 'racecar', 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes) .

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

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: 'abstemious' and 'facetious.'

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. (All you typists are going to test this out)

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds. (Some days that's about what my memory span is.)

A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes .

A snail can sleep for three years. (I know some people that could do this too.!)

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
(I know some people like that also)

Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE 2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. (Good thing he did that.)

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Micheal Jackson - 50th Happy Birthday and Facts

Michael Jackson turns 50 today and we at Entertainmentwise are celebrating this landmark by bringing you 50 facts you may or may not know about the King of Pop. His crown may have slipped somewhat in recent years, but there's still a lot of love for Jackson around the world.

Skin diseases, child molestation charges, baby dangling and cosmetic surgery aside, there's a lot to celebrate about the man nicknamed Wacko Jacko.

So here's a few facts, stats and figures about Jackson that may have passed you by:


1. Jackson's Billie Jean was the first video by a black artist to air on MTV.

2. Jackson owns the rights to the South Carolina State Anthem South Carolina on My Mind, recorded by Hank Martin and Buzz Arledge.

3. Jackson's waxwork features in five Madame Tussauds museums across the world. Only Elvis Presley and Madonna have more Tussaud figures - they have six each.

4. Jackson's total lifetime earnings from royalties, solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million (#271 million).

5. Jackson has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for radio play, located at 1541 Vine Street, and one for recording at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.

6. Jackson received a Presidential Humanitarian Award from Ronald Reagan in 1984 for his support of charities helping people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.

7. Michael Jackson is the seventh of nine children.

8. Jackson fought fellow 50 year old Madonna on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch - he lost.

9. Three of Jackson's albums - Bad, Dangerous and Thriller - are among the bestsellers of all time.

10. Thriller remains the biggest-selling album since records began.

11. Jackson has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

12. Jackson wears his trademark black armband to remind fans of the suffering of children around the world.

13. Jackson's favourite superhero is Morph from the X-Men.

14.Jackson picked up his iconic moonwalk moves, which he debuted at the Motown 25th Anniversary show in 1983, from streetdancers he spotted performing outside a hotel.

15. MC Hammer once challenged Jackson to a dance-off. He was told to Beat It. Jackson reportedly responded, "I've seen your videos and every single dance move you use, you got off of me."

16. Little Richard wanted Jackson to play him in a biopic.

17. Bubbles the chimp and Ben the rat are two of Jackson's most famous pets, but he also befriended a ram called Mr Tibbs, a python called Crusher and Louie the llama.

18. An obsessed French Jackson superfan committed suicide in 1984 after his mother refused to allow him to undergo surgery to look like the star.

19. In 1984, a U.S. library accused Jackson of owing it over $1 million in overdue book fines. Officials said they would scrap the fines if he returned the books autographed.

20. Jackson dedicated his 1997 Blood On The Dancefloor album to Sir Elton John.

21. Jackson is a vegetarian.

22. Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 on May 6, 1997. He was inducted as a solo artist on March 19, 2001.

23. Jackson once dated Brooke Shields and Tatum O'Neal.

24. Jackson has several media nicknames. They include The Gloved One, Wacko Jacko, Jacko, The King of Pop, and MJ. Close friends call him Smelly!

25. Jackson's music video for Thriller was voted the greatest music video of all time in a recent Channel 4 (UK) poll.

26. Jackson won an MTV Movie Award for Best Movie Song in 1994 for his song Will You Be There from the movie Free Willy.

27. The Scream music video Jackson made with sister Janet is the most expensive promo ever made, costing more than $7 million (#3.8 million).

28. Jackson's double album HIStory is the biggest selling double album ever released in the U.S.

29. Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor is the biggest selling re-mix album of all time.

30. Jackson really is a King in West Africa - he was given a royal title by villagers in Gabon, Ivory Coast in 1992.

31. Jackson's pre-concert ritual includes drinking Ricola candy dissolved in hot water. He claims the beverage helps to keep his throat and his singing voice clear.

32. Jackson owns the patent for a stage shoe device that allows performers to lean forward and appear to defy gravity.

33. Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in 1958. The town is planning a tribute museum to the pop superstar.

34. Movie star Macauley Culkin is godfather to Jackson's two eldest children, Paris and Prince Michael.

35. Culkin helped Jackson design the amusement park at his Neverland Valley Ranch home in California.

36. Lisa Marie Presley's former brother-in-law and his wife were the witnesses at her Dominican Republic wedding to Jackson in 1994.

37. Jackson shares the record for the most Grammy Awards won in one year with Carlos Santana and Norah Jones - they each won eight.

38. Jackson co-wrote charity anthem We Are The World with Lionel Richie.

39. Jackson is godfather to Nicole Richie, Bee Gees star Barry Gibb's son Michael, and Oliver star Mark Lester's kids.

40. Jackson and brother Tito were best men at Liza Minnelli and David Gest's wedding.

41. Jackson's performance during the 1993 SuperBowl half-time show drew the largest TV audience in American history.

42. The directors of Jackson's videos have included Martin Scorsese, John Singleton and John Landis.

43. In 1999 Jackson paid $1.5 (#810,000) for the 1939 Best Picture Oscar, which was presented to producer David O. Selznick for Gone With The Wind.

44. Jackson appeared on a postage stamp in the Virgin Islands in the mid-1980s after locals voted him the superstar they'd most like to honour.

45. An extensive 1997 survey declared Jackson was the Most Famous Person in the World.

46. Jackson helped plan neighbour Gregory Peck's funeral.

47. Jackson once described close friend Elizabeth Taylor as "a warm cuddly blanket that I love to snuggle up to and cover myself with.”

48. Jackson provided a voiceover on The Simpsons - but it remained a secret for
12 years. He voiced a character in a mental institution in the Stark Raving Dad episode, which aired in 1991, but, because of a contractual problem, Jackson had to be credited as John Jay Smith. His contribution to the classic cartoon series remained a rumour among fans until The Simpsons creator Matt Groening confirmed it really was Jackson when the episode was released on DVD in 2003.

49. Jackson shares the same birthday as U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who turns 72 today. Other celebrities who share Jackson's birthday include moviemakers Sir Richard Attenborough and William Friedkin, and actresses Rebecca DeMornay and Carla Gugino.

50. Jackson's comeback plans have been scuppered by a new online poll - 71 per cent of 59,000 people voting on website PopEater.com answered `Not a chance' to the question 'Can the King of Pop make a comeback?'

Amazing Soft Drink Facts by Guinness world records

On this day in 1894, Coca-Cola was sold in its iconic glass bottles for the first time. As well as being the Most popular soft drink (in terms of number of drinks sold), here are some other records that have ‘Coke’ at their heart:

Largest line dance

The largest line dance involved 17,000 participants who performed the Cupid Shuffle for 8 minutes at the Ebony Black Family Reunion Tour organised by the Coca Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on 25 August 2007.

Largest soda float

The record for the world's largest soda float was one of 13,638 litres (3,000 gal) made by Coca-Cola at the World of Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on 25 May 2007.

Largest spray painted picture

The largest spray painted picture measured 760.28 m² (8183.58 ft²) and was made for Coca-Cola Ýcecek by 580 students from nine universities around Turkey. It was completed at Hezarfen Airport, Istanbul, Turkey on 16 August 2004.

Most times for a product to be ‘placed’ on television

The most "placed" product on TV in 2007 was Coca-Cola, according to Nielsen, with 3,054 placements in the first six months alone. PQ Media, a media research firm in Stamford, Connecticut, USA, estimated that US advertisers spend just short of $1 billion (£500 million) a year on "product integration" on TV.

Largest global brand

According to a study released by AC Nielsen, the largest global brand in the world based on sales is Coca-Cola which in 2002 had sales of over $19 billion (£13 billion). The brand is present in 30 countries which account for 90% of the world's gross domestic product and cover all core geographic regions.

Most Amazing Search Terms 2007

No year-end list would be complete without a look back at what dazzled us on-screen and delighted us musically. Here are some of the most watched, most downloaded, and most enjoyed google search queries of the year 2007. All of these searches had the largest volume on Google.com in the U.S.

Young Hollywood Actor Search

Paris Hilton
Britney Spears
Lindsay Lohan

The Playing Field Query Search

Red Sox
Manchester united
colts
spurs

On Tour Searches
rolling stones
hannah montana

On the Tube search

csi
dancing with the star
south park

Top TV Shows search Terms

heroes
lost
house
24
bones
jericho
reba
scrubs
greek
caveman

Top Hollywood Movies Search Terms

transformers
300
the simpsons movie
epic movie
bee movie
harry potter
hairspray
cars
iron man
amazing grace

Top Lyrics Search Terms

umbrella lyrics (rihanna)
soulja boy lyrics
bubbly lyrics (colbie caillat)
paramore lyrics
lil wayne lyrics
taylor swift lyrics
apologize lyrics (timbaland)
hannah montana lyrics
girlfriend lyrics (avril lavigne)
avril lavigne lyrics

Top Who, What, How Question Search

who is god
who is who
who is lookup
who is jesus
who is it
who is buckethead
who is calling
who is keppler
who is this
who is satan

What is...

what is love
what is autism
what is rss
what is lupus
what is sap
what is bluetooth
what is emo
what is java
what is hpv
what is gout

How to...

how to kiss
how to draw
how to knit
how to hack
how to dance
how to crochet
how to meditate
how to flirt
how to levitate
how to skateboard

Google News Most Popular Searches (global)

american idol
youtube
britney spears
2007 cricket world cup
chris benoit
iphone
anna nicole smith
paris hilton
iran
vanessa hudgens

Presidential Campaign (most searched-for)

ron paul
fred thompson
hillary clinton
barack obama
john edwards
mitt romney
john mccain
joe

Lawsuits query Search

borat lawsuit
vonage lawsuit
iphone lawsuit
facebook lawsuit
jamie gold lawsuit
pants lawsuit
mcdonalds lawsuit
paxil lawsuit
riaa lawsuit
dell lawsuit
RIP (or rumors of)
anna nicole smith
travis barker*
vince mcmahon*
chris benoit
fidel castro*
michael jackson*
ryan sheckler*
bob barker*
criss angel*
kurt vonnegut

source : Google.com - for full detail about top google searching terms 2007
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2007/alltherage.html

21 Amazing Facts about pigeon

How old are pigeons?
Pigeons have lived alongside man for thousands of years with the first images of pigeons being found by archaeologists in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and dating back to 3000 BC. It was the Sumerians in Mesopotamia that first started to breed white doves from the wild pigeon that we see in our towns and cities today and this undoubtedly accounts for the amazing variety of colors that are found in the average flock of urban pigeons. To ancient peoples a white pigeon would have seemed miraculous and this explains why the bird was widely worshipped and considered to be sacred. Throughout human history the pigeon has adopted many roles ranging from symbols of gods and goddesses through to sacrificial victims, messengers, pets, food and even war heroes!

Biblical references
The first biblical reference to the pigeon (or dove) was in the Old Testament of the Bible in the first millennium AC and was the story of Noah and the dove of peace. Later, in the New Testament, the pigeon was first mentioned during the baptism of Christ where the dove descended as the Holy Spirit, an image now used extensively in Christian art. These early biblical references have paved the way for the many different ways that the urban pigeon is viewed in modern societies worldwide. Perception of the pigeon through the centuries has changed from God to the devil and from hero to zero!

Pigeon poop – foul or fantastic?
Although pigeon poo is seen as a major problem for property owners in the 21st Century, it was considered to be an invaluable resource in the 16th, 17th and 18th century in Europe. Pigeon poop was a highly prized fertiliser and considered to be far more potent than farmyard manure. So prized in fact that armed guards were stationed at the entrances to dovecotes (pigeon houses) to stop thieves stealing it! Not only this, but in England in the 16th century pigeon poop was the only known source of saltpetre, an essential ingredient of gunpowder and was considered a highly valued commodity as a result. In Iran, where eating pigeon flesh was forbidden, dovecotes were set up and used simply as a source of fertilizer for melon crops and in France and Italy it was used to fertilize vineyards and hemp crops.

The pigeon as a war hero
In modern times the feral pigeon has been used to great effect during wartime. In both the first and second World Wars the pigeon saved hundreds of thousands of human lives by carrying messages across enemy lines. Pigeons were carried on ships in convoys and in the event of a U-boat attack a messenger pigeon was released with details of the location of the sinking ship. In many cases this lead to the survivors being rescued and lives saved. Mobile pigeon lofts were set up behind the trenches in the First World War from which pigeons often had to fly through enemy fire and poison gas to get their messages home. The birds played a vital role in intelligence gathering and were used extensively behind enemy lines where the survival rate was only 10%. In the Second World War pigeons were used less due to advances in telecommunications, but the birds relayed invaluable information back to the allies about the German V1 and V2 Rocket sites on the other side of the Channel.


The pigeon as a messenger
The earliest large scale communication network using pigeons as messengers was established in Syria and Persia about 5th Century BC. Much later in the 12th Century AD the city of Baghdad and all the main towns and cities in Syria and Egypt were linked by messages carried by pigeons. This was the sole source of communication. In Roman times the pigeon was used to carry results of sporting events such as the Olympic Games and this is why white doves are released at the start of the Olympic Games today. In England, prior to the days of telegraphs, pigeons were often taken to soccer matches and released to carry home the result of the game. Their use as a messenger in war time resulted in many pigeons being awarded honors by both the British and French Governments. Incredibly, the last ‘pigeon post’ service was abandoned in India in 2004 with the birds being retired to live out the rest of their days in peace.

The religious significance of the pigeon
Many religious groups including Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs feed pigeons for religious reasons. Many older Sikhs feed pigeons ceremoniously to honour the high priest and warrior Guru Govind Singh who was a known friend of the pigeon (or rock dove). Some Sikhs also feed pigeons because they believe that when they are reincarnated they will never go hungry if they have fed pigeons in their previous life. Other religious groups in India believe that when a person dies his or her soul assumes the form of a bird (normally a pigeon) and therefore by feeding birds they are caring for the souls of their departed ancestors. The pigeon is revered in India with huge flocks numbering many thousands of birds being fed daily at Hindu temples in town and city centres throughout the country. In both eastern and western societies many of the most entrenched pigeon-related problems in urban areas are considered to be caused, certainly in part, by religious feeding of the birds. In the Christian religion the pigeon is both a symbol of peace and of the Holy Spirit.

Famous pigeons
During the First World War a pigeon named Cher Ami (Dear friend) saved the lives of many French soldiers by carrying a message across enemy lines in the heat of battle. Cher Ami was shot in the chest and the leg, loosing most of the leg to which the message was attached, but continued the 25 minute flight avoiding shrapnel and poison gas to get the message home. Cher Ami was awarded the French ‘Croix de Guerre’ for heroic service. Another heroic pigeon named G.I. Joe saved the lives of a thousand soldiers in World War 2 after British troops had established a position within an Italian town that was due to be bombed by allied planes. Communication equipment was down and the only means of stopping the raid was to attach a hastily written message to G.I. Joe and send him to the HQ. G.I. Joe flew 20 miles in 20 minutes arriving at the air base whilst the planes were taxiing on the runway. Disaster was averted with 5 minutes to spare. G.I. Joe received the ‘Dickin’ medal for his bravery.

‘Rock Dove’ or ‘pigeon’?
The feral pigeon that we see in our towns and cities today is descended from the Rock Dove (Columba livia), a cliff dwelling bird historically found in coastal regions. The word ‘pigeon’ is actually derived from the Latin word ‘pipio’ which meant ‘young bird’. The word then passed into Old French as ‘pijon’ and thus the English name ‘pigeon’ was derived and is now used the world over as a common name for the Rock Dove. Other common names include ‘domestic pigeon’ and the ‘feral pigeon’. In 2004 British and American Ornithologists officially re-named the bird the Rock Pigeon.

Why do pigeons bob their heads?
The pigeon has side mounted eyes unlike humans and owls which have forward facing eyes. As a pigeons have monocular vision rather than binocular vision they bob their heads for depth of perception. The pigeon’s eyes work much better with stationary images and therefore, as the pigeon takes a step forward the head is temporarily left behind. The next step jerks the head forward again and so on. This allows the bird to correctly orient itself.

Pigeon-gram Air Mail service
The first organised pigeon air-mail service was started in 1896 between New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef. The sinking of the SS Wairarapa off the Great Barrier Reef, with the loss of 134 lives, was a catalyst for the service. News of the disaster did not reach New Zealand for 3-days and as a direct result a pigeon-gram service was set up between the two islands. The first message was carried in January 1896 and took less than 1.75 hours to reach Aukland. Up to 5 messages were carried by each pigeon with the record time for the journey being held by a pigeon called ‘Velocity’ taking only 50 minutes and averaging 125 kmph (only 40% slower than a modern aircraft!). Special pigeon-gram stamps were issued costing 2/- each (20 cents) with the fee being paid in cash before the pigeon was released.

Pigeons in Wall Street
One of the richest and most famous families in the world amassed its wealth, certainly in part, as a result of exploiting the pigeon. In the early 1800’s the Rothschild family set up a network of pigeon lofts throughout Europe and used homing pigeons to carry information between its financial houses. This method proved to be quicker and more efficient than any other means of communication available at the time. The speed of the service combined with the ability to send and receive information ahead of the competition helped the Rothschild family amass a fortune which still exists today.

Mating habits of the pigeon
The feral pigeon mates for life and can breed up to 8 times a year in optimum conditions, bringing two young into the world each time. The frequency of breeding is dictated by the abundance of food. The eggs take 18/19 days to hatch with both parents incubating the eggs. Young dependant pigeons are commonly known as ‘squabs’. Both parents feed the young with a special ‘pigeon milk’ that is regurgitated and fed to the squabs. Each squab can double its birth weight in one day but it takes 4 days for the eyes to open. When squabs are hungry they ‘squeak’ whilst flapping their wings and as a result they are also commonly known as ‘squeakers’. At approximately 2 months of age the young are ready to fledge and leave the nest. This much longer than average time spent in the nest ensures that life expectancy of a juvenile pigeon is far greater than that of other fledglings.

Pigeons are big business
We normally think of the pigeon as being an unwelcome guest in our towns and cities but most of us are unaware that racing pigeons can be worth huge sums of money. One racing pigeon recently sold for a staggering $132,517.00! The 3-year old bird was a champion racer beating 21,000 other pigeons in one long distance race. For this reason he was bought by one British company that breeds racing pigeons for ‘stud’. One very happy pigeon! The previous record price for a pigeon was $73, 800.00.

How do pigeons navigate?
There are many theories about how pigeons manage to return ‘home’ when released 100’s of miles from their loft. A champion racing pigeon can be released 400-600 miles away from its home and still return within the day. This amazing feat does not just apply to ‘racing’ or ‘homing’ pigeons, all pigeons have the ability to return to their roost. A 10-year study carried out by Oxford University concluded that pigeons use roads and freeways to navigate, in some cases even changing direction at freeway junctions. Other theories include navigation by use of the earth’s magnetic field, visual clues such as landmarks, the sun and even infrasounds (low frequency seismic waves). Whatever the truth, this unique ability makes the pigeon a very special bird.

Famous people and pigeons
The humble pigeon has attracted some very famous fans over the last few thousand years ranging from Royalty to rock and roll singers and actors through to fashion designers. One of the most famous royals is Queen Elizabeth of England who has lofts and pigeon keepers at her estate in Sandringham, Norfolk. Elvis Presley had a soft spot for pigeons and Mike Tyson is also an enthusiastic pigeon keeper. Even Maurizzo Gucci the internationally renowned fashion designer is a keen pigeon fancier spending a reputed $10,000 on one American pigeon. 'One famous couple, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, are keen pigeon fanciers but after being swamped by autograph hunters at a pigeon show they are apparently less comfortable to show their affection for the birds publicly.' Last but not least, and probably the most famous of all... Noah!

Pigeon disasters
Probably the greatest disaster to befall the species was the extermination of the passenger pigeon in North America in the early part of the 20th century. It is estimated that there were 3-5 billion passenger pigeons in North America at the time. Flocks of 100,000’s of the birds would blacken the skies as they flew over but early settlers managed to wipe out every last bird by 1914 through over-hunting. A more recent, and quite bizarre disaster, befell tens of thousands of racing pigeons released from Nantes in France as part of a race held to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Racing Pigeon Association in England. 60,000 pigeons were released but only a few birds ever arrived back at their lofts throughout southern England. One theory suggests that the sonic boom created by Concorde as it flew over the English Channel, at the precise time the pigeons would have been at the same point, completely disorientated the birds, compromising their inbuilt navigation system.

Pigeons as lifesavers
Although pigeons are one of the most intelligent of all the bird species man has found limited uses for the birds other than for the purposes of sport, food and as a message carrier. A team of navy researchers, however, has found that pigeons can be trained to save human lives at sea with high success rates. Project Sea Hunt has trained a number of pigeons to identify red or yellow life jackets when floating in the water. The pigeons were not only found to be more reliable than humans but they were also many times quicker than humans when it came to spotting survivors from a capsized or sinking boat. The pigeon can see color in the same way that humans do but they can also see ultra-violet, a part of the spectrum that humans cannot see, and this is one of the reasons they are so well adapted to lifesaving.

Pigeons in the news
One of the world’s most famous news agencies, Reuters, started its European business by using trained homing pigeons. The service was started in 1850 with 45 pigeons carrying the latest news and stock prices from Aachen in Germany to Brussels in Belgium. Although a telegraph service between the two countries existed, numerous gaps in the transmission lines made communication difficult and slow. The birds travelled the 76 miles in a record-breaking two hours beating the railway by four hours.

Why do you never see a baby pigeon?
Most small birds rear and fledge their young in 2/3 weeks with young birds sometimes leaving the nest after only 10 days of life, but pigeons are different, their young remain in the nest for up to 2 months before fledging. This gives the young pigeon an advantage over many other species of bird. It leaves the nest as a relatively mature juvenile, allowing the bird to cope better in the first few days of its life, a dangerous time for all youngsters. Juveniles can be told apart from adults but it takes an experienced eye. A juvenile’s beak often appears to be far too long for the size of its body and the cere (the fleshy area at the top of the beak) is white in adults and greyish pink in juveniles.

What is the natural predator of the pigeon?
Although the natural enemy of the feral pigeon is now man, with millions of pigeons being killed in control operations the world over, it is the peregrine falcon that is the pigeons’ real natural predator. Although a shy and retiring bird that has its natural habitat along rocky coastlines, the peregrine is now being introduced into towns and cities as a ‘natural’ pigeon control. The peregrine is the fastest bird on the planet when in a dive and can achieve speeds in excess of 200 mph, over 130 mph faster than a pigeon.

Are pigeons intelligent?
Pigeons are considered to be one of the most intelligent birds on the planet with pigeons being able to undertake tasks previously thought to be the sole preserve of humans and primates. The pigeon has also been found to pass the ‘mirror test’ (being able to recognise its reflection in a mirror) and is one of only 6 species, and the only non-mammal, that has this ability. The pigeon can also recognise all 26 letters of the English language as well as being able to conceptualise. In scientific tests pigeons have been found to be able to differentiate between photographs and even differentiate between two different human beings in a photograph when rewarded with food for doing so.

Thanks from : www.deterapigeon.com

Amazing facts and figures of Grand Prix Silverstone

THE three days of the Grand Prix event at Silverstone generate some interesting facts and statistics.

The 20,000 bottles of mineral water consumed during the Grand Prix would fill up 150 spa pools.

The G-Force of 3.5 experienced by Formula 1 drivers is the same as that encountered by astronauts during take-off.

2,800 bottles of champagne will be drunk over the three days.

A team of 100 medical staff, including 40 doctors, will be on site to deal with any medical problems among the competitors and visitors.

There will be more than 600 highly-trained volunteer track side marshals on duty around the track. This includes 290 fire and course marshals, 75 flag marshals, 50 observers and 30 incident officers.

If Lewis Hamilton takes the chequered flag at the Grand Prix he will become the first British driver to win his home Grand Prix in his debut season.

15,000 litres of paint will be used in

preparation for Silverstone's biggest event of the year, which is enough to cover 30 Boeing 747s.

1,796 catering staff will work at the Grand Prix including 98 chefs, 842 hospitality staff and 757 mobile catering staff.

The Grand Prix generates approximately £65 million annually for the local economy.

Formula 1 drivers will lose an average of 4kg in weight during the British Grand Prix.

Since 1950 the British Grand Prix at Silverstone has been won 15 times by a British driver.
480 loud speakers are used at the three-day event.

The average speed of a Formula 1 car around Silverstone is 135mph.

The track is 3.194 miles long and 15m wide. Drivers will complete 60 laps during the British Grand Prix, which is 191.64 miles in total.

Amazing Leather and Footwear Facts

AMAZING LEATHER LEATHER FACTS:

From the History
The primitive man, even more than 7000 years ago, made and used leather goods. He dried fresh skins in the sun, softened them by pounding in animal fats and brains, and preserved them by salting and smoking. Of course, the products were crude, made for protection than as fashion.
The Egyptians and Hebrews developed around 400 BC, the process of vegetable tanning that involved simple drying and curing techniques.

Under the Arabs during the Middle Ages, the art of leather making became quite sophisticated. Morocco and cordovan leathers were in great demand.

The ancient puppet theatre in the southern India used primarily leather dolls. The tradition continues even today.

Following the industrial revolution in Europe, power driven machines were introduced to perform operations such as splitting, fleshing, and dehairing. The chemical tannage were introduced towards the end of 19th century.

Evidence of shoemaking exists as early as 10,000 B.C.

Napoleon Bonaparte had his boots worn by servants to break them in before he wore them

The boots worn by Neil Armstrong for his walk on the moon in 1969 were jettisoned before returning to earth to prevent contamination

The original French version of the Cinderella story features a fur slipper instead of a glass one.

The confusion arose in the similarity of a French word for white fur (vair), which resembled the word for glass (verre).

Common Leathers

cattle, including calf and ox
sheep and lamb
goat and kid
equine animals, including horse, mule, and zebra
buffalo
pig and hog
aquatic animals as seal, walrus, whale, and alligator

The process
The hide, left to itself, would rather decompose than become leather. It is cured of such inclinations by a dehydrating process (air-drying, salting, or pickling with acids and salts) before being shipped to a tannery.

The hide has about 60 to 70 percent water and 30 to 35 percent protein (of which 85 percent is fibrous). Tanning displaces water from the hide's protein fibres and cements these fibres together. Tanning derives its name from tannic acid found in plants (vegetable tanning), mineral salts (mineral tanning) or in oil and fatty substances (oil tanning)

The tanned pelt is dried, dyed, oiled and greased to lubricate it and to enhance its softness, strength, and ability to shed water. The leather is further dried and reconditioned with damp sawdust to a uniform moisture content of 20 percent. It is then stretched and softened, and the grain surface is coated to give it additional resistance to abrasion, cracking, peeling, water, heat, and cold.

The leather is then ready to be fashioned into any of a multitude of products. These include shoes and boots, outer apparel, belts, upholstery materials, suede products, saddles, gloves, luggage and purses, and recreational equipment as well as such industrial items as buffing wheels and machine belts.

Thanks to webindia,leather industry section:

Amazing Heart Problems Facts

A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty , Narayana Hrudayalaya ( Heart Specialist) Bangalore, India was arranged by WIPRO for its employees .The transcript of the chat is given below. Useful for everyone.

Qn: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?
Ans: 1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?
Ans: No

Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?
Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?
Ans: Yes

Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?
Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.

Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?
Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints .

Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?
Ans: Mother Theresa , who was my patient.

Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?
Ans: Extremely rare

Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age(I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?
Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.

Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart ?
Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.

Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?
Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?
Ans: Yoga helps.

Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?
Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.

Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?
Ans: All oils are bad .

Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?
Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.

Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?
Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.

Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?
Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.
Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, edentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.

Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?
Ans: Yes.

Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?
Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child

Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What precautions would you recommend?
Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.

Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?
Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?
Ans : No.

Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?
Ans : No.

Qn: How would you define junk food?
Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.

Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?
Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.

Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?
Ans : No.

Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?
Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up.

Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?
Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.

Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?
Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.

Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?
Ans: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.

Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?
Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?
Ans : No.

Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?
Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet toreduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?
Ans : No.

Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?
Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.

Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?
Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup s if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended)...

Send it to all your nearest and deares t ......which should be many..........

Amazing Facts of the Year 1904

Amazing Facts of the Year 1904

Maybe this will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1904...one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. Statistics for 1904 :>The average life expectancy in the U.S. Was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. Had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in the U.S. Was 22 cents an hour.

The average U.S. Worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 perYear, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. Took place at home.

Ninety percent of all U.S. Physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.
The five leading causes of death in the U.S. Were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two of 10 U.S. Adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores.

According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!) Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. Had at least one full-time servant or domestic.

There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.(And didn't Chicago just have it's first murder free day in 5 years, wow)

And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and sent it to you in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. It staggers the mind.

Amazing Body Painting in the Illusion of Colours

Amazing Body Painting in the Illusion of Colours

Body painting is a body art form and is considered to be one of ancient forms of art.

Unlike tattoos and other types of body art, body painting is the only temporary one. It is painted onto the human skin, lasting a few hours, days or in case of henna painting, up to several weeks.

Face painting

As a sub-type of this art, style called “face painting” appeared, mostly used in the contemporary fashion scene.

Bodies were always painted with various dyes from nature, and it exists in all tribe cultures. In its primitive version, it was an addition to ceremonies, and it is alive in Australia even today, as well as Island and parts of Africa.

Natural colours

The famous hana tattoo was practiced in India and the Middle East, especially during wedding ceremonies. This style became popular in the 1990s among western culture youth.

Tribes in North America traditionally used various magnolia products (achiote, anatto, huito) in order to ornament their faces and bodies.

Contemporary body painting
Actors and clowns throughout the world have painted themselves for centuries and are still doing it today, while a somewhat more humble type developed into today`s cosmetics for the role of everyday life.

It experienced a new “revival” in the western world in 1993 at Worlds Fair in Chicago when Max Factor painted a model with new make-up, intended for the Hollywood stars. The final result was their arrest with charges for disturbing public order and peace.

Today, body painting is somewhat different and it does not cause a law or media boom! It is used in films, advertisements, fashion, masquerades, theatre, photography… Not to forget that a milder, cosmetic type every person of this planet uses almost daily. As a great “Hello!”. View the PHOTOGALLERY.

Thanks to javno.com