Mark Twain is famous for having said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”
Well, just to prove you can have a bit of fun with statistics have a look at this set of nonsense that came to me in an email a while ago.
They are a complete reversal of the usual figures which continually highlight the increasing world population and the problems that will cause in the future.
These numbers look at the world if it was scaled down to just one hundred people.
It might make you think or it might not.
But it is a new way of looking at population statistics, so I hope you enjoy them anyway.
Hi, and welcome to fasab’s fascinating festive facts.
Everything on my blog this week is in Christmas mode including these tidbits of information that you may be able to work into the conversation if you are at a party or two this week.
Enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas.
.
.
The traditional three colors of Christmas
are green, red, and gold.
Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth;
red symbolizes the blood of Christ,
and gold represents light as well as wealth and royalty.
.
.
The first printed reference to a
Christmas tree was in 1531 in Germany.
.
.
Apparently seven out of ten British dogs
get Christmas gifts from their doting owners.
.
.
A lot of people don’t like it,
but the abbreviation of ‘Xmas’ for
Christmas is not irreligious.
The first letter of the word Christ in Greek is chi,
which is identical to our X.
Xmas was originally an ecclesiastical abbreviation
that was used in tables and charts.
.
.
Electric Christmas lights
were first used in 1854.
.
.
Some people who were born on December 25
feel hard done by because they have to
make do with one present instead of two
and share their big day celebrations with everybody else.
Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island,
recognized the problem. When he died on December 4, 1894,
he willed his November 13 birthday to a friend
who disliked her own Christmas birthday
.
.
Franklin Pierce was the first president to
decorate an official White House Christmas tree.
.
.
Silent Night was written in 1818,
by Austrian priest Joseph Mohr.
He was told the day before Christmas
that the church organ was broken
and would not be repaired in time for Christmas Eve.
.
.
Artificial Christmas trees
have outsold real ones since 1991.
.
.
In the British armed forces it is traditional
that officers wait on the other ranks
and serve them their Christmas dinner.
This dates back to a custom from the Middle Ages.
.
.
Long before mistletoe became a saucy ‘kiss encourager’,
it was considered to have magic powers.
It was said to have the ability to heal
wounds and increase fertility.
Celts hung mistletoe in their homes
in order to bring themselves good luck
and ward off evil spirits.
.
.
Each year there are approximately 20,000
“rent-a-Santas” across the United States.
“Rent-a-Santas” usually undergo seasonal training
on how to maintain a jolly attitude
under pressure from the public.
They also receive practical advice,
such as not accepting money from parents
while children are looking and
avoiding garlic, onions, or beans for lunch.
.
.
In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea,
your age is measured not in years
but in how many Christmases you’ve lived through;
you’re not 20, you’re twenti krismas.
Rather less charmingly,
the Japanese expression to describe
single women over 25 years old is
kurisumasu keiki – left-over Christmas cake.
.
.
Most of Santa’s reindeer have male-sounding names,
such as Blitzen, Comet, and Cupid.
However, male reindeers shed their antlers around Christmas,
so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh
are likely not male, but female – or castrati.
(I wonder if that is the origin of hanging balls
on a Christmas tree comes from?)
.
.
The popular Christmas song “Jingle Bells”
was actually written for Thanksgiving.
The song was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont,
and was originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh”.
If you aren’t scared yet the chances are you are not afflicted with anything on the following list of phobias or irrational fears that seem to grip some unfortunate people. For them 2013 will be as frightening as 2012. Imagine, for example, spending the whole year with proctophobia – what a bummer!
In today’s list are the ‘O’s and the ‘P’s.
Enjoy.
.
.
Obesophobia……….fear of gaining weight. (Pocrescophobia)
Ochlophobia……….fear of crowds or mobs.
Ochophobia……….fear of vehicles.
Octophobia ……….fear of the figure 8.
Odontophobia……….fear of teeth or dental surgery.
Odynophobia or Odynephobia……….fear of pain. (Algophobia)
Oenophobia……….fear of wines.
Oikophobia……….fear of home surroundings, house. (Domatophobia, Eicophobia)
Olfactophobia……….fear of smells.
Ombrophobia……….fear of rain or of being rained on.
Ommetaphobia or Ommatophobia……….fear of eyes.
Omphalophobia……….fear of belly buttons.
Oneirophobia……….fear of dreams.
Oneirogmophobia……….fear of wet dreams.
Onomatophobia……….fear of hearing a certain word or of names.
Ophidiophobia……….fear of snakes. (Snakephobia)
Ophthalmophobia……….fear of being stared at.
Opiophobia……….fear medical doctors experience of prescribing needed pain medications for patients.
Optophobia……….fear of opening one’s eyes.
Ornithophobia……….fear of birds.
Orthophobia……….fear of property.
Osmophobia or Osphresiophobia……….fear of smells or odors.
Ostraconophobia……….fear of shellfish.
Ouranophobia or Uranophobia……….fear of heaven.
Pagophobia……….fear of ice or frost.
Panthophobia……….fear of suffering and disease.
Panophobia or Pantophobia……….fear of everything.
Papaphobia……….fear of the Pope.
Papyrophobia……….fear of paper.
Paralipophobia……….fear of neglecting duty or responsibility.
Paraphobia……….fear of sexual perversion.
Parasitophobia……….fear of parasites.
Paraskavedekatriaphobia……….fear of Friday the 13th.
Parthenophobia……….fear of virgins or young girls.
Pathophobia……….fear of disease.
Patroiophobia……….fear of heredity.
Parturiphobia……….fear of childbirth.
Peccatophobia……….fear of sinning or imaginary crimes.
Pediculophobia……….fear of lice.
Pediophobia……….fear of dolls.
Pedophobia……….fear of children.
Peladophobia……….fear of bald people.
Pellagrophobia……….fear of pellagra.
Peniaphobia……….fear of poverty.
Pentheraphobia……….fear of mother-in-law. (Novercaphobia)
Phagophobia……….fear of swallowing or of eating or of being eaten.
Phalacrophobia……….fear of becoming bald.
Phallophobia……….fear of a penis, especially erect.
Pharmacophobia……….fear of taking medicine.
Phasmophobia……….fear of ghosts.
Phengophobia……….fear of daylight or sunshine.
Philemaphobia or Philematophobia……….fear of kissing.
Philophobia……….fear of falling in love or being in love.
Philosophobia……….fear of philosophy.
Phobophobia……….fear of phobias.
Photoaugliaphobia……….fear of glaring lights.
Photophobia……….fear of light.
Phonophobia……….fear of noises or voices or one’s own voice; of telephones.
Phronemophobia……….fear of thinking.
Phthiriophobia……….fear of lice. (Pediculophobia)
Phthisiophobia……….fear of tuberculosis.
Placophobia……….fear of tombstones.
Plutophobia……….fear of wealth.
Pluviophobia……….fear of rain or of being rained on.
Pneumatiphobia……….fear of spirits.
Pnigophobia or Pnigerophobia……….fear of choking of being smothered.
Pocrescophobia……….fear of gaining weight. (Obesophobia)
Podophobia……….fear of feet.
Pogonophobia……….fear of beards.
Poliosophobia……….fear of contracting poliomyelitis.
Politicophobia……….fear or abnormal dislike of politicians.
Polyphobia……….fear of many things.
Poinephobia……….fear of punishment.
Ponophobia……….fear of overworking or of pain.
Porphyrophobia……….fear of the color purple.
Potamophobia……….fear of rivers or running water.
Potophobia……….fear of alcohol.
Pharmacophobia……….fear of drugs.
Proctophobia……….fear of rectums.
Prosophobia……….fear of progress.
P-P-P-P-P-Psellismophobia……….fear of stuttering.
Psychophobia……….fear of mind.
Psychrophobia……….fear of cold.
Pteridophobia……….morbid fear of fearns.
Pteromerhanophobia……….fear of flying.
Pteronophobia……….fear of being tickled by feathers.
Pupaphobia ……….fear of puppets.
Pyrexiophobia……….fear of fever.
Pyrophobia……….fear of fire.
.
How are you after all that? Are you developing symptoms or are you feeling good?
fasab 