You will get what the title is all about later. Let’s just say for now I’ll still be buying my airplane tickets and enduring the rigors of airport security for a few years longer.
As for now it’s Fact Day so have a look at the current offerings.
Enjoy.
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In cold weather keeping your cell phone
as close to your body as you can,
or in the inside pocket of an insulated base layer
will help keep it warm and prolong battery life.
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In the West women usually start shopping for baby things
as soon as they discover they’re pregnant
but in China a pregnant Chinese woman will avoid
getting a stroller before her baby is born because
according to Chinese tradition it’s considered
bad luck to have an empty stroller in the house
while you’re pregnant.
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The world’s oldest-known formula for toothpaste
was created by the ancient Egyptians
who used crushed rock salt, mint, dried iris flowers,
and pepper and mixed them to create a cleaning powder.
Research suggests this ancient toothpaste was more
effective than formulas used as recently as a century ago,
although it did have the unfortunate side effect
of causing bleeding gums.
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A scientific study has suggested that if you
are stressing over an important test or exam,
writing down your feelings on a piece of paper
before an exam will allow you to achieve higher scores.
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Contrary to many theories,
the tongue does not have specific receptor areas
for bitter, sour, salty, and sweet flavors.
In fact, there is a fifth taste (umami, for savory/meaty flavors)
and all zones of the tongue can sense all flavors.
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After banning the Nobel Prize,
Adolf Hitler developed his own version
– the German National Prize for Art and Science.
Ferdinand Porsche was one of the awardees
for being the man behind the world’s first
hybrid car and for the Volkswagen Beetle.
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In a statement he gave to the New York Times in 1909,
Nikola Tesla predicted that it would soon be possible
to transmit messages via personal devices.
Today, we have wireless communication devices
that we bring with us anywhere we go.
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A month after the USSR sent Sputnik 1 into space,
they sent Sputnik 2, which was the first spacecraft
to carry an animal (a dog named Laika) into space.
However, despite the Soviets initially claiming that
Laika had survived in orbit for a week,
decades later official Russian sources revealed
that Laika lived only a few hours
before dying from overheating.
Brave little doggie though.
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During WWI “Hello Girls,”as American
soldiers called them, were American women
who served as telephone operators for
Pershing’s forces in Europe.
The women were fluent in French and English
and were specially trained by the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company.
In 1979, the U.S. Army finally gave war medals
and veteran benefits to the few Hello Girls who were still alive.
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In its early days YouTube’s founders used
Craigslist to try to popularize the site
by offering $100 to attractive girls who would
post ten or more videos of themselves.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get a single response.
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The phrase ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’
goes back to at least the mid-nineteenth century
as found in George Eliot’s ‘The Mill on the Floss’ (1860),
where Mr. Tulliver uses the phrase in discussing
Daniel Defoe’s ‘The History of the Devil’,
saying how it was beautifully bound.
Its general meaning today, of course, is that
we shouldn’t judge or make a decision about
someone or something based on a brief
impression or outward appearance.
Wise advice.
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Just as true champagne must hail from France,
tequila has Denomination of Origin,
meaning that it has to be produced in Mexico,
mainly in the western Mexican state of Jalisco.
The states of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit,
and Tamaulipas are also acceptable.
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Located in the city of Taipei in Taiwan, the
D.S. Music Restaurant has nothing to do with music at all.
In fact, it is a bizarre hospital-themed restaurant
where waitresses are all dressed as nurses,
tables are made from metal hospital beds,
drinks are served in IV bottles and
walls are decorated with X-ray scans.
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Remember the teleporter Star Trek?
Well, it’s no longer science fiction because now
matter can be dissolved into particles, transported
and reassembled at another location.
However, it won’t be available for use on humans
in the near future because at the moment,
whilst it is indeed possible to scan every molecule
in the human body and reassemble it in another area,
Second one in two months and there will be another in November 2015 too.
How lucky is that?
Well, I guess not so lucky if you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia (also known as friggatriskaidekaphobia), which is a fear of Friday the 13th, or even triskadekaphobia which is the scientific name given to a fear of the number 13 itself.
It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise really. The longest period that can occur without a Friday the 13th is 14 months, and every year has at least one and sometimes, like this year, three Friday the 13ths.
There is no written evidence for a “Friday the 13th” superstition before the 19th century, the first reference to an unlucky Friday the 13th coming in an 1869 biography of the composer Rossini who died on Friday November 13, 1868.
The superstition only gained widespread distribution in the 20th century, although the origin is believed to have come from the Bible, the association stemming from the idea that the 13th guest at the Last Supper was the one who betrayed Jesus prior to his death, which occurred on a Friday.
Hotels, skyscrapers and even hospitals have been known to skip out on creating a 13th floor due to its unlucky connection and even airports sometimes quietly omit gate 13. The Curtis Hotel in Denver, Colorado, on the other hand uses the superstition as a gimmick to amuse guests by playing the “dun, dun, dunnnnn!!” theme in the elevator shaft for guests as they arrive on the 13th floor.
Sometimes research seems to add weight to the superstition. A study in Finland, for example, has shown that women are more likely to die in traffic accidents on Friday the 13th than on other Fridays.
And, according to a report from U.K.’s newspaper, The Mirror, 72 percent of United Kingdom residents have claimed to have had bad luck experiences Friday the 13th. The readers polled admitted to avoiding traveling, attending business meetings and making large purchases on this unlucky day, with 34 percent admitting to wanting to “hide under their duvet” for the upcoming dates. The study did not speculate if their luck would have been better if they had gone about their normal business!
Former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a strong fear of the number 13 and refused to host a dinner party with 13 guests or to travel on the 13th day of any month. US President Herbert Hoover had similar fears.
Maybe he did what superstitious diners in Paris do – hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
I don’t think Cuban leader Fidel Castro had the same fears because he was born on Friday, August 13,1926, as was the celebrated outlaw Butch Cassidy (born on. Friday, April 13,1866).
Speaking of outlaws, Oklahoma bandit Crawford “Cherokee Bill” Goldsby murdered 13 victims, and was captured after a reward of $1300 was posted. At his trial, 13 eyewitnesses testified against him, the jury took 13 hours to render a verdict of guilty. He was hanged on April 13,1896 on a gallows with 13 steps!
Stock broker and author Thomas W. Lawson, wrote a novel in 1907 entitled “Friday the Thirteenth,” about a stockbroker’s attempts to take down Wall Street on the unluckiest day of the month. Reportedly, stock brokers after this were as unlikely to buy or sell stocks on this unlucky day as they were to walk under a ladder, according to accounts of a 1925 New York Times article.
The independent horror movie Friday the 13th was released in May 1980 and despite only having a budget of $550,000 it grossed $39.7million at the box office in the United States – not unlucky for it’s backers. In fact the “Friday the 13th” film franchise continues to sweep up its box-office competition. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the dozen films named after the haunted holiday have raked in more than $380 million nationally, with an average gross of $31 million per feature.
Another director noted for his suspenseful psychological thrillers, Alfred Hitchcock, was born on the Friday 13th in August 1899, although he also had a run in with bad luck on that date too when his directorial debut movie called “Number 13,” never made it past the first few scenes and was shut down due to financial problems. He is supposed to have said that the film wasn’t very interesting. We’ll never know!
Also with movies in mind there was a feature film based on the unlucky events of Apollo 13, launched on 13:13 CST, April 11,1970, which barely escaped becoming a doomed flight when an explosion disabled the craft occurring on April 13th (not a Friday in case you are interested).
According to Thomas Gilovich, chair of Psychology at Cornell University, our brains are known to make associations with Friday 13th in a way that would give favor to the “bad luck” myths. He explains this by saying that “if anything bad happens to you on Friday the 13th, the two will be forever associated in your mind and all those uneventful days in which the 13th fell on a Friday will be ignored.” It’s a bit like remembering the good old days and forgetting the bad ones!
Always contrary, pagans believe that 13 is actually a lucky number since it corresponds with the number of full moons in a year and in Spanish-speaking nations, Tuesday The 13th is regarded as unlucky rather than Friday!
So I guess you just have to make up your own mind whether you believe Friday 13th is unlucky or not.
I’m hoping of course that the fact that you have landed on this blog today is good luck rather than bad.
Yes, fractions, food, and French Horns are just some of the questions you’ll face if you take this week’s quiz.
A random and challenging assortment, but as usual, if you get stuck, you will find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below. But please, NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
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Q. 1: The name of what American city means “the meadows” in Spanish?
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Q. 2: How many women now regularly wear shoes with heels higher than one inch to work?
a) 15% b) 25% c) 35% d) 45%
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Q. 3: What year was the death penalty abolished in England?
a) 1959 b) 1969 c) 1979 d) 1989
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Q. 4: What number lies halfway between 1/3 and 1/5?
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Q. 5: What was the first nation to give women the right to vote?
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Q. 6: From what type of creature is ‘Bombay duck’ made?
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Q. 7: Which country would you be in if you were skiing in the Dolomites?
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Q. 8: It is the name of a fragrant cosmetic and a city in Germany, what is it?
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Q. 9: In which country did French horns originate?
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Q. 10: What acid is associated with muscles in the body experiencing lack of oxygen?
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Q. 11: In Roman times what was a gladiator armed with, in addition to a dagger and spear?
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Q. 12: From which plant do we get ‘Vanilla’?
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Q. 13: What is ‘Hansen’s disease’ more commonly known as?
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Q. 14: What was the name of the political system in South Africa from 1948 to 1994?
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Q. 15: ‘Wild Marjoram’ is another name for which commonly used herb?
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Q. 16: How deep is one fathom of water?
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Q. 17: How many different letters are used in Roman numerals and what are their values? (A point for each part of the question correctly answered.)
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Q. 18: What common mineral is used to make casts, moulds, blackboard chalk and plaster of Paris?
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Q. 19: What extinct creature got its name from the Portuguese word for stupid? (Hint: the answer is not Congressman.)
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Q. 20: Who created the cartoon characters “The Simpsons”?
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ANSWERS
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Q. 1: The name of what American city means “the meadows” in Spanish?
A. 1: Las Vegas.
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Q. 2: How many women now regularly wear shoes with heels higher than one inch to work?
a) 15% b) 25% c) 35% d) 45%
A. 2: The correct answer is b) 25%.
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Q. 3: What year was the death penalty abolished in England?
a) 1959 b) 1969 c) 1979 d) 1989
A. 3: The correct answer is b) 1969.
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Q. 4: What number lies halfway between 1/3 and 1/5?
A. 4: 4/15ths
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Q. 5: What was the first nation to give women the right to vote?
A. 5: New Zealand, in 1893.
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Q. 6: From what type of creature is ‘Bombay duck’ made?
A. 6: Fish (specifically a Bummalo fish).
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Q. 7: Which country would you be in if you were skiing in the Dolomites?
A. 7: Italy.
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Q. 8: It is the name of a fragrant cosmetic and a city in Germany, what is it?
A. 8: Cologne.
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Q. 9: In which country did French horns originate?
A. 9: Germany.
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Q. 10: What acid is associated with muscles in the body experiencing lack of oxygen?
A. 10: Lactic acid.
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Q. 11: In Roman times what was a gladiator armed with, in addition to a dagger and spear?
A. 11: A net.
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Q. 12: From which plant do we get ‘Vanilla’?
A. 12: The Orchid.
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Q. 13: What is ‘Hansen’s disease’ more commonly known as?
A. 13: Leprosy.
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Q. 14: What was the name of the political system in South Africa from 1948 to 1994?
A. 14: Apartheid.
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Q. 15: ‘Wild Marjoram’ is another name for which commonly used herb?
A. 15: Oregano.
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Q. 16: How deep is one fathom of water?
A. 16: 1.82 Meters or 6 feet.
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Q. 17: How many different letters are used in Roman numerals and what are their values? (A point for each part of the question correctly answered.)
A. 17: Seven or VII (They are, I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1000)
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Q. 18: What common mineral is used to make casts, moulds, blackboard chalk and plaster of Paris?
A. 18: Gypsum.
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Q. 19: What extinct creature got its name from the Portuguese word for stupid? (Hint: the answer is not Congressman.)
A. 19: The Dodo.
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Q. 20: Who created the cartoon characters “The Simpsons”?
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