Interesting Facts

1. 10% of the world's population speak English as their mother tongue (Chinese 21%, Spanish 6%, Russian 6%, Malay 4%, Hindi 4%, Japanese 3%, Arabic 3%, Portuguese 3%, French 2%, German 2%)


2. Rains of many kinds of living creatures have actually been reported from earliest times and all over the world. On 28th May 1881, during a thunderstorm on the outskirts of Worcester, England, tons of periwinkles and small hermit crabs fell on Cromer Gardens Road and the surrounding fields.


3. The word "Christmas" comes from the Old English, "Cristes maesse" which means "Christ's mass" on which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is traditionally a celebration of family and children.


4. The modern Christmas tree tradition came from western Germany, from a medieval custom, as a paradise tree -- a tree decorated with apples, wafers (or cookies), and candles representing the Garden of Eden, the host, and Christ.


5. The alarm clock was not invented by the Marquis de Sade, as some suspect, but rather by a man named Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1787. Perversity, though, characterized his invention from the beginning. The alarm on his clock could ring only at 4 am. Rumor has it that Hutchins was murdered by his wife at 4:05 am on a very dark and deeply cold New England morning.


6.If you went out into space, you would explode before you suffocated because there's no air pressure.


7. Only one satellite has been ever been destroyed by a meteor: the European Space Agency's Olympus in 1993.


8. 5th Century, Rome Mid February was traditionally the time of the Lupercian festival, an ode to the God of fertility and a celebration of sensual pleasure, a time to meet and court a prospective mate. In AD 496, Pope Gelasius outlawed the pagan festival. But he was clever to replace it with a similar celebration, although one deemed morally suitable. He needed a "lovers" saint to replace the pagan deity Lupercus. The martyred Bishop Valentine was chosen as the patron saint of the new festival.


9. Saint Valentine had been beheaded for helping young lovers marry against the wishes of the mad emperor Claudius. Before execution, Valentine himself had fallen in love with his jailer's daughter. He signed his final note to her, "From Your Valentine", a phrase that has lasted through the centuries.


10. Thumbing your nose (raising your thumb to your nose and fanning your fingers) is a sign of mockery throughout most of the world.
In Australia, it is rude to wink at women.

11.In Brazil, pulling down the lower lid of the right eye means that the listener doubts what you are saying.

12. In Korea, it is rude to keep your hands behind your back or in your pockets.

13.Mangos have been cultivated in India for about 5,000 years, and were originally small, fibrous fruits, somewhat like plums, with a taste like turpentine. There are now over 500 varieties grown there. 

14. More fresh mangos are eaten every day than any other fruit in the world.


15. A man named Sir Henry Wyat was sentenced to the Tower of London, at a time when prisoners generally starved to death. Sir Henry's kitty-cat seemed to understand the situation because she snuck into the Tower bringing him a freshly-killed pigeon every day. When the king heard of this, he must have felt sad for the kitty, because he immediately set Sir Henry free. 


16. The word "ecology" derives from the Greek words "oikos", loosely translating as home and "logie", meaning science or doctrine. The dictionary defines ecology as the discipline that studies the relationships between organisms and their environment, that is to say, between an organism and its home. In a broader sense, ecology deals with the relation between living beings and the planet Earth: our great home, our only home. The word tourism developed from the Hebrew word Tora, which means to study, learn or search.


17. The Galapagos Islands have lived in virtual isolation for millions of years. In total, they consist of 61 islands and islets, with 13 main islands. Seeming like shadows upon the sea from one another, the 13 main islands are Baltra, Espanola, Fernandina, Floreana, Genovesa, Isabela, Marchena, Pinta, Pinzon, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago. In total land area, the islands are 4897 sq. miles (7880 sq. km) and in the total geographical area from Darwin Island to San Cristobal and Espanola, 28,000 sq. miles (45,000 sq. km)


18. Heathrow Airport handles more international passengers than any other airport in the world and offers flights to many international destinations including 33 flights to Paris and 23 flights to New York each day. The most popular country for flights from Heathrow is the United States of America. The busiest routes are New York, Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin.


19. One out of the ordinary punishment of the Elizabethan England was the drunkard's cloak. It was a punishment for public drunkenness; the name of it is somewhat misleading. The flaw in the name comes from the fact that the cloak is less a cloak and more a barrel. The drunk was forced to don a barrel and wander through town while the villagers jeer at him. Holes were cut in the barrel for the person's hands and head, causing it to become like a heavy, awkward shirt.


The Times Square in New York has been the center of worldwide attention for New Year for 96 years. In 1907, for the first time the Ball lowering ceremony was organized and this is now the symbol of New Year worldwide. This event is seen by over 500000 visitors at Times Square every year and over 100 Crore viewers on TV. The Times Square ball is 6 feet in Diameter and weighs over 400 Kgs. It has over 500 Crystals and is lighted with over 600 bulbs. The ball is lowered 77 feet in 60 seconds and the 60th second is at exactly 24:00 Hrs.


The White House is a freestone building in American colonial style and stands in Washington, DC, United States of America. It is the official residence of the President of the USA. The White House is the oldest federal building in the capital. It is officially called the Executive Mansion.


The White House receives approximately 6,000 visitors a day and has 6 floors (two are basements), 132 rooms, including 16 family-guest rooms, 1 main kitchen, 1 diet kitchen, 1 family kitchen, and 31 bathrooms


20. The people in the United States first decided to make their own currency when they needed money to pay for the Revolutionary War. Before the mid-1800's each dollar was worth a certain amount of gold or silver. Banks printed all the money. There were more than 10,000 different types of dollars that were printed. These bills (notes) were made in various sizes, colors and designs.


21. There are about twenty modern nations whose currency is called the "dollar." The word apparently derives from "taler," which in turn comes from "Joachimsthal," the name of a place in Bohemia where the taler (a silver coin) was created, with the "-thal" part presumably meaning "valley." (The modern German spelling, by the way, has been changed to "tal," which explains the new spelling of the English word "Neandertal.") So, we use dollars today because certain coins were once minted in a valley.


22. The flag of Britain, commonly known as the Union Jack (which derives from the use of the Union Flag on the jack-staff of naval vessels), embodies the emblems of three countries under one Sovereign. The emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of three patron saints: The red cross of St George, for England, on a white ground; The white diagonal cross, or saltire, of St Andrew, for Scotland on a blue ground; The red diagonal cross of St Patrick, for Ireland, on a white ground.


23. Wales is not represented in the Union Flag because, when the first version of the flag appeared Wales was already united with England. The national flag of Wales, a red dragon on a field of white and green, dates from the 15th century and is widely used throughout the Principality. The dragon as a symbol was probably introduced into Britain by the Roman legions. According to tradition, the red dragon appeared on a crest borne by the legendary King Arthur, whose father Uthr Pendragon, had seen a dragon in the sky predicting that he would be king. 

24. Did you know that on an average day, drying paint releases more smog-forming compounds into the air than all of the area's oil-refineries and gas stations combined? Oil-based paints contain three to five times more polluting solvents than water-based, latex paints.


25. Businesses in European countries commonly use handwriting analysis in their employment practices. In France and Switzerland, approximately 80 percent of the large corporations use graphology in their hiring procedures.


26. Graphology is taught in psychology departments of several leading universities in Germany, France, Switzerland, Holland and Israel.


27. According to Phlegon, a Roman author of the 2nd century AD, the wreath of olive leaves was instituted as the prize for victors at Olympia in 752 BC, on the advice of the Oracle at Delphi. King Iphitos was told by the Delphic Oracle to plant an Olive Tree from which the victor' wreaths for the Olympic Games was cut.