Monday, November 7, 2011

The World's Tallest Man has saved 2 dolphins!

The World's Tallest Man has saved 2 dolphins!

Bao Xishun is a Mongolian herdsman that holds the Guinness World Record for being the tallest man alive, at 8'1". Of course with a tall body usually come pretty long arms. So veterinarians at an aquarium in north-east China called him when they could not figure out a way to help out a couple of dolphins.

The dolphins had swallowed plastic that was used around their pool and the veterinarians had been unsuccessful at recovering them from their stomachs. The dolphins had lost their appetite and suffered from depression. This is where Bao Xishun stepped in. Using his 1.06m arms, he reached into the dolphins' stomachs and grabbed the plastic out! The dolphins recovered their appetite and were expected to have a full recovery!

There is a breathable liquid!

There is a breathable liquid!

Perfluorohexane is a component in which hydrogen atoms from hexane are replaced by fluorine. It is mostly used as a solvent and coolant. However, one of the coolest things about this component is that due to its molecular structure, it allows space for gas molecules to be lodged into the liquid from the atmosphere. This means that there is oxygen lodged in between its molecules in a higher concentration than the atmosphere. This phenomenom allows for animals to continue breathing and not drown!

The uses for this property are not just a novelty. The liquid is used to treat burn victims, because their lungs can be filled with this liquid and avoid problems like pulmonary edema, which is caused when the inside of the lungs have been burnt.

If a test says a MAN is pregnant, he may have CANCER!

There's a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin or hCG, which is produced by the developing embryo when women get pregnant. hCG helps control and regulate other development hormones. Because it appears so early into the pregnancy, it's used as an early indicator of pregnancy by over-the-counter pregnancy tests (the ones you pee on).

However, some types of cancer, including testicular cancer, also produce hCG. This means that if men pee on that same pregnancy stick, and test positive, it might be an indicator that they have developed testicular cancer! This puts the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Junior" in a completely different perspective!

The girlfriend of the founder of Match.com dumped him... for a man she met on Match.com!

Online dating is quickly becoming one of the most acceptable ways to start relationships. Match.com alone (a pay site) has over 1.8 million registered users! The site uses a complex algorithm that suggests people based not only on what people say they're looking for (hair color, age etc) but also on their browsing behavior on the site!

However, there was a time when online dating had a very negative connotation. Back in 1995, Gary Kremen saw potential for online dating and created Match.com. He faced a problem very early on... most people weren't dating online. He had EVERYONE on the company create a profile, including himself and his girlfriend, despite the fact that they were in a relationship.

While this may have helped the company grow the number of users, it also backfired for Kremen. His girlfriend met another man on Match.com and left him for him! Kremen later said that while it was painful, at least it showed him that the site worked! What an optimist!

A Vietnamese woman "aged" 50 years in a few DAYS!

Nguyen Thi Phuong switched her medicine to treat an allergic reaction to seafood. She was only 23, and what she didn't know was that this would cause her skin to become sagged and wrinkly within a few days!

Doctors are still trying to figure out what happened. Their best theory is that she has a rare syndrome called Lipodystrophy. This syndrome causes the fatty tissue beneath the skin to disappear and make the skin saggy because it's still growing!

While they're still testing to see what the cause to her problem is, doctors think they might be able to restore about 50 to 70% of her skin. As of now, she still has the voice of a young woman, as well as black hair. They're the only visible signs that she's not 73!

A single CAT killed all mice in a Mexican island!

The Angel Island mouse is a species of rodent that was found on the Mexican island of Ángel de la Guarda, and its nearby islands. Scientists believe that the species is probably extinct due to feral cats killing them off in those islands.

However, it is believed that the entire population of an islet to the south of Ángel de la Guarda was killed off by ONE cat that was present in the island between 1998 and 1999!

A postman built a CASTLE with the stones he collected on his route!

Ferdinand Cheval was a French postman who built one of the most extraordinary works of naïve art architecture in the world. He dropped out of school at age 13, and eventually became a postman.

One day, after he tripped on a rock, he got inspired by its shape and decided to begin collecting stones every day, as he delivered the mail. From that day on, he picked up rocks during the day, and worked on his palace at night. His construction takes inspiration from a lot of different styles, from Christianity to Hinduism.

It took him 33 YEARS to finish his creation, and he was so proud that he wanted to be buried in it. However, that was illegal in France. What did he do? He spent the next 8 years building a mausoleum for himself in the same way! He died a year after he finished and was buried there.

President Harry Truman fell in love with his future wife when he was only 6 years old!

President Harry Truman fell in love with his future wife when he was only 6 years old!

He and Bess Wallace Truman attended Sunday school together when he was 6 and she was 5. President Truman later says that after that they, he wasn't able to stop talking about the "beautiful curly haired girl."

Despite the fact that Bess did not immediately accept Harry's feelings in the beginning, he was persistent until they finally got married. Harry Truman later said that he had never even thought of loving another woman in his life.

Gandhi wrote to Hitler... TWICE!

It's hard to imagine 2 more contrasting historical figures. One is considered to be one of the most (if not *the* most) peaceful men in history, and the other will be hated forever for starting a war that killed 50 million people.

By 1939, it seemed that the world was headed for a war of a really large scale. Thinking he could make a difference, Gandhi's friends urged him to write to Hitler and dissuade him from making the mistakes he was about to make.

His letter was simple, to the point and only a couple of paragraphs long, Gandhi told Hitler that he was the one person who could prevent the war that could reduce humanity to savagery. After asking him to listen to "the appeal of one who has deliberately shunned the method of war," he even apologized if his letter was an inconvenience! What's most striking to me is that he opens and closest the letter by calling Hitler his friend. I think it's a reflection of Gandhi pacifism that he considers everyone his friend; however some might say it's just a formality. What do you think?

Some MLB players PEE on their hands to improve their grip!

Moises Alou and Jorge Posada have something in common. Despite the fact that most other players wear gloves to play baseball, they do not. This might be disadvantage, because it reduces the amount of grip that they can put on a bat or ball.

The way they manage to NOT wear gloves is very simple: they pee on their hands to improve their grips. While it might seem strange, it's hard to argue against Moises Alou, he's hit over 300 home runs and has been selected an All-Star six times in his 17 year career. However, Slate researched the issue and found that if anything, peeing on your hands might actually soften your hands. Who's right? Would you pee on yourself to improve performance? Tell us in the comments!

Nickelodeon once aired a movie that was so scary, it hasn't aired for 11 years!

The made for TV movie "Cry Baby Lane" premiered on the night of October 28, 2000. The movie is about the accidental resurrection of an evil spirit that possesses everyone in town.

The movie was so scary and so many parents complained, that Nickelodeon decided to not air it again, or release it on video. It was considered a lost film until a copy was found in 2011, and made available on the internet! If you're curious about it, but don't want to track down a pirated copy, Nickelodeon also decided air the movie on TeenNick on Halloween this year!

American kids think they outperform other countries in tests. In reality? they're almost dead last!

There are many things wrong in the American public school system (we covered cafeteria meals here), and the film Waiting for Superman brought light to a lot of the issues facing schools.

One of the most shocking ones is that, on international math and science tests, American schoolchildren rank 25th in Math and 21st in Science among the 30 most developed countries. However, they also ranked 1st in thinking they outperformed everyone else. Some experts think that this is a combination of a high focus on self-esteem and low expectations. If true, this might put the US in an educational disadvantage in the future.

(Source)

Kim Kardashian's wedding cost $138,888 a day!

After only 72 days of marriage, socialite and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, and NBA player Kris Humphries filed for divorce. This comes to a shock to those who watched their fairytale wedding special on E! only three weeks ago.

She filed for divorce on Hallowen, citing "irreconcileable differences." The prenup they signed will ensure that neither pays spousal support to the other. This is only a few days after she told PEOPLE magazine that she used to be upset about rumors between them and that those rumors would always be around. According to some sources, the pressure of having so many reality show cameras around was too much for the young marriage.

The couple had been dating only 6 months before the wedding and the majority of their relationship was caught on tape for E!'s Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Kim's ring cost an estimated $2 Million and her wedding an estimated $10 Million. If you do the math, Kim's marriage bliss cost $138,888 per day!

I guess Kris Humphries just couldn't keep up with those Kardashians.

Cats meow to communicate with humans, not with each other!

Kittens meow to their mothers to request something. When they grow up and become adults they do not meow to each other anymore! Scientists believe that the reason adult cats meow is an extension of their baby behavior and that the cat is trying to communicate a need to it's owner!

Adult cats use many other methods to communicate. They use hissing, purring and growling with their vocal cords. However, a lot of their communication is with body language; for example, they arch their backs to signify fear or aggression. The positioning of their tail usually expresses their level of happiness: the higher up it's held, the happier the cat is. Finally, cats also use scent to communicate! They pee on their territory and they rub off against people and objects to imprint their scent onto them to communicate to other cats that those things are theirs!

There are more than 20,000 slaves buried in New York!

There are more than 20,000 slaves buried in New York!

Archaeologists in New York have been investigating a burial site located under the busy New York streets. They estimate that about 20,000 slaves were buried under the metropolis. They've found many skeletons with filed teeth, a practice that leads them to believe that they arrived to New York straight from Africa. These slaves helped build the city back when it was becoming the economic center of the United States.

One horrible finding that has been found on these slave burial grounds is that half of the remains were children under 12 years old! Researchers speculate that it was more cost effective for slave owners to work people to death and replace them instead of taking good care of them, so they took people that were young, but ready to work.

The Power Rangers were banned in New Zealand until 2011, despite the fact that the show is filmed there!

The Power Rangers were banned in New Zealand until 2011, despite the fact that the show is filmed there!

In 1994 the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) decided to uphold a number of complaints from concerned parents about the levels of violence in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers show. The complaints said that the show taught that violence was the best way to resolve conflict and parents feared that little kids would have increased levels of aggression as a result of watching the show.

When the BSA made its decision, the show was all but cancelled by the TV station, in the middle of the show's second season. For years the show was hard to find on DVD and video. The funny twist in this is that starting with the later seasons, like "Power Rangers: Mystic Force" and "Power Rangers: Jungle Fury," the show was actually filmed ON New Zealand. The show remained missing from TV sets in the island-country until the release of the 2011 show "Power Rangers Samurai."

A small jolt of electricity in the brain can improve math skills for 6 months!

Researchers have discovered that a small jolt of electricity, one that is so small, most patients don't even realize it, can improve a person's math skill. The key is to direct the electricity to pass through the brain's parietal lobe, which is involved in number processing.

What researchers did was teach the participant a new series of symbols (not our common Arabic numerals) that represented numbers. While their brains were being shocked, they tested their ability to organize the numbers. People who had received the electricity were better than people who weren't.

While there's no safe, practical use for these findings at the moment, scientists are excited at the prospect of being able to improve people's abilities in the future. And while people will still need to put an effort behind these skills, they can still help people. In the meantime, please don't lick batteries before your math tests.

(Source)

There's a spider bite that can cause 4 hour erections

The Brazilian wandering spider appeared in the Guinness World Records 2010 as the world's most venomous spider. The neurotoxin causes loss of muscle control and asphyxiation, and the bite causes intense pain and inflammation.

However, the venom can also cause priapism, a medical condition in which the penis or clitoris does not return to its flaccid state. These erections can last for many hours and even cause impotence! Still, scientists have broken down the components of the venoms and are studying one of them as treatment for erectile dysfunction!

It seems right now they haven't been able to get the treatment to achieve the erectile function without causing loss of muscle control... which would render the treatment pointless. Still, they're hard at work trying to figure this out.

Muscovy Ducks can't be raped!

The males of this species have a penis that is almost 8 inches long. They can fully extend it in 1/3 of a second! This means that females have a very short amount of time to escape if they don't want to mate with a particular male.

In order to not get raped, the females evolved a vaginal canal that twists and turns, blocking the penis from going completely in. The male can only impregnate the female if she relaxes all these muscles inside her! Biologists think this is the first evidence they've seen of evolution driving a competition in genitals.

One man invented Band-Aids, granola bars, plastic ketchup bottles, microwaveable containers and disposable diapers!

His name is Stanley Mason and he died in 2006 at 84-years old. In his long and productive career, he had over 60 US-patents under his name. The most impressive thing is that they are things extremely varied in nature. In his career he worked as a professional inventor, working with many corporate clients to create products.

Some credit his success to his process. Before he even starts designing an invention, he first discovers the need for a product. If he realizes that there are many people who would buy his invention; then he spends time inventing it. This process led him to invent things as varied as band-aids, granola bars, and even plastic wire bras!

James Bond has killed over 150 men and slept with 44 women so far!

This is since James Bond's creation in 1962. 3/4 of the women he's slept with have tried to kill him! Funnily enough, James Bond's favorite drink, the Martini (shaken, not stirred) contains about 130 calories, which is about how much he burns when having sex!

JFK bought 1,200 Cuban cigars days before it became illegal!

Since 1962, there has been a commercial embargo between the US and Cuba. This makes it illegal to sell in the US anything made on the island. Perhaps the most famous product affected by this are Cuban Cigars. Cubans are famously good and considered to be superior over other cigars.

A former aide to President Kennedy has said that the president ordered him to buy 1,000 cigars a few days before the embargo came into effect. He later returned with 1,201 Petit H. Upmann cigars, JFKs favorite brand.

Astronauts can see stars with their eyes closed!

Starting with Apollo 11, astronauts have reported that they saw frequent flashes of light, even when their eyes were closed. This was surprising, given that their cabin had low light conditions and was shielded from the outside.

The reason for this is that there are particles called "Cosmic Rays," that travel freely in space, but not get stopped by Earth's atmosphere. They're so small that they pass through eyelids easily and produce this effect. Scientists have 2 possible explanations for this phenomenon: One think that these particles (which are charged) cause the eye's vitreous humor to produce light. The other is that the flashes are caused by the cosmic rays hitting the retina directly.

A stonemason was told by Disney not to engrave Winnie the Pooh on a child's gravestone because it would violate their copyright!

Companies protecting their intellectual properties is nothing new and every company does it. However, because Disney creates cute and cuddly things for kids, it tends to draw more attention. For example, they once forced a daycare to remove Minnie Mouse from their walls, and they also prevented a carving of Winnie the Pooh from going into a child's gravestone!

One recent exception is an authorized replica of the house from Up! Apparently the director of the movie learned of the house and was a driving force behind letting the man who wants to build it get permission from Disney.

President Obama walked past the N-word on his way to the Oval Office

President Obama walked past the N-word on his way to the Oval Office!

Ruby Bridges was the only black girl to attend a white public school in New Orleans, soon after desegregation was official in the 1960s. To commemorate this, Norman Rockwell painted a piece called "The Problem We All Live With," which shows her walking to school, escorted by police officers. Behind her, the n-word and "KKK" are written on a wall.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of her first walk to school, President Obama hung the painting on a hallway outside the Oval Office. It was on display from July - October of 2011.