MORE INTELLIGENCE FOR INTELLIGENT, QUESTIONING PEOPLE

How much solar energy goes into evaporation?
One-third of the solar energy reaching the Earth is used in evaporating water; about 95,000 cubic miles each year. This is equivalent to 30 lakes the size of Lake Superior.


How shy was Henry?
Henry Cavendish, one of the great scientists of the 1700s, was painfully shy and could barely speak to one person – never to two. He was so timid in the presence of women that he communicated with his female servants by notes only. If one crossed his path in his house, she was fired on the spot. He built a separate entrance to the house so that he could come and go without meeting anyone. In the end, he insisted on dying alone.


What is a popular component to clean clothes?
In many countries, urine was used as a detergent for washing. One of urine's major components, ammonia, is used in cleaning products.

How common are foot problems?
About 75 percent of Americans will have foot problems of one sort or another at some time in their lives.


Who came up with milk chocolate?
The early eating bars of chocolate were made of bittersweet chocolate. Milk chocolate was introduced in 1875 when Henry Nestle, a maker of evaporated milk and Daniel Peter, a chocolate maker, got together and invented milk chocolate, which today is preferred by 80% of the world's population.

INTERESTING INFORMATION WE SHOULD ALL LEARN ABOUT

What bird did the Wright Brothers study?
The Wright Brothers spent time observing the flight of the buzzard to help them solve the mystery of flight. They realized that the bird retained balance in the air by twisting the tips of it's wings. By creating a wing warping method based upon this observation, the brothers were able to obtain a remarkable degree of maneuverability.

When is Mother's Day celebrated in Mexico?
In Mexico, Día de la Madre -- Mother's Day -- is celebrated on May 10th. In some areas it is a huge gala event, with mariachis starting at noon and family festivities throughout the day.

Why is a Chiapas shawl so treasured?
In the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, weaving skills are treasured, and a colorful, well-made shawl worn by an unmarried woman advises potential husbands of its wearer’s dexterity.

Did Charles VIII die of fear?
King Charles VIII of France, who ascended to the throne in 1483, was obsessed with the idea of being poisoned. As his phobia grew, the monarch ate so little that he died of malnutrition circa 1498.

How many molecules are in the human body?
The human body consists of about 60 trillion cells, and each cell has about 10,000 times as many molecules as the Milky Way has stars.

HERE ARE SOME TRIVIA Q AND A TO MAKE YOU SMARTER!!

How did Bic pens get their name?
More than 14 million BIC pens are sold daily in 150 countries. "BIC" is actually a shortened version of founder Marcel Bich's name.

Which seahorse carries the embryo?
The male seahorse, not the female, carries the embryo of the species. The female fills the male's brooch pouch with eggs, which remain in the swollen sac for a gestation period of eight to ten days.

How high should a tennis ball bounce?
According to the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association, a tennis ball is supposed to bounce between 53 and 58 inches when it is dropped on concrete from a height of 100 inches. The concrete surface should be 4 inches thick.

How populous is New York City?
There are more people in New York City (7,895,563) than there are in the states of Alaska, Vermont, Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Hawaii, Delaware, and New Mexico combined.

Which will bounce higher -- a ball or rubber or a ball of glass?
A ball of glass will bounce higher than a ball of rubber. A ball of solid steel will bounce higher than one made entirely of glass.

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN

Three sisters in 40s graduate together
RALEIGH, N.C. (UPI) -- North Carolinian Valerie Noel says graduating from the University of Phoenix with her two younger sisters was the culmination of a collaborative dream. Noel said she and her sisters obtained human services/management bachelor's degrees at the Raleigh, N.C., campus of the for-profit educational institution thanks to their ability to lean on one another in their individual times of need, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported Sunday. "When you didn't think you could go on, we could call on each other," she said. "We could help each other." Noel said she and her sisters Jeanette and Delores, all in their 40s, initially learned about the university, which also offers courses online, from their friend, Hazel Henry. While the sisters celebrated with Henry and one another after Saturday's graduation ceremony, Noel admitted the true motivating force for the siblings was missing. "He was an inspiration," she told the News & Observer of the sisters' father Arthur, who died of cancer in 2007.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Meditation may lead to a bigger brain

LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Push-ups may lead to a better body, but meditation may lead to a better brain, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, said. The researchers used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging to scan the brains of people who meditate. The study, published in the journal NeuroImage, found certain regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger than in a control group. "We know that people who consistently meditate have a singular ability to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability and engage in mindful behavior," lead author Eileen Luders, a postdoctoral research fellow at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, said in a statement. "The observed differences in brain anatomy might give us a clue why meditators have these exceptional abilities." Those who meditated showed significantly larger volume of the hippocampus and areas within the orbito-frontal cortex, the thalamus and the inferior temporal gyrus -- all regions known for regulating emotions. Luders and colleagues examined 44 people -- 22 control subjects and 22 who had practiced various forms of meditation -- including Zazen, Samatha and Vipassana, among others.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International

FRUITS ARE GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU ARE EATING THEM CORRECTLY!!

EATING FRUITS ....... It's long but very informative :We all think eating fruits means just buying fruit, cutting it and just popping it into our mouths. It's not as easy as you think. It's important to know how and when to eat. What is the correct way of eating fruits?

IT MEANS NOT EATING FRUITS AFTER YOUR MEALS! FRUITS SHOULD BE EATEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.

If you eat fruit like that, it will play a major role to detoxify your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.

FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD.

Let's say you eat two slices of bread and then a slice of fruit. The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it is prevented from doing so. In the meantime the whole meal rots and ferments and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil. So please eat your fruits on an empty stomach or before your meals!

You have heard people complaining - every time I eat watermelon I burp, when I eat durian my stomach bloats up, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet etc - actually all this will not arise if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. The fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas and hence you will bloat! Graying hair, balding, nervous outburst, and dark circles under the eyes all these will not happen if you take fruits on an empty stomach.There is no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruits become alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruits, you have the Secret of beauty, longevity, health, energy, happiness and normal weight. When you need to drink fruit juice - drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT from the cans. Don't even drink juice that has been heated up. Don't eat cooked fruits because you don't get the nutrients at all. You only get to taste. Cooking destroys all the vitamins. But eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice. If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it. You can go on a 3-day fruit fast to cleanse your body. Just eat fruits and drink fruit juice throughout he 3 days and you will be surprised when your friends tell you how radiant you look!

KIWI: Tiny but mighty. This is a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E & fiber. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange.

APPLE: An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants & flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack & stroke.

STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits & protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

ORANGE : Sweetest medicine. Taking 2-4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent & dissolve kidney stones as well as lessens the risk of colon cancer.

WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. They are also a key source of lycopene - the cancer fighting oxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are vitamin C & Potassium.

GUAVA & PAPAYA: Top awards for vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high vitamin C content.. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene; this is good for your eyes. Drinking Cold water after a meal = Cancer!
Can you believe this? For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup,warm water or warm beer after a meal. A serious note about heart attacks HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE': (THIS IS NOT A JOKE!)

Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack . Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.. Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive...

A cardiologist says if everyone who READS this sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

FEW, FEW, FEWER...

Use 'Fewer' Where It Counts
Q. More and more I hear the improper use of the word "less." I was taught that "fewer" is the word to use when referring to things that can be counted, however I rarely hear it anymore. Has this word fallen out of vogue and been replaced with "less" as a one-word-fits-all situation? -- Beulah Dillon, Black River, N.Y. A. I hereby nominate you for membership in SpuDBuFL -- the Society for the Preservation of the Distinction Between Fewer and Less. SPuDBuFL was founded by my seventh-grade English teacher, Emily Morris, who now lives in Saginaw, Mich., and reads this column regularly. (Hi, Mrs. Morris! I'm almost done with that extra-credit book report I promised you back in 1961.) The rule for "fewer" and "less" remains firm: "Fewer" should be used with countable items, e.g. "fewer people," "fewer ideas," "10 items or fewer." "Less" should be used with nouns that typically refer to a mass instead of an individual item, e.g. "less luggage," "less honesty," "less money." As with most rules, there are exceptions. "Less than," not "fewer than," is used before a plural noun denoting a measure of time, amount or distance ("less than five minutes," "less than $800," "less than 20 miles"). And "less" can be used with count nouns in the expressions "no less than, "or less" and "one less" ("no less than 100 people," "25 words or less," "one less problem to worry about"). The most common mistake is using "fewer" for "less" ("less people," "less ideas," "10 items or less"). When tempted to do this, pull the SpuDBuFL membership card from your wallet, and read the slogan Mrs. Morris taught me: "Use 'fewer' where it counts." Q. My daughter received this question from her teacher: "How does reading an eyewitness account of an historical event enrich your understanding?" Should it be "a historical event"? -- Jan, Windsor, Conn. A. Traditionally, grammarians have decreed that "a" should be used before words starting with "h" if the "h" is pronounced. So it would be "a house" and "a historical event," but "an hour" and "an honor." But when the accent falls on the second syllable, the "h" is barely pronounced. So reputable authorities -- even the redoubtable Mrs. Morris -- now accept the use of "an" before such words, as in "an historical event" "an habitual offender," "an homogenized mixture." It simply sounds more natural.

======== Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
Copyright 2009 Creators Syndicate Inc.

FAKE NEGATIVE FEELINGS OF FRIENDSHIP

Someone once said that friendship is a fake feeling that people share to avoid loneliness. I guess in many ways that must be true. Two years ago I chose to change my life and in doing so I stepped into a world that very few people enter. It is a world of knowledge, a world of love and a world of peace with oneself and a world where nothing matters more that to live each day to the fullest as if it were the last. Sadly, this new lifestyle was not of the liking of many of my so called friends who looked on as I grew and changed. They also changed and their transformation was one of obvious unhappiness. Some even went to the point of hatred and that is something that I will never tolerate. If a person wants to be happy then so be it. If a person wants to be sad then so be it also BUT I WILL NEVER ALLOW HATRED TO LIVE IN MY ENVIRONMENT. For those who are marked with sudden dislike because a person has grown and has become a shining star I must say that I am sad. Sad that they cannot understand that all we need in this world is to be happy. We need to always be positive and we need to respect the decisions of others. To not do so, we are just creating a world filled with negativity. So sad!! Well, to those who will be negative I say farewell. I have no time to be around you. Your attitude bores me. Your attitude is not acceptable in my world of peaceful love. After all I AM BRENDA AURORA YSAGUIRRE AND I AM A CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE. I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE HERE!! AND REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU DO OR SAY, I WILL SURVIVE. I WILL BE THE LIONESS OF THE JUNGLE.
Peace, Hope and much Joy alway!!
Ms. B

Reflections

Today was a day like many I have grown to know.
Today I look back on yesterday and sadness still lingers deep within my soul.
Today so many things run across my mind.
Today I realize that friendship is something written in books not in the hearts of men and women.
But today I have a choice and I chose to do as I please.
Because today I am alive and today I am free.