Life-saving fruits and veges

Studies show that people who eat the largest quantities of fruits and vegetables are half as likely to develop cancer as those who don't.

Baking choc chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookies continue to bake even after they are out of the oven. You should try to take them out while they are still slightly soft in the middle otherwise they end up with a rather hard texture (at best) or burn (at worst).

image natural-lifestyle.com

Facial in Tanzania

A good facial in Tanzania costs TSH49,000 (USD 42/RM 136).

Tanzanian Marriage Law

The Law of Marriage Act of 1971 in Tanzania states that, with parental consent, girls are of legal marriageable age at 14 while the same applies for boys only when they reach 18.

Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish have an innate ability to change colour at the blink of an eye. This is to camouflage themselves from predators and to lure unsuspecting prey. Clever!

image from wikimedia.com

Valentino

After 45 years, Valentino Garavani or better known simply as Valentino, has retired from the fashion world. His impeccable desings have been adored by the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Taylor and Julia Roberts (who won an Academy in his gown).



The fashion industry will, undoubtedly, lose some of its sparkle without the creative genius of Valentino.

images from cbsnews.com, guardian.co.uk

Women War Workers

During World War II, women in the United States were asked to contribute to the war effort by going to work (i.e in factories or as welders, builders etc). Some people (mainly men) were not happy, with this turn of events, claiming that these women were becoming 'too manly'.

To counter these criticisms, Boeing incorporated hair-styling, dress sense and personality classes for their working women to enhance their FQ or "feminine quotient"

image:skatelog.com

Mosi-oa-tunya

Victoria Falls is a waterfall that straddles Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa. It is also known locally (and far more creatively!) as the Mosi-oa-Tunya or The Smoke that Thunders.

Victoria Falls is claimed to be the largest waterfall in the world, which is no surprise, because it has a width of 1.7 kilometres (1 mile) and a height of 108 metres (360 ft).

image from canoaclubverona.com

Night terrors vs Nightmares

Nightmares are frightening dreams that occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This means that they usually occur in the early hours of the morning. Details of the nightmare can be remembered clearly.

Night terrors happen during slow wave sleep which means soon after the a person falls asleep (about 45 minutes) They cause intense terror and partial wakefulness which means that someone experiencing a night terror episode could have their eyes open and be moving about. Details of night terrors are usually completely forgotten.

The usual treatment for nightmares is to awaken the sleeper and offer comfort. Those experiencing night terrors on the other hand should not be awakened.

In extreme cases, those with night terrors should consider using tranquilizers.

Munchkin Cats

Short-legged cats or munchkin cats are a relatively new breed.

They are said have been first discovered in 1983 when an extremely short-legged cat, named Blackberry, was discovered living under a trailer in Louisiana. One of Blackberry's kittens, a tomcat called Toulouse, became part of a breeding program that established the breed in North America.

The short legs on munchkins are caused by a genetic mutation. Other than their short legs, munchkins don't seem to differ in any other way from their taller brethren.

image from newcatsontheblog.blogsome.com

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office on April 12 1945 of cerebral hemorrhage.

Bonus info : In the history of the United States only eight out of 43 Presidents have ever died in office. Out of the eight, four- Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John.F. Kennedy - were assassinated.

image from britannica.com

Bunnies

Hugh Hefner's Playboy Clubs of the 60s and early 70s were dedicated to exclusivity and proud of their well-trained 'bunny' waitresses.

Despite the humiliating bunny ears and bob tail outfits, Playboy bunnies were schooled in the art of being ladylike, gracious and classy as opposed to tawdry and cheap. They were carefully chosen and had to study and follow a long list of strict rules.These included not giving out their address, telephone number or even their last name to Playboy Club patrons.

Bunnies were also weighed every Monday morning and those who were not within the strict weight limitation were dismissed.




images : time.com and allposters.com

Wine tasting events

Wine-tasting events can easily slip into a wine-drinking marathon.

The wine tasting party hosted by the Holiday Inn in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania quickly turned into an all out celebration - not particularly of the wine but rather of the act of drinking it!
The free-flow reds and whites plus champagne made for a wonderful party atmosphere!

Attitude towards food

In 1999 a research paper, on attitudes toward food, uncovered a fascinating tidbit of information about the Americans and the French

When asked to associate the word chocolate with another word, Americans chose guilt while the French said celebration.

As for the word cream, the Americans mentioned unhealthy and the French? Well, they heard cream and they thought of whipped....no negative associations for them!

Scientology

Science fiction author L.Ron Hubbard is the creator of Scientology - the religion zealously embraced by Tom Cruise and many other Hollywood celebrities.

Scientology is described as an applied religious philosophy and offers 'guidance' on such diverse topics as ethics, detoxification and management.

It has come under fire, from journalists and other governing bodies, as a cult and a commercial enterprise that denounces its critics and abuses the trust of its followers

Robin Williams

Robin Williams gave an Oscar-nominated performance in Good Morning Vietnam back in 1987. The movie about real-life irreverent DJ Adrian Cronauer, in 60s Vietnam, was brilliantly portrayed by Robin.

What's truly incredible is that Williams did away with a script and ad-libbed his lightning-paced gut-clenchingly funny lines in his many scenes behind the microphone.


image courtesy of ultimatedisney.com

Kalonji seeds

Kalonji seeds are little black seeds that are generally used in Punjabi cuisine. They have mistakenly been known as onion seeds although kalonji seeds are in no way related to onions.

Kalonji has another pretty name - Nigella - the same as my favourite TV chef! This is because, kalonji's scientific moniker is apparently nigella sativa.

image courteys of food-forthought.blogspot.com

2008 Golden Globe Winner, Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp has earned a Golden Globe! He was named Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his performance in Sweeney Todd.

Go, Johnny!


pic courtesy of the hollywoodnews.com

Intelligence

According to a recent BBC documentary, how intelligent we are is very much dependent (about 50%) on how smart our parents are.

The documentary also revealed that, with education and experience, we can improve our IQ as we get older.

The insanity of Adolf Hitler

History tends to focus on the 6 million Jews who were tortured and killed in Hitler's insane ethnic cleansing exercise in World War II. There is little mention of the millions of homosexuals, Czechs, Russians, Poles and others who were arrested and put to death just because they were who they were.

Snow blindness

Snow blindness is a condition caused by the exposure of unprotected eyes to the ultraviolet light rays of sunlight reflected from snow or ice. Symptoms can range from eyes being bloodshot and teary to swelling shut. In severe cases, snow blindness can cause permanent loss of vision.

One effective way of preventing snow blindness is to wear sunglasses that offer 99%-100% UV absorption.

Barrack Obama

American Presidential hopeful Barrack Obama's father was a Kenyan and his mother is a white American. His father grew up in a village that is so small that it isn't even marked on the map of Kenya. His paternal grandmother still lives there.

In other words, in just one generation, the Obama name has risen from the obscurity of East Africa to within sight of the US Presidency.

photo courtesy of rayrandomly.blogspot.com

Leopards

Leopards have the longest tails among all the big cats. Their tails are used as 'rudders' when they run at high speeds

Faineant

Faineant (fay-nay-AWN; adjective) is a posh sounding word describing something that is decidedly NOT posh.

It means:
1.doing nothing or given to doing nothing; idle; lazy
2. a do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard

Genghis Khan

According to a genetic study, it is hypothesized that one in every 200 men in this world carry Genghiz Khan's genes.

image courtesy of publishersdiary.com

Tree Kangaroos

Tree kangaroos live in New Guinea, an island which, millions of years ago, used to be a part of Australia.


image courtesy of peacockshock.com

Mao Tse Tung

The dead communist President of China was responsible for the deaths of 70million Chinese - in peacetime

My inhibiting habit

I have a tendency of planning my day around my favourite TV programmes. I've just decided to face the fact that this is rigid and limiting. It means that I can't see friends or go out when my show is on.

It has suddenly dawned upon me that when I'm at the end of my life, not watching the results show of So You Think You Can Dance isn't going to be my deepest regret. Time to change...

Switching off my handphone

No one's life comes to a standstill if I switch off my handphone for a few hours and "cut myself off from the world". No one even notices!

It might actually be good to be alone once in a while.

Blue Whales

An elephant can easily fit inside a blue whale's mouth. A blue whale's tongue is the size of an elephant

cartoon courtesy of istockphoto.com