Leap Years

Leap years occur every four years and have 366 days instead of 365 days. The extra day is added in February (February 29th) to keep the calendar year in line with the astronomical year. This is because seasonal and astronomical occurrences do not repeat in an exact cycle. If there were no leap years, the calendar year and the

Creme Fraiche

Creme fraiche is a heavy, cultured cream. It has a thick consistency and a vaguely tangy flavour. Sour cream is a good substitute.

Retirement Plans

Nobody wants to think about getting old and retiring but it is absolutely IMPERATIVE to have a retirement plan.

This is mainly because you will most likely not have a regular source of income when you're 80 and with inflation rates even USD1mil in savings is likely to be valued at only 70% or even less than it is today.

Michael Caine and the Korean War

Award-winning British actor Michael Caine was drafted into the Korean War in the 50s.
He admits to being sympathetic to the Communists in the beginning (Caine comes from humble beginnngs) but was quickly repelled when he observed the Chinese government's total disregard for the lives of their soldiers.

Caine is quoted as saying: "If they don't care about the lives of their own people how can I expect them to care about me?"

The Academy Awards 2008

Every single acting category in the Academy Awards was won by a non-American.


Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem (Spanish)
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton (British)
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard (French)
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (British)

Good scrambled eggs

One of the ways to get lovely, moist scrambled eggs is to make sure that your frying pan is not hot before you break the eggs into it. Break the eggs and add butter before turning on the heat.

Maternity Leave in Norway

Women are entitled to 18 months maternity leave - per child - in Norway.

Cheap flight tickets

Travel agents might end up going the way of the Dodo. It is inevitably cheaper to book flight tickets online compared to going through an agent.

The World's Smallest Country

The world's smallest country is Vatican City. It is just 0.2 square miles in size and has 770 non-permanent residents.

The Vatican City, also known as the Holy See, is surrounded by Rome.

Dubai's Super Bridge

An arch bridge, which will be the world's largest, is set to be constructed in Dubai and completed in 2012.

The 1.6 km long, 200-metre high bridge will be able to support 2000 vehicles on its 12 lanes every hour in each direction.

The end of the Castro era

Fidel Castro has stepped down as the President of Cuba after 49 years in power.

image from upload.wikimedia.org

Steak Diane

Steak Diane is a popular culinary dish usually made from filet mignon. It is said to have been around for 40 years although its origins are sketchy. This used to be a restaurant dish that was all the rage because it was often cooked at the table.

It is made by pounding the steak and then seasoning it with garlic and black pepper before frying quickly in butter. A gravy, often made out of sour cream and Worcestershire sauce, was poured on top just before serving

It is believed that Steak Diane is named after Diane - the Roman Goddess of hunting.

image from myrecipes.com

Baroque

The Baroque period, encompassing art, architecture and music, is believed to have approximately lasted from 1600 to 1750.

Baroque architecture is one of flamboyance and drama, often characterized by large, elaborate swirls and twirls. The word Baroque originates from a Portuguese word meaning "misshapen pearl".

image from instructional1.calstatela.edu

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

A PET scan is a type of brain scan. Nuclear-imaging experts read this scan and can tell the amount of metabolic activity present in any area of the brain

Italy

The Engineer just informed me that when you look at a map, Italy is in the shape of a thigh-high boot! Check it out - the area called Bari, Leece and Gallipoli is the heel:




It's so fitting that the land that is known for shoes is in the shape of one! How cool is that?!

image from italianbusinessguide.com

Biedermeier

Biedermeier (bee de MY er) refers to a type of furniture design that became popular after Napoleon was finally defeated in Waterloo in 1815.

During the Napoleonic era, the style of furniture that was favored (at least by the rich) was ostentatious, grand and usually made out of expensive mahogany wood.

After Napoleon's defeat, the middle classes, who were increasingly financially comfortable, wanted furniture that was both beautiful and functional - Biedermeier was born.
image from faccents.com

Writing for Sex and the City

The writers of Sex and the City often used their own life experiences as storylines. If there was anything unusual or eccentric about someone they met, it usually ended up in the show.

In the episode "Plus One is the Loneliest Number" Carrie Bradshaw meets Jack Berger for the first time. The Berger character is a writer who likes to collect playing cards off the street to see if he can make a complete deck. One of the writers of SATC actually met a man who did just that in real life.

image from britfilms.tv

Tina Turner

Tina Turner was born in 1939 which means she'll turn 69 this year.

"Old age" must be a figment of the imagination in Tina Turner's world because when she rocked the stage at the 50th Grammy awards she left 26-year-old Beyonce in the dust.

Keep rolling, Tina!

image from canada.com

8 Grammys in 1

The highest number of Grammy awards won in a single night was eight. It was an unequaled accomplishment of Michael Jackson's in 1984 until Carlos Santana repeated the feat in 2000.

PS: I can't believe how good MJ looked back then....how the mighty have fallen...

image from chanchow.blogspot.com

Michelangelo

Michelangelo, the genius artist and sculptor who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, was apparently a homosexual.



This might well be true as Michelangelo seemed to revere the male form through his art. His female paintings (above) retained a certain masculinity in their muscular detail.

image from wetcanvas.com

Maltesers in Tanzania

A 100g bag of Maltesers in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania costs TSH 4900 (USD 4.25/RM13.80)

image from orange.co.uk

Alien Vs Predator

Aliens vs Predator (or AVP) the movie is based on a graphic novel called Aliens versus Predator (note that the novel calls it Aliens with an s) .

This means nothing for the films, unfortunately. The AVP movie franchise remains horrendously bad.

image from wikipedia.com

The Book of the Dead

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is possibly the oldest manuscript known to man. It can be described as a manual for navigating the afterlife according to ancient Egyptians. It contains various secret spells and instructions that allow the deceased to successfully overcome obstacles and be accepted into the company of Gods.

image from egyptsbookofthedead.com

Chickpeas

Chickpeas have another rather feisty name....they're also called garbanzo beans.

image from sproutnet.com

Nicole Richie's Weight

There has a been a lot of buzz in Hollywood about Nicole Richie's weight.


Nicole is about 5 feet 2 inches tall (approx 154 cm) and according to an official release and information from "her people" she is said to weigh between 95 and 100 pounds (about 43 to 45 kg)



However when she went to jail (!) , police records revealed that her weight is 85 pounds (38 kg). Now, everybody say "eating disorder!"

Sole fish

Sole is a white-fleshed flat fish that tastes better than it looks.

image homepage.ntlworld.com

Prosecco

Prosecco is a variety of Italian white grape. It is also the name of the sparkling white wine made from the Prosecco grape.

President of Tanzania

The President of Tanzania's name is quite a mouthful - Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete

image from www.bu.edu

The ugliest building in the world!

The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea has been declared the most hideous building in the whole wide world:




The unfinished and unoccupied building is said to be ugly, even by Communist standards. The North Korean Communist regime routinely crops it out of photos of Pyongyang.

image esquire.com