Tornadoes

Due to the earth's rotation and something called the Coriolis force, tornadoes swirl clockwise north of the equator and counter clockwise south of the equator.

How to stay full longer

According to a study conducted on the BBC programme "The Truth About Food", people stay full longer when they consume food that is high in protein compared to food high in fat or carbohydrate.

Anesthesia Awareness

Anesthesia awareness is a condition where people undergoing surgery are aware and able to feel pain or pressure but unable to communicate to make known their situation.

This occurs when patients under general anesthesia, which is administered for surgeries, do not receive enough dosage. They are then caught in a frightening prison of awareness without the ability to speak or move.

Anesthesia awareness is also known as "unintended intra-operative awareness"

The Kitchen Debate

In 1959, then USSR president Nikita Khrushchev and US president Richard Nixon exchanged heated words during a trade exhibition in Moscow.

Khrushchev remained unimpressed with American household products such as the colour TV and denounced capitalism.

An impromptu debate on the pros of communism vs capitalism followed. It was later dubbed The Kitchen Debate as it took place in kitchen section of the exhibition.

image from portlandart.net

Creating a homey ambiance

When you bake something the lovely aroma that perfumes the air around the house never, ever fails to create a homey atmosphere.

The Good Prince and the Bad Prince

Prince Harry is no longer seen as the 'bad prince'. That notorious title belongs to Prince William now.

Prince Harry was initially considered to be the less responsible of the two royal brothers, when he was caught smoking pot and overdoing the party circuit. There was also a scandal involving his choice of costume for a costume party. The outfit? A Nazi uniform.

These days, Harry is seen as having turned over a new leaf after he served in the army in Afghanistan. Meanwhile older brother William seems to be turning into a royal pain.

William has recently been using a USD20million military helicopter like a private taxi. After completing his RAF training, William has flown the pricey Chinook chopper to visit his girlfriend and attend a stag party.

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner, is the debut novel of Afghan physician, Khaled Hosseini. It is a tale of loss and remorse, love and redemption, family and friends.

Khaled Hosseini, now lives and works in the US, although some of his childhood was spent in Afghanistan.

The novel came out of nowhere to rise to the top of bestseller lists worldwide. To date, 8 million copies in more than 34 countries have been sold.

Killer Star Fruits

Star fruits contain a neurotoxin not present in other fruits. This poison can affect the brain and nervous system.

The star fruit, while harmless for most people, can turn deadly for those suffering from kidney problems. This is because people with diseased and weakened kidneys are unable to filter out this toxin.

image from volunteer.blogs.com

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day but it is only one of two Earth Days that are observed.

The first Earth Day was founded by peace activist John McConell in 1969 and is celebrated (and aknowledged by the UN) during the March Equinox.

The other Earth Day that is celebrated today, was founded by US politician Gaylord Nelson (Gaylord?!) to bring awareness to the state of the environment.

CO2 Emission

A 2-year-old child in a developed country contributes more CO2 emissions (through the use of disposable diapers and the like) than a person in Tanzania does in a lifetime.

Cellular Memory

Cellular memory is attributed to cells and parts of the human body aside from the brain.

In other words an organ such as a hand or a leg, will somehow retain the thoughts and /or tastes of the person.

At this point in time there is no scientific evidence that supports this theory.

Bokator

The martial art of Cambodia is called Bokator

The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake killed nearly 80,000 people.

The Taos Hum

For years, a number of people who live in Taos, New Mexico have been puzzled by a strange hum that can be heard in the small town.

This low-frequency hum can only be heard by about 2% of the people of Taos. Some suspect that it could be caused by strange acoustics carried through the desert air while others think it might be caused by some far more sinister phenomena.

No one has ever been able to pinpoint the origin of this sound.

image of Taos from jackiecraven.com

130-day tour

The 2008 Olympic torch is going to take 130 days to complete it's world tour.

The Waggle Dance

A waggle dance is a dance performed by bees. The bee who is doing the 'waggle' is giving directions to his fellow bees on where flowers laden with pollen or nectar are and to where water sources are. Clever bees!

Salting Soup

When you make soup, always be extremely cautious about the salt that goes into it. It's better to under salt and then add as necessary than to over salt. Even if you add tons of water, an over-salted soup can never really be corrected.

Potatoes and the cold

Don't refrigerate raw potatoes - the starch turns to sugar

Greying

It is a myth that stress causes hair to go grey. Apparently, the speed with which your hair greys depends on genetics more than any other factor. The reason more grey hairs seem to appear after a stressful period in life is because more hair is shed under during this time. This causes grey hair to be more noticeable.

Curly hair turning straight

Hair that takes one hour to be curled in a salon straightens out in just 10 minutes when the weather outside the salon is humid.

Schadenfreude

Scahdenfreude is a German word that roughly translates to "deriving pleasure from another's misfortune"

Parboiling

To parboil is to cook something partially in boiling water before cooking it via some other method.

An Absolut world....

Swedish Absolut Vodka got into trouble in the US with some consumers promising to boycott Absolut. The latest Absolut Vodka ad campaign depicted California as part of Mexico - a reality prior to 1848. To add salt to the wound, the headline screamed "In an Absolut world"

image from thelocal.se

Goldeneye

The theme song for Bond movie Goldeneye, Pierce Brosnan's debut as 007, was performed by Tina Turner and written by Bono and The Edge of U2.

8-minute Oscar

Dame Judy Dench won an Oscar in 1999 for a fleeting appearance on screen as Queen Elizabeth 1 in Shakespeare in Love. The Academy found her 8-minute performance worthy of a statuette.

Cats and their 9 lives

It seems that cats really do have 9 lives. A friend's cat, Emilio, fell from the roof of a 5-storey building and lived to meow again. He was shaken for a couple of days after that but after a trip to the vet, he's as good as new!

Gandhi Walk

For the past 23 years, South African Indians have been taking part in the annual Gandhi Walk. The walk was originally organised to raise funds for a community hall in Lenasia, an area demarcated for Indians during the apartheid era. In it's third year, the walk was renamed the Gandhi Walk and the organising committee have since donated proceeds to various charitable causes.

The Rwandan Genocide

In just 3 months more than 800,000 people were massacred in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994

Randy, Paula and Simon

On American Idol, when it comes to the judges:

1. Randy is neither here nor there
2. Paula is mostly rubbish and
3. Simon is hurtful but sensible.

People should really listen to what Simon says!

image from static.flickr.com

Medical expenses in East Africa

It costs USD77 to get a doctor's opinion and a little bottle of nose drops at a private clinic in Dar Es Salaam , Tanzania