about random facts
Did you know?
Random Fact #1 About Friday the 13th
The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia. There isn’t any scientific reason or logical reason why there is such a fear but the main gist of it is that historically, bad things have been known to happen on Fridays – the disappearance of ships, wars starting on Fridays etc, especially so if the 13th day falls on a Friday. A rather interesting contributor to this myth/belief is that the British used to hold capital punishments on Fridays and that there are 13th steps to the noose. Well, I guess with its reputation, it could be said that there is a self-fulfilling prophecy in place each time Friday the 13th comes along and that’s how this superstitution prevails even till today.
Random Fact #2 How the Magna Doodle Works
I am sure most of us have played with a Magna Doodle (see below for picture) but have you wondered how it works?
Apparently, it works due to a combination of a thickened liquid (liquid suspension) that is infused with small magnetic particles. The thickened liquid holds the particles so that it does not sink due to gravity but yet allows the particles to move when in contact with the pen (that is equipped with a magnetic tip). The eraser that swipes the board actually moves the particles to one side but when the pen is used, the magnet on the pen pulls the tiny particles away from the back side to the front side, forming a line.
Random Fact #3 Long Live the Andorra(rians)
You know I always thought that the Japaneses have the highest life expectancy (or more specifically, the Okinawans), little did I know that Andorra (a country in Europe) has actually the world’s highest expectancy. The latter 83.5 years of age, while the former is 82. [okay, I checked and it appears that there are varying lists but generally Japan, Andorra and Macau is ranked among the top 3]
Andorra is a tiny nation located in between France and Spain and is a popular tourist destination for skiiing.
The prevalence of disease within a population has an effect on the average life expectancy and that is also the reason why Swaziland has the lowest life expectancy (38yo) in the world with about 38% of its population with AIDS. Andorra has ZERO Aids patient –> woa!
Other contributing factors to low life expectancy – access to safe drinking water and sanitation, education and of course, an area that is not badly affected by climate changes and natural disasters.
ps Singapore ranks No. 15 with an average life expectancy of 80.0 yo.
Random Fact #4 Post-It
Can you imagine the difficulty of an open book exam without post-it notes? Did you know that the invention of post-its was really accidental? Developed in 1968, Dr Spencer Silver accidentally created the fundamental “low-tack” and reusable adhesive while experimenting for another adhesive project and with yellow scrap paper that he and another Scientist (Jesse Kops) found in the next lab, the two creators invented the post-it notes. However, it did not fly off the shelves but rather took a while for it to gain popularity. Thanks to Arthur Fry (whom I recently attended a seminar of) and his persistence, 3M finally decided to launch it after 90 percent of the people who were given free samples surveyed that they would buy the product.
Random Fact #5 Bling H2O
Did you know that in the USA there is a brand of bottled water that costs $55? It is said to be bottled from natural springs and has undergone many stages of purification. What really sets them apart though, is the marketing and packaging of the bottle, the bottles are limited edition frosted glass and covered with Swavorski crystals and were originally given to only celebrities and athletes. That definitely oomph-ed up its appeal even though taste tests proved that in most cases more people proclaimed that tap water was better-tasting.
Bottled water is considered safe and convenient (especially if we were to go to a developing country) and we are often taken in by the claims of the water being “purified” and from natural springs. However, in 2007, Pepsi actually confessed to filling their Aquafina with public water and in actual fact many other companies too. Studies have also concluded that bottled water is no safer than tap water, and the costs of producing the drink and its effect on the environment are alarming. The high price of the bottled water can be attributed to the cost of its transportation and distribution across border. About 2.7 million tons of plastic is used to produce this seemingly redundant product (given that most of it is just tap water) and given how Plastic debris in the environment can take between 400 and 1,000 years to degrade, this expensive habit of people is causing more harm to our environment.
Random Fact #6 Funny bone isn’t exactly a bone
Did you know that the Funny bone isn’t quite a bone? Rather, it is a nerve – ulnar nerve – that is not protected by any muscles or bone and is connected to your little finger and the adjacent half of the ring finger (it is the nerve that tells your brain about the feelings in these two fingers and controls some of the movements of your hands). You get a tingling sensation when the nerve hits against the long bone (the bone that starts at your elbow and ends at your shoulder) – “humerus”. While it does no harm to the nerve, the sensation is really queer and weird
Random Fact #7 Facial using Poop
uguisu no funs translates to “nightingale faeces” and believe it or not is used in facials as it is said to make the skin smoother and softer. Birds have only one opening where all their wastes are disposed of and due to uric acid, bird poops are usually white in colour. The Nightingale poops’ composition is high in nitrogen-rich urea and a type of amino acid called guanine. Urea is a commonly used product in cosmetic products as it helps the skin holds in moisture while guanine gives a shimmery effect. These two contributes largely to the fact that bird poop is a popular ingredient in cosmestics applications.
The use of bird poop apparently was discovered by the Koreans and was introduced to the Japanese. The nightingales are bred in farms that specialises in collecting the poops. The birds are fed a special diet of organic seeds in a controlled habitat and with proper sanitation and purification , the poop is safe and clean for use by humans.
The poop is usually made into a powder form where it is mixed with water into a paste before use, this is applied to the face before washing off. And that’s the origins of the “geisha facials”
Random Fact #8 Interesting Book Campaign
This is quite a smart advertising campaign – including snippets of new books at places (queue up tickets, running late SMS, widgets, place mats and sticker lines) where people have time to read – Book Promos help people kill time
