Oldest living things on earth

Happy birthday if you’re 100 million years old today. Compared with the oldest living things on earth you’re still a youngster. Enjoy your youth!

 

Oldest living things on earth:

1. Cyanobacteria – survived every major extinction – 2.8 billion years.

 

2. Nautilus – the only shelled cephalopod – 500+ million years.

 

3. Jellyfish – 505+ million years.

 

4. Sponge – 580 million years.

 

5. Horseshoe crab – 445 million years.

 

6. Coelacanth – this fish species have been around for 380 million years.

 

7. Ginko Biloba tree – the only living representative of the order Ginkgoales – 270 million years.

 

8. Horseshoe shrimp – unchanged for 200 million years.

 

9. Sturgeon – 200 million years old.

 

10. Martialis Heureka species of ant – 120 million years old.

Meaning of the months

January : Januarius (latin), after Janus, the Roman god who faces two ways and was often represented on doorways.

February : Februarius (latin), taken from Februa, a purification rite that took place on Feb 15th.

March : Martius (latin), named after Mars, the Roman god of war.

April : Aprilis (Latin) “to open” : blossoming flowers.

May : Maius (larin), after the goddess Maia or “majores” (‘elders’) and referring to a period when
older people were honored.

June : Junius (latin), named after the goddess Jno or “iuniores (young people) indicating a period when youth was celebrated.

July : Named after Gaius Julius Caesar.

August : Named after Agustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor.

September : Septem (latin), meaning ‘seven’ originally the 7th month in the Roman calendar.

October : Octo (latin), meaning ‘eight’ originally the 8th month in the Roman calendar.

November : Novem (latin), meaning ‘nine’ originally the 9th month in the Roman calendar.

December : Decem (latin) meaning ‘ten – originally the 10th month in the Roman calendar.


Source: didyouknow.org

Why? - 3 part

Why is it called a “loo?”
The British word for toilet, “loo”, derives from the French “garde a l’eau!” In medieval Europe people had little conception of hygiene and threw the contents of their chamber pots out the window into the street below. In France the practice was preceded by “garde a l’eau!” (“watch out for the water!”). In England, this phrase was Anglicized, first to “gardy-loo!”, then just “loo”, and eventually came to mean the toilet/lavatory itself. The American word for toilet, “john”, is called after the John Harington who in 1596 invented an indoor water closet for Queen Elizabeth I.

Why is the sky blue?
When sunlight travels through the atmosphere, it collides with gas molecules. These molecules scatter the light. The shorter the wavelength of light, the more it is scattered by the atmosphere. Because it has a shorter wavelength than the other colors, blue light is scattered more, ten times more than red light, for instance. That is why the sky is blue.
Why does the setting sun look reddish orange? When the sun is on the horizon, its light takes a longer path through the atmosphere to reach your eyes than when the sun is directly overhead. By the time the light of the setting sun reaches your eyes, most of the blue light has been scattered out. The light you finally see is reddish orange, the color of white light minus blue.

Why do onions make you cry?
Onions, like other plants, are made of cells. The cells are divided into two sections separated by a membrane. One side of the membrane contains an enzyme which helps chemical processes occur in your body. The other side of the membrane contains molecules that contain sulfur. When you cut an onion, the contents on each side of the membrane mix and cause a chemical reaction. This reaction produces molecules such as ethylsufine which make your eyes water.
To prevent crying when you cut an onion, cut it under a running tap of cold water. The sulfur compounds dissolve in water and are rinsed down the sink before they reach your eyes. You can also put the onion in the freezer for ten minutes before you cut it. Cold temperatures slow down the reaction between the enzyme and the sulfur compounds so fewer of the burning molecules will reach your eyes.


Source:didyouknow.org

Why? - 2 part

                                              

Why are there bunnies and eggs at Easter?
The ancient Anglo-Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a carnival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eostre. The word carnival possibly originated from the Latin ‘carne vale’ meaning “flesh, farewell” or “meat, farewell.” The offerings were rabbits and colored eggs, bidding an end to winter.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eostre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ and it didn’t take the Christian missionaries long to convert the Anglo-Saxons when they encountered them in the second century. The offering of rabbits and eggs eventually became the Easter bunny and Easter eggs.

If blood is red, why are veins blue?
Blood is bright red in its oxygenated form and a dark red in deoxygenated form. In simpler terms, it is bright red when it leaves the lungs full of oxygen and dark red when it returns to the lungs for a refill. Veins appear blue because light penetrating the skin is absorbed and reflected in high energy wavelengths back to the eye. Higher energy wavelengths are blue.

Why did Columbus and others try to sail around the world?
You probably know that people native to the Americas are called “Indians” because early explorers like Christopher Columbus thought they had come across the Indian spice islands. Traders were forced to sail westward after the spice route to the East by land was blocked for Europeans by Muslim uprisings.


Source:didyouknow.org

Why?

Why does water not calm the tongue after eating hot spicy food?
 The spices in most of the hot foods that we eat are oily, and, like your elementary school science teacher taught you, oil and water don’t mix. In this case, the water just rolls over the oily spices.
What can you do to calm your aching tongue? Eat bread. The bread will absorb the oily spices. A second solution is to drink milk. Milk contains a substance called “casein” which will bind to the spices and carry them away. Alcohol also dissolves oily spices.

Why does wet fabric appear darker?
When fabric gets wet, light coming towards it refracts within the water, dispersing the light. In addition, the surface of the water causes incoherent light scattering. The combination of these two effects causes less light to reflect to your eyes and makes the wet fabric appear darker.

Why is blue for boys and pink for girls?
In ancient times, it was believed that certain colors could combat the evil spirits that lingered over nurseries. Because blue was associated with the heavenly spirits, boys were clothed in that color, boys then being considered the most valuable resource to parents. Although baby girls did not have a color associated with them, they were mostly clothed in black. It was only in the Middle Ages when pink became associated with baby girls.

Why do people kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas?
In ancient myth, when the son of the Norse goddess Frigga, Baldr, was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe and then brought back to life, she blessed the mistletoe and bestowed a kiss on all who passed beneath it. In the 18th century, the legend was adopted as a promise to marry. At Christmas a lady standing under a mistletoe may not refuse a kiss. If she does, she cannot expect to marry the following year. So it is told.


Source: Didyouknow.org

The king of chefs and Dame Melba

The tall chef’s hat is called a “toque.” During the 16th and 17th centuries, toques came in all shapes: berets, stocking caps, and even pointed hats with tassels. During the 18th century the tall hat came into use to show order of importance among the kitchen staff.

One of the greatest chefs is Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935). He started working in his uncle’s restaurant at age 14 and went on to work in the world most famous hotels. Recognized as the “king of chefs and the chef of kings.” During a visit to Paris, William II of Germany is said to have remarked to him: “I am the emperor of Germany, but you are the emperor of chefs.”

Escoffier’s most famous recipe was Peach Melba, created for Australian opera star Nellie Melba (1861-1931) when she was staying at the Savoy in 1893. Dame Melba also liked her toast made in the way that today bears her name: Melba toast.


Source:didyouknow.com

Food

• Milk chocolate was invented by Daniel Peter, who sold the concept to his neighbor Henri Nestlé.
• An ounce of chocolate contains about 20 mg of caffeine.
• Forks, mostly being two-tined, used to known as “split spoons.”
• TIP is the acronym for “To Insure Promptness.”
• The world’s oldest existing eateries are the Stiftskeller St. Peter in Salzburg, Austria – which was started as a monastery and had a tavern for travelers by 803 AD – and an eatery which opened in Kai-Feng, China in 1153.
• Coffee is the seed of a cherry from the tree genus Coffea.
• Melba toast is named after Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba (1861-1931).
• Three quarters of fish caught are eaten – the rest is used to make things such as glue, soap, margarine and fertilizer.
• The world’s most expensive jam (jelly) is Confiture de groseilles. It is a redcurrant jam (jelly) from a 14th century recipe made in the tiny French town of Bar-Le-Duc.
• In September 1999 Dustin Philips of the US set a Guinness World Record by drinking a 400 ml (14-oz) bottle of tomato sauce through a straw in 33 seconds.
• To make one kilo of honey bees have to visit 4 million flowers, traveling a distance equal to 4 times around the earth.
• Botanically speaking, the banana is a herb and the tomato is a fruit.
• Bananas are the world’s most popular fruit after tomatoes. In western countries, they could account for 3% of a grocer’s total sales.
• Bananas consistently are the number one compliant of grocery shoppers. Most people complain when bananas are overripe or even freckled. The fact is that spotted bananas are sweeter, with a sugar content of more than 20%, compared with 3% in a green banana.
• The scientific term for the common tomato is lycopersicon lycopersicum, which means “wolf peach.”
• There are more than 10,000 varieties of tomatoes.
• The can opener was invented 48 years after cans were introduced.
• In the Middle Ages, sugar was a treasured luxury costing 9 times as much as milk.
• Of the more than $50 billion worth of diet products sold every year, almost $20 billion are spent on imitation fats and sugar substitutes.
• Over 90% of all fish caught are caught in the northern hemisphere.
• Wine is sold in tinted bottles because wine spoils when exposed to light.
• Approximately one billion snails are served in restaurants annually.
• Vitamin A is known to prevent “night blindness,” and carrots are loaded with Vitamin A. One carrot provides more than 200% of recommended daily intake of Vitamin A.
• Carrots have zero fat contente.
• Tea is said to have been discovered in 2737 BC by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water.
• The first European to encounter tea was the Portuguese Jesuit Jasper de Cruz in 1560.
• Ice tea was introduced in 1904 at the World’s Fair in St. Louis.
• The tea bag was introduced in 1908 by Thomas Sullivan of New York.
• An onion, apple and potato all have the same taste. The differences in flavor are caused by their smell.
• Americans eat twice as much meat as Europeans, gobbling up some 50kg (110 lb) per capita.
• Meat production causes 1/5 of global greenhouse gases.
• The tall chef’s hat is called a toque.
• Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta, Georgia by Dr. John S. Pemberton in 1886.
• Pepsi-Cola was invented by Caleb Bradham in 1890 as “Brad’s Drink” as a digestive aid and energy booster. In was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898.
• The first diet soft drink, called the “No-Cal Beverage” was launched in 1952.
• Aluminum cans were introduced in 1957 and two years later the first diet cola was sold.
• The pull-ring tab was invented in 1962 and the re-sealable top in 1965.
• Annually, France exports some 140 million bottles of champagne but keep 180 million bottles for local consumption.
• Plastic bottles were first used for soft drinks in 1970.
• China uses 45 billion chopsticks per year. 25 million trees are chopped down to make ‘em sticks.
• Chocolate is the number one foodstuff flavor in the world, beating vanilla and banana by 3-to-1.
• Watermelons are 97% water, lettuce 97%, tomatoes 95%, carrots 90%, and bread 30%.

 

Source: didyouknow.org

History

• The 16th century Escorial palace of King Phillip II of Spain had 1,200 doors.
• The world’s first travel agencies were Cox & Kings, founded in 1758, and Thomas Cook, founded in 1850.
• A dog was the first in space and a sheep, a duck and a rooster the first to fly in a hot air balloon.
• Music was sent down a telephone line for the first time in 1876, the year the phone was invented.
• Beer was the first trademarked product – British beer Bass Pale Ale received its trademark in 1876.
• Playing-cards were known in Persia and India as far back as the 12th century. A pack then consisted of 48 instead of 52 cards.
• Excavations from Egyptian tombs dating to 5,000 BC show that the ancient Egyptian kids played with toy hedgehogs.
• Accounts from Holland and Spain suggest that during the 1500s and 1600s urine was commonly used as a tooth-cleaning agent.
• Julius Caesar was the first to encode communications, using what has become known as the Caesar Cipher.
• The first mention of soap was on Sumerian clay tablets dating about 2,500 BC. The soap was made of water, alkali and cassia oil.
• Great Britain was the first county to issue postage stamps, on 1 May 1840. Hence, UK stamps are the only stamps in the world not to bear the name of the country of origin.
• Napoleon‘s christening name was Italian: Napoleone Buonaparte. He was born on the island of Corsica one year after it became French property. As a boy, Napoleon hated the French.
• John Rolfe married Pocahontas the Red Indian Princess in 1613.
• Only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still survives: the Great Pyramid of Giza.
• The first parachute jump from an airplane was made by Captain Berry at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1912.
• On 21 June 1913, over Los Angeles, Georgia Broadwick became the first women to parachute from an airplane.
• The first written account of the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, was made in 565AD.
• The world’s first skyscraper was the 10-storey Home Insurance office, built in Chicago in 1885. (During Roman times buildings were up to 8 stories high.)

Source: didyouknow.org

Phobias

Friday, lucky or not

In pagan times Friday was the luckiest day of the week because it was ruled by the planet Venus, the symbol of love and fortune. In fact, Friday is named in honor of Freya, goddess of Love. But for Christians, Friday has not been a good day. Adam and Eve is said to have eaten the forbidden fruit on a Friday and died on a Friday. Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

For centuries sailors refused to set sail on a Friday. It is told that when the reluctance of seamen to set sail on a Friday had reached such proportions that it interfered with naval operations, the British Admiralty decided to prove once and for all that it is a fallacy. They laid the keel of a new vessel on a Friday, named her H.M.S. Friday, and launched her on a Friday. On her first voyage, setting sail on a Friday, she was commanded by Captain James Friday. She left the harbor and nothing has since been heard of her or her crew. The identical story has also found its place in American lore. But – fear not – it is a myth.

The fear for traveling on a Friday continued until the early 20th century where in Europe bus and train travel was lowest on a Friday. But before you say “Thank Goodness, it’s Friday!” consider that, FBI statistics show, most robberies take place on a Friday.

The number 13

It is believed that the fear for the number 13 stems from primitive man being unable to count past 12. Numbers beyond 12 do now have an individual and independent name but are a combination of the first 12 numbers. With 12 being the end of the line, 13 was moving into unknown territory.

In Norse mythology the 13th number led to the death of Baldur, the beloved of the gods. When the 12 gods gathered for a banquet in Valhalla, Loki gatecrashed the party, increasing the number to 13, which led to the death of Baldur. It also happens that in Tarot cards, 13 is called “Death.”

The baker’s dozen

The “unlucky 13″ is the reason why the thirteen loaves that bakers once supplied were never called by the number, but described as “a baker’s dozen.” The thirteenth loaf was regarded as a special bribe for the devil not to spoil the sale or the bread.

The lucky number 13

But 13 is not unlucky for all. The Mayas worshiped the 13 gods of the upper world. The Aztecs climbed 13 steps to their sacred places.
Buddhists paid homage to 13 Buddhas. In Jewish faith, God revealed Himself by 13 attributes of bountiful mercy (Exodus 34: 6-7). The orthodox Jewish prayer book hold the Thirteen Principles of Faith. Jewish boys celebrate their Bar Mitzvah at age 13.
The number 13 in Greek is triskaideka and the fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia.





Source: /didyouknow.org