Humans are strange creatures. We are fascinated by coincidences that make no sense, ideas without reasoning, and explanations that have no logical basis. We need these little mental excursions to keep us alert and thinking. To keep us searching for more answers. Being human we don't always have to make sense of the things that occur around us. We need only to explain why we don't. We enjoy a hearty belly laugh but every now and then we also like to sit ourselves down and have a really good feel sorry for me cry. We celebrate our emotions like plants and animals celebrate a sunny day.
We are human and as such our minds can be prone to bewilderment or at the very least to some strange warped form of creative thinking. Anything that we don't understand we simply define as thought provoking. It is thereby forever more classed as an amusement of the mind and as such does not require an explanation but don't let this stop you from trying to figure it out.
There were more than a few random trivia questions that fascinated me enough to want to search out answers to the many curiosities that I had about them. I'm not sure if I managed to find sufficient answers to satisfy my confused mind but this prelude into my otherwise dull day did serve to amuse me for an hour or two and now I get to share this stuff with you.
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Cows spend six to seven hours a day just wandering around munching on grass or hay. Consuming as much as they do causes them to have a little tummy gas develop. Which means that cows then spend a lot of time releasing this built up byproduct of their indulgence. As they walk they burp, toot, and overall just pass a heck of a lot of gas on a very regular basis. So much so that approximately fifteen percent of all the methane gas produced worldwide is burped or tooted out by cows.
All that gas would mean that cows are really not very environmentally friendly critters, so what is the solution? We could eat chicken burgers rather than hamburgers. Maybe we could all drink goat's milk instead of cow's milk. We could switch to eating salmon or those itty bitty little sardine fish to acquire our calcium and give up milk altogether but stopping to think about it those little fish might be a little nasty on cereal first thing in the morning. Ick.
While We are on the Subject of Gas Let's Discuss Flatulence:
The average person passes gas between fourteen and twenty-three times a day. This may sound excessive but this wee little poof of trivia is absolutely true. All humans produce gas but did you know that some people produce methane gas while others do not? It's a gas fact.
If you find that the majority of the time your stool floats rather than diving to the bottom of the bowl then you are probably one of those environmentally friendly individuals who do not produce methane gas. The gas that you so politely release into the atmosphere around you will most likely be comprised of hydrogen gas, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or some strange combination of these. But if you are one of those nasty polluting people who emits methane gas within your little bursts of released air. these rather foul smelling poofs of air from the derriere more than likely contain sulphur. Don't light a match folks because that gas is flammable.
The Most Lethal Creature Alive is the Dreaded Mosquito
If you see these little guys aiming their stinger in your direction I suggest that you make a run for it. If you are wondering how to make yourself unappealing to these tiny vampires there are ways to do it. Some people really are more attractive to mosquitoes than others and there are a lot of factors that help a mosquito choose her next meal. Body size, sweat, clothing, and how much you move when you are outside are all factors that contribute to her choice in people.
80% of a dragonfly's brain is used for visual and when you stop to consider the fact that dragonflies dine on mosquitoes, well it is just kind of a nice fact to know. The youthful dragonfly nymphs consume mosquitoes while they are in their larvae stage and as an adult the dragonfly will dine on mature mosquitoes as well. Dragonflies scare the heck out of more than a few mosquitoes but when it comes down to who eats the most in their lifetime, well that honour according to the experts goes to a little fish appropriately named the mosquito fish. Also referred to with its true name Gambusia affinis they are a mosquitoes worst enemy. Of course other fish also help out in controlling mosquito populations too but the Gambusia affinis really loves eating mosquito larvae and tops the high mosquito consumer list. Other super mosquito predators are birds and bats, fish, frogs and tadpoles, turtles, dragonflies and damselflies, spiders, and some predatory species of mosquitoes who enjoy dining on other mosquito populations.
Did You Know That "The Chicken Dance" has Lyrics?
Bees Can Fly Backwards so Guess Where a Bee's Stinger is at?
Yep, it's a fact. Watch out for that bee tushie if it is headed in your direction. It can be a very painful situation if a bee bum runs into you. So why do we like bees as much as we do? Well for one thing they help to keep our fruit bearing bushes and trees healthy by helping out with their pollination but we humans also love the honey that bees produce in the pollination process. Did you happen to know that honey is an antibacterial? Yep, it is. Honey is just as effective at preventing a cold as is the over the counter cough syrup you purchase down at the local pharmacy. Honey is ideal for grownups but should never be given to babies under the age of one.
Honey is Mother Nature's naturally sweet treat. It is one of those amazing foods that will never go bad. Still edible honey was discovered in King Tutankhamen’s tomb so don't ever worry about yours having a short shelf life because that stuff lasts virtually forever.
Wondering How to Tell the Difference Between a Bee and a Wasp?
The main tell tale sign is that a bee is furry whereas a wasp is not. Some bees are very furry while other have just a wee little fuzziness to them but if you look closely they all have this common trait. So why is a bee furry? Well it is so the pollen will have a better likelihood of sticking to them. Cool huh?
What is a Blue Moon and How Often Does it Show Up?
A blue moon occurs about once every two or three years and no, they are not really blue in colour. A blue moon is really just a full moon that appears where it shouldn't. An extra moon you might say.
A full moon usually occurs once a month or three per each season but the lunar cycle works a little different than our calendar cycle so an extra full moon pops up every 2.7154 years. It is the second full moon in a calendar month or the fourth full moon to appear within a season that is referred to as a blue moon.
How Many Teardrops in a Teaspoon?
Just in case you want to have a really good cry it is kind of nice to know the facts so let's get things measured out. One standard teaspoon will hold one hundred and twenty teardrops. There are three teaspoons in each tablespoon which means that one tablespoon will hold about 360 teardrops. One cup holds sixteen tablespoons which means that you would cry a whopping 5760 tears to fill that cup up. Hmmmm? Better drink a cup of water before you start sniffling.
Things are getting tougher to figure out now but two cups are in every pint so to fill up that pint you will have to cry 11,520 tears. In every quart there are two pints so to fill up that quart jar you will have to cry 23,040 tears. And if you are really planning on the cry of the century then 92,160 teardrops can fit in a gallon jar. Wow that's a lot of teardrops. Better have extra tissue handy for that crying spell.
How Many __ are in a Gallon Pickle Jar?
Surprisingly a one gallon mason jar will hold about 92,160 raindrops. Didn't see that one coming did you? Also that same jar will hold approximately 5000 small jelly beans should you decide to pop those in there instead (yummy).
Now a few jar facts for Canadians who happen to live with the metric system rather than the US imperial measurement. Did you know that about three and a half litres of milk will fit in a gallon jar, but if you are counting drops of milk you can count on about 92,160 drops of milk fitting in there, ha.
If you save pennies like so many others do, it will take about 4,992 pennies to fill up a 4 litre jar, and that adds up to an amazing $49.92 in cash that you will have saved up. If you decide instead to save dimes, it will take 8,400 dimes which is actually $840.00 which is a whole lot of cash. And if you save quarters then about 3,411 will fit into that jar and it will work out to $852.75 which when you think about it is not much more than the dimes added up to? Keep in mind that all these figures are approximate.
A Few Facts on Love and Romance
2. If you believe in Cupid then a little known Cupid fact is that this little winged guy not only carries gold headed arrows to make people fall in love but legend has it that he also carries a set of lead headed arrows. These latter arrows can inspire the emotion of hatred in those who are struck by their magical tips. Be careful out there.
3. Couples tend to live longer than single folks. Studies suggest that being married can increase your lifespan by up to 15% over your non-married counterparts but the question is why. Theories are: Less stress, healthier eating habits, earlier identification of health issues, or a combination of all of these factors.
4. When it comes to happiness in marriage men are happier than women. Aw guys, time to step up your game. That romance thing we discussed in #1 needs to be applied long past the courtship and well into the marriage years. Let's get the ladies feeling a little better about this. BTW did you know that laughter is good for you. It can help to strengthen your immune system and your tummy muscles. It's a fact.
How Fast Does Hair Grow?
It turns out that hair actually grows in phases, who knew? So for the sake of simplicity we are going to say that during healthy hair's most active growth phase it is going to grow at an approximate rate of one centimetre every twenty-eight days. That would mean that healthy hair grows about 13.035714 centimetres in a year. So if we did not cut our hair, and breakage did not occur, then that could actually amount to a heck of a lot of long hair flopping around out there.
Do Fingernails and Toenails Continue to Grow After You Die?
If you suffer some form of horrific accident and lose a fingernail or toenail no worries, it will grow back. Your fingernail will take about three to six months to regrow while your toenail will take approximately twelve to eighteen months to regrow to its former glory. Should that accident be truly horrific and the cause of your demise, no your nails will not continue to grow after you perish. They will just appear to do so. As your muscle dehydrates and shrinks after death your skin and hair will appear larger. This will cause your fingernails and toenails to look like they are growing even though they actually are not. Like you really needed to know that little fact.
So how fast do fingernails and toenails grow? It is an interesting fact that they actually grow much faster than steel nails, nuts, and bolts do. The nails that you build a house with really do not grow much at all. Zero inches per year to be exact. The average human nail grows much faster. It will grow at an astounding rate of approximately three millimetres per month.
Factors that influence the rate of a nails growth are age, sex and season. And of course whether that nail is a toenail or a fingernail will also influence its rate of growth. Fingernails grow much faster than toenails. Young people's nails grow faster than those that adorn the hands and feet of older individuals. Male nails grow faster than female ones and everyone's nails grow faster in the summer than in the winter.
Goosebumps are a Fight or Flight Response
Birds fluff up. Creatures like cats, dogs, and porcupine have their fur rise up on end. We human people feel a chill run up our spine. Tiny goosebumps will then appear and the tiny hairs on our body will stand up on end in an attempt to either warm us or to make us appear large enough to frighten a predator away. Yeah, like that system works for us.
Exercise Your Brain - Keep Your Mind Alert
It does not matter that we don't understand why something is. When you challenge your mind to take on a new concept your brain will often elect to open up a brand new pathway to place that information in. Yep, and that is how you can help to keep brain drain from occurring in your wee little mind.
It's easy. To give your brain cells a work out simply play a game that you have not played before, try to solve a problem that you don't understand, or learn a new skill. Your brain will be hopping around doing jumping jacks and push ups trying to figure these new things out. It is interesting to note that maze games are particularly good for helping your brain stay active and alert. This type of play is exercise for your brain and it is good for you to challenge your mind to try something new everyday.
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