Pinxsticx's Blog

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

{EAV_BLOG_VER:548e807252c35303} Cool Language Facts

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There are more than 2,700 languages in the world. In addition, there are more than 7,000 dialects. A dialect is a regional variety of a language that has a different pronunciation, vocabulary, or meaning.
The most difficult language to learn is Basque, which is spoken in northwestern Spain and southwestern France. It is not related to any other language in the world. It has an extremely complicated word structure and vocabulary.
All pilots on international flights identify themselves in English.
Somalia is the only African country in which the entire population speaks the same language, Somali.
The language in which a government conducts business is the official language of that country.
More than 1,000 different languages are spoken on the continent of Africa.
Many languages in Africa include a “click” sound that is pronounced at the same time as other sounds. You must learn these languages in childhood to do it properly.

Cool Facts about Earth

In 1783 an Icelandic eruption threw up enough dust to temporarily block out the sun over Europe.

About 20 to 30 volcanoes erupt each year, mostly under the sea.

A huge underground river runs underneath the Nile, with six times more water than the river above

Lake Bosumtwi in Ghana formed in a hollow made by a meteorite.

Beaver Lake, in Yellowstone Park, USA, was artificially created by beaver damming.

Off the coast of Florida there is an underwater hotel. Guests have to dive to the entrance.

Venice in Italy is built on 118 sea islets joined by 400 bridges. It is gradually sinking into the water.

The Ancient Egyptians worshipped a sky goddess called Nut.

The world's windiest place is Commonwealth Bay, Antartica.

In 1934, a gust of wind reached 371 km/h on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, USA.

American Roy Sullivan has been struck by lighting a record seven times.

The desert baobab tree can store up to 1000 litres of water in its trunk. The oldest living tree is a California bristlecone pine name 'Methuselah'. It is about 4600 years old. The largest tree in the world is a giant sequoia growing in California. It is 84 meters tall and measures 29 meters round the trunk. The fastest growing tree is the eucalyptus. It can grow 10 meters a year.

The Antartic notothenia fish has a protein in its blood that acts like antifreeze and stops the fish freezing in icy sea.

The USA uses 29% of the world's petrol and 33% of the world's electricity.

The industrial complex of Cubatao in Brazil is known as the Valley of Death because its pollution has destroyed the trees and rivers nearby.

Tibet is the highest country in the world. Its average height above sea level is 4500 meters.

Fresh water from the River Amazon can be found up to 180 km out to sea.

The White Sea, in Russia, has the lowest temperature, only -2 degrees centigrade. The Persian Gulf is the warmest sea. In the summer its temperature reaches 35.6 degrees centigrade.

There is no land at all at the North Pole, only ice on top of sea. The Arctic Ocean has about 12 million sq km of floating ice and has the coldest winter temperature of -34 degrees centigrade.

The Antarctic ice sheet is 3-4 km thick, covers 13 million sq km and has temperatures as low as -70 degrees centigrade.

Over 4 million cars in Brazil are now running on gasohol instead of petrol. Gasohol is a fuel made from sugar cane.

{EAV_BLOG_VER:548e807252c35303} 10 Amazing facts about Chocolate

Chocolate is made from beans derived from the cacao tree. These beans are very bitter, so the cocoa solids and the cocoa butter has sugar added to it, along with some other ingredients in order to make the chocolate that is available to the general public.

Chocolate is particularly popular at certain times of the year, such as Easter, Valentines Day and Christmas. As such, chocolate shaped gifts are popular. Hearts for Valentines day and cute bunnies at Easter are two high up on the gift selection list. Here are 10 interesting facts about chocolate:

1. Chocolate is lower in caffeine than tea, coffee and coca cola. A one ounce bar of chocolate contains about 6mg of caffeine, whereas a five ounce cup of regular coffee contains over 40mg.

2. Chocolate was regarded as an aphrodisiac by Aztec Indians.

3. Chocolate contains antioxidants which may help prevent cancer and heart disease.

4. Chocolate is the favourite flavour in the United States Of America.

5. The shelf life of a bar of chocolate is approximately one year.

6. In 1842 Cadbury's in England created the worlds first chocolate bar.

7. The Swiss eat the most chocolate. The average person eats 19lbs a year.

8. Chocolate contain theobromine, which is a mild relative of caffeine and magnesium. This chemical is found in some tranquilisers. Because coffee also contains caffeine, it both picks you up and calms you down.

9. It is widely believed that chocolate consumption releases a chemical into your body very similar to what is produced when you are in love.

10. Chocolate manufacturers use 20% of the worlds peanuts and 40% of the worlds almonds.
Chocolate is mildly addictive, but a bar now and again is not going to hurt. With all those great antioxidants it contains, it may even help you live longer. After all, as the saying goes, “A little of what you fancy does you good”.

{EAV_BLOG_VER:548e807252c35303} World Milk Day

Ten Common Milk Myths - Busted with the Facts!

Myth #1: Consuming dairy products can lead to weight gain.
Fact: Weight gain occurs when one consumes more calories than the body can burn as energy. Contrary to this common myth, research both in animals and humans suggest that including three servings of low fat dairy foods in a calorie controlled diet may help achieve greater weight loss (Zemel, 2005).

Clinical trials have also shown a strong correlation between increased calcium intake and reduced body weight, body fat percentage and waist size (Zemel, 2005).

Myth #2: Spinach is as good a source of calcium as milk.
Fact: There is more calcium in 1 cup of milk than there is in 16 cups of spinach. One will need to eat more than 48 cups of spinach to get the recommended daily intake of calcium (USDA, 2010). Furthermore, milk contains Vitamin D which enhances calcium absorption (Wasserman, 2004).

Myth #3: People with lactose intolerance should avoid dairy foods.
Fact: Lactose intolerance is often confused with milk allergies. Lactose intolerance is not an allergic reaction to dairy foods. Rather it is the inability to digest the milk sugar lactose. Lactose-free milk and yogurt are good alternatives to drinking milk for people that are lactose intolerant. Aged cheeses such as Cheddar and Swiss are also low in lactose. Many people with lactose intolerance can drink up to 1 cup of milk daily without problems (Miller et al., 2000).

Myth #4: Milk causes asthma.
Fact: While infants with milk allergies are more likely to develop
asthma later in life, there are no scientific data that support that consuming dairy foods makes a person asthmatic.

Myth #5: Consuming dairy foods can increase the risk of heart disease.
Fact: A diet high in saturated fat regardless of the source will likely cause heart disease and not dairy foods. Recently, it was reported that the evidence linking saturated fat intake to heart disease is lacking (Siri-Tarino et al., 2010).

Furthermore, today saturated fat from butter is believed to be not as bad as trans fat filled hydrogenated vegetable fats such as margarine and other so-called ‘healthy’ spreads. Those still wishing to reduce their fat intake can consume low fat dairy foods and receive the nutritional benefits of dairy foods without the high fat (Berner, 1992; Miller, 2000).

Myth #6: If you take calcium supplements you don’t need milk.
Fact: Milk isn’t only a good source of calcium but it also provides other high quality nutrients such as high quality protein, vitamins A, D, B12, riboflavin; zinc; potassium and magnesium.

Fermented dairy foods such as yogurt also serve as an excellent carrier of probiotic organisms and pediatrics, which are important for gastrointestinal health.

Taking supplements does not provide the enjoyment of drinking a cold glass of milk; pouring cold milk on a bowl of cereal for breakfast; eating a creamy delicious bowl of ice cream on a hot summer day; or enjoying the pleasure of a creamy cheese sauce on nachos, or melted cheese slices on a hamburger.

Myth #7: Milk causes mucus.
Fact: After drinking whole milk or eating ice cream some people mistake the thin coat or residue in their mouth and throat for mucus.

This is the normal creamy texture of milk fat which melts near body temperature and not excess mucus. A study conducted by Pinnock and co-workers (1990) reported that there is no association between milk and dairy products intake and mucus production in healthy as well as rhinovirus infected individuals.

Myth #8: Humans are not designed to drink cow’s milk.
Fact: Humans are designed to eat plant as well as animal products such as meat and dairy products. Domestication of cattle (and consumption of milk and dairy foods) date back to 6000 BC.

We are equipped with the lactose enzyme in our gut that aids in the digestion of cow’s milk. Consequently humans have enjoyed consuming dairy foods over many, many centuries.

If we were restricted to consuming milk only from our own species, we would not enjoy many of the dairy foods we enjoy today; such as blue cheese on our salads, ice cream on apple pie, sour cream on baked potatoes, Mozzarella cheese on pizza, shredded cheese on our tacos, and buttermilk in our pancakes.

Myth #9: Drinking milk can cause kidney stones.
Fact: Milk may actually protect against the formation of kidney stones (NHS, 1990). It was suggested that the calcium in milk may bind to oxalates in food so that they can no longer be absorbed by the body, reducing the risk of kidney stones.

Myth #10: Eating cheese and high fat dairy foods can cause acne.
Fact: Science does not support any link between acne and dairy foods. Importance of vitamins A and D in skin health is well established. Milk is a good source of vitamins A and D in the diet (Miller et al., 2000).

Source: Dairy Herd News - 10 Myths About Dairy Foods Dispelled 4/14/2010

Friday, May 27, 2011

UFC130

Event: UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill
Date: May 28, 2011
Time: 9PM ET/6PM PT
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Can't wait to watch this..tp sayang kt Malaysia mana ada live kt tv or Astro so kene la tunggu torrent..