Quote from Bruce Lee

 Be afraid of the calmest person in the room.-Bruce Lee

Camels

 A camel can drink up to 80 litres of water at a time and can survive for a very long time drinking water                            A camel can drink an impressive amount of water and store it;it does not sweat much and produces very little urine.The water is stored in the animal's bloodstream.

Quote from Billy Wilder

 You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.-Billy Wilder

Al Capone

 Al Capone was known for setting up soup kitchens during the Great Depression,providing milk for school children,and sending thousands of dollars worth of flowers to rival gang members' funerals.(And for being a violent,ruthless killer.)

A potential cause of fatigue

 Your constipation can also cause fatigue because of malnutrition.When your colon is holding on to toxic waste,your body has a harder time absorbing nutrients from food.Treatment: Regular exercise and a healthy,fibre-rich diet may help.

Quote from Michael Josephson

 Honesty doesn't always pay,but dishonesty always costs.-Michael Josephson

Selenophile

 Selenophile-A moon lover; a person who is very fond of the moon.

A camel's hump

 A camel's hump does not hold water at all-it actually stores fat.The camel uses it as nourishment when food is scarce.If a camel uses the fat inside the hump,the hump will become limp and droop down.

Goddess of the sea

 Yemaya is the west African goddess of the sea.

Greatly informative book by Jocelyn Zuckerman

 Planet Palm:How Palm Oil Ended Up In Everything(2021)- new book by Jocelyn Zuckerman.                                                                        Her website is jocelynzuckerman.com

Quote from James Baldwin

 There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin.But the way to really be despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain.-James Baldwin

Quote from Marilyn Vos Savant

 Know how weather,especially humidity, can affect the movement of doors and windows.-Marilyn Vos Savant

Virtues of short people

 Short people are the future.They consume less food,use less car fuel and more of them can fit on Earth.They are basically Eco-friendly humans.

Andy Warhol was a fabulous collector

 When pop artist Andy Warhol passed of cancer on February 22,1987,he had 175 cookie jars,313  watches,57 Navajo blankets,210 Bakelite bracelets,1,659 pieces of Russel Wright pottery and 170 chairs.                                                            He was quite a collector.Hooray for Andy Warhol.Too bad he died so relatively young.

Howling wolves

 When howling together,no two wolves will howl on the same note.Instead,they harmonize to create the illusion that there are more of them than there actually are.

Hairless guinea pigs

 Hairless guinea pigs exist, and they look like miniature hippos.

Warmer climates

 People who are raised in warmer climates tend to be friendlier than those brought up in places with cold,harsh temperatures.

Kaizen

 " Kaizen" ,a Japanese productivity philosophy, states that one should always think of ways to improve their methods instead of constantly doing things the same way.

Quote from Virginia Woolf

 My brain hums with scraps of poetry and madness.-Virginia Woolf

Quote on grace

 Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness.-Paul Tillich

Quote from Langston Hughes

 Hold fast to dreams,for if dreams die,life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.-Langston Hughes(1902-1967)

Adam Rainer

 Adam Rainer was the only person in recorded history to have been both a dwarf and a giant.                                  ..                At 18 he was 4'6",at 50 he was 7'8".

The sun and moon

 The sun and moon appear to be the same size because of an astonishing coincidence:the moon is 400 times smaller but 400 times closer.

Nemophilist

 Nemophilist-A haunter of the woods;one who loves forests for their beauty and solitude.

Tidsoptimist

 Tidsoptimist:A person who's habitually late because they think they have more time than they do.                                                      A habitually late person,someone who overestimates how much time they have and is rarely on time as a result.

Quote from Morgan Freeman

 The best way to guarantee a loss is to quit.-Morgan Freeman(born 1937)

Quote from W.B.Yeats

 If suffering brings wisdom,I would wish to be less wise.-W.B.Yeats

The Bodi tribe

In the Bodi tribe in Ethiopia,the most desired men are those with giant bellies.The more belly you have,the more attractive you are.The champion fat man is then feted as a hero for the rest of his life.

Australia

Australia has over 10,000 beaches.You could visit a new beach every day for over 27 years.

Ban in France

France has banned all children under 15 from using their phones,tablets and smart watches.The government is concerned that students are becoming too dependent on and distracted by their phones.They are calling it ''A law for the 21st century.''

Dingo guilty

In 1980,a dingo ate an Australian couple's baby while camping,causing the mother to be sentenced to life in prison for murder.Three years later,the clothes of the baby were found near a dingo den.

Great quote on friends

Be careful who you call your friends.I'd rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies.-Al Capone

Quote from Morgan Freeman

Never let pride be your guiding principle.Let your accomplishments speak for you.-Morgan Freeman(born 1937).

Another quote from Al Capone

You can do more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word.-Al Capone(1899-1947)

Quote from Al Capone

They can't collect legal taxes from illegal money.-Al Capone(1899-1947).

A song by Bing Crosby that you like

Sam's Song(The Happy Tune)-song by Bing Crosby and Gary Crosby.

The importance of parrot fish

Parrot fish eat algae and dead coral.They spend up to 90% of their day nibbling.In other words,they clean the reef.This is important because most of the reefs across the tropics are being smothered by algae because there are not enough parrotfish and other herbivores out there grazing. After all that eating,get this:They poop fine white sand-lots of it!Each parrot fish produces up to 320 kilograms(700 pounds) of sand each year. Their numbers are so depleted,& algae levels are so high ,that they cannot be fished sustainably right now anywhere in the Caribbean.These flamboyant,algae-eating,sand-pooping fish need to be left in the water.And when they are left to chomp away,they do a brilliant job.A massive new report concludes that reefs where parrotfish were abundant in the 1980s are the reefs that are healthy now. Parrot fish are very important.Say no to catching parrot fish and eating them.-David E.Conolly,FACEBOOK,November 11,2019.

Susanna Madora Salter

Susanna Madora Salter(1860-1961) became the first woman elected as mayor in the United States.She served as mayor of Argonia,Kansas. In 1887,a group of men added a woman named Susanna Salter to a mayoral ballot as a joke intended to humiliate women.Instead,she won over 60% of the vote and became America's first female mayor.

Quote from Al Capone

 I would rather be rich,affluent and greedy and go to hell when I die,than live in poverty on this earth.-Al Capone

Quote from Morgan Freeman

 I gravitate towards gravitas.-Morgan Freeman(born 1937).

An obscure song from 1959 that I like

 Tomboy(1959)-song by Perry Como.

A Benny Goodman song that I like

 Goody Goody-song by Benny Goodman.

Quote on capitalism

 Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class.-Al Capone(1899-1947)

Quote from Al Capone

 Vote early and vote often.-Al Capone

A Frankie Lymon song that you like

 Goody Goody- song by Frankie Lymon

Quote on high school

 Trying to be popular in high school is like trying to be mayor in a city that won't exist in four years.-Jenny Holzer,www.huffingtonpost.com,January 5 ,2012.

Quote from Jennifer Yane

 Every time I close the door on reality it comes in through the windows.-Jennifer Yane

Eiffel Tower

 The top floor of the Eiffel Tower is an apartment with two bedrooms,a kitchen,a bathroom and a bar ! When Gustave Eiffel designed his namesake tower,he included a private apartment for himself at the top.

Song by Bing Crosby that you like

 South America,Take It Away- song by Bing Crosby.

Albert Heineken in 1963

 In 1963,Albert Heineken created a beer bottle that also functioned as a brick to build sustainable housing in impoverished countries.

Electronic waste

 According to the United Nations,in 2019 the world generated about 53 million tons of e-waste.The amount of electronic waste is expected to more than double in the next 30 years.In e-waste is lead,arsenic and mercury.

                        

Book by Chris Woolf

 Bumbling Through The Hindu Kush:A Memoir Of Fear And Kindness in Afghanistan(2021)-Book by former BBC journalist Chris Woolf

Jakarta

 Jakarta,the capital of Indonesia,used to be a tropical port surrounded by fishing villages.

                         But in 2021,Jakarta is one of the most crowded and polluted cities in the world.Close to 30 million people live in greater Jakarta in 2021.

Lion statues and their significance

 For Buddhists,lion statues are said to bring peace and prosperity,while in Italy they symbolize power and prestige.In Quebec,home owners traditionally place one or two lions in front of their house once their mortgage is paid off.

Quote from Rodney Dangerfield

 I haven't spoken to my wife in years.I didn't want to interrupt her.-Rodney Dangerfield

Joyce Diane

 A woman named Joyce Diane became famous in the 1950s for becoming the first woman to win the game show " The $64,000 Question",despite the fact that the show's producers did not want her to win and deliberately gave her questions perceived to be beyond her ability,which she answered correctly anyway.

Quote from Patrick White

 If I have not lost my mind I can sometimes hear it preparing to defect.-Patrick White(1912-1990)

Quote from Jenny Holzer

 You are a victim of the rules you live by.-Jenny Holzer,TRUISMS AND ESSAYS(1983).

The Chinese government

 Chinese government takes  its officials and members of their families on prison tours on a regular basis to give officials an introduction to what awaits them if they should engage in corruption.The tours include meet-and-greet with former government officials who were caught for corruption.

Quote on exceptional people

 Exceptional people deserve special concessions.-Jenny Holzer

Quote from Jenny Holzer

 If you have many desires your life will be interesting.-Jenny Holzer

Quote from Stephen Jay Gould

 I am,somehow,less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.-Stephen Jay Gould

Quote from Patrick White

 If truth is not acceptable,it becomes the imagination of others.-Patrick White(1912-1990)

Quote on deviants

 Deviants are sacrificed to increase group solidarity.-Jenny Holzer

Quote on alienation

 Alienation produces eccentrics or revolutionaries.-Jenny Holzer (born 1950), artist.

Giovanni Bruscia

 Giovanni Bruscia,known as an Italian people slayer,has been freed after 25 years in jail for the murder of over 100 people,including a 14 year-old boy he dissolved in acid.He will now be on parole for four years.                                             He received a light sentence because he turned informant against other mafia members.

The sleep of bees

 Bees sleep 5 to 6 hours a day,and bees often hold each other's legs while they sleep.

Smokers around the world

 The number of smokers around the world has reached an all-time high of 1.1 billion in 2020,according to British medical magazine LANCET in May 2021.                                                                        The smoking rate in the world has declined but this has been outpaced by population growth; there is an increase in the total number of people around the world who smoke.                                               China has the largest number of the world's smokers;it has 30% of the world's smokers. In 2020;India has the second highest numbers of smokers and Indonesia has the third highest numbers of smokers.                                                         A lot of progress has been made in the war on smoking but a lot more needs to be done.90% of the world's smokers become addicted to tobacco by age 25.                                       Brazil has achieved tobacco control and Brazil has achieved a decline in smoking prevalence due to aggressive public education efforts.

                                             

Quote from Paul Auster

 In my studio,it is unkempt and unattractive.Once I'm in my work,I don't notice where I am.-Paul Auster

Quote from Michael Shermer

 We think of our eyes as video cameras and our brains as blank tapes to be filled with sensory inputs.-Michael Shermer (born 1954)

Quote from Thomas Merton

 It's hard to be neurotic in a grove of trees.-Thomas Merton

Quote on human history

 Human history is highly nonlinear and unpredictable.-Michael Shermer

Quote from Michael Shermer

 For solving a surprisingly large and varied number of problems,crowds are smarter than individuals.-Michael Shermer,born 1954.

El Salvador

 Many Salvadorans working outside of the country send payments home.Many people in El Salvador rely on remittances from family members working in wealthier countries.Foreign remittances make up 20% of the country's GDP.                                                               70% of the people in El Salvador do not have bank accounts in 2020.

Hero rats

 There are some hero rats.Bomb-sniffing rats have been used in Cambodia to locate landmines and hidden dangers.Rats have been especially trained to sniff out landmines and other unexploded devices.A rat can walk over a mine without triggering it.

Tokyo trains

 Space on Tokyo trains was scarce in 1962,so 'Pushmen' were employed to cram commuters into trains.

Croatia

 In Croatia they have dog lifeguards for the entire summer season.

Samsung and its role in South Korea

 The Samsung company accounts for 15% of South Korea's entire economy in 2020 and  South Koreans often live in Samsung-owned apartment buildings,can get treatment from Samsung-owned medical centers,go to universities,and end up at a Samsung funeral parlor when they die.

Mount Everest

 There is a part of Mount Everest known as the Rainbow Valley.It is named not because there are rainbows there,but because of the brightly colored jackets on the frozen corpses that litter the Valley.

Chinese passengers on the Titanic

 There were eight Chinese passengers on the Titanic ship that sank in April 1912.All eight of these Chinese were passengers in the third class.Six of these eight Chinese men survived the sinking of the Titanic by escaping in life boats.

Peru's workforce

 Three fourth of Peru's workforce is employed informally in 2020,although they collectively earn only one fifth of the country's GDP.

Quote from Michael Shermer

 Optimism is good for overcoming obstacles that are part of daily life,but over-optimism can blind us to adversities that need addressing.-Michael Shermer

African wild dogs hunting

 African wild dogs vote on whether not to go on a hunt by sneezing.If a dominant pair sneezes first,then two additional sneezes will mean a hunt occurs on average.If nondominant dogs sneeze first,then it typically takes ten additional sneezes to sway the group to hunt.

Accidental discovery

 One evening,while rushing for dinner after a long day at the lab Constantin Fahlberg,a chemist at John Hopkins,forgot to wash his hands that had traces of benzoic sulfimide.This compound made his dinner taste sweet,and that's how he discovered the artificial sweetener saccharin.

Fact about Lego bricks

 It would take 375,000 Lego bricks stacked one on top of another to destroy the bottom brick.The tower would be nearly 12,000 feet tall.

Namibia

 Namibia used to be known as German Southwest Africa when under colonial rule.

Garment exports

 Bangladesh is the second largest garment exporter in the world in 2021,second behind China.

Calabria

 The Calabria region is the poorest region in Italy in 2020;youth unemployment there is 50%.

The Aztecs

 The Aztecs regarded child birth as a form of battle.Women who died during child birth were thought to rise to one of the highest heavens -the same one as for male warriors who died in battle.

Hot dogs

 When Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs first opened in 1916,the owner hired people to dress as doctors and eat hot dogs outside his shop,to convince people his hot dogs were healthy.

November in South Korea

 Every November in South Korea,there 's a day where everyone makes silence to help students concentrate for the most important exam of their lives.Planes are grounded,constructions are paused,banks close,and even military training ceases.This day is called Suneung.

Coping mechanisms

 In absence of support coping mechanisms to stress and trauma many people turn to alcohol,drugs and harm that can result in violence,addiction and poverty.Chronic stress increases the risk of depression and mental illness and lowers resilience and immune function.

Cortisol

 To deal with stress our body releases cortisol.Cortisol increases blood sugar which gives us a temporary energy boost that enables us to react in stressful situations.However childhood abuse can disrupt the stress response for life,resulting in consistently high levels of cortisol.Consistently high levels of cortisol can cause diabetes,heart disease,hypertension and chronic pain.

Lychnobite

 A lychnobite is someone who sleeps all day and works at night.

Quote on The Titanic

 Life is all about perspective.The sinking of the Titanic was a miracle to the lobsters in the ship's kitchen.-Robert Kaplan,FACEBOOK,June 1,2021.

Quote from John L.Plomp

 You know that children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers.-John L.Plomp

Quote from W.S.Merwin

 Now all my teachers are dead except silence.-W.S.Merwin

Quote from Monica Hesse

 There is no glory in the tepid smiles of the thousands.It is better to have the uproarious laughter of the hundreds.-Monica Hesse

Quote from Shannon L.Alder

 A best friend is the only one that walks into your life when the world has walked out.-Shannon L.Alder

An old song from Don Cornell that you like

 Hold My Hand- song by Don Cornell.

Quote from William Reich

 Scientific theory is a contrived foothold in the chaos of living phenomena.-William Reich

Quote from Stephen Hawking

 We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star.But we can understand the universe.That makes us something very special.-Stephen Hawking