The Silver Bullet

If only the majority is more benevolent and accommodating, and the minority in turn less effusing, humanity would be a better race.

Success

At the end of the day,
Success in life is not defined by how much you earn..
But by how much others yearn for you...

~ Arun KK

Dasavatharam - Storyline Demystified with Chaos Theory

[ This is an email forward ]

FAQs on Dasavatharam
Some guys have claimed they haven't understood chaos theory which plays such an important part in the film. As a physics student, I've decided to explain it a bit so that people can appreciate the brilliance of the film.

What is Chaos?
Basically a chaotic system is one wherein long term predictions are impossible. Like for example, if I push a car, I know that it is going to move and it will continue to do so if I go on pushing it on and on. However, in a chaotic system, this situation cannot be predicted over a long period of time. Weather, for example, is a chaotic system. No matter how good your instruments are, you simply cannot predict the weather with 100 per cent accuracy over a long term basis and forecast it.

What is the Butterfly Effect?
It is the most important component of a chaotic system. Basically, small perturbations results in amplifications which completely destroys the original nature of the system and makes prediction impossible. If a butterfly flaps its wings in Africa, it could result in a cyclone in USA.(Mark the word COULD.) A highly dumbed down explanation of the butterfly effect is in the film Anniyan, where Vikram's sister dies because a liquor shop owner sells liquor on a dry day.

OK, how does Dasa incorporate it?

In essence, Dasa talks about eight characters who are inconsequential as such, but are integrated in a larger picture. Without Bush, the plane would have been called back. Without Shinghen, Govind would be dead. Without the tsunami, the world would have been destroyed. Even Krishnaveni (the old woman) plays a very important role. If she had not put the vial in the idol, maybe Govind would have recovered it then and there and a powerful weapon would have been unleashed. The very fact that it went into the idol meant that it was being accelerated to its destiny. Without Kaifulllah Khan, Govind would have never escaped... the list simply goes on.

OK, so does the film talk about theism or atheism?
Neither. It talks about how humans drive the destiny of the world.

The idol that is drowned in the sea along with Rangarajan in 12th century by Chozha king results in a fault being developed at the bottom of the ocean and creates tremors more than 800 years later. These tremors result in the Tsunami. This again is a classic case of Butterfly Effect wherein a seemingly inconsequential event (the drowning of the idol) saves Tamil Nadu from being wiped off the face of the earth.

Now tell me, does THIS movie lack a story? This movie has the most beautiful story ever attempted in Indian cinema. Unfortunately, Indian viewers and critics are obsessed with the "boy meets girl" and "revenge" themes, so they fail to see the story in this master piece.
-- Chaos Theory

Dasavatharam

Movie Review

So, here i pen down my views about the magnum opus of Thamizh Cinema - DASAVATHARAM. There has been a lot of hype and hoopla through the years this movie had been in production. Did the movie meet the expectations?

The answer is a resounding YES.

Here's my comment on Kamal's avatars and the various departments of the movie.

1. Kamal

Kamal rocks in all his avatars - this movie is yet another showcase of his talent and what he is capable of. Kamal has given a new definition for 'Versatility' - the way in which he portrayed the various roles with due diligence. Each of the characters (Rangarajan Iyengar, scientist, villian, RAW chief, Singer, Dalit leader, old lady, Afghan, Japanese fight master and George Bush) are etched out well and twined into the script perfectly. Kamal was identifiable in 5 of the roles - the rest, you wouldn't have identified him unless you were told it was he. The perfectionist he is, Kamal has worked hard on all the aspects of each character - voice, accent, body language, emotions, etc. My faves are Bush and the villian. Though Bush comes only for a short time, Kamal's ingenuity is in display as he perfectly imitates Bush's mannerism and his tradement gaffes. And the villain is a perfect cool guy, who chases the scientist all the way to India to possess the bio-weapon. The means and techniques (Agreed! Those soaked in Hollywood CIA flicks won't find this much impressive) he uses to go after the chip makes up for a perfect edge-of-the-seat thriller through the entire 3 hours.

The other roles are equally good, however we have seen Kamal don them in some of his previous movies. If there is any role that could have been avoided, it's the Afghan role that could have been trimmed off to make the plot more crisper.

2. Story, Screenplay, Dialogue

That's Kamal's 11th avatar - and, i would rate it higher than any of his other avatars (Kamal himself says so). The story has a near-perfect plot - hero tries to prevent a bio-medical weapon from falling into the wrong hands. Kamal has evidently put in all his experience and knowledge to pen down this - the story is a blend of science, religion and meta-physics. The crux of the story revolves around 'Chaos theory' of Henry Poincare. And Kamal has spiced up the story with action, thrill, comedy - however, no romance here :) Also, Kamal has tried to bring in some social issues like sand smuggling and caste divide into the plot. The dialogues are too good - however some of them are too hi-fi and intellectual for first-bencher viewers. You would need to at least watch the movie a couple of times to understand the dialogues better (and their inner meanings). The director KS Ravi Kumar should be complimented for making the story gripping and entertaining throughout.

3. Other characters
Asin comes in two characters - one as wife of Rangarajan and another as Andal who along with Govind(scientist Kamal) goes after Venkatesa Perumal's idol (and the bio-weapon tucked inside it). The first role - she does with perfection. The other was a nuisance. Her shrill screaming voice and constant innocent banters makes for an irritating character. The director could have mellowed her down a bit.

Mallika Sherawat gets a meaty role and does it well - she doesn't bother the censors much this time. Other characters in the movie - Jayapradha (Singer's wife), Nagesh, KR Vijaya (Afghan's parents), P Vasu, Santhana Bharathy (sand smugglers), Napolean (Chola King) all have done their roles aptly.


4. Music, BGM
The songs look good on the movie. 'Kallai mattum kandal''s depiction was excellent. It reverberates around the 12th century temples and the turbulent days between Shaivites and Vainavites. Background music was in sync with the pace of the movie - however, felt it could have been more gripping.

5. Graphics
CG was stupendous. What else can you expect when Brian Jennings (of 'Exorcist' fame) from Hollywood heads the CG team. The depiction of tsunami was amazing - the waves crashing into the buildings and the shore - it brought back memories of the 2004 tsunami.

On the whole

On the whole, this is yet another master piece from 'Ulaga Nayagan'. The producer of the movie, Aascar V. Ravichandran should be appreciated for supporting Kamal and the director in this mega-budget flick. Kamal has not let us down after all this long wait.

PS:
Some controversies (i pray they don't) are likely to creep up for the heavy agnostic essence that Kamal spruces up in the movie. The saffron cordon is all likely to raise the red flag against this.
However, the movie is good food for intellectual thought.


~ Arun KK

Rich Dad Poor Dad

From the Book Shelf...

It's been over 2 years since i first came to know of this book. Since then, it's been a long wait to get a chance to get hold of a copy of it - however, it was worth the wait. I completed the book this morning and here goes my view on it.

'Rich Dad Poor Dad' is a must-read for those yearning to make it big financially in life [now, who doesn't want to ;-)]. The book shatters the basic principle - 'To Earn More, Work More'. The author Robert T. Kiyosaki, using his narrative style walks us through how we can make 'money work for us' rather than 'we working for money'. Though the methodologies they put forth aren't totally path-breaking [stocks, bonds, real estates], his approach on how to make the right use of the assets leaves us spell-bound with the tactical application of ideas and presence of mind or rather common sense.

The book talks a great deal about assets, liabilities, income and expense and how one impacts the other[what else will a finance book deal about?]. It also brings to light the advantages corporates enjoy over individuals in cutting down on taxes [corporates pay for expenses before taxing and hence are less taxed than individuals] and how individuals can emulate the same by starting their own businesses. The authors are strictly against [and i am not 100% OK with this] toiling out in a company; rather they fiddle with us the idea of running our own corporation - both to beat the tax men and also to have more ownership of the effort we put in ["I work for me"].

Throughout, the book is interspersed with a lot of real-life examples that help us correlate ideas better. The author has used the examples as an excellent means of talking about various perspectives of say, an idea. Hats off to the narrative style that Robert has incorporated!

To talk about the other side of the picture, most of the examples used especially the ones related to tax structures are more related to Uncle Sam and may not be applicable across countries. However, the message conveyed here is the reader should develop out-of-the-box thinking to combat their financial challenges. Also, some where down the line, i felt there was too much emphasis on saving money by "not so good means". If i am not wrong, during the course of the book, there were some narrations that roughly would mean we could go to any length to cut down on expense even if that would mean taking measures unappreciative of your employee union or in some cases the law itself! Though, Robert confesses that these are not by any means recommended, i felt there was an undercurrent through out the book that one who wanna be a millionaire shouldn't contemplate social responsibilities, at least early in their career.

Towards the end of the book, 10 steps to become successful [earn money or make money work for you] are enlisted. I have put down my "decoded" version of the same below:

1. Be optimistic and maintain high spirit towards your goal.
2. Invest in Education - that lays the foundation for any career that you aspire for.
3. Choose your friends - choose those who have a positive outlook on the world or the career you look forward to.
4. Learn things one at a time - Master one formula/idea. Then, move to the next.
5. Control your expenses - Don't spend unless until unavoidable [Be frugal, not miserly].
6. Pay well for those who work for you and are smart.
7. When you assist/help someone, look for the ROI[return on investment] on the same.
8. Invest in assets rather than luxuries. Assets will churn out luxuries in the long-term.
9. Have good role-models who can always be looked upon.
10. Teach others your skills - you learn more while you teach. Teach and you shall receive.

Main Management skills needed

1) Management of cash flow
2) Management of system (yourself and the environment you work with)
3) Management of people

Interesting quotes from the book

"What holds us back is not lack of technical information but lack of self confidence"

"Fear is the greatest distracter of personal genius"

"Fear and self-doubt is what holds us back"

"Sometimes You win, Sometimes You Learn"

"The poor and middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them."

---

Happy Reading!

~ Arun KK

All views presented above are of the blogger and hence reflect the blogger's view of the topic rather than what was intended by the author(s). Readers are advised to exercise their discretion and thereby treat the post as mere pointers!

The Lonely Star

"Lonely i am, in this deluge of darkness
Nobody around, for me to look upon
Worthless should i be, hence am forlorn..."
Thus lamented the lonely star.

God replied...

"Alone you are, though you may seem
Truth not be that you are unworthy
For when others faded away in the sky of adversary
You shine bright thanks to your malleability"

~ Arun KK

Media - The Messiah

This thought struck me when i was watching Mani Ratnam's 'BOMBAY' (I confess that i am too late to talk about this movie, but the truth is that i saw it for the first time only now). As the movie progressed, i was gradually absorbed into the complex web of social structure India is weaved into. The movie ended in about 3 hours - but my thought train had just started.

I was simply over-awed by the power that media wields. If a 3 hour movie can influence our minds and at least make us sit up and think beyond our self, about our society, think what can be achieved if media is harnessed the right way over a period. By media, i don't mean movies alone - it includes the whole spectrum of TV, news papers, online content, etc (and of course, this includes the blogging society. It's this thought that made me rethink on my blogging - I quit blogging soon after getting a job.)

Now, jumping into our topic, i sincerely feel that the power of media if properly harnessed can be effectively used in combating the social and economic issues that we Indians face now.

Let's list down what plagues India -

1. Poverty
2. Social inequality
3. Illiteracy
4. Corruption
5. Poor Sanitation

I limit my focus to the above 5 as the rest can be easily tackled if the above are taken care of.

Of these Pancha Paavis, we can single out Illiteracy as the primary culprit. I sincerely feel if illiteracy can be tackled, all other issues can be taken care of much more easily. I have discussed about the other issues in another post - here i restrict my writing to illiteracy alone.

At any point of time, at least half of India's population will be hooked to some media or the other. The literate population (61.3% in 2002) would follow newspapers, news channels and a smal proportion of that - the online media. The other India's favorite media will be TV and cinema.

The political history in South India and in some North Indian states holds proof of the power that cinema (read media) holds on the masses. It has created matinee idols who rose to become their leaders(whether that benefited the masses is a different question).

Other media have also in their capacity been able to sway the minds of the people. Sting operations of Tehelka and other news channels have been the talk of the nation over the years. So, has been our People's President's website and social networking sites.

Now, my thought is this - why not use these media to educate the masses and there by uplift them?

Movie makers, rather than focusing on commercial viability of their movies should understand the social responsibility they hold. By this, i don't say that there shouldn't be any commercial movies - but, let each movie have some social message which are intertwined into the story so that they are absorbed by the audience gradually ( I agree, any out-right social movie will bomb at the box-office). If this happens, it will be a win-win situation for both the society and the film industry. It's a win for the film industry because there will be a significant rise in the standards of Indian movies; thereby bringing a better face value globally.

News media (including TV channels), over the past few years have been competing with cinema to provide masala content to the audience. If cinema is driven by box-office collections, news and TV media are driven by TRP ratings. As one politician aptly pointed out, "if a wife refuses to give coffee to her husband, it becomes breaking news".

Media should wake up to the reality of the power they wield and help in cleansing the society off the evils that plague our nation. As the nation watches them at any time of the day, as people think what media thinks, as people talk what the media wants them to talk, as people do what media wants them to do, media are nothing short of demi-gods. If they realise their power, they truly can become the messiah of the New India.

~ A concerned Indian

This is a 'scribbling'. Constructive criticism and views are appreciated!

Farewell

As time moves on...
So do we, chasing our dreams.
Through the journey, bonds are made...
Towards the final goal, they all tend to fade...


~ Arun KK

Did You Know??

1. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair

2. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times

3. The Eiffel Tower in Paris weighs over 1000 elephants

4. The greatest recorded number of children that have been born by one mother is 69! The poor lass gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and a measly 4 sets of quadruplets.

5. The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910

6. Hydrogen is an explosive gas. Oxygen supports combustion. Yet when these are combined it is water which is used to put out fires

7. Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave. Go on, try it then

8. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history.

   1. Spades - King David

   2. Hearts - Charlemagne

   3. Clubs - Alexander the Great

   4. Diamonds - Julius Caesar

9. Mexico City sinks about 10 inches a year

10. There are more people alive today than have ever died

11. Women's hair is about half the diameter of men's hair

12. The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum

13. Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise

14. Earth is the only planet not named after a pagan God

15. The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. It was the fashion in Renaissance Florence to shave them off

16. The total combined weight of the worlds ant population is heavier than the weight of the human population

17. Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible

18. Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon with his left foot first

19. Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

20. Bulls are color blind.

21. A cow's only sweat glands are in its nose.

22. Mosquitoes have 47 teeth.

23. The Poison Arrow frog has enough poison to kill 2,200 people.

24. Emus can't walk backwards

25. A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds

26. The giraffe has the highest blood pressure of any animal

27. A rat can go without water longer than a camel can

28. Napoleon was terrified of cats.

29. The Eiffel Tower has 1792 steps.

30. During World War II, IBM built the computers the Nazis used to manage their death/concentration camps.

31. Every drop of seawater contains approximately 1 billion gold atoms

32. Just about 3 people are born every second, and about 1.3333 people die every second. The result is about a 2 and 2/3 net increase of people every second. Almost 10 people more live on this Earth now, than before you finished reading this.

33. Tokyo has had 24 recorded instances of people either killed or
    receiving serious skull fractures while bowing to each other with the traditional Japanese greeting.

34. The term Cop comes from Constable on Patrol, which is a term used in England

35. There are only four words in the English language which end in '-dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous

36. There is about 200 times more gold in the world oceans, than has been mined in our entire history.

37. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death

38. The cockroach has a high resistance to radiation and is the creature most likely to survive a nuclear war

39. Eighteen per cent of all global carbon dioxide emissions are from cars

40. The number of cars on the planet is increasing three times faster than the population growth

41. At - 40 degrees Centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by breathing

42. Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.

43. A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death

44. The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.

45. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen

46. World Cup

Brazil last won the world cup in 1994. Before that they won it in 1970. Add 1970 and 1994, it equals 3964.

Germany last won in 1990. Before that they won in 1974. Add 1990 and 1974, it equals 3964.

Argentina last won the world cup in 1986. Before that they won it in 1978. Add 1978 and 1986, it equals 3964.

So going by this logic, The winner of the 2002 world cup is the same as the 3964 - 2002 = 1962 world cup. The 1962 world cup was won by Brazil. It was really Brazil who won!!! Going by this statistics, take 2006 World Cup. 3964 – 2006 = 1958. 1958 world cup was won by Brazil. What does this say?!

47. Upper and lower case letters are named 'upper' and 'lower', because in the time when al original print had to be set in individual letters, the 'upper case' letters were stored in the case on top of the case stored smaller, 'lower case' letters

48. It has been recommended by dentists that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet (two meters) away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush!

49. Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know your there

50. Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better

51. Sir Isaac Newton, who invented Calculus, had trouble with names to the point where he would forget his brothers' names.

52. The Eiffel Tower has 1792 steps

53. A German World War II submarine was sunk due to malfunction of the toilet.

54. It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs

55. Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second!

56. The average human produces 10,000 gallons of saliva in a lifetime.

57. The colder the room you sleep in, the better the chances are that you'll have a bad dream

58. The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger.

59. The human body is better suited to two four-hour sleep cycles than one eight-hour one

60. We are about 1 cm taller in the morning than in the evening. Layers of cartilage in the joints get compressed during the day.

61. Male mosquitoes are vegetarians. Only females bite.

62. Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old

63. It snowed in the Sahara Desert in February of 1979.

64. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing

65. Cats, camels and giraffes are the only animals in the world that walk right foot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot, left foot.

66. The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language

67. The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwe-nuakit natahu, a New Zealand hill.

68. The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosesl

69. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size,L.A.

70. Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

71. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand

72. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards

73. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."

74. The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

75. The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the Army for the General Purpose vehicle, GP

76. In ten minutes a hurricane releases more energy than all the world's nuclear weapons combined.

77. The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1

78. It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month," or what we know today as the honeymoon

79. The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as substitute for blood plasma

80. No piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times.

81. You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television

82. The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.

83. Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor.

84. Walt Disney was afraid of mice

85. Pearls melt in vinegar

86. Richard Milhouse Nixon was the first US president whose name contains all the letters found in the word "criminal."
    ......................>>> The second ? William Jefferson Clinton !

87. Rupee is the sixth most common currency name after Dollar, euro, pound, dinar and peso.

88. You can be imprisoned for not voting in Fiji, Chile and Egypt - at least in theory.

89. Kids in Mali spend only 2 years in school. More than half of them start working between the ages of 10 and 14

90. Japan has 53 working nuclear reactors and is planning to build another 12

91. Nepal’s flag is the only one in the world that isn't square or rectangular.

92. Indians go out to the movies 3 billion times a year - much more than any other nation.

93. The United States has the world's highest marriage rate - as well as the world's highest divorce rate

94. Many Americans live alone - the United States leads the world in one person households

95. American planes take-off a staggering 8.5 million times per year - almost half the number of take-offs worldwide.

96. More than a third of the world's airports are in the United States of America

97. Thimpu Bhutan is the only world capital without traffic lights.

98. To take an oath, ancient Romans put a hand on their testicles&thats where the word testimony comes from

99. The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 ft.

It takes 100 pounds of rain water to produce a single pound of food from the earth

100. 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the direction of the bubbles

101. Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

102. In 1500s, houses in Europe had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slimy & slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying “It’s raining cats and dogs.”

103. In the 16^th century, in cold countries, most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

104. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway to prevent them slipping out. Hence the saying a “thresh hold.”

105. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a “wake” when a person dies.

106. The ancient Egyptians recommended mixing half an onion with beer foam as a way of warding off death

107. For hundreds of years, the Chinese zealously guarded the secret of sericulture; imperial law decreed death by torture to those who disclosed how to make silk.

108. The English-language alphabet originally had only 24 letters. One missing letter was J, which was the last letter to be added to the alphabet. The other latecomer to the alphabet was U.

109. "Fan" is an abbreviation for the word "fanatic." Toward the turn of the 19th century, various media referred to football enthusiasts first as "football fanatics," and later as a "football fan."

110. OK stands for oll korrect, a misspelling of all correct.

111. Ostriches can run faster than horses, and the males can roar like lions

112. The porpoise is second to man as the most intelligent animal on the planet

113. You can tell the sex of a horse by its teeth. Most males have 40, females have 36

114. Snakes who have the genetic mutation of having been born with two heads have a hard time eating, because the two heads generally fight over which gets the food

115. All shrimps(shrimp is a spider-like insect that lives in salt and fresh water) are born male, but slowly grow into females as they mature

116. Giraffes can’t cough

117. Elephants can smell water from as far as 3 miles away.

118. Snakes don’t bite in rivers or swamps because they would drown if they did

119. The oyster is usually ambisexual. Through its life it will change from male to female and back again numerous times

120. A crocodile really does produce tears, but they're not due to sadness. The tears are glandular secretions that work to expel excess salt from the eyes. Hence, "crocodile tears" are false tears.

121. Giraffes are the only animals born with horns. Both males and females are born with bony knobs on the forehead.

122. The Earth's atmosphere weighs about 5.5 quadrillion tons.

123. The most productive day of the workweek is Tuesday.

124. Some asteroids have other asteroids orbiting them.

125. Most dreams last only 5 to 20 minutes.

126. People with blue eyes are better able to see in the dark.

127. During your lifetime, you'll eat about 60,000 pounds of food, that's the weight of about 6 elephants.

128. The Statue of Liberty is a lighthouse.

129. US President George W. Bush and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner are cousins

130. At 120 miles per hour, a Formula One car generates so much downforce that it can drive upside down on the roof of a tunnel.

131. The typical spec of dust that you see floating in the air is half way in size between the Earth and a subatomic particle.

132. Only female bees work.

133. Albert Einstein never wore any socks.

134. Statistics say that 85% of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased by women!!!!!

135. Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts

136. There is a city called Rome on every continent

137. How does a shark find fish? It can hear their hearts beating.

138. Even Antarctica has an area code. It’s 672.

139. Leather skin does not have any smell. The leather smell that you sense is actually derived from the materials used in the tanning process.

140. Eagles mate while airborne.

141. In Ancient Greece, if a woman watched even one Olympic event, she was executed

142. Dragonflies have six legs but cannot walk!

143. Each day, up to 150 species of life become extinct.

144. All of the Earth's continents are wider at the north than in the south - and nobody knows why.

145. More boys than girls are born during the day; more girls are born at night. Now, that’s interesting!!!

146. Yahoo! was originally called 'Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web'.

147. Your skeleton keeps growing until you are about 35, then it start shrinking.

148. When a giraffe's baby is born it falls from a height of six feet, normally without being hurt.

149. The lens of the eye continues to grow throughout a person's life.

150. Ants don’t sleep

151. When young and impoverished, Pablo Picasso kept warm by burning his own paintings.

152. Children laugh about 400 times a day, while adults laugh on average only 15 times a day.

153. Penguins can convert salt water into fresh water. Wow!! Let’s recruit them!!

154. The placement of a donkey's eyes in its heads enables it to see all four feet at all times.

155. More than 20 million meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere every day.

156. President Bush and Saddam Hussein both have their shoes made by the same Italian shoemaker!

157. In many countries, urine was used as a detergent for washing.

158. Goldfish remember better in cold water than warm water.

159. An albatross can sleep while it flies!

160. Apple seeds are harmful for health!

161. A hen will lay bigger and stronger eggs if you change the lighting in such a way as to make them think a day is 28 hours long!

162. Take your height and divide by eight. That’s how “tall” your head is.

163. By recycling just one glass bottle, the amount of energy that is being saved is enough to light a 100 watt bulb for four hours

164. February 1865 is the only month in recorded history to not have a full moon.

165. Young children can entirely re-grow lost fingertips above the top joint, including the bone, skin and nail!

166. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

167. The venom of the king cobra is so deadly that just one gram of it can kill 150 people.

168. Out of all the senses, smell is most closely linked to memory.

169. A spider's silk is stronger than steel.

170. A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime

171. Girls have more taste buds than boys.

172. Cold water weighs more than hot water.

173. The heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood each day!

174. Blue eyes are the most sensitive to light, dark brown the least sensitive.

175. Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors.

176. The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene.

177. In an average lifetime a person will walk the equivalent of three times around the world.

178. The first domain name ever registered was Symbolics.com.

179. In what country will you find the most Universities? India

180. There are three golf balls sitting on the moon.

181. A completely blind chameleon will still take on the colors of its environment.

182. The first product that Sony came up with was a Rice cooker

183. Birds chew with their stomach

184. Bananas aren’t fruit! They are a type of herb.

185. In a normal human’s life time, the heart beats about 2.5 billion times

186. Babies start dreaming even before they're born.

187. A sneeze can travel as fast as 100 miles per hour

188. Microsoft made just $16,005 in revenue in its first year of operation.

189. During his or her lifetime, the average human will grow 590 miles of hair.

190. All clams (a kind of aquatic invertebrates) start out as males; some decide to become females at some point in their lives.

191. A queen bee uses her stinger only to sting another queen bee

192. The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing

193. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket

194. The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid

195. There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."

196. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance

197. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

198. Butterflies taste with their feet

199. Colgate toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns

200. Michael Jackson owns the rights to the South Carolina State anthem

201. Most hospitals make money by selling the umbilical cords cut from women who give birth. They are used in vein transplant surgery.

202. In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms.
     
     Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs" therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg".

203. Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was considered important to the people.
     
     Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns.
     
     Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there". The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion, and thus we have the term "gossip".

204. Disney was once sued because a child noticed that in one scene, flying leaves spelled out the word ''Sex.'' (You will find a similar argument in The Da Vinci Code book also.)

205. It took Leonardo da Vinci 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips

206. Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a space suit damages them.

209. Ever wonder where the word SHIT comes from? Well here it is:

Certain types of manure used to be transported (as everything was years ago) by ship. In dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas.

As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!

Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was discovered what was happening. After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "S.H.I.T" on them which meant to the sailors to "Ship High In Transit."

In other words, high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.

Bet you didn't know the history of that word.

Neither did I.

207. 
     

208. To protect their eyes from blowing sand, camels have three sets of eyelids

209. If all the gold suspended in the earth's oceans was "mined", there would be enough for every person on earth to receive 9 pounds!

210. During the 13th century, the word girl meant any young person, whether male or female

211. In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.... and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

212. The nursery rhyme Ring Around the Rosey (Ring – a – Ring – a- Roses ) is a rhyme about the bubonic plague. Infected people with the plague would get red circular sores (Ring around the Rosey...). These sores would smell very bad so people would hide flowers on their bodies in an attempt to mask the smell ("pocket full of posies..."). People who died from the plague would be burned to reduce the spread of the disease ("ashes, ashes, we all fall down").

213. Two-thirds of the world's executions occur in China.

214. There are 22 countries where more than half the population is illiterate. Fifteen of them are in Africa.

215. Finland is the least corrupt nation in the world

216. Champagne was accidentally discovered by a17th century French monk -Dom Perignon

217. The Pentagon has 17.5 miles of corridors

218. The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is the driest place on earth

219. Rain travels approximately 8mph hour

220. Bulls can run faster uphill than they can downhill

221. It took 10 years to build the Panama Canal

222. The word "coffee" was once a term for wine

223. The coast redwood is the tallest living thing on our planet and stands up to 250 feet tall

224. About 70% of the world's fresh water is stored as glacial ice

225. Lightning strikes the earth about 6000 times each minute. Only about 10% of the lightning bolts strike the oceans

226. Rocks called pumice are created during a volcanic eruption and these rocks can float

227. The Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood( probably due to scarcity of metal)

228. To create elements heavier than iron requires the energy from a supernova

229. The word abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order

230. A giraffe's tongue is 18 to 20 inches long and black

231. The word Taxi is spelled the same in English, German, French, Swedish, Dutch and Portuguese languages

232. The only country in the world that has a Bill of Rights for Cows is India

233. In a competition, Alfred Wolfram from New Brighton kissed 8001 people in just 8 hours

234. Ancient Egyptians didn't kissed with their mouths. Instead they kissed with their noses

235. Airbags explode at the speed of 200 miles (322 km) per hour

236. The time system in Ethiopia is different than the rest of the world. 6 am is the start of the day. The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months

237. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana in 800 BC, India

238. The world's first known University was established in Takshashila, India in 700BC

239. Sanskrit is the mother of all the european languages*

240. Starfish has no brain

241. There is no sound in space

242. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave

243. The longest station name on the Indian Railways is Venkatanarasimharajuvariapeta

244. Giovanni Vigliotto was married to 104 women in 14 different countries

245. The only city in the world located on two continents is Istanbul( located in both Asia and Europe

246. The highest cricket ground in the world is Chail in Himachal Pradesh, India

247. The cricket player Don Bradman got his nickname Goldie because of the colour of his hair

248. When glass breaks the cracks will reach speeds up to 3000 miles/4827 km per hour

249. The skin is the largest organ in Your body

250. An office chair with wheels travels about 7-8 miles each year

251. At funerals Chinese people sometimes burn paper-money so that the dead person will be rich in the after-life

252. Of all cities in the world Hong Kong has the highest percent of millionaires per square mile

253. Venus is the hottest planet even though Mercury is closer to the sun( this is because 85% of Venus atmosphere contains carbon-dioxide and CO2 is a green house gas)

254. Every day is a holiday somewhere in the world

255. All planets in our solar system orbit the sun in the same direction

256. Chinese used to fly manned kites

257. About 13% of people are left-handed

258. Once you swallow your food, it takes about 8 - 10 seconds for food to travel down the food pipe.

259. The best badminton shuttles are made from the feathers taken from the left wing of a goose

260. The Romans used olive oil to smoothen their skin

261. There are 80 entrances to the Colosseum in Rome

262. Tennis was originally played with bare hands

263. If You run during rain You will get about 10% less wet

264. French Fries are not French they are originally from Belgium

265. The highest hotel in the world is Everest View Hotel, located in Nepal at an altitude of 3800m

266. The name Singapore is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Singapura' which means Lion City

267. According to Guinness, the longest recorded bout of hiccups lasted for 65 years

268. Asian hair grows faster than African or European hair

269. At the same thickness hair is strong as a wire of iron

270. The Taj Mahal was in the 1830s scheduled to be torn down

271. An egg contain all vitamin except for the vitamin c

272. An egg is a single cell

273. In Fahrenheit scale and the Celsius scale 40 degrees below zero is the same

274. You can't sneeze while sleeping

275. A mother hen turns over her egg about 50 times each day

276. Fanta was originally made from byproducts of cheese and jam

277. The unit 'foot' was originally the length of a human foot(12 inches)

278. Coca-Cola was originally marketed for medical use

279. Apples will melt in very hot weather

280. The inch represents the width of a thumb

281. A linesman are estimate to run about 4 miles during a soccer game

282. Onions help reduce cholesterol if eaten after a fatty meal.

283. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the
     sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting

284. Charles Dickens used to touch everything thrice for luck

285. The blood hound (a breed of dog) is the only animal whose evidence is admissible in an American court

286. The people of Iceland read more books per capita than any other people in the world

287. Shakespeare has used 29,000 different words in his plays

288. A miniature of the Statue of Liberty is in Paris, France

289. The internal structure design and framework of the Statue of Liberty was done by Gustave Eiffel, the designer of Eiffel Tower.

290. The Statue of Liberty was infact ordered by the King of Egypt. He had even done the advance payment. Later, the king deemed the project too expensive and cancelled the order. France doesn’t want to waster the sculpture. So, they completed it and gifted it to USA which was celebrating its centennial in 1876

291. The human eye communicates with the brain at about 10Mb/s( comparable to the speed of an Ethernet connection)

292. Mozart wrote “Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars” when he was 5 years old.

293. An average person knows 5000 words in English. John Milton used 8000 words in his epic “Paradise Lost”

294. The saying "lightning never strikes twice in the same place" is false. The Empire State Building is struck by lightning on average 100 times each year, and was once struck 15 times in 15 minutes

295. During the late 18^th century, the Russian ambassador to Poland wielded more power than the king of Poland or the Parliament

296. There are about 30 countries in the world with Internet penetration of less than 1%

297. Tiny plants, that live in the sea, called plankton, produce nearly three

quarters of the earth’s oxygen.

298. The brain accounts ± 3% of body weight but it uses about 15% of the body's

blood supply.

299. The fastest boat was the Blue Bird driven at 328 mph by Donald Campbell in

1967.It reached this speed on the run in which it crashed-killing its

driver.

300. Animals show a wide difference in the speed at which they can travel.

Snail: 1 mm per second Cheetah: 26 m per second Race horse: 18 m per

second Man: 8 m per second

301. Some seaweed has a bright colour to warn animals of its nasty taste.

302. A comet consists mostly of ice mixed with dust.

303. The dinosaur noises in Jurassic Park come from elephants, geese and horses

304. slowed down.

305. A caterpillar has twelve eyes.

306. The colour of a lobster's blood is blue.

307. A large kangaroo can jump up to 9 metres at a single bound.

308. The maximum speed of a human heart is 220 beats per minute.

309. One ostrich egg is the equivalent of 24 chicken eggs.

310. Goldfish lose their colour in running water.

311. Lightning can have temperatures of up to 30 000°C.

312. 99 % of Antarctica's land mass is covered in ice and that represents nine-tenths of all the ice in the world.

313. The coldest place in the Earth's lower atmosphere is usually not over the North or South Poles, as you might expect, but over the Equator. The tropopause (the boundary between the two lowest layers of the Atmosphere) varies in height from an average of only 9 km above the two poles to 18 km above the Equator. Air temperature steadily decreases right up to the top of the tropopause. Thus, temperatures often fall as low as -80 degrees Celsius above the Equator, whereas over the North and South Poles they rarely fall below -55 degrees Celsius.

314. The first solar system was discovered by the Egyptians.

315. When common eels lay their eggs, they die.

316. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds.

317. Polaris, a yellowish super giant which is nearly fifty times larger than sun. It is moving at three quarters of a degree away from sun. will be closest to earth at 2100.