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  Amazing Facts About Mermaids

  ​Amazing Facts About Mermaids​Mermaids are mythological beings known as hybrids. Hybrids have bodies partly like humans, and partly as one or more animals. Other famous hybrids are the Sphinx (head of a woman, wings of an eagle, the body and paws of a lion, a tail by serpent), Minotaur (a head of a bull, the rest of the body by a man), centaurs (upper bodies of humans, lower body with legs by horses), satyrs (males with ears and tail by horses who were later transformed into hybrids with characteristics of goats), ...While we can easily put mermaids among them as hybrids with the upper bodies of women and lower bodies of fish, their looks and history are actually a bit more complicated. This is why we collected a list of interesting facts about mermaids!The oldest predecessor of today's perception of mermaids is the old Syrian goddess Atargatis, the goddess of fertility, water, and the moon. She was a protector of Hierapolis (today Manbij), worshipped about three to four thousand years ago. She was portrayed with a woman's face and body of a fish but also anthropomorphized - looking like a woman (including body and legs) but with a fishtail.Scylla by John FlaxmanEven closer is maybe Scylla, an Etruscan sea goddess, worshipped at the height of their civilization which lasted from the ninth century BC to the one century BC. She has the upper part like a woman, lower like a fish (with two tails), and two or three dogs (!) protruding from her waist covered by scales. The most famous description of Scylla is by Homer in Odyssey, where she has more heads and eats six of his sailors when the ship passes between Scylla and Charybdis.Homer also writes about sirens. A siren is another hybrid creature: a woman with the wings and legs of the bird. Their song lures seamen into water and death. A loud noise-making device, invented in the 19th century is called a siren after mythological sirens. Both connect sound and danger.Painters portrayed sirens as hybrids of women and birds for centuries but around the 9th century more and more replaced bird parts with fish parts and today most people use the terms mermaids and sirens interchangeably.Virtually every nation has some kind of diet related to mermaids. These are mainly water spirits, sometimes looking like women but able to live underwater, sometimes inviting passengers or kidnapping kids playing too close to water. We can mention nixes from Central Europe, haffrue from Scandinavia, nereids from Greece, and rusalki from Slavic mythology. Great Britain knows selkie (still half woman but the lower part is closer to the seals. Some of such merwomen became water spirits when a mother committed suicide in the water or drowned her unwonted newborn. In many cases, merwomen have male partners (mermen), but, in general, they don't play as important roles in myths.Asia and Africa are homes of similar mermaids as well. In some cases they are very favorable to people, warning the sailors of bad weather or helping fishermen.Rhinemaidens by Arthur RackahmThere are several famous mermaids in world art:The Rhinemaidens live in the Rhein, German river, and are protectors of gold treasure. Richard Wagner made them famous in his Ring of Nibelung series.Melusine is a water spirit from France. She was cursed because she killed her father. She spent part of her life as a woman but on Saturdays, her lower part transferred into a snake's tail.Undine was a water spirit that became famous for Friedrich de la Motte Fouque's novella at the beginning of the 19th century. She fell in love with a man and doomed him when she found out about his infidelity.The Little Mermaid by Edmund DulacThe Little Mermaid is one of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, based on Undine with the author's autobiographical details. Disney changed her tragic character into a rebellious teenager.Mermaids have gone through many changes throughout their history and people's perceptions of them have changed. They are still immensely popular and there's even an international holiday dedicated to them. Every March 29th thousands of people gather in different places all over the world and throw mermaid-themed parties.Mermaid coloring page Whenever you see one, you'll always be enchanted!

  2024.06.11

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  Amazing Facts about Egss

  Eggs are not exclusive to birds only. The majority of lizards (including snakes and amphibians (including frogs lay eggs too. The same is true for insects, arachnids, and numerous other species. Even mammals start their lives inside eggs. They are just not laid but rather developed inside their mothers. In this articles we will focus on birds only. Especially chicken. Chicken eggs breathe. One eggshell can have more than 15 thousand pores. In general, the thickness of the eggshell is reciprocal to the age of the hen. Younger hens lay eggs with thicker shells. Brown eggs are on average more expensive than white ones but they are not any healthier. The reason for the higher cost is the fact that they are laid by hens of a bigger breed which eat more food to produce the same size of an egg. While everybody prefers more colorful egg yolks, the color doesn't necessarily have an impact on the quality or taste. The major ingredients that make eggs more or less healthy food are colorless and the ingredients which give the color to the yolk have no nutritional value. While vibrant orange yolk can be a sign of a carotenoid-rich diet, it can be also a consequence of the addition of synthetic additives. The color of the eggshell is determined by the breed of the bird. While white and brown eggs are in the majority, we can also find eggs (laid by hens) in all other colors, not to mention the variety of other aviary. Eggs are among the most healthy foods. They are the best source of protein (with extremely high efficiency of use due to easy digestibility), contain all essential amino acids (in perfect proportion), numerous minerals and microelements, are one of the rare natural foods containing vitamin D and rich with lutein (prevents eye cataracts) and choline (necessary for normal cell activity). The proportion of the proteins in yolks and whites is the same: 3 grams each for an average chicken egg. Whites have fewer calories but yolks are packed with other healthy ingredients, so it's best to eat both. Since 1996 World Egg Day has been celebrated every year on the second Friday in October as healthy and affordable food. There's a simple test to differentiate the raw and the cooked egg. Just spin it. Raw eggs will always wobble due to the liquid inside but the cooked eggs will spin evenly. Another test compares the freshness of eggs by sinking them into cold water. Fresh eggs will sink to the bottom of the jar but less fresh eggs where a larger pocket of air is already created, will float. The air pocket is the major contributor to the aging and perishing of the eggs. Their usability can be prolonged by putting them into a crate with a pointed end down which prevents the contact between the air pocket and the yolk. Lower temperatures will help even more . An egg ages in a refrigerator about five times slower than at room temperature. A hen can lay more than three hundred eggs per year. Older hens lay larger eggs. To prevent the yolk from sticking to the side, a hen turns her egg about 50 times per day. An average American eats 250 eggs per year. Ostrich lays the largest eggs. With an average weight of almost one and a half kilograms (three pounds), it's the smallest egg according to the size of the bird (up to 4% of the size of the bird). The relatively largest eggs are laid by Australian kiwis with up to 25% of the size of the bird. The largest egg laid by hen had a diameter of 23 cm (9 inches) kiwi Chicken eggs are preferred to duck or turkey eggs because the birds are smaller, occupy less space, lay more eggs, and are not so distracted when the eggs are taken from their nests. Many people still believe that eggs are a bit risky food due to their high cholesterol levels. That's simply not true. Numerous types of research proved the opposite: eating whole eggs (with yolk) will reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases and people who eat more eggs on average live longer. While eggs in Europe are generally sold on shells, American eggs should be refrigerated. The reason is that they are washed which removes a protective layer that prevents the entry of bacteria through the pores. Easter greeting card by Frances Brundage Old Pagans believed that an egg buried under the building's foundation drives away evil and that giving eggs to somebody means wishing him or her many kids. Easter greeting card by Gertrud Caspari Eggs have powerful symbolic meanings that differ from area to area, from era to era, but are always closely associated with fertility and life force. More: Symbolism of Eggs The first hollow chocolate egg was made by JS Fry & Sons in 1873 and they were first filled with creme exactly half a century later. Eggs made of porcelain, ivory, silver, and gold were already made before the end of the 19th century. But papier-mache-eggs came on the market at least one hundred years ago! The biggest Easter egg made of chocolate was made in Italy. It was more than 10 meters in height and weighed seven tons and two hundred kilograms.The most expensive eggs are Faberge's eggs made by the Russian royal family. They are made of gold and precious stones and designed by top artists. Their price varies but if one pops in the market it will definitely cost over 10 million dollars.

  2024.02.11

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  Interesting Facts about Snakes

  1. There are about 4000 thousand different species of snake divided into 30 different families.2. Snakes are reptiles just like lizards. All reptiles are ectothermic (the old and factually wrong term is cold-blooded) which means their body temperature is dependent on external sources.3. Only about 70% of snakes lay eggs. Others have live offspring. Especially colder climates where eggs would not survive low temperatures prefer live births.4. Snakes don't have eyelids. Their eyes are covered by a thin membrane for protection and can't be closed. Their sight is dichromatic (ours is trichromatic because we see three primary colors) and different species have different eye pigments, depending on living conditions. Snakes living in good light conditions have lenses that block UV light, and snakes hunting at night have lenses that allow more UV light.5. How snakes smell is still a bit of a mystery. We know they have a specialized part on the roof of the mouth called Jacobson's organ where the smelling is done and that most of the information is transported there with a snake's tongue. The role of nostrils is more vague. While they obviously use it for breathing, some odors are taken through the nostrils as well. Snake's tongues are split to help establish the direction of the smell.6. Snakes are very adaptable. We can find them in the Arctic Circle, high in the Himalayas, and deep below the sea level. A few islands managed to stay snake-free. The best-known example is probably Ireland where St. Patrick according to legend chased them away (scientists confirmed by studying fossils there were never snakes in Ireland).Credit 7. Snakes don't have eardrums. They hear through their bellies which are extremely sensitive to vibrations in the air and on the ground. Some of the snakes have infrared receptors which they use to locate warm-bodied animals.8. Snakes vary in size a lot. The smallest species like the Barbados thread snake measure just up to four inches while the record-breaking reticulated python can grow up to 15 meters. The heaviest snakes are anacondas which can reach up to 250 kg! The size of the snake defines the size of its prey. If it fits the snake's mouth it's good to go.9. While crawling is the signature sign for snakes, several species are good swimmers but some snakes can also fly! These are poisonous tree snakes living in Southeast Asia which actually glide from the branches with maneuvring and flattening their bodies to improve their gliding abilities.10. Snakes are often associated with death and rebirth due to their skin changing. A rod of Asclepius, an old Greek deity related to medicine and healing with a snake entwined around a stick is the best-known symbol of health care.11. There are about six hundred species of poisonous snakes with about two hundred being dangerous to men. Methodologies to compare the toxicity of snakes are different and pretty complicated but there is a consensus that the most venomous snake is Inland Taipan from Australia. The majority of the most poisonous snakes live in Australia but the most dangerous is probably black mamba from Africa. It's the fastest land snake able to achieve 20 km / h, very aggressive, and with a large quantity of poison extracted in one bite (such quantity can kill 20 men!). Another important fact is that black mambas always extract poison while most poisonous snakes have a large probability of so-called dry bites where poison (energetically demanding to create) is not injected into the victim.12. The extreme fear of snakes is called ophidiophobia or ophiophobia. Experts believe that fear of snakes is deeply ingrained in humans due to evolution because snakes (and reptiles) were the virtually only predators to mammals for a very long time.13. Snakes are present in virtually all world mythologies and there are many legends and fairy tales with snakes in important roles. The snake in the Garden of Eden is probably the most well-known of all. We can recognize it as an echo also in somehow surprising places like in the fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel. The scene where the kids come to the gingerbread house mimics the scene of temptation in the Garden of Eden with the children obviously as Adam and Eve, the witch as the snake, gingerbread as the apple, Hansel's reply to the witch's question is mimicking Adam's, the cage as the punishment as the expulsion from Paradise, etc.Credit14. Due to their special tubular structure snake's organs behave differently than most other animals. Paired organs like kidneys are not placed side by side but front and back, hearts can move through the body to avoid being damaged with swallowed pray and they can activate just some parts of the lungs while blocking others when, for instance, they are strangling their pray.15. Through evolution snake's lungs deformed. The left half is notably smaller or missing and has no role in the breathing process. Everything is done by the right part.16. All snakes are carnivorous predators. They play a crucial role in the balance of different ecosystems controlling the overpopulation of rodents, birds, insects, and other species, including snakes.17. Snakes were sometimes used as domestic animals in certain areas where they were welcomed against rodents and today they are pretty popular pets with hypoallergenic characteristics. Certain species, like pythons, are preferred to others. Especially liked are albino snakes with beautiful patterns on their skin which would not stand a chance in nature due to their poor chances for hiding.18. The lower bones of the snake's jaw are not connected which makes it possible to spread the mouth much wider and swallow the prey in one piece. Snakes don't chew and the largest are able to swallow a whole cow. Or a man! The ability to swallow extremely large meals can lead the snake into trouble - in some cases, the internal organs can be damaged or the belly ruptured.

  2024.01.29

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  Interesting Facts about Batik

  Batik very likely originated in Java (Indonesia). It's a place where all the raw materials are available from ancient times. These are cotton (another traditional material is silk), plants with vibrant and durable pigments, and beeswax. It is about 25 centuries old. Other locations where batik may be independently developed are Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, and Nigeria. Very old samples were also found in China, Egypt, and Turkey. The oldest Batik textile was discovered on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia.The word batik has Malayan and Javanese roots. It roughly translates to 'to dot' or 'to write'. Javanese word 'amba' means 'to write' and 'tik' means 'dot' ('titik' means 'repetition of dots').The main principle of making batik is divided into the next steps:melting waxapplying wax to white or colored fabric (must be washed in boiling water several times)wax is applied to the fabric by special toolsthe fabric is soaked into one or more dyesthe wax is removed by scratching or boilingsometimes vinegar is added to washing water to prevent fadingthe process is repeated until the desired pattern is finishedBatik is the national dress of Malaysia and parts of Indonesia. Both types of batik differ in colors and patterns. Due to its creative and spiritual value batik is often worn for generations, being passed from elders to their offspring.Beeswax is a traditional choice for batik. The best alternative is paraffin with some pros and cons. Different resins and fats can be also added to one or the other or to a combination of both. The recipes of some popular mixes are well-guarded secrets. Wax is useful just at the right temperature. Too cold will make clogs, and too hot will run out of the desired area.Hand-painted batik became popular only in the last quarter of the 20th century. It combines traditional techniques with modern art and is often used in art therapy.Apart from floral patterns and geometric designs, batik is decorated with animals, trees, scenes from traditional life, and different abstract patterns. Traditional colors of batik are blue, brown, and red. The oldest color is very likely blue, made of an Indigo plant.There are numerous popular motifs used for batik:Buketan is a floral motif with the addition of birds and butterflies and was developed during the Dutch colonial eraHokokai is another floral design that is a result of the Japanese occupation of Java during World War 2Kawung is a geometrical pattern based on palm leaves which was a favorite among royalties in the 18th centuryMega Mendung very likely evolved from patterns of clouds on textiles brought from China to West JavaParang is a geometric pattern made of lines similar to swords and is believed to have protective powersTruntum is a pattern made of light-colored stars on a darker background, traditionally popular at weddingsUlamsari Mas originates in Bali and is dominated by fish and shrimps, traditional food in the area(example of Mega Mendug Pattern)The colors of batik are much more durable than colors of painted or printed fabrics. The reason is the technology - batik demands complete immersion of the fabric into dye, which leads to much more absorbed pigment and lesser possibility of fading. High-quality densely woven textiles, used for batik, add to the quantity of absorbed pigment.Traditionally batik was used for dresses and tailord garments. Only recently it became popular in other areas, such as household linen, wall hangings, or paintings. There are two main techniques for making batik differing by the way of applying wax, with metal stamps called caps, or small tools, like brushes, pens, or strips for drawing patterns. The method with stamps (mostly made of copper) was developed later due to rising demands. It's faster and the end product is less costly.While some believe that batik was reserved for royalties only at first, others claim that batik is a traditional dress for the majority of the population and skillfulness in batik is one of the traditional skills (like cooking, for instance), expected from women before they married. Only in the 19th century when the technique with metal stamps was developed due high demand for batik the creation of it became interesting for males because stamps can be pretty heavy.Batik is part of UNESCO Cultural Heritage since 2009. It demands creativity, craftsmanship, meticulously, skillfulness, and time. This labor-intensive eco-friendly alternative to mass-produced textiles can demand from a few hours over a year for the creation of one single piece. Especially darker colors need a longer time of soaking, often exceeding a week with up to ten submerging per day to guarantee even distribution of pigment.All illustrations by Jessie Marion King

  2024.01.12

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  Interesting Facts About Traffic Signs

  Traffic signs are used to inform and warn all participants in traffic. Ancient Romans were the first who used traffic signs - milestones marking the distance of certain locations to Rome (and we all know 'All roads lead to Rome.'). These simple signs were practically the only traffic signs for many centuries. Additional signs informing about the direction of certain places and other informational signs were placed at crossroads and other important locations.Only after the Middle Ages when traffic improved (roughly after the discovery of America) the speed of traffic improved so much some kind of standardization was needed. But the earliest road signs (warnings about dangerous curves and steep hills were among the first) were still handmade, their dimensions varied, and colors and placements were not always logical, ... At the end of the 19th century different organizations related to the traffic were formed and they started different campaigns aiming at additional safety at more and more hectic traffic.Many steps were made before we came to this point where traffic signs are covered with illuminated plastic sheets and the construction of the pole and the sign is mounted on the slip base to diminish the possibility of injuries of drivers and passengers in the case of an accident.Here are some traffic signs by shapes:​RoundBicycles OnlyDirection Left OnlyNo Bicycles RoadNo Motor Vehicles RoadRoundabout Traffic​​OctagonStop​​DiamondPedestrian Crossing AheadRoad Narrows AheadRoad With PrioritySpeed Hump AheadTwo Way Traffic Ahead​​​​Triangle (upside down)Give Way (after 150 m)Triangle (equilateral)Loose Stones On The RoadPossible Road CuesWild AnimalWorkman AheadRectangularBike RouteEnd Of Motorway SectionEnd of Regulated HighwayNo Motorcycles And CarsPedestrian CrossingSlippery When Wet​Meaning of shapes:​round: warning, order, prohibitionoctagon: stopdiamond: caution, warningtriangle (upside down): cautiontriangle (equilateral): warning, dangerrectangular: information, regulationcrossbuck: railroad crossingoval: welcome​Meaning of colors:​red: stop, demand, prohibitblack and white: regulationyellow: warninggreen: guidanceorange: dangerbrown: recreation, culture​​blue: service, informationFeel free to check these conventions with generally accepted symbolic meanings of colors:Click HereA few fun facts about road and traffic signs:The first electric traffic sign was installed on August 5, 1914, in Cleveland Ohio. It was not the first attempt to control traffic with lights. They tried that in London already in 1860s but it was powered by gas and exploded very soon.The first electric traffic signs had only green and red lights. Yellow as a warning was added only in 1920 in Detroit.There is at least one scientific evidence to prefer a red light for the stop sign. It has the longest wavelength which means it can be seen from a farther distance giving the driver the earliest possible signal to use the breaks.It's hard to say what the traffic lights of the future will look like. There are several experimental systems in use already. One is displaying news while the lights are red, trying to keep the attention of the drivers on the road, not on their smartphones. There are also apps that are trying to communicate with smart systems in cars, informing drivers about the speed needed to avoid a red light at the next crossroad.Did you know?The line at the middle of the road, dividing the road for the traffic in opposite directions was inspired by a milk wagon leaking milk and leaving a trail, seen by Edward N. Hines (1870-1938). One of his other innovations was snow removal from public roads.Carmel, Indiana, USA, replaced the majority of their traffic signs with roundabouts. Maintenance costs are now lower up to 180,000 US dollars per year, traffic accidents down by 40 %, and fatal accidents by 90 %.Michael O’Leary, a millionaire, and CEO of airline Ryanair, established his own taxicab company to get legal permission to use bus lines, thus avoiding traffic jams. This company has just one cab so he can legally use one car only - to drive Michael O'Leary. Rich Russians are using a similar trick - they hire fake ambulance cars costing several hundred dollars per hour.Right-hand traffic was introduced to Continental Europe by Napoleon. There were two reasons for that: to annul already established left-hand traffic which was seen as too aristocratic, and to avoid sword fighting on horseback.Finland calculates traffic fines according to available data on the income of the rule-breaker. This led to a more than 100 thousand dollar fine for a Nokia CEO who was speeding at 75 km per h in a 30 km per h zone.​​

  2023.10.07

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  Amazing Facts About Frogs

  1. There are almost five thousand known species of frogs. Toads are included. Biologists don't really treat them differently. They all belong to the same group of animals.2. Frogs don't drink! They absorb all needed moisture through the skin. 3. Several species of frogs have so translucent skin you can see their internal organs. They're called glass frogs. 4. Paedophryne amauensis is a frog species that grows only up to 0.8 cm which makes it the world's smallest known vertebrate 5. Trichobatrachus robustus is sometimes called the horror frog. It owns its name to its hairy (!) body and ability to break its own bones and stick them out of the skin to shock the enemy. It's able to retract the bones later and completely heal the wounds.6. Only 5 cm long golden poison dart frog (Phylobates terribilis) possesses enough poison to kill up to 20 adult men. 7. Waxy monkey tree frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii) produces a mix of alkaloids with narcotic power forty times stronger than morphine. Native Indians in Peru used this skin excretion called sapo before hunting or going on the warpath because it is an extremely powerful pain killer. It also suppresses hunger, thirst, and tiredness, intensifying the sensitivity of the senses, and increasing physical strength at the same time Medicine is still trying to find a way to safely introduce it in pharmacies, but owners of racehorses already abuse it.8. Frogs, especially their legs, are popular in several world cuisines. The rising demand put frogs on the list of endangered species in many countries, and many are already extinct, due to intensive hunting the natural balance and agriculture in many parts of the world were ruined, but frog farming introduced new problems - escaped animals became invasive species in new environments. 9. Most frogs are able to jump about twenty lengths of their bodies (for a human that would be more than thirty meters!) and some frogs living in the trees are also successful gliders being able to glide up to fifteen meters from the starting point.10. Suriname toad (Pipa pipa) has a unique way of reproduction. A female lays eggs in batches of three to ten. These eggs are caught in the holes on their backs where tadpoles hatch and grow up to the fully developed toad stage. 11 There are also species of frogs that carry the fertilized eggs in their stomachs until tadpoles hatch and are then carried up to another two months - to jump out of the adult's mouth as fully developed frogs.12. Each frog species has its own specific sound Some are croaking, others barking, chirping, clucking, whistling, ... 13. The common coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) is the loudest known frog. With a call reaching one hundred decibels, it equals the sound of the power lawn mower The coqui frog is one of the symbols of Puerto Rico.14. Frogs are extremely elastic and squishy animals capable of urinating out (!) a radio transmitter of a quarter of their length stabbed in their backs in a matter of a few days. It looks the evolution forced them to learn how to get rid of any foreign object out of the organism in order to survive. 15. Many frogs have extremely powerful tongues, being able to build forces up to two times bigger than their own weight. Imagine being able to catch and pull a 150 kg pig with the sheer power of your tongue!16. Holy Cross frog (Notaden bennettii) from Australian deserts produces the strongest non-toxic glue in the world. They spend nine months of the year underground. When it rains they come to the surface and numerous insects try to bite them. But they are trapped on the skin which is later shredded to provide a tasty and nutritious meal to the frogs. 17. Torrent frogs (Odorrana tormota) are able to communicate with each other on a chosen frequency (including ultrasound) being able to hear whatever they want no matter how much noise is in their surrounding. They also use the sound or locate possible mating opportunities.18. Australian green tree frogs (Litoria caerulea) are able to live in deserts where there is no rain for months. They hide in hollow trees during the days, leaving them in the colder nights when they collect condensed water from the air which is drunk through their skin. 19. Frogs are the only vertebrates immune to mosquito bites thanks to special repellents produced on their skin. Unfortunately, these repellents are too stinky to use among humans but there is still hope to find a way in the foreseeing future. 20 . Every year when a frog goes into hibernation a new layer of calcium sheath is formed around the bones. You can count these to find the frog's age just like you can count the tree rings to find the age of a tree. 21. Frogs in captivity can live up to 20 years.22. Frogs regularly shed their skin. Most of them do that once per week and some even each single day! After that, they usually eat it.23. Frogs swallow with the power of their eye muscles. When they catch prey in their mouths, they retract their eyes and push the food into their stomachs! 24. The eyes of the frogs have usually excellent night vision. They are able to see in all ways at the same time - front, back, and both sides.25. There is a frog in Indonesia (Barbourula kalimantanensis) that breathes through its skin only. It has no lungs!26. While most frogs just lay their eggs and leave them, some are actually very devoted parents. The male of the strawberry dart frog species guards the eggs and regularly waters them to keep the amount of moisture in safety measures.27. The biggest frog in the world is the Goliath frog. It lives in West Africa and weighs up to three kg. 28. The world's smelliest frog is the Venezuelan skunk frog (Aromabates nocturnus) which produces the same compound as skunks. 29. Frogs have been around for at least two hundred million years. They lived before dinosaurs, they survived them but are thanks to the human race more endangered than ever before.30. The wood frog living in the Arctic Circle uses glucose in its blood as an antifreeze to survive even when up to two-thirds of its body is frozen.31. While most frogs live in fresh water some species adapted to live in areas with salty waters as well. 32. Their amazing transformations, adaptability, and fertility earned frogs many places in stories, myths, fables, and fairy tales all over the world.The most known of all is probably Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm. 33. Thanks to the close connection of frogs with water, life, and fertility they are widely considered as a sign of good luck and a popular motif on talismans.34. A dream about the frog should always be explained in the context of the dream and the dreamer, but in most cases predicts important changes. Dreaming about frogs when you are in a serious relationship often means disappointment, cheating, or a similar unpleasant event in your love. The bigger the frog, the bigger the problem or obstacle to solve or overcome. But if a frog is in the grass, it can mean you are about to meet somebody new and this person will soon become very important in your life. If you are dreaming about catching the frog, this may be a sign of illness, but if you are eating the frog, something good, probably in the field of finance, awaits you in the near future.

  2023.09.17

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  Amazing facts about number seven

  * Seven is often considered a lucky number. There is no unique explanation for this. In Japan, for instance, there are seven gods of fortune in folklore. Buddhists celebrate the seventh day after birth and July 7th is celebrated as a special holiday. An old game called Hazard, played with two dice, is based on bets among which the sum of seven points on both dice has a special place. The sum of points of the opposite sides on every dice is also always seven (1+6, 2 +5, or 3+4). The highest probability in a throw of two dice is to get the number seven. Of course, a lot of slot machines show the winning combination as a sequence of number seven. * Eden Hazard, a popular Belgian striker in soccer wears number seven - thus being faithful to his surname.* Ancient people in different environments observed the moon cycles which lasted 28 days. If they are divided into four equal parts (each phase of the moon: new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter), we get to number seven which is the number of days in the week. Many cultures named the days of the week by gods or planets (there were exactly seven known planets in antique if we include the Sun and Moon): Sun - Sunday, Moon - Monday, etc.As we can see in the table above, the deities gave the names to specific names of the week. simply called by their position in the week (for instance in Slovenia: Cetrtek - the fourth day, Petek, the sixth day), but that leads to even more variations with different starting points (sometimes the week is started with Monday, sometimes with Sunday ). Through many years and misinterpretations, we got what we got now. By the way, in our calendar, there are seven months with the maximum number (31) days. This includes the seventh month - July. credit: https://frances-brundage.weebly.com/voyage-of-columbus.html* Pitagora proclaimed the number seven as a number of perfection (a sum of a triangle and a square) and his followers spread the idea so successfully that people started to group many natural phenomena and other stuff by seven. natural wonders, seven ancient world wonders, seven steps in the musical scale, and seven colors in the rainbow (Newton proposed five at first but as a die-hard fan of Pitagora added orange and indigo later). In medieval times they also still believed there were seven planets and they were familiar with exactly seven (!) different metals. * There are seven rows in the periodic table. There are also seven columns plus one with noble gases (which by definition hardly make any impact in chemistry reactions). The pH scale of acidity/alkalinity is based on the number seven - 0 for most acidic, 14 for most alkaline substances, and seven for neutral value (like pure water).* Number seven is very important in Christianity. The world was created in six days and the seventh was for resting. , seven joys and seven sorrows of the Virgin Mary, Seven is seen as a union of the Holy Trinity with four corners of the Earth We can probably all recall the story about seven fat cows who were eaten by seven ugly skinny cows (Pharaoh and Joseph). In the Book of Revelation, we can find angels, seven churches, seven seals, seven stars, seven trumpets,. ..). The Bible is originally divided into seven sections:The LawThe ProphetsThe Writings and PsalmsThe Gospels and ActsThe General EpistlesThe Epistles of PaulThe Book of RevelationOther religions put great importance on the number seven as well: seven heavens are mentioned in several major religions, and there are also seven levels of hell according to Dante. A similar concept is known from Hinduism. Muslim Pilgrims walk around Mecca seven times. , by the way again: the total of books in the Bible is 7 times 7. 7 x 7 = 49. * Many cultures share stories about the magic powers of the seventh son of the seventh son. established on seven hills and is called Eternal City?* Mathematician Alex Bellos organized a poll about favorite numbers among people on the web. All numbers were available but almost half of all participants (44 thousand approximately) chose numbers between 1 and 10. Seven was the indisputable winner with about 10 percent of participants proclaiming it as their favorite. He interprets the success of seven through its uniqueness and gives the next example: All numbers between 1 and 10 can be divided or doubled except seven: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 can be doubled (and the result stays within the group of 10) 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 can be divided by 2, 9 with 3, and 5 and 10 with 5 (10 also with 10) 7 is unique in the g roup* The seventh day of every Chinese Year is known as “All Men's Day”. This is the day when everybody celebrates his birthday no matter when he or she was really born, sharing the birthday spirit with everybody else!* Just like Isaac Newton many others found a way to group similar things by seven, even if that meant changing the rules according to new discoveries. Seven continents or seven seas are just two examples of such doing.* Number seven is very important in the Harry Potter series (consisting of seven books, of course) too:There are seven Weasley kids,Harry has to destroy seven Horcruxes,Hogwarts has seven floors and you need to study for seven years to become a certified magician,Ministry of Magic has seven levels,For a Quidditch, you need seven players,etc. * Fairy tales are particularly fond of the number seven:There are seven dwarfs in the story of Snow White.We have all heard about Wolf and Seven Kids.credit: https://childrensandhouseholdtales.wordpress.com/2019/08/15/wolf-and-seven-kids/The Brave Little Tailor is sometimes titled Seven at One Blow (he killed seven flies on his bread).Seven Ravens is another, although less known fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm.Sinbad finished seven voyages.We are familiar with seven-league boots too...* Seven objects is the highest number a human mind can recognize and remember without rouping them or otherwise using mnemonic techniques. This memory working capacity, known from 1956 (Harvard University's Department of Psychology) is probably related to the number of so-called short- memory chunks.Later experiments showed there is no fixed number of chunks even if we consider the effect of aging and different distractions. * It is a widely accepted fact that cells in our bodies are completely replaced within every seven years.Skin is made of seven * Widely accepted psychological theory claims there are seven stages of grief :ShockDenialBargainingGuiltAngerDepressionAcceptance* Some teachers of creative writing believe there are exactly seven basic plots and each good story needs to have seven character types (although there could be more than one type in a specific character, who can, for instance, play the role of the protagonist and * You'll always get the same indefinitely repeating sequence: 142857, no matter which integer you divide with seven: 1 1 : 7 = 0,142857142857142857... 2 : 7 = 0,285714285714285714... 3: 7 = 0,428571428571428571 ... etc. (except for multiples of 7) 15: 7 = 2,142857142857142857... 16: 7 = 2,285714285714285714... 17: 7 = 2,428571428571428 57... etc.* It's believed the loving feelings in the couple vanish after seven years. Psychologists call it a 7-year itch. It's believed the occurrence of infidelity in marriages really significantly rises after the seventh year of marriage.

  2023.09.08

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  Amazing Facts About Puerto Rico

  Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 19, 1493. It was his second of four expeditions to America.One of the ships, discovering today's Puerto Rico (named after rich resources, especially gold, and obviously a port), was called San Juan. San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico, its largest and most populous city, the second oldest city in America established by Europeans (after Cumana, Venezuela), and also the world's busiest ship port.Puerto Rico is not a country in the classic sense. Officially it's an unimported territory of the United States of America with the full name Free Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. There were several referendums about the political status of Puerto Rico in the last decades and the option of becoming one of the US states was always rejected. Tourists need to obtain a similar visa to visit Puerto Rico as if they would visit the USA.Puerto Rico became part of the US after the treaty ending the American-Spanish war in 1898. Before that USA unsuccessfully tried to buy Puerto Rico from Spain for 120 million dollars.Noche de San Juan is held every June 24 in honor of the patron saint of the city (St. John the Baptist). Millions of people enter the sea at midnight and dunk their heads seven times in a row.Puerto Rico has the only tropical forest without snakes. It's also the only tropical forest on the list of the US Forest Service.The largest rum distillery in the world (Bacardi) is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There are more than 40 other brands of rum on the island. Pina Colada was officially invented in the hotel Hilton in San Juan.Barceloneta, a municipality in Puerto Rico has so clean water it needs almost no treatment for use in pharmacy. Consequently, there's the largest pharmaceutical complex with 14 industries in the world. Other interesting characteristics of Barceloneta are huge pineapple plantations and blue sand beaches.Puerto Ricans pay no income tax.The official currency of Puerto Rico is the American dollar. But they call it the peso or dollar.Cock fighting is a legal (and very popular) sport in Puerto Rico.The leatherback sea turtle, the largest known reptile, lives in Puerto Rico.The first winner at the Academy Awards (Oscars) was not American, but Puerto Rican: Rita Moreno. Five Puerto Ricans won the title of Miss Universe so far.Playa Quique Bravo in Rincon is known as the best beach for surfing in the world.Among the biggest tourist attractions of Puerto Rico are numerous caves (about two hundred altogether), made by one of the largest underground rivers in the world. Speleologists believe only about 20 percent of all caves are already discovered.Another top attraction is a 100-foot waterfall Salta (sometimes Chorro) de Dona Juana, a cascade, composed of three connected waterfalls with a pool at the bottom where visitors can swim. It's pretty easy to climb up to the top with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains.There are no native mammals in Puerto Rico. All are 'imported' from other countries. There was a barkless dog living in this area (already recorded by Columbus) but is extinct today.

  2023.08.21

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  Amazing and Fun Facts about the Month of July

  1. The month of July got its name after Julius Caesar in the year 46 BC. He died two years before and the Roman senate decided to name then the fifth month in the calendar (then with ten months), then named Quintilis (he was born on the 12th or the 13th of Quintilis) in his honor. Caesar and Senators by Karl Theodor von PilotyJulius Caesar was not only a legendary general and statesman but also changed the calendar from a more confusing calendar with a so-called intercalary month to now still used calendar with 365 days and one leap day every four years. February at the beginning of the year Another change was the addition of ten days to the 355 days long Roman calendar, which made all twelve months long as they are still today.2. July always starts on the same day of the week as April in the same year. No other month ends on the same day of the week as the month of July. The only exception is January on leap years. Credit: Free Calendar for July 3. The Flower of July is a water lily.The symbolism of the water lily varies by country. In general, it is associated with creation, fertility, and rebirth, but also depends on the color of the flower:White is associated with peace and mental purity.Yellow is a symbol of confidence.The pink water lily represents the highest deity.Blue stands for knowledge.Red Lily is for love and passion.And so on and on ... Did you know Claude Monet painted more than two hundred pieces featuring water lilies?Waterlilies by Claude Monet4. July is the hottest month in Northern and the coldest month in Southern Hemisphere. Traditional Dog Days, known by their hotness start on July 3rd and end on August 11th.5. Some of the weirdest celebrations in July are: 1 National Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day 2 World UFO Day 4 Sidewalk Egg Frying Day 6 International Kissing Day 8 International Criers Day 10 Teddy Bear Picnic Day 11 Slurpee Day 13 National French Fries Day 14 National Nude Day 17 Yellow Pig Day 19 National Flitch Day 24 National Tequila Day 26 National Talk in Elevator Day 27 Bagpipe Appreciation Day 29 National Lasagna Day6. The Birthstone of July is Ruby. It is a stone of love, passion, zest for life, energy, and power. People believed for many centuries they can restore youth and vitality by rubbing ruby ​​on their skin. Raise enthusiasm and metabolism enhancement. Being associated with wealth and power it's still considered as a stone of the kings. Ancient people believed that wearing a ruby ​​on the left hand, closer hand to the heart guarantees peace and safety to the wearer and his Property. Books of dreams explain dreaming about rubies as a sign of success in professional life.7. July is in the USA called National Anti-Boredom Month, National Baked Beans Month, National Blueberry Month, National Cell Phone Courtesy Month, National Chocolate Month, National Culinary Arts Month, National Grilling Month, National Honey Month, National Horseradish Month, National Hot Dog Month, National French Fry Month, National Pancake Month, National Picnic Month, Relish Ice Cream Month and also International Women with Alopecia Month, Bereaved Parents Awareness Month, Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, National Make A Difference to Children Month or National Minority Mental Health Month. We can call it Family Golf Month, International Pickle Month, or World Watercolor Month as well.There are two special weeks in July, both closely related to the hot sunny days characteristic for July: the second is Nude Recreation Week and the third is Capture a Sunset Week. 8. The 8. The Moth of July inspired many names. We have already mentioned Julius, and there are Jules and Julian too. For girly July is an obvious choice with Julie, Julia, Juliane, and Juliette as alternatives.9. July is a month for zodiacal Cancer or Leo. People born in July are believed to be very curious, sensitive, extremely attached to their families, don't bear hard feelings for too long, and are in general very concerned about others which makes them good friends and advisors.10. Some people believe July is not a good month for weddings..There is an old saying:Married in July with flowers ablaze,Bitter-sweet memories in after days. We couldn't find a logical reason for this belief (with the exception of having obvious difficulties throwing a wedding party when all your friends are on vacation). Maybe because in July we don't take things too seriously? Anyways, we can add July is not considered the unluckiest month of all. May is the winner in this case.

  2023.08.15

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