Strange but True Facts

7/25/2019 Strange but True Facts

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Strange but True Facts and Statistics You have no Business

Knowing

This gubblick compilation of slango gibberish contains many nonsklarkish English flutzpahs, but the overal

pluggandisp consensus can be glorked [sic] from context.

Facts in isolation or improper contexts, are often E!" misleading. For example# Fact# $bout %&&& 'a of o

gro(th forest is clear)cut on the island of Tazmania per year. *hat those (ho think this is completelyunacceptable usually neglect to tell you is that there are almost %.+ million 'a of old gro(th forest on this litchunk of rimaeval aridise, (ith at least -& of that total in /ational parks or other completely protectedreserves. 0so, it (ould take +&& years to cut do(n the 1& not protected223 4ontext nearly $5*$"6 makes

big difference in ho( (e vie( or undestand almost anything and everything# if the context is omitted,distorted, obscured, substituted, or other(ise bent, folded, spindled or mutilated, any fact, statement orstatistic can be made to seem to mean pretty (ell anything at all22 0This is especially true (hen applied to

sacred texts, politics and economics......)

$bout 7+ of the mass of the universe is a mysterious form of 8dark8 matter# it can be detected only throug

its gravitational force, and does not form stars. 9t may, ho(ever, play a ma:or role in galaxy formation )especially of galaxies that are also 8dark8# clouds of hydrogen and other gases that do not coalesce into sta(e can see. For example, there are 1+ visible galaxies in our 8local cluster8 ) but taking into account all thedark matter, there should be up to +&& galaxies22 $stronomers are no( coming to suspect that many of the8missing8 galaxies may be d(arfs (ith no stars, hence difficult for us to detect. /o( that planets are beingdiscovered almost (eekly orbiting distant stars, most scientists and astronomers no( agree that life mustexsist in abundance throughout the cosmos. ;f course, since most rely on funding from governmentprograms, they never go public (ith these types of conclusions. Funny ho( (orld religions consume blindfaith believers (ithout a shred of evidence to back up the claims. $liens must get a kick out of observing ousilly little planet.

The density of a /eutron 6tar, (hich is formed by the gravitational collapse of stars %.+ to 1 times the sunsec33 in order to escape their gravitational force of %&&billion times that of the earth. They are over %+& times as hot as the sun, and can rotate %&&& times persecond2 For a great summary of these (eird denizens of our universe.

The average ma:or league career of a baseball is + to - pitches.

$bout == of the earth


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forests. The $mazon constitutes about B& of the remaining rain forests, but it is disappearing at the rate ofootball fields per minute ) that


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suitor. $pparently, running a(ay is not a very freuently used option.....

6ince there is a lo( conversion rate bet(een stored carbon in ancient plants and the oil (e extract today, it

takes ninety eight tons 077,&&& kg3 of prehistoric buried plant material to produce each K.6. gallon 01.@ liters3of gasoline, according to a ne( study. 9t finds that the total amount of fossil fuel burned in %@@- totaled @-million billion pounds 0B.1? x %&E%? kg3 of carbonA a figure that is euivalent to more than B&& times all theplant matter that gro(s in the (orld in a year, including microscopic plant life in the (orld>8Every day, people are using the fossil fuel euivalent of all the plant matter that gro(s on land and in theoceans over the course of a (hole year,8 says study author eff Gukes, an ecologist at the Kniversity of Ktah

$ group of flightless apua /e( Cuinea birds kno(n as 8casso(aries8 communicate through the dense

foliage of the :ungle by means of extra)lo( freuency sound (aves ) partly belo( the range of hearing ofhumans. eople near a casso(arie calling in their lo(est register, (ould feel, rather than hear the sound )much like the lo()freuency calls of elephants, (hich can be heard up to +& miles 07& km3 a(ay.4asso(aries are among the (orld


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/eutrons are not stable outside of the nucleus of an atom. ;n their o(n, neutrons have a half)life of :ust ov

%B minutes ) i.e., after %B minutes, half of a given sample of neutrons (ill have 8decayed8 0split up3 intoprotons and other particles, and after =7 minutes only a uarter of free neutrons 0neutrons not connected (ia nuleus3 (ill remain.

The life of a professional soccer player may seem glamorous, but there is a price to pay# nearly half of them

(ill develop osteoarthritis at a young age, averaging around B& years old.

8iffy8 is an interesting (ord.

%. The duration of one tick of the system clock on your computer . ;ften one $4 cycle time 0%>?& second inthe K.6. and 4anada, %>+& most other places3, but more recently %>%&& sec has become common. 8Thes(apper runs every ? :iffies8 means that the virtual memory management routine is executed once for everyticks of the clock, or about ten times a second. =. 4onfusingly, the term is sometimes also used for a %)millisecond (all time interval. 1. Even more confusingly, physicists semi):okingly use N:iffy< to mean the timereuired for light to travel one foot in a vacuum, (hich turns out to be close to a nanosecond . B.9ndeterminate time from a fe( seconds to forever. 89


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in mind (hen he set out to bring peace and democracy to one third of the 8$xis of Evil8......

The "ello(stone buffalo herd is descended from the only members of their species to survive in the

continental K6$# =1 individuals (ho someho( escaped the slaughter of bet(een B& and -& million of theirkind in the %7?&s and -&s. Those that stray from the protection of the park in search of (inter fodder, are stharassed and killed by government officials intent on protecting cattle from bovine tuberculosis, (hich stilloccurs in the herd ) despite the fact that there is no kno(n case of cross)species transmission of the diseas

The record)breaking heat (ave in Europe in the summer of =&&1, killed an estimated 1+,&&& people.

Temperatures reached B& 4 0%&B F3 in many countries, and (ere far above normal for (eeks.

$n analysis of more than - million recent discharge records from hospitals in =7 states reveals that a group

%7 medical in:uries that occur during hospitalization may account for =.B million extra hospital days, [email protected] in excess charges, and almost 1=,?&& attributable deaths in the Knited 6tates annually. The mostserious offender is sepsis, a severe infection that sometimes develops after surgery. 6epsis occurs inapproximately %% per %&&& cases and is associated (ith the greatest increases in length of stay 0%% days3,charges 0I+-,-=-3, and in)hospital mortality 0== percent of all sepsis cases are fatal.3.

$s (omen all over the (orld gain more control over their lives, as (ell as access to birth control technology

birth rates are declining in almost all countries. 9f current trends continue, it is no( predicted that instead othe population 8explosion8 predicted for the =%st century, global population should peak at about @ billion bythe year =&+&, and decline after that. This century could actually end (ith fe(er people alive than (hen itbegan ) something that hasn> !evealingly enough, the inability to properly 8filter8


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incoming or internal stimuli and information sources has been linked to psychosis. 9t may be that (henlinked to a reasonably stable personality, high intelligence and a flexible approach to problem solving, thesame processes that lead to madness in some, may result in extraordinary creativity and inventiveness inothers.

The K.6. spends an estimated IB== billion a year as a result of youth delinuency, binge drinking, droppingout of school, high)risk sexual behaviour, and other problems. !esearch sho(s that parents and others camake a difference by#

) Ksing praise and re(ards to build children


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accidents in the K6$ over the past ?& years than are killed in K.6. auto accidents in a typical three)monthperiod. 9n fact, donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

The average human produces =+,&&& uarts of saliva in a lifetime, enough to fill t(o s(imming pools.

6tudies (ith high)speed cameras sho( that most lightning flashes are multiple events, consisting of as ma

as B= main 8strokes,8 each of (hich is preceded by a 8leader8 stroke coming from the ground. Each stroke ia po(erful stream of electricity (hich follo(s the ionized path created by the leader. 09ons are atoms strippeof their electrons ) this happens (hen they get caught in a po(erful electrical current.3 The average intervalbet(een these strokes is &.&= sec and the average flash lasts &.=+ sec 0one uarter of a second3. The duratiof each po(erful stroke is no more than &.&&&= sec 0i.e., = ten thousandths of a second23, so the intervalsbet(een strokes account for most of the duration of a lightning 8flash.8 Thus, (e see that each stroke oflightning is mostly 8empty8 time, much the same (ay that 8solid8 matter is mostly empty space22

The (orld


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The 1= richest nations (ill spend over a trillion 0I%,&&&,&&&,&&&,&&&.&& ) %&&& billion3 K6 dollars on 8defense8

0it&?>&13. !esearch clearly sho(s that lice seen on pillo(s, hats furniture are 8dead, sick or elderly8 and can extremely seldom infect another person. Treatment should not bstarted for nits unless live lice are found on the head, the specialists say. The report also found that itchingonly occurs in a minority of cases and most children have no symptoms. 0The Gaily Telegraph &?>&?>&1A p.+

$nne Doleyn had six fingernails on one hand , but only five fingers on that hand. 6he had a small extra nail

on the side of her finger that she kept hidden (ith long sleeves.

Ping 'ezikiah of 9srael built a tunnel to bring (ater into the city of erusalem (hich helped udah fend off th

siege of the city by the $ssyrians in -&% D.4. 9t is no( called the 6iloam Tunnel, and is one of the oldest

human structures still in use today. 9n 6ept. =&&1, it became the first structure mentioned in the Dible 0994hronicles 1=# 1, B and 99 Pings ==&3 to be confirmed conclusively by archaeologists. The tunnel has beendated by the carbon)%B method to -&& D. 4., using organic material in the plaster used to construct it 0(hichholding up rather (ell after nearly 1&&& years, it should be noted223.

Dabies are born (ith 1&& bones, but by adulthood (e have only =&? in our bodies.

Each suare inch 0?.+ cm suared3 of human skin consists of %@ million cells, ?& hairs, @& oil glands, %@ feet

blood vessels, ?=+ s(eat glands, %@,&&& sensory cells ) and is normally inhabited by about any(here from%&,&&& 0on the forearm3 to a million bacteria 0the vast ma:ority of (hich are beneficial or harmless3, dependinupon ho( moist it is# the moister the more thickly inhabited2

Host mosuito repellents don


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mammals.

*hile Edinburgh, 6cotland, may boast about its 1&&Q pubs, 6ingapore may hold the record for places of

eating and refreshment# there are over ?,+&& restaurants and %%,+&& street)side food stands (ithin its citylimits.

The largest organ of the body is the skin, (hich in a normal adult (eighs around B kg 0%& lb.3 and covers an

area of = suare meters 0?,=B% suare inches ) meaning it consists of about %=& billion cells223. 'ealthy skinregenerates itself about once every month.

The gene responsible for determining sex in bees, is called the complementary sex determiner 0csd3. 4sd ha

in %@ alternative versions, called alleles. Female bees have t(o copies of csd (hich are al(ays differentalleles. Hales have only one copy. $bout one)fifth of animal species including all ants, bees, and (asps, ua similar system of sex determination, but the actual genes and mechanisms involved are not (ellunderstood.

Toe and fingernails are made of the same stuff that hair is ) a hard yet flexible protein called keratin. This isthe same material that a deer


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mph3, rising to heights of about =& to +& km 0%& to 1& mi3 above the cloud layer. !ed sprites and blue :ets (efirst photographed in %@7@ in Hinnesota by $merican physicist ohn !. *incklyer, and continue to beintensely studied. $ third type of cloud)to)stratosphere lightning, called Elves, (as announced in %@@+. Elvesare saucer ) or doughnut) shaped bursts of light about B&& km 0about =+& mi3 (ide that occur about %&& km0about ?& mi3 above the cloud tops. They are thought to be greenish, but they last such a short time 0less tha

a thousandth of a second3 that scientists have not yet determined their color. $ forth variety, not surprisingcalled 8trolls8, is still poorly understood.

Dy analysing crater patterns on enus, as found by the interplanetary probe Hagellen in %@@&, scientists hav

decided that the entire surface of the planet is the same age ) about +&& million years old. 9t seems that,instead of giant crustal plates being pushed around on the surface of the planet, as found on Earth, the crusof enus is very uiet for long periods of time, after (hich pressures built up by its mantle 0the semi)fluidlayer of rock bet(een the crust and the core3 completely destroy and re)create the entire surface of the planeall at the same time.

$ugust =+, =&&1# $t &@#+% universal time 0KT3 on $ugust =-th, Earth makes its closest approach to Hars in

nearly ?&,&&& years. The t(o (orlds, center)to)center, (ill be :ust +? million kilometres apart))a short distan

on the scale of the solar system. The last people to come so close to Hars (ere /eanderthals. The 9slands oFrench olynesia 0Tahiti and the gang3 (ere closest to Hars at the moment of con:unction, (hile the /ubianGesert of 6udan (as farthest a(ay.

Fiber optics ) strands of pure silica 0glass3 the thickness of a human hair, permit the transmission of large

amounts of information ) in the form of digital pulses of light ) over long distances (ith much greaterefficiency than copper (ires. The man)made versions, ho(ever, are not nearly as suitable for this task as thsilica skeleton of the 8enus flo(er basket8 sponge 0Euplectellaspp3, (hich creates a glassy 8cage8 (heretiny shrimp can breed in safety 0i don


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consumes enough (ood to build nearly % million average homes, and releases pollution eual to over =million cars. 6o much for the much)ballyhooed 8paperless office8.......

The $merican Gietary $ssociation has recently estimated that there is enough food gro(n in the (orld in an

average year, to provide every human (ith a very substantial =-&& calories. This conclusion has beensupported by many (ho have analysed the problems of hunger and malnutrition over the past decade or so.The reasons (hy a billion people go to bed hungry or malnourished most nights include (ars and otherpolitical disputes and problems, corruption of various sorts, lack of access to land, and outright poverty )combined (ith poor food storage facilities and practices 0and inadeuate means of keeping food fresh durintransportation3 in many parts of the (orld, (hich result in the spoiling of up to a third of all food produced insome countries such as 9ndia.

"ou have probably heard someone say 8'e


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and the bacteria are therefore safe2

6cientists have for the first time 0uly, =&&13 harnessed the sun&1A p

6outh $frica has the most $9G6 cases of any country in the (orld, at about + million, nearly all of (hom (ill

die in the next %&) %+ years. 'o(ever, some smaller $frican countries have up to =& of their populationinfected by the '9 virus. ;ddly enough, most people in the 8first8 (orld have little idea of the magnitude ofthe problem ) it is the largest pandemic since the 'ong Pong flu epidemic of %@%@.

6uperman can :ump over tall buildings. 9t turns out he has a counterpart in the insect (orld2 The English

spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius, can :ump -&& mm 0=-.+ in.3 straight into the air ) considering its ?mm lengtthat


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neutrinos, neutron stars, bro(n d(arfs 0burned out stars3, and even black holes. The most (idely acceptedcosmological models indicate that another %+ is most likely made of ordinary matter ) neutrons, electrons,protons, etc. ) in some form or the other. The other composition of the remaining -+ is completely unkno(although many candidates have been proposed, from a variety of 8*9Hs8 0*eakly 9nteracting Hassivearticles3 to (himsical chaps going by the name of neutralinos, photinos and gravitinos.

;ne of the multitude of modern myths that clutter up the internet, is that the flag flying on top of the

parliament buildings on the 4anadian I= and I%& bills is actually an $merican flag. 9n fact, it is the 4anadianEnsign ) the old 4anadian flag that (as used until %@?1 or B. $t a glance, ho(ever, it does bear someresemblance to 8;ld Clory8, so like most myths it does indeed have some basis and (asn


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in theair. $irborne dust on Hars is about as fine as cigarette smoke.

6torms on Hars can be amazingly intense, developing (inds approaching the speed of sound222 6ince the

%7-&s, huge dust storms that circled the entire planet have been seen from earth about %& times. These8(orld storms8 can easily be seen by back yard astronomers (ith small telescopes, since their ultra)fine duparticles reflect a lot more sunlight than the Hartian soils and rocks.

T'E F9!6T 6';T ;F **99 (as fired from the Cerman battleship


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some divers>idiots have actually attempted, no matter (hat happens after(ards, it is not considered to be8unprovoked8.3 are reported each year, (ith a half dozen or so fatalities. Dy comparison, more people arekilled by dogs in :ust the K6$ each year, than all the kno(n shark fatalities in the (orld for the past %&& year9n =&&=, the 9nternational 6hark $ttack Fileinvestigated 7? interractions bet(een sharks and humans, andfound ?& of them to be unprovoked. There (ere 1 fatalities. !elatively speaking, the most dangerous place

(as Florida, (ith =@ attacks, and a total of B- (ere reported from the K6$ in general. ;n average, only %& shark attacks are fatal, and most involve relatively minor in:uries. 4ontrary to popular opinion, sharks almonever eat people ) apparently (e are not considered very tasty by that category of Dig Fish22 *hen oneconsiders that (orld(ide, an estimated = million people are killed by alcohol in =&&=, an innocent)lookingglass of (ine or beer should be considered far more dangerous than a 1& tonne great (hite shark ) especial(hen combined (ith automobile keys #))3.

The most abundant source of hydrocarbon fuel on earth is a frozen form of methane found in the deep, cold

(ater of the (orld


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sounds together into (ordsA the right (ith processing melody and intonation. 0The Cuardian 1&>&?>&1A p.+3

*orld(ide, an estimated - million people 0a rate of %%& per %&&,&&&, vs a murder rate of about 7 per %&&,&&&3

are killed each year by substance abuse. The top killer is of course tobacco, accounting for almost +,&&&,&&people meeting their Haker prematurely. 6econd place and rising, especially in $sian countries (here risingincomes make it easier to afford, is alcohol, (ith nearly = million. 9legal drug use 0prescription drug abusemostly, (ith a dash of 8controlled8 substance consumption thro(n in for good measure3 accounts for about==&,&&& fatalities ) about 1 of all drug)related deaths.

;nce a suirrel abandons a nut storage depository, it does not return to it to (hen foraging for further

supplies. For example, the furry critter that visits my house often, gathered up all the nuts he or she couldfind lying around and carried them to several spots such as a ne( pair of shoes i had to empty out one6abbath morning in my preparation for church. 9t also used a large gym bag hanging on my bathroom (all.;ne day, for reasons i have yet to discover, it s(itched its main nut storage locality to a pile of boxes in acorner of the living room 0my abode is suirrel heaven223, and never again retrieved any of its former treasur(hich i re)offer as an encore treat from time to time, (hen i desire to vie( some fluffy)tailed rodent anticsduring supper ) as a 8floor sho(8.

;il is D9C business, representing in one (ay or another, over a trillion dollars of business (orld(ide each

year. The (orld


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mar:uana is over +& less in the /etherlands than in /orth $merica or Dritain.

9n school you probably learned that matter comes in three states# liuid, solid and gas. Think again# plasma

the fourth)discovered state of matter has been kno(n for many years# it is a state (here all the atoms havetheir electrons torn off by extremely high temperatures, and the result is a high)energy mixture of electicallycharged particles ) nuclei of atoms, and the electrons stripped from them. There is also a fifth state of mattcalled a Doise)Einstein condensate, (hich is at the opposite end of the scale# (hen you cool matter do(n tocouple of millionths of a degree 04entigrade or Farenheight make little difference at this temperature223, all thatoms fall to the lo(est energy state possible, and they act as a 8super)molecule8# all the atoms in a single)element Doise)Einstein condensate are indistinguishable from each other, (hich means they (ill act in anidentical manner to any external stimuli. 0a sixth state of matter (ould be 8neutronium8, (hich is the mostcompact form of matter possible and is found in neurtron stars ) covered in other articles so i (on


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study (ith Gaphne Fairbairn of the Kniversity of 4alifornia, !iverside. 86piders are kno(n for their bizarremating, but even so this (as surprising.8 Hale spiders are often the losers of the dating game. The femalesmany species are cannibals, literally combining dinner and a date. 6ome males do their best to escape theirmate


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resolution, so don&?>&1A p.%3

$s of mid)=&&1, unsolicited email 086pam83 has reached epidemic proportions. For example, of the =.+ billio

messages received daily by 'otmail users, over 7& are pure 6pam.

9ronically enough, the cheapest seashells in the (orld today are t(o co(ries that (ere once used as currenc

) Cypraea moneta 5. and 4ypraea annulata 5. 9n parts of Hicronesia, you could cover the bride)payment of(ife for about %&& bags of the former ) no( you can buy a kg of them 0that


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before other changes in the spine cause a gradual loss of height due to calcium depletion and diskdeterioration. This combination of changes means that if a person is measured in the evening every time,they (ill appear to gro( taller in the years prior to the date they start to shrink. To use myself as an example+ years ago i measured an average of -1.=+ inches 0%7?.&+ cm3 in the morning, and -=.+& inches 0%7B.%+ cmin the evening. /o(, i tally only -1.%+8 0%7+.7 cm3 upon a(akening, and -=.?+8 0%7B.+3 before bed)time. 6o,

although my average height remains the same, if i had only measured in the evening i (ould appear to begro(ing taller ) at age B-2

9t is (idely reported that the first discovery of commercial uantities of petroleum in the K6$, (as in %7+@ by

the colorful 4ol. Grake. in ennsylvania. The truth is, ho(ever, that lesser kno(n folks in ermont (reproducing oil a full %+ years earlier. They sold their more interested in money than fame, and sold out for atidy profit before the first oil glut and resulting price crash occurred in %7?1. 9n the early days of fossil oil,before electric po(er and the motor car ensured an almost insatiable demand, it (as mostly used forillumination, competing in that market (ith (hale and vegetable oils. etroleum proved cheaper than (haleoil, and this probably helped save many (hale species from extinction, since the oil from their body fat (asthe most valuable (hale)related product.

9ndividual atoms of all but t(o elements can no( be seen more or less directly# innovative microscopymethods have lo(ered the resolution of the best microscopes to &.7 angstroms, (hich means that lithiumatoms, (ith an average diameter of % angstrom, can be plainly seen. ;nly hydrogen and helium currentlyremain hidden from our vie(22

4anada has more donut shops per)capita than any other country in the (orld. 9t is also the largest importer

$merican cars. 9t is not kno(n if these t(o factoids are related.

The guillotine, a 8humane8 execution device (hich neatly slices off the heads of those deemed (orthy of su

treatment by the machine


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Haine or Hassachusetts# then blame the colonial authorities for giving a(ay this gift of the emperor. 9n +1&$.G., the Dyzantinian 0Eastern !oman Empire3 Emperor ustinian gathered together his top legal scholars anordered them to put in (riting all of the la(s of the Empire. Thus, the 89nstitutes of ustinian,8 the ultimatecodification of !oman civil la(, (ere (ritten. Tucked a(ay in these numerous volumes covering every aspecof !oman life and commerce, (as the provision that 8Dy the la( of nature these things are common to all

mankindA the air, running (ater, the sea, and conseuently the shores of the sea.8 /o one, therefore, (asforbidden to approach the seashore. ;ver the next millennium, !ome fell and the (estern European countrierose. Dut the civil code of !ome, the 89nstitutes8, formed the basis of la( for many European countries. Hosimportant from an /orth $merican perspective, the la( of England adopted much !oman civil la(,conseuently recognizing the public nature of tidelands and (aters, and giving them protection in the namethe Ping for the use of all English sub:ects. >> 9n Haine and parts of Hassachusetts there are many tidal flatsthat reuired long (harves in order to provide access to the ocean at all times of the day. Dut, the earlycolonial government could not afford to build them ) so they gave property o(ners o(nership of the shorelindo(n to the lo( (ater mark, so they ) and not the state ) (ould be responsible for building the (harves.'o(ever, even here, the public has access to the shore for the purposes of 8fishing, fo(ling and navigation86o, as long as you carry a fishing pole, you can venture an(here in /orth $merica belo( the high tide mark(ith perfect impunity.....

Hental illness in England 0(hich is not any more prone to them as a nation than any others, so it may beconsidered a good representative of *estern nations in general3 costs more than S-- billion last year 0=&&=3according to a study by the 6ainsbury 4entre for Hental 'ealth. 9ts full economic and social costs are thusgreater than the annual cost of crime, and this fact 8should8 put pressure on governments to allocate moreresources to mental health services. Hatt Hui:en, chief executive of the centre, says, 8Giscrimination andstigma, not an inability to (ork, are often the causes of (orklessness for those (ith mental healthproblems.8 0Cuardian Knlimited &B>&?>&1 ) modifies slightly3

The leading sector for pollution in the developed (orld, is hard rock mining. 9n =&&&, mining operations in t

K6$ emitted over 1 billion pounds 0%.B billion kilos3 of toxins, including over =&& million pounds of cyanide,into the air and (ater of that country. $griculture (ould be a candidate for second place, althoughmanufacturing and the military (ould also be in the running. Toxic emissions from military sources areparticularly difficult to find data about, for obvious reasons.

Epaulet sharks, (hich live in the shallo(s around coral reefs, can survive (ithout oxygen, and even (ithout

(ater, for extended periods of time. !esearchers at Criffith Kniversity in $ustralia are studying the sharks totry to understand the mechanisms that allo( them to do this. The

research may have many applications for treating medical conditions in humans.

@& of all the oceans< large fish have already been removed from the seas, a comprehensive %& year study b

Cerman and 4anadian scientists has revealed. The study ) see /ature, Hay %+ ) sho(s that every timeindustrial fishing has moved into unfitted areas, the biomass of the larger marine predators has been rapidly

reduced to less than one tenth its original size. $ll available fisheries data from around the (orld (asexamined# this is fact, not theory. 9t compared the biomass and composition of large predatory fishes in foucontinental shelves and nine oceanic systems from the beginning of exploitation to the present.

For anyone interested in astronomy, a fantastic site is the 8electronic sky8 ) you can find information on

everything from minor crators on the moon, to every named star in the sky, to entire galaxies. $ truly fabulosite.

The (orld


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seahorse, has no( been identified as a uniue species. $dults of the ne( species, a pygmy seahorse kno(as 'ippocampus denise, are typically :ust %? millimeters 0+>7 of an inch3 long)))smaller than most fingernailsThere are already 1= other kno(n species of seahorses. Harine biologist 6ara 5ourie, a member of the ro:e6eahorse marine conservation team based at the Kniversity of Dritish 4olumbia, is the scientist responsiblefor finding the ne( species in the deep corals of the Flores 6ea off the coast of 9ndonesia. For more

information, go to#

The most expensive item in most grocery stores is the delicate spice saffron, (hich often sells for I- Q tax fo

a :ar containing a %g pouch of the stuff. That$9G6. $pproximately +& percent of the 17.? million adults living (ith '9>$9G6(orld(ide are (omen, (hile 1.= million are children younger than %+ years old. Hore than t(o thirds of thecases are in $frica, (here the disease is likely to remain a certain death sentence for the foreseeable future.

9n the Knited 6tates, an estimated @&&,&&& people are living (ith '9. /e( infections occur at a rate of B&,&&&

year. "oung people under the age of =+ account for half of all ne( '9 infections in the K6$, and the rate ofne( infections is no( nearly the same for (omen as for men.

Creen tea ) a less processed version of the ubiuitous black tea, (ith far less caffeine and more healthful

properties ) has long been kno(n for its immune system benefits and anti)oxidant po(ers. /o(, K6 scientissay drinking green tea may also help to prevent tooth decay and bad breath. 9t appears that chemicals in teacan destroy bacteria and viruses, and it is possible that adding tea extracts to toothpaste and mouth(ash

could make them more effective. Hicrobiologist Hilton 6chiffenbauer, from ace Kniversity in /e( "ork, say8;ur research sho(s tea extracts can destroy the organism that causes disease. 9f (e can stimulate theimmune system and at the same time destroy the organisms, then it makes sense to drink more [green] tea

Ceckos can climb even the smoothest of surfaces, such as mirrors or polished steel. Their secret is million

of minuscule hairs only a fe( tenths of a micrometer across, (hich sprout of thousands of tiny hairs on thefeet. The micro)hairs 0called setae3 have broad, flexible tips, so they can conform to the microscopicirregularities in any natural and almost any man)made surface. The stickiness comes about because of very(eak intermolecular bonds called an der *aals forces, (hich cumulatively add up to make geckos the Pingof 4ling2

The first 8modern8 computer 0i.e., general)purpose and program)controlled3 (as built in %@B% by Ponrad

use. 6ince there (as a (ar going on, he applied to the Cerman government for funding to build hismachines for military use, but (as turned do(n because the Cerman government did not expect the (ar tolast beyond 4hristmas.

ikings, contrary to popular opinion and *agenerian operatic caricatures, did not (ear horns on their

helmets# these (ould have been impractical in battle, since they (ould have made it much easier foropponents to knock the helmet off the (earer


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and some iking tribes (ere noted for their savvy trading and diplomatic skills.

The /orsemen or ikings (ere a northern offshoot of the $ryan invasion of Europe that took place in (aves

beginning around +,&&& D.4. . $l(ays superb mariners and aggressive (arriors, they gained a hugeadvantage over most other European cultures around -+& $.G. (hen they added excellent sails to theiralready very ocean)(orthy vessels. This enabled them to easily and uickly travel to all parts of the post)!oman (orld, to engage in activities ranging from raping, pillaging and sacking, to trading and even outrighinvasions, as (ith the Ganish take)over of England in -@1. For more information about these fascinatingpeoples that dramatically altered the course of European history and colonized /orth $merica for 1&& yearsfrom c. %&&& to %1&& $.G.

8Those that live by the s(ord, get shot.8........ 9f you keep a gun in your home, you dramatically increase the

odds that you (ill die of a gunshot (ound, according to research published in the une issue of the $nnals Emergency Hedicine. 8Peeping guns at home is dangerous for adults regardless of age, sex, or race,8 saidGouglas . *iebe, hG, 9nstructor of Diostatistics and Epidemiology at the Kniversity of ennsylvania 6chooof Hedicine and a fello( at enn&1A p.73 $ number of studies in the K6$ and Europe in the past decade also conclude that preschoolchildren cared for by ualified and conscientious caregivers in various settings, are not at any disadvantagecompared to children looked after by an at)home parent. The uality of the relationship bet(een children anparents seems to be far more important# a child (ho gro(s up in a caring, love)filled home, (ith age)appropriate discipline, boundaries and responsibilities are the most likely to develop (ell in all aspects oftheir lives ) social, interpersonal, emotional and intellectual 0as (ell as spiritual, but this is a bit moresub:ective3 ) irrespective of (hether they experienced daycare or other non)parental caretaking at an earlyage.

*hen mother cormorants feel their offspring are ready to leave the nest, they make sure that this is exactly

(hat happens, by destroying the nest completely22


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Hother


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matters, uranium itself is a toxic substance ) irrespective of ho( radioactive it is or isn


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$lzheimer

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