Did you know?

• The word “toy” comes from an old English word that means “tool.” Instead of a Birthday Cake, many Russian children are given a Birthday Pie • The reason why hair turns gray as we age is because the pigment cells in the hair follicle start to die, which is responsible for producing “melanin” which gives the hair colour. • Native Indians have been known to paint their doors blue, which they believe keeps the bad spirits out: • Before 1928, yo-yos used to be called bandalores in the United State. The nickname for Japanese businessmen is “Salary men.” Did you know you share your birthday with at least 9 other million people in the world • Word “Science” derives from Latin word scientia meaning knowledge. Some human brains are bigger than other and the biggest human brain weighed 2.3 kg. • Mosquitoes like women more than men since they very much like smell of estrogen. • Smelly feet are likely to get you in more trouble with mosquitoes since they prefer people with smelly feet. • Snails are definitely among the sleepiest animals as they can sleep for three years. Copper turns green when exposed to air for a pretty long time. • It is easier to swim in a sea rather than in a river because the density of sea water is more compared to that of a river due to dissolved salts. • Kangaroos can’t fart. They convert the small quantity of methane they produce into an energy source which their body reuses. Scientists hope that they will be able to transfer the bacteria that cause this in kangaroos to cows, to reduce methane emissions to save the world from the latest fashionable catastrophe: global warming. • Have you noticed that some people seem to have very appropriate (and entirely coincidental) names? Names such Usain Bolt (Jamaican sprinter), Lord Brain (brain surgeon), or Alto Reed (saxophonist). This is called an “aptronym” as in “aptly named”. Some people believe that the name can influence life decisions leading a person to work in a field relating to their name. This is called nominative determinism. • The PhD is not the highest degree a person can receive. There is also a Doctor of Sciences (DSc/ScD) and Doctor of Letters (DLitt/LittD) which is normally awarded in Britain, Ireland, and the commonwealth nations though it is occasionally awarded in the United States. It is normally awarded for a substantial and sustained contribution to the art to which it applies – for example science and literature. Mark Twain was awarded a Doctor of Letters by Oxford University. Just to add to the confusion, there is also a PhB which is a bachelor of philosophy which is equal to a Masters degree despite its name. • Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant in 1967 - the patient lived for 18 days. • Beetles are the strongest animals on Earth relative to their size. A rhinoceros beetle can carry 850 times its own weight in its back. Ends