De Laugh & Smile

1. Keiko weighed six tons and died at the age of 27. His name means ‘lucky one’ in Japanese.

2. After the success of the film, he was moved by the US Air Force to a luxury aquarium in Oregon.

TODAY'S date is 11.12.13. This is the last time the date will consist of three consecutive numbers in ascending order until February 1, 2103.

1. St Nicholas was born in the city of Patara and lived in Myra, both of which were in Lycia, now in Turkey. He died aged 73 on December 6, 343.

1. 2013 is the first year since 1432 that is a rearrangement of four consecutive numbers.

2. 2013 is also the 250th anniversary of 1763, which was the year London adopted house numbers.

1. The oldest known chairs were ceremonial furniture from An1cient Egypt 5,000 years ago.

2. Chairs came into common use only in the 16th century. We sat on benches or stones before that.

1. The word ‘sausage’ comes originally from the Latin ‘salscius’ meaning ‘prepared by salting’.

2. The word ‘sausage’ dates back to the 15th century in English but the first recorded use of the adjective ‘sausagey’ was by DH Lawrence in 1921.

1. The war officially ended only with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, which is why its dates are sometimes given as 1914-1919.

1. He discovered them when trying to rub off some chemicals that had solidified on the end of a stick he had been using to stir them.

1. In Old English November was ‘Windmonath’ (wind month) or ‘Blotmonath’ (blood or sacrifice month).

2. The Dutch called it ‘slachtmaand’ (slaughter month); in Welsh it is ‘Tachwedd’, also meaning ‘slaughter’ referring to the killing of animals.

1. Sediment found in a pottery jar excavated in the Zagros mountains of northern Iran indicate that man was drinking a retsina-like wine in 5000BC.

2. There is also some evidence suggesting beer-drinking in Mesopotamia around 8000BC.

Education is important—there’s no denying that fact. For the most part, the more schooling you receive, the more successful you will be in your chosen path. In general, people who drop out or receive minimal education are probably headed toward a long, torturous career slinging burgers at a fast food joint. That’s the common perception, at least. But here are ten famously successful people who stand as exceptions to the rule:


Before becoming possibly the richest man in history (taking inflation into account), John Rockefeller was the lowly son of a dodgy con artist and high-school student in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. Although he had some education, by the time he was sixteen, Rockefeller decided it was time to shirk school and begin a career—with the goal of earning $100,000 in his lifetime.

Childhood authors aways hold a special place in our heart. We even tend to idolise them. In this list we look at ten of the best and uncover some little known facts. Can you guess which author you love was bi-sexual? How about the author who fled from the office when anyone visited? We even look at hatred on the set of Mary Poppins! May your love of your favourite authors be enhanced—or dashed—by reading this list.


Fact: L. Frank Baum’s first book was all about raising chickens
The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs. This insanely long book title was all about chickens—scintillating. It came out in 1886, and was written by none other than L. Frank Baum—the famed author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum was thirty years old and at the time, the raising of fancy poultry was all the rage.

This list names and shames some common misconceptions and hidden truths in relation to those sacred memories we cling to after childhood. Some of them may surprise you:


Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, is thought to have been a pedophile. A photographic collection of naked young girls was found in his home, some of them being girls he was thought to have based characters on within his stories – such as Alice Liddel, who featured heavily in his photographs and was the inspiration for his character Alice.

In 2011, global production of crude oil and natural gas reached a whopping 83.6 million barrels per day. As the world’s population increases, the need for such a commodity will increase along with it. Since petroleum is such a widely used substance, its unstable price affects us more than we can imagine. The list of petroleum based products is scarily endless – but here are 10 of the most common things made from oil:



Think of the new cream you just purchased – which you’re about to rub all over your face – as the decayed mass of millions of dead organisms. Since petroleum-based products can make up to 80% of a cosmetic’s ingredients, that’s essentially what you’re paying for. The most common components are oils, waxes, perfumes, dyes, and other petrochemicals (chemical products derived from petroleum). Petroleum byproducts are also found in your shampoos, conditioners, and hair dyes.



Ever wanted to learn interesting facts or difficult skills, merely by eating another person who already learned them for you? Studies have shown that certain kinds of flatworm can do exactly that: simply by eating the mashed-up corpses of their wise and experienced elders, they can learn how to navigate a maze, for instance. Since we humans have to rely on other means of acquiring knowledge, here’s a list to get you started:


One theory of why Albert Einstein was so brilliant at mathematics has to do with a physical abnormality: he was born without the visual reasoning center of his brain. This is the center that enables you to comprehend the difference between a zebra and a trash can. Assuming Einstein had never seen either, he would not have been able to reason which was which. But to make up for this, his mathematical computation center grew to twice the size of yours and mine, because it was able to use all the room next door where visual reasoning was absent.

As someone who loves nature trivia, I get very disappointed seeing the same 50 tidbits making the rounds on the internet like some greatest hits of the animal kingdom. Cheetahs are fast, hyenas are mean and everything in Australia wants to kill you. We know. So here are 10 random things in nature that I think you haven’t heard before.


Actually it isn’t blood at all, but rather something called hemolymph. It’s been somewhere between 500-600 million years since humans and insects shared a common ancestor, so it is no surprise that there are a few differences. Hemolymph is copper-based, rather than the iron that runs in our veins, giving it a blue or greenish tint when it is oxygenated.

Over the famous Greek temple at Delphi was inscribed the motto, ‘Know thyself’. But according to Ben Franklin, this is easier said than done. “There are three extremely hard things,” he wrote: “steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.” To help you with this difficult task, here are ten details about yourself that may have slipped your notice.


Your stomach has more neurons than many animals have in their actual brains; its collection of neurons is so complex, that some call it a “second brain” for humans. While other parts of the body – the palms of your hands, for instance – also have high levels of neurons, your stomach is unique in that it can effectively think for itself, meaning that you can digest food without having to think about it. Ever been nervous, irritable, or content for apparently no reason at all? Ever found yourself unable to concentrate after an enormous meal? Chances are, your stomach is partly to blame – all the more reason to eat wisely.

One of the biggest viral news stories of 2011 was the discovery of Comet Elenin (C/2010 X1). For a wide variety of reasons, people began to think the comet posed a threat to Earth. Articles were written that examined Elenin. People were intrigued by the comet and its close approach to the Earth in October, 2011. Some predicted Comet Elenin was a sign that the Maya prophecy was valid. In response to the attention, NASA was forced to give a collection of statements. They said the comet posed no threat to the Earth. On August 19, 2011, the story burst into flames and quickly disappeared. Here are ten interesting facts about Comet Elenin.


In ancient history, comets were traditionally considered to be bad omens. They are small Solar System bodies (SSSB) that will display a visible coma (a thin, fuzzy, temporary atmosphere) when close to the Sun. The main difference between an asteroid and a comet is that a comet shows a coma. Asteroids are also thought to have a different origin from comets, having formed inside the orbit of Jupiter rather than in the outer Solar System. This gives the orbital history of comets more importance.

In this list we look at ten new facts that have never featured here before – facts that will help us to seem much smarter to our friends when we pop them out over a few drinks or at the dinner table. Please use the comments to share other fun facts with the other readers – especially facts which haven’t appeared on lists before.


First of all, almost no one uses real tin foil these days. The stuff we all call “tin foil” is actually aluminium foil. Originally foil was made of tin but it gave (not surprisingly) a tin flavor to whatever it touched. It was heavier than modern aluminium foil, which has its benefits but not enough to keep it going strong in our kitchens. Aluminium foil began to surpass tin foil after World War II but it had been available since 1910 when it was first produced by “Dr. Lauber, Neher & Cie.” a Swiss company using the force of a waterfall to drive the foil making machinery. Its first use in the US was as a wrapper on Life Savers candy in 1913.