Those stars and colours you see when you rub your eyes are called phosphenes...

Have you ever closed your eyes, rubbed them and seen stars? Or at least little pops of light? It turns out that those pops of light have a name: phosphenes.
They are a phenomenon characterized by seeing light without light actually entering the eye. This rubbing mechanically stimulates the cells of the retina causing this effect. Sometimes, these phosphenes can still be seen for moments after you open your eyes.
Meditators have also reported experiencing phosphenes, and they have actually been known since antiquity. Ancient Greeks described them. Other reasons people ‘see stars’ are because of sneezing, coughing, blowing your nose or receiving a blow to the head.

When you Fall In Love, You Lose Two Close Friends !!!

Researchers at Oxford University conducted a survey asking people to describe their close circle of friends, and compared the difference between people who were in romantic relationships.
On average, when asked to list the members of their core group of friends, people name 5 friends. People in romantic relationships could only name an average of 4 close relationships. That's an average net loss of 1 person in your friend circle as a result of adding a new person into your life. Typically this means that you lose 2 friends from your group of 5 and then add your new lover to get to a total of 4.
This core group consists of people that you see at least once a week. You may of course have many more peripheral friends. Adding a new lover into the mix will force you to budget your time differently, forcing you to lose touch with an average of 2 people in your core group.

Not having friends has the same life expectancy effect as smoking 15 cigarettes a day!

Myths....

• Avoid people who talk to themselves. According to Ukrainian legend, that could indicate a dual soul and the second one doesn't die
• A vampire can result if a cat or dog walks over a fresh grave, a bat flies over the corpse, or the person has died suddenly as a result of suicide or murder.
• Long ago, the people of Nicaragua believed that if they threw beautiful young women into a volcano it would stop erupting.
• In medieval times, thunderstorms were believed by some to be the work of demons. So when it stormed, bell ringers would go up into the bell towers to ring the consecrated bells in an effort to stop the storm. This practice didn't always work out well for the bell ringer.
• According to legend, if a hare crosses a person's path as he starts out on a journey, the trip will be unlucky and it's best to return home and start again. If a pregnant woman sees a hare, her child may be born with a hare-lip. If a hare runs down the main street of a town, it foretells a fire. Cornish legend says that girls who die of grief after being rejected by a lover turn into white hares and haunt their former beaus.
• Breaking of a glass is traditional in some wedding ceremonies. This custom symbolizes different things. To some its the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and for some its the represents the fragility of a relationship.
• In Greek culture, brides carry a lump of sugar in their wedding glove. It's supposed to bring sweetness to their married life.
• One gift-giving taboo in China is the giving of straw sandals, which are associated with funerals, and therefore considered bad luck.
• Crossing one's fingers is a way of secretly making the sign of the Cross. It was started by early Christians to ask for divine assistance without attracting the attention of pagans.
• One sign of rain that farmers once searched for was for their pigs to pick up sticks and walk around with them in their mouths.
• One superstition says that if a girl leaves her house early on Valentine's Day and the first person she meets is a man, then she will be married within three months.
• Less romantic was the old historical opinion that Valentine's Day is a good day to prepare eels for the purposes of magic. Eating an eel's heart was once believed to enable a person to see into the future.
• The reason one wears a wedding ring on the third finger is that (tradition says) there is supposed to be a vein which goes directly from that finger to the heart—i.e., the seat of love. Also, not everyone wears that wedding ring on the third finger of the LEFT hand. In some traditions, such as the Jewish one, it is worn on the right hand. Also, I'm given to understand that nuns ("brides of Christ") wear a wedding ring, again on the right hand.
• To prevent evil spirits from entering the bodies of their male children, parents dressed them in blue. Blue was chosen because it's the color of the sky and was therefore associated with heavenly spirits.
• Girls weren't dressed in blue, apparently because people didn't think that evil spirits would bother with them. Eventually, however, girls did get their own color: pink. Pink was chosen because of an old English legend which said that girls were born inside of pink roses.Black cats are considered lucky in England.
• Superstition says that the left side is the wrong side of the bed.
• The ace of spades in a playing card deck symbolizes death.
• It's a myth that owls don't hunt in the daytime because they can't see in daylight. It's just that rats and mice, the main items on owl menus, are most active after dark.
• Many sailors believe a cat on board a ship means a lucky trip.
• The mythical Scottish town of Brigadoon appears for one day every 100 years.
• During the middle ages, it was widely believed that men had one less rib than woman. This is because of the story in the Bible that Eve had been created out of Adam's rib.
• The seven deadly sins (sins serious enough to kill one's soul) are currently anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust, gluttony, and covetousness. They haven't always been so, however. Originally, there were eight deadly sins (as proposed by Avagrius of Pontus). The eight (in order of increasing severity) were gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger, apathy, vainglory, and pride. Gregory the Great later decided that vainglory and pride were too much alike to be counted separately and combined them. He added envy. Later still, the Roman Catholic Church decided sadness wasn't a sin, and added sloth. Somewhere along the way, apathy was dropped as well.
• Hindu men once believed it to be unluckily to marry a third time. They could avoid misfortune by marrying a tree first. The tree (his third wife) was then burnt, freeing him to marry again.

In Japan, Valentine's day is usually the female's responsibility. White Day, on March 14th, is the man's turn to reciprocate!

On Valentine's day, women give men chocolate gifts. This is supposed to be an expression of love, courtesy or social obligation. A hand-made chocolate is considered to be a sign that the man who receives it is the woman's "only one."
Starting in 1978, White Day was promoted by the National Confectionary Industry Association. It is supposed to be the answer day to Valentine's. Traditional gifts on this day are cookies, jewelry, white chocolate, white lingerie and marshmallows. The often cited rule is that the gift on this day should be three times as expensive as the one received on Valentine's.

Forbidden To Touch....

Sunandha Kumariratana was the daughter of King Mongkut and Princess Consort Piam of Thailand. She was born in 1860 and was the first queen consort.
In 1880, when Kumariratana was only 19 years old, her boat capsized on the way to Bang Pa-In Royal Palace. She drowned despite the fact that there were many onlookers present that could have helped her. They didn't because they were not allowed to touch the queen. If they had, they could have been put to death. So ironically and tragically, they were not allowed to save her life.

Drawing Stockings...

After the New York World Fair, nylon stockings hit the market on May 14th 1940. Women rushed out to buy them, not in their thousands, but in their millions! Over 72,000 pairs of nylons were sold on the first day of release in America and 64 million by the time a year had passed.
The allure of wrinkle free, bunching free, inexpensive leg wear proved extremely popular putting a colossal dent into all preceding forms of established hosiery manufacture. During World War II, nylon was used to manufacture parachutes and other material for soldiers. Women were called on by the government to show their support for the war and the soldiers by giving up their nylon stockings.
So, many women had no stockings and so they ‘penciled in’ seams, using eyeliner or eyebrow pencil to draw lines up the backs of their legs to create the look of stockings. Stockings had become a style symbol and one that all “ladies” adhered to.

Couldn't Stop Eating.... :P

Tarrare was a French soldier with one of the oddest life stories ever largely because he could never stop eating! Born in 1772, he was thrown out of his home by his parents because they could not support his eating habits so he traveled with a band of thieves and prostitutes stealing food.
He worked as a street performer and would eat corks, stones, live animals, and whole apples! Tarrare joined the army for an income, yet food rations couldn’t support him so he would search the gutters for food. This was still not enough, and he was hospitalized from exhaustion.
Doctors took interest in Tarrare and conducted experiments to test his limits in which he would eat food intended for 15 people composed of live cats, snakes, lizards, puppies, and a whole eel which he swallowed without chewing! Tarrare’s appetite got larger and larger to the point where he ate corpses in the morgue.
Eventually accused of eating a toddler, Terrare was thrown out of the hospital and died of tuberculosis. Strangely, he was of normal size and appearance and doctors never figured out why he was so hungry!

Coke vs. Pepsi

• Coke drinkers are more likely to have graduated college and speak more than one language.
• Coke people prefer things like sushi, and might have tasted caviar. Pepsi drinkers prefer American snacks.
• Coke drinkers read the New York Times, while Pepsi drinkers read the USA Today.
• Coke drinkers are more likely to own a passport. It's more likely that Pepsi drinkers haven't had a vacation in 6 months. 
• Coke drinkers are more likely to show up early to an appointment. Pepsi drinkers? On time or late. 
• What do you think? Of course these are in average, and not representative of every Coke or Pepsi drinker.

WTF...

In 1945, a man named Tsutomu Yamaguchi survived the atomic blast at Hiroshima, dragged himself to an air raid shelter, spent the night, caught the morning train so he could arrive at his job on time - in Nagasaki - where he survived another atomic blast.

Dreaming.....zzzzzz

• Within 5 minutes of waking half of your dream is forgotten. Within 10, 90% is gone.
• People who became blind after birth can see images in their dreams. People who are born blind do not see any images, but have dreams equally vivid involving their other senses of sound, smell, touch and emotion.
• Every human being dreams (except in cases of extreme psychological disorder). If you think you are not dreaming – you just forget your dreams.
• Our mind is not inventing faces – in our dreams we see real faces of real people that we have seen during our life but may not know or remember. We have all seen hundreds of thousands of faces throughout our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters for our brain to utilize during our dreams.
• A full 12% of sighted people dream exclusively in black and white. The remaining number dream in full color. Studies from 1915 through to the 1950s maintained that the majority of dreams were in black and white, but these results began to change in the 1960s. Today only 4.4% of the dreams of under-25 year-olds are in black and white. Recent research has suggested that those changing results may be linked to the switch from black-and-white film and TV to color media.
• If you dream about some particular subject it is not often that the dream is about that. Dreams speak in a deeply symbolic language. Whatever symbol your dream picks on it is most unlikely to be a symbol for itself.
• The most common emotion experienced in dreams is anxiety. Negative emotions are more common than positive ones.
• You can have four to seven dreams in one night.
• Studies have been done on many different animals, and they all show the same brain waves during dreaming sleep as humans. Watch a dog sleeping sometime. The paws move like they are running and they make yipping sounds as if they are chasing something in a dream.
• Men tend to dream more about other men. Around 70% of the characters in a man’s dream are other men. On the other hand, a woman’s dream contains almost an equal number of men and women. Aside from that, men generally have more aggressive emotions in their dreams than the female lot.
• Results of several surveys across large population sets indicate that between 18% and 38% of people have experienced at least one precognitive dream and 70% have experienced déjà vu. 
• If you are snoring, then you cannot be dreaming.
• You can experience an orgasm in your dream.

Weird Tattoos...

Tattoos...

• I don’t have a tattoo, I want one, just haven’t really got the money yet. I want one saying “Made in China” on the bottom of my foot, don’t know why really, but everything’s made in China these days. I’d also love to get a UV tattoo of a skeleton on my body. Oh and I lied about Jesus having a tattoo, I don’t think he did.
• Tattoos have been around for thousands of years, I heard Jesus himself had a tattoo. They used to be very fashionable and expensive although these days they are seen as cheap and horrible. However tacky they may look, tattoos are becoming more popular and are available to nearly anybody
• In 1991, a mummy was found on the border of Australia and Italy, this mummy was called Ötzi the Iceman. Ötzi has been frozen since roughly 3300 BC, which is over fifty centuries ago. Ötzi had around 57 tattoos on his lower spine, behind his left knee, and on his right ankle. Although the tattoos were only dots and lines, it’s still the earliest form of tattoos we know of.
• In 2002 a poll was carried out that 1 in 8 people have at least one tattoo. That was seven years ago though, so I’m pretty sure with the increasing number of young people getting tattoos, it would have gone up since then. As of 2006 36% of people from the age of 18 to 29 had at least one tattoo.
• New tattoos are venerable to sunlight, even after it’s healed, so be extra careful to avoid direct sunlight and wear suitable clothing to protect your tattoo, or decent sun cream.
• There are over one hundred different colours of a tattoo ink, so you should find the colour you want eventually.

Penguins...

1) They eat snow as a source of fresh water.
2) The name comes from Welsh terms ‘pen’, meaning head and ‘gwyn’, meaning white.
3) A penguin is an unofficial symbol of the United States Libertarian Party.
4) Penguins lay eggs.
5) In cold places, male penguins balance eggs on their feet and cover with belly flap to keep them warm.
6) When the chick hatches, it immediately starts calling so that its parents will learn to recognize its voice.
7) Penguins can't fly, they swim.
8) The Linux mascot 'Tux' is a penguin.
9) Penguin chicks have fluffy feathers.
10) A group of penguins are called colonies or rookery.
11) They usually move in large groups to keep warm.
12) Penguins can jump 6 feet out of water.
13) Penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere.
14) Most penguins can swim about 15 miles per hour.
15) Penguins have insulating layers of air, skin, and blubber.
16) They are ancient species that first appeared around 40 million years ago.
17) There are 17 different species of penguins in the world, the most commonly recognised being the Emperor penguin.
18) The first penguin fossil to be discovered was found in rocks that were around 25 million years old.
19) A prehistoric skeleton of a penguin was found and is actually bigger than any living penguin that exists, it is believed they were up to 5ft tall (1.5 metres).
20) The four penguins in the film Madagascar are named Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private.
21) Penguins open their feather to feel the cold.
22) Their white bellies blend with the snow and sunlight making it difficult for an underwater predator to see them.
23) About 75% of a penguins life is spent in water, where they do all their hunting.
24) Penguins use their wings for swimming.
25) In general, a penguins lifespan ranges from 15 to 20 years.

Halloween Stats...

click to enlarge

"Killer Biscuits Wanted For Attempted Murder"

Graffiti!!

• The word graffiti comes from the Greek word 'graphein' which means 'to write'. Graffiti was first found on ancient Roman architecture, although back in them days there was no such thing as spray paint, they calved images out on walls.
• Spray cans are commonly used for creating graffiti as they have different nozzles for different coverage.
• Most graffiti artists prefer to be called 'writers' and each have their own unique 'tag'. Artists who are into graffiti have a desire for public recognition and want to see their work around town, this is why each artists tag is different... it's kind of like a unique signature.
• Graffiti can be very artistic and colourful or as simple as writing your name in black paint.
• Graffiti artists who are new or inexperienced to an area are known as 'toys'.
• Graffiti is popular and can be seen in many museums and art galleries, although in many countries it is still illegal and you could be fined. It is illegal in most countries without getting the property owner’s permission first
• The Longest Graffiti Scroll was created in Greece on the 15th December 2008 and it measured at 700.92 metres long, where 2503 people participated to help the charity of "Smile of the Child". This is an official record and can be found in the Guinness World Record.

Crazy State Laws :P

The Number '29'

• The Number 29 is the tenth prime number.
• It is also the sum of three consecutive squares, 2² + 3² + 4².
• 29 The atomic number of copper.
• Saturn requires over 29 years to orbit the Sun.
• 29 is an album by Ryan Adams.
• 29 miles is 46.67 kilometres.
• 29 inches is 73.66 centimetres.
• The number of days February has in leap years.
• A polygon made up of 29 sides is called an icosikaienneagon, enneacosagon or a nonacosagon.
• According to USA Today, 29% of married couples share a toothbrush.
• Liam Payne from One Direction was born on 29th August 1993.
• 29 written in roman numerals is XXIX.
• In Bingo, ball number 29 is called In Your Prime.
• The Human skull is made up of 29 bones.
• Seven straight cuts through a pizza can divide it into as many as 29 pieces.
• Twentynine Palms is a city in California, United States.
• It would take 29 million years for a car traveling 100 miles per hour to reach the nearest star.
• 29th January is National Puzzle Day.
• The odds of being born on 29th February are 1 in 1461.
• On 29th March 2004, The Republic of Ireland became the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants.
• 29th April is International Dance Day.
• 29th May is National Put A Pillow On Your Fridge Day.
• On 29th June 2008, Thomas Beatie, the world's first pregnant man, gave birth to a daughter called Susan Juliette Beatie.
• On 29th July 2005, astronomers announced their discovery of Eris - a dwarf planet that orbits the Sun directly.
• 29th August is the first day of Thoth, the first day of the Egyptian calendar.
• 29th September is National Coffee Day.
• 29th October is National Cat Day.
• The 29th November is the 333rd day of the year, or 334th in a leap year.
• 29th December is the fifth day of Christmas.

Dumb Facts On Humans :P

• The average adult male shaves off 1 lb of beard per year. 
• A hard working adult sweats up to 4 gallons per day. Most of the sweat evaporates before a person realizes it’s there though! 
• Men get hiccups more often than women do. 
• 54% of Americans fold toilet paper neatly. 35% wad it. What about the other 11%?
• Nearly all boys grow at least as tall as their mothers.
• On average, people spend more than five years of their lives dreaming. 
• In the course of a lifetime the average person will grow 2 meters of nose hair. 
• On male shirts the buttons are on the right side, on female shirts the left side. This is due to wealthy women using slaves many years ago to dress them. The buttons were on the right side to the slaves who buttoned up the shirts… 
• It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. 
• Official studies have found that right handed people tend to scratch with their left hand and visa-versa. 
• When asked to name a color, 3 out of 5 people will say red.