Did you know

DID YOU KNOW? Psychotria Elata or Hooker’s Lips: The Most Kissable Plant

Psychotria Elata or Hooker’s Lips: The Most Kissable

Plant

These gorgeous pair of red, luscious lips belong to a plant

known as Psychotria elata, a tropical tree found in the rain

forests of Central and South American countries like

Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.

Affectionately, Psychotria elata is called Hooker’s Lips or

the Hot Lips Plants. The plant has apparently evolved into

its current shape to attract pollinators including

hummingbirds and butterflies. According to Oddity

Central, the bracts are only kissable for a short while,

before they spread open to reveal the plant’s flowers.

DID YOU KNOW? Bristlecone Pines – The Oldest Trees on Earth

Bristlecone Pines – The Oldest Trees on Earth

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pines, or Pinus longaeva, is a long-living species of

tree found in the higher mountains of the southwest United States. Bristlecone

pines grow in isolated groves in the arid mountain regions of six western states of

America, but the oldest are found in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the

White Mountains of California. These trees have a remarkable ability to survive

in extremely harsh and challenging environment. In fact, they are believed to be

the some of oldest living organisms in the world, with lifespans in excess of

5,000 years.

Bristlecone pines grow just below the tree line, between 5,000 and 10,000 feet of

elevation. At these great heights, the wind blows almost constantly and the

temperatures can dip to well below zero. The soil is dry receiving less than a foot

of rainfall a year. Because of these extreme conditions, the trees grow very

slowly, and in some years don't even add a ring of growth. Even the tree's

needles, which grow in bunches of five, can remain green for forty years.

DID YOU KNOW? House in The Middle of The Drina River

House in The Middle of The Drina River

A solitary house on the Drina River in Serbia has been attracting curious travelers from

across the globe, after an image of the house was published in National Geographic in

August last year. The tiny house stands on an exposed rock in the middle of the Drina

River, near the town of Bajina Basta, Serbia. The town lies in the valley of the Drina

River at the eastern edge of Tara National Park.

The beauty of the house was captured by Hungarian photographer Irene Becker in

August. The picture soon became a hit on the Internet. The house, despite having just

found its recent fame, has been standing in the middle of the river for more than 40 years.

The house was built in 1968 by a group of young boys who needed a place to sunbath. As

the rock was not exactly the most comfortable place to lie down, they brought some

boards from a nearby ruined shed. The following year the boys put up a roof and walls

and a house materialized. To transport the materials they used boats and kayaks. Larger

pieces were lowered into the water just a few miles upstream, and then caught at the rock.

The house was nearly destroyed several times during flood, but every time it was built

from ground up.

Did You Know: The World’s Best-Selling Toy

Did you know that Rubik’s Cube is the world’s best-selling toy?

As of January 2009, more than 350 million Rubik’s Cubes have

been sold worldwide – so many, in fact, that if all the cubes were

placed on top of each other it would be enough to reach the

North Pole from the South Pole!

Surprisingly, when Rubik first approached toy companies they

were cool to his idea and told him that the puzzle was too

difficult for mainstream appeal.

The Rubik’s Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in

1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő

Rubik.

Originally called the “Magic Cube”, the puzzle has

43,252,003,274,489,856,000 combinations.

Did You Know: Men Can Breastfeed Too

Did you know that men can breastfeed too?

Male lactation in zoology means production of milk

from mammary glands in the presence of physiological

stimuli connected with nursing infants.

It has been used in literature to describe the

phenomenon of male galactorrhea which is a well

documented condition in humans.

It’s exceptionally rare, but since men possess mammary

glands just like women do, they have the capacity to

produce milk. When male lactation happens, it’s usually

because of hormonal treatments.

DID YOU KNOW? Kids Risking Their Lives to Reach School

Kids Risking Their Lives to Reach School

For most parents and kids, crossing the street to catch the school bus is perhaps

the riskiest part of the school run. But take a look at these Chinese schoolchildren

from the village of Genguan. Everyday, these young kids walk along a precarious

path carved by the side of a cliff, as they make their way to class in Bijie, in

southwest China's Guizhou Province. Banpo Elementary School is located

halfway up a mountain and the path to it winds through treacherous hillside

passes and tunnels hewn out of the rock. The pebble-covered footpath is less than

0.5 meters wide, which means the children have to walk single file and press

themselves into the side of the mountain if someone wants to squeeze past. This

footpath was created 40 years ago as an irrigation ditch and although there is

another safer route, but taking this means the children have to spend two hours to

walk to school. The only assurance for parents is that Headmaster Xu Liangfan

accompanies the 49 kids to school.

The story might sound incredible to some, but it isn’t uncommon for children

from less privileged regions facing immense hardship on their commute to the

institute of learning. You will be surprised at the great lengths some children are

willing to go to reach school.

DID YOU KNOW? When you begin to feel

thirsty when your body losses 1%

of water

Water is important because the body uses it for chemical reactions, nutrient delivery, waste disposal and

temperature regulation.

For a person not doing much exercise an expected water loss would be approximately 2500 ml per day and would comprise:

1500 ml/day excretion by kidneys in the form of urine

500ml/day evaporation and perspiration from the skin

300ml/day from the lungs

200 ml/day from the gastrointestinal tract

Exercise greatly increases fluid loss which can reach levels of up to 4 liters per hour during heavy work-outs.

Blood plasma is 90% water so dehydration reduces the volume of blood in the body which makes the heart system work harder to pump the blood around the body and deliver sufficient oxygen to the working muscles. Exercise feels much

harder as your body's systems aren't working as efficiently as they do with good hydration and performance is impaired.

Dehydration is defined as a 1% or greater loss of body weight as a result of fluid loss.

Early signs that you are mildly dehydrated may include light-headiness, dizziness, irritability and headaches.

As you get more dehydrated the symptoms get more severe and can lead to clumsiness, dim vision and exhaustion. When dehydrated your attention and concentration can decrease by 13% and short term memory by 7%.

As dehydration progresses, nausea and vomiting may be experienced and by 5% reduction in total body weight,

performance has dropped by 30%. Fluid losses greater than this lead to coma and death.

Don't rely on thirst as an indicator of dehydration. By the time you feel thirsty your body has lost between 2 and 5 cups of water! Drink water when you get up in the morning, at breakfast, play lunch, lunch and tea. Drink before, during and

after any physical activity.

DID YOU KNOW? Ants stretch and

yawn after waking up in the

morning

Strangely, Yes! This is a cool fact, Ants stretch out

when they wake up in the morning. It is also said that

when they wake up they stretch out all their six legs and

then open their mandibles as if they are yawning just

like human beings and that before deciding their tasks

for the following day. Many ants spend several waking

hours just lazing around or sunning themselves. To

sleep, they often make themselves comfortable by

scooping smooth hollows in the soil.

In fact, Ants have different personalities, Ants in the

same species and colony can show the characteristics of

stupidity and laziness, or they can be smart and

hardworking. If the hard workers are removed from a

colony, the entire colony will suffer.

DID YOU KNOW? STUDIES SHOW THAT

EATING CHOCOLATE CAN

IMPROVE YOUR MATH SKILLS.

Chocolate is not only delicious but it is also good for your health. Many studies show that eating

chocolate makes your heart stronger and can even prevent cancer! Here’s another piece of good news for

chocolate lovers: chocolate can also help improve your math skills!

According to British researchers, chocolate can help you do better at math. Scientists at the University of

Northumbria found in their study that students who drank hot chocolate before taking a math test performed

better than the students who didn’t drink it.

“We found that chocolate can be beneficial for mentally challenging tasks,” said Professor David Kennedy who

led the study. “Chocolate increases the flow of blood to the brain, thus activating the brain to work better.

So students who eat chocolate before exams may greatly benefit from it.”

The amounts used in the study were 500 mg, equal to about five bars of chocolate. If you want to concentrate

better on your studying or a difficult task, you can try eating chocolate. But the researchers said that doing it

habitually is not recommended. This is because you may gain a few kilograms if you eat too much chocolate!

If you want to boost your brain power before exams, choose dark chocolate. Milk chocolate contains too much

sugar and fat. Eating fresh vegetables and fruit is another good way to make your brain more powerful.