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zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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1. It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.
2. It's been proven that people can lessen reactions to allergies by laughing.
3. Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system.
4. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
5. The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet!
6. February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
7. Tomato Ketchup was once used as medicine in the United States. It was sold as "Dr. Miles Compound Extract of Tomato"
8. When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.




[*]About 10% of the world's population is left-handed
[*]If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on your right side. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side.
[*]The smallest bird in the world is the Hummingbird. It weighs 1oz
[*]An elephant can smell water three miles away
[*]Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
[*]Kite flying is a professional sport in Thailand.
[*]A BUTTERFLY has 12,000 eyes.
[*]CASSOWARY is one of the dangerous BIRDS that can kill a man or animal by tearing off with its dagger like claw.
[*]People with blue eyes see better in dark.
[*]The only 2 animals that can see behind themselves without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.
 

zulqarnain

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Smallest Bird, Largest Bird, Fastest Bird, Slowest Bird
Smallest Bird


Male bee hummingbirds (mellisuga helenae), which live in Cuba, weigh 0.056 ounces and are 2.75 inches in length. The bill and tail account for half of this length.


Smallest Bird of Prey

The black-legged falconet ( Micrphierax fringlius ) of southeast Asia and the white-fronted or Bornean falconet ( M. latifrons ) of northwestern Borneo both have an average length of 5.5-6 inches, including a 2 inch tail, and weigh approximately 1.25 ounces.

Smallest Parrot
The Pygmy parrots of Papua and nearby islands. Genus Micropsitta. There’s six different sorts - Yellow-capped, Buff-faced, Finsch’s, Geelvink, Meek’s, Red-breasted - all around 3" long (8cm). Thought to eat lichens and mosses but not much is known about their lifestyles.

Fastest Swimming Bird
Gentoo Penguin found on the Antarctic Islands can swim 40 km per hour. Large populations are found at South Georgia, Falkland Islands, and Iles Kerguelen although their breeding distribution is circumpolar. An orange bill and a white stroke behind its eye distinguish the black and white gentoos from the smaller adelie and chinstrap species. Long stiff tail feathers stick out behind as they walk, often cocked up in the water, no other penguin has such a prominent tail. They breed in winter at the more northerly sub-Antarctic islands, laying two eggs as early as July. Can dive over 300’ though most prey dives are shallower. Most dives last only half a minute.

Largest Carnivorous Bird
Titanis Walleri. This bird is known from the early Pleistocene (Ice Age) of Florida. It is the last known member of the family Phorusrhacidae, a group of large, flightless birds which evolved in South America. This creature had an estimated body height of 3 meters (if it stood fully erect, and 2.5 meters in more normal situations). Titanis really had arms instead of wings.

Tallest Flying Birdscrane
The largest cranes (family Gruidae) can be almost 6 ft. 6 in. tall.

Heaviest Flying Birds
The Kori Bustard or paauw (Ardeotis Kori) of northeast and southern Africa and the great bustard (Otis tarda) of Europe and Asia weigh about 40-42 pounds. There is a report of a 46 lb. 4 oz. male great bustard shot in northeastern China. It was too heavy to fly.

Heaviest Birds of Prey
Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) are the heaviest species of bird of prey. Males weigh 20-27 pounds and have a wingspan of at least 10 feet. A male California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) preserved in the California Academy of Sciences is reported to weigh 31 pounds. It is rare for the species to exceed 23 pounds in weight.

Heaviest Parrot
Flightless Kakapo around 7lbs in weight; New Zealand [contributed by Harold Armitage, Wild Macaws Wild Macaws]

SinbadA flightless nocturnal bird, which was described by early European settlers as " the most wonderful bird on Earth, " the Kakapo parrot was once endemic throughout New Zealand. Today only 50 birds remain, some of which live on Little Barrier Island (Hauturu) as part of a Department of Conservation endangered species recovery programme.

The name "Kakapo" is Polynesian (Maori) for "parrot of the night." Moss green, like Kakapo "Suzanne’s" foster brood, Codfish Island, 2002. Photo by Don Merton/DOC.the foliage of the native trees and grasses in which it evolved, funny and cuddly, with a wonderful spicy fragrance, this unique bird has small wings, useless for flight but handy to steer with when you’re jumping down a bank, and a rudimentary keel in its sternum. It browses forest trees, ferns, herbs, moss and lichen and grinds its food between a powerful lower mandible and a grooved pad in the upper mandible, a method of mastication which is thought to be unique.

Longest Feathers
The phoenix fowl or Yokohama chicken (a strain of the red junglefowl Gallus is bred in Japan for ornamental purposes. A rooster with a 34 ft. 9.5 in. Tail covert was reported in 1972.

Longest Bills
The bill of the Australian pelican (Pelicanus conspicillatus) is 13-18.5 inches long.
The longest beak in relation to body length is that of the sword- billed hummingbird ( Ensifera ) of the Andes. At 4 inches, the beak is longer than the bird’s body (excluding the tail).

Only Nostrils on tip of Beak
The Kiwi is the only bird with nostrils at the tip of its beak. Whereas other birds hunt by sight or by hearing, the national bird of New Zealand uses its beaky nostrils to sniff out food at night. Although the Kiwi is roughly the same size as a chicken, it lays an egg which is 10 times larger than a hen’s. It also has wings but cannot fly.

Biggest Eyes
The ostrich has the largest eyes of any land animal. Each eye can be up to 2 inches in diameter.

Largest Field of Vision
The eyes of the woodcock are set so far back in its head that it has a 360 degree field of vision, enabling it see all round and even over the top of its head

Best Talker
The African Grey Parrot has been called "the perfect mix of brains and beauty" (Bird Talk, Aug. 92) and the "cadillac of parrots" (Bird Talk Sept. 93). Much of the notoriety of this species stems from the phenomenal gift of speech members exhibit. While many parrots learn some words or phrases, many cases have been documented of African Greys learning multiple lines of songs, prayers, or plays. The Guinness Book of World Records lists the best talking parrot or parrot like bird as a African Grey named Prudle. Prudle was captured near Jinja, Uganda in 1958 and when "he" retired from public life in 1977 had a vocabulary of nearly 1000 words. Many owners have been surprised (and sometimes shocked) when their Grey learned a new word or phrase after hearing it only a few times. One of our favorite stories in this respect was one related by a priest that had a pet Grey. While hanging some pictures in his office, the priest hit his hand with a hammer. He let out a stream of obscenities that his Grey learned (from this one occurrence according to the priest). The priest’s embarrassment was compounded by the other aspect of greys gift for mimicking, that is they often sound exactly like the person that spoke the words or phrase. [contributed by Harold Armitage, Wild Macaws Wild Macaws]

Most Airborne Bird
The sooty tern (Sterna fuscata) leaves its nesting grounds as a youngster and remains aloft for 3-10 years, settling on water from time to time. It returns to land to breed as an adult.

Longest Flight
A common tern (Sterna hirundo) that was banded in June 1996 in Finland was recaptured alive 16,250 miles away at Rotamah Island, Victoria, Australia in January 1997. It had traveled at a rate of 125 miles a day.

Slowest-Flying Birds
The American woodcock (Scolopax minor) and the Eurasian woodcock (S. Rusticola) have both been timed lying at 5 mph with out stalling during courtship displays.

Slowest Wing beat
The slowest wing beats recorded during true level flight averaged one per second. They were by several species of the New World vulture ( family Cathartidea)

Largest Wingspan
The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) has the largest wingspan of any living bird. As a result, it is an expert glider and it is capable of remaining in the air without beating its wings for several hours at a time. The largest known specimen was an extremely old male with and 11 ft. 11 in. wingspan. It was caught in the Tasman Sea in September 1965. It has also been known to sleep while it flies!

Largest Ever Wingspan
The South American teratoron ( Argentavis magnificens), which existed 6-8 million years ago, had an estimated wingspan of 25 feet.

Parrot with largest Wingspan
Hyacinth Macaw, around 1100 mm - Brazil [contributed by Harold Armitage, Wild Macaws Wild Macaws] The Hyacinth macaw is the most majestic of all parrots. Although the Hyacinth Macaw and Green Wing Macaw are both commonly referred to as the "gentle giant" of the macaw species. The Hyacinths are truly the "dream bird" of all bird lovers. The Hyacinth macaw can attain the total length of up to 42 inches and have a beak pressure that can easily disassemble a welded wrought iron cage bar by bar in a very short time. In spite of their tremendous strength, this is one of the most laid back and easy-going of all of the macaws.

Fastest Flying Bird
The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is the fastest living creature, reaching speeds of at least 124 mph and possibly as much as 168 mph when swooping from great heights during territorial displays or while catching pry birds in midair.

Fastest Wing beat
The horned sungem (Heliactin cornuta), a hummingbird from South America, beats its wings up and down 90 times a second.

Flying Backwards
While hummingbirds are probably the champions of backwards flight they are by no means the only birds that can fly in this way. When two herons or egrets fight, periodically one of them caught at a disadvantage in the dispute will flutter backward. Occasionally warblers fluttering at the tip of a branch as they pick off insects will flutter backward when they overshoot some flying insect. It is probable that any bird which uses fluttering flight can move backward when pressed to do so.

Fastest Land Bird
Despite its bulk, the ostrich can run at speeds of up to 45 mph if necessary.

Highest-Flying Birds
A Ruppell’s vulture (gyps rueppellii) collided with a commercial aircraft over Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at an altitude of 37,000 feet in November 1973. The impact damaged one of the aircraft’s engines, but the plane landed safely. The species is rarely seen above 20,000 feet.

In 1967, about 30 whooper swans (Cygnus were spotted at an altitude of just over 27,000 feet by an airline pilot over the Western Isles, UK. They were flying from Iceland to Loch Foyle on the Northern Ireland/republic Ireland border. Their altitude was confirmed by air traffic control.

Longest Stride
The stride of an ostrich may exceed 23 feet in length when the bird is sprinting.

Highest G-Force Borne
The beak of the red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) hits the bark of a tree with an impact of velocity of 13 mph, subjection the bird’s brain to a deceleration of approximately 10 g when its head snaps back. Other woodpeckers may experience and even higher g-force.

Most Food Consumed
Hummingbirds (family Trochilidon) requires at least half their own body weight in food (mainly nectar and tiny insects) every single day. With the possible exception of shrews, they have the highest metabolic rate of any known animal.

Strangest Diet
An ostrich living at the London Zoo, England was found to have swallowed an alarm clock, a roll of film, a handkerchief, a 3-foot long piece of rope, a cycle valve , a pencil, three gloves, a collar stud, a Belgian franc, four halfpennies and two farthings.

Longest Fast
The male emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) spends several months without feeding on the frozen wastes of the Antarctic sea ice. It travels overland from the sea to the breeding colony, courts the female, incubates the egg for 62-67 days, waits for the female to return and travels back to the open sea, going without food for up to 134 days.

Largest Prey
The wild animal known to have been killed and carried away by a bird was a 15 pound male red howler monkey killed by a harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) in Manu National Park, Peru in 1990. The harpy eagle is considered the world’s most powerful bird of prey, although it weighs only 20 pounds.
An incredible video of a Golden Eagle taking a small Mountain sheep or goat and carrying it off to it’s nest.

The largest documented prey taken by a Philippine eagle is a 14 kg (30.8 lbs) Philippine deer Cervus at a nest studied by Kennedy in 1985. also on records; a mature female monkey taken and carrying it in one foot in Cagayan; and a large python.
The African crowned eagle is Africa’s most powerful and ferocious eagle in terms of the weight and nature of prey taken. Mammalian prey, especially duikers, may weigh up to 34 kg (75 lbs) and still be preyed on by these eagles.

Sharpest Vision
The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is believed to be able to spot a pigeon from a distance of more than 5 miles under ideal conditions.
 

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Biggest Nest
The incubation mounds built by the mallee fowl (Leipoa ocellata) of Australia are up to 15 feet tall and 35 feet wide. A nest site is estimated to weigh 330 tons.

A 9 ft. 6 in. Wide 20 foot deep nest was built by a pair of bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and possibly by their successors, close to St Petersburg, Florida. When examined in 1963, the nest was estimated to weigh in excess of 2.2 tons.

Smallest Nests
The vervian hummingbird ( Mellisuga minima) builds a nest about half the size of a walnut shell. The deeper but narrower nest of the bee hummingbird (M. Helenae) is thimble sized.

Smallest Egg
The smallest known bird’s egg were tow vervain hummingbird (Mellisuga minima) eggs less than 39/100 inch long. They weighed 0.365 g. (0.0128 oz.) And 0.375 g (0.0132 oz.)

Biggest Eggs
The extinct giant elephant bird (Aephornis maximus) - picture below under heaviest birds - laid 1 foot long eggs with a lElephant Bird egg compared to chicken eggliquid capacity of 2.25 gallons- the equivalent of seven ostrich eggs and more than 12,000 humming bird eggs. When early Arabian and Indian explorers started returning from their journeys along the coast of Africa with stories of gigantic birds many times the size of a man, they brought evidence…huge eggs, up to three feet in circumference. They were the eggs of a bird that would later come to be known as the Elephant Bird, or Vouron Patra (Aepyornis maximus). The eggs that the Elephant Bird laid were larger than the largest dinosaur eggs, and, in fact, they were as large as a structurally functional egg could possibly be…the largest single cells to have ever existed on Earth.

The ostrich egg is 6-8 inches long. 4-6 inches in diameter and weighs 2 lb. 3 oz. - 3 lb.14 oz.. It is equal in volume to 24 chicken eggs. The shell is 3/50 inch thick but can support eh weight of an adult human. The largest on record was laid in 1988 by a two year old northern/southern hybrid (Struthio c. camelus x s. c. australis) at the Kibbutz Ha’on collective farm, Israel. Ti weighted 5 lb. 2 oz.

Heaviest Bird Ever Alive - 2 candidates
Elephant BirdThe Elephant Bird (shown above under biggest eggs) is thought to have been the inspiration for the Roc (or Ruhk) made famous in the stories of Sinbad and the accounts of Marco Polo. While Aepyornis was by no means as large and terrible as the elephant-eating Roc, it WAS one of the largest birds that ever lived. The flightless bird grew to around ten or eleven feet tall, and is estimated to have weighed up to 1100 pounds. By comparison, a BIG Ostrich will go eight feet and 300 pounds. The home of the Elephant Bird was the island of Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa. The island was first populated by African and Indonesian peoples that are thought to have arrived around the time of Christ, about 2000 years ago. They were, in turn, visited by Muslim traders from East Africa and the Comoro Islands in the ninth century. The first Europeans to visit the island were the Portuguese in 1500, but Europeans didn’t really establish a foothold on the island until the French settled there beginning in 1642. The Elephant Bird was probably still around at that time but it had already become very rare. One of the only contemporary European accounts of the bird was written by the first French Governor of Madagascar, Étienne de Flacourt, who wrote, in 1658, "vouropatra - a large bird which haunts the Ampatres and lays eggs like the ostriches; so that the people of these places may not take it, it seeks the most lonely places." The natives’ histories of the Elephant Bird, however, rarely describe it as an aggressive bird, and more often portray it as a shy, peaceful giant. Most likely the Vouron Patra was driven to extinction by people raiding their nests. The eggs and egg shells were both very important items to the tribal Malagasy, who used them for food and all kinds of stuff. The fossil record shows that maximus was not the only species of Aepyornis that ever lived. It is thought that between three and seven different types of Elephant Bird have lived since the Pleistocene although only one, the smaller Aepyornis mullerornis is thought to have survived into historic times along with the Elephant Bird. Only the giant is known to have co-existed with humans, and by 1700, it too was gone.

Only the largest of the New Zealand Moas were taller, some reaching thirteen feet, but they weren’t as massively built. Moa were large flightless birds that went extinct in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s. These huge, bulky birds lived in lowland forests on the islands of New Zealand. The word moa comes from the Maori language, in which the plural of moa is moa (we are using that convention). The oldest-known moa fossils date from 2.4 million years ago. The last of the moa (the smaller species) lived on the South Island of New Zealand until the 1700’s. On its native New Zealand, there were no large mammals to prey on the moa or its eggs; its only predators large birds, like the Haast eagle (which is now extinct). When the Maori people moved to New Zealand over 1,000 years ago, they destroyed much of the moa’s lowland forest habitat and introduced mammals, including dogs and rats. These mammals ate the moa’s eggs. The Maori people also hunted and ate the moa. These forces probably contributed to the extinction of the moa. The moa had a large body, a small head, a long neck, short, thick legs, and a large beak. There were 11 species of moa. The largest was almost 11.5 feet (3.5 m) tall and weighed perhaps 700 pounds (320 kg); the smallest of the moa were turkey-sized. The moa’s nest was located on the ground (leaving the eggs vulnerable to predators). The moa was an herbivore (plant-eater); it ate fruit and some plant material (like leaves). These birds swallowed stones (which went into gizzard) that helped digest the food. Classification: Kingdom Animalia (animals), phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata (vertebrates), class Aves (birds), order Dinornithiformes, family Anomalopterygidae (the lesser moa) and family Dinornithidae (the greater moa). There were 11 (or possibly 13) different species of moa, including Dinornis, the biggest moa and the biggest bird that ever lived.

In ancient Australia, until 50,000 years ago, there was a group of birds called the Dromornithids. By far the largest of them was "Dromornis stirtoni", a massive creature that stood 3 meters tall and must have weighed more than half a ton. They disappeared rather abruptly, and there is still much debate about the reasons. But the Australians seem to have kept a memory of these giant birds. In some legends, there is a creature called "mihirung", and most likely this means a dromornithid bird.

Smelliest Bird
The south American hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin) has an odor similar to cow manure. Colombians call it pava hedionda ("stinking pheasant"). The cause of the smell is believed to be a combination of its diet of green leaves and its specialized digestive system, which involves a kind of foregut fermentation.

Large Flocks
Flamingoes, with their long necks and legs, have a height range of 3-5 feet and are the biggest bird to form large flocks. Of the four species, the lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) of eastern and southern Africa has been seen in flocks of several million birds, particularly in the Great Lakes of eastern Africa.

Biggest Bird
The largest and strongest living bird is the North African ostrich (Struthio camelus . Males can be up to 9 feet tall and weigh 345 pounds, and when fully grown the have one of the most advanced immune systems of any animal. South Africa was the first country to see the commercial potential of ostrich products - the creature are prized not only for their large soft white feathers and their meat but also for their skins, which are made into the strongest commercially available leather in the world. Ostrich farming is believed to have begun in the Karoo and Eastern Cape c. 1863. By 1910 there were more than 20,000 domesticated ostriches in the country, and by 1913 ostrich feathers were the fourth most important south African export product. Demand began to dry up soon afterwards, but there was an ostrich revival in the 1920’s when farmers started to produce biltong ( dry strips of ostrich meat) commercially.

Biggest Seabird
The Northern Royal Albatross (Diomedea epomophora sanfordi) with a wing span 3 metres, flight speed up to 115 km/h. 80% of life spent at sea. White body, black on backs of wings. Feeds on surface shoaling fish and squid. Male and female equal share in rearing chick, raising one chick every two years. Mature at six years, live about 45 years. Mate in October, one egg laid in November, incubation 79 days. Chick guarded for first six weeks, young depart late September.

Biggest Cockatoo
Sub-species Proboscigar Aterimus Goliath. The weight of the female Palm Cockatoo is between 500-950 grams, and the males weigh between 540-1100 grams. Both females and males height range from 49-68 centimeters. The wings are about 35.1 centimeters, the tail about 23.8 centimeters, the bill about 9.1 centimeters, and the tarsus about 3.5 centimeters. These Palm Cockatoos are very large birds. They are the largest of all parrots. The scientific name is derived from both Greek and Latin. Proboscis is Greek for nose, gero is Greek for carry, and atterimus is Latin for black. Most Palm Cockatoos are dark gray and black with a cheek-patch of bare red skin . The cheek skin color may change according to their level of stress, it may change pink or beige if it is stressed, or if it is excited it will turn yellow. Palm Cockatoos have a very strong mandible, which they use for cracking nuts.

Most Abundant Bird
The red- billed quelea (Quelea quelea) of Africa has an estimated adult breeding population of 1.5 billion. The slaughter of at least 200 million of them each year has no impact on this number.

Rarest Bird
With 168 birds on the list of the world’s most critically endangered creatures–and many of them from remote, inhospitable places–researchers cannot say for sure which species is the rarest. But that dubious distinction may belong to the po’ouli (pronounced "poh-oh-U-lee"). This Hawaiian honeycreeper, whose name means "black-faced," survives only in a few hundred acres of nearly impenetrable rain forest on the windward side of Maui’s Haleakala Crater. At last count, the known po’ouli population was six. And with time running out, experts are scrambling to find a way to save the species from extinction.

Rarest Parrot
Spix’s Macaw. Endemic to one small area of northeastern Brazil, in a habitat known as the "caatinga" (an arid region of flat savanna scrubland interspersed with seasonal creeks and gallery forests), the Spix’s Macaw was considered to be extinct in the wild 10 years ago. Despite concerted efforts of the Brazilian government and an international committee whose members include the aviculturists that hold this endangered species, government officials, conservationists and ornithologists the last one died in 2001. The conservation of this species is now dependent on the success of the captive-breeding and field program. The global captive population has grown significantly from a low of 11 known birds to 60 (54 of which are captive-hatched); new holders are participating in the program, the field research program has collected valuable data on the natural history of this species and the ecology of the region, a strong community outreach program is in place, habitat protection and restoration projects are ongoing, and basic research on psittacine reintroduction techniques has been successfully completed. [contributed by Harold Armitage, Wild Macaws Wild Macaws]

Bossiest Bird
The kea ( Nestor notabilis) from New Zealand is the only bird known to have a society in which the higher status individuals force others to work for them.

Most Unusual Birds
The home of the Great Indian Hornbill is a prison. When the female is ready to lay her eggs, she hides in a hole in a tree. The male then seals up the hole, leaving her just a narrow slit through which he passes her food. The female stays in there until the chicks are a few months old, when she breaks out and helps the male with feeding duties.
The Secretary Bird may have long legs but it can’t run. Instead it hops along the African scrublandin search of its staple diet of snakes and lizards. The bird gets its name from the 20 black crest feathers behind its ears which are reminiscent of the old quill pens once favored by secretaries.
The Quetzal from central America has such a long tail (up to 3 feet) that it can’t take off from a branch in the normal way without ripping its tail to shreds. So instead it launches itself backwards into space like a parachutist leaving an aircraft. The Quetzal nests in hollow trees but has to reverse into the hole. Once inside, it curls up its tail over its head and out of the hole.
The Male Bower-Bird from Australia attracts a female by building an elaborate love bower. After building a little hut out of twigs, he decorates it with flowers and colorful objects such as feathers, fruit, shells, and pebbles or sometimes glass and paper if the nest is near civilization. One particular species (the Atlas Bower-Bird) actually paints the walls by dipping bark or leaves into the blue or dark-green saliva he secretes. The entire bower-building procedure can take months and the bird will often change the decorations until he is happy with them. When finally satisfied, he performs a love dance outside the bower, sometimes offering the female a pretty item from his collection.
The Young Hoatzin of the Amazon forests has claws on its wings to help it clamber through the dense undergrowth. The bird is a throwback to the prehistoric archeopteryx, which also had three claws on each wing.
The Little Tailorbird uses its sharp beak to pierce holes along the edges of two leaves. It then constructs a nest by neatly stitching the leaves together with pieces of grass.



What advantage do many birds gain by flying in V-formation?
As a bird flap its wings it disturbs the air and leaves whirling eddies behind. Some gregarious species take advantage of the upward sections of these whirls and each bird in the V-formation stations itself at the correct place so the inner wing obtains support from the wake of the bird immediately ahead. Thus every bird in the flock except the leader saves energy by using the V-formation type of flight.
 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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IN 24 HOURS AVERAGE HUMAN:

1) HEART beats 1,03,689 times.

2) LUNGS respire 23,045 times.

3) BLOOD flows 16,80,000 miles.

4) NAILS grow 0.00007 inches

5) HAIR grows 0.01715 inches

6) Take 2.9 pounds WATER (including all liquids)

7) Take of 3.25 pounds FOOD.

8) Breathe 438 cubic feet AIR.

9) Lose 85.60, BODY TEMPERATURE.

10) Produce 1.43 pints SWEAT.

11) Speak 4,800 WORDS.

12) During SLEEP move 25.4 times
 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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Richest Man in the World


Warren Buffett has become the world's richest man with a net worth estimated at $62 billion. The investment guru surpassed Bill Gates who was the previous world's richest man for 13 consecutive years.

Gates and Buffett are friends who are reported to enjoy playing the board game bridge. Buffett recently pledged the bulk of his Birkshire shares to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Bill Gates is now the world's third richest man with a fortune of $58 billion. Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico is the second richest man with a personal haul of $60 billion according to Forbes magazine.

William H. Gates was born on Oct. 28, 1955. He was raised in Seattle, Washington where his father, William H. Gates II practices as an attorney. His mother,Mary Gates was a former school teacher. Bill Gates demonstrated an interest in computers and softwareat an early age. He entered Harvard University in 1973 where he first met Steve Balmer, the current CEO of Microsoft. In 1975, he began Microsoft with his childhood buddy Paul Allen. Bill Gates decided to leave harvard in order to focus more attention on Microsoft. The rest as they say is history.

Today, he is worth a staggering $58 billion . To put this in perspective, consider what can be done with that amount of money.


He could pay the salary of President Barack Obama (US$400,000) for 132,000 years
You could win Survivor 52,000 times and still not match up to his fortune
His wealth exceeds the annual budget of Russia.
 

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1. The Kuwaiti Dinar is the world's highest valued currency. One Kuwaiti Dinar exchanged for 3.61 US Dollars as of November 2007.


2. The highest volcanic eruption ever measured in the solar system was witnessed on August 6, 2001 when Nasa's Galileo spacecraft observed a volcanic plume on Jupiter's moon Io, that reached a height of 310 miles (500 km).

3. The highest ocean temperature ever recorded was 759 degrees Fahrenheit (404 degrees Celcius). It was measured above a hydrothermal vent 300 miles (480 km) off the American West Coast in 1985.

 

zulqarnain

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The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.

Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worms like fried bacon.

Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions!

What is called a "French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an "English kiss" in France.

"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

"Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.

In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child

A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!

Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

You can't kill yourself by holding your breath

There is a city called Rome on every continent.

It's against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland!

Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day!

Horatio Nelson, one of England's most illustrious admirals was throughout his life, never able to find a cure for his sea-sickness.

The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London

Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people

Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe!

The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!

One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet!

Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different!

The first known transfusion of blood was performed as early as 1667, when Jean-Baptiste, transfused two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man

Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!

Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!

The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, and had only ONE testicle

Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."

Coca-Cola would be green if colouring weren’t added to it.

On average a hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute.

More people are killed each year from bees than from snakes.

The average lead pencil will draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English words.

More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

The placement of a donkey's eyes in its' heads enables it to see all four feet at all times!

The six official languages of the United Nations are: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

Earth is the only planet not named after a god.

It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska, USA.

You're born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult, you only have 206.

Some worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food!

Dolphins sleep with one eye open!
 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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Drinking water on empty stomach in early morning

Japanese Medical Society suggests the use of water on empty stomach cures from:
Headache
Body ache
Diabetes
Constipation
All eye diseases
Ear,nose,throat disorders
 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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1. What is the expansion ( Full Form ) of YAHOO?


Yet Another Hierarchy of Officious Oracle


2. What is the expansion ( Full Form ) of ADIDAS?


ADIDAS- All Day I Dream About Sports


3. Expansion of Star as in Star TV Network?


Satellite Television Asian Region


4. What is expansion of "ICICI?"



Industrial credit and Investments Corporation of India


5. The 1984-85 season. 2nd ODI between India and Pakistan at Sialkot -
INDIA 210/3 with Vengsarkar 94*. Match abandoned. Why?



That match was abandoned after people heard
The news of Indira Gandhi being killed.


6. Who is the only man to have written the National Anthems
For two different countries?


Rabindranath Tagore who wrote national anthem for two different
Countries one is our 's National anthem and another one is for
BANGLADESH-( Amar Sonar* *Bangla )

7. From what four word expression does the word `goodbye` derive?


Goodbye comes from the ex-pression: 'god be with you'.


8. How was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu better known?


Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu is none other Mother Teresa


9. Name the only other country to have got independence on Aug 15th?


South Korea


10. Why was James Bond Associated with the Number 007?


Because 007 is the ISD code for Russia (or the USSR ,
As it was known during the cold war)


11. Who faced the first ball in the first ever One day match?


Geoffrey Boycott


12. Which cricketer played for South Africa before it was banned
From international cricket and later represented Zimbabwe ?


John Traicos

13. Which is the only country that is surrounded from all sides by
Only one country (other than Vatican )?



LESOTHO Surrounded from all sides by South Africa ..


14. Which is the only sport which is not allowed to play left handed?

 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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A rainbow can only be seen in the morning or late afternoon

The first VCR was made in 1956 and was the size of a Piano

First ballpoint pens were sold in 1945 for $12.

The first sailing boats were built in EGYPT

Bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps

Honeybees navigate by using the sun as a compass

Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

A snail can sleep for three years.

All polar bears are left handed.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Elephants are the only animals tha! t can't jump.

In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

Shakespeare invented the word 'assassination' and 'bump'.

Stewardesses is the longest wo! rd typed with only the left hand.

The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.

Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over million descendants.

Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different
 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning it's head are the rabbit and the parrot.

A zebra is white with black stripes.

A whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.

"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

Snails produce a colorless, sticky discharge that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along. The discharge is so effective that they can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves.

The word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent".

A hippopotamus can run faster than a man.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

Electricity doesn't move through a wire but through a field around the wire.

Hummingbirds are the only animal that can fly backwards.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

All the planets in the solar system rotate anticlockwise, except Venus. It is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru (Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).

A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.

Phobatrivaphobia is a fear of trivia about phobias.

Sanskrit is the mother of all higher languages. Sanskrit is the most precise and therefore suitable language for the computer software - a report in Forbes magazine.

India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

Twenty-Four-Karat Gold is not pure gold; there is a small amount of copper in it. Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.
 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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The Statue of Liberty’s index finger is eight feet long.

Rain has never been recorded in some parts of the Atacama Desert in Chile.

A 75 year old person will have slept about 23 years.


A Boeing 747’s wing span is longer than the Wright brother’s first
flight.(the Wright brother’s invented the airplane).

There are as many chickens on earth as there are humans.

One type of hummingbird weighs less than a penny.

The word “set ” has the most number of definitions in the English language;192.

Slugs have four noses.

Sharks can live up to 100 years.
Mosquitos are more attracted to the color blue than any other color.

Kangaroos can’t walk backwards.

About 75 acres of pizza are eaten in in the U.S. Everyday.

The largest recorded snowflake was 15in wide and 8in thick. It fell in
Montana in 1887.

The tip of a bullwhip moves so fast that the sound it makes is
actually a tiny sonic boom.

Former president Bill Clinton only sent 2 emails in his entire 8 year
presidency.


Koalas and humans are the only animals that have finger prints.

There are 200,000,000 insects for every one human.

It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery had in
it to begin with.

The world’s largest Montessori school is in India, with 26,312 students in 2002.

Octopus have three hearts.

If you ate too many carrots, you’d turn orange.


The average person spends two weeks waiting for a traffic light to change.

1 in 2,000,000,000 people will live to be 116 or old.

The body has 2-3 million sweat glands.


Sperm whales have the biggest brains; 20 lbs.

Tiger shark embroyos fight each other in their mother’s womb. The
survivor is born.

250 people have fallen off the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

A Blue whale’s tongue weighs more than an elephant.

You use 14 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. Keep Smiling!.


Bamboo can grow up to 3 ft in 24 hours.

An eyeball weighs about 1 ounce.
 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."



2. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "MT"



3. Almonds are members of the peach family.



4. The symbol on the "pound" key (#) is called an octothorpe.



5. The dot over the letter 'I is called a tittle.



6. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.



7. The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.



8. "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."



9. There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.



10. The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicros copicsilicovolca noconiosis.



11. The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicros copicsilicovolca noconiosesl.



12. The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangiha ngakoauauotamate aturipukakapikim aungahoronukup okaiwe-nuakit natahu, a New Zealand hill.



13. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade Los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size,L.A.



14. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.



15. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.



16. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.



17. Telly Savalas and Louis Armstrong died on their birthdays.



18. Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.



19. The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers.



23. There is a seven-letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the,there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.



24. Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.



26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.



27. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.



28. Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.



30. The letters KGB stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti



31. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.



33. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."



34. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.



35. Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."



36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.



37. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.



38. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."


 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
VIP
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1. Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

2. Snakes have no external ears. Therefore, they do not hear the
music of a "snake charmer". Instead, they are probably responding
to the movements of the snake charmer and the flute. However,
sound waves may travel through bones in their heads to the middle
ear.

3. Many spiders have eight eyes.

4. The tongue of snakes has no taste buds. Instead, the tongue is
used to bring smells and tastes into the mouth. Smells and tastes
are then detected in two pits, called "Jacobson's organs", on the
roof of their mouths. Receptors in the pits then transmit smell
and taste information to the brain.

5. Birds don't sweat

6. The highest kangaroo leap recorded is 10 ft and the longest is 42 ft

7. Flamingo tongues were eaten common at Roman feasts

8. The smallest bird in the world is the Hummingbird. It weighs 1oz

9. The bird that can fly the fastest is called a White it can fly up
to 95 miles per hour.
10. The oldest living thing on earth is 12,000 years old. It is the
flowering shrubs called creosote bushes in the Mojave Desert

11. Tea is said to have been discovered in 2737 BC by a Chinese
emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of
boiling water.
12. A person can live without food for about a month, but only about a
week without water. If the amount of water in your body is reduced
by just 1%, one will feel thirsty. If it's reduced by 10%, one
will die.
13. Along with its length neck, the giraffe has a very long tongue --
more than a foot and a half long. A giraffe can clean its ears
with its 21-inch tongue
14. Ostriches can kick with tremendous force, but only forward. Don't
Mess with them
15. An elephant can smell water three miles away
16. If you were to remove your skin, it would weigh as much as 5 pounds
17. A hippopotamus can run faster than a man
18. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history
19. The world's known tallest man is Robert Pershing Wadlow. The
giraffe is 5.49m (18 ft.), the man is 2.55m (8ft. 11.1 in.).
20. The world's tallest woman is Sandy Allen. She is 2.35m (7 ft. 7 in.).
21. The only 2 animals that can see behind themselves without turning
its head are the rabbit and the parrot.

22. The blue whale is the largest animal on earth. The heart of a blue
whale is as big as a car, and its tongue is as long as an elephant.

23. The largest bird egg in the world today is that of the ostrich.
Ostrich eggs are from 6 to 8 inches long. Because of their size
and the thickness of their shells, they take 40 minutes to
hard-boil. The average adult male ostrich, the world's largest
living bird, weighs up to 345 pounds.

24. Every dolphin has its own signature whistle to distinguish it from
other dolphins, much like a human fingerprint

25. The world's largest mammal, the blue whale, weighs 50 tons i.e.
50000 Kg at birth. Fully grown, it weighs as much as 150 tons i.e.
150000 Kg.

26. 90 % of all the ice in the world in on Antarctica
27. Antarctica is DRIEST continent. Antarctica is a desert
28. Antarctica is COLDEST continent, averaging minus 76 degrees in the
winter

29. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and it doesn't have a
moon. Its atmosphere is so thin that during the day the
temperature reaches 750 degrees, but at night it gets down to -300
degrees.

30. Jupiter is the largest planet. If Jupiter were hollow, you could
fit 1000 earths inside! It is made up of gas and is not solid. The
most famous feature on Jupiter is its Red Spot, which is actually
an enormous hurricane that has been raging on Jupiter for hundreds
of years! Sixteen moons orbit Jupiter.

31. Saturn is a very windy place! Winds can reach up to 1,100 miles
per hour. Saturn is also made of gas. If you could find an ocean
large enough, it would float. This planet is famous for its
beautiful rings, and has at least 18 moons.

32. Uranus is the third largest planet, and is also made of gas. It's
tilted on its side and spins north-south rather than east-west.
Uranus has 15 moons.

33. Neptune takes 165 Earth years to get around the sun. It appears
blue because it is made of methane gas. Neptune also has a big
Spot like Jupiter. Winds on Neptune get up to 1,200 mile per hour!
Neptune has 8 moons.

34. Pluto is the farthest planet from the sun... usually. It has such
an unusual orbit that it is occasionally closer to the sun than
Neptune. Pluto is made of rock and ice.
35. Just about everyone listens to the radio! 99% of homes in the
United States have a least one radio. Most families have several
radios.

36. Sound is sent from the radio station through the air to your radio
by means of electromagnetic waves. News, music, Bible teaching,
baseball games, plays, advertisements- these sounds are all
converted into electromagnetic waves (radio waves) before they
reach your radio and your ears.

37. At the radio station, the announcer speaks into a microphone. The
microphone changes the sound of his voice into an electrical
signal. This signal is weak and can't travel very far, so it's
sent to a transmitter. The transmitter mixes the signal with some
strong radio signals called carrier waves. These waves are then
sent out through a special antenna at the speed of light! They
reach the antenna of your radio. Your antenna "catches" the
signal, and the radio's amplifier strengthens the signal and sends
it to the speakers. The speakers vibrate, and your ears pick up
the vibrations and your brain translates them into the voice of
the radio announcer back at the station. When you consider all the
places the announcer's voice travels.

38. Every radio station has its own frequency. When you turn the
tuning knob on your radio, you are choosing which frequency you
want your antenna to "catch."

39. Mountain lions are known by more than 100 names, including
panther, catamount, cougar, painter and puma. Its scientific name
is Felis concolor, which means "cat of one color." At one time,
mountain lions were very common!

40. The large cats of the world are divided into two groups- those
that roar, like tigers and African lions, and those that purr.
Mountain lions purr, hiss, scream, and snarl, but they cannot
roar. They can jump a distance of 30 feet, and jump as high as 15
feet. It would take quite a fence to keep a mountain lion out!
Their favorite food is deer, but they'll eat other critters as
well. They hunt alone, not in packs like wolves. They sneak up on
their prey just like a house cat sneaks up on a bird or toy- one
slow step at a time. A lion can eat ten pounds of meat at one time!
 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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This is awesome - I bet you didn't know this...

Letters 'a', 'b', 'c' & 'd' do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 99


(Letter 'd' comes for the first time in Hundred)

Letters 'a', 'b' & 'c' do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 999


(Letter 'a' comes for the first time in Thousand)

Letters 'b' & 'c' do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 999,999,999


(Letter 'b' comes for the first time in Billion)

And

Letter 'c' does not appear anywhere in in the spellings of entire English Counting


 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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1-Los Angles contains more Cats than People.
2-Napoleon,one of the greatest Generals in history scared of Cats.
3-Romans are in the habit of eating door mice.
4-As Christmas Eve in 1969,black snow fell in sweden.
5-Astronauts can grow an inch or so during time in Space.
6-The original name of Butterfly is"Flutterby".
7-A shirmp's head is in its head.
8-Shark never get Sick.
9-There is a city called"Rome"on every Continent....

 

zulqarnain

~ A Man Of Two Ages ~
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1. A mango tree can live and bear fruit up to 300 years.
2. Chocolate doesn't cause pimples and teeth decay.
3. An ostrich's eyes are bigger than its brain.
4. The number of moles on your body increases through exposure to sunlight.
5. Rubber is used to make bubble gum.
6. Water melon is not a fruit but a vegetable from the cucumber family.
7. Drivers kill more deer than hunters.
8. One out of 20 people has an extra rib.
9. When you walk down a steep hill, the pressure on your knees is equal to three times of your body weight.
10. A kangaroo can't jump if its tail is off the ground.
11. In ancient China, people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt.
12. All polar bears are left-handed.
13. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and nobody knows why.
 
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