Kingdom Animalia!

The World we live in is filled with more than just humans. And one of those things is animals. The brilliant and eclectic array of animals in this world can me more than spell binding. So without further ado, five FünFacts about the magnificent fauna of the world:

#5
I am sure everyone who reads this blog is an avid fan of dog racing. I mean who isn't, am i right?

Any way, for all the laymen out there, the breed of dog used in dog racing is the Greyhound. Now although because of mixed breeds Greyhounds vary in color. But the name Greyhound was believed to be derived from their color. The name comes from grieghund. grieg is german for a bitch(female dog). They were originally blueish in color.

#4
Now most people believe that the parrot is the bird that has the greatest mimicking abilities.
However, the superb lyre bird has the ability to mimic the sound of almost anything!

#3
I don't know if its just me, but I have always wondered why turkeys are called turkeys. And as expected, it has something to do with Turkey. Turkey is called a turkey because the first merchants to sell them were Turkish.

#2
The four- eyed fish also called in Latin Anableps Anableps actually has 2 eyes divided in 4. They are normally on the surface of the water so the top 2 are on the surface and the bottom 2 look inside the water.

#1
This one, I found very interesting, There is no green mammal. There are birds, reptiles but no mammals. There was a greenish sloth, but it was simply algae on the fur.

Quote for the week:
"My favorite animal is steak."
=Fran Lebowitz

The Human Body and Various Oddities.

I hope Everyone is recovering from Spring Break, because i certainly am struggling to. I realized that once your body get used to being lazy and inactive, a sudden resuming of hectic activities can take its toll. That, as you can imagine, got me thinking of the humans and how complex we are biologically and yet sometimes so strikingly simple minded. So, without further ado, five FünFacts of us humans and our bodies.

#5
The gut is the only organ that can continue working without the brain. It is similar to the brain in its composition. I wonder where the term gut-feeling comes from?

#4
Ever wake up in the morning and feel younger or older than you are? Different parts of the body have different ages. The entire human skeleton is replaced approximately every 10 years. The human body is only about 7 - 10 years old.

#3
Ever been told you have two left feet? The 1600's to the 1800's might be the place for you. In the 200 years between 1600 and 1800 boots were not made in left or right. They both were the same. There were lefts and rights before 1600 and after 1800.

#2
Trouble breathing? That's because we breathe only from one nostril at a time. We alternate nostrils. Each one breathes for 4 hours each.
Breathing from certain each side affect the way you answer different question on different subjects. Breathing through the right makes you better at visual and spatial things whereas the left is better for verbal things. Sports personalities wear a nose band so that they can breathe from both nostrils. Right nostrils being blocked make you feel more anxious. 

#1
Looking for a perfect figure to attract? Look no further. Dr. David Holmes, a psychology lecturer at the University of Manchester, created a formula to describe the beauty of a perfect bottom:

Quote for the week:
"If a world was a logical place, then men would ride side-saddle"
- Rita Mae Brown

Images Used:
 http://entericnervoussystem.webs.com/functions.htm
http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/my-left-foot/1668
http://shrek.wikia.com/wiki/Puss_in_Boots

If Music Were the Food of ... wait what?

I was listening to one of my favorite pieces of music and like i usually do, i got really emotional. It made me think of the regard we give to music and how it affects our lives. Music plays an essential role in inspiring us and of penetrating our deepest emotions and evoking a sense of realization. All of this by a simple, and sometimes not so much, tune. So without further ado, the song i was listening to:

Oh yes, five FünFacts about music and the brilliance of sound:

#5
For musicians, the term, "look at the music" might simply mean reading the notes on the sheet. But for some, that term is far more literal. Sound Synesthesia is a condition that some have, in which they see colors every-time certain music is played. Different notes of music have different colors for people who possess this condition.

#4
The University of Ohio performed an experiment in which they played music to spiders. The spiders wove their webs away form the speakers when they were blasted with Heavy Metal and Pop but built it close to the speakers when they played Classical.

Bonus fünfact: An experiment conducted by NASA on spiders who were exposed to different kinds of drugs which impacted the webs they wove. Below are the kinds of webs they produced, while exposed to the respective drug.

 

#3

 The tune for the famous nursery rhyme, 'twinkle twinkle little star', was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was 5. He wrote multiple variations.

 

#2

The first thing to break the sound barrier was invented in china 7000 years ago and is still used extensively. It was, and still is, the whip. The crack of the whip is not the sound of the whip hitting its self but the breaking of the sound barrier.

#1

The birthday is the one day of self importance(and sometimes self-loathing) in a man's life. Its a moment of joy when our kith and kin gather to sing the generic, 'Happy Birthday to you.' But every time it is sung in public, we owe Warner Brothers money. Warner Brothers bought the rights to the song 'Happy Birthday' in 2004. The earned nearly $2million dollars in royalties in the year 2008, just from that song.

Qoute for the week:
 The conductor, Sir Thomas Beechum once said to a lady cellist,"Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands and all you can do is scratch it"

Remember to check out my previous post and answer the bonus question to win the $2 amazon gift card!


Images used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CaffeinatedSpider.jpg
http://www.fmvmagazine.com/?p=10898
http://blog.thecelebrationshoppe.com/2011/10/14/real-parties-girly-camp-party/singing-happy-birthday-camp-party/
http://www.nj.com/shopping/index.ssf/2011/04/get_a_free_sample_of_miracle_w.html
http://www.hellokids.com/c_6276/coloring/famous-character-coloring-pages/indiana-jones-coloring-book-pages/indiana-jones-and-his-leather-whip-coloring-page