Did You Know? -Conversation Starters

  

 

 

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According to research from UC Davis, women worry more than men because they’re more likely to believe that past experiences accurately forecast the future.

47 percent of women work on their days off.

On average, people tell one to two lies a day with the intention of deceiving.

Freaky animal-kingdom fact: Sand-dollar larvae can clone themselves when in danger. Researchers believe this is so they have twice the chance of survival if one gets eaten.

On September 12, Russians will celebrate the Day of Conception, a holiday that encourages couples to do the deed and give birth exactly nine months later on Russia’s national day. Patriotic parents who do indeed have children on June 12 win cars, fridges, and money.

According to a recent study, the higher the cost of gas, the lower the rate of national obesity. Apparently, people would rather walk to work (or at least to public transportation) than shell out major dough to fill up the their tank.

Firstborns get 20 to 30 more minutes of quality time per day with parents than younger sibs.

The high produced by exercise could one day be available through a pill, says research. Scientists found a gene that can be targeted to alleviate depression.

The median age of women in the U.S. who get married for the first time is 25.5.

Some handbag designers are strengthening the stitching and straps of women’s bags to support the added weight of things like PDAs and iPods.

Tattoos on the neck or face are called job stoppers in the tattooing business, according to David Givens, PhD, author of “Crime Signals.”

This is what happens when you mix me and a cosmo… Magazine of course!

Finally! A Candy that Prevents Cavities!

According to msnbc.com researchers at Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine say you can eat a special candy that will prevent cavities! Apparently the research was done in Venezuela for 1 year, where they found 61.7% less cavities in children who ate this candy even over children who had good brushing habits and took the “placebo” mint!

Here’s the details: “Children in the study were testing the effectiveness of BasicMints, an experimental fluoride-free treatment designed to mimic a component in human saliva that neutralizes acids in the mouth that can erode tooth enamel. The researchers developed the active compound in the mints known as CaviStat, tested them in 200 children in Venezuela aged 10 1/2 to 11 who were getting their adult molars but still had some baby teeth left. The soft mints are designed to be dissolved and chewed into the biting surfaces of the back teeth, where about 90 percent of cavities in children occur.” –Journal of Clinical Dentistry.

The Experiment: The children were divided among two groups. The first group of children brushed their teeth every morning and every night. Each time they would take two “medicated” -project mints. The second group was assigned to brush their teeth two times a day, and took regular/plain/sugarless mints. Each group brushed with fluoride toothpaste.

“Unlike regular candies, we want this product to be stuck in the teeth,” said Mitchell Goldberg, president of Ortek Therapeutics Inc, a privately held company in Roslyn Heights, New York, that licensed the technology from Stony Brook.

So go check it out! Now, don’t mix up the fact that research has proven you can eat candy without harming your teeth because that statement is false! It is a SPECIALLY designed candy that helps prevent cavities. But yes, for fun, you can tell your parents that candy isn’t so bad after all .

Test Your Knowledge: Did You Know?

The other day I was talking in class with my friend Tabitha… she claimed that she’s always right, and knows everything… and though she was most likely joking, I thought to myself, “You know, a lot of people make this claim. Could it possibly be true?” Here are only a FEW random tidbits… IF ANYONE HONESTLY knows everyone of these facts, please leave a comment saying so, and I will test your knowledge further . Good luck!

1. The only city whose name can be spelled completely with vowels is Aiea, Hawaii, located approximately twelve miles west of Honolulu.
2. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
3. The slogan on New Hampshire license plates is ‘Live Free or Die’. These license plates are manufactured by prisoners in the state prison in Concord.
4. Barbie’s measurements if she were life size: 39-23-33. And according to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate.
5. The tune for the “A-B-C” song is the same as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
6. The straw was probably invented by Egyptian brewers to taste in-process beer without removing the fermenting ingredients which floated on the top of the container.
7. The common goldfish is the only animal that can see both infra-red and ultra-violet light.
8. David Prowse, was the guy in the Darth Vader suit in Star Wars. He spoke all of Vader’s lines, and didn’t know that he was going to be dubbed over by James Earl Jones until he saw the screening of the movie.
9. The two longest one-syllable words in the English language are “screeched” and “strengths.”
10. Nine of the thirteen blimps are in the United States.
11. The Swiss flag is square (most flags are rectangular).
12. The Boston University Bridge (on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts) is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.
13. It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear.
14. Great Britain was the first county to issue postage stamps. Hence, the postage stamps of Britain are the only stamps in the world not to bear the name of the country of origin. However, every stamp carries a relief image or a silhouette of the monarch’s head instead.
15. The ship, the Queen Elizabeth 2, should always be written as QE2. QEII is the actual queen.
16. An animal epidemic is called an epizootic.
17. The little lump of flesh just forward of your ear canal, right next to your temple, is called a tragus.
18. Other than humans, black lemurs are the only primates that may have blue eyes.
19. The ridges on the sides of coins are called reeding.
20. Back in the mid to late 80’s, an IBM compatible computer wasn’t considered a hundred percent compatible unless it could run Microsoft’s Flight Simulator.

P.S. Poodles don’t shed… have you seen them in these different colors before?

Hula Hoops Make Me Happy

You think thats impressive? I dare you to try it, simple, around your waste! You will surely think it is amazing…

The hula hoop is a toy hoop, usually made of plastic, that is twirled around the waist, limbs, or neck (definition provided by google). The hoop was invented by Wham-o Corporation who released the product in 1958.

The term “Hula” was adapted from the Hawaiian dance and was first associated to the toy after people saw the close relations to the cultural dance and the hoop.

Did you know that the balls inside aren’t even really there for a purpose other than the “shoop-shoop sound effect!” I kid you not! That there was a quote.

Not only is the hula hoop a good recreational activity, but a healthy sport. It can be a really fun and healthy habit which could also make you flexible.

The hula hoop is a lot harder than it seems! I remember when I was little I really enjoyed it. So naturally, when I saw one in the store this weekend I bought it, figuring it would be especially fun and a “piece of cake” with my hula experience! I was right, and wrong! I didn’t remember ever struggling with it before, thus, it taught me to admire kids for their energy and coordination! And at first my hips were out of sync with the hoop catching on my clothes and tripping over my shoes. I felt like a kid again! And of course after a few more try’s I finally got it . It was great!

Another plus is that the hula hoop most definitely teaches you how to laugh at yourself while providing a smile for anyone else who is watching.

Now, I can give you a tip! The moment you start worrying about how you look or what other people are thinking is when the whole thing collapses and the game is all over! So just don’t pay attention. Let yourself loose, have fun, and feel free!

To learn more about the hula hoop click here.

Sunshine Exposure!

So apparently new research studies say that you are more likely to live longer and have better health results if you seek opportunities to stay out in the sun at least 15 minutes daily (front, then back). Your benefits should “outweigh” the chances of you getting skin cancer.

Don’t believe me? Check it out. However, I don’t know if the writer is legit or not since there are so many grammatical errors for a so-called professional company. But, with all the researchers that were named I do think so.

Now go outside and enjoy yourself! The sun is a pleasant thing. Especially around this time of year when the breeze is still around. Take a little sunblock and go swimming, or play a sport. Who cares! Just get out there and have fun!