STRANGE FACTS (part2)

1. during pregnancy, a woman's uterus can grow to 500 times its normal size. the baby that it carries, will start out with 300 bonesfuse only after birth. if the baby is born in May, it will weight an average 200g. more than children born in other months.
2. it was the accepted practice in babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the honey he could drink. since the calendar of the babylonians was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the "honeymoon".
3. the praying mantis has no ears on its heads. it has on single ear in the middle of the thorax on the underside.this single ear, which is a deep slit inside the thorax, allows it to hear ultrasonic sounds emitted such as those by predator bats. when spraying mantises hear the frequency of ultrasonic sounds increase, indicating an approaching predator, mantises stop flying horizontally and begin a direct, high speed nose dive towards the safety of the ground.
4. chocolate can be harmful or even deadly to pets. defending on the form involved, chocolate can contain high amounts of fat and caffein-like substances known as methylxanthines. if ingested in significant amounts by pets especially dogs, chocolate can potentially produce clinical effects ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors,seizures and even death in severe cases. typically, the darker the chocolate, the hi her the potential for methylxanthine poisoning.
5. hiccups happen when the diaphragm, the muscle that controls our breathing, becomes irritated and starts to spasm and contract uncotrollably. air is pulled into the lungs very quickly with each contraction. the air passes through the voice box, and then the epiglottis closses behind the rush of air, shaking the vocal chords that cause the "hic" sound. the irritation can be caused by rapid eating, emotional stress and even some diseases. the best cure fof hiccups is breathing into a paper bag to increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream.
6. the antibacterial components of antibacterial soaps (usually "triclosan" or, less commonly, "triclocarbon") needs to be left on a surface for about two minutes in order to work. most people are not this patient, and end up washing off the soap before the antibacterial ingerdiets can do their job.
7. scientists have discovered that the feeling experienced when we are tickled cause us to panic and is natural defense to little creepy crawlers like spiders and bugs. that same ticklish feeling sends us into a state of panic and elicits a response of uncontrollable laughter if a person tickle us.
8. the chemical compound "capsaicin" is the active component of chili peppers. it is an irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue it comes in contact with.
9. each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: spades-king david, clubs-alexander the great, hearths- charlemagne, and diamonds-julius ceasar.
10. if a statue in the park of the person on the horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
11. the human head contains 22 bones, consisting of the cranium and facial bones. the cranium is formed by eight bones: the frontal bone, two parietal bones, two temporal bones, the ethmoid bone behind the nose, and the sphenoid bone. the face consist of 14 bons including the maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw).
12. there are more than 2,700 different languages spoken in the world today with more than 7,000 dialects. in indonesia alone, 365 different languages are spoken. more than 1,000 different languages are spoken in africa. the most difficult language to learn is basque, which is spoken in north-western spain and south-western france . it is not related to any other language in the world, followed by english. but as home language, spannish is the second most spoken in the world.
13. although a cow has no upper front teeth, it grazes up to eight hours a day, taking in a about 45kg of feed (the equivalent of a bath tub full of water). a helathy cow gives about 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime . cows release some 100 million tons of hydrocarbon annually by releasing gas. if the gas of 10 cows could be captured it would be provide heating for a small house for a year. cows release hydrocarbon mostly by burping.
14. in a tank of water, diet soda will float while regular soda will sink. this is because sugar plays a major role in determining the soda can's buoyancy. some 39g. of sugar are present in a regular can of soda, makes regular soda sink to the bottom. sugar is obviously heavier than aspartame (a synthetic sweeter).
15. the holes in swiss cheese are caused by a bacteria called " propionibacterium" that is added to the curds. these bacteria are left to culture in 70-80 degree (F) temperatures, forming colonies inside of the cheese as it matures. in order to protect the integrity of their colonies, the bacteria emit carbon dioxide which bubbles when there is no escape for the gas. these carbon dioxide depositories create spherical craters in the wheel of cheese that appears as holes when the cheese is sliced.
16. the agent in dust that makes a person sneeze is in the excrement of the microscopic dust mites. proteins acquired in a mite's digestive tract contain an allergen that disagrees with the human nasal passage. dust mites eat things like finger nails, human hair, and bacteria.
17. eating orange wedges with one's teeth can cause severe decay if it becomes a common practice. acid in citrus fruits can cause severe deterioration of much needed tooth enamel. the amount of enamel on one's teeth determines their color. when it wears away, the underlying dentin starts to show through with a yellowish color.
18. anemist belive that earrings (like medallions and other such jewellry) aid humans when worn in strategic locations and in specific combinations. apparently wearing one gold and one silver earring can cure a headache. with the ear as an entrance to the body, early earrings could have been used to ward off intrusive evil spirits. alternative supertition tells us that pierced ears should help the eyesight, maybe with the rationale sometimes used when those who are deaf show exceptional visual and olfactory sensation.
19. there is a species of crab in the tropics called "coconut crab" that climb palm trees and eat coconuts. they can grow up to three fit. in lenght and have large and strong claws that could lift objects up to 60lbs. when there are not enough coconuts to eat, theses= crabs eat fruits, their own shed outer shells, and the carcasses of dead coconut crabs.