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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

LIVE LONGER AND STAY YOUNG FOR EVER


KEEP ON SMILING
Survey: How does smiling helps people live longer?


The wider you grin and the deeper your laughter lines, the more likely you are to have a long existence. Broader smiles and wrinkles around your eyes point to a positive outlook on life which translates to better long-term health.

It has long been thought that a happy disposition can impact on life expectancy, and the recent study by experts at Wayne University in Michigan, America, seems to back this.

They came to their conclusions by studying 230 pictures of major league baseball players printed in the 1952 baseball register.

Each picture came with a listing of the player's vital statistics, including age, weight, height and marital status. Researchers then ranked to players according to their smiles and laughter lines, spanning from none at all, to partial and then those with a full blown toothy grin and crinkled eyes.

They then compared the chart to the lifespan of each player to reach their conclusions. Of the 184 players who had since died, those in the "no smile" section lived an average of 72.9 years while the "partial smile" group lived to around the age of 75.

Those with the widest grins lived an average of 79.9 years – a full seven more years than their glum colleagues. The study also found that putting on a false smile did not work, as only those who looked genuinely happy had the extra life expectancy.
   

The most appealing secrets for staying young tend to lie in exercising, active social life, adopting a positive attitude, monitored diets, being helpful and maybe even involvement in theological practices. In other words, the more active you are the more likely are you to live happily and healthy.
We, mortals can live happier, healthier and longer with a light twist of sport and dancing. People in their 50s or above who actively engage in sporting activities are more alert and mentally agile. Thus, sport plays a fundamental role in sustaining good healthy at an advanced age.
In a survey of 100 U.S. Family physicians, conducted by msnbc.com sought to identify what doctors suggested to be the secret for being healthy. Most doctors suggested, exercise to be the prime factor for healthy aging. There was a total of 39 percent of the doctors who tipped exercise. Moreover, scientific data proves that more frequent aerobic “exercises” have many health benefits. It helps to fight diabetes, alleviate stress lower blood pressure and improve mental agility.

Twenty-six percent of the physicians tipped “Not Smoking” as a fundamental key for healthy aging. A total of 21 percent allocated healthy diet as the secret for longevity. However, only 9 percent of the medical practitioners said that “Staying Social” would facilitate aging. There has been “research published” suggesting that late retirement can actually prevent degenerative brain problems such as Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, social life is, indeed, a critical determinant for a healthy lifestyle.
Another, factor maybe not often mentioned but certainly true is the benefit of being optimistic. There have been various “studies suggesting” that being optimistic can help one to live longer and more importantly with less risk of chronic diseases.
There are those who consider that vitamins, herbal teas and check-ups are futile in the quest to defy aging. The best mean is to continue your life has it is and stop considering to the advent of aging. Thus, living every day as well as possible and ignoring that you are getting older can also be a convenient trick to be happy and healthier.
There are people with attitudes that are contagious. Individual suffering from depression can likely drag you down. It is important to socialise with young and dynamic people who are happy and enjoy life. Some other generic secrets are to stay away from the sun, and to consume natural food that has not been excessively processed. Processed food should be consumed in very low quantities or as a special one-month occasion.
A comprehensive list to summarise some of the secrets to stay young, happy and healthy are:
1. Proper Diet
2. Exercise – Walking, regular aerobic exercise, weight training and/or dancing
3. Social interaction – preferably with young and enthusiastic people
4. Be active – and have fun – positive attitude.
5. Willingness to learn and engage in new practices; like travelling abroad or joining social communities

Beware of Depressive Individuals
One of the common secrets for happiness is to avoid negative people. These people can bring degenerative precursors of aging. They are also likely to hinder one to implement the known secret for staying young, healthy and happy. They will ruin social interaction, prevent positive attitude and will act as a barrier for willingness to engage in new practices.
Survey: How does smiling helps people live longer?

13 April 2010 [12:37] - Today.Az
The wider you grin and the deeper your laughter lines, the more likely you are to have a long existence. Broader smiles and wrinkles around your eyes point to a positive outlook on life which translates to better long-term health.

It has long been thought that a happy disposition can impact on life expectancy, and the recent study by experts at Wayne University in Michigan, America, seems to back this.

They came to their conclusions by studying 230 pictures of major league baseball players printed in the 1952 baseball register.

Each picture came with a listing of the player's vital statistics, including age, weight, height and marital status. Researchers then ranked to players according to their smiles and laughter lines, spanning from none at all, to partial and then those with a full blown toothy grin and crinkled eyes.

They then compared the chart to the lifespan of each player to reach their conclusions. Of the 184 players who had since died, those in the "no smile" section lived an average of 72.9 years while the "partial smile" group lived to around the age of 75.

Those with the widest grins lived an average of 79.9 years – a full seven more years than their glum colleagues. The study also found that putting on a false smile did not work, as only those who looked genuinely happy had the extra life expectancy
.


Which blood type live longer of people?
There is no evidence that the United States is used in the draft when the knowledge about the blood type of psychology, to select suitable persons to act as leaders. Japan has long said that the implementation of this approach. In any case, study or continue to add and calculation, and obtained exciting but surprising conclusion.
Mathematicians and doctors StevenM.Weissberg and well-known fitness expert Joseph Christiano on a survey of 5,000 people come to the interesting data. One of the problems, people with different blood type is the average life expectancy there is difference?
You think? Four blood types among those who have the strongest kind of blood, and it has the longest life expectancy?
American life expectancy was 76 years. This figure is doomed. And it is delightful, because only a few people obviously live longer, on the contrary others have long passed away.
Have the longest life expectancy of people are blood type O people, the average life expectancy of these people almost 87 years. They are a nightmare for pension division. The high life expectancy had not surprising, because these people physically strong, have the will, the relative balance between psychological and carefree.
B blood type, or to keep calm and composed, even if they are blood type O people than 10 years, died early. They are stubborn, persistent and everything too.
Life expectancy 10 years less then the AB blood type, an average of 70 years.
The average live the shortest person who is blood type A, only 62 years old. In psychologists view, this is actually expected, because the A blood type thin-skinned and very sensitive, they will have for themselves and people around to worry about. Unfortunately, this often cause an excessive burden on the heart, or even wear.

But the A-type blood for other blood type fortune telling life is shorter, there is a completely different reason. Peter doctors and naturopathic physicians. J. Dada Mo, MD, found that a specific food and the antagonistic relationship between blood type. In his writings described a person with problems with the food, because the impact of diet by blood type.
He believes that blood type O and A blood type is the primary difference is that the digestion of meat food products: O-type blood people need meat, and well absorbed; while blood type A person can not properly digest meat, relatively greater need of food grains and vegetables. The underlying reason is the different amount of gastric acid secretion: O blood type acid enough, so digestion of meat is just a piece of cake. Unfortunately, today's recipes are almost all meat on fast food: kebabs, burgers, grilled sausages and steak, that for blood type A people and their digestive system that is fragile, is like poison. Wrong eating habits so that these people seriously weakened, and shortened life expectancy.
Let us look at the situation in Japan. This country who have blood type A has the longest life expectancy, higher than all other countries. Answers is that they can properly treat diet. Basically, the Japanese eat a lot of fish, rice and soybean, and green tea as their baby, like the Bavarian beer treat them as people. This diet is conducive to blood type A people. Who wants to live longer, you have a reasonable arrangement according to blood type diet.
TIPS
1.Eat Super Food
If you want to keep young and healthy, then the advice from researchers are: Eat Super Food! Super Food is food you make from fresh ingredients; berries, fruit and vegetables, salmon and other fat fish, bird and game, nuts, red wine and green tea.
2.Give your lungs a challenge
Frequent exercise increases lung capacity with up to 25 per cent.
3.Put the cigarette out
If you smoke: put it out now!
4.Become aware of your breath
Breathe with your stomach - ideally is 12-14 deep breaths per minute.
5.Keep your weight
It is a burden for your joints to carry too many kilos
6.Eat breakfast
A good and fibre healthy breakfast.
7.Build up musculature
A study of men between 60-72 years show that they have doubled the muscle strength by frequent exercise in 12 weeks.
8.Enjoy your sex life
Scottish researchers have proved that regular sex - three to four times a week - releases substances from your brain which slows down aging.
9.Check your posture
You can better our posture through exercise as yoga or Pilates.
10.Fill up the oil
The best oil for the body is fat fish, walnuts and linseeds.
11.Check for rust treatment
The best treatment for your body is green tea, nuts, berries, fruit and green vegetables, dark chocolate, red wine, red meat and Soya.
12.Stay away from bad diets
Milk, plus fat fish is important to maintain healthy and strong bones.
13.Enjoy the sun
The body needs sun to produce vitamin D, some researchers recommend you take a few minutes under a sun bed frequently in the winter.
14.Drink water
Drink at least eight glasses of clean water a day. Check your urine - It should be clear. If it is yellow, then that indicates that you do not drink enough.
15.Go for a walk
Frequent walk reduces the risk of developing osteoporoses.
16.Strengthen your heart
Eat food that is rich on vitamin B, magnesium and Zink, as meat, fish, egg and milk. Other protective food is carrots, cabbage, avocado, nuts, garlic and wholemeal.
17.Watch your blood pressure
Remember salt, overweight and stress increases the risk of high blood pressure, while exercise, a healthy diet and distension reduces it.
18.Check the heart
Go to your doctor for a yearly check up.
19.Don't stress
People who stress have three times as much risk of developing heart illnesses at a young age, according to American study.
20.Use sun cream
It is important to use sun cream with a high UVA factor. And remember that sun cream is fresh, so invest in a new one for each new season.
21.Reduce sugar intake
If you have to have something sweet, then dark chocolate that contains at least 70% cocoa beans is preferred.
22.Have your beauty sleep
You should sleep a minimum of seven hours a night.
23.Give the skin nutrition
Use a lotion that contains vitamin A, C and E. From the inside nourish your skin by eating fruit, berries and vegetables, salmon and tuna and drink green tea and red wine.
24.Prioritize your body's need
Divide 24hours in three eight hours batches, one for work, one for recreation and one for rest.
25.Plan your day
Think and plan today for tomorrow. Shop food for several days ahead and plan food preparation, meals and exercise.
26.Look after your teeth
Brush your teeth twice a day and avoid too much coffee, tea and red wine. Use dental floss daily.
27.Keep in shape
Your body is not made to doze off on the sofa! Get up and out to be active.
28.Think positive
The expert's advice is that you every day thinks of something you are grateful for. It creates positively which makes you happy and younger.
29.Mental maintenance
According to a Swedish study you increase the risk of dementia with 30% if you spend too much time in front of the television.
Enjoy a young and healthy life!
Top Ten Tips to Stay Young and Happy - Naturally

1. Throw out unimportant numbers such as age, weight and height. Who cares? It is time to let the doctor worry about them as that is why they are paid.

2. Mix with only cheerful, happy people and avoid keeping friends with grouches who only pull you down.

3. Continue learning and discovering. The world is your oyster so choose to always move forward. Find hobbies that you absolutely love such as computer, crafts, gardening, writing or dancing. Never allow the body or the brain be idle. As the saying goes, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Take pleasure in the simple things in life. Revel in the dawn of each new day, take time to smell the roses.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until your eyes water and you gasp for breath.

6. There will be times when tears happen. Be sure to endure, grieve, and then move on. The only person who is with you your entire life is yourself. So be alive while you are alive.

7. Find peace and serenity. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies. Your home is your castle and it is your refuge. Make of it what you want.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, seek help. Know that many problems can be resolved by learning how to control your thoughts and emotions, so always keep a positive mind.

9. Be grateful for what you have and share the kindness. The art of forgiveness may be difficult at times, but learning to forgive and love yourself will enable you to move forward with peace and share your love with the world.

10. Finally, tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

It's worth remembering that life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

The importance of following the ten tips above will allow you to let go, be free and enjoy every day on your journey through life. It is time to grow old dis-gracefully - with a smile on your face, a bounce in your step, love in your heart, and with the knowledge that you have not wasted one precious second of your time on this earth. Don't wait until it's too late to begin.

Coaching is always available should you need a helping hand to take the first and then necessary steps to achieve the life you desire.

Be happy. Make your life successful and abundant. You can discover how to awaken and achieve the God or Goddess that is in you, regardless of your age.

Follow the tips to stay naturally happy and young. This good advice is for all men and women 40 yrs plus, who can always be, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS beyond forty, fifty and for-ever !!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN.......READ ATLEAST ONCE AND KNOW ABOUT OUR POWER

The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.

 The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus. 
 

The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.  during the Vedic period.  Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).

Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).

Chess was invented in India.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.

The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.

The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.

The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD)  during the reign of Rajaraja Chola



India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old). 
The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called  'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time,  the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh.
Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

 

India has the most post offices in the world !

The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.   

The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. 

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.

Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days. 

The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians. 

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India.  Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the

 Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )

The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,  physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts. 

Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over  2600 years ago Sushrata & his team  conducted complicated surgeries like  cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries. 


CAN WE CONTINUE THIS............. 

extra info
  1. India is about 1/3 the size of the United States, yet it is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of 1,166,079,217. India is the seventh largest country in the world, at 1.27 million square miles.g
  2. India is the largest democracy in the world.i
  3. The Kumbh Mela (or Grand Pitcher Festival) is a huge Hindu religious festival that takes place in India every 12 years. In 2001, 60 million people attended, breaking the record for the world’s biggest gathering. The mass of people was photographed from space by a satellite.c
  4. Many Indians find toilet paper repellent and consider it cleaner to splash water with the left hand in the appropriate direction. Consequently, the left hand is considered unclean and is never used for eating.f
  5. To avoid polluting the elements (fire, earth, water, air), followers of Zoroastrianism in India don’t bury their dead, but instead leave bodies in buildings called “Towers of Silence” for the vultures to pick clean. After the bones dry, they are swept into a central well.f
  6. rupee
    It is illegal for foreigners to import or export Indian currency (rupees)
  7. It is illegal to take Indian currency (rupees) out of India.f
  8. India leads the world with the most murders (32,719), with Russia taking second at 28,904 murders per year.j
  9. India has one of the world’s highest rates of abortion.e
  10. More than a million Indians are millionaires, yet most Indians live on less than two dollars a day. An estimated 35% of India’s population lives below the poverty line.l
  11. Cows can be found freely wandering the streets of India’s cities. They are considered sacred and will often wear a tilak, a Hindu symbol of good fortune. Cows are considered one of humankind’s seven mothers because she offers milk as does one’s natural mother.k
  12. Dancing is one of India’s most highly developed arts and was an integral part of worship in the inner shrines of every temple. It is notable for its expressive hand movements.f
  13. Rabies is endemic in India. Additionally, “Delhi Belly” or diarrhea is commonplace due to contaminated drinking water.f
  14. Many Indian wives will never say her husband’s name aloud, as it is a sign of disrespect. When addressing him, the wife will use several indirect references, such as “ji” or “look here” or “hello,” or even refer to him as the father of her child.f
  15. A widow is considered bad luck—otherwise, her husband wouldn’t have died. Elderly women in the village might call a widow “the one who ate her husband.” In some orthodox families, widows are not allowed near newlyweds or welcomed at social gatherings.b
  16. India is the birthplace of chess.l The original word for “chess” is the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning “four members of an army”—which were mostly likely elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers.d
  17. The Indian flag has three horizontal bands of color: saffron for courage and sacrifice, white for truth and peace, and green for faith, fertility, and chivalry. An emblem of a wheel spinning used to be in the center of the white band, but when India gained independence, a Buddhist dharma chakra, or wheel of life, replaced the spinning wheel.m
  18. Khajuraho erotic sculptures
    Khajuraho’s exotic art may suggest that sex was a step for attaining ultimate liberation or moksha
  19. The temples of Khajuraho are famous for their erotic sculptures and are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India. Scholars still debate the purpose of such explicit portrayals of sexual intercourse, which sometimes involves animals.a
  20. The earliest cotton in the world was spun and woven in India. Roman emperors would wear delicate cotton from India that they would call “woven winds.” Mogul emperors called the fabrics “morning dew” and “cloth of running water.”i
  21. In ancient and medieval India, suttees, in which a recently widowed woman would immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, were common.b
  22. The Himalayas—from the Sanskrit hima, meaning “snow,” and alaya, meaning “abode”—are found in the north of India. They extend 1,500 miles and are slowly growing taller, by almost an inch (2.5 cm) a year. Several ancient Indian monasteries are found nestled in the grandeur of these mountains.m
  23. India is the world’s largest producer of dried beans, such as kidney beans and chickpeas. It also leads the world in banana exports; Brazil is second.l
  24. In India, the fold and color of clothing are viewed as important markers of social classification. Additionally, women will be viewed as either a prostitute or a holy person depending on the manner in which she parts her hair.k
  25. With 150,000 post offices, India has the largest postal network in the world. However, it is not unusual for a letter to take two weeks to travel just 30 miles.f
  26. In India, grasping one’s ears signifies repentance or sincerity.f
  27. The Bengal tiger is India’s national animal. It was once ubiquitous throughout the country, but now there are fewer than 4,000 wild tigers left.m
  28. Indians hold prominent places both internationally and in the United States. For example, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems (Vinod Khosla), the creator of the Pentium chip (Vinod Dahm), the founder/creator of Hotmail (Sabeer Bhatia), and the GM of Hewlett-Packard (Rajiv Gupta) are all Indian.h
  29. Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 B.C.) was one of the first important figures to bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) landed in Calicut, India, in 1498.l
  30. The British Raj, or British rule, lasted from 1858 to 1947 (although they had a strong presence in India since the 1700s). British influence is still seen in Indian architecture, education system, transportation, and politics. Many of India’s worst famines are associated with British rule in India.i
  31. Every major world religion is represented in India. Additionally, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism all originated in India.f
  32. About 80% of Indians are Hindu. Muslims are the largest minority in India and form approximately 13% of the country’s population. In fact, India has the third largest population of Muslims in the world, after Indonesia and Pakistan.i
  33. India has the world’s largest movie industry, based in the city of Mumbai (known as the “City of Dreams”). The B in “Bollywood” comes from Bombay, the former name for Mumbai. Almost all Bollywood movies are musicals.l
  34. Mumbai (Bombay) is India’s largest city, with a population of 15 million. In 1661, British engineers built a causeway uniting all seven original islands of Bombay into a single landmass.l
  35. Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) is known around the world as Mahatma, which is an honorific title meaning “Great Soul” in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. He devoted his life to free India from British rule peacefully and based his campaign on civil disobedience. His birthday, October 2, is a national holiday. He was assassinated in 1948.m
  36. Lotus Temple
    The Lotus temple is one of the most visited temples in the world, with over 50 million visitors per year
  37. The lotus is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. The Bahá'í house of worship in Delhi, known as the “Lotus Temple,” is shaped like a lotus flower with 27 gigantic “petals” that are covered in marble.i
  38. The banyan, or Indian fig tree, is considered a symbol of immortality and is mentioned in many Indian myths and legends. This self-renewing plant is India’s national tree.m
  39. Marigold flowers are used as decoration for Hindu marriages and are a symbol of good fortune and happiness.i
  40. The official name of India is the Republic of India. The name “India” derives from the River Indus, which most likely is derived from the Sanskrit sindhu, meaning “river.” The official Sanskrit name of India is Bharat, after the legendary king in the epic Mahabharata.m
  41. Introduced by the British, cricket is India’s most popular sport. Hockey is considered the national sport, and the Indian field hockey team proudly won Olympic gold in 1928.i
  42. Indians made significant contributions to calculus, trigonometry, and algebra. The decimal system was invented in India in 100 B.C. The concept of zero as a number is also attributed to India.m
  43. The national fruit of India is the mango. The national bird is the peacock, which was initially bred for food.m
  44. Most historians agree that the first recorded account of plastic surgery is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts.b
  45. Hindi and English are the official languages of India. The government also recognizes 17 other languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu). Apart from these languages, about 1,652 dialects are spoken in the country.l
  46. India’s pastoral communities are largely dependent on dairy and have made India the largest milk-producing country in the world.l
  47. India has the world’s third largest road network at 1.9 million miles. It also has the world’s second largest rail network, which is the world’s largest civilian employer with 16 million workers.f
  48. Ganges
    Though the Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, bathing in the river is thought to wash away one’s sins
  49. Rivers have played a vital role in India’s popular culture and folklore—they have been worshipped as goddesses because they bring water to an otherwise dry land. Bathing in the Ganges in particular is thought to take away a person’s sins. It is not unusual to spread a loved one’s ashes in the Ganges.f
  50. Raziya Sultana (1205-1240) was the first woman leader of India. She was considered a great leader, though she ruled for only three years before being murdered.b
  51. Most Indians rinse their hands, legs, and face before eating a meal. It is considered polite to eat with the right hand, and women eat after everyone is finished. Wasting food is considered a sin.i
  52. During the Vedic era in India, horse sacrifice sanctioned the sovereignty of the king.a
  53. It is traditional to wear white, not black, to a funeral in India. Widows will often wear white in contrast to the colorful clothes of married or single women.k
  54. All of India is under a single time zone.g
  55. On India’s Independence Day, August 15, 1947, the country was split into India and Pakistan. The partition displaced 1.27 million people and resulted in the death of several hundred thousand to a million people.g
  56. In recent years, Indian authors have made a mark on the world with such novels as Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988), Vikram Seth’s Suitable Boy (1993), and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997).i
  57. India experiences six seasons: summer, autumn, winter, spring, summer monsoon, and winter monsoon.m
  58. India is the world’s largest tea producer, and tea (chai) is its most popular beverage.f
  59. Taj Mahal
    According to legend, to prevent the builders from ever replicating the beauty of the Taj Mahal, their hands were cut off
  60. The Taj Mahal (“crown palace”) was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666) for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631). This architectural beauty has been called “marbled embroidery” for its intricate workmanship. It took 22,000 workmen 22 years to complete it.m
  61. The first and greatest civilization in ancient India developed around the valley of the Indus River (now Pakistan) around 3000 B.C. Called the Indus Valley civilization, this early empire was larger than any other empire, including Egypt and Mesopotamia.l
  62. After the great Indus Civilization collapsed in 2000 B.C., groups of Indo-Europeans called Aryans (“noble ones”) traveled to northwest India and reigned during what is called the Vedic age. Aryans spoke and imported Sanskrit into India, which is the mother of all European languages. The mingling of ideas from the Aryan and Indus Valley religions formed the basis of Hinduism, and the gods Shiva, Kali, and Brahma all have their roots in Aryan civilization. The Aryans also recorded the Vedas, the first Hindu scriptures, and introduced a caste system based on ethnicity and occupation.l
  63. Alexander the Great invaded India partly because he wanted to solve the mystery of the “ocean,” which he had been told was a huge, continuous sea that flowed in a circle around the land. When he reached the Indian Ocean, he sacrificed some bulls to Poseidon for leading him to his goal.m
  64. Greek sculpture strongly influenced many portrayals of Indian gods and goddess, particularly after the conquest of Alexander the Great around 330B.C. In fact, early Indian gods had Greek features and only later did distinct Indian styles emerge.m
  65. Chandragupta Maurya (340-290 B.C.), a leader in India who established the Mauryan Empire (321-185 B.C.), was guarded by a band of women on horseback.a
  66. When the first independent prime minister of India, pacifist Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), was featured in Vogue, his distinctive close fitting, single-breasted jacket briefly became an important fashion statement for the Mod movement in the West. Named the Nehru jacket, the prime minister’s coat was popularized by the Beatles and worn by such famous people as Johnny Carson (1925-2005) and Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990).n

Sunday, November 14, 2010

AWARE OF POLLUTION

Did you know?
The Industrial Revolution in Europe first saw the beginning of air pollution, which gradually became a major global problem.
The major air-polluting industries are iron, steel and, cement.
Of the 35-40 million tonnes of flyash generated annually by thermal power plants in India, only 2-3 percent is productively utilized.
The worst industrial disaster in India, occurred in 1984 in Bhopal the capital of Madhya Pradesh. A deadly chemical, methly isocyanate leaked out of the Union Carbide factory killing more than 2500 and leaving thousands sick. In fact the effects of this gas tragedy is being felt even today.
Every year some 50million cars are added to the world’s roads. Car making is now the largest manufacturing industry in the world.
In India the number of motorized vehicles have increased from 0.2 million in 1947 to 36.3 million in 1997.
The number of registered vehicles in Delhi is more than the sum total of registered vehicles in Mumbai, Calcutta, and Chennai.
Major contributor to Delhi's air pollution are vehicles.
Nearly three-fourths of India's population, which is rural, bears 84% of the burden of exposure to air pollution.
Growing population, poverty, and inadequate access to clean fuels in rural areas have perpetuated the use of biomass, thereby condemning more than 90% of rural households and more than 35% of urban hoseholds to high levels of indoor air pollution.
One of the most important measure to counter pollution is planting trees. With neem and peepal being the largest emitters of oxygen, planting them in the gardens purifies the surrounding air and helps in maintaining hygienic conditions. While champa, mogra and chameli have better chances of surviving pollution in summer, bulbous varieties do better in winter. Courtesy http://edugreen.teri.res.in/

Saturday, November 6, 2010

NOT JUST A HUMAN BRAIN .........SOMETHING MORE THAN THAT

interesting
1) There are no pain receptors in the brain, so the brain can feel no pain.
2) The human brain is the fattest organ in the body and may consists of at least 60% fat.
3) Neurons develop at the rate of 250,000 neurons per minute during early pregnancy.
4) Humans continue to make new neurons throughout life in response to mental activity.
5) Alcohol interferes with brain processes by weakening connections between neurons.
6) Altitude makes the brain see strange visions – Many religions involve special visions that occurred at great heights. For example, Moses encountered a voice emanating from a burning bush on Mount Sinai and Muhammad was visited by an angel on Mount Hira. Similar phenomena are reported by mountain climbers, but they don’t think it’s very mystical. Many of the effects are attributable to the reduced supply of oxygen to the brain. At 8,000ft or higher, some mountaineers report perceiving unseen companions, seeing light emanating from themselves or others, seeing a second body like their own, and suddenly feeling emotions such as fear. Oxygen deprivation is likely to interfere with brain regions active in visual and face processing, and in emotional events.
7) Reading aloud and talking often to a young child promotes brain development.
8 ) Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. Not all neurons are the same. There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.

9) The capacity for such emotions as joy, happiness, fear, and shyness are already developed at birth. The specific type of nurturing a child receives shapes how these emotions are developed.
10) The left side of your brain (left hemisphere) controls the right side of your body; and, the right side of your brain (right hemisphere) controls the left side of your body.
11) Children who learn two languages before the age of five alters the brain structure and adults have a much denser gray matter.
12) Information can be processed as slowly as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec (about 268 miles/hr).
13) While awake, your brain generates between 10 and 23 watts of power–or enough energy to power a light bulb.
14) The old adage of humans only using 10% of their brain is not true. Every part of the brain has a known function.
15) A study of one million students in New York showed that students who ate lunches that did not include artificial flavors, preservatives, and dyes did 14% better on IQ tests than students who ate lunches with these additives.
16) For years, scientists believed that tinnitus was due to a function within the mechanics of the ear, but newer evidence shows that it is actually a function of the brain.
17) Every time you recall a memory or have a new thought, you are creating a new connection in your brain.
18) Memories triggered by scent have a stronger emotional connection, therefore appear more intense than other memory triggers.
19) Each time we blink, our brain kicks in and keeps things illuminated so the whole world doesn’t go dark each time we blink (about 20,000 times a day).
20) Laughing at a joke is no simple task as it requires activity in five different areas of the brain.
21) The average number of thoughts that humans are believed to experience each day is 70,000.
22) There are two different schools of thought as to why we dream: the physiological school, and the psychological school. While many theories have been proposed, not single consensus has emerged as to why we dream. Some researchers suggest that dreams serve no real purpose, while other believe that dreaming is essential to mental, emotional and physical well-being. One theory for dreaming suggests dreams serve to clean up clutter from the mind.
23) The Hypothalamus part of the brain regulates body temperature much like a thermostat. The hypothalamus knows what temperature your body should be (about 98.6 Fahrenheit or 37 Celsius), and if your body is too hot, the hypothalamus tells it to sweat. If you’re too cold, the hypothalamus makes you start shivering. Shivering and sweating helps get your body’s temperature back to normal.
24) Approximately 85,000 neocortical neurons are lost each day in your brain. Fortunately, his goes unnoticed due to the built-in redundancies and the fact that even after three years this loss adds up to less than 1% of the total.
25) Differences in brain weight and size do not equal differences in mental ability. The weight of Albert Einstein’s brain was 1,230 grams that is less than an average weight of the human brain.
26) A living brain is so soft you could cut it with a table knife.
27) There are about 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the brain.
28) London taxi drivers ,famous for knowing all the London streets by heart, have a larger than normal hippocampus, especially the drivers who have been on the job longest. The study suggests that as people memorize more and more information, this part of their brain continues to grow.
29) The brain can live for 4 to 6 minutes without oxygen, and then it begins to die. No oxygen for 5 to 10 minutes will result in permanent brain damage.
30) Our brain often fools us. It often perceives things differently from the reality. Look at those pictures. Square A and B are actually the same shade of gray.

     

    PROCESSING SPEED

    The human brain - We can only estimate the processing power of the average human brain as there is no way to measure it quantitatively as of yet. If the theory of taking nerve volume to be proportional to processing power is true we then, may have a correct estimate of the human brain's processing power.

It is fortunate that we understand the neural assemblies is the retina of the vertebrate eye quite well (structurally and functionally) because it helps to give us a idea of the human brain's capability.
The retina is a nerve tissue in the back of the eyeball which detects lights and sends images to the brain. A human retina has a size of about a centimeter square is half a millimeter thick and is made up of 100 million neurons. Scientists say that the retina sends to the brain, particular patches of images indicating light intensity differences which are transported via the optic nerve, a million-fiber cable which reaches deep into the brain.
Overall, the retina seems to process about ten one-million-point images per second.
Because the 1,500 cubic centimeter human brain is about 100,000 times as large as the retina, by simple calculation, we can estimate the processing power of a average brain to be about 100 million MIPS (Million computer Instructions Per Second ). In case you're wondering how much speed that is, let us give you an idea.
1999's fastest PC processor chip on the market was a 700 MHz pentium that did 4200 MIPS. By simple calculation, we can see that we would need at least 24,000 of these processors in a system to match up to the total speed of the brain !! (Which means the brain is like a 168,0000 MHz Pentium computer). But even so, other factors like memory and the complexity of the system needed to handle so many processors will not be a simple task. Because of these factors, the figures we so childishly calculated will most probably be a very serious underestimate.

The computer - The most powerful experimental super computers in 1998, composed of thousands or tens of thousands of the fastest microprocessors and costing tens of millions of dollars, can do a few million MIPS. These systems were used mainly to stimulate physical events for high-value scientific calculations.

     

     

      Fun Facts About The Human Brain

    • Results from cognitive tests show 30% of 80-year-olds perform as well as young adults.
    • Your brain is about 2% of your total body weight but uses 20% of your body's energy.
    • The energy used by the brain is enough to light a 25 watt bulb.
    • More electrical impulses are generated in one day by a single human brain than by all the telephones in the world.
    • How much does human brain think? 70,000 is the number of thoughts that it is estimated the human brain produces on an average day.
    • After age 30, the brain shrinks a quarter of a percent (0.25%) in mass each year.
    • Albert Einsteins brain weighed 1,230 grams (2.71 lbs), significantly less then the human average of 1,300g to 1,400g (3 lbs).
    • Each year Americans consume 50 billion aspirin tablets or 15.5 million tons.
    • 89.06 is the percentage of people who report normally writing with their right hand, 10.6% with their left and 0.34% with either hand.

    Composition

  • The composition of the brain = 77-78% water, 10-12% lipids, 8% protein, 1% carbs, 2% soluble organics, 1% inorganic salt.
  • The breakdown of intracranial contents by volume (1,700 ml, 100%): brain = 1,400 ml (80%); blood = 150 ml (10%); cerebrospinal fluid = 150 ml (10%).
  • The cerebellum contains half of all the neurons in the brain but comprises only 10% of the brain.
  • The cerebral cortex is about 85% of the brain.
  • Percentage of total cerebral cortex volume = frontal lobe 41%, temporal lobe 22%, parietal lobe 19%, occipital lobe 18%.
  • There are about 100 billion neurons in the human brain, the same number of stars in our galaxy.
  • The left hemisphere of the brain has 186 million more neurons than the right hemisphere.
  • 750-1000ml of blood flow through the brain every minute or about 3 full soda cans.
  • In that minute the brain will consume 46cm3 (1/5 cups) of oxygen from that blood.
  • Of that oxygen consumed, 6% will be used by the brain's white matter and 94% by the grey matter.
  • Times

  • The brain can stay alive for 4 to 6 minutes without oxygen. After that cells begin die.
  • The slowest speed at which information travels between neurons is 416 km/h or 260 mph, thats as "slow" as todays supercar's top speed (the Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron clocked at 253 mph).
  • 10 seconds is the amount of time until unconsciousness after the loss of blood supply to the brain.
  • Time until reflex loss after loss of blood supply to the brain, 40-110 seconds.
  • During early pregnancy the rate of neuron growth is 250,000 neurons a minute.