Showing posts with label Interesting Facts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interesting Facts. Show all posts

Friday



I really doubt the authenticity of this news. MK Gandhi was known for this spiritual thoughts and doings, and now he’s been put under the terrible limelight of sexual experiments. Well, take a look at this article that was published in Sify. I am just reproducing this article without doing any change.

A new book on Mahatma Gandhi has delved into the intimate life of the Indian icon whose famous vow of chastity did not prevent him sleeping with naked women and conducting bizarre sex "experiments".

"Gandhi: Naked Ambition" by British historian Jad Adams sheds new light on the spiritual leader and independence hero whose spartan existence and resistance to earthly pleasures are an integral part of his popular image.

The book has been released in Britain and will be available soon in India where it is bound to make waves in a country where Gandhi's image is fiercely protected and a source of national pride.

That his attitudes to sex were censorious and unusual is well known. He wrote of his disgust at himself for having intercourse with his wife Kasturba, aged 15, when his father died in 1885.
In later life, having fathered four children, he forbade even married couples in his ashram retreats from having sex and lectured men on the need to take a cold bath when they felt lustful.
More than 60 years after Gandhi's death, Adams has gone through hundreds of pages of his writings and eyewitness accounts to build a behind-closed-doors picture of a man considered both a saint and the father of the nation in India.

"One of things you find about Gandhi is how much he wrote about sex," Adams told AFP by telephone from his home in London.

"When we look at his sexuality, what happens is that he has a perfectly normal sex life for the first part of his life, one that would be recognisable to almost anyone in the world.
"He gets married and has a family of four. But what interested me was that he made a decision that it would be a good idea to be chaste (in 1900). Six years later, he makes a vow and puts it into practice."

But contrary to the image of the abstemious Hindu ascetic, in later life Gandhi frequently bathed with nubile young women, had nude massages and often shared a bed with one or more of his followers, Adams' book said.

Adams says he has no evidence that Gandhi broke his vow of chastity with any of the women, though he was defining the idea in a rather limited way.

"He's talking about penetration. However he's defining sex so narrowly that he's ignoring a lot of activities that many people would consider sensual, if not actively sexual. "My interpretation is that he was expecting these women to try to stimulate him sexually in order that he could demonstrate his resistance."

The sister of Gandhi's secretary, Sushila Nayar, was one of the women who took part, as was his 18-year-old grandniece, Manu.

In other cases, the wives of men in his ashram were called upon to share his bed, even though they were forbidden to sleep with their husbands, leading to complaints from some of his most devoted male followers. Adams believes the "experiments" were like a game of striptease in which there was non-contact sexual activity. "He wanted to see if sex could be controlled because he felt it was such a powerful force," he said. 

Gandhi's views and activities -- he also believed in conserving his semen, which he saw as a source of spiritual energy --- did not endear him to fellow independence leader and India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

"Nehru considered them abnormal and completely distanced himself from Gandhi's behaviour," Adams said. And what of Gandhi's long-suffering wife Kasturba, whom he married when he was 13? As with his long absences abroad, his sometimes indifferent treatment of his children and frequent extreme fasts, she appears to have gone along with the chastity and sex experiments, albeit reluctantly.

"She didn't give much credit to the restrictions on eating or seemingly any of the things that he did, but she went along with them because she was a devoted and devout Hindu wife," said Adams. The author says that Gandhi's practices were commonly discussed when he was alive but after his assassination in 1948 the details were glossed over in his elevation to the stature of national icon.

"I don't think that an understanding of any individual's sexuality necessarily casts them in a poor light. To suggest it does implies a negative view of sex, which I don't have," he said. Adams is a visiting research fellow at London University and has previously written biographies of British politician Tony Benn, pioneering British feminist Emmeline Pankhurst and India's Nehru dynasty.

Found on: Sify

Sunday



You might be aware that it is not so easier to float in a swimming pool that in a sea. The reason for this is because the water in a sea is salty and therefore more dense, which makes more afloat. 

There is a lake connecting Israel and Jordan called as “Dead Sea” is very saline (salty), containing 6 ounces (265 grams) of salt per liter. This makes people float on the surface without having to swim. 

The Dead Sea is also called as “Salt Lake”.

It is 378m and the world’s deepest hyper saline lake.It is almost 8.6 times saltier than Ocean.

You cannot use this water as a support to life except for bacteria due to its rich in saline characteristic.

Wednesday


The first self propelled land vehicle was built in 1769 by Nicholas Cughot, a freshman. The first petrol powered car on the road designed by Gottlieh Daimler in 1887. He was a German.


Chess means 'King'. The word check mate is derived from Persian shah mat, meaning. 'The King is dead'. It is believed that chess was originated in India amongst Buddhists. They invented chess as a substitute of war because killing of one's fellow is forbidden in their religion.


Candles are very ancient. Romans bees wax candles from the earliest times. Until middle of 19th century candle making was considered an important duty of housekeeper. The procedure involved heating of a tallow, the fat of sheep or oxen, in a pot. A number of strands of twisted cotton yars, handing from a rod were dipped several times in the molen mass. They were hung up cool after each dip. When the suitable thickness of tallow covered the wick, candles were ready. Today we have candle factories. Homemade candles are also in use. The wick is still made of cotton strands. Paraffin and certain other fatty substances are used.


The word dictionary comes from Latin dictionaries meaning a collection of words. This word was first used by John Garland, an English scholar in 1225 as the title of the manuscript of Latin words to be learnt by heart. The first real English dictionary appeared in 1552. It was compiled by Richard Hulaet. Each word in this dictionary was given in English and then came the Latin translation. The book was titled Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Pro Tyrunculis – Contained 2000 words. Webster covered simpler spelling and because of this Americans write color for colour, Grapic for Graphic, etc…


We all know salt is essential in our daily food. In ancient times salt was used as part of offering when sacrifices were offered to Gods. Salt is basically a sea product. Salt was unknown to Americans and Indians until it was discovered by Europeans. The word salary comes from the word salt, because in Roman times a salarium or allowance of money for salt was given to the staff of the army. 

Image: esaufamily.wikispaces.com/


Sunday


 Mushrooms belong to the fungus family of plants. Unlike most plants, they do not need light to grow; in fact some mushrooms spring up overnight.

The toadstool is also a kind of mushroom, but it is poisonous and can cause death or serious illness.

This is why we have to be very careful when we pick mushrooms. It is easier to buy them from a store. If you see something that looks like mushrooms growing in a field don't pick them unless you are with someone who knows difference between mushrooms and toadstools.


Image Courtesy: gardenseeker.com



A tropical tree produces rubber. The juice of the rubber tree is called as "Latex", extracted through slanting cuts in the bark. The juice drips in to a container attached to the tree.It is then collected and made into rubber, which can be used for car tires, boots, etc.

Another juice extracted from trees is maple syrup. It comes from the maple tree which is grown in north america. The juice flows out of holes bored in to the wood of the tree. Maple syrup is popular in the U.S.A. and is used on pancakes and ice cream.

Saturday


Tobacco was discovered in the 16th century by Europeans. Explorers, such as Christopher Columbus when visited North America they noticed that the American Indians, smoked tobacco.They thought that it could be a medical properties.

During those days, it was used in Indian ceremonies, such as smoking the pipe of peace. Jean Nicot, French ambassador to portugal, introduced it to his country, claiming that it could cure headaches. The tobacco plant was named nicotania after him, and the substance nicotine found in tobacco, also got name from him.

Now, Tobacco is known to be harmful to the health and smoking is discouraged, especially among younger generations.

We all know shift happens everywhere and without doubt it happens on media and technology. The latest version of DID YOU KNOW 4.0 (2009 version) has been released. Click Play to see what an incredible shift that has taken place and will take place in the near future. Stay updated, Enjoy!

Friday

  • Elephants have stronger memory than any other animal
  • Herons is the only bird that sleeps in one leg to keep the other leg out of the cold
  • Some species of Tortois lives for more than 150 years
  • Giant torotises weigh over 230 kilos and lives in the remote Galapagos islands
  • Some butterflies have more than one pair of eyes
  • Fishes are caught at any part of the day but Eels are caught only at night times
  • Kangaroos can leap forward as much as 9 meters
  • Piranha is considered to be the dangerous and fiercest predators of rivers and seas, but they are usually small - 8 inches
  • When faced danger ostrich hides its head under its wing


Every object exerts a force of attraction on other objects. This is called the force of gravity. Because the earth’s gravity is very strong it pulls things towards it like a magnet. 

If you drop an object, it doesn’t just fall to the ground, it is pulled to the ground by this force. This is what gives everything weight and keeps it on the earth.

As we travel away from the earth, the earth’s gravity has less influence. This is my astronauts float inside a spaceship. They are so far from the earth that the earth’s gravity has little effect. So they become weightless.

The world saw 1125 billionaires a year ago and now (2009) it is 793, a huge 28% drop since last year (2008).

The recession has truly affected you, me and rest of us including billionaires in the world.

I have collected the list of top 100 billionaires in the world for 2009 from forbes.com.


The world’s notable billionaire Bill Gates and Warren buffet too saw a turn down in their wealth, but still stays on the top list. Bill holds the No.1 position despite of meeting a loss of $18 billion.

Warren buffet is in the second position after seeing a decline of $25 billion in his fortune.




Quick Review:


World's Top 10(ten) Billionaires (2009)
Bill Gates
Warren Buffet
Carlos Slim Helu and family

Lawrence Ellison
Ingvar Kamprad & family

Karl Albrecht
Mukesh Ambani - Ranks 2 on The Top 100 Indian CEOs
Lakshmi Mittal
Theo Albrecht

Amancio Ortega

Billionaires Geographic Wise
Brazil – 3
Canada – 1

Chile – 2
Czech Republic – 1

France – 4

Germany – 6

Hong Kong – 4

India – 5
Italy – 2
Japan – 2

Kuwait – 1
Malaysia - 1
Mexico – 2
Monaco – 1
Russia – 5
Saudi Arabia – 5
Singapore – 1

South Africa – 1

Spain – 1

Sweden – 1

Switzerland – 6

UAE -1
United Kingdom – 3

United States – 40

Here’s the long list of 100 billionaires in the world (2009)

Tuesday

First of all, Thanks to Bigoak for sharing this article through stumbleupon.com. I prefer giving a thumbs-up for this article and may be you too can give it if you have stumbleupon account. Let's get back to the article.

There are people who prefer few daily routines of their lives to sex. Can you guess what it would be? Well, i wasn't aware of this till i read this top 10 things that are considered to be better than sex.

10. House Cleaning: In one of the surveyes conducted, 30% of the women say that "Cleaning gives them more satisfaction"

9. Dating a Vampire: You probably cannot have sex with a vampire. He may kill in extreme passionate. But still dating a vampire is a cool thing. Why? Because he is charming, he'd drive you in an expensive car and so on...


8. Weight Loss: 26% of the mom preferred to lost weight than haveing more sex


7. Music: For some people music is life. 60% of 16-24 year-olds would rather go without sex than music for a week. This increases to 70% for 16-19 year-olds.”


6. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): IVF is better than sex if you prefer to get pregnant


5. Sports: There are lot of reasons why sports get priority than sex.

4. Sleep: There are 10 reasons why sleep is far better than sex. Check it out


3. Food: People prefer to consume food rather than having sex. There are lots of recipes that claims to be better than sex. Check it.


2. Cell Phones:A survey conducted by Dial-a-Phone, a cell phone retailer in the UK, reported that “24 percent of women, but zero percent of men, would rather give up sex than their mobile phone for a month” That's crazy.


1. The Internet: I know people are crazy about internet. Ofcourse, there are reasons for it. You can stay in touch with your family and friends, Do shopping, better online services that could actually enable you to hold your personal activities.


I think preferences are human dependent. What ever it be, do it with passion you'll enjoy it. ;-)
So, What's you preference? ;-)


Thursday

Hey Guys and Girls, You got to watch this wonderful VIDEO on the ADVANCEMENT of information technology...

'Cause you know a shift happens everywhere, and it has happened here too...'




The story behind "Did you know Video?"

Friday


About 30% of Chinese Adults live with their Parents
About 200 Million people in china make a living on <10$ a day
Abot 20% of the world's population is in china
About 398 million mobile users were there in china in 2006
About 70% of worlds pirated goods are from china
About 100million people access internet in china

Wednesday

can you make an instant hot ice??????

Sounds crazy, Right?

Just watch out this video it shows how to make an instant hot ice? To carry out this experiment you need Sodium Acetate, Water and a pan... Watch it. Enjoy it.. Share it...

Tuesday


A 29 year old Lisa connel is suffering from untreatable brain tumor. Her last wish is ‘I want to look like Demi-Moore’ and plans to spend whooping 40,000 pounds to do so. She has always had a desire to look like Demi more and wants her wish come true at least when she dies. Read more about lisa connel's wish


10. Korean Killed by Starcraft (2005)
9. 18-Year-Old Killed by an Arcade
8. Vengeance Killing for Virtual Sword
7. Everquest Suicide
6. 13-Year-Old Commits WoW Suicide
5. 13-Year-Old Murders Woman for Subscription Money
4. Man Kills Toddler Over Broken Xbox
3. Daniel Petric Kills Mother Over Halo 3
2. Toddler Beaten to Death with Game Controller
1. GTA-Inspired Cop Killing
I am not sure how far the above stated reasons are true. Read the full story here…

Sunday



At some point in life, most of us will face a major mental-health crisis. It is
called love.

Science is beginning to pay more attention to the chemical storm that romantic love can trigger in our brains. Recent studies of brain scans show that being in love causes changes in the brain that are strikingly similar to serious health problems like drug addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

This doesn't mean love is bad for you. There is a growing body of research that shows how love and lasting relationships are an important determinant in long-term health. And the breakdown of a marriage or relationship can exact an enormous toll on a person's well-being. But knowing that love can make you crazy -- at least in the short term -- gives us clues about how to improve relationships and rekindle the romantic love that first brought a couple together.

"The brain system involved in romantic love is powerful," says Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at New Jersey's Rutgers University who has led much of the research into love's impact on the brain. "Everything that is going on in the brain, everything that happens with romantic love has a chemical basis."

Keep reading is it love or disease


Kathy Roberts, a paralegal from Plymouth, Mich., was skeptical of a recent postcard she received from her local car dealer. It offered to put her in a new vehicle for $26,000, the same price she paid for her one-year-old Dodge Journey that she'd already driven 14,000 miles. Despite her doubts, Roberts's husband called the dealer and was told that they would offer her a brand new version of the same model, in the same color, with only 29 miles—all for the same monthly payment. With incentives and rebates, she actually came out $700 ahead. "I was thrilled. A new car without any more money!"

Customers like Roberts are finding that their high-quality used cars are a coveted and rare commodity these days. While GM and Chrysler hit the federal government up for bailout money and new car sales have been notoriously slow in the last few months, the demand for used vehicles is up. According to Auto Data Corp., sales of certified pre-owned cars in January 2009 were up 10 percent from the same time last year. The average consumer trades in a vehicle after two or three years, providing steady supply of low-mileage used cars. But as household budgets and credit remain tight, drivers are hanging onto their cars longer and returning them to dealers when they're essentially junk.

Keep reading

If you're one of the 173 million iPod users out there, you're probably reading this with your headphones on.

Take them out. Even if only for a few minutes while you read this post.

Trust us, your hearing will thank you for it. While many music-lovers are aware that listening to iPods and MP3 players at high volumes can lead to hearing loss, not too many of them — especially teens — actually do anything about it. In fact, when teens are pressured by friends or family to turn down their iPods, they do exactly what you'd expect teens to do — the opposite. They turn the volume up instead. And even teens who express concern about their risk of hearing loss listen to music at potentially dangerous levels, higher on average than kids who say they're not worried about deafness. Keep Reading Ipod Safety


How'd you like to get paid to play video games? Or watch TV? Or just eat?
You hear about these mythical jobs now and then and maybe even run into somebody who has one of them. These people seem to be living in a magical land where a man can make a nice paycheck doing the things he would be doing if he had no job at all.
But before you go tell your boss to piss off and devote your life to getting one of these careers, know that there is a downside to each.
6. Video game play tester
5. Brewmaster
4. Concert Promoter
3. Stay-at-Home dad
2. Professional TV watcher
1. Food Tester
Visit here to know the reality of these jobs.