Interestng Site - Smithsonian Magazine

I found this site and thought it was full of great articles. Some of the titles offered were  -

- Stolen: How the Mona Lisa Became the World’s Most Famous Painting

- Food Like You've Never Seen Before

- Insects as a Food Source

The picture is of Shanghai dumpling soup from the Food Like You've Never Seen Before article.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/#ixzz1QrIXE8SR

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/

Fun Fact of the Day - Trivia - Abacus

Did You Know .....

How many columns of beads there are on a standard abacus?



answer - 13
 
Found in book - 10,000 Answers

Book I Recommend - Trivia

I bought a new book about trivia. I hope it will be a good resource for my Fun Facts of the Day.


10,000 Answers - the Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia
written by Stanley Newman and Hal Fittipaldi  (hardbound - publ. 2001)

Fun Fact of the Day - Phobias

I found this interesting site. It's all about phobias. I have included only the "A" list. Check out the site for all the rest of the list. Look around and see how many things you are afraid of.

http://phobialist.com/


A-
Ablutophobia- Fear of washing or bathing.
Acarophobia- Fear of itching or of the insects that cause itching.
Acerophobia- Fear of sourness.
Achluophobia- Fear of darkness.
Acousticophobia- Fear of noise.
Acrophobia- Fear of heights.
Aerophobia- Fear of drafts, air swallowing, or airbourne noxious substances.
Aeroacrophobia- Fear of open high places.
Aeronausiphobia- Fear of vomiting secondary to airsickness.
Agateophobia- Fear of insanity.
Agliophobia- Fear of pain.
Agoraphobia- Fear of open spaces or of being in crowded, public places like
markets. Fear of leaving a safe place.
Agraphobia- Fear of sexual abuse.
Agrizoophobia- Fear of wild animals.
Agyrophobia- Fear of streets or crossing the street.
Aichmophobia- Fear of needles or pointed objects.
Ailurophobia- Fear of cats.
Albuminurophobia- Fear of kidney disease.
Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens.
Algophobia- Fear of pain.
Alliumphobia- Fear of garlic.
Allodoxaphobia- Fear of opinions.
Altophobia- Fear of heights.
Amathophobia- Fear of dust.
Amaxophobia- Fear of riding in a car.
Ambulophobia- Fear of walking.
Amnesiphobia- Fear of amnesia.
Amychophobia- Fear of scratches or being scratched.
Anablephobia- Fear of looking up.
Ancraophobia- Fear of wind. (Anemophobia)
Androphobia- Fear of men.
Anemophobia- Fear of air drafts or wind.(Ancraophobia)
Anginophobia- Fear of angina, choking or narrowness.
Anglophobia- Fear of England or English culture, etc.
Angrophobia - Fear of anger or of becoming angry.
Ankylophobia- Fear of immobility of a joint.
Anthrophobia or Anthophobia- Fear of flowers.
Anthropophobia- Fear of people or society.
Antlophobia- Fear of floods.
Anuptaphobia- Fear of staying single.
Apeirophobia- Fear of infinity.
Aphenphosmphobia- Fear of being touched. (Haphephobia)
Apiphobia- Fear of bees.
Apotemnophobia- Fear of persons with amputations.
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Arachnephobia or Arachnophobia- Fear of spiders.
Arithmophobia- Fear of numbers.
Arrhenphobia- Fear of men.
Arsonphobia- Fear of fire.
Asthenophobia- Fear of fainting or weakness.
Astraphobia or Astrapophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.(Ceraunophobia,
Keraunophobia)
Astrophobia- Fear of stars or celestial space.
Asymmetriphobia- Fear of asymmetrical things.
Ataxiophobia- Fear of ataxia. (muscular incoordination)
Ataxophobia- Fear of disorder or untidiness.
Atelophobia- Fear of imperfection.
Atephobia- Fear of ruin or ruins.
Athazagoraphobia- Fear of being forgotton or ignored or forgetting.
Atomosophobia- Fear of atomic explosions.
Atychiphobia- Fear of failure.
Aulophobia- Fear of flutes.
Aurophobia- Fear of gold.
Auroraphobia- Fear of Northern lights.
Autodysomophobia- Fear of one that has a vile odor.
Automatonophobia- Fear of ventriloquist's dummies, animatronic creatures, wax
statues - anything that falsly represents a sentient being.
Automysophobia- Fear of being dirty.
Autophobia- Fear of being alone or of oneself.
Aviophobia or Aviatophobia- Fear of flying.

Fun Fact of the Day - Kleenex

This information came from this site. To learn more - please visit.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/kleenex

Kleenex is a brand name of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.  It is an invented word - used since June 12, 1924. Kleenex products are manufactured in 30 countries and sold in more than 170 countries. It is made of a material originally called “Cellucotton”  that was designed during WWI. It was used in gas mask filters as a replacement for cotton - which was in short supply.  It was first marketed as an easy way to remove cold cream. Customers began writing letters to the company suggesting it’s use for colds and hay fever. It’s marketing changed to include the slogan “Don’t Carry a Cold in Your Pocket” and they began marketing it as a disposable handkerchief. 

The antique ad  (from Life Magazine – 1943) was from this site -

http://graphic-design.tjs-labs.com/summary-by-product.php?sort=B  This is a site for antique ads. It is well worth a visit.

Writing Site

 


http://www.refdesk.com/









I like this site. It has all kinds of links to other interesting sites. Some of the sections on this site include –


Fact of the Day


Site of the Day

Thought of the Day

This Day in History

In the News

Article of the Day (I have a connection to this on the right side of this blog)

Today’s Birthday

Today’s Picture

Word of the Day

Plus many, many more.

Well worth the visit. Have fun.

Fun Fact of the Day - Ishtar Gate

I saw this and found it to be a very interesting tidbit of information to know. I hope you do, too.

The Ishtar Gate was a gate to the inner city of ancient Babylon. It was constructed in about 575 BC, by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II. It was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World - until the 6th Century AD - when it was replaced by the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Parts of the actual gate are reconstructed in various museums around the world. (see picture at left)




This information was gotten from this address – if you would like to learn more and see even more pictures - please check out this site.



http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/ishtar+gate