Fact of the day

Fact of the day

Information is the most powerful weapon.

Fact N° 1359
According to some, the internet is mired in an "Eternal September."
The term "Eternal September" (also "the September that Never Ended") is Usenet slang that referred to the annual September influx of new users at colleges and universities whose unfamiliarity with Usenet and netiquette in general contributed to the network's "degraded standards of discourse and behavior." The term is now applied to the wider internet thanks to a constant influx of new internet users, many of whom aren't educated in proper netiquette or other social expectations online.
Fact N° 1360
Super Typhoon Tip was the largest tropical cyclone ever recorded.
The category 5 Super Typhoon Tip was the third super typhoon of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season, but its wind speed of 306 km/h (190 mph) has yet to be matched. The same is true for its dimensions: In terms of size, Typhoon Tip was the biggest on record. Its diameter of 2,220 km (1,380 mi) was big enough to have covered the entire Western United States, from Kansas to California. The typhoon hit both Guam and Japan, leading to 99 deaths.
Fact N° 1361
The city with the largest manufacturing base in the world is Shenzhen, China.
30 years ago, Shenzhen was a small fishing village of 30,000 in southern China. Then, in 1980, it was named the first of China's SEZs, or special economic zones, part of Deng Xiaoping's market reform program. Today it is among the fastest growing cities in the world. There are multiple skyscrapers, the population has exploded to 6.2 million, and it is home to the busiest port in China as well as the largest manufacturing base in the world.
Fact N° 1362
According to a recent poll, firefighters have the most prestigious job in the U.S.
A recent Harris Interactive poll "measuring public perceptions of 23 professions and occupations" found that firefighters enjoy the most prestige among U.S. adults. Rounding out the top five were scientists, doctors, nurses and teachers. Meanwhile, the bottom five were entertainers, accountants, bankers, stockbrokers and, at the very bottom, real estate agents.
Fact N° 1363
About 90 people are currently frozen, suspended in cryonics.
That number is up from 1992 when Cryonics magazine, published by the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, reported the figure to be around 60. Since then, about 20 have been thawed and buried because the organization to which they paid tens of thousands of dollars to reanimate them in the future turned out to be poor financial planners in the present -- and went under. Cryonics was launched in 1964 by Robert Ettinger in a nonsense, pseudo-scientific book entitled The Prospect of Immortality.
Fact N° 1364
June 6, 2006 was a bad day for hexakosioihexekontahexaphobes.
That extraordinarily long word represents the fear of number 666, the "number of the Beast" as stated in the New Testament book of Revelations. Thus, June 6, 2006, so-termed "Devil's Day," inspired fear and prayer vigils, among other things. The problem with that number is that no one really knows what it means. Secular scholars as well as those from every Christian denomination imaginable have offered up numerology-based interpretations, but so far, the answer has eluded all of them.
Fact N° 1365
When awake, the brain uses one-fifth of the body's total oxygen.
According to Discover Magazine, the brain only takes up 2% of the body's total mass, yet when awake and at rest (meaning not being exposed to stimuli) consumes 20% of its oxygen. This at-rest state, known as the baseline activity, is postulated to be "the most important aspect of our mental lives." Scientists think the baseline activity may be a time when your brain is reconfiguring knowledge -- storing memories, emotions etc. -- when its resources aren't required elsewhere, as when exposed to external stimuli.

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