Pi Day!!!

The 14th March (3/14 in American date notation) has over recent years become Pi day because it famously starts with 3.14

New Scientist magazine posted several fascinating facts about Pi and it seemed apropos to share them with you. Did you know..

you can use the stars to calculate Pi

….or the rivers on Earth

Pi has inspired a literary genre where the number of letters in words successively follow the Pi digits

you can calculate Pi with some needles and lined paper

every book ever written is coded within the digits of Pi

Burger King Had To Change Their Name To Operate In Australia

Text Version:
If you were to go to Australia and get a craving for food from Burger King, you'll have to go to a fast food chain called "Hungry Jack's". This is because, when Burger King first decided to expand their franchise to Australia, they found out that there was already a food chain there called "Burger King". This forced them to choose a different name and "Hungry Jack's" is what they came up with. There are now just over 300 Hungry Jack's in Australia.

The Town of Buford, Wyoming Was Sold On Ebay For $900,000

Considered one of the nation's smallest towns, Buford is located in southeastern Wyoming between Cheyenne and Laramie on the Interstate 80 and consists of 10 acres with a convenience store, gas station, and modular home. The town was first founded during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in Wyoming and at one point boasted a population of about 2,000 people, mostly railroad workers. However in 1980, when Don Sammons, first moved in with his wife Terry and their son from Los Angeles, they made up the whole population. After the death of his wife, Sammons bought the entire town in 1992 and kept the lights burning in the tiny town for longer than most expected. He ran Buford's only General/ Hardware/ Liquor Store and gas station. He was also considered the town's mayor. His son moved away in 2007, making Don Sammons the only resident of the town. In April of 2012, at age 61 Don decided to retire and move closer to his son in Colorado, putting the town of Buford up for auction on Ebay. The online auction of the town created a lot of buzz, with people from 46 countries reported to have viewed and bid on it. In 11 minutes it sold to two Vietnamese buyers, who had always dreamed of owning land in the U.S.
Read more at http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/11/the-town-of-buford-wyoming-was-sold-on-ebay-for-900000/#SbJs8jvmeqHxC5V0.99 

Currency That You Can Drink

In Siberia up until the 19th century, solid blocks of tea were used as a form of edible currency, serving in two different ways.

The importance of the tea around the world is unquestionable as it is the second most consumed beverage in the world, standing second only to water. Legend has it, that tea was originated well over 5000 years back in China. Since then it has infiltrated almost every culture in the world.

An average of three billion cups of tea are consumed daily worldwide, but an even more astonishing fact regarding tea is not its abundance of usage, but in the way it is used. In medieval times, tea bricks were used in China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Central Asia as a form of currency because of its high value. Later, nomadic tribes preferred tea bricks over metallic coins but that was the approach of medieval times. Many would find this a whole lot more exciting. Solid blocks of tea were used up until the 19th century!

Even during the World War 2, tea bricks were used as money in Siberia and this wasn't the only place where tea bricks were used as currency; Tibet had similar customs. In Tibet the brick of tea was produced in five different qualities and it was the third quality of brick which was used as currency. Tibetans named this quality of tea brick as "brgyad pa" and they even set an exchange rate for the tea brick: a single tea brick was worth eight Tibetan tangkas (standard silver coin of Tibet which weighs about 5.4 grams).

[Source: Wikipedia]

Are French Kisses Injurious To Health?

According to scientists, more than 40,000 parasites and 250 types of bacteria are exchanged during a casual French kiss.

The ‘French kiss’ was named this way during the first few years of the 20th century. The French are known for their odd and adventurous sex practices. The French kiss is a symbol of intimacy and sexual desire between lovers.
Apart from these light facts, a recent study reports that when two people French kiss each other, they exchange more than 40,000 parasites and 250 types of bacteria. The study also claims that the couple also exchange 0.7 grams of protein, 0.45 grams of fat and 0.19 grams of other organic substances. The research was carried out in Sweden and the scientists say that the objective of the report is not to discourage French kiss but to increase the awareness of good oral hygiene.

The event that carried this research is also looking for a couple who can break the record for the longest French kiss. The current holders of this record are Louisa Almedovar and Rich Langley, from New Jersey, who kissed for 30 hours, 59 minutes and 27 seconds in 2001. According to another research it is said that during a French kiss, 5 calories are burnt and puts 29 facial muscles in motion which is very good to prevent wrinkles. It is also said that French kissing increases your blood pressure and heart rate along with blood hormone levels. So French kissing has its advantages and disadvantages but the real emphasis, according to scientists, is to promote oral hygiene and make the benefits of French kissing clear.
Source:Therabreath