[postlink]https://yohanespratama.blogspot.com/2013/03/50-facebook-facts-and-figures.html[/postlink]
1 in every 13 people on Earth is on Facebook
35+ demographic represents more than 30% of the entire user base
71.2 % of all USA internet users are on Facebook
In 20 minutes 1,000,000 links are shared on Facebook
In 20 minutes 1,484,000 event invites are posted
In 20 minutes 1,323,000 photos are tagged
In 20 minutes 1,851,000 status updates are entered
In 20 minutes 1.972 million friend requests are accepted
In 20 minutes 2,716,000 photos are uploaded
In 20 minutes 2,716,000 messages are sent
In 20 minutes 10.2 million comments are posted
In 20 minutes 1,587,000 wall posts are written
750 million photos were uploaded to Facebook over New Year’s weekend
48% of young Americans said they found out about news through Facebook
48% of 18 to 34 year olds check Facebook right when they wake up
50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
Average user has 130 friends
People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
There are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages)
Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events
Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month
More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month.
More than 70 translations available on the site
About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application
Entrepreneurs and developers from more than 190 countries build with Facebook Platform
People on Facebook install 20 million applications every day
Every month, more than 250 million people engage with Facebook on external websites
Since social plugins launched in April 2010, an average of 10,000 new websites integrate with Facebook every day
More than 2.5 million websites have integrated with Facebook, including over 80 of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and over half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites
There are more than 250 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices
People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
There are more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products
Al Pacino’s face was on the original Facebook homepage
One early Facebook function was a file sharing service
The first “Work Networks” as well as the original educational networks included Apple and Microsoft
The meaning of the term poke has never been defined
There is an ‘App’ to see what’s on the Facebook cafe menu
Mark Zuckerburg (CEO of Facebook) calls himself a “Harvard Graduate” when in fact he didn’t graduate (apparently his reply is that “there isn’t a setting for dropout”)
Australian’s spend more time per month on Facebook than any other country at over 7 hours on average
A Facebook employee hoodie sold for $4,000 on eBay
Facebook was initially bank-rolled by Peter Thiel the co-founder of PayPal for $500,000
It is the second biggest website by traffic behind Google (at the moment)
Facebook is now valued at approximately $80 billion
Facebook makes money through advertising and virtual products
Facebook was almost shut down by a lawsuit by ConnectU who claimed that Zuckerburg stole the idea and Technology for Facebook (the issue was settled out of court)
The USA has the largest Facebook user base with 155 million people which represents 23.6% of Facebook’s total users
There is over 16,000,000 Facebook fan pages
Texas Hold’em Poker is the most popular Facebook page with over 41 million fans
More than 650 million active users
[postlink]https://yohanespratama.blogspot.com/2013/02/14-interesting-facts-about-dreams.html[/postlink]
1. You Forget 90% of Your Dreams
Within 5 minutes of waking half of your dream is forgotten. Within 10, 90% is gone.
2. Blind People also Dream
People who became blind after birth can see images in their dreams. People who are born blind do not see any images, but have dreams equally vivid involving their other senses of sound, smell, touch and emotion.
3. Everybody Dreams
Every human being dreams (except in cases of extreme psychological disorder). If you think you are not dreaming – you just forget your dreams.
4. In Our Dreams We Only See Faces That We already Know
Our mind is not inventing faces – in our dreams
we see real faces of real people that we have seen during our life but
may not know or remember. We have all seen hundreds of thousands of
faces throughout our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters
for our brain to utilize during our dreams.
5. Not Everybody Dreams in Color
A full 12% of sighted people dream
exclusively in black and white. The remaining number dream in full
color. Studies from 1915 through to the 1950s maintained that the
majority of dreams were in black and white, but these results began to
change in the 1960s. Today only 4.4% of the dreams of under-25 year-olds
are in black and white. Recent research has suggested that those
changing results may be linked to the switch from black-and-white film
and TV to color media.
6. Dreams are Symbolic
If you dream
about some particular subject it is not often that the dream is about
that. Dreams speak in a deeply symbolic language. Whatever symbol your
dream picks on it is most unlikely to be a symbol for itself.
(bamboo for h.koppdelaney)
7. Emotions
The most common emotion experienced in dreams is anxiety. Negative emotions are more common than positive ones.
8. You can have four to seven dreams in one night.
On average you can dream anywhere from one or two hours every night.
9. Animals Dream Too
Studies have been done on many different
animals, and they all show the same brain waves during dreaming sleep
as humans. Watch a dog sleeping sometime. The paws move like they are
running and they make yipping sounds as if they are chasing something in
a dream.
10. Body Paralysis
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a normal stage of sleep characterized by rapid movements of the eyes. REM sleep in adult humans typically occupies 20-25% of total sleep, about 90-120 minutes of a night’s sleep.
During REM sleep the body is paralyzed
by a mechanism in the brain in order to prevent the movements which
occur in the dream from causing the physical body to move. However, it
is possible for this mechanism to be triggered before, during, or after
normal sleep while the brain awakens.
11. Dream Incorporation
Our mind interprets the external stimuli that our senses are bombarded with when we are asleep and make them a part of our dreams.
This means that sometimes in our dreams we hear a sound from reality
and incorporate it in a way. For example you may be dreaming that you
are in a concert while your brother is playing a guitar during your
sleep.
12. Men and Women Dream Differently
Men tend to dream more about other men.
Around 70% of the characters in a man’s dream are other men. On the
other hand, a woman’s dream contains almost an equal number of men and
women. Aside from that, men generally have more aggressive emotions in
their dreams than the female lot.
13. Precognitive Dreams
Results of several surveys across large
population sets indicate that between 18% and 38% of people have
experienced at least one precognitive dream and 70% have experienced
déjà vu. The percentage of persons that believe precognitive dreaming
is possible is even higher – ranging from 63% to 98%.
*Precognition, also called future
sight, refers to perception that involves the acquisition of future
information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally
acquired sense-based information.
14. If you are snoring, then you cannot be dreaming.
This fact is repeated all over the
Internet, but I’m a bit suspicious whether it’s really true as I haven’t
found any scientific evidence to support it.
14 Interesting Facts about Dreams
[postlink]https://yohanespratama.blogspot.com/2013/01/25-fascinating-facts-about-america.html[/postlink]
Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work.
Twenty-seven percent of Americans believe we never landed on the moon.
The American flag’s official colors are “Old Glory Red,” “White,” and “Old Glory Blue.”
Even though the grizzly bear is California’s official state animal, none have been seen there since 1922.
More breakfast cereal is made in Battle Creek, Michigan than in any other city worldwide.
The
seven rays on the crown of the Statue of Liberty represent the seven
continents. Each measures up to 9 feet in length and weighs as much as
150 pounds.
Montana has three times as many cows as it does people.
The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.
The American one-dollar bill contains several hidden images, including a spider in the upper right-hand corner.
John
Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 – 50 years to the
day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Although English is the most commonly spoken language in the United States, no official national language exists.
The Liberty Bell was last rung on George Washington’s Birthday in 1846. It received its fatal crack a few hours later.
In addition to its mainland, Louisiana consists of 2,482 islands that cover nearly 1.3 million acres.
About 35 million Americans share DNA with at least one of the 102 pilgrims who arrived aboard the Mayflower in 1620.
US Highway 550 in Colorado became known as Million Dollar Highway because its roadbed was paved with low-grade gold ore.
Broken shackles lie at the feet of the Statue of Liberty, signifying freedom from oppression and tyranny.
The state of Alaska is 429 times larger than the state of Rhode Island, but Rhode Island has a significantly larger population.
Although
Ohio is listed as the 17th state in the U.S., it is technically 47th
because Congress forgot to vote on a resolution to admit it to the Union
until 1953.
About 500,000 detectable seismic tremors occur in California each year.
Snake Alley, the most crooked street in the world, can be found in Burlington, Iowa.
George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William
Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson were all
born in Virginia, making it the birthplace of more Presidents than any
other state.
Venus Fly Traps can only be found natively in the Carolinas and nowhere else in the world.
New Jersey is home to the world’s highest roller coaster.
The
Japanese sent bombs aboard balloons to the United States during World
War II. Dozens of them actually landed, causing some damage. One of them
even killed an Oregon family in 1944. The scary part is that there
might be more lying around undiscovered!
The
British deployed the first rockets in America during their attack
against Fort McHenry in the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key witnessed the
attack and immortalized it in a song he titled “The Star-Spangled
Banner.” That song is now the national anthem of the United States.
Some call it The Land of the Free, others
call it ‘Mericuh. No matter what you call it though, you should take a
short break from lighting fireworks and grilling hamburgers to enjoy
these 25 fascinating facts about America. And as we celebrate the birth
of a nation make sure to thank any veterans that you know. Happy Fourth of July!
Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work.Twenty-seven percent of Americans believe we never landed on the moon.The American flag’s official colors are “Old Glory Red,” “White,” and “Old Glory Blue.”Even though the grizzly bear is California’s official state animal, none have been seen there since 1922.More breakfast cereal is made in Battle Creek, Michigan than in any other city worldwide.The
seven rays on the crown of the Statue of Liberty represent the seven
continents. Each measures up to 9 feet in length and weighs as much as
150 pounds.Montana has three times as many cows as it does people.The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.The American one-dollar bill contains several hidden images, including a spider in the upper right-hand corner.John
Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 – 50 years to the
day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.Although English is the most commonly spoken language in the United States, no official national language exists.The Liberty Bell was last rung on George Washington’s Birthday in 1846. It received its fatal crack a few hours later.In addition to its mainland, Louisiana consists of 2,482 islands that cover nearly 1.3 million acres.About 35 million Americans share DNA with at least one of the 102 pilgrims who arrived aboard the Mayflower in 1620.US Highway 550 in Colorado became known as Million Dollar Highway because its roadbed was paved with low-grade gold ore.Broken shackles lie at the feet of the Statue of Liberty, signifying freedom from oppression and tyranny.The state of Alaska is 429 times larger than the state of Rhode Island, but Rhode Island has a significantly larger population.Although
Ohio is listed as the 17th state in the U.S., it is technically 47th
because Congress forgot to vote on a resolution to admit it to the Union
until 1953.About 500,000 detectable seismic tremors occur in California each year.Snake Alley, the most crooked street in the world, can be found in Burlington, Iowa.George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William
Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson were all
born in Virginia, making it the birthplace of more Presidents than any
other state.Venus Fly Traps can only be found natively in the Carolinas and nowhere else in the world.New Jersey is home to the world’s highest roller coaster.The
Japanese sent bombs aboard balloons to the United States during World
War II. Dozens of them actually landed, causing some damage. One of them
even killed an Oregon family in 1944. The scary part is that there
might be more lying around undiscovered!The
British deployed the first rockets in America during their attack
against Fort McHenry in the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key witnessed the
attack and immortalized it in a song he titled “The Star-Spangled
Banner.” That song is now the national anthem of the United States.25 Fascinating Facts About America
[postlink]https://yohanespratama.blogspot.com/2013/01/10-fun-facts-south-korea.html[/postlink]
1. Fruit is a luxury item. Fruit in Korea is already absurdly expensive, but especially due to the high levels of rain as of late, it’s costing Koreans even more than normal. (What is one of the most expensive fruits? WATERMELON – at about 30,000 won, which is equal to about $30.00 in Canada.)
2. Koreans eat SPAM like it’s going out of style. Why is it so popular? Well, during the war, soldiers were supplied with a lot of canned foods, so they ended up creating something we know now as 부대찌개 (Military Stew), which has water and spices as broth, with all of the various canned foods and vegetables boiled together to make a hearty feast. The population ended up picking up on the SPAM after this creation and starting adding it to other soups and recipes. It ended up becoming somewhat of a staple, and is now essential in most homes. Expect to see a lot of SPAM gift sets during important holidays, too. It’s a strange sight, but a common one in Korea.
3. Koreans LOVE 고구마 (sweet potato) and sweet potato-flavoured things. Just to give you an idea, here are a few varities of sweet potato snacks, desserts and main courses. Deep fried sweet potato, sweet potato cake, sweet potato crackers, sweet potato chips, sweet potato bread, sweet potato latte, sweet potato salad, sweet potato pizza. You get the idea? Don’t get me wrong, though, I’m not knocking it. I actually happen to love all of the Korean sweet potato creations… except the latte – that’s just gross.
4. Tipping is not required in Korea. If you tip a server or the owner of a restaurant, they are more likely to chase you down the street with your change, than to think that you left it behind for them as a token of your appreciation.
5. Stores, shops and services are open considerably later than in North America. Most stores are open until at least 10:30 or 11:00 pm. Restaurants, Bars, Cafes and Street Food vendors stay open even later. Koreans LOVE drinking until all hours of the night, so there is ALWAYS a place to grab a bite to eat if you’re craving something delicious at 3 or 4 am.
6. Drinking in Public is one-hundred percent legal. You’re allowed to sit in the park, by the river, on a University campus and have a few drinks and some snacks with friends. Don’t think you’re being a rebel, though, a lot of other people indulge in this, as well.
7. Public Transit is clean, fast and extremely affordable. In Korea, you have the option to take the subway, a bus or even the KTX train to help you arrive to your destination in a quick, timely manner. At about 1000 won per ride ($1.00 Canadian), it’s common to see most people taking advantage of the cost-efficient, organized public transit system in South Korea.
8. Most homes in Korea are equipped with heated floors. An ondol, in Korean traditional architecture, is underfloor heating which uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to the underside of a thick masonry floor. The more modern versions of ondol floors are heated by circulating hot water from water heaters, or an electrical heating system of dielectric heating or induction heating.
9. The number “4″ is extremely unlucky. For this reason, if you’re giving someone a gift, be sure it is not in a multiple of 4. Also, most buildings in Korea do not have a 4th floor.
10. Avoid using red ink. Writing someone’s name in red ink basically means they’re going to die, or that they’re already dead. You should also avoid writing a note or letter in red ink, as it does not send a friendly message to the recipient of said note.
1. Fruit is a luxury item. Fruit in Korea is already absurdly expensive, but especially due to the high levels of rain as of late, it’s costing Koreans even more than normal. (What is one of the most expensive fruits? WATERMELON – at about 30,000 won, which is equal to about $30.00 in Canada.)
2. Koreans eat SPAM like it’s going out of style. Why is it so popular? Well, during the war, soldiers were supplied with a lot of canned foods, so they ended up creating something we know now as 부대찌개 (Military Stew), which has water and spices as broth, with all of the various canned foods and vegetables boiled together to make a hearty feast. The population ended up picking up on the SPAM after this creation and starting adding it to other soups and recipes. It ended up becoming somewhat of a staple, and is now essential in most homes. Expect to see a lot of SPAM gift sets during important holidays, too. It’s a strange sight, but a common one in Korea.
3. Koreans LOVE 고구마 (sweet potato) and sweet potato-flavoured things. Just to give you an idea, here are a few varities of sweet potato snacks, desserts and main courses. Deep fried sweet potato, sweet potato cake, sweet potato crackers, sweet potato chips, sweet potato bread, sweet potato latte, sweet potato salad, sweet potato pizza. You get the idea? Don’t get me wrong, though, I’m not knocking it. I actually happen to love all of the Korean sweet potato creations… except the latte – that’s just gross.
4. Tipping is not required in Korea. If you tip a server or the owner of a restaurant, they are more likely to chase you down the street with your change, than to think that you left it behind for them as a token of your appreciation.
5. Stores, shops and services are open considerably later than in North America. Most stores are open until at least 10:30 or 11:00 pm. Restaurants, Bars, Cafes and Street Food vendors stay open even later. Koreans LOVE drinking until all hours of the night, so there is ALWAYS a place to grab a bite to eat if you’re craving something delicious at 3 or 4 am.
6. Drinking in Public is one-hundred percent legal. You’re allowed to sit in the park, by the river, on a University campus and have a few drinks and some snacks with friends. Don’t think you’re being a rebel, though, a lot of other people indulge in this, as well.
7. Public Transit is clean, fast and extremely affordable. In Korea, you have the option to take the subway, a bus or even the KTX train to help you arrive to your destination in a quick, timely manner. At about 1000 won per ride ($1.00 Canadian), it’s common to see most people taking advantage of the cost-efficient, organized public transit system in South Korea.
8. Most homes in Korea are equipped with heated floors. An ondol, in Korean traditional architecture, is underfloor heating which uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to the underside of a thick masonry floor. The more modern versions of ondol floors are heated by circulating hot water from water heaters, or an electrical heating system of dielectric heating or induction heating.
9. The number “4″ is extremely unlucky. For this reason, if you’re giving someone a gift, be sure it is not in a multiple of 4. Also, most buildings in Korea do not have a 4th floor.
10. Avoid using red ink. Writing someone’s name in red ink basically means they’re going to die, or that they’re already dead. You should also avoid writing a note or letter in red ink, as it does not send a friendly message to the recipient of said note.
10 Fun Facts – South Korea
[postlink]https://yohanespratama.blogspot.com/2013/01/74-interesting-facts-about-china.html[/postlink]
- The modern word “China” most likely derives from the name of the Qin (pronounced “chin”) dynasty. First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 B.C.) of the Qin dynasty first unified China in 221 B.C., beginning an Imperial period which would last until A.D. 1912.
- China is often considered the longest continuous civilization, with some historians marking 6000 B.C. as the dawn of Chinese civilization. It also has the world’s longest continuously used written language.
- China is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, and the U.S.). It has an area of 3,719,275 square miles (slightly smaller than the U.S.) and its borders with other countries total more than 117,445 miles. Approximately 5,000 islands lie off the Chinese coast.
- One in every five people in the world is Chinese. China’s population is estimated to reach a whopping 1,338,612,968 by July 2009. China’s population is four times that of the United States.
- Fortune cookies are not a traditional Chinese custom. They were invented in 1920 by a worker in the Key Heong Noodle Factory in San Francisco.
- China is also known as the “Flowery Kingdom” and many of the fruits and flowers (such as the orange and orchid) are now grown all over the world.
- Toilet paper was invented in China in the late 1300s. It was for emperors only.
- The Chinese invented paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.
- The Chinese invented kites (“paper birds” or “Aeolian harps”) about 3,000 years ago. They were used to frighten the enemies in battle, and Marco Polo (1254-1324) noted that kites were also used to predict the success of a voyage. It was considered bad luck to purposely let a kite go.
- Cricket fighting is a popular amusement in China. Many Chinese children keep crickets as pets.
- Despite its size, all of China is in one time zone.
- Many historians believe soccer originated in China around 1000 B.C.
- Ping-pong is one of the most popular games in China, but it was not invented in China. It originated in Britain, where it is called table tennis.
- The number one hobby in China is stamp collecting.
- Giant Pandas (“bear cat”) date back two to three million years. The early Chinese emperors kept pandas to ward off evil spirits and natural disasters. Pandas also were considered symbols of might and bravery.
- White, rather than black, is the Chinese color for mourning and funerals.
- Though Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is credited with designing the first parachute, Chinese alchemists successfully used man-carrying tethered kites by the fourth century A.D. Parachutes were not used safely and effectively in Europe until the late 1700s.
- The custom of binding feet (euphemistically called “golden lilies”) began among female entertainers and members of the Chinese court during the Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1279). Tightly wrapped bandages gradually broke the arch of the foot and caused the woman's toes and heel to grow inward toward one another. Her leg muscles would also atrophy and become very thin. Bound feet were seen as highly sexual.
- Historians speculate that as the Chinese population grew, people had to conserve cooking fuel by chopping food into small pieces so that it could cook faster. These bite-sized foods eliminated the need for knives and, hence, chopsticks were invented.
- In A.D. 130, Zhang Heng, an astronomer and literary scholar, invented the first instrument for monitoring earthquakes. The machine could detect and indicate the direction of an earthquake.
- China invented ice cream, and Marco Polo is rumored to have taken the recipe (along with the recipe for noodles) back with him to Europe.
- A civil servant named Su Song built the first mechanical clock between A.D 1088 and 1092. It could tell the time of day and also track the constellations so that accurate horoscopes could be determined.
- On September 27, 2008, Zhai Zhigang made the first spacewalk by a Chinese astronaut.
- The Chinese were the first to invent the waterwheel to harness water in A.D. 31—1,200 years before the Europeans. China was also the first country in the world to use an iron plow. Europe didn’t begin using the iron plow until the seventeenth century.
- The name of China’s capital has changed over the centuries. At one time or another it has been known as Yanjing, Dadu, and Beiping. Peking or “Beijing means “Northern Capital.” Beijing is the officially sanctioned pinyin spelling based on the Mandarin dialect. Beijing is the second largest city after Shanghai.
- It was customary for wealthy men and women in the late empire to grow the nails of their little fingers extremely long as a sign of their rank. They often wore decorative gold and silver nail guards to protect their nails.c
- By the fourth century B.C., the Chinese were drilling for natural gas and using it as a heat source, preceding Western natural gas drilling by about 2,300 years.m
- By the second century B.C., the Chinese discovered that blood circulated throughout the body and that the heart pumped the blood. In Europe, circulation wasn’t discovered until the early seventeenth century by William Harvey (1578-1657).
- The Chinese were using the decimal system as early as the fourteenth century B.C., nearly 2,300 years before the first known use of the system in European mathematics. The Chinese were also the first to use a place for zero.
- The crossbow was invented and first used by the Chinese. They were also the first in the world to use chemical and gas weapons, 2,000 years before gas was used in Europe during WWI.
- The Three Gorges Hydroelectric Dam spans the Yangtze River and is the largest dam in the world. It is also the most controversial dam in the world because it has been plagued by corruption, human rights violations, technological difficulties, and has caused dramatic environmental changes.
- According to popular legend, tea was discovered by the Chinese emperor Shennong in 2737 B.C. when a tea leaf fell into his boiling water. The Chinese consider tea to be a necessity of life.i
- Martial arts are practiced throughout China and were largely developed from ancient farming and hunting methods.
- The most important holiday in China is the Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year. Chinese traditionally believe that every person turns one year older on the New Year and, thus, that day is considered to be everyone’s birthday.
- Chinese is spoken by 92% of China’s population. There are at least seven major families of the Chinese language, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, Gan, Xiang, and Min.
- Red symbolizes happiness for the Chinese and is commonly used at Chinese festivals and other happy occasions such as birthdays and weddings.
- In ancient China, the lotus was seen as a symbol of purity and was sacred to both the Buddhists and Daoists. The peony (“King of Flowers”) symbolized spring, the chrysanthemum symbolized long life, and the narcissus was thought to bring good luck.
- The Chinese have made silk since at least 3,000 B.C. The Romans knew China as “Serica,” which means “Land of Silk.” The Chinese fiercely guarded the secrets of silk making, and anyone caught smuggling silkworm eggs or cocoons outside of China was put to death.
- According to a Chinese legend, silk was discovered in 3000 B.C. by Lady Xi Ling Sui, wife of the Emperor Huang Di. When a silk worm cocoon accidentally dropped into her hot tea, fine threads from the cocoon unraveled in the hot water and silk was born.
- The oldest piece of paper in the world was found in China and dates back to the second or first century B.C. Paper was so durable, it was sometimes used for clothing and even light body armor.
- The Chinese were the first in the world to use stirrups in the third century A.D.
- China’s “one child” policy has contributed to female infanticide and has created a significant gender imbalance. There are currently 32 million more boys than girls in China. In the future, tens of millions of men will be unable to find wives, prompting some scholars to suggest that this imbalance could lead to a threat to world security.
- The first known species of Homo erectus, the Peking Man, was found in China and lived between 300,000-550,000 years ago. It is thought that he knew how to manipulate fire.
- During the first half the twentieth century, Shanghai was the only port in the world to accept Jews fleeing the Holocaust without an entry visa.
- Chinese mathematics evolved independently of Greek mathematics and is consequently of great interest to historians of mathematics.
- Originating as far back as 250 B.C., Chinese lanterns were an important symbol of long life. Lanterns were once symbols of a family’s wealth, and the richest families had lanterns so large, it required several people with poles to hoist them into place.
- In the Tang dynasty, anyone with an education was expected to greet as well as say goodbye to another person in poetic verse composed on the spot.
- In 1974, a group of farmers digging for a well in the Shaanxi province uncovered some bits of very old pottery. They discovered the tomb of Qin (259-210 B.C.) the first emperor who united China. The tomb contained thousands of amazing life-sized soldiers, horses, and chariots.
- China’s Grand Canal is the world’s oldest and longest canal at 1,114 miles (1,795 km) long with 24 locks and around 60 bridges.
- The bat is a traditional good luck symbol that is frequently depicted in designs for porcelain, textiles, and other crafts.
- The bicycle was introduced into China around 1891 by two American travelers named Allen and Sachtleben. The bicycle is now the primary transportation for millions of Chinese. The last Qing emperor (Puyi) rode a bicycle around the Forbidden City in Beijing. China is currently the leading bicycle manufacturer.
- The Boxer Rebellion between 1898 and 1901 in northern China was against Christian missionaries, foreign diplomats, and technology by a secret group called the “Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists” (Yihequan or I-ho-ch’uan) so named because its members practiced weaponless martial arts as well as secret rituals. Westerns called it “shadow boxing” and the members “Boxers.”
- Suspension bridges were invented in China in 25 B.C, 1,800 years before such bridges were known in the West.
- The first American woman to win the Nobel Prize was Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) for her novels about China, most notably The Good Earth (1931). Amy Tan (1952-) is a best-selling Chinese-American author of The Joy Luck Club.
- The Chinese word for civilization (wen) is pronounced the same as the word for script, pattern, or calligraphy. In fact, calligraphy was thought to reveal the calligrapher’s moral and spiritual self-cultivation as a type of “heart print.”
- The carp is a symbol of strength and perseverance. The scales and whiskers of the fish make it resemble a dragon, the greatest symbol of power in China. Fish in general play a large role in Chinese culture and the words for “fish” and “abundance” are pronounced the same in Chinese (yu).
- In some parts of China, “pigtails” were associated with a girl’s marital status. A young girl would wear two pigtails, and when she married, she would wear just one. This may have contributed to the Western view that pigtails are associated with children and young girls.
- In ancient China, mirrors were believed to protect their owners from evil, making hidden spirits visible and revealing the secrets of the future. A person who had been scared by a ghost could be healed by looking in the mirror. Mirrors were often hung on the ceilings of burial chambers.
- The longest river in China is the 3,494-mile Yangtze (Changjian) River and the 2,903-mile-long Yellow (Huanghe) River.
- The Chinese developed a theory of three levels of heaven—Heaven, Earth, and man—which has been influential in landscape painting and flower arrangements.
- The horse most likely originated in Central Asia and became very important in China. A horse is considered to be associated with the masculine symbol, yang, and with the element of fire. A person born in the Year of the Horse is considered cheerful, independent, clever, talkative, quick to anger, and able to handle money.
- Because the cicada (katydid) has the longest life span of any insect (up to 17 years) and sheds its skin, it has long been a symbol of regeneration and rebirth for the Chinese. In ancient China, the Chinese would place jade cicadas in the mouths of the dead because they were thought to slow down the decay process and speed up the rebirth in another world.
- Concubinage has been practiced throughout Chinese history, primarily by wealthy men who could afford it. Chinese emperors had large harems with hundreds of concubines.
- The phoenix is the most important bird in Chinese legend and represents the feminine power of the empress. The graceful crane, which is a symbol of long life, is the second most important bird in Chinese legend. Ducks are also important symbols and represent happiness and marital faithfulness.
- The Cultural Revolution (the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution) from1966-1976 resulted in severe famine, thousands of deaths, and the erosion of thousands of acres of farmland.
- While the dragon is typically seen as an evil creature in Western culture, it holds first place among the four greatest creatures in Chinese mythology, including the phoenix, tiger, and tortoise. It is typically associated with the emperor.
- The highest mountain in the world (29,028 feet) is named in the honor the Englishman Sir George Everest who was the first surveyor of India. The Chinese call Mount Everest Qomolangma, which means “Mother Goddess of the Earth.”
- China’s national flag was adopted in September 1949 and first flown in Tiananmen Square (the world’s largest public gathering place) on October 1, 1949, the day the People’s Republic of China was formed. The red in the flag symbolizes revolution. The large star symbolizes communism and the little stars represent the Chinese people. The position of the stars represents the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party.
- China has the world’s oldest calendar. This lunar calendar originated in 2600 B.C. and has 12 zodiac signs. It takes 60 years to complete.
- The number of birth defects in China continues to rise. Environmentalist and officials blame China’s severe pollution.
- The consumption of mushrooms was recorded in Chinese historical documents more than 3,000 years ago. In 1996, China produced 600,000 tons of mushrooms, making it the world’s leading producer, and it has 60% of the world’s mushroom varieties.
- In 2007, dog food and toothpaste products made in China were recalled because they contained poisonous ingredients. In July, China’s head of the State Food and Drug Administration was found to have accepted bribes from pharmaceutical companies. He was executed.
- Famous Chinese and Chinese-American actors include Jackie Chan (Hong Kong), Chow Yun Fat (Hong Kong), Bruce Lee (San Francisco), Jet Li (Beijing), Zhang Ziyi (Beijing), and Lucy Lui (New York).
- The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing were the most expensive games in history.b While the 2004 Athens Games were estimated to cost around $15 billion, the Beijing Games were estimated to cost a whopping $40 billion.
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74 Interesting Facts About China
[postlink]https://yohanespratama.blogspot.com/2013/01/interesting-facts-about-australia.html[/postlink]The name Australia comes from the Latin Australis which means "of the
South" Legends of "Terra Australis Incognita" an "unknown land of the
south" date back to Roman times.
Australia is the biggest island and the smallest continent in the world.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, the driest is Antarctica
With an average of 330 metres Australia is the lowest continent in the world.
The Australian Snowy Mountains receive more snowfall in a year than the Swiss Alps.
Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.
The only land locked state or territory in Australia is the Australian Capital Territory.
It is thought that Aboriginals have called Australia home for between 40,000 and 80,000 years.
It is estimated that at the time of British settlement there was about 300,000 Aboriginal people who spoke around 250 languages.
British settlers aboard the 11 ships of the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay in 1788 but moved north to Port Jackson (Sydney Cove) a few days later when they found the Botany Bay site unsuitable. They arrived at Port Jackson on the 26th January 1788 (now Australia Day).
The number of convicts transported to Australia was about 162,000; they were transported in 806 ships.
About 98-99% of the convicts sent here were from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland but some were sent from other British colonies like Canada and India, while others came from New Zealand, Hong Kong the Caribbean and other countries.
A lot of soldiers were also transported here for crimes like mutiny and desertion.
The Transportation of British convicts to Australia ended in 1868.
Australian are generally law abiding people but one of our greatest legends is Ned Kelly, a bushranger, law breaker, killer and leader of the notorious Kelly gang of the late 1800's; you can read more about Ned and his gang on our Ned Kelly page.
Unusual and interesting facts about Australia include Australia's only armed rebellion, the "Eureka Stockade" took place in the Ballarat Goldfields in 1854. The goldfield workers (known as 'diggers') were opposed to the government miners' licences. The rebellion became a significant event in the reforming of unfair laws, the developing of democracy in Australia, and the formation of the Australian identity and a fundamental principle of Aussie 'mateship'. The Anzac soldiers of World War 1 went on to adopt the term 'diggers' and our soldiers have been known as 'diggers' since.
Burke and Wills were the first white explorers to cross Australia from South to North. They left Melbourne in August 1860 and reached the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland in February 1861. They both perished near Cooper's Creek on the return journey.
Another of the interesting facts about Australia is these days there are about 115 people in gaol (jail) in Australia per 100,000 of population. In the USA it is about 715, Russia is about 585, New Zealand is about 160, Japan is about 54 and Canada is about the same as Australia at 116.
Women were given the right to vote in Australia in 1902.
The first female Member of Parliament in Australia was Edith Cowan who was elected to the Western Australia Legislative Assembly in 1921.
Neville Bonner became Australia's first Aboriginal senator in 1971.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 1932 and is the widest steel arch bridge in the world.
The design for the Sydney Opera House was chosen
after the New South Wales Government conducted a competition in the
late 1950's. Danish Architect Jorn Utzon's vision was the winning
design. Unfortuanetely in 1966 Jorn Utzon resigned from the project
because of disagreements with the Government. The building was completed
in 1973 and Queen Elizabeth II officially opened it in that year. Jorn
Utzon died in 2008 without ever returning to
Sydney to see in person the amazing Opera House he designed.
One of the unusual and interesting facts about Australia is about the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt. Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while going for a swim at Cheviot Beach Victoria on the 17th December 1967. His disappearance has remained a mystery all these years.
Gough Whitlam is the only Australian Prime Minister to be dismissed from office. He was dismissed as Prime Minister by the then Governor General, Sir John Kerr in 1975.
The Honey Suckle Creek Tracking Station near Canberra broadcast the pictures of man's first steps on the moon to the rest of the world in 1969.
United States architect Walter Burley Griffin won the competition in 1912 to design Australia's capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory .
Interesting facts about Australia include the longest straight stretches of road, railway track and the longest fence in the world.
The longest section of straight railway track in the world at 478 kilometres crosses The Nullarbor Plain ( South Australia to Western Australia).
The longest straight section of road at 146 kilometres is also on the Nullarbor Plains.
The longest fence in the world is known as The Dingo Fence, Wild Dog Fence or Border Fence depending on which state you are in.
Map from Wikipedia under
GNU Free Documentation License
The fence is approximately 5,400 kilometres long starting at Jimbour
in Queensland and continuing on to the Great Australian Bight in South
Australia.
My father was a Boundary Rider on the New South Wales/Queensland section of the fence at Camerons Corner when I was a kid.
The largest cattle station in the world is Anna Creek Station in South Australia at over 34,000 square kilometres. It is 8 times bigger than the biggest ranch in Texas, USA and bigger than the country of Belgium.
The population density in Australia is generally calculated in square kilometres per person, not people per square kilometre as it is in other countries.
Australia changed to the metric system of measurement from 1970 onwards. Before the changeover to the metric system Australia used imperial units of measurement that were inherited from the British. The imperial system was phased out over the years following 1970 up until about 1988.
In converting kilometres to miles the conversion goes approximately like this; 1 kilometre = 0.62 of a mile, 10 kilometres = 6.21 miles, 25 kilometres = 15.53, 50 kilometres = 31.07 miles, 100 kilometres = 62.14 miles and so on.
Another one of the interesting facts about Australia is Australia has one of the lowest population densities in the world with an average of three people per square kilometre. The world average on land only is about 45 per square kilometre.
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
The Melbourne Cup is a horse race that was first run in 1861 and is still held every year on the first Tuesday in November.
It is dubbed "the race that stops a nation".... The state of Victoria
gets a public holiday for it and now there's talk about the rest of us
having one too because pretty much wherever you are in Oz when that race
runs your looking at a television or listening to the radio to ride
your horse home with the jockey!
Australians spend the most money on gambling in comparison to any other country in the world. Australia has twenty percent of the poker machines in the world
Quite a few of the interesting facts about Australia has to do with our unique and sometimes deadly wildlife.
The Kangaroo and the Emu were chosen to feature on the Australian Coat of Arms because they are incapable of walking backwards and therefore symbolise a nation moving forward.
Australia is home to six of the top ten deadliest snakes in the world.
The Australian Fierce Snake which is found around Haddons corner (this is where South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory meet) is the most poisonous snake in the world; the venom from 1 bite is enough to kill about 100 people! But despite this it has never killed anyone probably because it lives in such an isolated region.
There are about 350 species of termites, 1,500 species of spider, 6,000 species of flies and 4,000 species of ants in Australia.
The Sydney Funnel-web spider is considered the deadliest spider in the world.
The stonefish is the most poisonous fish in the world and lives mainly above the tropic of Capricorn off the coast of Australia.
The Box Jellyfish is considered the world's most venomous marine creature and have killed more people in Australia than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined.
The largest number of wild dromedary (they have the one hump) camels in the world are found in Australia.
The Australian platypus and echidna are the only mammals (monotremes) to lay eggs.
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
The last Thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) died in 1936 at the zoo in the capital city of Hobart, Tasmania.
Australia's tropical north or the top end is home to the world's largest saltwater crocodile.
Australia is the biggest island and the smallest continent in the world.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, the driest is Antarctica
With an average of 330 metres Australia is the lowest continent in the world.
The Australian Snowy Mountains receive more snowfall in a year than the Swiss Alps.
Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.
The only land locked state or territory in Australia is the Australian Capital Territory.
It is thought that Aboriginals have called Australia home for between 40,000 and 80,000 years.
It is estimated that at the time of British settlement there was about 300,000 Aboriginal people who spoke around 250 languages.
British settlers aboard the 11 ships of the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay in 1788 but moved north to Port Jackson (Sydney Cove) a few days later when they found the Botany Bay site unsuitable. They arrived at Port Jackson on the 26th January 1788 (now Australia Day).
The number of convicts transported to Australia was about 162,000; they were transported in 806 ships.
About 98-99% of the convicts sent here were from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland but some were sent from other British colonies like Canada and India, while others came from New Zealand, Hong Kong the Caribbean and other countries.
A lot of soldiers were also transported here for crimes like mutiny and desertion.
The Transportation of British convicts to Australia ended in 1868.
Australian are generally law abiding people but one of our greatest legends is Ned Kelly, a bushranger, law breaker, killer and leader of the notorious Kelly gang of the late 1800's; you can read more about Ned and his gang on our Ned Kelly page.
Unusual and interesting facts about Australia include Australia's only armed rebellion, the "Eureka Stockade" took place in the Ballarat Goldfields in 1854. The goldfield workers (known as 'diggers') were opposed to the government miners' licences. The rebellion became a significant event in the reforming of unfair laws, the developing of democracy in Australia, and the formation of the Australian identity and a fundamental principle of Aussie 'mateship'. The Anzac soldiers of World War 1 went on to adopt the term 'diggers' and our soldiers have been known as 'diggers' since.
Burke and Wills were the first white explorers to cross Australia from South to North. They left Melbourne in August 1860 and reached the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland in February 1861. They both perished near Cooper's Creek on the return journey.
Another of the interesting facts about Australia is these days there are about 115 people in gaol (jail) in Australia per 100,000 of population. In the USA it is about 715, Russia is about 585, New Zealand is about 160, Japan is about 54 and Canada is about the same as Australia at 116.
Women were given the right to vote in Australia in 1902.
The first female Member of Parliament in Australia was Edith Cowan who was elected to the Western Australia Legislative Assembly in 1921.
Neville Bonner became Australia's first Aboriginal senator in 1971.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 1932 and is the widest steel arch bridge in the world.
One of the unusual and interesting facts about Australia is about the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt. Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while going for a swim at Cheviot Beach Victoria on the 17th December 1967. His disappearance has remained a mystery all these years.
Gough Whitlam is the only Australian Prime Minister to be dismissed from office. He was dismissed as Prime Minister by the then Governor General, Sir John Kerr in 1975.
The Honey Suckle Creek Tracking Station near Canberra broadcast the pictures of man's first steps on the moon to the rest of the world in 1969.
United States architect Walter Burley Griffin won the competition in 1912 to design Australia's capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory .
Interesting facts about Australia include the longest straight stretches of road, railway track and the longest fence in the world.
The longest section of straight railway track in the world at 478 kilometres crosses The Nullarbor Plain ( South Australia to Western Australia).
The longest straight section of road at 146 kilometres is also on the Nullarbor Plains.
The longest fence in the world is known as The Dingo Fence, Wild Dog Fence or Border Fence depending on which state you are in.
GNU Free Documentation License
My father was a Boundary Rider on the New South Wales/Queensland section of the fence at Camerons Corner when I was a kid.
The largest cattle station in the world is Anna Creek Station in South Australia at over 34,000 square kilometres. It is 8 times bigger than the biggest ranch in Texas, USA and bigger than the country of Belgium.
The population density in Australia is generally calculated in square kilometres per person, not people per square kilometre as it is in other countries.
Australia changed to the metric system of measurement from 1970 onwards. Before the changeover to the metric system Australia used imperial units of measurement that were inherited from the British. The imperial system was phased out over the years following 1970 up until about 1988.
In converting kilometres to miles the conversion goes approximately like this; 1 kilometre = 0.62 of a mile, 10 kilometres = 6.21 miles, 25 kilometres = 15.53, 50 kilometres = 31.07 miles, 100 kilometres = 62.14 miles and so on.
Another one of the interesting facts about Australia is Australia has one of the lowest population densities in the world with an average of three people per square kilometre. The world average on land only is about 45 per square kilometre.
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
Australians spend the most money on gambling in comparison to any other country in the world. Australia has twenty percent of the poker machines in the world
Quite a few of the interesting facts about Australia has to do with our unique and sometimes deadly wildlife.
The Kangaroo and the Emu were chosen to feature on the Australian Coat of Arms because they are incapable of walking backwards and therefore symbolise a nation moving forward.
Australia is home to six of the top ten deadliest snakes in the world.
The Australian Fierce Snake which is found around Haddons corner (this is where South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory meet) is the most poisonous snake in the world; the venom from 1 bite is enough to kill about 100 people! But despite this it has never killed anyone probably because it lives in such an isolated region.
There are about 350 species of termites, 1,500 species of spider, 6,000 species of flies and 4,000 species of ants in Australia.
The Sydney Funnel-web spider is considered the deadliest spider in the world.
The stonefish is the most poisonous fish in the world and lives mainly above the tropic of Capricorn off the coast of Australia.
The Box Jellyfish is considered the world's most venomous marine creature and have killed more people in Australia than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined.
The largest number of wild dromedary (they have the one hump) camels in the world are found in Australia.
The Australian platypus and echidna are the only mammals (monotremes) to lay eggs.
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
Australia's tropical north or the top end is home to the world's largest saltwater crocodile.
Interesting Facts about Australia Unique & Interesting Aussie Facts
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