1. Bluetooth is NOT named so because it simply
looks like a … blue tooth. Not even close!
This technology was named after King Harald Bluetooth who united the dissonant Danish tribes into a single kingdom. Jim Kardach proposed this name because his system would connect mobile phones with computers as well as with each other, similar to what King Bluetooth had done in the tenth century. The logo
is a blend of Harald Bluetooth’s
initials H (ᚼ) and B (ᛒ).
This technology was named after King Harald Bluetooth who united the dissonant Danish tribes into a single kingdom. Jim Kardach proposed this name because his system would connect mobile phones with computers as well as with each other, similar to what King Bluetooth had done in the tenth century. The logo
is a blend of Harald Bluetooth’s
initials H (ᚼ) and B (ᛒ).
2. ‘Google’ is a misspelling of ‘Googol’ a number
written as the digit one followed by a hundred zeros. Originally US mathematician Edward Kasner
wanted to name this number and his nine-year-old nephew Milton Sirotta
suggested ‘googol’. The name appealed to Kasner who used it in his book Mathematics
and the Imagination in 1940. Then in 1997, Larry Page and Sergey Brin
changed the name of their search engine from ‘Backrub’ to ‘Google’ to signify
the large quantities of information this engine would provide.
3. Big
Ben is NOT that world famous tower in London.
This tower is called the ‘Clock Tower’, or officially ‘Elizabeth Tower’
since 2012. Big Ben is just the bell inside the tower, probably named after Sir
Benjamin Hall, a British civil engineer and politician.
4. We believe that red enrages bulls and so
matadors always have red capes. Bulls do not see red because cattle are
dichromats. They charge at capes as they perceive a movement while matadors
stand very still.
5. Another common misconception is that the
Great Wall is the only man-made object visible from the moon. However, the wall
is barely visible from low orbit (180,000 miles) under a specific set of
weather and lighting conditions. The moon is roughly 237,000 miles.
6. It is widely believed that citrus fruits
(oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit) are rich in vitamin C. See how much
vitamin C in 100 grams of each:
orange 53.2 mg
tangerine 26.7 mg
lemon 53 mg
grapefruit 33.3 mg
Do you know that 100 grams of guava contains 228.3 mg of vitamin C? This is more than the previous four combined.
Other foods are also rich in vitamin C such as chili (144 mg), parsley (133 mg), kale (120 mg) and golden kiwifruit (105.4 mg).
Next time you catch a cold, use real weapons.
orange 53.2 mg
tangerine 26.7 mg
lemon 53 mg
grapefruit 33.3 mg
Do you know that 100 grams of guava contains 228.3 mg of vitamin C? This is more than the previous four combined.
Other foods are also rich in vitamin C such as chili (144 mg), parsley (133 mg), kale (120 mg) and golden kiwifruit (105.4 mg).
Next time you catch a cold, use real weapons.
7. Ostriches do NOT bury their heads in sand
when they are scared. They simply swallow sand and pebbles to help grind up
food in their stomachs. This means they have to bend down and briefly stick
their heads in the earth to collect the pebbles.
8. Incense could be more harmful than cigarette
smoke and might need to carry a health warning, just like tobacco. So there
must be greater awareness and management of the health risks associated with
burning incense in indoor environments.
9. Back in the 80s and 90s our history teachers used to boast that the
pyramids are exclusive to Egypt.
Check the Nubian pyramids in Sudan,
Nsude pyramids in Nigeria,
the Pyramids of Guimar in Spain,
the Pyramid of Cestius in Italy, Mexico, China
…
10. The word ‘Pepsi’ has been circulated as the
acronym of ‘Pay Every Penny Save Israel’ which is not true. Pepsi is a
derivative of pepsin, an enzyme in the stomach that breaks down protein. Look
up ‘dyspepsia’: a pain caused by difficulty in digesting food. So the word
‘Pepsi’ connotes easy digestion.
