DID

YOU
KNOW?
DID YOU KNOW? Psychotria Elata or Hookers Lips: The Most Kissable Plant

Psychotria Elata or Hookers Lips: The Most Kissable

Plant
These gorgeous pair of red, luscious lips belong to a plant
known as Psychotria elata, a tropical tree found in the rain
forests of Central and South American countries like
Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.
Affectionately, Psychotria elata is called Hookers Lips or
the Hot Lips Plants. The plant has apparently evolved into
its current shape to attract pollinators including
hummingbirds and butterflies. According to Oddity Central,
the bracts are only kissable for a short while, before they
spread open to reveal the plants flowers.

DID YOU KNOW? Bristlecone Pines The Oldest Trees on Earth

Bristlecone Pines The Oldest Trees on Earth

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pines, or Pinus longaeva, is a long-living species of
tree found in the higher mountains of the southwest United States. Bristlecone
pines grow in isolated groves in the arid mountain regions of six western states of
America, but the oldest are found in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the
White Mountains of California. These trees have a remarkable ability to survive
in extremely harsh and challenging environment. In fact, they are believed to be
the some of oldest living organisms in the world, with lifespans in excess of
5,000 years.
Bristlecone pines grow just below the tree line, between 5,000 and 10,000 feet of
elevation. At these great heights, the wind blows almost constantly and the
temperatures can dip to well below zero. The soil is dry receiving less than a foot
of rainfall a year. Because of these extreme conditions, the trees grow very
slowly, and in some years don't even add a ring of growth. Even the tree's
needles, which grow in bunches of five, can remain green for forty years.

DID YOU KNOW?

House in The Middle of The Drina River

House in The Middle of The Drina River

A solitary house on the Drina River in Serbia has been attracting curious travelers from
across the globe, after an image of the house was published in National Geographic in
August last year. The tiny house stands on an exposed rock in the middle of the Drina
River, near the town of Bajina Basta, Serbia. The town lies in the valley of the Drina
River at the eastern edge of Tara National Park.
The beauty of the house was captured by Hungarian photographer Irene Becker in
August. The picture soon became a hit on the Internet. The house, despite having just
found its recent fame, has been standing in the middle of the river for more than 40 years.
The house was built in 1968 by a group of young boys who needed a place to sunbath. As
the rock was not exactly the most comfortable place to lie down, they brought some
boards from a nearby ruined shed. The following year the boys put up a roof and walls
and a house materialized. To transport the materials they used boats and kayaks. Larger
pieces were lowered into the water just a few miles upstream, and then caught at the rock.
The house was nearly destroyed several times during flood, but every time it was built
from ground up.

Did You Know: The Worlds Best-Selling Toy

Did you know that Rubiks Cube is the worlds best-selling toy?
As of January 2009, more than 350 million Rubiks Cubes have
been sold worldwide so many, in fact, that if all the cubes were
placed on top of each other it would be enough to reach the
North Pole from the South Pole!
Surprisingly, when Rubik first approached toy companies they
were cool to his idea and told him that the puzzle was too
difficult for mainstream appeal.
The Rubiks Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in
1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ern
Rubik.
Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle has
43,252,003,274,489,856,000 combinations.

Did You Know: Men Can Breastfeed Too

Did you know that men can breastfeed too?

Male lactation in zoology means production of milk

from mammary glands in the presence of physiological
stimuli connected with nursing infants.
It has been used in literature to describe the
phenomenon of male galactorrhea which is a well
documented condition in humans.
Its exceptionally rare, but since men possess mammary
glands just like women do, they have the capacity to
produce milk. When male lactation happens, its usually
because of hormonal treatments.

DID YOU KNOW? Kids Risking Their Lives to Reach School

Kids Risking Their Lives to Reach School

For most parents and kids, crossing the street to catch the school bus is perhaps
the riskiest part of the school run. But take a look at these Chinese schoolchildren
from the village of Genguan. Everyday, these young kids walk along a precarious
path carved by the side of a cliff, as they make their way to class in Bijie, in
southwest China's Guizhou Province. Banpo Elementary School is located
halfway up a mountain and the path to it winds through treacherous hillside
passes and tunnels hewn out of the rock. The pebble-covered footpath is less than
0.5 meters wide, which means the children have to walk single file and press
themselves into the side of the mountain if someone wants to squeeze past. This
footpath was created 40 years ago as an irrigation ditch and although there is
another safer route, but taking this means the children have to spend two hours to
walk to school. The only assurance for parents is that Headmaster Xu Liangfan
accompanies the 49 kids to school.
The story might sound incredible to some, but it isnt uncommon for children
from less privileged regions facing immense hardship on their commute to the

institute of learning. You will be surprised at the great lengths some children are
willing to go to reach school.

When you begin to

feel thirsty when your body losses
1% of water
DID YOU KNOW?

Water is important because the body uses it for chemical reactions, nutrient delivery, waste disposal and
temperature regulation.
For a person not doing much exercise an expected water loss would be approximately 2500 ml per day and would
comprise:
1500 ml/day excretion by kidneys in the form of urine
500ml/day evaporation and perspiration from the skin
300ml/day from the lungs

 200 ml/day from the gastrointestinal tract

Exercise greatly increases fluid loss which can reach levels of up to 4 liters per hour during heavy work-outs.
Blood plasma is 90% water so dehydration reduces the volume of blood in the body which makes the heart system
work harder to pump the blood around the body and deliver sufficient oxygen to the working muscles. Exercise
feels much harder as your body's systems aren't working as efficiently as they do with good hydration and
performance is impaired.
Dehydration is defined as a 1% or greater loss of body weight as a result of fluid loss.
Early signs that you are mildly dehydrated may include light-headiness, dizziness, irritability and headaches.
As you get more dehydrated the symptoms get more severe and can lead to clumsiness, dim vision and exhaustion.
When dehydrated your attention and concentration can decrease by 13% and short term memory by 7%.
As dehydration progresses, nausea and vomiting may be experienced and by 5% reduction in total body weight,
performance has dropped by 30%. Fluid losses greater than this lead to coma and death.
Don't rely on thirst as an indicator of dehydration. By the time you feel thirsty your body has lost between 2 and 5
cups of water! Drink water when you get up in the morning, at breakfast, play lunch, lunch and tea. Drink before,
during and after any physical activity.

Ants

DID YOU KNOW?

stretch and yawn after
waking up in the morning

Strangely, Yes! This is a cool fact, Ants stretch out

when they wake up in the morning. It is also said
that when they wake up they stretch out all their six
legs and then open their mandibles as if they are
yawning just like human beings and that before

deciding their tasks for the following day. Many ants

spend several waking hours just lazing around or
sunning themselves. To sleep, they often make
themselves comfortable by scooping smooth hollows
in the soil.

In fact, Ants have different personalities, Ants in

the same species and colony can show the
characteristics of stupidity and laziness, or they can
be smart and hardworking. If the hard workers are
removed from a colony, the entire colony will suffer.

 DID YOU KNOW? STUDIES SHOW

THAT EATING CHOCOLATE CAN
IMPROVE YOUR MATH SKILLS.

Chocolate is not only delicious but it is also good for your health. Many studies show that eating
chocolate makes your heart stronger and can even prevent cancer! Heres another piece of good news for
chocolate lovers: chocolate can also help improve your math skills!

According to British researchers, chocolate can help you do better at math. Scientists at the University of
Northumbria found in their study that students who drank hot chocolate before taking a math test
performed better than the students who didnt drink it.

We found that chocolate can be beneficial for mentally challenging tasks, said Professor David Kennedy
who led the study. Chocolate increases the flow of blood to the brain, thus activating the brain to
work better. So students who eat chocolate before exams may greatly benefit from it.

The amounts used in the study were 500 mg, equal to about five bars of chocolate. If you want to
concentrate better on your studying or a difficult task, you can try eating chocolate. But the researchers
said that doing it habitually is not recommended. This is because you may gain a few kilograms if you eat
too much chocolate!

If you want to boost your brain power before exams, choose dark chocolate. Milk chocolate contains too
much sugar and fat. Eating fresh vegetables and fruit is another good way to make your brain more
powerful.