Showing posts with label Amazing facts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amazing facts. Show all posts

Friday, April 15, 2011

Amazing Facts about India


Amazing Facts about India and Indians!
  1. India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
  2. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
  3. India is the world's largest democracy.
  4. Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
  5. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
  6. The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
  7. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.
  8. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.
  9. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth.
  10. The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.
  11. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.
  12. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.
  13. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10**12(10 to the power of 12).
  14. IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Boseand not Marconi.
  15. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
  16. According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 CE a beautiful lake calledSudarshana was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time.
  17. Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
  18. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
  19. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
  20. The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
  21. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
  22. India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.
  23. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.
  24. India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.
  25. India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.
Following facts were published in a German Magazine which deals with world history. (I couldn't find out the name of that German Magazine, if you find please let me know.)
  • 38% of Doctors in America are Indians.
  • 12% of Scientists in America are Indians.
  • 36% of NASA employees are Indians.
  • 34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
  • 28% of IBM employees are Indians.
  • 17% of Intel employees are Indians.
  • 13% of Xerox employees are Indians.
Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)
  • Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
  • Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.
  • French scholar Romain Rolland said: If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.
  • Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.

Giraffe

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is the tallest living terrestrial animal species. On average, it is about 4.3 metres to 5.2 metres tall. Giraffes belong to the family giraffidae. It is believed that the giraffids evolved from a 3 metres tall antelope-like mammal that roamed Europe and Asia some 30–50 million years ago.Fully grown male giraffes weigh between 800 and 1,930 kilograms and fully grown female giraffes weigh between 550 and 1,180 kilograms. As the forelegs of giraffes are about 10% longer than their hind legs, giraffes can reach a sprint speed of up to 60 km/h. A giraffe's heart measures about 60 cm long and weighs upto 10 kg. It generates about double the amount of normal blood pressure generated by an average land mammal. A giraffe can eat about 29 kg of leaves and twigs daily. On average, it sleeps for about 1.9 hours per day. The neck of a giraffe is over 2 metres long. It accounts for nearly half of the animal's vertical height.

Seahorse

Seahorses are fishes that belong to the genus Hippocampus (in the family Syngnathidae). About 50 species of seahorse exist on Earth. Although seahorses are bony fishes, they do not have scales. Instead they have a thin skin stretched over a series of bony plates arranged in rings throughout their body. A Seahorse is peculiar because it swims upright. It eats small shrimps, plankton, crustaceans and tiny fishes. With excellent camouflage and a lot of patience, a seahorse ambushes its prey that floats within its striking range. A typical seahorse has long snout, which is used to suck up food, and eyes that can move independently of each other like the eyes of a chameleon. Seahorses are mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate waters throughout the world. They are widely grown in many aquaria as pets even though they are slow feeders.

Scorpion

Scorpions are predatory arthropods of the order Scorpiones. They are distributed almost in every continent except Antarctica. Though scorpions are known to be venomous, only 25 species of the total 1752 described species of scorpion have venom capable of killing a human being. Scorpions prefer to live in areas where the temperatures range from 20 °C to 37 °C. They are known to glow when exposed to certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light, due to the presence of fluorescent chemicals in their cuticles. The approximate lifespan of a typical scorpion is 4-25 years. Scorpions prey over small arthropods and insects, although larger kinds have been known to kill small lizards and mice. The large pincers of a scorpion are studded with highly sensitive tactile hairs, and the moment an insect touches these, they use their chelae (pincers) to catch the prey. Depending on the toxicity of their venom and size of their claws, they will then either crush the prey or inject it with neurotoxic venom. This will kill or paralyze the prey so the scorpion can eat it.

Raccoon

The raccoon is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. It is usually nocturnal and omnivorous. Its diet consists of 40% invertebrates, 33% plant material and 27% vertebrates.

The weight of a fully grown raccoon varies with habitat. It ranges from 2 to 14 kg, but is usually between 3.5 and 9 kg. In general, male raccoons are 15 to 20% heavier than female raccoons. The heaviest recorded wild raccoon weighed 28.4 kg.

As raccoons have short legs compared to their compact torso, they are generally unable to run quickly or jump great distances. Their highest speed over short distances is 16 to 24 km/h. Raccoons can swim with an average speed of about 5 km/h and can stay in water for several hours.

Raccoons eat active or large prey such as birds and mammals only occasionally, as they prefer prey such as fishes and amphibians which are easier to catch. They sample food and other objects with their front paws to examine them and to remove unwanted parts.

A typical raccoon has a grayish coat, of which about 90% is dense underfur, which insulates the animal against cold weather. Raccoons have good intelligence. Studies have shown that they are able to remember solution to tasks for three years.

European Robin

The European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) is a small insectivorous passerine bird. It is found in Europe, east to West Siberia and south to North Africa. A fully-grown European Robin is 12.5–14.0 cm (5.0–5.5 in) long and weighs 16–22 g, with a wingspan of 20–22 cm (8–9 in). The European robin is relatively unafraid of people and likes to come close when anyone is digging the soil, in order to look out for earthworms and other food freshly turned up. Because of its high mortality in the first year of its life, it has an average life expectancy of 1.1 years. European Robins approach large wild animals like wild boar which disturb the ground, to look for any food that might be brought to the surface. In autumn and winter, they supplement their usual diet of terrestrial invertebrates, with fruits and berries. They also eat seed mixtures placed on bird-tables.

Snail

Snail is a common name given to any animal that belongs to the class Gastropoda (in the phylum mollusca). Snails can be divided into three categories namely sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails.

The largest species of sea snail is Syrinx aruanus. It has a shell that can measure up to 90 cm in length. Along with its shell, it can weigh up to 18 kg. The largest species of land snail is the Giant Ghana Snail (Achatina achatina). It can grow upto 38 cm (from snout to tail) in length and can weigh up to 1 kg. The largest freshwater snails are the apple snails.

Several species of snail impact agriculture as pests. They destroy crops by eating roots, leaves, stems and fruits. They are able to consume a large variety of plants. Metaldehyde-containing baits are often used for snail control, though they should be used with caution as they are toxic to dogs and cats.

Snails are consumed as a food in many countries. Several land snails, sea snails and fresh water snails act as a rich source of protein.

Sea snails constitute the majority of snail species. They have much greater biomass and a greater biodiversity when compared to land snails and freshwater snails. Generally snails are herbivorous. However, a few land snails and many sea snails are omnivorous or carnivorous.

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are small birds that belong to the family Trochilidae. The name 'Hummingbird' is derived from the characteristic 'hum' made a hummingbird's rapid wing beats. Most species of hummingbird have an average length of 7.5–13 cm. Hummingbirds are the only group of birds that can fly backwards. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12–90 times per second (depending on the species).

The smallest living species of hummingbird is the Bee Hummingbird. On average, it measures about 5 cm in length and weighs about 1.8 grams. It is indeed the smallest living species of bird.

The average lifespan of a hummingbird varies from species to species. Though many hummingbirds die during their first year of life, especially in the vulnerable period between hatching and leaving the nest, those hummingbirds that survive may live a decade or more. The longest recorded lifespan of a hummingbird in the wild is that of a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) that was banded (ringed) as an adult at least one year old then recaptured 11 years later, making it at least 12 years old. Other longevity records for banded hummingbirds include an estimated minimum age of 10 years 1 month for a female Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri), and at least 11 years 2 months for a much larger Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis).

Generally, hummingbirds have bright plumage with marvellous colouration. In many species, the colouring comes from prism-like cells within the top layers of the feathers. When light hits these cells, it is split into wavelengths that reflect to the observer in varying degrees of intensity. The wing structure of a hummingbird acts as a diffraction grating. The result is that, merely by shifting position, a colourless bird will suddenly become colourful. However, not all colours of hummingbird are due to the prism feather structure. The rusty brown color of Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) and Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) are due to pigmentation. Iridescent hummingbird colors actually result from a combination of refraction and pigmentation, since the diffraction structures themselves are made of melanin, a pigment.

Most species of hummingbirds have long and straight bills, but in some species the bill shape is adapted for specialized feeding. Thornbills have short, sharp bills adapted for feeding from flowers. The male Tooth-billed Hummingbird (Androdon aequatorialis) has barracuda-like spikes at the tip of its long, straight bill. The bill of the Fiery-tailed Awlbill (Avocettula recurvirostris) has an upturned tip. The extremely decurved bills of the Sicklebills are adapted for extracting nectar from the curved corollas of flowers in the family Gesneriaceae.

Hummingbirds drink nectar, a sweet liquid inside certain flowers. They have the ability to assess the amount of sugar in the nectar they eat; they reject flower types that produce nectar having less than 10% sugar and prefer those whose sugar content is stronger. Hummingbirds meet their needs for protein, vitamins, minerals, amino acids etc. by preying on insects and spiders as nectar is a poor source of protein.

Hummingbirds spend majority of their time in sitting and perching. They are known to consume nectar twelve times their own body weight each day. They spend an average of 10–15% of their time feeding and 75–80% sitting and digesting.

Sixty Amazing-but-True Facts!


    • In the weightlessness of space a frozen pea will explode if it comes in contact with Pepsi.
    • The increased electricity used by modern appliance parts is causing a shift in the Earth's magnetic field. By the year 2327, the North Pole will be located in mid-Kansas, while the South Pole will be just off the coast of East Africa.
    • The idea for "tribbles" in "Star Trek" came from gerbils, since some gerbils are actually born pregnant.
    • Male rhesus monkeys often hang from tree branches by their amazing prehensile penises.
    • Johnny Plessey batted .331 for the Cleveland Spiders in 1891, even though he spent the entire season batting with a rolled-up, lacquered copy of the Toledo Post-Dispatch.
    • Smearing a small amount of dog feces on an insect bite will relieve the itching and swelling.
    • The Boeing 747 is capable of flying upside-down if it weren't for the fact that the wings would shear off when trying to roll it over.
    • The trucking company Elvis Presley worked at as a young man was owned by Frank Sinatra.
    • The only golf course on the island of Tonga has 15 holes, and there's no penalty if a monkey steals your golf ball.
    • Legislation passed during WWI making it illegal to say "gesundheit" to a sneezer was never repealed.
    • Manatees possess vocal chords which give them the ability to speak like humans, but don't do so because they have no ears with which to hear the sound.
    • SCUBA divers cannot pass gas at depths of 33 feet or below.
    • Catfish are the only animals that naturally have an ODD number of whiskers.
    • Replying more than 100 times to the same piece of spam e-mail will overwhelm the sender's system and interfere with their ability to send any more spam. 
               
    • Polar bears can eat as many as 86 penguins in a single sitting.
    • The first McDonald's restaurant opened for business in 1952 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and featured the McHaggis sandwich.
    • The Air Force's F-117 fighter uses aerodynamics discovered during research into how bumblebees fly.
    • You *can* get blood from a stone, but only if contains at least 17 percent bauxite.
    • Silly Putty was "discovered" as the residue left behind after the first latex condoms were produced. It's not widely publicized for obvious reasons.
    • Approximately one-sixth of your life is spent on Wednesdays.
    • The skin needed for elbow transplants must be taken from the scrotum of a cadaver.
    • The sport of jai alai originated from a game played by Incan priests who held cats by their tails and swung at leather balls. The cats would instinctively grab at the ball with their claws, thus enabling players to catch them.
    • A cat's purr has the same romance-enhancing frequency as the voice of singer Barry White.
    • The typewriter was invented by Hungarian immigrant Qwert Yuiop, who left his "signature" on the keyboard.
    • The volume of water that the Giant Sequoia tree consumes in a 24-hour period contains enough suspended minerals to pave 17.3 feet of a 4-lane concrete freeway.
    • King Henry VIII slept with a gigantic axe.
    • Because printed materials are being replaced by CD-ROM, microfiche and the Internet, libraries that previously sank into their foundations under the weight of their books are now in danger of collapsing in extremely high winds.
    • In 1843, a Parisian street mime got stuck in his imaginary box and consequently died of starvation.
    • Touch-tone telephone keypads were originally planned to have buttons for Police and Fire Departments, but they were replaced with * and # when the project was cancelled in favor of developing the 911 system.
    • Human saliva has a boiling point three times that of regular water.
    • Calvin, of the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip, was patterned after President Calvin Coolidge, who had a pet tiger as a boy.
    • Watching an hour-long soap opera burns more calories than watching a three-hour baseball game.
    • Until 1978, Camel cigarettes contained minute particles of real camels.
    • You can actually sharpen the blades on a pencil sharpener by wrapping your pencils in aluminum foil before inserting them.
    • To human taste buds, Zima is virtually indistinguishable from zebra urine.
    • Seven out of every ten hockey-playing Canadians will lose a tooth during a game. For Canadians who don't play hockey, that figure drops to five out of ten.
    • A dog's naked behind leaves absolutely no bacteria when pressed against carpet.
    • A team of University of Virginia researchers released a study promoting the practice of picking one's nose, claiming that the health benefits of keeping nasal passages free from infectious blockages far outweigh the negative social connotations.
    • Among items left behind at Osama bin Laden's headquarters in Afghanistan were 27 issues of Mad Magazine. Al Qaeda members have admitted that bin Laden is reportedly an avid reader.
    • Urine from male cape water buffaloes is so flammable that some tribes use it for lantern fuel.
    • At the first World Cup championship in Uruguay, 1930, the soccer balls were actually monkey skulls wrapped in paper and leather.
    • Every Labrador retriever dreams about bananas.
    • If you put a bee in a film canister for two hours, it will go blind and leave behind its weight in honey.
    • Due to the angle at which the optic nerve enters the brain, staring at a blue surface during sex greatly increases the intensity of orgasms.
    • Never hold your nose and cover your mouth when sneezing, as it can blow out your eyeballs.
    • Centuries ago, purchasing real estate often required having one or more limbs amputated in order to prevent the purchaser from running away to avoid repayment of the loan. Hence an expensive purchase was said to cost "an arm and a leg."
    • When Mahatma Gandhi died, an autopsy revealed five gold Krugerrands in his small intestine.
    • Aardvarks are allergic to radishes, but only during summer months.
    • Coca-Cola was the favored drink of Pharaoh Ramses. An inscription found in his tomb, when translated, was found to be almost identical to the recipe used today.
    • If you part your hair on the right side, you were born to be carnivorous. If you part it on the left, your physical and psychological make-up is that of a vegetarian.
    • When immersed in liquid, a dead sparrow will make a sound like a crying baby.
    • In WWII the US military planned to airdrop over France propaganda in the form of Playboy magazine, with coded messages hidden in the models' turn-ons and turn-offs. The plan was scrapped because of a staple shortage due to rationing of metal.
    • Although difficult, it's possible to start a fire by rapidly rubbing together two Cool Ranch Doritos.
    • Napoleon's favorite type of wood was knotty chestnut.
    • The world's smartest pig, owned by a mathematics teacher in Madison, WI, memorized the multiplication tables up to 12.
    • Due to the natural "momentum" of the ocean, saltwater fish cannot swim backwards.
    • In ancient Greece, children of wealthy families were dipped in olive oil at birth to keep them hairless throughout their lives.
    • It is nearly three miles farther to fly from Amarillo, Texas to Louisville, Kentucky than it is to return from Louisville to Amarillo.
    • The "nine lives" attributed to cats is probably due to their having nine primary whiskers.
    • The original inspiration for Barbie dolls comes from dolls developed by German propagandists in the late 1930s to impress young girls with the ideal notions of Aryan features. The proportions for Barbie were actually based on those of Eva Braun.
    • The Venezuelan brown bat can detect and dodge individual raindrops in mid-flight, arriving safely back at his cave completely dry.

Bikes, cars and planes Facts


  • The first kind of PENCIL was a bunch of GRAPHITE sticks held together by string. Then someone decided it would be better to push the graphite into the inside of a hollow wooden stick.
             JOSEPH RECHENDORFER was the first person to think of putting a piece of rubber onto the top of a pencil which     makes it real easy to rub out mistakes.
          Did you know that the average lead pencil can draw a line that is almost 35 miles long or you can write   almost 50,000 words in English with just one pencil? Amazing fact! Now imagine an eraser that could match it !!!

  • This is what an old airplane looked like. The Wright Brothers invented one of the first airplanes. It was called the Kitty Hawk
  • Did you know the first bicycle that was made in 1817 by Baron von Drais didn't have any pedals? People walked it along
  • The first metal bicycle was called the High-Wheel or Penny Farthing. People had a hard time keeping their balance on this type of bicycle
  • Did you know the first toy balloon, made of vulcanized rubber, was thought of by someone in the J.G.Ingram company in London, England in 1847.
  • 9pin bowling was made up in Germany during the Medieval ages


Did you know?
The Industrial Revolution in Europe first saw the beginning of air pollution, which gradually became a major global problem.
The major air-polluting industries are iron, steel and, cement.
Of the 35-40 million tonnes of flyash generated annually by thermal power plants in India, only 2-3 percent is productively utilized.
The worst industrial disaster in India, occurred in 1984 in Bhopal the capital of Madhya Pradesh. A deadly chemical, methly isocyanate leaked out of the Union Carbide factory killing more than 2500 and leaving thousands sick. In fact the effects of this gas tragedy is being felt even today.
Every year some 50million cars are added to the world’s roads. Car making is now the largest manufacturing industry in the world.
In India the number of motorized vehicles have increased from 0.2 million in 1947 to 36.3 million in 1997.
The number of registered vehicles in Delhi is more than the sum total of registered vehicles in Mumbai, Calcutta, and Chennai.
Major contributor to Delhi's air pollution are vehicles.
Nearly three-fourths of India's population, which is rural, bears 84% of the burden of exposure to air pollution.
Growing population, poverty, and inadequate access to clean fuels in rural areas have perpetuated the use of biomass, thereby condemning more than 90% of rural households and more than 35% of urban hoseholds to high levels of indoor air pollution.
One of the most important measure to counter pollution is planting trees. With neem and peepal being the largest emitters of oxygen, planting them in the gardens purifies the surrounding air and helps in maintaining hygienic conditions. While champa, mogra and chameli have better chances of surviving pollution in summer, bulbous varieties do better in winter.


Which animal is the fastest?

A cat can run about 20 kilometres per hour (12 miles per hour) when it grows up. This one is going nowhere today - it is too lazy !.



A  cheetah can run 76 kilometres per hour (46 miles per hour) - that's really fast! The fastest human beings runs only about 30 kilometres per hour (18 miles per hour).


a cheetah does not roar like a lion - it purrs like a cat (meow).


A Zipper joins two pieces of material together.A zipper is used everywhere, on clothing, pencil cases, boots and suitcases, wallets, and a zillion other things. Everyone thinks it was Whitcomb Judson who invented the zipper but it was really Elias Howe. Elias was so busy inventing the sewing machine that he didn't get around to selling his zipper invention which he called a "clothing closure".



Did you know Sailor, Dead Leaf, Paper Kite, Blue Striped Crow, Julia and Great Egg Fly are all names of BUTTERFLIES
The original name for the butterfly was 'flutterby'!

Bears whose brown fur is tipped with lighter-colored hairs are called grizzly bears . The smallest species of bears is called sun or Malayan bears. Male bears are called boars. Bears are native to the continents of North America, Asia, Europe, and South America. Alaskan brown bears, world's largest meat-eating animals that live on land, can weigh as much as 1,700 pounds (771 kilograms)

The largest frog in the world is called Goliath frog. Frogs start their lives as 'eggs' often laid in or near fresh water. Frogs live on all continents except Antarctica. Frogs belong to a group of animals called amphibians

There are more than 50 different kinds of kangaroos. Kangaroosare native of Australia. A group of kangaroos is called a mob. Young kangaroos are called joeys. 

How do reindeers survive in the extreme cold? Most animals don’t eat moss. It’s hard to digest, and it has little nutritional value. But reindeer fill up with lots of moss. Why? The moss contains a special chemical that helps reindeer keep their body fluids warm. When the reindeer make their yearly journey across the icy Arctic region, the chemical keeps them from freezing—much as antifreeze keeps a car from freezing up in winter

Some scientists believe that the earth began billions of years ago as a huge ball of swirling dust and gases. If you dig in your backyard, don’t worry about running into the earth’s core. You’d have to dig a hole 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) deep!