Repository of world's most interesting facts http://www.interestingfacts.org/ <![CDATA[Born on July 26, 1856 in Dublin, Ireland; George Bernard Shaw was a known playwright, journalist, orator, reviewer and a socialist. He was born to poor parents and suffered financially. He had to fight through school as a clerk, neither of which he enjoyed. It was in 1876 when he moved to London he earned fame as playwright, politician and celebrity .He became the force of a developing Fabian society. He did not like George in his name and just liked using Bernard Shaw. Shaw was a committed vegetarian, a socialist and he opposed the First World War He won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 and an Oscar in 1938 (Pygmalion). He is the only person to receive both awards. He did not follow any religion but favored religious beliefs: "my religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative revolution." Throughout his life he wrote more than 60 plays. His work dealt with political and social issues. He was known to dislike aristocrats and nobleman. One time he received invitation from local lord stating: "Lord C. Will be home Tuesday between 4 and 6". Bernard Shaw returned invitation and wrote down: "George Bernard Shaw too". Bernard died at an age of 94 when he fell down the ladder while trimming a tree.]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/bernard-shaw-facts <![CDATA[Linus Benedict Torvalds, a 21 year old Finnish college student created operating system Linux. It was made public on August 25, 1991. A penguin named Tux is the official mascot of Linux. Linus named the software Freax (freak + unix), but his friend uploaded first public version of operating system into a folder that he named Linux. Linux today is one of the most widely used operating system running on small computers to huge servers. Linux is open source operating system and millions of people around the world contribute to Linux development. Linux provides platform to developers, academic centers, government concerns and many other businesses and it is available with free license and supports changes as compared to other operating systems. It is quite flexible as it allows it users to use parts that they require for particular application or device they are working on. Linus continually works on the developments of kernel, but today his part of the original contribution is less than 2%. World known companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Linked in etc use Linux as their main operating system. Established in 2007, Linux foundation works to grow and succeed in competition with other operating systems. ]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/facts-about-linux <![CDATA[Meteora, an area that attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world every year is situated in Greece. Meteora is famous for its monasteries that are built on eroded rocks. The name itself means "suspended in the air". The monks built these monasteries on the top of the rocks. Earlier there were many monasteries but now only six are left. Meteora was inhabited by hermit monks first. The climate here varies with sweating summers to chilly winters. The area experiences rain all through the year. The rocks on which these monasteries stand are believed to be almost sixty million years old and their weathering and evolving makes the place perfect for hiking. Tourists here enjoy visiting monasteries, hiking and exploring caves. The best way to reach the place is by taking a bus from Athens. There are good hotels to stay in a village of Kastraki. The nearby places worth visiting are Mount Olympus, Athens, Santorini and many more. ]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/meteora-facts <![CDATA[A beautiful work of nature, fire rainbows are not a common sight. Fire rainbows are circumhorizon arcs commonly known as CHA in scientific language. Fire rainbows occur in cirrus clouds which are wispy and thin.For this incredible sight the cirrus clouds should be at 20000 feet height with sun at 58 degrees. The amount of ice crystals in the clouds need to be appropriate and properly aligned for the light to pass through it. The phenomenon is the result of refraction of light when it passes through vertical side and exits from the rear as it is in the case of a prism. If the inclination is of 90 degrees the colors can be seen well arranged and the cloud seems bursting with colorful flames. Though the name suggests it to be a hot, flammy phenomenon but it is cold like ice. This spectacular event of nature lasts for a short time and is a rare sight as all factors need to be available at correct time and at correct position. ]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/fire-rainbow-facts <![CDATA[Olbers' paradox, a part of astrophysics and physical cosmology, is basically a squabble about the sky being dark at night. This paradox is also phrased as the 'dark night sky paradox'. The paradox states that an inert, considerably old universe with an equal number of stars scattered in the proportionately large space should be bright rather than being dark at night. The question of sky being dark at night might seem ridiculous with a much obvious answer, and the topical answer might surprise you. This question has been studied by the best physicists who have reached an answer that is simple but not so obvious. In order to find an answer to the Olbers' paradox, the scientists and physicists had to struggle a lot to learn about the behavior of energy involved in the concept. One argument given by the scientists against the dark night paradox is that the light of distant stars might be hidden by the dust clouds. But this answer is again contradicted by the statement that these dust clouds should reach the temperature of the stars by their heat. Another statement contradicting the Olber's paradox is that these distant stars might be too tiny and far that they can be seen in the vicinity. Besides, there might be numerous stars at increasing distances such that their smaller perceptible size is formed of by their bigger numbers. Another theory is of the time and age of the universe. Universe is 13.73 billion years old which states that light of the starts had certain time to light up the universe. Most of the starts we see today, in our night sky, do not exist anymore. We can see their light because it takes ages for their light to travel around the universe. So we could say that stars in the universe had certain amount of time to contribute to the illumination of the whole universe. Please read comments bellow for additional theories. However, as much as we searched this subject, it still remains a paradox. ]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/why-is-universe-dark <![CDATA[Mount Pelee is a volcano located on the French island of Martinique in the Caribbean. it is well known for his destructive past. It was the early morning, may 8th in 1902, when eruption started destroying everything in its path. Killing in one day more than 30000 people. Completely destroying the city of Saint-Pierre, leaving only two survivors. One them was 25 year old Louis Auguste Cyparis a convicted felon who injured his friend with a glass during the bar fight. Interestingly, Louis escaped the jail night before the eruption, but he reported himself to the jail the very next morning. He survived because his dungeon cell had poor ventilation. Later he became a local celebrity. Second survivor was a young girl called Havivra Da Ifrile. She escaped in the the small boat towards the cave where she played with her brother. This is supposedly her statement from 1902: "Just as I got to the main street I saw this boiling stuff burst from the top of the Corkscrew and run down the side of the hill. It followed the road first, but then as the stream got bigger, it ate up the houses on both sides of the road. Then I saw that a boiling red river was coming from another part of the hill and cutting off the escape of the people who were running from their houses." "But before I got there I looked back -- and the whole side of the mountain which was near the town seemed to open and boil down on the screaming people. I was burned a good deal by the stones and ashes that came flying about the boat, but I got to the cave." Mount Pelee after disaster Mount Pelee today Louis Auguste Cyparis - felon survivor ]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/mount-pelee-facts <![CDATA[Fish has all essential amino acids that humans need to survive. However, we could die if we had only fish in our diet. This is because fish has no Vitamin C which is crucial for human survival. Even today we use few drops of lemon when eating cooked fish. Only fish that consumes plankton has vitamin C, but only way to properly extract it is to eat fish raw with the contents of their intestines. ]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/eating-just-fish-could-be-mortal <![CDATA[Rig Veda, the oldest and perhaps most mystical text ever composed in India, says: "With deep respect, I bow to the sun, who travels 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha." A yojana is about nine American miles; a nimesha is 16/75 of a second. 2,202 yojanas x 9 miles x 75/8 nimeshas = 185,794 m. So it says that sunlight travels at 186,000 miles per second! In 1387 A. D. They know the correct figure for the speed of light. Yogis were using the mala to keep track of the number of mantras. It has 109 beads, 108+1 Guru Bead. Why so? A] The mala represents the ecliptic. It is divided into 27 equal sections called Nakshatras, and each of these into four equal sectors called paadas, or "steps," marking the 108 steps that the sun and moon take through heaven. 2] They stop at the 109th "guru bead," flip the mala and continue reciting backwards. The guru bead represents the summer and winter solstices. Using a mala is a symbolic way of connecting ourselves with the cosmic cycles governing our universe. Yet there are another astronomical references to it : 1] The distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 108 times the sun's diameter. Distance between earth & sun is 149,597,890 km and diameter of sun is 1,392,000 km i.e. 107.45 times. 2] And the distance between the earth and the moon is 108 times the moon's diameter. Distance between earth & moon is 375,403km and moon diameter is 3,476 km i.e. 108 times. 3] The diameter of the sun is about 108 times the earth's diameter. Sun diameter is 1,392,000 km and Earth diameter at equator is 12756 km i.e. Sun is 109 times that of earth. That is why Gurumani is considered as of 109th. ]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/ancient-indian-astronomers <![CDATA[Penis fight, also referred as penis fencing, is basically a mating activity performed by certain species of flatworm, for example Pseudobiceros hancockanus. These flatworms are mainly hermaphrodites, i.e. a species not having a specific sex. Each individual flatworm features two penises which are white and pointed. Being hermaphrodites, each individual possesses both - ovaries to produce eggs and testes to produce sperms. To perform the act of mating through penis fencing, each of the two flatworms attacks the other with its pair of sharp penises that feature the shape of a two-headed dagger. The process involves an aggressive battle during which both the flatworms try to pierce the other one's skin with one of their penises. The defeated one is inseminated by the winner organism, which moves away from the brutal one night stand scotch free. The skin of the loser organism absorbs the sperm through pores of skin, thereby resulting in fertilization and then child bearing. The act of Penis Fencing is the strangest feature surrounding flatworms. Just because these are born as hermaphrodites that feature both male and female parts, certain genus of flatworms must get involved in an activity to decide on roles as male and female. The act of penis fencing is necessary for child bearing so as to continue with the species. However, the process demands a substantial amount of time and energy from both the organisms involved, more commonly the mother. None of the organism, therefore, desires to play the female part just for the reason that pregnancy is very strenuous on their body. ]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/worm-penis-fight <![CDATA[George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, popularly known as G.I. Gurdjieff, a famous mystic and spiritual teacher, is believed to have born on January 14, 1866. His date of birth is, however, not confirmed till date but the conjectures range from 1866-1877. Gurdjieff is said to have born to a Greek father and Armenian mother in Alexandropol. He got his name, Gurdjieff, on the account of Muslim people around Georgia addressing the Georgian people as "gurdjis". He described his discipline "The Work" (signifying "work on oneself") as per Gurdjieff's principles and instructions, or primarily the "Fourth Way". He had also described his teachings, at one point, as "esoteric Christianity". He averred that "Man lives in sleep, and in sleep he dies." This quote states that, according to Gurdjieff, one cannot see reality in his current state as he does not have power over consciousness but to a certain extent lives in a state of hypnotic "waking sleep". Above and beyond, Gurdjieff had also given many additional ideas based on his principles. Gurdjieff believed in self-development teachings and described them as "esoteric Christianity". He denied the traditional methods of self-knowledge where knowledge is gained through pain, devotion, and study via being the "fakir", "monk", and "yogi". According to Gurdjieff, these, instead, led to varied forms of stagnation and one-sidedness. Gurdjieff believed in augmenting the conventional ways of teaching, through his innovative methods, which moved along the developmental process. The most notable ideas and thoughts of Gurdjieff were - the Fourth Way, Fourth Way Enneagram, Centers, Ray of Creation, and Self-remembering. Gurdjieff's thoughts have perhaps best acknowledged through his pupils' published works.]]> http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/g.-i.-gurdjieff-facts