Random Facts: 04/10/13
In Sweden, where they use an innovative waste-to-energy program and highly efficient recycling habits, they have actually run out of trash. In order to continue fueling the waste-to-energy factories that provide electricity to a quarter of a million homes and 20 percent of the entire country's district heating, Sweden is now importing trash from the landfills of other European countries. In fact, those countries are paying Sweden to do so, turning garbage into gold for Sweden.
Persians first began using colored eggs to celebrate spring in 3,000 B.C. 13th century Macedonians were the first Christians on record to use colored eggs in Easter celebrations. Crusaders returning from the Middle East spread the custom of coloring eggs, and Europeans began to use them to celebrate Easter and other warm weather holidays. The origin of the Easter Bunny can be traced back to 13th-century, pre-Christian Germany. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal's high reproduction rate. These legends were brought to America in the 1700s, when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
The United States Chess Federation (USCF) awards the Title of National Master to anyone who achieves a USCF rating of 2200, and the title of Senior Master to anyone who achieves a USCF rating of 2400. The USCF also awards the Life Master title to anyone who holds a 2200 rating for a total of 300 or more games in his or her lifetime The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life. Blindfold chess is real and documented in world records. It is as it sounds: a player makes all of his or her moves without looking at a board. Usually there is a 'middle man' of sorts to give and receive moves for the game. Blindfold chess is an impressive skill that many stronger chess players possess. It certainly requires a keen ability to see the board clearly, which can get difficult after many moves. The record was set in 1960 in Budapest by Hungarian Janos Flesch, who played 52 opponents simultaneously while blindfolded �he won 31 of those games.
"Vernal" is Latin for "spring" and "equinox" is Latin for "equal night." There are two equinoxes every year vernal and autumnal. Those two days are the only times during the year when the sunrise is due east and the sunset is due west. Ancient Egyptians built the Great Sphinx to point directly East toward the sunrise on the vernal equinox. Stonehenge in England also marks the position of the rising sun on the vernal equinox.
Men commit suicide three times more frequently than women do. But women attempt suicide two to three times more often than men. Women shoplift more often than men; the statistics are 4 to 1.
In the U.S., daylight saving time was first used during World War I to conserve resources. It was reinstated again during World War II until Sept. 1945. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 created a standardized system to observe daylight saving time. The Department of Energy studied the energy savings in 2008. They found that during daylight saving time, U.S. electricity use decreased by 0.5 percent per day, which added up to 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours, enough to power about 122,000 average U.S. homes for a year.
Humans can see less than 1 percent of the electromagnetic spectrum and hear less than 1 percent of the acoustic spectrum. The existence of the rainbow depends on the conical photoreceptors in your eyes. To animals without cones the rainbow does not exist. So you don't just look at a rainbow, you create it.
Persians first began using colored eggs to celebrate spring in 3,000 B.C. 13th century Macedonians were the first Christians on record to use colored eggs in Easter celebrations. Crusaders returning from the Middle East spread the custom of coloring eggs, and Europeans began to use them to celebrate Easter and other warm weather holidays. The origin of the Easter Bunny can be traced back to 13th-century, pre-Christian Germany. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal's high reproduction rate. These legends were brought to America in the 1700s, when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
The United States Chess Federation (USCF) awards the Title of National Master to anyone who achieves a USCF rating of 2200, and the title of Senior Master to anyone who achieves a USCF rating of 2400. The USCF also awards the Life Master title to anyone who holds a 2200 rating for a total of 300 or more games in his or her lifetime The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life. Blindfold chess is real and documented in world records. It is as it sounds: a player makes all of his or her moves without looking at a board. Usually there is a 'middle man' of sorts to give and receive moves for the game. Blindfold chess is an impressive skill that many stronger chess players possess. It certainly requires a keen ability to see the board clearly, which can get difficult after many moves. The record was set in 1960 in Budapest by Hungarian Janos Flesch, who played 52 opponents simultaneously while blindfolded �he won 31 of those games.
"Vernal" is Latin for "spring" and "equinox" is Latin for "equal night." There are two equinoxes every year vernal and autumnal. Those two days are the only times during the year when the sunrise is due east and the sunset is due west. Ancient Egyptians built the Great Sphinx to point directly East toward the sunrise on the vernal equinox. Stonehenge in England also marks the position of the rising sun on the vernal equinox.
Men commit suicide three times more frequently than women do. But women attempt suicide two to three times more often than men. Women shoplift more often than men; the statistics are 4 to 1.
In the U.S., daylight saving time was first used during World War I to conserve resources. It was reinstated again during World War II until Sept. 1945. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 created a standardized system to observe daylight saving time. The Department of Energy studied the energy savings in 2008. They found that during daylight saving time, U.S. electricity use decreased by 0.5 percent per day, which added up to 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours, enough to power about 122,000 average U.S. homes for a year.
Humans can see less than 1 percent of the electromagnetic spectrum and hear less than 1 percent of the acoustic spectrum. The existence of the rainbow depends on the conical photoreceptors in your eyes. To animals without cones the rainbow does not exist. So you don't just look at a rainbow, you create it.
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