MOST FAMOUS NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Although 92% of all NEW YEAR resolutions fail here are some famous ones.

• Conquer a fear
• Have more patience
• Find love
• Create and maintain a bedtime routine
• Take care of the garden
• Pay off debt
• Get healthy
• Struggle more
• Clean something every week
• Quit smoking
• Lose weight
• Quit drinking
• Phone parents
• Save money
• Join  gym
• Help others
• Enjoy life
• Take a trip
• Reduce Reuse Recycle
• Get a better job
• Be more awesome than last year
• More family time
• Learn something new
• Do something fun everyday
• Stop overthinking
• Relax more
• Appreciate all that I have
• Take my dreams seriously
• Be prepared to take a risk
• Stick to my resolutions
• Less Facebook

FACTS ABOUT USA 1

- Between 1950-2004, an average of 21 tornadoes a year hit North Dakota. In 1999 alone, 65 tornadoes ripped through the state. North Dakota’s deadliest tornado had winds of more than 300 mph (483 kph) in 1957. It struck Fargo, killing 10 people and injuring 103.

- In 1887, North Dakotan David Henderson Houston invented a camera. He named it by scrambling the first four letters of Dakota and adding a “K” to make Kodak. He later sold the rights of the Kodak camera to George Eastman.

- North Dakota is the home to the largest state-owned sheep research center in the United States.

- North Dakota produces more honey than any other state.

- The state that grows the most sunflowers is North Dakota.

- North Dakota has only one abortion clinic and has been rated as the worst state in the country for women.

- North Dakota has long, harsh winters and short, hot summers. Both of its recorded weather extremes occurred in 1936: -60° F in February and 121° F in July.

- The J.R. Simplot potato processing plant in Grand Forks, ND, produces over 400 million pounds of French fries per year. McDonald’s is its main customers.

- The most popular tourist spot in North Dakota is the Wild West town of Medora, which was founded in 1883 by the Marquis de Mores, a French nobleman. According to the 2010 census, its population is 112 people.

- In 2010, scientists discovered that 80% of the 406 road-side plants they collected in North Dakota showed evidence of genetic modification. Scientists note that the proper monitoring and control of genetically modified crops in the United States is severely lacking and that the escape of genetically modified crops is “unprecedented".

- A North Dakotan highway sculpture named “Geese in Flight” holds the Guinness World Record as the largest metal sculpture in the world. Erected in 2001, it is 156 feet long, 100 feet tall, and weighs 75 tons. Retired schoolteacher Gary Greff, who wanted to break up the tedium on the highway, constructed it.

- It is still a hanging offense in Texas to steal cattle or to put graffiti on someone else’s cow. It is also illegal to indecently expose or swear in front of a corpse in Texas. In Galveston, Texas, it is illegal to have a camel run loose on the beach.

- Oscar, the Academy Award statuette, was named for Texan Oscar Pierce, whose niece worked in Hollywood for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. When she saw the gold statuette, she reportedly said, “Why, that looks just like my Uncle Oscar".

- The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is home to the world’s largest parking lot. The Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport has the third largest runway in the world and is the alternate landing site for the space shuttle. Texas has more airports than any other state in the country.      

- Texas is the second most populous state in the U.S., after California. New York is the third most populous. In 2010, the U.S. Census reported the population of Texas as 25,145,561. In 1990, it was 16,986,510. The population density in 2010 was 96.3 people per square mile.

- Texas still owns all of its public lands. If the federal government wants to create a park or cut a stand of timber, it must first ask the state’s permission.

- The city of Slaughter, Texas, has never had a homicide.

- If Texas were a country, it would rank as the world’s 7th largest producer of greenhouse gases. Additionally, Texas emits more greenhouse gases than any other state in the United States.

- Texas experiences the most tornadoes in the United States, with an average of 139 per year. Tornadoes occur most often in North Texas and the Panhandle.

- The deadliest natural disaster in the U.S. was the Galveston hurricane of 1900, which killed between 8,000-12,000 people.

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SIGNS THAT YOUR MARRIAGE MAY END

- You disagree on almost everything with each other. Whether it is about discussing your career, food, house or spending time with family, you guys start disagreeing on almost everything. Communication can help resolve the problems. Simply try to understand each other by putting yourself in the other's shoe.

- You don't put extra efforts to improve your relation. You do realize that your relation is moving towards a divorce, but instead of making a little extra effort to improve your relation, you simply avoid the matter. You lack the motivation needed to keep your marriage strong.

- Intimacy is now a past. Marriage is all about love, care, respect and intimacy. Hugging each other, holding hands, giving sweet kisses on the cheeks, these are all small gestures of love and intimacy. If your relation lacks these, you better note that your relation is on the rocks.

- You both argue on the same topics. When love has disappeared from your relation, you start arguing on small issues again and again like cats and dogs. Small fights are normal in every relation, but abusing each other, fighting and shouting at each other again and again is a big sign that your relation is fading.

- You spend less quality time together. You are either too busy socializing with your own friends, minus your spouse or are engrossed into you TV show, internet, mobile, etc. This automatically increases the distance between you guys, making it impossible to resolve the problems.

- You don't respect each other. The person you once loved from the depth of your heart, you now have no respect for him at all. Whether it is about the house chores or the food you cook, you look into finding faults in everything. Even if you try to talk, you start arguing and fighting with each other.

FACTS ABOUT RUSSIA 2

- The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has been grown in Russia from 32,000-year-old seeds.

- Japan and Russia still haven't signed a peace treaty to end World War II due to the Kuril Islands dispute.

- Beer was not considered an alcoholic beverage in Russia until 2013.

- Foxes are domesticated like dogs by Russian scientists since 1959.

- There was a "Beard Tax" in Russia, during Peter the Great's Reign, paid by anyone who had a beard.

- There's a museum in Russia that hires cats to protect its artworks against rodents.

- The word “vodka” comes from the Russian word “voda” that means “water”.

- 25% Russians die before reaching the age of 55, compared to just 1% in the U.S., and Vodka is to blame.

- It is a criminal offence to drive around in a dirty car in Russia.

- It is believed Russia has at least 15 secret cities with their names, and locations unknown.

- A third of all Russians believe the Sun revolves around the Earth.

- Wealthy Russians hire fake ambulances to beat Moscow's traffic.

- Russia has over 8400 nuclear weapons, more than any other country.

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FACTS ABOUT RUSSIA 1

- 77% of Russia is made up of Siberia.

- Russia has the same surface area as Pluto.

- Russia's pipelines could loop around Earth over six times.

- Russians never shake hands over a door way, they believe it leads to arguments.

- In terms of population, Russia is the ninth largest in the world, even though it's the world's biggest country.

- Each Russian consumes 18 liters (4.8 US gal) of alcohol per year, doubling what experts consider dangerous.

- In Russia there are 9 million more Women than men.

- Russia has nine contiguous time zones, more than any other country.

- Russia's homicide rate is twice as bad as America's.

- Standing on the shore of Russia's Lake Karachay would give you 600 roentgen of radiation, enough to kill a human.

- There are over 500,000 alcohol-related deaths in Russia each year.

- In Russia it's now Illegal to tell kids Gay People Exist.

- A Russian woman in the 1700s gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets in just 40 years with the same man.

- Russia's 20 richest people have a combined net worth of over $227 billion which is larger than Pakistan's GDP.

- On average, Russians drink six times as much tea per person per year as Americans.

- Russia's Lake Baikal holds one-fifth of the world's fresh water.

- 56 journalists have been killed in Russia since 1992, and 64% of those were murdered.

- Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million in 1867.

- Russian language does not include a word for 'the' or 'a' which is good because these often lead to confusion in other languages.

- There is the closest point between Russia and America that is only 4 km long.

- Russian celebrate new year 2 times a year.

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FACTS ABOUT DENMARK 3

- Popular Danish candy manufacturer Bon Bon is famous among Danish children for marketing its products under names like “gull droppings”, “burping duck” and “rich swine”.

- Helle Thorning-Schmidt, elected on October 3, 2011, is Denmark’s first female prime minister.

- Denmark is famous for its liberalism, and this best illustrated by “Christiania”, a hippy commune that sprung up in 1971. Allowed to remain a social experiment, it is still inhabited by about 900 people seeking an alternative lifestyle.

- Dane are relaxed when it comes to issues such as marriage. The country’s divorce rate is one of the highest in Europe and nearly 20% of Danish couples cohabitate without ever getting married in what are called “paperless marriages”.

- Danish philosopher Sǿren Kierkegaard is one of the most important philosophers of the 19th century and is known as the “Father of Existentialism”, which describes human life in terms of ethics, aesthetics and religion.

- The United States bought the Virgin Islands, part of the West Indies, from Denmark in 1917.

- On Denmark’s Faroe Islands, there are twice as many sheep as people.

- Denmark is the world’s biggest producer of ranched minks.

- Dyrehavsbakken, or Bakken, located within Denmark’s peaceful Dyrehaven, is the world’s oldest amusement park.

- Gracefully curving lur horns, found in Denmark, are the world’s oldest surviving musical instrument. Some date to the Bronze Age.

- The first Danish newspaper was founded in 1666 and written entirely in verse. The oldest of the existing newspaper, Berlingske Tidende (Berling’s Times), was founded by a Copenhagen printer in 1749.

- Danish polar explorer and anthropologist Knud Rasmussen was the first European man to cross the Northwest Passage by dog sled.

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FACTS ABOUT DENMARK 2

- No place in Denmark is more than 30 miles (50 km) form the sea.

- Denmark has more pigs than people.

- Denmark has been inhabited since around 12,500 B.C. and agriculture has been evident since 3,900 B.C.

- Canada and Denmark have been fighting over an uninhabited island by leaving each other bottles of alcohol and changing their flags since the 1930s.

- 99% of Denmark’s Jews survived the Holocaust because the Danish organized a massive evacuation to neutral Sweden.

- Denmark physically borders only one other country, Germany.

- Lars Ulrich, the drummer for the heavy metal band Metallic, was born in Denmark.

- Copenhagen’s Stroget, at almost 2 miles (3.2 km) long, is the oldest and longest pedestrian street in the world.

- Walt Disney visited Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen once and was so inspired that he decided to create something similar in America, Disneyland.

- Iceland severed ties to Denmark and became an independent republic only in 1944.

- Bluetooth got its name from the second king of Denmark, King Harald Bluetooth.

- Danish Lurpak® butter is world famous. It can be bought in stores in more than 100 countries worldwide.

- The English are famous for their love of bacon, which they began importing from Denmark in 1867.  

- The Danish alphabet has three letters not found in the English alphabet: Æ, Ǿ, Ǻ. All three are vowels and come after the letter Z in the alphabet.

- Danes are certified foodies. They are the fifth largest exporter of food in the world, despite their small population.

- The Danes have a term Janteloven (The Law of Jante), created in 1933 by a Danish/ Norwegian writer. It is often quoted in public debate in Denmark and consists of “Ten Commandments,” all boiling down to “You are no better than I am”.

- Janus Friis, the Danish IT entrepreneur who developed the Internet telephone company Skype out of nothing, sold it to Microsoft Corporation for $8.5 billion USD in 2011.

- Danish inventor Jens Olsen spent 27 years building the World Clock in Copenhagen. It began keeping time in 1955 and will supposedly be able to accurately keep time for the next 570,000 years.

- Soccer is Denmark’s favorite and national sport. The Danish football team became known worldwide through a gutsy performance in the 1986 World Cup and they followed it up when they became 1992 European champions.

- Cyclist Bjarne Riis is the only Dane to win the Tour de France, in 1996, although a later admission of drug abuse cast a shadow over his exceptional performance.

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FACTS ABOUT DENMARK 1

- There are more bicycles in Copenhagen, Denmark than people. Denmark has more than twice the amount of bicycles (4.2 million) than cars (1.8 million). Copenhageners pedal more than 1.13 million km on their bicycles each day.

- In Denmark, it’s illegal to burn foreign flags, but not illegal to burn the Danish flag.

- The least corrupt countries in the world are New Zealand and Denmark, according to the Corruptions Perception Index.

- Germany, Denmark, Iceland have official rules about what baby can be named.

- Denmark’s current flag design was first used in 1219. No other modern country has used its flag for so long.

- Denmark can be windy. The average wind speed is a breezy 13 miles per hour (5.8m/sec). During Hurricane Allan on October 28, 2013, record breaking wind speeds of 88 miles per hour (142 km/h) and gusts of 119 miles per hour (193 km/h) were registered.

- Denmark is an archipelago made up of over 100 islands, some of which are not even inhabited.

- The Danish monarchy is the oldest continuing monarchy in the world and has existed for over 1,000 years.

- Denmark is reported to be the happiest country in the world.

- Denmark holds the largest 4^th of July celebration outside the U.S.

- Scandinavians, including Danes, are the world’s highest per-capital consumers of coffee, with Danes (who drink an average of four cups a day) coming in third after Sweden and Finland.

- Denmark has 7,314 miles (11,771 km) of coastline, which is longer than the Great Wall of China and equal almost 1.5 meters of coast per Danish citizen.

- In Denmark, age is no barrier to love. In 2009, the oldest Danish bride was 94 years old while her groom was over 100 years. The youngest Danish bride was 19 while her groom was 18 years old.

- Practically all Danes know how to swim, and swimming lessons are part of the compulsory curriculum in all state schools.

- In Denmark, pornography can be purchased at the local petrol station.

- One-fifth of all Danish families are affected by crime each year. The numbers of reported crimes have more than tripled in the last 30 years to over half a million per year, especially violent crime, break-ins and petty theft.

- Pedophiles are considered sick people in Denmark that should be helped rather than punished. They have registered societies in Denmark and meet in municipal clubhouses to discuss their common interest and exchange experiences.

- Denmark actually has a place to surf called Cold Hawaii, and it is one of the best beaches in Scandinavia for surfing.

- Three Danish films have sold over 1 million tickets each, and all three of them were action comedies about a gang called Olsen Banden (Olsen Gang). The foreign film seen by most Danes ever is Titanic, with 1.4 million tickets sold.

- One the Faroe Islands, which have been a self-governing part of Denmark since 1948, men outnumber women by 2,000 and in order to sustain the population, men have resorted to importing brides from other countries, especially Thailand.

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HARRY POTTER FACTS THAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW OF

- We’ve been pronuncing ‘Voldemort’ wrong all our lives. It’s a French word for ‘flight of death’. If you break it down, it will be Vol de mort and the ‘t’ in the nave goes silent. But that doesn’t matter because he is ‘He who must not be named’ anyway.

- The story of Azkaban is very scary. Azkaban wasn’t originally a prison, it was a fortress. It was used by a wizard named Ekrizdis who practiced dark magic. He would lure in muggles into the fortress in order to torture or kill them.

- James Sirius Potter started Hogwarts in 2015. Yes, he turned 11 that year and started his Hogwarts education on September 1^st, 2015. He was also sorted into Gryffindor.

- Dolores Umbridge’s character is inspired by a real person. JKR said she had an absolute dislike for that individual but never reveals who it was. She also added by saying that Umbridge is probably even more evil than Voldemort himself.

- Prof McGonagall was married to her previous boss at MOM. She was initially married to Elphinstone Urquart for the Ministry of Magic. Sadly, he died by Tentacula bite only 3 years into marriage. She never married again.

- Harry’s lightening bolt scar is ‘cool’. JK Rowling thought about the shape of the scar on Harry’s head a lot. She wanted the protagonist to have a ‘cool’ scar and not stuck with a doughnut-shaped scar.

- Fred and George threw snowballs on Voldemor’s face. If you recollect in the first book, the Weasley twins were throwing snowballs which bounced off the turban of Professor Quirrell. Now that we know, inside the turban lay our very own Voldy.

- Many people didn’t know how to pronounce Hermione’s name. JK Rowling decided to add Hermione teaching Viktor Krum how to pronounce her name in the 4^th book because until then not many people were sure how to pronounce her name. it’s her-my-oh-nee, by the way.

- Hagrid doesn’t have a patronus. The patronus charm is a relatively difficult one to produce. Hagrid didn’t attend Hogwarts in the 3^rd year and hence, he wasn’t able to produce a patronus. But our head cannon would be, if he was able to, it would take the shape of Fluffym the three headed dog.

- The sorting hat goes through ‘hatstalls’. Sometimes, when the hat can’t decide which house to put a witch or a wizard in, it takes longer than usual. This is known as Hatstalls. It happened in the case of McGonagall as the hat couldn’t decide whether to put her in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw and also in case of Harry Potter.

- Harry and Tom Riddle were related. Both of the were descendants of the Peverell family. Voldemort was supposedly descended from Cadmus Peverell, who was the 2^nd brother and owner of the resurrection stone and Harry descended form Ignotus Peverell, the owner of the Invisibility Cloak.

- Hufflepuff won the house cup last year. Yes, it’s the age of Hufflepuff. If you think Hufflepuff is a ‘meh’ house, remember the mighty Cedric Diggory and also, Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts.

- Hargrid’s motorcycle actually belonged to Sirius Black. It was revealed that the flying motorcycle that Hagrid used actually belonged to Sirius Black. Later on, Arthur Weasley fixed the motorcycle and it came to Harry.

- The DA kept their coins. Remember in the Order of the Phoenix when Hermione designs coins for all members of the DA so that they could send messages about the DA meetings? All the members kept the coins as ‘badges of honor’ after the war.

MONEY QUOTES BY SOME FAMOUS PEOPLE

“Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will”

 – Nelson Mandela

“Whatever money you might have, self-worth really lies in finding out what you do best”

 – J.K. Rowling

“Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled”

 – Barack Obama

“People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made”

 – Joan Rivers

“I went into the business for the money, and the art grew out of it. If people are disillusioned by that remark, I can’t help it. It’s the truth.”

 – Charlie Chaplin

“When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life, now that I am old I know that it is.”

 – Oscar Wilde

“I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy.”

 – Warren Buffett

“I’m so naïve about finances. Once when my mother mentioned an amount and I realized I didn’t understand, she had to explain: ‘That’s like three Mercedes.’ Then I understood.”

 – Brooke Shields

“A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.”

 – Jonathan Swift

“Everybody wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”

 – Oprah Winfrey

INTERESTING PROCEDURES OF HOW FAMOUS ALCOHOLIC DRINKS ARE MADE

Vodka

Vodka is traditionally made from potatoes or sorghum fermented and cereal grains, but basically anything that has high quantity of starch.

Whiskey

Generally made form fermented grain mash including barley, corn(maize), rye and wheat, whiskey is fermented/aged in charred white oak wood, that gives it the distinctive taste. Whiskey can only be aged in the casks and once bottled, aging process is stopped.

Brandy

The making of brandy is similar to wine, except it is made from early grapes to achieve higher acidity. Brandy contains 35-60% alcohol by volume and is generally consumed as an after-dinner drink.

Cognac

For a brandy to be recognized as Cognac it must be made using special Ugni Blanc grapes, must be twice distilled in copper pot stills, and should be aged for at least tow years in French oak barrels from the French districts of Limousin.

Vermouth

Vermouth is technically a type of wine that has sugar, spice and everything nice in it. I'm joking, but Vermouth is actually an aromatized wine that has been infused with roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, spices and is fortified by adding brandy to it.

Beer

Beer making requires 4 main ingredients - barley, water, hops and yeast. The sugars from the barley are extracted only to be converted to alcohol by the yeast. Although traditionally barely is used in making beer, other grains such as rye, maize, rice and wheat.

Port Wine

Port wine is a type of fortified wine that is produced traditionally in Portugal (maybe that's why the name port wine) and it's most special feature is that it's sweet.

Rum

Rum, one of the most loved distilled beverage is made using sugarcane by products or sugarcane juice directly and is then distilled. The liquid obtained is then aged in barrels. It's weird how sugarcane can taste like Old Monk, right?

Absinthe

It is traditionally an anise-flavored spirit derived from botanicals, including the flowers and leaves of the 'grand wormwood' plant and together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal.

Gin

Gin can be prepared using juniper, coriander, citrus peel, cinnamon, almond or liquorice, with neutral grain alcohol. Gin gets its name from being made from Juniper berries traditionally and is similar to vodka.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT YOUR INTELLIGENCE

- Studies showed that people with brown eyes tended to be more athletic, while people with blue eyes were more strategic thinkers and greater intelligence.

- Studies with children in the UK and the USA showed that teenagers with higher level of intelligence were more likely to drink more heavily.

- People with long ring finger tend to do better in math and people whose second and fourth are same length tend to do better in literacy.

- Many studies have shown that changes in height have a direct effect on cognitive ability. Typically the taller you are, the smarter!

- Most people are right-handed, but studies have shown that left-handed people tend to score higher on IQ tests and finish them more quickly.

NATURAL WAYS TO PREVENT HAIR LOSS

- Take any natural oil - olive, coconut, canola and heat it up so that it is warm, but not too hot. Massage it gently into your scalp. Put on a shower cap and leave it on for an hour, them shampoo your hair.

- You can rub your scalp with either garlic juice, onion juice or ginger juice. Leave it on overnight and wash it thoroughly in the morning.

- Massaging your scalp for a few minute daily will help stimulate circulation. Good circulation in the scalp keeps hair follicles active. Circulation may be improved through massage by using a few drops of lavender or bay essential oil in an almond or sesame oil base.

- Apply warm green tea (two brewed in one cup of water) on your scalp and leave this mixture on for an hour and then rinse. Green tea contains antioxidants which prevent hair loss and boost hair growth.

- Believe it or not, most of the times, the root cause for hair loss is stress and tension. Meditation can help in reducing that and restore hormonal balance.

THINGS THAT CAUSE INSOMNIA

- Stress and the hormones it releases, cortisol and adrenaline, are major causes of insomnia. Cortisol naturally rises and falls in concert with the circadian rhythm, but a bad day at work, a difficult relationship, or even staring at an electronic screen for hour.

- Some medications can prohibit sleep, including various antidepressants, allergy treatments, corticosteroids and blood pressure medications. Many over the counter pain medications, decongestants and weight loss pills contain caffeine, which can also block sleep.

- We all know that caffeine keeps us awake but alcohol increases the slow wave sleep so you wake up around 2:00am or 3:00am. Eating poorly can also cause insomnia.

- Hormonal fluctuation can disturb sleep on its own, but add in hot flashes and night sweats and you can forget about getting a good night sleep. Some experts believe that shifting estrogen levels can affect how much melatonin our bodies make and how we respond it.

- Poor sleep hygiene is a common factor when it comes to insomnia. Many of our pre-bedtime routines involve bright lights, loud noises, exposure to electronics, rushing to finish chores, and staying up past the point of feeling tired.