Amazing Facts and Trivia

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Takeaway: What are the lyrics to the faux-aria musical piece "Battlestar Operatica"?

Both critics and science-fiction fans revere the new Battlestar Galactica television series broadcast by the Sci Fi Channel. Perhaps Teevee.org's Nathan Alderman described the series best as a "refreshing balance of theology, politics, characterization, and GIGANTIC KILLER ROBOTS."

It's an unlikely combination that earned the show a Peabody Award, as well as a loyal following of viewers (this Trivia Geek included). So what's with the screwy mixed-service officer ranks?

BSG, the fandom shorthand viewers have adopted, is so less-than-enamored with cliché science-fiction conventions that it's broken with one of the seminal sci-fi/space opera tropes: Treating all military officers like sailors in a Napoleonic navy.

Yes, there is a military, with its stalwart flag officers, can-do technical grunts, and daring fighter jocks, but the ranks that these characters answer to are neither army nor navy, but something in between. There are admirals, which outrank commanders, which outrank. . . colonels?

Here's how series co-creator Ron Moore breaks down the BSG officer ranks in one of his blog posts:

1. Admiral (navy rank)
2. Commander (navy rank)
3. Colonel (army/marine rank)
4. Major (army/marine rank)
5. Captain (all-service rank)
6. Lieutenant (all-service rank)
7. Lieutenant (junior grade) (navy rank)
8. Ensign (navy rank)

Note that there are no mitigated ranks, such as lieutenant commander, lieutenant colonel, or second lieutenant. The only real "missing" rank is that of general. There are also no apparent flag grades, with all admirals being equal.

It's less tidy in the enlisted ranks:

1. Master Chief Petty Officer
2. Chief Petty Officer
3. Petty Officer First Class
4. Petty Officer Second Class
5. Petty Officer Third Class
6. Specialist
7. Deckhand
8. Recruit

Moore also notes that the Colonial Marines use a different rank system "which conform[s] more closely to the traditional enlisted marine ranks, with sergeants, sergeant majors, etc."

It all sounds pretty serious, doesn't it? In truth, BSG does project a somber, gritty tone onto the screen, but that doesn't mean there isn't some snarky, geek-worthy humor lurking under the hood.

In Season 1, Episode 9, "Tigh me up, Tigh me down," an operatic soundtrack underscores a particularly portentous scene. If you didn't recognize the particular aria, don't be surprised—composer Bear McCreary wrote it especially for that episode. Dubbed "Battlestar Operatica," this faux-epic has some notably humorous lyrics, provided you speak Italian.

WHAT ARE THE LYRICS TO THE FAUX-ARIA MUSICAL PIECE "BATTLESTAR OPERATICA"?

What are the lyrics to the faux-aria "Battlestar Operatica," written specifically as a subtle in-joke for an episode of the new Battlestar Galactica television series?

Composer Bear McCreary gave permission to the Battlestar Wiki Web site to reprint these lyrics, which we quote below.

In Italian, the lyrics are:

Maledetto sia tuo cuore Cylone
C'è una tostapane nella tua testa
E porta tachi a spillo
Numero Sei ti chiama
Il rivelatore Cylone impone
La tua ragazza è un tostapane
Maledetto sia tuo cuore Cylone
Ahimè, disgrazia! Ahimè, tristezza e miseria!
Il tostapane ha un bel vestito
Rosso come la sua spina dorsale ardente
sussura Numero Sei:
"Per tuo commando"
Maledetto sia tuo cuore Cylone

This translates in English to:

Woe upon your Cylon heart
There's a toaster in your head
And it wears high heels
Number Six calls to you
The Cylon Detector beckons
Your girlfriend is a toaster
Woe upon your Cylon heart
Alas, disgrace! Alas, sadness and misery!
The toaster has a pretty dress
Red like its glowing spine
Number Six whispers:
"By your command"
Woe upon your Cylon heart

McCreary has employed or composed a number of other lyrical pieces for BSG, almost all of them in languages other than English. The main title theme is in Sanskrit, and both Latin and Sengalese have shown up elsewhere in the show.

And he isn't above giving a nod to the previous incarnation of BSG either. The new "Colonial Anthem" offers a new take on the original Battlestar Galactica TV show's theme music. That's not just a nice tip of the cap—that's harmonious Geek Trivia.

Get ready for the Geekend

The Trivia Geek's blog has been reborn as the Geekend, an online archive of all things obscure, obtuse, and irrelevant—unless you're a hardcore geek with a penchant for science fiction, technology, and snark. Get a daily dose of subcultural illumination by joining the seven-day Geekend.

The Quibble of the Week

If you uncover a questionable fact or debatable aspect of this week's Geek Trivia, just post it in the discussion area of the article. Every week, yours truly will choose the best post from the assembled masses and discuss it in the next edition of Geek Trivia.

This week's quibble comes from the September 27 edition of Geek Trivia, "A star in the (un)making." TechRepublic member gfisher pointed out my own inability to navigate an astronomic semantic trap.

"'. . . Charon (Pluto's largest moon). (Pluto has two other moons, Hydra and Nix—both discovered in 2005.)' 'Moon (n): any natural satellite of a planet.' By the accepted definition, Pluto has no moons."

Allow me to quote Homer in my response: "D'oh!" You're right: Now that Pluto is no longer a planet, the objects which orbit Pluto are now officially satellites—not moons. Great catch, and keep those quibbles coming.

Falling behind on your weekly Geek fix?

Check out the Geek Trivia Archive, and catch up on the most recent editions of Geek Trivia.

Test your command of useless knowledge by subscribing to TechRepublic's Geek Trivia newsletter. Automatically sign up today!

The Trivia Geek, also known as Jay Garmon, is a former advertising copywriter and Web developer who's duped TechRepublic into underwriting his affinity for movies, sci-fi, comic books, technology, and all things geekish or subcultural.

Labels: amazing facts, greek trivia, television trivia

Participating in trivia games may be very exciting especially if you are looking forward in order to gain some basic knowledge about baseball. In fact, baseball trivia is to be considered as a quite impressive way when it comes to increasing your IQ. There have been a lot of studies that have demonstrated this aspect and these studies were mainly conducted by universities from all over the world.

Even the children are more likely to become interested in sports trivia because this online play is likely to be more helpful than the ordinary copybook methods. The current tendency shows that these online quizzes are beginning to make their place in the adults' lives; this game actually becomes prevalent in almost every adult life because it can provide people with interesting information on a particular subject.

For instance, baseball trivia may actually provide you with all sorts of monkey facts that are likely to be less widespread than the official facts. You may also learn the basic tips when it comes to playing a particular sport because the quizzes can be created by a coach too. The trivia quizzes are becoming more popular on a constant basis because people are usually interested in finding strange and unfamiliar facts about a particular sport.

Even the human brain is likely to be sharpened by this constant play with the sports quizzes because your mind will be challenged on a constant basis in order to answer all sorts of questions. The general knowledge will also be built and this method is to be regarded as a very effective one; the method can also be used in schools because sports trivia will come along with detailed information that may interest the children who are taking part to the game.

Various sports subjects will thus be covered and the teacher may use the trivia quizzes in order to enhance the child's knowledge on a particular sport. You should not be tricked into believing that the trivia questions are totally useless; on the contrary, these quizzes are more than trivial questions because they can actually sharpen your mind in order to solve future problems. You will become able to focus on the important matters and even the simplest questions coming from baseball trivia may actually challenge you in finding the proper answer.

The trivia is designed in order to be interesting; people should be prevented from getting too bored when playing this online game; even the most casual environment can be enriched with general knowledge if people start to play the quizzes in order to find out more about a subject they are highly interested in. The topics that are to be found when it comes to sports trivia are various enough in order to make the player be more curious about the things and questions to come.

The trivia quizzes are to be regarded as genuine matter that can cover almost every subject that may be interesting for people; for instance, you can participate in baseball trivia without having a single clue about this sport. The trivia questions are designed in order to make you become interested in the things you are trying to solve when searching for the necessary answer. Everything will depend on your own choice because you will be able to choose the exact level of knowledge you are interested in achieving.

By participating to trivia quizzes, you are likely to discover that learning can be fun even if you are an adult who has a very busy life; the daily routine can thus be escaped and you may use your spare time in order to find interesting facts about the sports you are interested in. Strong mental images will thus be developed and the effects of playing the trivia are likely to be lost lasting because the mental activity will be enhanced and challenged on a constant basis.

The only thing that you will have to do is to choose the online quiz that is likely to work in your own case; therefore, if you are interested n finding unusual things about your favorite sports, you can use sports trivia in order to enhance your present knowledge. Typical topics will thus be found and these topics will be very useful when it comes to increasing your alertness and reaction times. The entire quiz period is likely to be timed thus making your memory retrieval process more rapid and effective. The overall mental strength will also be increased by the constant answering to the trivia quizzes.

Labels: amazing facts, sports trivia

Origin: Imported from China to Egypt as early as 2000 B.C., Cinnamon was given as a prestigious offering to Monarchs. It is even featured with positive and symbolic meaning in the NY Times All-time Best Seller, The Bible, in the books of Exodus and Proverbs.

Plant: A small evergreen tree with oblong leaves and little green flowers with an unpleasant smell. Inside the tree’s small purple berry is a single seed. Cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years and then cutting it back in order to grow shoots from the tree's roots over the duration of the next year. The shoots are then stripped of their bark and dried. After naturally drying, the outer portion is removed and only a minimally thin inner bark is used. Finally, the thin bark is layered with other pieces and once more left to dry into the recognizable curled strips. This final result, known as the quill is then cut into spicejar-sized pieces. The oil, also highly utilized is prepared by pounding the bark, soaking it in sea water and then distilling it.

Quality: The best cinnamon comes naturally out of Sri Lanka, as well as commercially grown farms in Brazil, Madagascar, Sumatra, West Indies, Vietnam, and more. It possesses a very thin smooth bark with a light-yellowish brown color. Its fragrant odor is particularly sweet, warm and it gives a very pleasing taste, the result of the concentration of its cinnamon oil.

Benefits: U. S. Department of Agriculture found in studies that using a half teaspoon of cinnamon daily lowered many dangerous blood related levels, including blood sugar in diabetics (especially Type-2), cholesterol, triglyceride and Low Density Lipo-proteins (LDL’s). The same result is achieved by adding cinnamon in tea. To be furthered researched is a notion that ingesting cinnamon can lower blood pressure and whether or not excessive amounts of the fat-soluable components of cinnamon are safe from toxicity.

The Oil of cinnamon also has its benefits - boosting brain function. Research by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences found that products with cinnamon oil enhanced resesarch participant's cognitive processing, especially, in computer-based tasks such as attentional processes, virtual recognition, working memory, and visual-motor speed.

Blurb: When mentioning cinnamon, desserts such as the cinnamon roll come to mind first. However, in all purpose cinnamon does more than just make your food taste good. It also qualifies as an “anti-microbial” food, stopping the growth of bacteria as well as fungi such as yeast (Candida). In laboratory tests, growth of yeast with resistance to anti-fungal medication was often stopped by cinnamon extracts. With this data, cinnamon even proves itself worthy as a natural food preservative...but really, to us it just tastes and smells great!

About The Author
Sherri L Dodd is the creator and author of the newly-released book, Mom Looks Great - The Fitness Program for Moms. She is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer and Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant with over fifteen years of exercise experience. She has lectured to groups on her fitness plan and is a freelance writer on the topics of fitness and general nutrition as well as the humorous side of motherhood.
momlooksgreat.com

Labels: amazing facts, cinnamon trivia, food trivia, history trivia, trivia

How much do you know about America 's presidents? Here are some fun facts and little-known trivia about some of our most popular government leaders.

Who was our tallest President?
Abe Lincoln was 6 feet, 4 inches!

Which US President studied to be a medical doctor?
William Henry Harrison, the ninth President.

Who was the first President to have a stepmother?
Millard Fillmore, the 13th President

Who was the fist left-handed President?
James Garfield, the 20th President.

Who was the only single President?
James Buchanan, the fifteenth President, has been our only bachelor.

Who was the heaviest president?
William Taft, the 27th President weighed nearly 350 pounds!

Who was the oldest elected president?
Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, was elected at age 69 years old!

Which President announced baseball games for the Chicago Cubs on the radio?
Ronald Reagan, again! He also became a famous actor and was nicknamed "Dutch."

Which presidents were either born or died on the 4th of July?
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 while Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872.

Which president was related by either blood or marriage to eleven other presidents?
Franklin D. Roosevelt, our 32nd President, was related by either blood or marriage to these eleven other presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, James Madison, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Zachary Taylor, Martin Van Buren, and George Washington!

Which President was the youngest to become President?
Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President. He was Vice-President, but took over the office when William McKinley was assassinated. Roosevelt was 42 years of age. While Kennedy was the youngest elected president, he was not the youngest to become president.

Who was the only person to become President without having been elected?
Gerald Ford, our 38th President, took over the office of president when Richard Nixon resigned.

Which Presidents are featured on Mount Rushmore?
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are all featured on Mount Rushmore.

Which President could read Greek, Latin, French and English?
Thomas Jefferson.

Which President was elected by the House of Representatives because neither candidate, (John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson) had enough electoral votes?
John Quincy Adams, the 6th President- he also was known to get up very early each morning to go skinny dipping in the Potomac River!

Which President was the only one to ever kill a man in a duel?
Andrew Jackson.

Which President 's horse liked to much on the White House lawn?
Zachary Taylor 's !

Which President was once arrested because he ran over a woman while driving his horse and buggy?
Franklin Pierce- but the charges were later dropped.

Which President was arrested for speeding while driving his horse and carriage?
Ulysses S. Grant was- he had to pay a fine of $20.00 and then walk back to the White House.

Which President once lost the White House china while gambling?
Warren G. Harding.

Which President 's mother forced him to wear dresses until he was five?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's - he was also the only president elected to four terms.

Which President loved the game of golf so much that he built a putting green on the White House lawn?
Dwight David Eisenhower.

Which President 's father gave him $1 million when he turned 21?
John F. Kennedy.

Which President was captain of the baseball team at Yale University?
George Bush.

Which President was known to walk through the White House turning off lights so that he would not waste taxpayer money?
LBJ- he also ran away from home when he was 15 and ended up in California as a grape picker and then auto mechanic!

Here is a chronological list of all our Presidents!

1 Washington, George (1789-1797)
2 Adams, John (1797-1801)
3 Jefferson, Thomas (1801-1809)
4 Madison, James (1809-1817)
5 Monroe, James (1817-1825)
6 Adams, John Quincy (1825-1829)
7 Jackson, Andrew (1829-1837)
8 Van Buren, Martin (1837-1841)
9 Harrison, William Henry (1841)
10 Tyler, John (1841-1845)
11 Polk, James Knox (1845-1849)
12 Taylor, Zachary (1849-1850)
13 Fillmore, Millard (1850-1853)
14 Pierce, Franklin (1853-1857)
15 Buchanan, James (1857-1861)
16 Lincoln, Abraham (1861-1865)
17 Johnson, Andrew (1865-1869)
18 Grant, Ulysses S. (1869-1877)
19 Hayes, Rutherford Birchard (1877-1881)
20 Garfield, James Abram (1881)
21 Arthur, Chester Alan (1881-1885)
22 Cleveland, Grover (1885-1889)
23 Harrison, Benjamin (1889-1893)
24 Cleveland, Grover (1893-1897)
25 McKinley, William (1897-1901)
26 Roosevelt, Theodore (1901-1909)
27 Taft, William Howard (1909-1913)
28 Wilson, Woodrow (1913-1921)
29 Harding, Warren Gamaliel (1921-1923)
30 Coolidge, Calvin (1923-1929)
31 Hoover, Herbert Clark (1929-1933)
32 Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1933-1945)
33 Truman, Harry (1945-1953)
34 Eisenhower, Dwight David (1953-1961)
35 Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1961-1963)
36 Johnson, Lyndon Baines (1963-1969)
37 Nixon, Richard Milhous (1969-1974)
38 Ford, Gerald Rudolph (1974-1977)
39 Carter, James Earl Jr. (1977-1981
40 Reagan, Ronald Wilson (1981-1989)
41 Bush, George Herbert Walker (1989-1993)
42 Clinton, William Jefferson (1993-2001)
43 Bush, George Walker (2001-present)

About The Author
Charlotte Buelow is a contributing writer for Access My Library. Best known for its authoritative reference content as well as its full-text magazine and newspaper articles, AML maintains over 600 databases that are published online, in print, as eBooks and in microform. Visit Access My Library.

Labels: amazing facts, fun trivia, history trivia, presidential facts, trivia, us president facts, world trivia

Author: Ian Owen

A bike is stolen every 18 minutes, 75% are stolen from their owner's house.

The Honda C90 is the best selling motorbikes at around 35 million (as at November 2002), end-to-end they would stretch 4 1/2 times around the world or half way to the moon, since 1966, on average, a C90 is made every 30 seconds. UK sales ceased in 2003 after 36 years of production but the bike is still being made in Indonesia and Thailand

Why Do We Ride?
Riders choose to ride for a wide range range of reasons, including cost effective transport, traffic congestion, environmental reasons, fashion, ease of parking, convenience, to name a few.

Motorbikes and mopeds travelled 5.1 billion kilometres in 2002 (figures privided by DfT).

Commuting accounts for two thirds of all motorbike hourneys (figures privided by DfT).

Travelling by motorbike can reduce journey times by up to two thirds.

Up to eight motorbikes can fit in the same parking space occupied by one car.

Car drivers with a full licence obtained prior to February 2001 are automatically qualified to ride a 50cc bike on the road.

Safety
Motorcycle road casualties fell by almost 60% between the early 1980's and 2000, improving on the government target for road casualty reduction of 40% over the same period, the best results fir any riad user grouo.

Motorcycling is as popular now as it was 20 years ago, but rider casualties for every mile travelled are 30% lower compared to the early 1980's

Research proves that other road users are primarily at fault for around 60% of all bike crashes

In 2002 there were 609 riders killed in the UK, up 4% compared with 2001, although the numbers for car drivers actually fell. Essex police keep a record of the country's fatal accidents on its website, www.responsible-rider.com and 2003 has been the worst since 1999. At the time of writing 23 riders have been killed, all were men, the vast majority were between 26 and 54 years old almost all accidents occured on dry roads. In a third of all cases no other vehicles were involved and two thirds occured in broad daylight.

As a result, Transpost Minister David Jamieson is looking to bring in new legislation to make motorcycling safer.

1Ian Owen – Webmaster and Editor
http://www.motorbike-search-engine.co.uk

Article Source: http://www.article99.com/view-authors/track.php?bio=15082&author=Ian-Owen

Labels: amazing facts, motorbike facts, motorbike trivia, trivia

by Deanna Mascle

Question: Which is stronger -- concrete or bone?

Answer: Bone

Useless Fact: Human bones can actually resist 40 times more stress than concrete. Don't believe it is true? Then picture a piece of concrete the size of a bone and imagine how easily it would break.

Question: What bird lays its egg in another bird's nest?

Answer: Cuckoo, Cowbird, Whyda, Honeyguide and Black-headed Duck

Useless Fact: These birds, called brood parasites, lay their eggs in another bird's nest and let the other bird parents feed and raise their chicks. The "egg abandoner" is then free to mate again and lay more eggs in another nest. The cuckoo is the best known brood parasite and an expert in the art of cruel deception. Its strategy involves stealth, surprise and speed. The mother removes one egg laid by the host mother, lays her own and flies off with the host egg in her bill. The whole process takes barely ten seconds. Cuckoos parasitize the nests of a large variety of bird species and carefully mimic the colour and pattern of their own eggs to match that of their hosts. Each female cuckoo specializes on one particular host species. How the cuckoo manages to lay eggs to imitate each host's eggs so accurately is one of nature's main mysteries.

Question: What is the largest invertebrate?

Answer: Colossal Squid

Useless Fact: A species of squid reported to be significantly larger than the giant squid, is called the Colossal squid, officially named Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni. In February 2007 a live colossal squid was brought to the surface in Antarctic waters by a New Zealand fishing boat. This enormous squid, which was determined to be a male of the species, was 10 meters (32.8 feet), and weighed 450 kilograms (992 pounds), making it the largest squid (the largest invertebrate) ever captured. What is even more astonishing is that, from what scientists know about squid species in general, there is great sexual dimorphism in squids, with females being significantly larger than the males. If that holds true for the Colossal squid, this male specimen that was captured could very well be dwarfed by a much larger female of the species.

Question: What does the first letter of a radio station's call sign mean?

Answer: The location of the station

Useless Fact: Generally, in the United States, call signs begin with K west of the Mississippi River, and W to the east.

Question: Where was the first McD0nald's located?

Answer: Arcada, California

Useless Fact: Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald open a hot dog stand called the Airdome in Arcadia, California. In 1940, the brothers move to San Bernardino, California, on Route 66. After noting that almost all of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers close down the restaurant for several months in 1948 to implement their innovative "Speedee Service System", a streamlined assembly line for hamburgers.

Question: What is the largest insect?

Answer: Acteon Beetle or Longhorn Beetle

Useless Fact: There are different ways of measuring the size of an insect, most people would consider the largest insect to be the bulkiest and in that case the largest insect is the Acteaeom Beetle from South America. The male beetles can be 9cms long by 5cms wide by 4cms thick. If you want to measure largest by overall size, check out the South American Longhorn Beetle (Titanus giganteus) these giants can be over 16cms in body length (not including antennae) One other beetle, Dynastes hercules is also well known for reaching 16cms in length though it is not nearly as heavy. The longest insect in the world is the Stick-Insect (Pharnacia serritypes), the females of which can be over 36cm long.

About The Author

Deanna Mascle

Are you looking for more useless facts? Then try http://uselessfactsonline.com

Labels: amazing facts, animal trivia, fun trivia, science trivia, trivia, useless facts

The color of car a driver chooses reflects their personality and perhaps their favorite color. But the choice of color in a vehicle can be much more important as well.

According to a study by researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand silver cars are 50 percent less likely to be involved in a crash resulting in a serious injury as compared to white cars.

The least safe colors are brown, black, and green according to Reuters.

While, yellow, gray, red and blue cars ranked in the middle range.

According to optometrists, red is the most difficult to see color.

Red is the most controversial of colors. Many drivers claim that by driving a red car they get stopped less for speeding and have less accidents. On the other hand, red car drivers complain that because they drive red cars they are stopped more often for speeding and are moving targets for accidents.

White is actually the easiest color to care for. Half of the white car drivers claim that white cars don\'t look dirty as quick as colored cars, while the other half complain that they have to wash the car more often just to keep them looking clean.

Black, red and most other dark colors absorb more ultraviolet rays than light colored cars so they are more susceptible to sun damage.

At night white is the most visible and red is seen as black.

Owners of both red and black cars say the interior warms up faster than in other colored cars. This is due to the absorption of heat rays from the sun. Depending on season and locale this may be good or not so good.

Accident statistics show that gray cars are the most invisible in foggy conditions.

Lime yellow is best seen on cloudy days and in snowy winter conditions.

No matter what color the car is, keeping a car in excellent working order and keeping it clean are the most important for safety concerns.

For more info on how to protect the finish of your car visit:
http://www.apluswriting.net/gasmiles/5starshine.htm

About the author: Author: Marilyn Pokorney Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading. Website: http://www.apluswriting.net

Labels: amazing facts, car trivia, color trivia, trivia

Cinnamon - Trivia of Spice
by Sherri L Dodd

Origin: Imported from China to Egypt as early as 2000 B.C., Cinnamon was given as a prestigious offering to Monarchs. It is even featured with positive and symbolic meaning in the NY Times All-time Best Seller, The Bible, in the books of Exodus and Proverbs.

Plant: A small evergreen tree with oblong leaves and little green flowers with an unpleasant smell. Inside the tree’s small purple berry is a single seed. Cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years and then cutting it back in order to grow shoots from the tree's roots over the duration of the next year. The shoots are then stripped of their bark and dried. After naturally drying, the outer portion is removed and only a minimally thin inner bark is used. Finally, the thin bark is layered with other pieces and once more left to dry into the recognizable curled strips. This final result, known as the quill is then cut into spicejar-sized pieces. The oil, also highly utilized is prepared by pounding the bark, soaking it in sea water and then distilling it.

Quality: The best cinnamon comes naturally out of Sri Lanka, as well as commercially grown farms in Brazil, Madagascar, Sumatra, West Indies, Vietnam, and more. It possesses a very thin smooth bark with a light-yellowish brown color. Its fragrant odor is particularly sweet, warm and it gives a very pleasing taste, the result of the concentration of its cinnamon oil.

Benefits: U. S. Department of Agriculture found in studies that using a half teaspoon of cinnamon daily lowered many dangerous blood related levels, including blood sugar in diabetics (especially Type-2), cholesterol, triglyceride and Low Density Lipo-proteins (LDL’s). The same result is achieved by adding cinnamon in tea. To be furthered researched is a notion that ingesting cinnamon can lower blood pressure and whether or not excessive amounts of the fat-soluable components of cinnamon are safe from toxicity.

The Oil of cinnamon also has its benefits - boosting brain function. Research by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences found that products with cinnamon oil enhanced resesarch participant's cognitive processing, especially, in computer-based tasks such as attentional processes, virtual recognition, working memory, and visual-motor speed.

Blurb: When mentioning cinnamon, desserts such as the cinnamon roll come to mind first. However, in all purpose cinnamon does more than just make your food taste good. It also qualifies as an “anti-microbial” food, stopping the growth of bacteria as well as fungi such as yeast (Candida). In laboratory tests, growth of yeast with resistance to anti-fungal medication was often stopped by cinnamon extracts. With this data, cinnamon even proves itself worthy as a natural food preservative...but really, to us it just tastes and smells great!

About The Author
Sherri L Dodd is the creator and author of the newly-released book, Mom Looks Great - The Fitness Program for Moms. She is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer and Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant with over fifteen years of exercise experience. She has lectured to groups on her fitness plan and is a freelance writer on the topics of fitness and general nutrition as well as the humorous side of motherhood.

momlooksgreat.com

Labels: amazing facts, food trivia, trivia

Cape Cod is some 18,000 years old with a history that includes a huge collection of people, places and events. Cape Cod is one of the forbearers of our nation's heritage.

Senators John F. Kennedy and Leverett Saltonstall introduced the legislation that led to the creation of Cape Cod National Seashore in 1959.

President John F. Kennedy signed the legislation into Public Law 87-126 in 1961. This authorized Cape Cod National Seashore.

There were many shipwrecks on the hidden sand bars off the coast between Chatham and Provincetown, so many which, those fifty miles of sea have been called an "ocean graveyard." Between Truro and Wellfleet, there have been more than 1,000 wrecks.

In the early days, when a storm struck the Cape, it was no surprise for townspeople to hear the alarm: "Ship ashore! All hands perishing!" The townspeople would go out to the beach to see if any could be rescued, but the surf was usually too high for them to attempt a rescue. When the storm was over, there was usually no one to rescue.

Sparrowhawk ran aground at Orleans in 1626 as the first recorded shipwreck. The people on board got to shore safely, and the ship was repaired, but before it could sail, the ship "Sparrowhawk" was sunk by another storm and was not seen for over two hundred years. The ribs of the ship are on display in Plymouth at Pilgrim Hall.

The cargo was often saved on these early ships even if the passengers and crew could not be saved. The townspeople would come out after a wreck with their carts and horses and haul away the wine, coffee, nutmeg, cotton, tobacco, or whatever the ship had been carrying. Theory was usually "finders were keepers."

There was an average of two wrecks every month during the winter in the early 1800s. The government created a system to help rescue sailors.

Today there is a demonstration of a breeches buoy drill given weekly during the summer months by national Seashore Rangers at Race Point in Provincetown.

The Old Harbor Life Saving Station is still standing and is currently being restored to its original condition, complete with lifesaving equipment.

Among the bits of trivia about Cape Cod is that the Province Lands area of the Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown is also known as the second-oldest "common lands" in the nation. The first is Boston Common. The Province Lands area was put aside in the 1600s by Plymouth Colony as a fisheries reserve.

Source: National Park Service US Department of the Interior Online

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© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights reserved

Written by: Connie Limon For more information about vacationing and living in the Cape Cod Bay area of Massachusetts visit: http://smalldogs2.com/CapeCod For a variety of FREE reprint articles as well as special article topics visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com

Labels: amazing facts, history trivia, trivia

1. In England, until the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1752, March was considered what month of the calendar year?
A. First
B. Fourth
C. Eighth
D. Last

A. First
QQ: In England, until the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1752, March was considered the first month with the legal year beginning on March 25.

2. What animal is honored on March 1?
A. Pig
B. Horse
C. Cow
D. Chicken

A. Pig
QQ: March 1 is National Pig Day. It was started by Texas art teacher Ellen Stanley in 1972 to honor and give thanks to our most intelligent domesticated creature.

3. Also known as St. David's Day, what country holds March 1 as its National Day?
A. Ireland
B. England
C. Wales
D. Scotland

C. Wales
QQ: March 1, St. David's Day, is the national day of Wales. St. David was the founder and first abbot-bishop of Menevia, now St. David's in Dyfed, South Wales. The day is commemorated by the wearing of daffodils or leeks. Both plants are traditionally regarded as national emblems.

4. What organ of the body is honored the third week in March?
A. Heart
B. Skin
C. Lungs
D. Brain

D. Brain
QQ: The third week of March is Brain Awareness Week in support of brain disease and research.

5. What favorite food is honored in March?
A. Soup
B. Eggs
C. Steak
D. Noodles

D. Noodles
QQ: As legend has it, noodles were first made by 13th century German bakers who fashioned dough into symbolic shapes, such as words, birds and stars. These "nudels" were then baked and served as bread. March national noodle month.

6. According to Roman mythology, Mars is the God of War. He was also regarded as what?
A. Father of Rome
B. Destroyer of Rome
C. Founder of Rome
D. Builder of Rome

A. Father of Rome
QQ: One of the most important Roman deities, Mars was regarded as the father of the Roman people because he was the father of Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome. Although his original nature and functions are obscure, Mars was identified by the Romans with the Greek god of war, Ares. The month of March was named for Mars.

7. The week of March 20-26 is designated to honor what childhood pastime?
A. Chewing Gum
B. Bubbles
C. Slinky
D. Yoyo

B. Bubbles
QQ: March 20 to 26, 2004, is "National Bubble Week," the week for kids of all ages to celebrate the fun and enchantment of bubbles. The first-ever Bubble Week was in 2000 and was initiated by Oddzon, makers of Koosh Bubbles. The event was created to herald the first day of spring -- the unspoken first day of the bubble-blowing season.

8. March has its own insect, the March ____. What is it?
A. Bee
B. Moth
C. Beetle
D. Fly

D. Fly
QQ: There are about 119,500 known species of flies and they make up the fourth largest insect order, after the beetles, butterflies and moths, and bees and wasps.

9. What piece of foul weather gear is honored in the month of March?
A. Raincoat
B. Galoshes
C. Rubber boots
D. Umbrella

D. Umbrella
QQ: March is national umbrella month As a shade from the sun, the umbrella is of great antiquity. It is only more recently we have come to see the umbrella as protection from rain.

10. What favorite snack food is honored in the month of March?
A. Corn chips
B. Popcorn
C. Peanuts
D. Cheese curds

C. Peanuts
QQ: March is National Peanut Month. National Peanut Month had its beginnings as National Peanut Week in 1941. It was expanded to a month-long celebration in 1974.

You can enjoy more trivia created by Deanna Mascle at A Trivia Break, The QuizQueen, and Trivial Topics.

Labels: amazing facts, march trivia, trivia