Make it count
Anand G Mahindra
When the guns fell silent at the Taj in Mumbai, an eerie silence replaced their staccato rhythm. A few days later, boisterous noises more familiar to the city returned when SMS summoned crowds gathered at the Gateway to declare "enough is enough". Queues began to form in front of the forest of TV microphones that were there to record the vox populi. And then the war cries began. "There is no alternative but to launch a full-scale attack on Pakistan," shouted a college student. "George Bush did not hesitate before going into Afghanistan to avenge 9/11!" George Bush, a role model? I could not believe my ears as the speeches grew more strident and unreal. It was as if all the lessons of the past eight years of dubious US diplomacy had been lost through collective amnesia. As America prepared to repudiate its follies and install a president that would be more thoughtful and collaborative, we in Mumbai were casting a halo on the misguided adventures of his predecessor!
The sheer naivety of some of these brave-hearts was astonishing. Had they simply overlooked the fact that Bush's broadsides never targeted nations with nuclear missiles pointed back at him? Perhaps they were too young to have seen photographs of Hiroshima and the terror of remote-controlled radiation. Perhaps they were just too emotional at that point to weigh the devastating consequences of a protracted war.
The lesson from Iraq is that if ever a country in today's times wishes to carry out attacks on a sovereign nation, then it should do so only with the assent and collaboration of the international community. Let us give our diplomats in Delhi the legroom to pursue a strategy of talking tough, while simultaneously providing evidence to the US of Pakistan's hospitality to terrorist groups. There should be unrelenting pressure on Pakistan to prove its anti-terror credentials, which it will be able to do only by permitting other nations to join forces with it in an uncompromising assault on rogue regions and terrorist camps within its territory. Even more distressing than the war-lust at the Gateway, however, were reports carried by the media about unprovoked verbal assaults on innocent members of the minority community. Terrorism ultimately is bred by poverty and prejudice. How can this country prosper if the target of prejudice is 150 million citizens who are made to feel they are not part of the mainstream?
I believe that what we have seen in the last few days is the true manifestation of the much-maligned "spirit of Mumbai". I take pride in the fact that the public behaviour of all communities has been exemplary. Because of this the attackers did not achieve one of their principal goals, which was to incite a resurgence of communal rioting in Mumbai. The strongly expressed anger and the newly minted demands for accountability have been and must continue to be combined with the intrinsic resilience and spirit of tolerance that have always characterised Mumbai. This is not simply a warm and fuzzy utopian aspiration.
Mumbai's survival is dependent upon enhancing the strength of its community networks. There has been speculation about the local support that may have been extended to the terrorists. Indeed, every campaign of terror relies on segments of the local population that are alienated and marginalised. It is only when citizens grow disaffected with the objectives of the terrorists, and recognise that their interests lie elsewhere, that the tide turns against the violence. The most effective weapon we have against terrorists is to become even more steadfast in our resolve to band together as a community and ensure that no member of the minority cowers with the fear of reprisals or discrimination after an attack. We need to erect a wall interlopers cannot penetrate. Behind that wall will be a city that will eject them rapidly and forcefully even if they do manage to stray into it. When every street is filled with informers and defenders of peace, then Mumbai may be held up as a template for battling terrorism.
That would be a true victory for people power.
The writer is a Mumbai-based industrialist.
From the ashes rises the Phoenix.
I am here in Chennai to meet Shridhar for the last time. Went to his house last night to meet his family who are in shock and grief. As he lay in the centre of the gathering he looked peaceful, almost as if he were just asleep. I met his parents, brothers, wife and sons who were all very dignified in their moment of deep pain.
Shridhar was one of the finest technicians of our industry and a dear friend. We have worked together a number of times, and very closely during Lagaan. He did the final mix of the film, which is the last and most crucial creative process in film making. A close associate of A.R., he has worked together with him on a majority of his songs and background scores. In fact he was in A.R.’s studio until 4am yesterday morning working with A.R. and Murgadoss on our film. By around 8.30am he had passed away in his sleep.
The sudden news of his most untimely death came to me yesterday morning when I was still trying to pull myself out of the depressive state of mind I had slid into post the attacks on Mumbai. It left me shattered.
As I had expected various politicians have tried to use this traumatic and tragic attack to their advantage. I only hope that people see through them this time.
Quite clearly both the major political parties have failed to tackle terrorism. There have been repeated attacks on us during both their reigns which neither has been able to either anticipate or deal with well. While what happened in Mumbai recently clearly exposes the incompetence of the Congress, the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight 814 during the BJP rule shows them in even worse light. They actually NEGOTIATED with the terrorists and RELEASED 3 dreaded terrorists from Indian jails. All the 5 hijackers and the 3 terrorists released from India by the then BJP government were allowed to escape to attack us another day.
I think the first lesson to learn from this is that we MUST NOT NEGOTIATE. No matter what, the next time round around, and lets not fool ourselves we must be alert and prepared for more attacks, we MUST NOT NEGOTIATE. All potential terrorists must get a very clear message that INDIA DOES NOT NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS. What that means is, that in the future if there is a situation where me or my kids are held hostage by a bunch of terrorists then I must be prepared to tell our government - to hell with me and my children just go in there and kill the terrorists. I am prepared to sacrifice myself and my loved ones for the larger safety and security of the country but DO NOT LISTEN TO AND NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS.
I personally hold both these political parties, and in fact other regional political parties across the country, responsible in one way or the other, for fueling terrorism in the first place. And please remember that the definition of terrorism is not restricted to AK 47 toting maniacs. It includes the spread of terror by other means like stone throwing, beating up of innocent people on the roads, and rioting, etc. Any means, in fact, to spread terror in the hearts of ordinary citizens.
The other important thing we need to remind ourselves in this time of anger and hurt is to stay calm and take sensible steps, and not give in to thoughtless knee jerk reactions. I heard someone say on television that we should all stop paying our taxes as a show of protest. Haven’t heard of a more silly idea than that. If we stop paying our taxes then we won’t have an army and NSG to save us next time around!!! Instead we should all START PAYING OUR TAXES. We demand so much of our leaders but are we fulfilling our basic responsibility? Can we say with honesty that as citizens of our country we are all honestly paying our taxes? If we are not paying our taxes can we blame the government for being inefficient? If we are corrupt then how can we expect our politicians to be honest?
I have a very important thing to say to all the various people going around arbitrarily throwing accusations at the politicians. These politicians are not from Jupiter or Mars, they are one of us, from our very own society, selected by us through a democratic process. So now think for a moment, who really is to blame? We can only blame ourselves guys. Half of us don’t go to vote. The half that does vote has selected these guys.
In my opinion, you really want to change things? Change yourself. Each one of us needs to take a very honest look inwards and rectify and work on what we think is wrong with us. If each one of us does that individually then there will be a sea change in our society at large. I have to promise myself that I will not be corrupt, will play my role in society with honesty and sincerity. Doctors, lawyers, judges, people in the IAS, police force, media persons, businessmen, job workers, labour force, everyone. We have to stop thinking of our own individual gain and loss and do what is honest, true and right, and think collective. It calls for personal sacrifice in this time of chaos but from chaos will emerge clarity. Even if we don’t manage to achieve this for ourselves we will achieve it for our children.
What I would really like to see emerge from all this is the youth of this country starting a political party. A group that stands for strong, clean, honest and fresh leadership. A group that we can all support.
And finally, if we really want to make sure that terrorists fail in achieving their end, then these terror attacks should not take us towards hate but instead towards love. If we react with hate we are succumbing to these terror attacks, and if we react with increasing love and peace in our hearts then we squarely defeat the terrorists. Allowing love, peace and trust to grow within us is not a sign of weakness but a sign of immense strength.
With appreciation and gratitude to the security forces who acted with courage, and with a prayer in my heart for those departed.
Faith.
(Source : Aamir Khan's view on his blog at http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog)
Shridhar was one of the finest technicians of our industry and a dear friend. We have worked together a number of times, and very closely during Lagaan. He did the final mix of the film, which is the last and most crucial creative process in film making. A close associate of A.R., he has worked together with him on a majority of his songs and background scores. In fact he was in A.R.’s studio until 4am yesterday morning working with A.R. and Murgadoss on our film. By around 8.30am he had passed away in his sleep.
The sudden news of his most untimely death came to me yesterday morning when I was still trying to pull myself out of the depressive state of mind I had slid into post the attacks on Mumbai. It left me shattered.
As I had expected various politicians have tried to use this traumatic and tragic attack to their advantage. I only hope that people see through them this time.
Quite clearly both the major political parties have failed to tackle terrorism. There have been repeated attacks on us during both their reigns which neither has been able to either anticipate or deal with well. While what happened in Mumbai recently clearly exposes the incompetence of the Congress, the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight 814 during the BJP rule shows them in even worse light. They actually NEGOTIATED with the terrorists and RELEASED 3 dreaded terrorists from Indian jails. All the 5 hijackers and the 3 terrorists released from India by the then BJP government were allowed to escape to attack us another day.
I think the first lesson to learn from this is that we MUST NOT NEGOTIATE. No matter what, the next time round around, and lets not fool ourselves we must be alert and prepared for more attacks, we MUST NOT NEGOTIATE. All potential terrorists must get a very clear message that INDIA DOES NOT NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS. What that means is, that in the future if there is a situation where me or my kids are held hostage by a bunch of terrorists then I must be prepared to tell our government - to hell with me and my children just go in there and kill the terrorists. I am prepared to sacrifice myself and my loved ones for the larger safety and security of the country but DO NOT LISTEN TO AND NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS.
I personally hold both these political parties, and in fact other regional political parties across the country, responsible in one way or the other, for fueling terrorism in the first place. And please remember that the definition of terrorism is not restricted to AK 47 toting maniacs. It includes the spread of terror by other means like stone throwing, beating up of innocent people on the roads, and rioting, etc. Any means, in fact, to spread terror in the hearts of ordinary citizens.
The other important thing we need to remind ourselves in this time of anger and hurt is to stay calm and take sensible steps, and not give in to thoughtless knee jerk reactions. I heard someone say on television that we should all stop paying our taxes as a show of protest. Haven’t heard of a more silly idea than that. If we stop paying our taxes then we won’t have an army and NSG to save us next time around!!! Instead we should all START PAYING OUR TAXES. We demand so much of our leaders but are we fulfilling our basic responsibility? Can we say with honesty that as citizens of our country we are all honestly paying our taxes? If we are not paying our taxes can we blame the government for being inefficient? If we are corrupt then how can we expect our politicians to be honest?
I have a very important thing to say to all the various people going around arbitrarily throwing accusations at the politicians. These politicians are not from Jupiter or Mars, they are one of us, from our very own society, selected by us through a democratic process. So now think for a moment, who really is to blame? We can only blame ourselves guys. Half of us don’t go to vote. The half that does vote has selected these guys.
In my opinion, you really want to change things? Change yourself. Each one of us needs to take a very honest look inwards and rectify and work on what we think is wrong with us. If each one of us does that individually then there will be a sea change in our society at large. I have to promise myself that I will not be corrupt, will play my role in society with honesty and sincerity. Doctors, lawyers, judges, people in the IAS, police force, media persons, businessmen, job workers, labour force, everyone. We have to stop thinking of our own individual gain and loss and do what is honest, true and right, and think collective. It calls for personal sacrifice in this time of chaos but from chaos will emerge clarity. Even if we don’t manage to achieve this for ourselves we will achieve it for our children.
What I would really like to see emerge from all this is the youth of this country starting a political party. A group that stands for strong, clean, honest and fresh leadership. A group that we can all support.
And finally, if we really want to make sure that terrorists fail in achieving their end, then these terror attacks should not take us towards hate but instead towards love. If we react with hate we are succumbing to these terror attacks, and if we react with increasing love and peace in our hearts then we squarely defeat the terrorists. Allowing love, peace and trust to grow within us is not a sign of weakness but a sign of immense strength.
With appreciation and gratitude to the security forces who acted with courage, and with a prayer in my heart for those departed.
Faith.
(Source : Aamir Khan's view on his blog at http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog)
इस बार नही....
इस बार जब वो छोटीसी बच्ची मेरे पास
अपनी खरोंच ले कर आयेगी
मै उसे फुं फुं कर नही बेहलाऊंगा
पनपने दुंगा उसकी तीस को
इस बार नही....
इस बार जब मैं चेहरों पर दर्द लिखा देखुंगा
नही गाऊंगा गीत पीडा भुला देने वाले
दर्द को रिसने दुंगा, उतरने दुंगा अंदर गहरे
इस बार नही....
इस बार मैं ना मरहम लगाऊंगा
ना ही ऊठाउंगा रुई के फाहे
और ना ही कहूंगा की तुम आंखे बंद करलो, गर्दन उधर कर लो मैं दवा लगाता हू
देखने दुंगा सबको हम सबको खुले नंगे घाव
इस बार नही....
इस बार जब उल्झने देखुंगा, छटपटाहट देखुंगा
नही दौडूंगा उल्झी दोर लपेटने
उलझने दुंगा जब तक उलझ सके
इस बार नही....
इस बार कर्म का हवाला देकर नही उठाउंगा औजार
नही करुंगा फिर से एक नई शुरुआत
नही बनाऊंगा मिसाल एक कर्मयोगी की
नही आने दुंगा झिंदगी को आसानी से पटरी पर
उतरने दुंगा उसे किचड में, तेढे मेढे रास्तों पे,
नही सुकने दुंगा दिवारों पर लगा खुन
हलका नही पडने दुंगा उसका रंग
इस बार नही बनने दुंगा उसे इतना लाचार
की पान की पीक और खुन का फर्क ही खतम हो जाये
इस बार नही....
इस बार घावों को देखना है गौर से, थोडे लंबे वक्त तक,
कुछ फैसले
और उसके बाद हौसले
कही तो शुरुआत करनी ही होगी...
इस बार यही तय किया है
इस बार नही....
... प्रसुन जोशी
अपनी खरोंच ले कर आयेगी
मै उसे फुं फुं कर नही बेहलाऊंगा
पनपने दुंगा उसकी तीस को
इस बार नही....
इस बार जब मैं चेहरों पर दर्द लिखा देखुंगा
नही गाऊंगा गीत पीडा भुला देने वाले
दर्द को रिसने दुंगा, उतरने दुंगा अंदर गहरे
इस बार नही....
इस बार मैं ना मरहम लगाऊंगा
ना ही ऊठाउंगा रुई के फाहे
और ना ही कहूंगा की तुम आंखे बंद करलो, गर्दन उधर कर लो मैं दवा लगाता हू
देखने दुंगा सबको हम सबको खुले नंगे घाव
इस बार नही....
इस बार जब उल्झने देखुंगा, छटपटाहट देखुंगा
नही दौडूंगा उल्झी दोर लपेटने
उलझने दुंगा जब तक उलझ सके
इस बार नही....
इस बार कर्म का हवाला देकर नही उठाउंगा औजार
नही करुंगा फिर से एक नई शुरुआत
नही बनाऊंगा मिसाल एक कर्मयोगी की
नही आने दुंगा झिंदगी को आसानी से पटरी पर
उतरने दुंगा उसे किचड में, तेढे मेढे रास्तों पे,
नही सुकने दुंगा दिवारों पर लगा खुन
हलका नही पडने दुंगा उसका रंग
इस बार नही बनने दुंगा उसे इतना लाचार
की पान की पीक और खुन का फर्क ही खतम हो जाये
इस बार नही....
इस बार घावों को देखना है गौर से, थोडे लंबे वक्त तक,
कुछ फैसले
और उसके बाद हौसले
कही तो शुरुआत करनी ही होगी...
इस बार यही तय किया है
इस बार नही....
... प्रसुन जोशी
LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER
Dear Mr. Prime minister
I am a typical mouse from Mumbai. In the local train compartment which has capacity of 100 persons, I travel with 500 more mouse. Mouse at least squeak but we don't even do that.
Today I heard your speech. In which you said 'NO BODY WOULD BE SPARED'. I would like to remind you that fourteen years has passed since serial bomb blast in Mumbai took place. Dawood was the main conspirator. Till today he is not caught. All our bolywood actors, our builders, our Gutka king meets him but your Government can not catch him. Reason is simple; all your ministers are hand in glove with him. If any attempt is made to catch him everybody will be exposed. Your statement 'NOBODY WOULD BE SPARED' is nothing but a cruel joke on this unfortunate people of India.
Enough is enough. As such after seeing terrorist attack carried out by about a dozen young boys I realize that if same thing continues days are not away when terrorist will attack by air, destroy our nuclear reactor and there will be one more Hiroshima.
We the people are left with only one mantra. Womb to Bomb to Tomb. You promised Mumbaikar Shanghai what you have given us is Jalianwala Baug.
Today only your home minister resigned. What took you so long to kick out this joker? Only reason was that he was loyal to Gandhi family. Loyalty to Gandhi family is more important than blood of innocent people, isn't it?
I am born and bought up in Mumbai for last fifty eight years. Believe me corruption in Maharashtra is worse than that in Bihar. Look at all the politician, Sharad Pawar, Chagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Bal Thackray , Gopinath Munde, Raj Thackray, Vilasrao Deshmukh all are rolling in money. Vilasrao Deshmukh is one of the worst Chief minister I have seen. His only business is to increase the FSI every other day, make money and send it to Delhi so Congress can fight next election. Now the clown has found new way and will increase FSI for fisherman so they can build concrete house right on sea shore. Next time terrorist can comfortably live in those house , enjoy the beauty of sea and then attack the Mumbai at their will.
Recently I had to purchase house in Mumbai. I met about two dozen builders. Everybody wanted about 30% in black. A common person like me knows this and with all your intelligent agency & CBI you and your finance minister are not aware of it. Where all the black money goes? To the underworld isn't it? Our politicians take help of these goondas to vacate people by force. I myself was victim of it. If you have time please come to me, I will tell you everything.
If this has been land of fools, idiots then I would not have ever cared to write you this letter. Just see the tragedy, on one side we are reaching moon, people are so intelligent and on other side you politician has converted nectar into deadly poison. I am everything Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Schedule caste, OBC, Muslim OBC, Christian Schedule caste, Creamy Schedule caste only what I am not is INDIAN. You politician have raped every part of mother India by your policy of divide and rule.
Take example of former president Abdul Kalam. Such a intelligent person, such a fine human being. You politician didn't even spare him. Your party along with opposition joined the hands, because politician feels they are supreme and there is no place for good person.
Dear Mr Prime minister you are one of the most intelligent person, most learned person. Just wake up, be a real SARDAR. First and foremost expose all selfish politician. Ask Swiss bank to give name of all Indian account holder. Give reins of CBI to independent agency. Let them find wolf among us. There will be political upheaval but that will better than dance of death which we are witnessing every day. Just give us ambient where we can work honestly and without fear. Let there be rule of law. Everything else will be taken care of.
Choice is yours Mr. Prime Minister. Do you want to be lead by one person or you want to lead the nation of 100 Crore people?
Prakash B. Bajaj
Chandralok 'A" Wing, Flat No 104
97 Nepean Sea Road
Mumbai 400 036
Phone 98210-71194
Educational Degrees in Pakistan
BE - Bomb Engineering
MBBS - Member of Bomb Blasting Community
IIT - International Institute of Terrorism
CAT - Career in Al Qaeeda & Taliban
M.Tech - Masters in Terror Technology
LLB - Learning Licence of Bomb Blasting.
M.Sc - Missile Science
B.Sc - Bioweapons Science
MBBS - Member of Bomb Blasting Community
IIT - International Institute of Terrorism
CAT - Career in Al Qaeeda & Taliban
M.Tech - Masters in Terror Technology
LLB - Learning Licence of Bomb Blasting.
M.Sc - Missile Science
B.Sc - Bioweapons Science
A touching letter written by a Captain to his family during Kargil War.
Friends,
Here's a very touching letter written by Captain Vijayant Thapar to his Family. Speaks a lot of what goes within a soldier. A must read letter.
True Facts
Any month that has a Friday the 13th also has a Wednesday the 25th.
John Madden is an accomplished ballroom dancer.
In 21 states, Wal-Mart is the single largest employer.
Jim Gordon, drummer of Derek and the Dominos ("Layla"), killed his mother with a claw hammer.
One of Hewlett Packard's first ideas was an automatic urinal flusher.
Eric Clapton did not play the very famous first riff on the song "Layla". That was Duane Allman. Clapton comes in later.
As you age, your eye color gets lighter.
There are more cars in Southern California than there are cows in India.
The two-foot long bird called a Kea that lives in New Zealand likes to eat the strips of rubber around car windows.
The province of Alberta, Canada is completely free of rats.
Illinois has the most personalized license plates of any state.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.
The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.
The average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in it.
There are 206 bones in the adult human body, but 300 in children (some of the bones fuse together as a child grows).
Fleas can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6 foot person jumping 780 feet into the air.
Snakes are true carnivores as they eat nothing but other animals. They do not eat any type of plant material.
There are no venomous snakes in Maine.
The blue whale can produce sounds up to 188 decibels. This is the loudest sound produced by a living animal and has been detected as far away as 530 miles.
The human eye blinks an average of 4,200,000 times a year.
It takes approximately 12 hours for food to entirely digest.
Erosion at the base of Niagara Falls (USA) undermines the shale cliffs and as a result, the falls have receded approximately 7 miles over the last 10,000 years.
The longest living cells in the body are brain cells which can live an entire lifetime.
The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
North Dakota has never had an earthquake.
Alexander Graham Bell (who invented the telephone) also set a world water-speed record of over seventy miles an hour at the age of 72.
There is enough fuel in a full tank of a jumbo jet to drive an average car four times around the world.
Hawaii is moving toward Japan 4 inches every year.
Chimps are the only animals that can recognize themselves in a mirror.
The leg bones of a bat are so thin that no bat can walk.
There are more living organisms on the skin of a single human being than there are human beings on the surface of the earth.
Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot.
If you keep a goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
Almonds are members of the peach family.
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
One person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.
Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Animal Kingdom".
The dot that appears over the letter "i" is called a tittle.
All major league baseball umpires must wear black underwear while on the job (in case their pants split).
The Spanish word esposa means "wife." The plural, esposas, means "wives," but also "handcuffs."
If all Americans used one third less ice in their drinks the United States would become a net exporter instead of an importer of energy.
If the Nile River were stretched across the United States, it would run nearly from New York to Los Angeles.
San Francisco cable cars are the only National Monuments that move
The Hoover Dam was built to last 2,000 years. Its concrete will not be fully cured for another 500 years.
Abraham Lincoln's dog, Fido, was assassinated too.
All of David Letterman's suits are custom made - there are no creases in his suit trousers.
Cranberry Jell-O is the only flavor that contains real fruit flavoring.
Fewer than half of the 16,200 major league baseball players have ever hit a home run.
In comic strips, the person on the left always speaks first.
Richard Versalle, a tenor performing at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, suffered a heart attack and fell 10 feet from a ladder to the stage just after singing the line "You can only live so long."
If the entire population of earth was reduced to exactly 100 people, 51% would be female, 49% male; 50% of the world's currency would be held by 6 people, one person would be nearly dead, one nearly born.
In 1920, Babe Ruth out-homered every American League team.
Topless saleswomen are legal in Liverpool, England, but only in tropical fish stores.
Toxic house plants poison more children than household chemicals.
The original name of Bank of America was Bank of Italy.
The ant, when intoxicated, will always fall over to its right side.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued six driver's licenses to six different people named Jesus Christ.
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike each year than all the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
People in China and Japan die disproportionately on the 4th of each month because the words death and four sound alike, and they are represented by the same symbol.
Chicago is closer to Moscow than it is to Rio de Janeiro.
Dogs have two sets of teeth, just like humans. They first have 30 "puppy" teeth, then 42 adult teeth.
In 1950, President Harry Truman threw out the first ball twice at the opening day Washington DC baseball game; once right handed and once left handed.
A Swiss ski resort announced it would combat global warming by wrapping its mountain glaciers in aluminum foil to keep them from melting.
The chameleon has a tongue that is one and a half times the length of his body.
Beethoven dipped his head in cold water before he composed.
There once was a town named "6" in West Virginia.
Ten years ago, only 500 people in China could ski. This year, an estimated 5,000,000 Chinese will visit ski resorts.
In 1920, Babe Ruth broke the single season home run record, with 29. The same year, he became the first major leaguer to hit 30 home runs. The same year, he became the first major leaguer to hit 40 home runs. The same year, he became the first major leaguer to hit 50 home runs.
A Nigerian woman was caught entering the UK with 104 kg of snails in her baggage.
Profanity is typically cut from in-flight movies to make them suitable for general audiences. Fox Searchlight Pictures has substituted "Ashcroft" for "A**hole" in the movie Sideways when dubbed for Aerolineas Argentinas flights.
Author Hunter S. Thompson, who committed suicide recently, wanted to be cremated and his ashes to be shot out of a cannon on his ranch.
Sports Illustrated magazine allows subscribers to opt out of receiving the famous swimsuit issue each year. Fewer than 1% choose this option.
There is a company that will (for $14,000) take your ashes, compress them into a synthetic diamond to be set in jewelry for a loved one.
The RIAA sued an 83 year old woman for downloading music illegally, even though a copy of her death certificate was sent to the RIAA a week before it filed the suit.
Two 1903 paintings recently sold at auction for $590,000 - the paintings were in the famous "Dogs Playing Poker" series.
Russian scientists have developed a new drug that prolongs drunkenness and enhances intoxication
Romanian firefighters could not get their trucks close enough to a burning building, so they put out the fire by throwing snowballs at it.
A perfect SAT score is 1600 combined. Bill Gates scored 1590 on his SAT. Paul Allen, Bill's partner in Microsoft, scored a perfect 1600. Bill Cosby scored less than 500 combined.
Motorists traveling outside Salem, Oregon saw one of the "litter cleanup" signs crediting the American Nazi party. Marion County officials had no choice but to let that group into the adopt-a-road program. The $500 per sign was picked up by Oregon taxpayers. The Ku Klux Klan is also involved in the adopt-a-road program in the state of Arkansas.
Spam filters that catch the word "cialis" will not allow many work-related e-mails through because that word is embedded inside the word "specialist".
McDonald's restaurants will buy 54,000,000 pounds of fresh apples this year. Two years ago, McDonald's purchased 0 pounds of apples. This is attributed to the shift to more healthy menu options (the Apple Pie, which has been at McDonald's for years uses processed Apple Pie Filling).
The biggest dog on record was an Old English Mastiff that weighed 343 pounds. He was 8 feet, 3 inches from nose to tail.
Mailmen in Russia now carry revolvers after a recent decision by the government.
All of Queen Anne's 17 children died before she did.
There are over 87,000 Americans on waiting lists for organ transplants.
American made parts account for only 1% of the Chrysler Crossfire. 96% of the Ford F-150 Heritage Truck is American.
A Dutch court ruled that a bank robber could deduct the 2,000 Euros he paid for his pistol from the 6,600 Euros he has to return to the bank he robbed.
Only 6% of the autographs in circulation from members of the Beatles are estimated to be real.
The time spent deleting SPAM costs United States businesses $21.6 billion annually.
60.7 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2004 presidential election, the highest percentage in 36 years. However, more than 78 million did not vote. This means President Bush won re-election by receiving votes from less than 31% of all eligible voters in the United States.
John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, loved to skinny dip in the Potomac River.
La Paz, Bolivia has an average annual temperature below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it has never recorded a zero-degree temperature. Same for Stanley, Falkland Islands and Punta Arenas, Chile.
41% of Chinese people eat at least once a week at a fast food restaurant. 35% of Americans do.
A Wisconsin forklift operator for a Miller beer distributor was fired when a picture was published in a newspaper showing him drinking a Bud Light.
Richard Hatch, winner of the first "Survivor" reality series, has been charged with tax evasion for failing to report his $1,000,000 prize.
The entire fleet of Unicoi County Tennessee's salt trucks was rendered out of commission in one accident. All three trucks were badly damaged when one of them began skidding down a road, causing a chain reaction accident. Officials blamed road conditions.
More people study English in China than speak it in the United States of America (300 million).
Fast food provider Hardee's has recently introduced the Monster Thickburger. It has 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat.
More than 2,500 left-handed people are killed each year from using products that are made for right-handed people.
For every person on earth, there are an estimated 200 million insects.
There are 2,000,000 millionaires in the United States.
1.5 million Americans are charged with drunk driving each year.
A Georgia company will mix your loved one's ashes with cement and drop it into the ocean to form an artificial reef.
The Washington Times newspaper is owned by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
John Madden is an accomplished ballroom dancer.
In 21 states, Wal-Mart is the single largest employer.
Jim Gordon, drummer of Derek and the Dominos ("Layla"), killed his mother with a claw hammer.
One of Hewlett Packard's first ideas was an automatic urinal flusher.
Eric Clapton did not play the very famous first riff on the song "Layla". That was Duane Allman. Clapton comes in later.
As you age, your eye color gets lighter.
There are more cars in Southern California than there are cows in India.
The two-foot long bird called a Kea that lives in New Zealand likes to eat the strips of rubber around car windows.
The province of Alberta, Canada is completely free of rats.
Illinois has the most personalized license plates of any state.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.
The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.
The average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in it.
There are 206 bones in the adult human body, but 300 in children (some of the bones fuse together as a child grows).
Fleas can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6 foot person jumping 780 feet into the air.
Snakes are true carnivores as they eat nothing but other animals. They do not eat any type of plant material.
There are no venomous snakes in Maine.
The blue whale can produce sounds up to 188 decibels. This is the loudest sound produced by a living animal and has been detected as far away as 530 miles.
The human eye blinks an average of 4,200,000 times a year.
It takes approximately 12 hours for food to entirely digest.
Erosion at the base of Niagara Falls (USA) undermines the shale cliffs and as a result, the falls have receded approximately 7 miles over the last 10,000 years.
The longest living cells in the body are brain cells which can live an entire lifetime.
The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
North Dakota has never had an earthquake.
Alexander Graham Bell (who invented the telephone) also set a world water-speed record of over seventy miles an hour at the age of 72.
There is enough fuel in a full tank of a jumbo jet to drive an average car four times around the world.
Hawaii is moving toward Japan 4 inches every year.
Chimps are the only animals that can recognize themselves in a mirror.
The leg bones of a bat are so thin that no bat can walk.
There are more living organisms on the skin of a single human being than there are human beings on the surface of the earth.
Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot.
If you keep a goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
Almonds are members of the peach family.
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
One person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.
Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Animal Kingdom".
The dot that appears over the letter "i" is called a tittle.
All major league baseball umpires must wear black underwear while on the job (in case their pants split).
The Spanish word esposa means "wife." The plural, esposas, means "wives," but also "handcuffs."
If all Americans used one third less ice in their drinks the United States would become a net exporter instead of an importer of energy.
If the Nile River were stretched across the United States, it would run nearly from New York to Los Angeles.
San Francisco cable cars are the only National Monuments that move
The Hoover Dam was built to last 2,000 years. Its concrete will not be fully cured for another 500 years.
Abraham Lincoln's dog, Fido, was assassinated too.
All of David Letterman's suits are custom made - there are no creases in his suit trousers.
Cranberry Jell-O is the only flavor that contains real fruit flavoring.
Fewer than half of the 16,200 major league baseball players have ever hit a home run.
In comic strips, the person on the left always speaks first.
Richard Versalle, a tenor performing at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, suffered a heart attack and fell 10 feet from a ladder to the stage just after singing the line "You can only live so long."
If the entire population of earth was reduced to exactly 100 people, 51% would be female, 49% male; 50% of the world's currency would be held by 6 people, one person would be nearly dead, one nearly born.
In 1920, Babe Ruth out-homered every American League team.
Topless saleswomen are legal in Liverpool, England, but only in tropical fish stores.
Toxic house plants poison more children than household chemicals.
The original name of Bank of America was Bank of Italy.
The ant, when intoxicated, will always fall over to its right side.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued six driver's licenses to six different people named Jesus Christ.
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike each year than all the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
People in China and Japan die disproportionately on the 4th of each month because the words death and four sound alike, and they are represented by the same symbol.
Chicago is closer to Moscow than it is to Rio de Janeiro.
Dogs have two sets of teeth, just like humans. They first have 30 "puppy" teeth, then 42 adult teeth.
In 1950, President Harry Truman threw out the first ball twice at the opening day Washington DC baseball game; once right handed and once left handed.
A Swiss ski resort announced it would combat global warming by wrapping its mountain glaciers in aluminum foil to keep them from melting.
The chameleon has a tongue that is one and a half times the length of his body.
Beethoven dipped his head in cold water before he composed.
There once was a town named "6" in West Virginia.
Ten years ago, only 500 people in China could ski. This year, an estimated 5,000,000 Chinese will visit ski resorts.
In 1920, Babe Ruth broke the single season home run record, with 29. The same year, he became the first major leaguer to hit 30 home runs. The same year, he became the first major leaguer to hit 40 home runs. The same year, he became the first major leaguer to hit 50 home runs.
A Nigerian woman was caught entering the UK with 104 kg of snails in her baggage.
Profanity is typically cut from in-flight movies to make them suitable for general audiences. Fox Searchlight Pictures has substituted "Ashcroft" for "A**hole" in the movie Sideways when dubbed for Aerolineas Argentinas flights.
Author Hunter S. Thompson, who committed suicide recently, wanted to be cremated and his ashes to be shot out of a cannon on his ranch.
Sports Illustrated magazine allows subscribers to opt out of receiving the famous swimsuit issue each year. Fewer than 1% choose this option.
There is a company that will (for $14,000) take your ashes, compress them into a synthetic diamond to be set in jewelry for a loved one.
The RIAA sued an 83 year old woman for downloading music illegally, even though a copy of her death certificate was sent to the RIAA a week before it filed the suit.
Two 1903 paintings recently sold at auction for $590,000 - the paintings were in the famous "Dogs Playing Poker" series.
Russian scientists have developed a new drug that prolongs drunkenness and enhances intoxication
Romanian firefighters could not get their trucks close enough to a burning building, so they put out the fire by throwing snowballs at it.
A perfect SAT score is 1600 combined. Bill Gates scored 1590 on his SAT. Paul Allen, Bill's partner in Microsoft, scored a perfect 1600. Bill Cosby scored less than 500 combined.
Motorists traveling outside Salem, Oregon saw one of the "litter cleanup" signs crediting the American Nazi party. Marion County officials had no choice but to let that group into the adopt-a-road program. The $500 per sign was picked up by Oregon taxpayers. The Ku Klux Klan is also involved in the adopt-a-road program in the state of Arkansas.
Spam filters that catch the word "cialis" will not allow many work-related e-mails through because that word is embedded inside the word "specialist".
McDonald's restaurants will buy 54,000,000 pounds of fresh apples this year. Two years ago, McDonald's purchased 0 pounds of apples. This is attributed to the shift to more healthy menu options (the Apple Pie, which has been at McDonald's for years uses processed Apple Pie Filling).
The biggest dog on record was an Old English Mastiff that weighed 343 pounds. He was 8 feet, 3 inches from nose to tail.
Mailmen in Russia now carry revolvers after a recent decision by the government.
All of Queen Anne's 17 children died before she did.
There are over 87,000 Americans on waiting lists for organ transplants.
American made parts account for only 1% of the Chrysler Crossfire. 96% of the Ford F-150 Heritage Truck is American.
A Dutch court ruled that a bank robber could deduct the 2,000 Euros he paid for his pistol from the 6,600 Euros he has to return to the bank he robbed.
Only 6% of the autographs in circulation from members of the Beatles are estimated to be real.
The time spent deleting SPAM costs United States businesses $21.6 billion annually.
60.7 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2004 presidential election, the highest percentage in 36 years. However, more than 78 million did not vote. This means President Bush won re-election by receiving votes from less than 31% of all eligible voters in the United States.
John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, loved to skinny dip in the Potomac River.
La Paz, Bolivia has an average annual temperature below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it has never recorded a zero-degree temperature. Same for Stanley, Falkland Islands and Punta Arenas, Chile.
41% of Chinese people eat at least once a week at a fast food restaurant. 35% of Americans do.
A Wisconsin forklift operator for a Miller beer distributor was fired when a picture was published in a newspaper showing him drinking a Bud Light.
Richard Hatch, winner of the first "Survivor" reality series, has been charged with tax evasion for failing to report his $1,000,000 prize.
The entire fleet of Unicoi County Tennessee's salt trucks was rendered out of commission in one accident. All three trucks were badly damaged when one of them began skidding down a road, causing a chain reaction accident. Officials blamed road conditions.
More people study English in China than speak it in the United States of America (300 million).
Fast food provider Hardee's has recently introduced the Monster Thickburger. It has 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat.
More than 2,500 left-handed people are killed each year from using products that are made for right-handed people.
For every person on earth, there are an estimated 200 million insects.
There are 2,000,000 millionaires in the United States.
1.5 million Americans are charged with drunk driving each year.
A Georgia company will mix your loved one's ashes with cement and drop it into the ocean to form an artificial reef.
The Washington Times newspaper is owned by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
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