I did not know that yesterday!

While it can be argued that the United States eventually won the race when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in 1969, Sputnik's effect on the world can't be overstated.

But what fate befell the iconic satellite? After 1,400 trips around the Earth, Sputnik burned up when it reentered the atmosphere in January of 1958 (just as it was supposed to). Over the years, the Soviet Union would go on to launch other satellites. Their very next one, Sputnik II, carried a live passenger -- a dog named "Laika."

Although neither satellite remains in orbit, plenty of elderly flying objects are floating far above our heads. For example, Vanguard 1 from the United States was launched in 1958, and it's expected to remain in orbit for about 240 years. And, no, this one didn't have a dog on board.

Yes, indeed -- Sylvester Stallone's signature character was inspired by a real-life boxer named Chuck Wepner.

Wepner, who calls himself " The Real Rocky," had been a professional pugilist for many years when he challenged Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title in 1975. An ex-Marine, Wepner was asked before the fight if he thought he had a chance against the Greatest of All Time. Wepner allegedly answered, "I've been a survivor my whole life...if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali."

In fact, Wepner did more than just survive. In the ninth round, he actually introduced Ali to the canvas. Wepner eventually lost, but he was the only fighter to ever knock down Ali while Ali was the champ.

Stallone watched the fight and soon went on to write "Rocky," the story of a down-and-out boxer who gets his shot at the heavyweight title and goes the distance against a boisterous and beloved champion.

Over the years, there's been some controversy as to whether Stallone owes Wepner any compensation. The two finally settled for undisclosed terms, effectively putting an end to the fight.

Source: ask.yahoo.com

Dictionaries purge their pages annually, adding new words and getting rid of the obsolete and offensive.

An article from the San Francisco Chronicle explains Merriam-Webster's process. Because languages are "living things" (metaphorically speaking), changes occur and need to be acknowledged. So, every ten years or so, the wordsmiths work on an updated edition. Hundreds of words (like "snollygoster") are cut, and even more (like "phat") are added.

The Oxford Dictionary also reexamines its definitions regularly. An article explains how the meaning of a word can change from year to year. Believe it or not, "nice" once meant silly, lazy, lecherous, and strange. Back in the 1300s, if a man told a woman he was "a nice guy," the lady was liable to slap him and run the other way (or so we presume).

Scrabble, the English major's game of choice, recently removed several words from its official dictionary due to their offensive nature. The Anti-Defamation League applauded the move, noting there is "no room on the board for prejudice."

While some words won't be missed, many antiquated terms are worth remembering.

Source: Ask.yahoo.com

The record belongs to a man named Randy Gardner. Back in 1965, he went 11 days without catching a single wink. Was Randy enraptured by a "Leave It to Beaver" marathon on TV? Actually, no. He just really wanted to be in the Guinness Book of Records.

Randy was a San Diego high-school student at the time of his record-breaking bout of sleep deprivation. A self-described "science fair geek," Randy felt he could beat the previous record of 8.5 days held by New York deejay Peter Tripp. And with the help of two friends and Stanford researcher William Dement, Randy did exactly that. Even more impressive, Randy stayed awake without so much as a drop of coffee.

You might expect anyone who's been up that long to be a complete mess, but according to those who observed him, Randy suffered "no paranoia or other negative mood changes." Additionally, his "mental, motor and sensory abilities" remained solid. On day 10, Randy even beat Dement at pinball and gave a press conference before passing out for 14 plus hours.

Gardner is now married and enjoying retirement. We can only presume he gets plenty of sleep.

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Many divers believe a little saliva on the ol' scuba mask keeps your vision fog-free. How well does it work? Like a lot of life's mysteries, it depends on who you ask.

The experts at ScubaGuide.com believe it does. "Saliva works very well as a mask defogger, for reasons that have never been adequately explained." "You can purchase a product at the scuba shop to prevent mask fogging. But this 'industrial spit' will work no better than your own." Interesting, though maybe not entirely accurate. ScubaDiving.com tested the various products and concluded that most (but not all) worked better than spit.

But a ranked assessment of artificial saliva is probably more information than the average person needs. The real question is why does spit work at all? FreeDiver.net explains, "Spit keeps the air on the inside of the mask from condensing on the glass." Masks fog up because the inside is often dirty or dusty. Spit cleans off the dirt, making it much harder for condensation and fog to form. It may not be sanitary, but for most divers it works just fine.
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Examples of managers successfully browbeating umpires into changing calls, though rare, do exist.

In one 1924 Giants vs. Cubs game, with runners on first and second and a full count on the Cubs batter, Umpire Bill Klem called ball four on a check swing, forcing the man on second over to third. The catcher, however, thought the batter had swung and threw the ball to the third baseman, who tagged the incoming runner. The Giants, led by irascible manager John McGraw, argued the batter had actually swung, striking out -- transforming the runner tagged at third into an out as well. After consulting another umpire, Klem reversed his decision, changing the pitch to a strike and calling both batter and runner out. The Cubs lodged an official protest, pointing out the runner had been tagged at third only because of Klem's original call. The National League President ruled the game a "no contest."

Another example of umpire reversal occurred in last year's Angels - White Sox playoffs, when umpire Randy Marsh mistakenly called runner A.J. Pierzynski out after pitcher Kelvim Escobar tagged him with his bare hand while holding the ball in his glove. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen argued the call, and the umpires ruled Pierzynski safe.

About 99.9% of the time, managers who argue an ump's call may as well be talking to a wall. And that's when things can get interesting.

source: ask.yahoo.com

More annoying than younger siblings, mosquitoes have been pestering the animal kingdom for over 30 million years according to HowStuffWorks. During that time, you'd think the bloodsuckers would have figured out how to do at least one good thing in this crazy world of ours. Not surprisingly, it turns out they do play a role in the circle of life.

Mosquitoes feast on the blood of mammals, and they, in turn, are feasted upon by other animals. The University of Arizona Insect Science Education Outreach presents a short summary of the positive effects mosquitoes have on the ecosystem. Turns out the larvae and pupae of mosquitoes are attractive food for fish and other aquatic insects, while the adults provide a tasty meal for birds, bats, spiders, and dragonflies.

Besides providing snack food for larger predators, the pesky bugs also feed on bacteria and algae, removing them from rocks, plants, and water.

So do these benefits outweigh the fact that they transmit disease to more than 700 million people every year? We hate to question Mother Nature, but no matter how hard we try, we just can't bring ourselves to appreciate the critters.

source: ask.yahoo.com

The sexual orientation of animals is one topic we know little about. Dogs, for instance, have been known to take great interest in our legs, but whether that means ol' Fido is gay, straight, or simply has a leg fetish, we can't say. However, studies on the overall topic do exist. A simple search on "are some animals gay?" resulted in a slew of articles.

One of the more interesting pieces comes from National Geographic. Written by James Owen, the article mentions several instances of animals engaging in homosexual behaviour. Two male penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo, Roy and Silo, have been "inseparable" for six years and have sex "while ignoring potential female mates." Other examples cited include male ostriches, flamingos, and female Japanese macaques.

An article from the San Francisco Chronicle mentions that "scientists have found homosexual behaviour throughout the animal world." Not surprisingly, these discoveries have led to debates over what conclusions can be drawn. Some believe this proves homosexuality is "natural" and not a choice. Others disagree.

No matter where you stand on the issue, one thing is apparent. As Marlene Zuk, a professor of biology at UC Riverside, puts it, sex in the animal kingdom isn't always just about reproduction.

Source: ask.yahoo.com

The sun holds early spiritual significance. Fire, as an element of the sun, was used to light candles in weddings, funerals, and other rituals. Fire was viewed as a symbol of beginning, or birth, as well as essential for sustaining life.

In a talk given to the Culinary Historians of Washington, DC, Shirley Cherkasky explained that candles were instrumental in measuring time, pointing to King Alfred of England's ninth-century system of measuring the day's hours with candles. Measuring or signifying the years of someone's life using candles isn't such a far jump.

A book called "The Lore of Birthdays" is cited by abcog.org regarding the first cake and candle combo. "The custom of lighted candles on the cakes started with the Greeks," who placed the cakes at the altars of the temple of Artemis. However, it's not clear if these were birthday cakes or cakes for another occasion.

Cherkasky's extensive research points to a 1799 letter by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. According to the letter, a well-lit birthday cake was used by the Germans in or before the 18th century. Employees of a prince "carried a generous-size torte with colourful flaming candles -- amounting to some fifty candles -- that began to melt and threatened to burn down, instead of there being enough room for candles indicating upcoming years, as is the case with children's festivities of this kind."

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Science guru Bill Nye explains that the flow of saliva slows down during sleep. As a result, mouths don't get the same level of oxygen as they do while we're active. This allows anaerobic bacteria, which don't need oxygen, to thrive. "The waste products from these bacteria often contain sulfur -- and those compounds of sulfur are what we smell."

Onions are also nasty culprits of this type of bad breath because they contain sulfur. So limit your raw onion snacking habits, and you're ahead of the game.

According to BreezeCare, there are additional causes for morning breath. Mucus in your nose can thicken while you sleep, and your tongue falls to the back of your throat -- both of which provide welcome environments for anaerobic bacteria.

Treatments for bad breath abound, however the two common solutions are to brush your tongue to remove excess plaque, and the use of an antimicrobial mouthwash. Good luck, and may your breath be as fresh as a Tic Tac.

source: ask.yahoo.com

No trip to the movies is complete without an overpriced tub of popcorn covered in goo. Good thing, 'cause popcorn sales are responsible for a substantial portion of theater profits.

To learn how the tradition began, we first consulted the Encyclopedia Popcornica. According to this industry-supported site, the salty snack was very popular "from the 1890s until the Great Depression." Even during the Depression, popcorn remained "one of the few luxuries down-and-out families could afford."

Kidz World writes that popcorn first became available at movie theaters way back in 1912. They don't explain why, but Buzzle.com came through with many kernels of truth (none of which remained unpopped).

Apparently back in the old days, popcorn vendors would "set up shop" outside theaters. The theater managers didn't like this, thinking it was a distraction. But moviegoers disagreed, frequently ducking out to buy popcorn and then ducking back in to see the movie.

As Buzzle further notes, "it wasn't long until the theatre owners realized they could set up their own popcorn popper." That's exactly what they did, and popcorn's been associated with movies ever since. Kind of like Cracker Jacks and baseball games or gruel and orphanages.

source: ask.yahoo.com

The rainbow appears on bumper stickers, T-shirts, computer mouse pads, and especially on flags. In 1978, a San Francisco artist named Gilbert Baker designed a rainbow flag with eight horizontal stripes. Similar to how the American flag's 50 stars stand for the 50 states and its 13 stripes represent the 13 colonies, the eight stripes on the rainbow flag were symbolic.

From top to bottom, the colours and their meanings were:


Since then, the flag has changed a bit. The current version has six stripes instead of eight. However celebrating and understanding diversity is still the underlying theme.

source: ask.yahoo.com

Here we confirmed that the Czechs sure love their pilsner. They better -- they invented the golden brew. And according to one calculator, they're still tossing back a steady stream of brewskis in Praha and environs.

But who's at the other end of the hoppy spectrum? Our research bubbled up a fair number of dry candidates. The most obvious are places that just don't drink at all--at least, officially. Believe it or not, a few lucky countries never suffer from hangovers. These are primarily Muslim nations, because the Islamic Holy Scripture, the Qur'an, prohibits all intoxicants.

The World Health Organization's 2004 Global Status Report on Alcohol found that the only countries with a total recorded alcohol per capita consumption of 0 liters of alcohol were Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Bangladesh. A quick check of the CIA World Factbook confirmed that Islam is the main, if not only, religion in each of these countries.

OK, maybe that was too easy. What about countries that drink beer, but just not as much? The same World Health Organization report also listed the top 20 countries by beverage-specific per capita consumption. Number one was, again, the Czech Republic at 9.43 liters of beer per adult. At the bottom was Gabon with 4.77 liters of beer per adult. So, the Czechs drink the Gabonese under the table by almost double.

source: ask.yahoo.com