This global warming stuff has me a little confused. If it is as bad as the politicians said while in Copenhagen, why are record lows being set left and right. Those politicians are definitely losing credibility (yeah, I know...they did not start out with much).
The most interesting and unexpected facts can emerge from the daily news stories and the Magazine documents some of them in its weekly feature, 10 things we didn't know last week. To kick off 2010, here's an almanac of the best from the past year.
The list includes:
The bubonic plague still exists.
Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th.
The average number of friends is 150.
An outbreak of swine flu in 1976 killed one person but a vaccine to combat it killed 25.
Britain had animal welfare laws before it had child welfare laws.
Buddhist monks sleep upright.
You're as likely to be hit by lightning as killed by a mentally ill person.
Sportswear firms Adidas and Puma have had a 60-year feud.
Ever wonder what workers do for lunch when they are building a high rise building? Yeah, me neither, but I still found this interesting.
NEW YORK - As the Freedom Tower makes its ascent into the New York City skyline, rising alongside it atop a crane will be a Subway Sandwich Shop that will turn out subs for hungry hardhats who can't spare the time to head back down to the street.
The shop will be fitted into a shipping container-like structure fixed to one of the tower cranes, alongside a bathroom and construction offices for the project managers.
The concession stand will rise with the tower, eventually stopping near the 105th floor, at roughly the height of the old twin towers, or about as high as the former windows on the World Restaurant was.
Supporters of the opposition to Iran's current ruling regime continue to gather, speak out, and protest - despite the risks of imprisonment, injury or death, and the continued official restrictions on foreign media coverage. On December 21st, 2009, thousands of Iranians attended a funeral ceremony for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the spiritual father of Iran's reform movement, who had passed away at the age of 87. In the days following the funeral, mourners and protesters took to the streets defying an official ban on such memorial services. On the Muslim holy day of Ashoura, December 27th, protesters and riot police clashed in multiple locations in Tehran, leaving many injured and between 8 and 37 protesters killed, including the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. Days later, on December 30th, the Iranian government organized its own protest - against the opposition - giving all civil servants the day off to attend, providing dozens of buses and free chocolate milk for demonstrators. Collected here are photos from the three days, most taken by anonymous photographers, acquired outside the country by press agencies who are restricted by the government ban. (33 photos total)
Ever wonder what workers do for lunch when they are building a high rise building? Yeah, me neither, but I still found this interesting.
