Curiosidades para ler e reler

O vidro demora um milhão de anos para se decompor, o que significa que nunca se desgasta e pode ser reciclado um número
infinito de vezes!

O ouro é o único metal que não enferruja, mesmo estando enterrado no solo por milhares de anos.

A língua é o único músculo do corpo que está ligadoa penas a uma extremidade.

Se você parar de ficar com sede, você precisa beber mais água. Quando o corpo humano está desidratado, o mecanismo de
sede é desligado.

A cada ano, dois milhões fumantes param de fumar ou morrem de doenças relacionadas com o tabaco.

Zero é o único número que não pode ser representado por algarismos romanos.

Pipas foram utilizadas na Guerra Civil Americana para entregar cartas e jornais.

A canção, Auld Lang Syne, é cantada a meia-noite, em quase todos os países de língua Inglêsa para celebrar o novo ano.
No Brasil, Portugal, França, Espanha, Grécia, Polônia e Alemanha, é uma canção de despedida. (Adeus amor eu vou partir…)

Beber água depois de comer reduz 61 por cento do ácido na boca.

O óleo de amendoim é usado para cozinhar em submarinos, porque não solta fumaça a menos que seja aquecido acima de 450F
ou 232C.

O barulho que ouvimos quando colocamos uma concha junto ao nosso ouvido não é o oceano, mas sim o som do sangue correndo
nas veias da orelha.

Nove em cada 10 seres vivos vivem no oceano.

A banana não pode reproduzir por si só. Ela só pode ser reproduzida pela mão do homem.

Aeroportos em altitudes mais elevadas requerem uma pista mais longa, devido à menor densidade do ar.

A Universidade do Alaska abrange quatro fusos horários.

O dente é a única parte do corpo humano que não pode se curar or regenerar.

Na Grécia antiga, jogar uma maçã a uma mulher era uma proposta de casamento. Pega-la significava aceitação.

Warner Communications pagou 28.000 mil dólares para os direitos autorais da canção Parabéns pra Você.

As pessoas inteligentes têm mais zinco e cobre em seu cabelo.

A cauda de um cometa aponta sempre para longe do sol.

A vacina contra a gripe suína em 1976 causou mais mortes e doenças do que a doença pretendia evitar.

A cafeína aumenta o poder da aspirina e outros analgésicos, é por isso que é encontrada em alguns medicamentos.

A saudação militar é um gesto que evoluiu desde os tempos medievais, quando os cavaleiros de armadura levantavam suas
máscaras para revelar sua identidade.

Se você estiver no fundo de um poço ou embaixo de uma chaminé alta e olhar para cima, você verá as estrelas, mesmo
estando no meio do dia.

Quando uma pessoa morre, a audição é o último sentido a desaparecer. O primeiro sentido perdido é a visão.

Nos tempos antigos estranhos apertavam as mãos para mostrar que estavam desarmados.

Morangos são os únicos frutos cujas sementes crescem na parte exterior.

Abacates têm calorias mais altas do que qualquer outra fruta: 167 calorias para cada cem gramas.

A Lua se afasta da Terra cerca de dois centímetros por ano.

A Terra fica 100 toneladas mais pesada a cada dia devido à queda de poeira espacial.

Devido à gravidade da Terra é impossível montanhas serem mais altas do que 15 mil metros.

Mickey Mouse é conhecido como "Topolino", na Itália ..

Soldados em formação não podem marchar quando atravessam pontes, porque poderiam criar vibração suficiente para derrubar
a ponte.

Tudo pesa um por cento menos no equador.

Para cada kg adicional de carga em um vôo espacial, 530 kg adicionais de combustível são necessários para decolagem.

A letra J não aparece em qualquer lugar da tabela periódica dos elementos.

23 fotos de pessoas de todo o mundo ao lado da quantidade de comida ingerida diariamente por eles

Marble Moahi, Dona de casa com HIV, Botswana – 900 Calorias

Munna Kailash, Motorista de Rickshaw Bike, India – 2.400 Calorias

Noolkisaruni Tarakuai, Terceira esposa do chefe da tribo Maasai – 800 Calorias

Ahmed Ahmed Swaid, Comerciante, Yemen – 3.300 Calorias

Leland Melvin, Astronauta da NASA, Espaço Sideral – 2.700 Calorias

Nguyen Theo, Produtor de Arroz, Vietnã – 2.500 Calorias


Felipe Adams, Veterano da Guerra do Iraque, Califórnia – 2.100 Calorias

Tiffany Whitehead, Supervisora de Parque de Diversões, Minnesota – 1.900 Calorias

Ruma Akhter, Costureira, Bangladesh – 1.800 Calorias

Saleh Abdul Fadlallah, Vendedor de camelo, Egito – 3.200 Calorias

Curtis Newcomer, Soldado americano, Deserto de Mojave – 4.000 Calorias

Din Memon, Taxista, Chicago – 2.000 Calorias

Conrad Tolby, Caminhoneiro, Illinois– 5.400 Calorias

Mariel Booth, Modelo e estudante, New York – 2.400 Calorias


Katherine Navas, Estudante, Venezuela – 4.000 Calorias

Solange Da Silva Correia, Dona de casa, Brasil – 3.400 Calorias

Coco Simone Finken, Estudante (vegetariana), Canada – 1.900 Calorias

Willie Ishulutak, Minerador, Canadá – 4.700 Calorias

Lan Guihua, Fazendeiro, China – 1.900 Calorias

Maria Ermelinda Ayme Sichigalo, Mãe de oito, Equador – 3.800 Calorias

What 10 Things Should You Do Every Day To Improve Your Life?


10 things that scientific research shows can help improve your life.



1) Get out in nature

You probably seriously underestimate how important this is. (Actually, there’s research that says you do.) Being in nature reduces stress, makes you morecreative, improves your memory and may even make you a better person.


2) Exercise

We all know how important this is, but few people do it consistently. Other than health benefits too numerous to mention, exercise makes you smarter, happier, improves sleep, increases libido and makes you feel better about your body. A Harvard study that has tracked a group of men for more than 70 years identified it as one of the secrets to a good life.


3) Spend time with friends and family

Harvard happiness expert Daniel Gilbert identified this as one of the biggest sources of happiness in our lives. Relationships are worth more than you think (approximately an extra $131,232 a year.) Not feeling socially connected can make you stupider and kill you. Loneliness can lead to heart attack, stroke and diabetes. The longest lived people on the planet all place a strong emphasis on social engagement and good relationships are more important to a long life than even exercise. Friends are key to improving your life. Share good news and enthusiatically respond when others share good news with you to improve your relationships. Want to instantly be happier? Do something kind for them.


4) Express gratitude

It will make you happier.
It will improve your relationships.
It can make you a better person.
It can make life better for everyone around you.


5) Meditate

Meditation can increase happiness, meaning in life, social support and attention span while reducing anger, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Along similar lines, prayer can make you feel better — even if you’re not religious.


6) Get enough sleep
You can’t cheat yourself on sleep and not have it affect you. Being tired actually makes it harder to be happy. Lack of sleep = more likely to get sick. “Sleeping on it” does improve decision making. Lack of sleep can make you more likely to behave unethically. There is such a thing as beauty sleep.

Naps are great too. Naps increase alertness and performance on the job, enhance learning ability and purge negative emotions while enhancing positive ones.Here’s how to improve your naps.


7) Challenge yourself

Learning another language can keep your mind sharp. Music lessons increase intelligence. Challenging your beliefs strengthens your mind. Increasing willpower just takes a little effort each day and it’s more responsible for your success than IQ. Not getting an education or taking advantage of opportunities are two of the things people look back on their lives and regret the most.


8) Laugh

People who use humor to cope with stress have better immune systems, reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, experience less pain during dental work and live longer. Laughter should be like a daily vitamin. Just reminiscing about funny moments can improve your relationship. Humor has many benefits.


9) Touch someone

Touching can reduce stress, improve team performance, and help you be persuasive. Hugs make you happier. Sex may help prevent heart attacks andcancer, improve your immune system and extend your life.

10) Be optimistic

Optimism can make you healthier, happier and extend your life. The Army teaches it in order to increase mental toughness in soldiers. Being overconfidentimproves performance.

7 Things the Most Interesting People All Have in Common

1) First, Don’t Be Boring

Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Look at it like the Hippocratic Oath of conversations: Do no harm.
We’re all terrible at realizing when we bore others because, well, we all think we’re just fascinating.
The #1 tip for never boring anyone comes from Scott Adams:Be brief, be positive.
If you’re always to the point and stay upbeat, it’s extremely hard for anyone to accuse you of being poor company.
But sometimes you do need to speak a little longer to make sure things don’t get stilted.
The Art of Civilized Conversation offers another good tip: Is anyone asking you questions about what you’re saying?
If not, maybe it’s time to end the story or ask the other person a question.
(More rapport building techniques are here.)

2) The Most Captivating People Are Often Good Listeners

Impressing people can be great but it can also devolve into status jockeying, one-upmanship and envy.
People love to talk about themselves and there are a dearth of good listeners.
Talking about ourselves—whether in a personal conversation or through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter—triggers the same sensation of pleasure in the brain as food or money…
You can make an excellent impression by saying amazingly little. Ironically, the people we like the most often say the least.
(Learn how to listen like a hostage negotiator here.)

3) Talk About The Other Person’s Interests

This is straight from Dale Carnegie and if you’re not that socially adept, this is as straightforward as it gets.
Why struggle to guess what most people might find generically interesting?
Ask people what they’ve been up to or what their hobbies are. Then talk about that. You’re now 80% of the way there.
If you know about the subject the similarity will bond you.
If you don’t, ask them to explain and be a great listener as they talk about something they love.
(More on the science behind Dale Carnegie’s classic here.)

4) Have Three Good Stories

Comedians don’t just talk about anything when they’re onstage. They have their act rehearsed.
You don’t just trot into a job interview and say whatever’s on your mind.
Always have three good stories on hand that reliably entertain, inform or engage.
Another tip from Scott AdamsPeople are generally more interested in stories about people rather than things.
Drama, gossip and reality TV are successful for a reason. We all find human behavior fascinating.
On the other hand, most people don’t want to hear about the features on your new iPhone.
(More on how to tell good stories here.)

5) Don’t Forget Charisma

It’s not all about the words. Some people are engaging but if what they said was transcribed, it would be unimpressive.
When you’re speaking emotionally, the words only account for 7% of what get conveyed. Seven percent.
Voice tone and body language are far more important.
One often quoted study (Mehrabian & Ferris, 1967) found that of all the information conveyed to another person when we say something that is emotional (not informational), only 7 percent is contained in the actual meaning of the words we use.
Laugh. Smile. Be passionate. Gesture. Modulate your voice. Don’t just sweat the words.
(Here’s how to be charismatic.)

6) Be Somewhere Interesting

Got a say in where you’ll be at, as with a date or meeting?
Pick someplace stimulating. Context matters.
In general, we’re lousy about realizing where our feelings are coming from.
Research shows excitement from any source is often associated with the person you’re with — even if they’re not the cause of it.
Why do people find musicians so captivating? The music and the crowd stimulates emotions — and we viscerally associate those with the band.
MIT Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely recounts a relevant study he did:
Why does this happen? Ariely thinks it might have something to do with “misattribution of emotions”: “Sometimes we have an emotion and we don’t know where it’s coming from, so we kind of stick it on something that seems sensible.” In other words, your strong feelings about the music might make you think you’re having strong feelings about the lead singer.
(More on the power of context here.)

7) And Most Importantly: Live An Interesting Life

Remember the theme of Don QuixoteIf you want to be a knight, act like a knight.
If you don’t read, watch and think about generic things, generic things are less likely to come out of your mouth.
This doesn’t need to be expensive or difficult. Hang out more often with the most interesting people you know.
The friends you spend time with dramatically affect your behavior — whether you like it or not.
The Longevity Project, which studied over 1000 people from youth to death had this to say:
The groups you associate with often determine the type of person you become.
In The Start-up of You, Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha talk about how the best way to improve particular qualities in yourself is to spend time with people who are already like that.
The best and most reliable way to appear interesting is to live an interesting life.
And to pursue that ends up being far more rewarding than merely making a good impression on others.