50 interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln’s life

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, has a birthday today. So how much do you really know about Lincoln, the man?
We’ve gone through the tons of research available about Abraham (don’t call me Abe) Lincoln, so you can impress your friends and family with your Lincoln knowledge.Here are our top 10 Lincoln facts, followed by 40 other pieces of trivia that you can research on your own.

• 1. He was the only president to have a patent: Lincoln invented a device to free steamboats that ran aground.
• 2. He practiced law without a degree. Lincoln had about 18 months of formal schooling.
• 3. He wanted women to have the vote in 1836. The future president was a suffragette before it became fashionable.
• 4. He was a big animal lover, but he wouldn’t hunt or fish. If he were alive today, Lincoln would be running an animal shelter.
• 5. He really was a wrestler. Lincoln was documented as taking part in wrestling bouts. We don’t think he wore a mask or had a manager.
• 6. He lost in his first bid for a presidential ticket. The unknown Lincoln was an unsuccessful vice presidential candidate in 1856 at the Republican convention.
• 7. He never belonged to an organized church. Lincoln read the Bible daily, but he never joined an organized church in his lifetime.
• 8. He didn’t drink, smoke, or chew. Lincoln was a simple man of tastes, and he never drank in the White House.
• 9. He didn’t have a middle name. Lincoln went through his life with two names.
• 10. He hated being called Abe. Apparently, he preferred being called by his last name.
• 11. Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
• 12. He was the first president born outside of the 13 original states.
• 13. Lincoln loved to eat oysters.
• 14. Lincoln’s cat ate at the White House dinner table.
• 15. His dog was named Fido.
• 16. His cat was named Tabby.
• 17. His favorite food was fruit.
• 18. He was also a big fan of chicken casserole.
• 19. Lincoln was the first president to use the telegraph.
• 20. He used the telegraph like email to communicate with generals.
• 21. Lincoln’s mother was killed by poisoned milk.
• 22. Lincoln’s life was saved twice when he was young.
• 23. Grave robbers were foiled in 1876 when they tried to steal Lincoln’s body.
• 24. He was the first president with a beard.
• 25. Lincoln argued a case before the Supreme Court in 1849 and lost.
• 26. Lincoln failed in his first business.
• 27. Lincoln’s shoe size was between 12 and 14.
• 28. His coffin has been opened five times.
• 29. Lincoln was estranged from his father and didn’t attend his funeral.
• 30. Lincoln didn’t play musical instruments.
• 31. Lincoln served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• 32. He ran for the U.S. Senate twice and lost.
• 33. Lincoln won the popular vote in Senate campaign against Douglas but lost the election.
• 34. Lincoln was shot on Good Friday.
• 35. Lincoln was photographed with John Wilkes Booth at his second inauguration.
• 36. There are no direct living descendants of Abraham Lincoln.
• 37. Booth’s brother saved the life of Lincoln’s son on a New Jersey train platform.
• 38. Lincoln was part of séances after his son died in the White House.
• 39. Lincoln’s animals also died in a White House stable fire.
• 40. Someone shot at Lincoln in 1864 and put a hole in his stovepipe hat.
• 41. Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated.
• 42. He was a judge on the circuit court in Illinois.
• 43. Lincoln defended the son of his most famous wrestling opponent from murder charges.
• 44. Lincoln battled depression for much of his life.
• 45. Lincoln was seemingly obsessed with cats.
• 46. He was set to take part in a duel, but it was cancelled at the last second.
• 47. Lincoln kept his important documents inside his hat.
• 48. Lincoln’s dog Fido was killed by a drunken assailant a year after Lincoln died.
• 49. Lincoln’s suit was made by Brooks Brothers.
• 50. Lincoln’s guest at Ford’s Theater was Ulysses S. Grant, who cancelled at the last second.

Bermuda Triangle - Facts and Myths

Bermuda Triangle is a strange triangular area on the Atlantic ocean where many ships sailing through it or planes flying over it have apparently disappeared without a trace. In few of such cases where wrecks could be found, the crew had vanished. And such incidents have been happening since centuries. More than 1,000 ships and planes have disappeared in the triangle area over the past five centuries. 

 

And all these happened when apparently there were no human errors, equipment failures or even natural disasters. Strangely, the ships and aircraft just vanish when everything seems to be okay. Many believe that Devil is at play here and therefore call the area also as Devil's Triangle.  

So getting excited already? Well, the facts however are quite far from what is generally known or believed to be true. Many stories and myths have been created by writers through sheer imagination which they used rampantly to draw publicity to their books. In many cases, the facts got blurred. Many theories, controversies and counter arguments have come up over the years challenging the mysteries that created fear psychosis among people since ages. 

 

So what is the fact? Is it at all true? Partially true? Or all nonsense? Let's dig deeper to understand that while keeping in mind that far too many incidents have taken place in this area for it to be ignored casually. 

 

How did it all start? 

It all started by authors who were novel writers, and the mystery was initially perpetuated by them. But don't jump into a conclusion yet. While we all know that novel writers are good in wild imaginations, many of these writers were actually popular and well respected authors of their times. The abnormalities on the sea was first noted in 1950 by Edward Jones in the daily newspaper Miami Herald published in Florida. However the mystery started catching wide-scale attention in 1952 when George Sand wrote in Fate magazine about incidents like Flight-19, a training flight of five torpedo bomber planes, all of which went missing during a routine training session in 1945 and never returned. 

 

Subsequently several authors wrote about various other mysterious incidents in the triangle area. While some of such reports were dubious or without much substance, several incidents had actually occurred and remained unexplained. The words around the mystery started spreading fast, and soon Bermuda Triangle was a reality, at least in the minds of millions all over the world. Visit History of Bermuda Triangle to know more about its genesis. 

 

Where is Bermuda Triangle? 

By the simplest of all definitions, Bermuda Triangle is located off the South-Eastern coast of the United States and in the Atlantic Ocean. The three corners of the triangle are: Miami (in Florida); San Juan (in Puerto Rico); and Bermuda (a north-Atlantic island). The American author Vincent Gaddis was the first to define this boundary in 1964 in an issue of the magazine named Argosy and called the area 'The Deadly Bermuda Triangle'. 

 

Bermuda Triangle 

 

 

However over the years, several other authors kept extending the area beyond its original boundary because they seemed to identify mysterious incidents in nearby areas as well. Visit Triangle Location & Map to get details about the area, how it is actually laid out on the Atlantic, understand if it actually has a map to identify the location (i.e. latitude / longitude), and whether you will ever know when you are entering the dreaded area as you take a cruise or flight. 

Incidents of disappearances: Lost Planes & Ships in Bermuda Triangle 

Here are some of the most amazing stories of planes and ships that disappeared or met with ill fate while crossing the triangle area. As you visit the links, you will also see my findings behind such great mysteries of all times. In most cases I have discussed and explained the possible causes, in some cases I have also given excerpts from official reports that were produced by US Navy, US Air Force or US Coast Guards after completing the search operations. And in several cases, I have given updates on further findings. 

 

Flight 19: The Avenger planes of Flight-19 took off from the U.S Naval Base of Florida for a routine training session on an afternoon of December 1945, but strangely this time they never returned. 

 

PBM Martin Mariner: When all hopes for the above Flight-19 planes were quickly fading, two Martin Mariner planes (flying boats) were sent by US Navy to search them out. One came back, but the other didn't and disappeared forever. Read the full story to know what happened. 

 

Tudor Star Tiger: Star Tiger, a Tudor Mark-IV aircraft disappeared in Bermuda Triangle shortly before it was about to land at the Bermuda airport. 

 

Fight DC-3: The flight DC-3 NC16002 disappeared when it was only 50 miles south of Florida and about to land in Miami. 

 

Flight 441: A Super Constellation Naval Airliner disappeared in October 1954. 

 

C-54 Skymaster: Apparently it seemed to be a sudden thunderstorm that had disintegrated the plane. But there was much more to the story. 

 

Mary Celeste - The Ghost Ship: Known as one of the ghost ships of Bermuda Triangle, Mary Celeste had many misadventures even before her mystery voyage in 1872. But this time, although the ship could be salvaged, none on board could ever be traced. 

 

Carroll A. Deering: This is another ghost ship of Bermuda triangle which created one of the biggest maritime mysteries of all times. While returning from Rio de Janeiro of Brazil to Portland in Maine in January 1921, it was found abandoned and derelict at Diamond Shoals, off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. But all the 11 crewmen including the captain were missing. They vanished for ever and never to be found again. 

 

Marine Sulphur Queen: This 524-foot carrier of molten sulphur started sail on Feb 2, 1963 from Beaumont, Texas with 39 crew. It was reported lost in Florida Straits on February 4, and lost for ever. 

 

Ellen Austin: The Ellen Austin, an American schooner, met with another ship in Bermuda Triangle. The other ship was moving in full speed but strangely had nobody on board. 

 

USS Cyclops: Disappearance of the carrier ship U.S.S. Cyclops in Bermuda Triangle has been one of the greatest mysteries of the sea. 

 

USS Scorpion: USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Nuclear powered submarine of United States Navy that disappeared in Bermuda Triangle area in May 1968. 

 

List of Incidents 

The above were only few cases. Check out Bermuda Triangle Incidents for a list of all the major indents in the triangle area that took place over the past centuries including the latest ones along with fascinating stories for many. 

Popular theories solving the mystery 

So what caused the ships and aircraft to disappear mysteriously? There have been many research and explorations done to uncover the mystery. There is no single theory that can explain all the incidents of disappearances. The ships and aircraft could have been victims of different circumstances, and things would have happened quickly and unexpectedly. While many theories have come out trying to explain the various incidents, here are some of the most popular ones including those that took recourse to supernatural powers and events.  

 

Methane Gas trapped under the sea floor can erupt, and as a result can lower the water density and cause ships to sink like a rock. Even planes flying over it, can catch fire and get completely destroyed during such gas blowout. 

 

Sargasso Sea is a strange area that has no shores and bounded only by water currents on all sides. Many ships passing through it have been stranded and made motionless. Many of them were found derelict and without a soul. 

 

Electronic Fog, a strange thick cloud appears from nowhere and engulfs a ship or a plane. Instruments begin to malfunction, and finally the ship or the aircraft vanishes without a trace. 

 

Supernatural Theories: Lost City of Atlantis under the ocean, UFOs, Aliens are also thought to be behind such mysteries. 

 

More Theories... 

There are several other theories that try to solve or explain the mysteries of Bermuda Triangle and try to identify factors causing such incidents. Visit Theories of Bermuda Triangle to know about them all. 

 

Conclusion - The Facts 

Since a magazine first coined the phrase 'Bermuda Triangle' in early 1950s, the mystery has continued to attract attention. When repeated mysterious incidents of such scale take place in the same area, it's understandable that it would spread like fire, draw large interests among people at all levels including critics and take a mammoth shape over time. Indeed Bermuda Triangle has become a living legend. But what is the real truth behind all this? 

 

Larry Kusche, a librarian in Arizona State University was a big critic of Bermuda Triangle and made a deep research into the incidents and finally published his book 'The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved' in 1975. Most of his research was based on referring newspapers of the periods that reported the incidents, checking out the meteorological (weather) reports of the days the incidents took place etc. He concluded that the total number of such incidents in the triangle area is nothing unusual in a place where tropical cyclones or hurricanes are quite common. His study also showed that number of incidents here is not significantly more compared to several other ocean areas.  

 

Kusche further stated that several authors wrongly reported the incidents. He pointed out a case where an author misreported a ship disappearing three days after it left a port in Atlantic while the fact was the ship actually left a port of the same name from Pacific ocean which was over 3,000 miles away. In another case Kusche showed that an author described a ship getting lost in calm sea while the meteorological report showed a strong cyclone was passing by. 

 

Now read this... Lloyd's is a London based insurance body and active in marine insurance market since long. They insure ships on voyage. When Lloyd's was asked by a UK television channel if they noted unusual number of ships sinking or getting lost in Bermuda Triangle, they answered 'NO'. They further confirmed that they do not even charge higher insurance rates for ships passing through Bermuda Triangle area because they consider it safe. The US Coast Guard also supported Lloyd's observation that the number of reported missing cases in Bermuda Triangle is nothing unusual. 

 

Here is one more... A study conducted in 2013 for WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) reported the 10 most accident prone ocean areas in the world for shipping, and that does not include Bermuda Triangle. In fact based on accidents recorded, the most dangerous water areas are South China Sea, the Mediterranean and the North Sea. 

 

So does it all mean the notion of Bermuda Triangle being dreaded is baseless? Is it all hunky-dory out there? 

 

Well, there are several questions which still need to be answered before we can come to that conclusion, if at all. Hundreds of ships and planes were actually lost in that area, and many such cases are not yet explained with evidence. It is a fact that authors fanned the fire to take commercial advantage of the situation. But it is hard to believe that a legend of such gigantic nature is just a baseless myth that continues to engulf the world for so many decades. Despite thorough and sustained investigations, numerous incidents continue to baffle the investigators. 

 

Scientists have found some interesting formations on the seafloor within the Bermuda Triangle boundaries. The ocean floor at some places suddenly drop to huge depths. In fact, some locations within the triangle have deepest trenches in the whole of Atlantic. And within this area many vessels were seemingly lost. 

 

It is also a fact that marine and airway corridors across Bermuda Triangle are some of the busiest and most commercially used routes in the world. They are used extensively by numerous cruise lines and airlines connecting The USA, Europe, Caribbean islands, Bermuda, South America and even Africa. Think of what may happen to billions of dollars of thriving international business and its impact on economy if the area gets to be known as dreaded? Will anybody want such flourishing economy to get jeopardized by calling out the area as dangerous? 

Relampago del Catatumbo, Ologa, Venezuela

Thanks to its humidity, its elevation and the clash of winds from the mountains and the sea, the southwestern corner of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela has the world's highest frequency of lightning activity (250 flashes per square kilometer per year).

More than 200 nights per year, with peaks in May and October, lightning flashes fill the sky -- sometimes 25 or more flashes per minute. To put that in perspective: The National Weather Service classifies anything over 12 strikes per minute as "excessive." Named for the Catatumbo River, which flows from Colombia in to Lake Maracaibo, the Relampago de Catatumbo, or Catatumbo Lighting, has become a highlight for travelers who spend their nights wide awake and wide-eyed watching the spectacle.

Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park claims the highest concentration of geysers of any place on Earth. Geysers are hot springs with plumbing challenges that result in eruptions. More than 300 can be found throughout the park, and none is more famous than Old Faithful. In fact, Old Faithful is the reason Yellowstone was designated a National Park -- the first in the United States -- in 1872.

Its name comes from the perceived regularity of its eruptions, which occur every 55 to 120 minutes and last for two to five minutes. The spectacular eruptions remain a source of fascination for the more than 3.5 million people who visit Yellowstone each year. The fact that the eruptions aren't quite as regular as they might seem -- and that the mean eruption interval seems to be lengthening -- keeps geologists fascinated, too.

Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand

Large spherical boulders -- some measuring 12 feet in circumference -- are scattered on Koekohe Beach on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. They formed millions of years ago on the ancient sea floor, collecting and hardening sediment and minerals around a core such as a fossil or a shell similar to the way oysters form pearls.

They're not the world's only examples of what geologists call septarian concretions. You can also visit the Koutu Boulders near Hokianga Harbour on the northwestern coast of New Zealand's North Island, for example. Yet the Moeraki Boulders are some of the world's largest. The particulars of their origin and what caused the distinctive cracks inside them are still being studied.

Surtsey, Iceland

When people try to convince you there's nothing new under the sun, direct them to the Icelandic island of Surtsey. Before 1963, it didn't exist. Then, an underwater volcano in the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) erupted, and when the activity settled down in 1967, what remained was an island where no island had been before.

Magnetic Hill, Moncton, New Brunswick

What could possibly cause an automobile to roll backward uphill without power? A magnetic force from within the Earth? Something even more fantastic? Since the 1930s, when the phenomenon of Magnetic Hill was discovered (and almost immediately promoted as a tourist attraction), people have been trying to figure out its riddle.

Blood Falls, Antarctica

Earth never stops surprising us. Every corner of the planet offers some sort of natural peculiarity with an explanation that makes us wish we'd studied harder in junior high Earth science class.

Some of these sites are challenging to get to; others are busy tourist destinations. They keep natural scientists searching for answers and the rest of us astounded by the secrets and mysteries the world continues to reveal.

Most people won't see Blood Falls in person, but even in photographs, the sight is arresting: a blood-red waterfall staining the snow-white face of Taylor Glacier. Glaciologists and microbiologists have sought to determine what causes the mysterious red flow. They've concluded that the source is a subterranean lake rich in the iron that gives the water its red hue. Stranger still, recent research has revealed microorganisms living 1,300 feet beneath the ice, sustained by the iron and sulfur in the water.

Sea Peoples

During the late Bronze Age, civilisation was progressing at an impressive rate in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean regions. Kingdoms rose, order was established, and technology advanced. The Mycenaean and Minoans had intricate palaces in Greece and Crete, the Hittites dominated what is now Turkey.

And the Canaanites controlled what would become the holy land — Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. But in the years surrounding 1200 B.C., all of the would change.

Over the course of a single generation, all of those civilisations would be almost entirely wiped off the map, and those that did survive would be set back a thousand years, losing the ability to write and turning back the clock on the sophistication of their art, architecture, and pottery in the hundred years to follow.

This event was part of what is known as the Bronze Age collapse, and it remains one of the largest dark spots in historians’ records. And one of the causes of this bizarre collapse was the mysterious “Sea Peoples” — a technologically inferior, unaffiliated group of seafaring warriors who raided the lands and are often credited with the collapse of these once-great civilisations.

The problem is, historians still have little if any idea of where these warriors came from, or what became of them after their conquest finally ended in Egypt. Also unknown is how the Sea Peoples managed to conquer civilisations hundreds of years more advanced in weaponry.

But without solid records from the time, and with only scattered details of the origins of these strange raiders, we may never know their true identity.

FACTS ABOUT EARTH

1) 1.3 MILLION EARTHS COULD FIT INSIDE THE SUN, AN AVERAGE-SIZED STAR.

2) IF YOU DRILLED A TUNNEL STRAIGHT THROUGH THE EARTH AN JUMPED IN, IT    WOULD TAKE YOU ABOUT 42 MINUTES TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE.

3) THE QUEEN OF THE UK IS THE LEGAL OWNER OF ONE-SIXTH OF THE EARTH'S    LAND SURFACE.

4) IT TAKES 8 MINUTES AND 20 SECONDS FOR LIGHT TO TRAVEL FROM THE SUN    TO THE EARTH.

5)THERE ARE MORE LIVING ORGANISMS IN A TEASPOONFUL OF SOIL THAN THERE   ARE PEOPLE ON EARTH.

6) BEFORE TREES WERE COMMON, THE EARTH WAS COVERED WITH GIANT    MUSHROOMS.

7) OUR GALAXY PROBABLY CONTAINS AT LEAST 2 BILLION PLANETS LIKE EARTH.

8) THERE ARE ABOUT 7500,000,000,000,000,000 GRAINS OF SAND ON EARTH.

9) THE EARTH'S CORE IS ABOUT AS HOT AS THE SUN.

10) EARTH IS THE ONLY PLACE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM WHERE WATER CAN BE     PRESENT IN ITS THREE STATES:SOLID, LIQID AND VAPOUR.

11) THE EARTH'S DEEPEST KNOWN POINT EQUALS TO 24.5 EMPIRE STATE     BUILDING END TO END.

12) EARTH IS THE ONLY PLACE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM WHERE A TOTAL SOLAR     ECLIPSE CAN HAPPEN.

13) THE SOVIETS DRILLED THE WORLD'S DEEPEST HOLE INTO THE EARTH FOR 14     YEARS:IT'S 12,262 METERS[40,230FT] DEEP.

14) THERE ARE ABOUT 22,000 MANMADE OBJECTS ORBITING AROUND PLANET     EARTH.

15) THERE ARE NO 24 HOURS IN A DAY. IT HAS 23 HOURS, 56 MINUTES AND 4      SECONDS, THE TIME IT TAKES THE EARTH TO ROTATE ON ITS AXIS.

16) THERE IS ENOUGH GOLD IN EARTH'S CORE TO COAT ITS ENTIRE SURFACE TO     A DEPTH OF 1.5 FEET.

17) IF THE EARTH DIDN'T HAVE THE MOON, OUR DAYS WOULD ONLY BE 6 HOURS     LONG.

18) 20% OF THE EARTH'S OXYGEN IS PRODUCED BY THE AMAZON RAINFOREST.

19) FOSSIL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT FISH HAVE BEEN ON EARTH FOR ABOUT     530 MILLION YEARS.

20) THE 2011 EARTHQUAKE NEAR JAPAN INCREASED THE EARTH'S ROTATION         SPEED, SHORTENING THE DAY BY 1.8 MICROSECONDS.

21) RAINBOWS ARE ACTUALLY CIRCULAR. WE DON'T TYPICALLY SEE A FULL     CIRCLE RAINBOW BECAUSE THE EARTH'S HORIZON BLOCKS THE LOWER PART.

Worlds luckiest unlucky man – Cheats death 7 times and win the lottery

Worlds luckiest unlucky man, Frano Selak, cheated death for years upon years and survived weird accidents. five years ago this Croatian man won €600,000 – only to dispose of it later on claiming “No amount of money buy happiness.”

Frano Salek, an 81 years old music teacher, is known to be the worlds luckiest unlucky man in the world, after avoiding death 7 times. 5 years ago he won  the highest lottery prize in Croatia – €600,000 although recently he decided to get rid of his fortune claiming no amount of money can buy him happiness or love.

Selak sold his luxurious mansion he had on a private island, and divided his fortune amongst his friends and family. He moved back to his little house in the village of Zegrab. Using his left over money he is going to fix his hip bone with the help of surgery so he could comfortably live the rest of his life with his beloved wife. in the future he is also planning to build a little shrine for virgin Mary, who according to him is responsible for his luck.

According to the British ‘Telegraph’, Selak survived 7 deadly accidents. A train he was riding de-railed into a frozen river – 17 of the passengers died, but Selak survived with minor fractures and bruises. A year later a door on a plane he was on detached – 19 passengers were sucked out of the airplane, including Selak who landed on a big pile of hay and survived.

In 1996 a bus he was on lost control into a river, 4 passengers drowned, but as expected – Selak managed to swim to shore. In 1970 – Selak car caught fire while driving high speed, but he got out of that car without any harm. In 1973 he lost his hair in a car accident fire, in 1995 a bus hit him – but this time leaving with almost no injuries.
The last accident happened in 1996 when a UN truck almost hit him on a mountain curve.

Genius Hacks For Your MIND That Will Get You Ahead In Life

It wouldn’t hurt us to learn a few tricks and hacks for your mind so we can handle ourselves better out there, As we know – we are very influenced by the way other people treat us, even more than the things they actually say to us. The brain is a deceiving organ and can be manipulated by different kinds of manipulations.

These Tips can help you be one step ahead, It’s always good to know their effect and at the same time – not fall to other’s tricks, And remember: It’s all in your head.

1. When you first meet a new person, Try identifying the color of his eyes while smiling. Give him a long deep look. Maybe because this act takes one second longer than usual – people react enthusiastically.

2. Notice the feet location, If you approach two people who are in the middle of a conversation and their legs point to the opposite direction of you – might mean that they are not really interested in you, and probably don’t want to share the conversation.

3. “Stomping” technique. People will tend to do missions for you if you gave them an easier mission beforehand. This psychology is strong with salesmen. If they convinced you to admit something (like your affection for dogs) – than everything they offer you from now on will be about dogs.

4. Ask a person to do an impossible job for you and he would probably say “no”. THEN ask him for what you really wanted. He would probably say “yes” out of inconvenience from the last answer to your request.

5. If you convince a person to do a little favour for you he would get himself in a state of cognitive dissonance, he would solve this by feeling that he actually liked you and that is why he did what he did.

6. If a person answers unsurly or in parts to your question, don’t interrupt him. Wait a few seconds in silence and keep looking into his eyes. He will probably keep talking, answer your questions and will appreciate the gesture.

7. Chew bubblegum in stressful times. For example, if you are about to take a speech in front of a large audience, chew some bubblegum (don’t forget to take it out before the speech). As it turns out – our brain feels totally unthreatened while chewing gum.

8. When you learn something new, Explain the new material to a friend of yours or any other people around. If you teach it properly – there is a good change you really understood it yourself.

9. People will remember how you made them feel and not what you said.

10. Always stay calm when someone is yelling at you. Most of the chances are that the person in front of you will freak out even more, and even apologize for his behaviour when he is done.

11. Before an important date take them to an exciting place, like an amusement park, so the adrenaline will flow. Their heart will beat hard and they will feel excited from the whole thing – resulting in them saying how much fun they are having with you. They will throw the enjoyment from the occasion on you.

12. A good way for self-confidence is to walk into a room and imagine everyone in it already love you.

13. If you are having problems remembering new names, Here is a working trick: When someone introduce himself to you, say “nice to meet you” and repeat his name. When you repeat his name it will help it be “saved” better in your brain. Besides, people like to be addressed by their first name.

14. Always give your child an option. This will make him feel like he is in control.

15. People are very aware to their physical touch. If someones “accidently” put his knee besides yours – he definitely knows its there.

16. Want to make friends with your boss? Prepare him some coffee and have a conversation with him while he sips from it. The hot beverage will make him feel you are also a nice cosy individual.

17. Want to earn the appreciation of your spouse or parents? Talk good and praise a character they admire from any kind of field. When you do this, the other person attach all of that good to you as well.

18. Curse. This is a good tip for salesmen but not just for them. When you sell something to someone cursing might show them that you are very enthusiastic about it, people will feel better and connect to your enthusiasm and might believe you.

19. Talk fast. When we talk fast it might actually help us sell whatever we want. People believe what will come out of your mouth. Someone who talks fast seems more intelligent and as if he knows what he is talking about.

20. Adjust yourself to the person in front of you to develop empathy. People likes to see themselves everywhere, so give them a “mirror” and they will like you more.

Fascinating dream facts

We all dream, even from the time of being in the womb of our mothers, most of us experienced a dream of floating or flying – but apparently with no special meaning. What do you know about the dreams that visit you every night? Here are some fascinating dream facts!

We experience them every night and unlike the bible stories – dreams as we know them today do not exist to predict the future, but play an important rule inside the brain, its development and information processing received during a day. Just before you close your eyes again and sink into a magical important world, Here are 9 fascinating dream facts you should read about:

1. The man who lived without dreaming

A ricochet that hit Yuval’s head at war confused sleep doctor all over the world. Up until 1982 it was clear for everyone – you can not live without sleeping and dreaming. Researches conducted on rats and cats, where the dream stage was deprived of them, killed them within a few weeks. These researches left no doubt amongst the doctors, The dream stage is extremely important for life continuation. But from the moment Yuval was injured and until these days – his sleep does not have any dreams. He was checked by professors and it seemed the ricochet hit a part of his brain stem called ‘Pons’ which is responsible for the REM (dreaming) stage. They figured that without dreaming he will develop severe memory problems – but up until today Yuval is a successful lawyer, a painter and live a full happy life even without dreams.

2. Dreams in the womb

The importance of a dream can be seen at infancy. babies spend 70% of the day sleeping and 50% of that time dreaming. Considering their first years are dedicated to accelerated development of learning and studying, It seems dreaming has an important role in brain development.

3. 90 minutes of dreaming

We spend about a third of our life time sleeping. Every night there would be approximately 5 dreams, concluding in one and a half hours.

4. Awake while dreaming

The paradoxical part of dreaming, also called REM is pretty weird. While in most of the sleeping parts it seems the body is slowing down, resting and slowing down brain waves, while dreaming the brain waves function almost as much as while being awake! The pulse and breathing accelerate while the body’s muscles stay paralyzed.

5. Chaotic world with no sense

Unlike everyday thinking, the dream doesn’t have any logic: It can be in one place at one moment and all of a sudden on the moon seeing the face of someone else.

Who needs this chaos? one of the main claims on the subject is that we need that to re-organize our memory. While dreaming the brain “puts everything on the table” and organize it all. Researches show that people with sleep deprivation has worse brain function and memory compared to those who sleep and dream.

6. Falling and floating

You’ve probably had a dream where you float or fly. researches show that this phenomenon happens with all cultures races and genders. This is one of the most common dreams, but apparently has no specific important symbolism. Dreaming about floating or flying probably has to do with the psychological change the body goes when going into the dream stage, from tensed muscles while awake to relaxation of the body while having sleep paralysis (dreaming).

7. Mapped brain

The development of the new MRI scanning device managed to bring us to a breakthrough on understanding what is going on in the brain while dreaming. We could monitor blood flow in certain parts of the brain, this way the researchers managed to see that the working parts while dreaming are the Hippocampus that has to do with memory and the Amygdala that has to do with emotions and the bridge in the brain stem.

8. Past and present all mixed up

Although we were successful in mapping the brain while dreaming, there are still many questions to be asked about this complicated mechanism. Apparently the dream takes information from the memory bank that are found on timeline and pastes them in a weird sequence. Dream elements will be taken from the same day, a week before or even 10 days before. This means that if you meet a person in NY – you might dream about him only after 10 days, in a different set and timeline.

9. Most common dreams:

• Failure in a school test, high school or even university
• Appearing nude in public
• Flying an airplane or crashing
• Floating
• Paralysis or movement blockage – like trying to run away from someone or something
• Kidnapped by people, animals or creatures
• Sexual experiences
• Nature disasters
• Losing teeth
• Violence on yourself or others
• Being abandoned or humiliated
• Missing a bus, a train or an airplane
• Finding hidden rooms in a building
• Finding or losing money
• People from your past or present
• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Meeting with unfamiliar people and unfamiliar situations