Saturday, September 19, 2015

Things I learned lately - 19 Sep


  • Costa Rica only uses fossil fuels to generate at most, 10% of its electricity. The rest comes from renewable sources like hydro and geothermal. There are times when all of it comes from renewable, for many weeks in a row.
  • The dirtiest place on an airline is the tray table.
  • Photography was banned in Afghanistan from 1996-2001.
  • The yellow colour in traditional American mustard comes from turmeric.
  • A Florida-based firm wants to create a 'community on the sea' for 40,000 wealthy people. They would  circumnavigate the world on the $10 billion Freedom Ship, complete with hospitals, schools, shops, parks and even a small airport. At 25 storeys high and a mile long - four times longer than the Queen Mary II - the 2.7 million-tonne vessel could never enter a port. Instead, it would circle the globe once every two years, anchoring offshore major cities to allow residents to enjoy some of the world’s top destinations.
  • In Hong Kong there is an 800m long outdoor (covered) escalator system that climbs 135m from Des Voeux Road Central, passes through narrow streets and ends at Conduit Road. The daily traffic exceeds 55,000 people. The total travel time is 20 minutes, but most people walk while the escalator moves to shorten their trip.
  • There are 500 different species of bacteria living in your intestine, numbering about 100 trillion in population.
  • The company that spends the most on R&D is Volkswagen.
  • Diamond is not the hardest substance anymore. Ultra-hard nano-twined cubic boron nitride is.


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