Biref Introduction and Some interesting facts about hybrid cars

The gasoline engines in hybrid cars are smaller than in standard vehicles, and where they leave off, the electric motor takes over. The hybrid can work on just one of these engines, but hybrid owners will use both to conserve on fuel.

What's Under The Hood?

Most hybrids use the gasoline engine primarily. But when more power is needed, the electric motor kicks in.

In the gasoline engine, there is energy conservation, for example, it instantly shuts off when the vehicle stops. When you hit the pedal again, the engine smoothly turns back on. Meanwhile, the battery keeps all of your appliances on -- lights, radio and other needed features.

As the gasoline engine cuts off and on, it is usually virtually silent. This can confuse the driver and parking attendants, who may think the car is off, but it is actually on. Fortunately, an indicator light has been added, showing the status of the engine.

Benefits

One huge benefit of the hybrid is the fuel savings -- it offers up to 60 miles per gallon. Because of the high cost of gasoline, this makes the hybrid a very popular choice.

Not only do they use less gas, though, they also emit fewer pollutants into the air. In fact, they are up to 90% cleaner than other vehicles. Because the engines are small and efficient, they reduce their total exhaust emissions. This makes them environmentally friendly.

There are many corporations offering incentives such as free parking to those who drive hybrids.

Plus, the US government in offering attractive tax incentives to lure new buyers who are on the fence.

Construction

There are many differences between the hybrid and conventional cars. One is the construction of hybrids. Made of aluminum and plastic, they are lightweight in their design, which in turn makes them able to be powered by smaller, lighter engines.

Many would fear that this offers less protection than other cars, but the fact is they are just as safe. Additional strength is created by manufacturers using panels in specialized shapes to reinforce the strength of the material to resist impact.

Who Makes Them?

The 2 major manufacturers are Honda Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation. They brought hybrid vehicles to the US in 2000. The first were the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius. Both had great success.

There are now plans for a sport utility vehicle to be made as well as full size trucks through hybrid mechanics. This will be quite popular to many drivers. The hybrids that are on the market are well liked. With all of the environmental issues today as well as the high cost of gas, there is no wonder why this is so.

The bottom line is that hybrid cars are effectively lowering the cost of powering a vehicle and keeping the Earth clean. Hybrid technology offers a highly effective way of moving from place to place.

Some interesting facts about hybrid cars:

1. The world’s first hybrid car was the "Mixte", which was built by Ferdinand Porsche in 1902.
2. Earlier hybrid cars were called as “Semper Vivus” which meant “always alive”.
3. The first commercial hybrid car was Toyota Prius

   

   which was manufactured in Japan in 1997.
4. Hybrid cars are the good for the environment, when the world is facing issues like global warming. It reduces almost 90% of the smog which is released to the environment. And even the gasoline used is less when compared to the normal conventional cars.
5. Hybrid cars are very economical, as they give you 50-60 miles per gallon, and uses just one third of gas which is used by conventional cars.
6. Hybrid cars do not require any plug-in. They get recharged automatically as you drive.
7. Hybrid cars have lower depreciation rates when compared to other gasoline cars. So they will be in demand for many years to come.
8. The United States government offers a tax rebate for people who are using hybrid cars.
9. Though hybrid cars are made of very expensive parts, they also come with warranties, which promise free replacement.
10. Hybrid cars are not only preferred by environmentalists but also by capitalists because of the amount it saves on gasoline.
11. Buying a hybrid car is a sound investment as they have an excellent resale value.
12. When the heavy HEV developments began in the early 1990’s it is said that some of the major manufacturers donated billions of dollars towards the research of hybrid technology.
13. Hybrid technology exists from many years, it was used in mopeds united the gasoline engine and power pedals, it was used in locomotives, submarines, mining trucks and others.
14. Hybrid cars top the order in fuel efficiency for two-seater and mid sized cars.
15. They are very quiet when the run, as they run most of the times of batteries.
16. The speed of a hybrid car is as fast as any conventional car.
17. The Prudential Equity Group has said that 80,000 hybrid cars were sold in the US in 2004.
18. J.D. Powers reports that 256,000 hybrid cars were sold in the US in 2006.
19. As the battery pack in the hybrid cars comes in 38 modules, there is no necessity to replace the entire battery which cost you a lot, but instead you can just replace the one which is not working which is inexpensive.
20. The hybrid technology is targeting at making fuel cells use oxygen and hydrogen to create electricity, wherein the exhaust of this fuel cell is water which will be so clean that it is fit to drink.

Getting Started with RSS

RSS has become a valuable technology for everything from casual web users to webmasters. According to a recent Yahoo survey only 12% of internet users are aware of RSS and a mere 4% have knowingly used RSS. RSS exists as a means to gather and display information quickly and easily. By the end of this article, you should know what RSS is and how to use it to make your life easier.

The Oprah definition

The technical acronym for RSS is “Really Simple Syndication”, an XML format that was created to syndicate news, and be a means to share content on the web. Now, to geeks and techies that means something special, but to everyday folks like you and me, what comes to mind is, “Uh, I don’t get it?”

So, to make RSS much easier to understand, in Oprah speak, RSS stands for: I’m “Ready for Some Stories”. It is a way online for you to get a quick list of the latest story headlines from all your favorite websites and blogs all in one place.

Why should I use it?

Using RSS can save you lots of time on a daily basis. Let’s say you visit a collection of 5 tech news websites three times a day. Currently, you visit them one by one in your browser, look for a new story and then go on. Going through all 5 sites might take 3-4 minutes or more if you find a new article. With RSS, all you do is go into an RSS feed reader, or RSS aggregator, and you will instantly know which websites have new articles and which don’t. You will also be able to see past entries with RSS. If you were to only visit the website, you could miss an article if you don’t visit frequently enough or get bored of seeing the same article if you visit to frequently. RSS fits in perfectly with this scenario. Now, imagine if you wanted to keep tabs on 25 websites. RSS easily proves indispensable. You have probably already used RSS before… Google’s customizable homepage gets your news from RSS feeds, as does My Yahoo.

Using RSS

So now that you’ve got a grasp of the guiding concept behind RSS, you must be eagerly awaiting your first aggregation. First, go out and find a feed to use. If you are using Apple’s Safari browser or Mozilla’s Firefox you can automatically find out if that website has an accessible feed, even before scouring the page for an RSS icon. In Safari a blue RSS icon appears to the right of the URL in the address bar and in the Firefox an orange icon appears in the same location.

Clicking on the RSS icon in Safari will load a simple feed reader, where you can click Add Bookmark… on the right pane. The feed will now be viewable in the Safari bookmarks manager under All RSS Feeds.

In Firefox clicking the orange icon will ask you where you want to save the feed. Firefox deals with feeds as live bookmarks. Going to the place where you saved the “bookmark” in Firefox will show a folder with an expand arrow. Clicking on the arrow will show the latest entries on that particular website, with the most recent on the top.

However, your browser might not always find the site’s feed (not all websites have feeds). This is your cue to look for any feed-related items throughout the webpage. Many websites have a FeedBurner feed, often linked to via an icon that looks like a counter, which displays that websites current feed subscribers. Once you find such a feed icon, right click the icon or text link and copy the link location. We will then paste this into a feed aggregator in a little while.

Setting Up and Using an Aggregator

While the in-browser feed readers are convenient they are still quite rudimentary. You should consider switching to a full-fledged feed aggregator for more features and increased usability. There are many feed readers to choose from, each have different levels of complexity and features. There are essentially two types: web-based and application-based. With a web-based aggregator you can check your feeds from any computer but this comes at the cost of limited functionality and speed. With application-based feed readers you get excellent features and speed but lack mobility. You don’t have to decide just yet, I’ll go over configuring both types.

First off, we’ll start with a web-based feed reader. The most best and popular online feed reader, in my opinion, is Bloglines. Sign up for an account and click My Feeds on the top left. Test out Bloglines by adding a few feeds. When you setup Bloglines for the first time, it will suggest a few feeds to subscribe to. I usually do not accept them and just add my own. Below My Feeds should be a Add link that you will click.

You will be on a subscribe page now. If you found the feed on the website you can paste that in here. However, Bloglines has a feature where you can just type in the URL of the website and it will search for feeds. It may find several feeds and other times it will not find any.

To avoid confusion about which feed to use, I suggest using the one shown on the website as that is the one they want you to use. Sometimes they will place a link to their FeedBurner feed and forget to remove the old feed. Either way, whether you enter a feed or URL, click Subscribe and use the default options. Do this several times with some more feeds and you will have setup Bloglines. Everytime you login you can click My Feeds and instantly find out how many of your feeds have new posts you have not read yet. Unread feeds will be bolded and have the number of new stories in parentheses. Bloglines provides a simple way to read RSS feeds from anywhere, but is not the fastest and most feature-rich solution.

Google Personalized Home

Google’s recently launched personalized home, accessible via google.com/ig allows people to keep track of several feeds. You will have to have a Gmail or Google account for this to work though. Go to the personalized home website and login. Click the button labeled Add Content in the upper left corner. Google already has several feeds from which you can choose, but we are interested in the Create a Section. Click to expand this section and then add the URL of a feed you wish to add then click Go. The section will be added to your personalized page, where you can drag it wherever you want. Click Close when you have added all the feeds you wish to add right now.

My Yahoo!

Yahoo has simplified the whole user interface when it comes to reading feeds. Many websites now have add to My Yahoo icons which you can click and instantly add the feed to your personalized My Yahoo page. Assuming you have created a Yahoo account, logged in and gone to the My Yahoo page, click on Add Content under the search bar. On this page you can easily find content (the word Yahoo uses for feeds) by searching.

After you search for something, you can just click the ADD icon next to the search result you wish to add. Yahoo automatically adds it to your My Yahoo page.

However, it may not be where you want it but this can be changed by visiting Change Layout. Depending on your taste you can select two or three columns to organize your feeds. You can also move where each feed is displayed by selecting a piece of content and using the arrow buttons. When you are done with that click Finished. Yahoo lets you change the way your feeds are displayed even more by clicking the small edit button on the top right corners on each content box. On the proceeding page you can set various appearance options such as whether to display short summaries for each entry. Overall, I think My Yahoo is one of the easier ways to aggregate your feeds.

Using Thunderbird for RSS

Before I delve into RSS-only applications I am going to show you how to setup a program you already have to gather your feeds. Mozilla Thunderbird has rapidly replaced Microsoft Outlook (which also does RSS) as the email client of choice for thousands of people. The current versions of Thunderbird include excellent support for RSS. Go to File > New > Account… and in the window that pops up, select RSS News & Blogs and click continue. Give it a name, click continue and then click done.

In the pane on the left under your email account, you will now see a spot for your feeds. Right click on the name of the RSS account and click Properties….

I recommend setting Check for new articles every _ minutes to around 15-30 minutes. This won’t put too much stress on your feeds’ servers. Setting it too low on a small blog or website is not playing nice. If you only subscribe to big name feeds such as CNN, feel free to crank it down as they have wicked fast servers. Check the boxes for Check for new articles on startup and By default, show the article summary instead of loading the web page if they are not already. Click OK. Loading the article summary is much faster than loading the web page. Right click on the RSS account once more, but this time select Manage Subscriptions…. From here you can click Add, type in the feed URL (you must know the URL to the feed, it will not work if you just type in the website URL), and click OK.

The format should be similar to Bloglines in that unread feeds are bolded and have the number of new articles in parentheses. Clicking on a feed will bring up the latest articles in the top right pane (make sure to organize by date published by clicking on the Date box). Furthermore, clicking on an article will load an excerpt or full article, depending on the feed.

RSSOwl

One of the more popular standalone feed aggregators has been RSSOwl. Built on the Java programming language, it can be run on many operating systems. Version 1.2 was recently released and has been highly improved, making it realistic choice for your RSS reading. Download and install the lastest version and fire it up for the first time. Click Tools > Preferences… and then on Favorites on the left. Under Update Automatically set the time to Every 15 or 30 Minutes and check the box for on Startup.

Then go over to Browser and give RSSOwl the location of your primary web browser. This is not necessary, but I recommend using an external browser to view links you click on rather than RSSOwl’s internal one. This is also a good time to make sure that Block Popups, Always open browser in new tab and Use external browser are all checked. Click OK.

There are two main ways of adding feeds in RSSOwl. One way can be found by clicking New and the other can be accessed via Tools > Search for newsfeeds…. The feed search feature of RSSOwl is my favorite feature that RSSOwl brings to the table. You can type in keywords or an entire URL and it will still find the feed you are looking for. Once you find the feed you want, put a check mark next to it and only it. Click Import… and then choose a folder to place your feed and click OK. If you do not have any folders yet, you can create a new one by clicking Add Category…. Using Import is ideal for adding multiple feeds at the same time, but if you just want to add one, right clicking on the feed and selecting Add to Favorites… is a bit more efficient.

Now that you have several feeds added to your favorites, we will need to update or aggregate the feeds with Favorites > Aggregate All Favorites. To actually view the entries from a particular feed, you must double click that feed from the left pane. A new tab will pop up and from there you can select an entry to read. The format is similar to Thunderbird’s.

Google Desktop

Google Desktop aims to be your one-stop shop for everything from news to maps. Once you download and install Google Desktop (currently Windows only), right click the taskbar icon and select sidebar. As Yahoo called feeds Content, Google calls them Web Clips. According to Search Engine Watch Web Clips are…

Web Clips is the Google name for RSS feeds. In other words, the sidebar can also function as an RSS or ATOM aggregator. Web Clips also offers an autodiscover function. Say you visit a bunch of sites that have feeds but can’t find the feed. Simply click and add them to your list of feeds.

Once the sidebar is up, it is probably cluttered with many things. Give Web Clips some more room and remove things you won’t use by right clicking the bar for that item and selecting Remove. Now that Web Clips has some room to breathe, it needs some feeds! Right click the Web Clips bar and select Options…. This window is easy enough; add a website URL or feed URL and it will get added to your Web Clips.

One important thing to note about Web Clips is that your feeds will get mixed together. I recommend unchecking Automatically add commonly viewed clips as it tends to add random feeds, which can get rather annoying. That’s pretty much it for Google Desktop. Be on the lookout for plugins that are being released daily; a great RSS functionality extending one could come out at any time.

What is RSS a brief introduction

RSS is a technology that is being used by millions of web users around the world to keep track of their favorite websites.

In the ‘old days’ of the web to keep track of updates on a website you had to ‘bookmark’ websites in your browser and manually return to them on a regular basis to see what had been added.

The problems with bookmarking

• You as the web surfer had to do all the work
• It can get complicated when you are trying to track many websites at once
• You miss information when you forget to check your bookmarks
• You end up seeing the same information over and over again on sites that don’t update very often

RSS Changes Everything

What if you could tell a website to let you know every time that they update? In a sense, this is what RSS does for you.

RSS flips things around a little and is a technology that provides you with a method of getting relevant and up to date information sent to you for you to read in your own time. It saves you time and helps you to get the information you want quickly after it was published.

RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’. Many people describe it as a ‘news feed’ that you subscribe to.

I find the ’subscription’ description helpful. It’s like subscribing to a magazine that is delivered to you periodically but instead of it coming in your physical mail box each month when the magazine is published it is delivered to your ‘RSS Reader’ every time your favorite website updates.

How RSS actually technically works is probably a lesson for another day but the key today is for you to understand why it’s good and how to use it.

Let me say right up front that I’m not the most technically savvy guy going around - but even I can use RSS. At first I found it a little strange to make the change from bookmarking to RSS but I found that when I started that I just couldn’t stop.

How to Use RSS

Get an RSS Reader - The first thing you’ll want to do if you’re getting into reading sites via RSS is to hook yourself up with an RSS Feed Reader.

There are many feed readers going around with a variety of approaches and features - however a good place to start is with a couple of free and easy to use web based ones like Google Reader and Bloglines. Either one will do if you’re starting out (I use Google’s Reader) - as I say there are many others to choose from but to get started either of these are fairly easy to use and will help you work out the basics of RSS.

Both of these feed readers work a little like email. As you subscribe to feeds you’ll see that unread entries from the sites you’re tracking will be marked as bold. As you click on them you’ll see the latest update and can read it right there in the feed reader. You are given the option to click through to the actual site or move onto the next unread item - marking the last one as ‘read’.

The best way to learn how to use either Google Reader or Bloglines is to simply subscribe to some feeds and give it a go. Both have helpful help sections to get you up and running.

Note: other options to tracking websites that you might already be familiar with include using pages like MyYahoo, MyGoogle and MyMSN.

Find Some Feeds to Subscribe to - there are two places to look for a site’s feed:

1. On the Site
2. In Your Browser

On Site Subscription
Over the last few years you may have noticed a lot of little buttons and widgets appearing on your favorite sites and blogs. Little orange buttons, ‘counters’ with how many ‘readers a blog has, links called RSS, XML, ATOM and many more.

They come in all shapes and sizes. Here are a few you might have seen:

There are plenty more - but any time you see any of these buttons or anything like them it means that the site you are viewing almost certainly has a feed that you can subscribe to. In most cases it’s as simple as either copying and pasting the link associated with the button into your RSS Reader or clicking the button and following the instructions to subscribe using the feed reader of your choice.

Browser Subscription

Many internet browsers now have the ability to find and subscribe to RSS feeds built right into them.

When you surf to a site you can usually tell if it has an RSS feed by looking in the right hand side of address bar where you type in the site’s URL.

RSS Intro Video....

VideoJug: RSS In Plain English

For more details about subscription and different feed readers see my other post :

Getting Started with RSS

Some Important Facts About Security Cameras

A security camera is basically a video transmitter that runs into a receiver and is viewed through a monitor. Security cameras are commonly used on commercial property such as parking lots, or for surveillance of a residential home. The security camera data can be recorded and constantly monitored by a person watching the security monitor which is in line with the security system.

In darker environments, night vision security cameras can be used to provide excellent surveillance of the surrounding area. Some of these cameras can also be used during the day as well as at night. Most night vision security cameras will allow you to see intruders on your property with good clarity.

Night vision security cameras are able to detect people through the use of an infrared LED. Heat emitted by humans is captured by a thermal imaging device and revealed through the monitor.

If a larger area needs to be covered, an infrared illuminator can be used to provide greater clarity when viewing the data through a monitor. Infrared Illuminators are often used for commercial property that covers a larger area.

Modern night vision security cameras can be used both as indoor and outdoor units. They are commonly protected from the elements and are usually enclosed in a metal shell. Most have triggering alarms or lightings which start automatically on seeing any moving object. Many night vision security cameras also have microphones to pick up sounds. Some of these cameras can provide coverage greater than 150 feet.

With new technology security cameras have become so small and are easily disguised. Many shop owners in malls have placed security cameras disguised in their merchandise placed in random places. Security cameras are also designed to blend in with their surroundings and placed in obscure places making them difficult to see.

The crime rate is so high security cameras are on the rise so loss prevention will not affect the cost of the selling of merchandise. Theft hurts the consumer because store dealers must raise prices to compensate for loss in profits due to theft.

Security cameras range greatly in price. Price doesn't necessarily mean better, depending on what the security camera will be used for. Typically security cameras used for commercial use need to cover a larger area making them more expensive. If the camera is going to be for personal use then one that isn't that expensive will probably do what you need it for.

Some Facts About Digital Cameras

A digital camera captures images in a digital format, unlike a conventional camera, which captures images using a photographic film.

History:

Using a mosaic photosensor, Eugene F. Lally of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory first showed how still photos could be produced in a digital domain. An engineer at Eastman Kodak, Steve Sasson, used solid-state CCD chips to build a prototype digital camera having a resolution of 0.01 megapixel, and recorded black and white digital images to a magnetic cassette tape. With this prototype model, Steve took the first image in December of 1975 taking 23 seconds to capture it.

In 1988, Fuji DS-1P became the first digital camera that captured images as a computerized file. However, the camera never entered the U.S. market. In 1991, Kodak DCS-100 was the first commercially available digital camera, which used a 1.3 megapixel sensor. With the advancement of technology, modern digital cameras have become multifunctional and are now capable of capturing audio/video and still photographs.

Benefits:

1 - You get superior image quality. Digital cameras can offer good to excellent image resolution.

2 - You get a fair price. A digital camera is reasonably priced and is affordable.

3 - You can transfer the pictures to your laptop. You can easily connect the digital camera to your laptop and transfer the pictures in your hard disk.

4 - You can print in large sizes. Due to its high resolution, pictures can be printed in large sizes by any plotter.

5 - You can email the pictures to your friends. You can send the pictures by email to your loved ones.

6 - You can store the images in CDs or hard disk. Once the pictures are transferred from digital camera to the computer, permanent storage on a CD or hard disk is possible.

7 - You can take the camera in your pocket while you travel. The small size of the digital camera makes traveling with it easy and a pleasure.

8 - You can move in close to your subject. Zoom lenses offer close-ups of your subject with sharp focus. You can take very good close-ups of flowers, bugs, stamps, coins, etc.

9 - You can rework the image in a computer. Any photo editing software can rework the images taken.

10 - You can take good pictures even in low-light situations. Due to flexible over sensitivity or ISO equivalents, digital cameras can easily take detailed pictures even in low-light conditions.

11 - You can take quality still photos of moving objects. Sports and fashion photography can be easily accomplished due to the fast burst rate of digital cameras.

12 - You save money. There is no need of buying photographic films, developing them into negatives and positives. Moreover, the batteries are usually rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which last a long time.

13 - You can choose as per your needs and fancy. Many models are available like standard digital camera, underwater digital camera, waterproof digital camera, compact digital camera, and the professional digital camera.

Storage Media:

Digital cameras use memory to capture and store images. Some of the storages media used are onboard flash memory, 3.5" floppy disks, video floppy disk, PCMCIA hard drives, CD or DVD, CompactFlash memory cards, Microdrives, Memory Stick, SD/MMC, MiniSD Card, MicroSD Card, XD-Picture Card, SmartMedia, and FP Memory.

Power:

Digital cameras consume a lot of power, which is supplied by powerful, small in size batteries. Batteries are broadly divided into two groups, namely, off-the-shelf and proprietary. Off-the-shelf batteries are like AA, CR2, CR-V3, AAA, and RCR-V3. They are lithium-ion (Li-Ion) or Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. Standard AA non-rechargeable alkaline batteries either do not work or work for only a very short time in most cameras.

Proprietary batteries are built as per the manufacturer`s custom specifications and are usually available as aftermarket replacement parts. Generally, lithium ion batteries are widely used as proprietary batteries for digital cameras.

This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.

Civil War Facts - Strange and Interesting Facts

The Civil War between North and South was a defining moment for the United States. It was also very costly, in terms of human life and material loss. The strange and interesting Civil War facts in this article will give you a better understanding of this era of American history.

Interesting Facts

1. The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865.
2. It is also referred to as the "War Between the States" because it was fought between northern and southern states within the U.S.
3. Starting in December of 1860, a number of southern states began to secede (separate) from the Union. Among other things, the southern slave-holding states disagreed with the anti-slavery views of the Union.
4. South Carolina was the first state to separate, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and several others.
5. The southern states eventually formed the Confederate States of America (Confederacy for short). During the Civil War the southern soldiers were referred to as Confederates for this reason.
6. The first battle of the American Civil War took place at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. President Lincoln sent ships to resupply the fort there, and the ships were escorted by the U.S. Navy. Confederate troops bombarded the fort before the ships could reach it. Major Robert Anderson (Union officer) surrendered the fort to the Confederates.
7. Notable generals of the Confederate Army included Generals Robert E. Lee (overall commanding officer), Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Braxton Bragg and James Longstreet. During the course of the war there were more than 400 generals on the Confederate side.
8. Notable generals of the Union Army included Generals Ulysses S. Grant (overall commanding officer), Phil Sheridan, William Tecumseh Sherman, George Armstrong Custer and George McClellan. Throughout the Civil War there were more than 550 Union generals who served.
9. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson got his nickname during the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) in 1861. This is an interesting fact and debate about Civil War history. Some historians say Jackson got the nickname for his courage: "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall." Others like Civil War historian Shelby Foote claim the label was used to cite Jackson's slow action during the battle: "Look at Jackson standing there like a damned stone wall."
10. General "Stonewall" Jackson died during the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. He was shot by his own men, who thought he was the enemy.
11. More than half of all deaths during the American Civil War were the result of disease (not bullets). The primary culprits included typhoid fever, dysentery, tuberculosis and pneumonia.
12. The Confederates typically named battles for the city in which they were fought, or the closest city. The Union forces typically named battles after geographical features such as creeks and rivers. Because of this, many Civil War battles have two names — the battle of Antietam / Sharpsburg, the battle of Manassas / Bull Run, etc.
13. During the American Civil War, Union forces used their naval ships to create a blockade of southern ports. Known as the Anaconda Plan, this blockade stretched from the Maryland coast down the eastern seaboard, around Florida, and into the Gulf of Mexico. The goal was to prevent supplies from reaching Confederate troops.
14. In terms of casualties, the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) brought the bloodiest day of fighting during the Civil War. On September 17, 1862, Union and Confederate forces fought alongside Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. In a single day, the battle produced nearly 23,000 casualties (killed or wounded). That's roughly nine times the number of American casualties during D-Day in WWII.
15. While the Battle of Antietam marked the single deadliest day during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg was the deadliest entire battle (over its three-day period). There were more than 50,000 casualties during the course of the battle at Gettysburg.
16. During the Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia, it is estimated that nearly 7,000 men died in a span of 20 minutes. These extreme casualties were the result of an ill-advised Union assault on heavily fortified Confederate positions, which quickly became a slaughter. Later, General Ulysses S. Grant would say: "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made."
17. Total casualties during the Civil War are equally staggering. Somewhere between 600,000 and 700,000 people died during the war. When you factor in the wounded, the total casualty number rises to around 1,030,000.
18. There were numerous prisoner of war (POW) camps on both sides of the conflict. One of the most infamous camps was Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Confederate forces used this facility to hold Union troops captured during battle. Conditions were terrible at Andersonville, owing to the heat, disease, food shortages, etc. More than 12,000 Union soldiers died at Andersonville.
19. And now for a strange fact of the Civil War courtesy of Gettysburg. General Dan Sickles (Union) had his right leg amputated during the Battle of Gettysburg after a Confederate cannonball destroyed the leg. Sickles preserved the bones from his right leg, as well as the cannonball that had smashed them, and donated them to the Army Medical Museum. After the war, Sickles worked hard to preserve the Gettysburg battlefield as a national park.
20. The Civil War officially ended on April 9, 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. The formal surrender ceremony took place in the home of Wilmer and Virginia McLean in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
21. The last man to die in combat was killed more than a month after the surrender ceremony, in a battle at Palmito Ranch in Texas.

I hope you found these facts about the Civil War useful and interesting. By understanding the history of our country, we can learn from it and apply the lessons of the past to the future.

Some interesting Facts About the Movies

Do you love the movies as much as I do? Do you like learning about the interesting things that take place onscreen and behind the scenes? If so, you'll enjoy this collection of interesting facts about movies and films.

Who knows — these facts might even help you win Jeopardy some day! Stranger things have happened. So without further ado, let's go to the movies...

Interesting Facts

1. The first movie with sound was shown in New York City in 1923. The short film ushered in the era of talking pictures, or "talkies." The first full-length movie with sound was The Jazz Singer (1927).
2. The longest movie ever made was The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple, a 27-hour silent film released in China in 1928. Technically, it was a series. The so-called "movie" was shown in 18 parts (each as long as a regular movie).
3. Other long movies that have gone the distance (and then some) include Gone With the Wind at 238 minutes, Lawrence of Arabia at 217 minutes, and Lord of the Rings, Return of the King at 200 minutes. All of these movies were highly acclaimed as well.
4. At the time of this writing, the highest grossing movie in the United States was Titanic (1997) starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet. This movie about the doomed ocean liner has grossed more than $600 million dollars to date.
5. The record held by the Titanic movie will likely be surpassed in the near future by the latest installment in the Batman saga. The Dark Knight (2008) is on track to gross $500 million or more in its first year of release.
6. Another money-related movie fact for you: The Dark Knight holds the record for most money grossed during the opening weekend. The popular Batman movie earned more than $158 million during the weekend it was released (Friday - Sunday).
7. It's a fact that the most expensive movies have all been action films with a superhero or fantasy element. These include Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), Superman Returns (2006), Spiderman 3 (2007), and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Eye-popping special effects account for much of the cost in these movies.
8. While the reported numbers vary based on the source, stunt men and women die every year while making movies. According to industry data, most injuries and deaths occur from falls (when the stunt person is falling from a building or cliff, for example). Smoke inhalation and auto accidents were also high on the list.
9. One of the most high-profile stunt deaths occurred when Brandon Lee (son of legendary Bruce Lee) was killed while filming the movie The Crow. A prop gun believed to hold only blanks had an actual bullet in the barrel.
10. If you count the extras in the movie as part of the cast, then the film Gandhi had the largest cast of all time. During the funeral scene at the end of the movie, more than 250,000 extras were used. [Definition: An "extra" is a background actor who doesn't have a major speaking role in the film.]
11. A "box office bomb" is a movie that didn't gross very much money upon release. Specifically, it's a movie that cost more to make than what it earned. Some of the biggest bombs have included Howard the Duck (1986), The Postman with Kevin Costner (1997), and The Adventures of Pluto Nash with Eddie Murphy (2002).
12. One of the most infamous (and frequently cited) box office bombs was Ishtar, starring Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty. Fortunately, both of their careers survived beyond that movie.
13. Based on a ranking created by the American Film Institute (AFI), some of the funniest American movies of the last 100 years included Tootsie (1982), Blazing Saddles (1974), Airplane (1980), and Raising Arizona (1987).
14. Based on the same "AFI 100 Years" ranking, some of the best movie villains have included the man-eating Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) from The Silence of the Lambs, the deeply troubled Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) from Psycho, and the heavy breathing Darth Vader (voice by James Earl Jones) from Star Wars.
15. What about the good guys? The AFI ranking of top heroes included Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) from the movie by the same name, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) in To Kill a Mockingbird, and Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) from The Silence of the Lambs, and — of course — Rocky Balboa. "Yo Adrienne! We did it!"
16. The Silence of the Lambs was the only movie to have both a villain (Dr. Lecter) and a hero (Clarice Starling) in the AFI's top-ten rankings. "Well, Clarice ... have the lambs stopped screaming?"
17. In movie lingo, a "triple threat" is somebody who can sing, dance and act well. Frank Sinatra was one of the most famous triple threat actors of all time. In addition to being a famous singer, Sinatra also won an Oscar for best supporting actor (From Here to Eternity, 1953).
18. Depending on how you define them (and there's plenty of debate), there are more than a dozen different film genres. Most movies fall within these genres in some way. Modern film genres include horror, comedy, drama, adventure, animation, thriller and several others. Some genres can be broken down into sub-genres (for example, the romantic comedy is a sub-category of the comedy genre).
19. At the time this article was published, the three highest paid actors in the U.S. were Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. According to Forbes magazine, Johnny Depp earned $92 million in a single year (June 06 - June 07).
20. As of 2008, the actor with the most Oscars / Academy Awards is Katharine Hepburn (1907 - 2003). The film legend won a total of four Oscars in the Best Actress category. In chronological order, the movies were Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981).
21. As far as movies go, there is a three-way tie for the number of Oscars won. Ben-Hur (1959), Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), and Titanic (1997) have all won 11 Oscars each.

I hope you enjoyed perusing these movie facts as much as I enjoyed collecting and writing them. Movies are a big part of our culture, so it can be both entertaining and enlightening to learn some of the interesting things that happen behind the scenes.

Wind Power Facts - Interesting Things About Wind Energy

At the time this fact sheet was created, there was a lot of talk about wind power technology. As energy prices continue to rise, American consumers demand alternate forms of energy production. Wind power is one of those alternatives.

Interesting Facts

1. Believe it or not, wind is classified as a form of solar energy. While there are many things that influence our winds, they are initially caused by the sun heating the Earth's atmosphere. As long as the sun shines, the wind will continue to blow.
2. Wind power is also considered a renewable resource because it uses something that does not run out. In contrast, fossil fuels like oil and coal are non-renewable resources that will eventually run out. The wind will never "run out."
3. You often hear the phrases wind power and wind energy used interchangeably. Essentially, these terms mean the same thing. They both refer to the conversion of wind into some form of mechanical or electrical power.
4. Wind power has been used for centuries, though the technology behind it has obviously changed. As far back as 500 A.D., the Persians (in what is modern Iran) used windmills to pump water and grind grain.
5. The wind turbine is the primary mechanism used with this technology. These giant, windmill-looking devices are placed in strategic locations that are consistently windy (often referred to as "wind farms").
6. The turbine creates electricity by powering a generator. Here is the basic process that takes place. The wind blows >> the blades turn >> the blades turn a rotor that is connected to a shaft >> the spinning shaft powers a generator, which in turn produces electrical power.
7. The Science section of the National Geographic website has an interactive simulator that shows you how wind energy is created. You can check it out here.
8. It's a fact that wind power produces little to no waste. The turbines power the generator and produce electricity without producing any greenhouses gases such as methane and carbon dioxide.
9. If it's large enough, a single turbine can provide enough electrical power for more than 200 homes.
10. Modern wind turbines can be extremely large, and for good reason. Most are placed on poles the measure 100 feet or more. This puts the blades in a position to receive the strongest (and least turbulent) winds.
11. As of this date of publication (August 2008), the tallest wind turbine in the world is the Enercon E-126 located in Emden, Germany. The structure is 673 feet tall (205 meters). It produces enough electricity to power thousands of homes.
12. Within the United States, the tallest turbine is part of the Snyder Wind project located in Scurry County in northeast Texas. The towers measure 345 feet.
13. The blades of these turbines can be incredibly large as well. Some are even longer than a football field (100 yards or 300 feet in length).
14. At the time this fact sheet was published (August 2008), the largest farm in the United States was Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center located in Texas. It has a total of 421 turbines and spans more than 46,000 acres of land.
15. A massive wind farm with more than 300 turbines has been planned for the state of Oregon in the United States. Upon completion, it could be the largest farm in the U.S.
16. Wind power is one of the fastest growing sources of energy in the world, when measured by percentage of growth. In the United States alone, wind power grew by an average of 29% annually from 2003 to 2007. (Source: Fact sheet produced by the American Wind Energy Association)
17. Turbines are currently being tested in small towns and villages in Africa, such as the town of M'muock in Cameroon.
18. Some countries in Europe (like Germany and Spain) are now generating up to 25% of their total electricity through wind turbine technology.
19. In terms of wind power capacity, the United States ranks third in the world behind Spain and Germany.
20. T. Boone Pickens is one of the biggest (and most vocal) advocates of wind power in the United States. He is an oilman turned "wind man" and has actively pressured the U.S. government to catch up with Europe in terms of wind power. He is putting much of his own money into the Pampa Project, a massive wind farm being developed in Texas.
21. The Pampa Project mentioned above is set to be completed in 2014, and is expected to produce more than 4,000 megawatts of electricity for Texas — enough "juice" to power more than one million homes!

Where will wind power take us in the future? Only time will tell. But after reading these facts on the subject, I think you'll agree that it's an energy source worth developing further.

Some Interesting Facts About Texas

Texas holds a unique place within the history and culture of America. It's big, it's bold, and it's full of interesting facts and stories. In this article, we have compiled some facts about Texas that might interest you.

Interesting Facts

1. Texas is also known as the Lone Star State, which is a reference to the single star on the Texas state flag.
2. Texas became part of the United States on December 29, 1845. It was the 28th state to enter the union.
3. The state of Texas has the second-largest population in the U.S., with more than 23 million people (2006 census). The state is also the second-largest in terms of geography, with nearly 270,000 square miles of space.
4. In terms of population, the largest cities in Texas include Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Forth Worth and El Paso.
5. Austin is the capital of Texas. Austin is home to the University of Texas (UT) and is also known as the "Live Music Capital of the United State."
6. Texas used to be part of Mexico. American settlers began moving into the area in the 1800s, and the U.S. eventually fought a war for rights to the land (the Mexican-American War, 1846 - 1848).
7. While there are still plenty of working ranches in Texas, the King Ranch near Corpus Christi is by far the largest and most famous. In terms of square mileage, the King Ranch is larger Rhode Island and spreads over six counties.
8. Central Texas is often called the "Silicon Valley of the south" because of all the tech companies located there (particular in the Austin area). Tech companies with headquarters in Austin include Dell Computers, National Instruments, Motive and many more.
9. Many Texans are proud of the fact that capitol building in Austin, Texas is taller than the U.S. capitol building in Washington, D.C.
10. Sam Houston played a major role in the history of Texas, and many Texans consider him one of their most beloved "native sons." The interesting fact is that Sam Houston was born in a small Virginia town (Timber Ridge) and later lived in Tennessee. He didn't move to Texas until he was an adult.
11. It's a fact that Texas had the first sports stadium with a dome (in Houston). It was first opened in 1965 and is still used today, though it has undergone renovations. It now has a retractable roof.
12. The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history occurred in Texas. A massive hurricane hit the coastal city of Galveston in 1900, flooding the city and killing more than 8,000 people.
13. An interesting nature fact — more bat species live in Texas than in any other U.S. state. Austin, the state's capital, has one of the largest urban colonies of bats (about 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats live under the Congress Avenue bridge downtown).
14. Texas produces more oil than any other state, more than a million barrels per day. The downside is that the state produces more carbon emissions than most countries. It's true what they say: Everything's bigger in Texas!
15. It's a fact that Texas produces more wool than any other state in America. Lots of sheep!
16. The last battle of the American Civil War took place in Texas (Palmito Ranch near Brownsville) — more than a month after General Lee surrendered to General Grant in Virginia!
17. Celebrities from the state include Dennis Quaid, Patrick Swayze, Renee Zellweger, Norah Jones and Lance Armstrong.
18. A "whirlwind" of tornado facts about Texas — the state has more tornadoes than any other state in the U.S. (more than 100 per year on average). The deadliest was an F5 tornado in Waco in 1953; it killed 114 people.
19. Several flags have flown over Texas throughout history, depending on who claimed it at the time. In chronological order, those flags belonged to Spain, France, Spain again, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States, the Confederate States of America (during the American Civil War), and — ultimately — the U.S. flag once again.
20. Many people think of Texas as a dry and dusty state. Some of it is. But there are also nearly 5,000 square miles of inland waterways in the state (lakes, rivers, etc.). That's more than Florida and Minnesota (the "Land of Lakes").
21. The oak tree is one of the most common trees in Texas. There are more than 50 varieties (species and subspecies) of oak trees in the state.

I hope you have enjoyed these interesting facts about Texas and that you get a chance to visit the same some day. If you already live in Texas, then these interesting facts are sure to give you a greater appreciation of your state.

Some Interesting Facts About Japan

Japan is a fascinating country with a rich and diverse history. It holds a unique place in the world for many reasons. After reading this list of interesting facts about Japan we think you'll agree.

Interesting Facts

1. Japan is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean.
2. In geographical terms Japan is an archipelago (group of islands) that includes more than 3,000 individual islands. Going from north to south, the four major islands include Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu.
3. Japan's neighbors to the west include Russia, North and South Korea and China.
4. At its closest point, Japan is only about 360 miles from China, its neighbor to the west. The East China sea separates the two countries at this point, and the two nations have long argued over territorial claims and fishing rights in these waters.
5. The first permanent capital of unified Japan was the city of Nara, which became the capital in 710 BC. The capital would later be shifted to the city of Nagaoka and, ultimately, to Heian (modern day Kyoto).
6. Tokyo is the current capital of Japan and is also the largest city in terms of population.
7. Buddhism became the national religion of Japan during the Nara period, which lasted from 710-794.
8. Buddhism is still a major religion in Japan today. Shinto is another major religion in the country. Many people practice both of these religions together as one.
9. Samurai warriors date back to 12th Century Japan. During this time, two powerful clans were fighting with each other for control of land. The Samurai lived their lives by the bushido code, or the "way of the warrior."
10. Samurai warriors carried two swords, which was a privilege reserved for them. One sword was long and the other short.
11. If defeated in battle, some warriors chose to commit suicide to avoid capture or a dishonorable death.
12. Samurai warriors (and the feudal class system in general) came to an end during the 1860's. Emperor Meiji declared a series of laws that effectively abolished the Samurai class after nearly 1,000 years of existence.
13. A 2003 American film dramatized the end of the Samurai class in Japan. It starred Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe, and was nominated for several Academy Awards.
14. In 1894, Japan went to war with China in what would later be known as the First Sino-Japanese War. The two nations fought for control of Korea. It was fought between the Qing Dynasty in China and the Meji Empire of Japan. The war ended in less than a year with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, through which Korea remained fully independent from both nations.
15. The Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937 and lasted until the end of World War II in 1945. Among other factors, the war was fought due to Japan's desire to dominate China and secure its natural resources and raw materials to fuel the Japanese Empire.
16. On December 7, 1941, Japanese war planes (fighters and torpedo bombers) attacked the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack came in two waves and included more than 350 aircraft launched from six aircraft carriers in the Pacific Ocean.
17. While the attack on Pearl Harbor did not totally destroy the U.S. Navy, it was devastating nonetheless. The attack seriously damaged a number of battleships, cruisers, destroyers and more. The attack destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft and killed 2,388 sailors.
18. The attack on Pearl Harbor partially sunk five battleships (the harbor is shallow, so none were completely sunk). These included the USS Utah, the USS Oklahoma, the USS Arizona, the USS California and the USS West Virginia. The California and the West Virginia were later raised from the harbor and repaired. The Arizona remains where it sunk and is now a memorial that tourists can visit.
19. Japan surrendered to Allied Forces on August 15, 1945, effectively bringing WWII to an end. Germany was already out of the war by then. The official surrender ceremony took place on September 2 aboard the USS Missouri (a battleship of the U.S. Navy).
20. The current flag of Japan, referred to as the Hinomaru, has a white background with a red disc that symbolizes the rising sun.
21. Modern Japan is a technological powerhouse. We import many of our electronics, automobiles, machinery and other technology products from Japan. They are the world's largest producer of cars, as well as a leader in the field of robotics.

I hope you have enjoyed these interesting facts about Japan and that you get to visit the country sometime in the future. There are some places you just have to visit before you die, and wonderful country of Japan should be on that list!

Some interesting facts about Praying Manitis

Mantis

What are the Mantis's Eating Habits?

1. Extremely predacious
2. Eats only live prey, or at least prey that is moving, and hence, appears alive
3. Some say that it will eat "anything," even reptiles and small birds, but others indicate it prefers "soft bodied" insects which it can easily devour. These dietary preferences very by species. Males are generally less aggressive predators than females.
4. Cannibalistic, both as a nymph and as a adult. Baby mantids will eat other babies, adults will eat their own or others' babies, and adults will eat each other
5. Diurnal, that is, mainly eats during the day. But mantids also congregate and feed around artificial light sources.
6. Often waits motionless for unsuspecting prey to get within striking distance--a "sit-and wait" and wait or ambush strategy, but also can slowly stalk prey
7. Often begins to undulate and sway just before striking its prey. Some have speculated this is to mimic the movement of surrounding foliage. Others suggest that this behavior aids in the visualization process.
8. Attacks by "pinching" and impaling prey between its spiked lower tibia and upper femur
9. The mantid's strike takes an amazing 30 to 50 one-thousandth of a second. The strike is so fast that it cannot be processed by the human brain. It uses the view before and after the strike and "tricks" you into seeing what occurs in-between.
10. After securing the prey with its legs, rapidly chews at the prey's neck to immobilize it
11. If well fed, will selectively choose to devour "select" parts of its prey and discard the rest
12. If any part of the prey is dropped during feeding, it will not retrieve it.
13. After eating, will often use its mouth to clean the food particles from the spines of its
14. tibia, and then wipe its face in a cat-like manner.

How do Mantis's Mate and Reproduce?

A. One of the most interesting, and to humans, disturbing features of mantid life is the female's tendency to eat her mate

B. During late summer, a female mantis, already heavy with eggs, is believed to excrete a chemical attractant to tempt a willing male into mating

C. The current state of research seems to indicate that the female sometimes devours the male during the mating process (between 5-31% if the time)

D. The dead male may also serve as a source of protein for the female and her young.

E. Recent research indicates that fertilization can take place without the male's death and that his demise is not necessary to the process

F. The male's sperm cells are stored in a special chamber in the female's abdomen called the spermatheca.

G. The female can begin lay her eggs as early as a day after mating.

H. As the eggs pass through her reproductive system, they are fertilized by the stored sperm.

I. After finding a suitably raised location--a branch, stem, or building overhang--special
appendages at the base of her abdomen "froth" the gelatinous egg material into the shape
characteristic of the particular species as its exits her ovipositor.

J. By instinct, the female twists her abdomen in a spiral motion to create many individual
"cells" or chambers within the ootheca or egg case.

K. The egg laying process takes between 3 and 5 hours

L. The ootheca soon hardens into a paper mache like substance that is resistant to the birds and animals that would attempt to eat it.

M. The carefully crafted pockets of air between the individual egg cells acts insulation against cold winter temperatures

N. The number and size of egg cases deposited by a female also varies by species and she dies sometime after her final birthing

Praying Mantis

TAXONOMY

Kingdom - Animal
Phylum - Arthropoda
Class - Insecta
Order - Dictyoptera
Family - Mantidae
Genus - Stagomantis
Species - carolina

What is a Praying Mantis? The praying mantids, or praying mantises, are carnivorous insects that belong to the family. There are about 2,000 species of mantids. The biggest praying mantises are the Tenodera and the Archimantis, which are six inches long! The smallest praying mantis is the Bolbe pygmaea, which is only 2/5 of an inch, or one-centimeter. Unbelievably, some scientists agree the mantis is closely related to the cockroach. The name "mantis" comes from the Greek word for 'prophet' or 'soothsayer.' The Carolina mantid is a common insect of Eastern United States. The European and Chinese species were introduced to the Northeastern United States about 75 years ago as garden predators in hopes of overtaking the native pest population.

DESCRIPTION

Praying mantises are about 2/5-12 inches according to species. Their colors vary, ranging from light greens to pinks. Most mantids are pea green or brown. The tropical flower mantises, which resemble flowers, are usually light colors such as pink. Flower mantises, from Africa or the Far East, so closely resemble flowers that insects will often land on them to get nectar.

Camouflage is very important for the praying mantis' survival. Because they have so many enemies such as birds, they must blend in with their habitat to avoid being eaten. They have a triangular-shaped head with a large compound eye on each side. Praying mantids are the only insect that turn from side to side in a full 180-degree angle. Their eyes are sensitive to the slightest movement up to 60 feet away. They have straight, leathery forewings and very powerful jaws used for devouring its prey. They have ultrasound ears on their Metathoraxes. The Metathorax is located on the thorax. Also, the males' genitalia are asymmetrical. They have a long prothorax and strong, spiny front legs held together in a praying manner. In the bodies of some species of mantis, there is a hollow chamber. Recently it has been discovered that these hollow chambers provide the mantis with a means of detecting bats, one of their most feared predators. Apparently, the mantis in flight will drastically change its flight pattern (often hurling to the ground in a spiral) when the mantis hears certain frequencies of sound.

HABITAT

Nearly 2,000 species of mantids are widely distributed throughout tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate areas of the world. Different species live in many parts of countries such as North and South America, South Africa, Europe, the Southern parts of Asia and some parts of Australia. Praying mantids in North America are usually green or brown. There are three main types of mantids in Eastern United States: the European mantid (Mantis religiosa), Carolina mantid (Stagmomantis carolina) and Chinese mantid (Tenodera aridifolia sinensis).

DIET

The praying mantis is a carnivorous insect that takes up a deceptively humble posture when it is searching for food. When at rest, the mantis' front forelegs are held up together in a posture that looks like its praying. These front legs are equipped with rows of sharp spines used to grasp its prey. They wait unmoving and are almost invisible on a leaf or a stem, ready to catch any insect that passes. When potential prey comes close enough, the mantis thrusts its pincher-like forelegs forward to catch it. The prey probably won't escape because the forelegs are so strong and armed with overlapping spines. The mantid bites the neck of its prey to paralyze it and begins to devour it. The mantis almost always starts eating the insect while it's still alive, and almost always starts eating from the insect's neck. This way, the mantis makes sure that the insect's struggle stops quickly. Praying mantises eat insects and other invertebrates such as other mantises, beetles, butterflies, spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, and even spiders. The praying mantises also eat vertebrates such as small tree frogs, lizards, mice and hummingbirds. Praying mantids can resemble flowers and can catch small, unknowing hummingbirds. Praying mantids also eat other nesting birds.

BREEDING

Breeding season is in the summer in temperate areas. After mating, the female will lay groups of 12-400 eggs in the autumn, in a "frothy" liquid called an "ootheca", that turns into a hard protective shell. This is how these insects survive during the wintertime. Small mantids emerge in the spring. Often, their first meal is a sibling. Young mantids or nymphs, also eat leafhoppers, aphids and small flies. Young mantids will shed many times before it is full grown. It takes an entire summer or growing season for mantids to mature to adulthood. One generation develops each season. Many species of mantids resemble ants when they are small, but as they go through a series of molts, they begin to look more like adult mantids.

BENEFICIAL OR NOT?

Most often people think mantises are pests. That is only partly true. They can be beneficial, too. Praying mantises are terrific pest exterminators. They keep down the population of bugs that are a threat to farming. A master of disguise, the praying mantis can be an able assistant to farmer and gardener. Look carefully in your backyard. Perhaps that deceptive shape is a praying mantis poised for his next meal.

Some Interesting Facts About Dung Beetles

Facts

1. Dung beetles are a relatively modern group of beetles, their fossils only extend back to 40 million years ago.
2. There are about 7 000 species world wide.
3. Dung beetles range from less than 1mm to a giant 6cm.
4. Dung beetles occur on every continent except Antarctica.
5. The life expectancy for most dung beetles range from three to five years.
6. A researcher observed that a small 1.5 Kg pile of Elephant dung on the African savannah attracted 16 000 dung beetles of various shapes and sizes, who between them had eaten and or buried that dung completely in just two hours. One dung beetle can bury 250 times its own weight in a night.
7. Most of the dung beetles in the world use herbivore dung, though many are not very particular and will use many different forms of dung,
8. Some species have definite preferences for one type of dung only.
9. Onthophagus caenobita has only ever been found feeding in human faeces.
10. A dung beetle in South America called Zonocopris gibbicolis feeds on the faeces of large snails on whom it rides around.
11. The female dung beetle lays a single egg into each ball of dung and then covers the nest with more dung and soil. When the eggs hatch, the larvae will feed on the fecal matter.

Dung beetles can be divided into 3 groups, Rollers, Tunnellers and Dwellers. Rollers are species who make a burrow some way away from the dung they are going to use and then collect small to medium sized lumps of dung to roll into their burrows. Typhaeus typhoeus, the Minotaur Beetle, can dig burrows up to one metre deep. Generally the female does most of the digging and the male spends most of his time collecting the dung for her. Rollers dig their front legs into the ground and use their back legs to push the ball of dung.

Tunnellers fly until they find some fecal matter into which they dive. They dig a tunnel and then drag as much dung as they like down into it. Again it is mostly the female who stays in the burrow sorting out the dung and the male who goes out to get it.

Some dung beetles eat and lay their eggs on dung some other beetle has collected. The thief often eats the legitimate dung-owners eggs as well as stealing their dung.

The females of many of the larger 'Rollers' stay inside their burrows and care for and protect their eggs and young, these species can live for up to 3 years. Some of these larger dung beetles can move balls of dung up to 50 times their own weight.


Australia imported 45 species of dung beetle from various parts of the world to get rid of cattle dung.

In ancient Egypt the scarab or dung beetle was the most important religious symbol. In some Indian tribes from South America a dung beetle named Aksak is supposed to have modelled the first man and woman from clay.

Without dung beetles, the earth would be piled high with manure.

Reproduction

The rollers establish a pair bond. They usually meet in the dung pat. The male offers the female a giant-sized brood ball which if accepted, they roll away together, or with the female riding on the ball. During this time, other beetles often attempt to steel the ball. They find a soft place and bury the ball before mating - mostly underground. The male then leaves to find further partners. The female of this species makes a brood 'pear' or 'pears' and lays a single egg in each. She then coats the pear with an antiseptic mixture of dung, saliva and faeces to seal it in a case which hardens solid. Unusual in insects, this species exhibits the highest level of parental care seen in an insect. She stays with the ball and her grub for two months, cleaning it and removing its faeces, fungi and bacteria.


Dung Beetles

How do dung beetles (Scarabaeus zambesianus) maximize their chance to get the most out of the available dung? Get it away from competitors. New research suggests this beetle can use polarized moonlight at night to navigate the way as it rolls a dung ball to a safe spot away from the pile. Observers watched beetles foraging on moonlit nights and cloudy or moonless nights. With a moon, the beetles rolled their dung balls away in a straight line. This is the most efficient path. Without a moon, the beetles could not roll the ball in a straight line. Further, to differentiate between influence of the moon itself and moonlight’s polarization pattern, a large polarizing filter was placed over the beetles. When adjusted by 90 degrees, this caused the beetles’ course to be changed by 90 degrees. Researchers concluded it was not the moon itself, but the polarization pattern that guided the dung beetle. It is known that many creatures use the polarization pattern of sunlight for navigation, but this believed to be the first time the use of moonlight polarization patterns has been documented. –Nature Brief Communications, July 3, 2003.

Some Interesting & Amazing mosquito facts

You're more likely to be a target for mosquitoes if you consume bananas. Biting activity increase by 500 times when there is a full moon. A mosquito's wings beat 500 times a second.

The animal responsible for the most human deaths world-wide is the mosquito.

Mosquitoes dislike citronella because it irritates their feet.

Mosquitoes prefer children to adults, and blondes to brunettes.

A mosquito can detect a moving target at 18 ft away

The average life span of a female mosquito is 3 to 100 days. the male lives 10 to 20 days.

Mosquitoes: lay up to 300 eggs at a time, fly across 150 miles in their lifetime, range from sea level to altitudes as high as 10,800 feet (3,600 meters), develop from egg to adulthood in 4 to 7 days

Q: How many species of mosquitoes are there?
A: About 2,700.

Q: What does a mosquito weigh?
A: About 2 to 2.5 milligrams (for an Aedes aegypti).

Q: How much blood does a female mosquito drink per, er, serving?
A: About 5-millionths of a liter (for an Aedes aegypti).

Q: How do mosquitoes find new hosts?
A: By sight (they observe movement); by detecting infra-red radiation emitted by warm bodies; and by chemical signals (mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide and lactic acid, among other chemicals).

Q: How fast can a mosquito fly?
A: An estimated 1 to 1.5 miles per hour.

Q: How far do certain mosquitoes fly
A: Salt marsh mosquitoes migrate 75 to 100 miles.

Q: How far away can a mosquito smell you, or a cow or another host?
A: 20 to 35 meters.

Q: Why does a film of oil on water kill mosquito larvae?
A: Because the oil clogs up the snorkel that the larvae use to breathe.

Mosquitoes don't see very well, but they zoom in like a heat-seeking missile. In the spherical arrangement of their compound eyes, blind spots separate each eye from the next one. As a result, they can't see you until they are 30 feet (10 meters) away. Even then, they have trouble distinguishing you from any object of similar size and shape: tree stump, 55-gallon drum, etc. When they are 10 feet (3 meters) away they use extremely sensitive thermal receptors on the tip of their antennae to locate blood near the surface of the skin. The range of these receptors increases threefold when the humidity is high.

Why don't mosquitoes transmit HIV virus?

Studies with HIV clearly show that the virus responsible for the AIDS infection is regarded as food to the mosquito and is digested along with the blood meal.
Mosquitoes Do Not Ingest Enough HIV Particles to Transmit AIDS by Contamination
An AIDS-free individual would have to be bitten by 10 million mosquitoes that had begun feeding on an AIDS carrier to receive a single unit of HIV from contaminated mosquito mouthparts.Most people have heard that mosquitoes regurgitate saliva before they feed, but are unaware that the food canal and salivary canal are separate passageways in the mosquito. The mosquito's feeding apparatus is an extremely complicated structure that is totally unlike the crude single-bore syringe. Unlike a syringe, the mosquito delivers salivary fluid through one passage and draws blood up another. As a result, the food canal is not flushed out like a used needle, and blood flow is always unidirectional. The mechanics involved in mosquito feeding are totally unlike the mechanisms employed by the drug user's needles. In short, mosquitoes are not flying hypodermic needles and a mosquito that disgorges saliva into your body is not flushing out the remnants of its last blood meal.

Some Intersting Facts About the Planet Mars

The planet Mars has fascinated humans for as long as we have known about it. It has fueled endless speculation and research, as well as a pantheon of science fiction stories of Martians invading Earth.

But what are the real facts about Mars the planet? Let's take a closer look at this interesting planet that neighbors Earth.

Facts

1. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. Going in order from the sun, it is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and then the other planets.
2. Current scientific estimates suggest that Mars is more than 4 billion years old (like the other planets in our solar system).
3. Mars the planet is named after the Roman god of war by the same name.
4. When viewed through a telescope, Mars has an overall reddish appearance. That's why it's often called the "Red Planet." The image above shows Mars as viewed by the Hubble Telescope. Note the reddish-orange appearance. View larger photo
5. The red / orange appearance is the result of the planet's soil composition. There is a lot of iron within the soil on Mars.
6. Mars has mountains and canyons that are larger than those found on Earth. The Olympus Mons, for example, is a Martian volcano believed to be the highest mountain in our entire solar system. This volcanic mountain is estimated to be 16 miles high and hundreds of miles in diameter.
7. Despite the absence of water, Mars has a mass of ice at its north pole (much like earth). It is very cold on Mars, so the ice never melts.
8. The average temperature on the planet is about 80 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit).
9. Mars has a thin atmosphere that does not hold the sun's heat as well as Earth's atmosphere does. This is one of the reasons it's so cold on Mars, as compared to our planet.
10. It is believed that water once flowed across the planet Mars as it does on Earth, carving many of the valleys and gullies that make up the surface of Mars. Water was recently found in a soil sample from the Mars Lander robot.
11. As with the other planets in our solar system, Mars moves around the sun in an oval-shaped orbit.
12. Our planet travels around the sun once every 365 days, hence the length of our calendar year. But the orbit of Mars is larger, so it takes 687 day for the red planet to travel around the sun. Thus, the Martian year consists of 687 days.
13. Mars is a smaller planet than Earth. With regard to the mass (amount of matter) on both planets, Earth is about ten times as massive.
14. The first attempts to reach Mars by spacecraft were conducted by the Soviet Union (USSR) in the 1960s. Most of these attempts failed, typically the result of the spacecraft's inability to exit Earth's orbit.
15. In 1964 the Mariner 3 (an American spacecraft) attempted a "flyby" of Mars. This attempt also failed due to mechanical error / malfunction. Later Mariner missions succeeded in getting close to the planet, taking measurements from orbit, etc.
16. In 1971 the Soviet Union sent a landing craft to the surface of Mars. The lander's braking rockets failed, which resulted in a crash landing on the planet's surface.
17. It wasn't until 1976 that a lander successfully touched down on the surface of Mars. This was the Viking 1 (and later the Viking 2) of the USA.
18. In 1996 the USA sent the Pathfinder mission to the Red Planet. This mission carried a well-known surface rover called Sojourner.
19. Many craters can be seen when viewing Mars through a telescope. These craters are the result of meteoroids smashing into the planet throughout its lifetime. Meteorites do not strike Earth nearly as much because our stronger atmosphere "burns" them up before they can hit the surface. Mars has a thin atmosphere that is less successful in slowing meteorites.
20. Humans would not be able to breathe on Mars. The Red Planet's atmosphere only contains 0.13 percent oxygen. Our atmosphere is 21 percent oxygen. Carbon dioxide is the most common gas in the Martian atmosphere.
21. Mars has two small moons that were discovered in 1877. They are called Phobos and Deimos, named for the sons of the Greek god Ares. Phobos is the larger of the two moons, and it is only about 17 miles in diameter.

As we continue to explore space, we will surely learn additional facts about the planet Mars (in addition to the facts that are presented here). But for now, it is a planet with plenty of mystery left. It is also a planet that will not support human life. Nice to look at, but you wouldn't want to live there.

Some Interesting Facts About Snakes

People have strong feelings about snakes that range from fascination to fear. Snakes have also been wrongfully vilified over the years by movies and literature. In truth, snakes are amazing animals that you need not be afraid of. After reading these facts about snakes I think you'll agree.

1. By current classification, there are approximately 3,000 snake species on our planet. This number has changed over the years and will continue to do so, largely due to changes with the system used to "label" snakes.
2. Snakes are members of the Squamata order of reptiles. This order also includes most lizard species.
3. There are nearly 20 families of snakes. The most common families include Boidae (boas and related snakes); Pythonidae (the pythons); Viperidae (vipers, rattlesnakes, etc.); Elapidae (cobras, mambas, etc.); and Colubridae (the largest family, mostly non-venomous snakes).
4. Most snakes (more than two-thirds) are non-venomous. Only about 500 snake species are venomous, and of those only 30 - 40 are considered harmful to humans.
5. Australia is the only continent where the venomous snakes outnumber the non-venomous species. Many of the world's most venomous snakes can be found in Australia.
6. Snakes live on every continent except for Antarctica, where it is much too cold for snakes to survive.
7. There are about 30 species of rattlesnakes in the world. Nearly all of them are found within North America (the United States, Mexico and Central America).
8. Snakes begin shedding their skin soon after their birth. They continue to shed their skin throughout their entire lives, though the rate at which they shed slows down when they reach adult size.
9. In terms of sheer size and mass, the anaconda (Eunectes Murinus) is the largest snake on the planet. Average adult length is about 5 meters, or nearly 17 feet long. The longest anaconda on record was nearly 26 feet long.
10. While the anaconda is the largest snake on record, the longest snake is the reticulated python (Python reticulatus). The "retic" can exceed 30 feet (10 meters in length). The longest on record was over 32 feet.
11. The king cobra is the largest venomous snake in the world, reaching lengths of more than 18 feet (6 meters) and weighing more than 20 pounds.
12. Snakes can go a long time without eating, sometimes fasting for months at a time. This is especially true of the big constrictors, such as the Anaconda and the reticulated python. Snakes typically eat large meals (relative to their body size) and have much slower metabolisms than we humans have.
13. Australia's inland taipan snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) is said to possess the strongest venom of any land snake. Fortunately, it seeks unpopulated areas and rarely bites people.
14. The saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) is widely regarded as one of the world's most dangerous snakes. It has a powerful venom, as do many venomous species. But it also lives in highly populated areas and has an aggressive nature.
15. Certain types of snakes can go months without eating. This is especially true of the big constrictors, such as the Anaconda and the reticulated python. Snakes eat large meals (relative to their body size), and they have much slower metabolisms than we humans have. This partly explains how they can go so long between meals.
16. Africa's Gaboon viper has the longest fangs and highest venom output of all the venomous snakes. Fortunately, this snake is relatively slow-moving and placid (when compared to other venomous snakes in its range).
17. Some of the more primitive snakes, such as boas and pythons, still have the vestiges of a pelvic girdle as part of their skeleton. They also have small claws or "spurs" that are believed to be the remnants of hind legs lost through evolution.
18. All snakes can swim quite well. Some species, such as the water moccasin, spend most of their lives near water.
19. Sea snakes have adapted to life in the ocean in various ways. They have flat tails like the tail of an eel, and they move in much the same way. But they are still reptiles and therefore must return to surface to breathe.
20. Snakes do not have external ears. But they do have certain bone structures of the internal ear (such as the stapes bone). While they cannot hear like an animal with external ears, it is widely accepted that snakes can pick up on ground vibrations and even certain low-frequency airborne sounds.
21. The scales of all snakes are made of keratin, which is the same substance that makes up the hair and fingernails of humans.

I hope these snake facts help you appreciate the wonderful world of snakes. Understanding these creatures is the key to reducing the fear and hysteria that often surrounds them. Snakes provide an important ecological role everywhere they exist. They have been around for millions of years and deserve our respect and understanding -- not our persecution.