No one is totally sure why hypnic jerks occur but they are deemed to be perfectly healthy. However, they may be increased by anxiety, caffeine or physical activity close to bedtime. They’re more frequent in young people and decrease as we get older.

 

A fascinating part of Balinese society is that there are just four names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman, and Ketut, and people know the names of their children before they are born. The names are given in chronological sequence, therefore the first baby is Wayan, the second is Made, the third is Nyoman, and the fourth is Ketut. If there is a fifth child, they are renamed Wayan, and the cycle continues.

The fate of the Afrikaans language was a hot topic during negotiations for South Africa's new government in 1992. The ANC sought to make English the official language of the nation, but Afrikaner nationalists were anxious that it remains on par with English. The ANC concurred, but it was difficult for them to justify simply adopting Afrikaans and leaving out other indigenous languages. Then came South Africa's inclusive linguistic policy.

It may appear obvious because many of us are familiar with witchcraft through films such as The Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, and others. However, in real life, witchcraft has a very negative connotation, so much so that witches were sentenced to death in order to cleanse society. However, white magic practitioners have existed throughout history. Witchcraft is not the same as black magic. It is an umbrella term for both white and black magic.

Because of their rigid bodies, sunflowers can be used all over your house as decorations or even as bird feeders, but did you know they also make a great scrubbing pad? All those flowers are very effective at removing the grime from your favorite pots and pans. Sunflowers can be used as the ideal single-use scrubbing pad after drying.

The leathery smell in Chanel’s Cuir de Russie comes from an ingredient originally derived from the abdomen of beavers. Called Castoreum, there’s a fruit-scented extract that is taken from the abdominal glands of beavers and used in perfumes. It is supposed to smell sweet, warm, and animalic. However, since the animal has to be killed to remove the sac which contains this “castor”, perfumes that contain this scent use synthetic recreations of the note.

Ashwagandha has been utilised in Ayurvedic medicine for about 3000 years. Isn't that a really lengthy amount of time? According to claims, it was used to treat a variety of health problems and diseases, including stress, insomnia, arthritis, snake bites, constipation and other gastrointestinal difficulties, fever, memory loss, and infertility. It's a diuretic, an aphrodisiac, and a Rasayana - a treatment that boosts vigour and health. It is still used to relieve tension in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Have you ever come across a blue chicken egg? There's an interesting storey behind how these eggs got their brilliant blue colour. A virus infected a species of native South American chickens over 500 years ago, according to a PLoS ONE study. This infestation caused a genetic mutation that caused an accumulation of a pigment known as biliverdin, causing the chickens to lay blue and green eggs!

The following are the criteria for the diagnosis of PCOS: Anovulatory infertility decreased flow during menses; excess facial hair; Polycystic ovaries on ultrasound. The presence of any two of the above three criteria is necessary for the diagnosis of PCOS. Even if polycystic ovaries are not there, with the presence of the other two criteria, it is still diagnosed as PCOS.

The current round of kidney grille design by BMW has received a lot of unfavourable public feedback. They are, however, not novel. BMW's initial kidney grille debuted on the 303 model in 1933 and remained prominent until the 1970s. The well-known kidney grille first appeared on New Klasse cars in 1962 as part of a huge vertical grille. It wasn't until the Series automobiles appeared that the grilles shrunk substantially enough to be considered conventional.

The music of Wilhelmus, the Dutch national anthem, dates back to between 1569 and 1572. This makes it the oldest melody used in a country’s national anthem, although it did not become the official Dutch anthem until 1932. 

The lyrics were also written at least 400 years ago and they refer to “Dietse Bloed”, an old word for Nederlands (Dutch).

This is because Hong Kong is a former British colony, and many of the status-conscious British aristocracy, businesspeople, and officers preferred to cruise around in extravagance, therefore Rolls-Royces were imported. As a result, Hong Kong boasts the most Rolls-Royces per capita.

Amalgamation is limited to silver and copper. Due to the softness of pure gold, most gold jewellery is a mix of gold, silver, and copper. Even the notorious 24-karat gold contains some copper.

The giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) of South America typically has up to 100th teeth! It feeds mostly on ants and termites.

Iguanas do have blood. Because of the presence of biliverdin, a consequence of hemoglobin breakdown, their blood is often greenish in hue. Iguanas have a renal portal blood system, which filters blood from the rear limbs before it enters the main circulation.

These include superstition relating to various numbers, reliance on Chinese medicine, and relatively low religious rates. Only 50% of the population is religious, most commonly following Buddhism and Taoism.
 

An enormous number of visitors from all around the world attend the annual Kolkata International Book Fair. The book fair is the nirvana that book enthusiasts around the world have been waiting for, with little magazine stands and foreign bookstores.

Termites have natural predators just like many other animals. Ants are termites' main predators, destroying entire colonies when they catch them off guard during an invasion. Ant and termite colonies are frequently constructed next to one another, which can lead to conflict as both insect species compete for food. Actual "wars" can start if an ant or termite ventures into the other's territory as soldier insects plan attacks on the adversary's colony.

Most ancient Greek women were discouraged from wearing lipstick. Harlots, on the other hand, were encouraged to apply lip color in order to be clearly identifiable. In fact, the original lipstick legislation condemned harlots who appeared in public without lipstick to jail time. The Greeks believed that by wearing a bare lip, harlots might fool men into thinking they were ladies, demonstrating that even thousands of years ago, lipstick was associated with sensuality and was used as a justification to separate and subjugate women. Crocodile dung, sheep sweat, and red dye were among the materials in the Greek light paint recipe. Were they forced to use crocodile dung? Evidently, yeah.

The Philological Society of London proposed the first comprehensive English language dictionary in 1857, including words from the 12th century to the present. The Philological Society joined forces with Oxford University Press in 1879, and work began. The first volume of the dictionary (A to Ant) was published by Oxford University Press in 1884, and the final volume was published in 1928. The dictionary, titled A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, contained over 400,000 words and phrases. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is now one of the most respected and widely used dictionaries in the world.

A small 2011 study with 24 participants discovered that eating kiwi fruit appeared to enhance the quality of their sleep. Their sleep onset (the amount of time it took them to fall asleep), sleep duration, and sleep quality all improved after 4 weeks of kiwi consumption.

To generate redhead kids, both parents must be carriers of the mutant MC1R gene, which has a 25% probability if they do not have red hair themselves.

Hank Azaria's David moved to Russia to become a scientist, but his narrative with Phoebe was one of the show's most memorable. Azaria, on the other hand, auditioned for Joey during the show's casting around and was turned down twice.

The silly term is thought to have been created by fusing two French words: saquer (to draw) and bouter (to shove). The sackbuts of the Renaissance were the forerunners of the trombone, despite having a slightly different size and shape.

Books are an interesting market in part because they offer a 100% return policy. So, if a publisher sells 50 copies of a fresh new book to, say, Target or a local independent bookshop, that company has the option of returning all 50 copies to the publishing house if they don't sell. Isn't that crazy? 50 copies aren't much, but when you get into the hundreds, you can see how this can be a difficult market to predict.