Nong Fa Lake, a magnificent volcanic lake high in the mountains of southeast Laos, is veiled in stories, reverence, and dread. Laotians refuse to swim or bathe in the lake because they think it is home to a monstrous snake pig that will devour anyone who ventures into its depths. Nong Fa, which translates straight to "sky lake," is thought to be roughly 78 meters deep, however, locals aren't sure because attempts to measure the depths using bamboo poles have failed.

Your liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids, and bile is the only way your body can get rid of excess cholesterol.

Your body also uses cholesterol to make sex hormones, like estrogen and testosterone. If you have liver disease, you’ll have trouble absorbing fats as well as hormonal problems.

But fats are chemically different from cholesterol; the body burns fats for energy. That’s why food labels list fat and cholesterol separately.

Tunisia has a metro station located just outside of the capital. Everyone speaks about the metro, but don't be misled; it's essentially a light rail system. It indicates it won't go underground save for a few small tunnels and appears like a tram. The first line opened in 1985, while the latter two lines, lines 4 and 6, opened in 2008-2009. A metro ticket costs around 0.40 DT (0.10snt), and the metro is often easier to use than buses. Just be careful not to miss your stop and keep an eye on your valuables. I urge that travelers use taxes. When it comes to public transportation, it is the cheapest, fastest, and most comfortable option.

Many marching bands use sousaphones instead of traditional tubas because they are easier to walk with. The sousaphone got its name from the famous march composer John Philip Sousa, who made several requests and suggestions for its design

When you think of volcanoes, you might think of Hawaii, but Alaska, Hawaii's Pacific neighbour, has around 130 volcanoes, 50 of which have been active since roughly 1760. These active volcanoes account for over 75% of all volcanic eruptions in the United States over the last 200 years. In the past, this has caused significant problems with aviation and oil production, resulting in millions of dollars in damage from volcanic ash.

The original Beauty and the Beast fable was written in 1740 by French author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, and the beast was a horrible mix of an elephant and a fish. The story was designed to persuade girls to accept arranged marriages, "for an alliance that entailed effacing their own wants and surrendering to the will of a monster," according to children's literature expert Maria Tatar.

People who have this phobia may have bodily symptoms even if they are only thinking about speaking in front of a group.

The R2-D2 that we all know and love only talks in beeps and whistles, a mechanical language that most of his companions comprehend. However, in the first draught of Star Wars, written in 1974, R2-D2 talked in whole words. Even more concerning, he was not the endearing wuss he would eventually become. He was a bit of a bully, berating his friend C-3PO with taunts such as, "You're a stupid, useless philosopher," and "You're nothing more than a dimwitted, emotion-filled academic." My reasoning systems cannot explain why you were formed." Sheesh, can you please tone it down a notch?

There are 22 recognized languages, with Hindi and English serving as the official languages. Other widely spoken languages include Bengali (the second most spoken language), Telugu, Tamil, Urdu, and Punjabi. There are up to 19,500 recognized languages and dialects in the nation. With 310 million native speakers (4.5 percent of the world's population), Hindi is the fourth most spoken language in the world. Bengali is the world's seventh most spoken language, and Punjabi is the world's tenth most spoken language.

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.

Mercedes-Benz automobiles today are expensive, owing to over a century of precision engineering and safety innovation. Thankfully, the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-owned (CPO) programme allows you to acquire a famous automobile at a more affordable price. In addition to a lower price, every CPO Mercedes-Benz comes with industry-leading coverage: an unlimited-mileage guarantee for up to five years, among other benefits available only through Authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers.

Section 32 of the Salmon Act 1986 stipulates that it’s an offence to handle salmon under suspicious circumstances. This section creates an offence in England and Wales for any person who receives or disposes of any salmon in circumstances where they believe or could reasonably believe that the salmon has been illegally fished. The maximum penalty is two years imprisonment.

Imhotep, the world's first known physician, used Sleep Temples as healing sanctuaries. The temples were used as a type of suggestion therapy, and people would go there to be healed of physical and mental ailments. Patients who visit a Sleep Temple are said to be put under the influence of incantation or a hypnotic state. Before finally falling asleep, the physician would make whatever suggestions he could to help them overcome their problem in the hopes that the gods would visit the patient while he slept and fix them.

Without a single piece of wreckage being found, the riddles of what happened to almost a hundred distinct planes remain a mystery to this day. Nobody knows where they went or what happened to the planes that vanished.

The most prestigious university of America cannot have its students getting distracted from school now, can they? Commercial filming on university grounds is banned at Harvard and it has been a no-film zone since 1970. Movies like The Social Network (2010) and some others found a loophole; although set at Harvard they were filmed elsewhere, complying with university regulations.

Netflix has some really cool and unusual work policies. As long as the employees schedule their work ahead of time, they are allowed to take as many leaves as they want. And no prizes for guessing, they get a free Netflix subscription. 

With 12 Academy Award nominations, "The Artist" may lead the pack of movies this year, but the films with the most nominations overall received an astounding 14 nominations. All About Eve, a 1950 black and white movie, came first. 50 years later, "Titanic," the tragic love story starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, defeated all rivals.

Purebred or pedigree dogs are either bred for a particular purpose, such as Newfoundlands as water rescue dogs or are indigenous to a particular region, such as Tibetan mastiffs, which flourish in the Himalayas but not in the humidity of Mumbai or the sweltering Delhi summers.

A dozen people have walked on the moon in human history, but only three have made it to the Mariana Trench due to the harsh conditions. Are you one of them? Director James Cameron, who wrote a piece for National Geographic about the dive.

During the 1987 World Cup, Sachin worked as a ball boy for the match between India and Zimbabwe at the Wankhede Stadium. He was 14 at the time. Because of his love of the game, Sachin Tendulkar used to sleep with his cricket gear as a child.

Chile has one of the world's longest coastlines, stretching for around 6500 kilometres. It is, nevertheless, one of the world's narrowest, having a width of little over 200 kilometres. The majority of the most well-known beach resorts, or balnearios, are located in central Chile, ranging from El Norte Chico south past the metropolitan district to the northern limits of Region VII, Region del Maule. Chile has a moderate Mediterranean climate, with warm to hot days and cold nights in the summer.