Billions (rather than millions)... MILLIONS of Call of Duty multiplayer battles have already been played long before Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 2, or even the impending Ghosts. In total, 1.4 billion matches have been played, which is far more than all known battles in human history combined.

After the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, many believed the Egyptian Pharaoh cursed all who entered it. Aside from the curse of the pharaohs—which is a belief that anyone, thief or archeologist, who disturbs the mummy of an ancient Egyptian person will be cursed—an expedition led by Howard Carter furthered the mysticism. During the expedition, a canary that led Carter to the tomb died, Carter’s financial backer, George Herbert, died after a mosquito bite grew infected, and numerous other deaths became associated with the decade-long dig.

Although niacinamide concentrations might vary between brands, most formulations have a maximum of 5%. According to certain reports, 5 percent of formulations can effectively heal hyperpigmentation and sun damage. You might wish to start with a lower concentration if you have sensitive skin. Formulas with 2% niacinamide may be useful in reducing the signs and symptoms of eczema and related diseases. Niacinamide may appear on product labels under the names "niacin" and "nicotinamide".

The majority of animal species in the Antarctic eat krill, and some, like the Adélie and chinstrap penguins, rely almost entirely on it for nutrition. Even the teeth of crabeater seals are specially designed for consuming krill. Furthermore, according to recent studies, humpback and fin whales, whose populations are now stabilised after centuries of whaling, consume a combined 2 million metric tonnes of krill annually from a small area close to the Antarctic Peninsula where the majority of the world's commercial krill fisheries are based.

When luciferase was first discovered, fireflies were the only source of the chemical. Even though synthetic luciferase is now readily available, some businesses continue to collect fireflies, which may be a factor in their decline.

In Arizona, a law was brought into effect after a public menace case in 1924. A merchant used to allow his donkey to sleep in a bathtub and when the town flooded, the donkey was washed a mile down the valley. The donkey survived, but locals spent a lot of time and manpower to save the animal. This law was passed shortly after.

Lara Croft has a distinctive appearance, but her voice isn't always consistent. Lara was only voiced by Shelley Blond for one game. Lara's lines have been delivered by five different voice actresses.

Persian rugs are beautiful because they resemble works of art. The intricate patterns and designs are one-of-a-kind works of art that are frequently regarded as being undervalued. It is believed that the patterns and colors used are a reflection of ancient Persian culture. Each rug is rich with history.

By the late nineteenth century, lipstick had grown in favor as all the beautiful and stylish Victorian-era girls began to wear it. The first commercially successful lipstick made from grapefruit and butter was produced by the French cosmetic firm 'Guerlain' in the 1880s. Thank god for ingredients that don't make you puke. While lipstick began to appear in department shops, applying lipstick was still considered an extremely intimate process. In the 1800s, actress Sarah Bernhardt provoked a tremendous incident merely by wearing lipstick in public. That may sound incredibly typical to us moderns. It would have been some extremely hot gas if you were an 1800s person.

Demi Moore, Britney Spears, Reese Witherspoon, Mickey Rourke, Sharon Osborne Everyone adores them!

Throughout the majority of the Uncharted series, Drake claimed to be a descendent of Sir Francis Drake, despite the fact that Sir Francis Drake was known to have no children. Drake's Deception reveals that he is not who he claims to be. This is further developed in A Thief's End, as Drake's true identity is revealed to be Nathan Morgan. Cassandra Morgan, his mother, was an archaeologist who hypothesised that Sir Francis Drake had heirs. Following his mother's death, Drake and Sam were placed in a Boston orphanage. After fleeing, they decided to alter their names, and they chose the surname "Drake" in honour of their mother.

Glass is made by heating sand, lime, and soda ash at extremely high temperatures. Glass is formed when the liquid mixture cools down.

The chia plant is fickle and requires highly specialised growth conditions. It cannot withstand frost, yet it need low temperatures to create large quantities of omega-3 fatty acids. Chia grows best between 23 degrees north and south of the equator. This region has some of the ideal conditions for growing chia seeds.

The Brahmaputra is considered to be among the most majestic rivers in the world. The Brahmaputra enters India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, where it is called Siang. It makes a very rapid descent from its original height in Tibet, and finally appears in the plains, where it is called Dihang. It flows for about 35 km (22 mi) and is joined by the Dibang River and the Lohit River at the head of the Assam Valley. Below the Lohit, the river is called Brahmaputra, enters the state of Assam, and becomes very wide—as wide as 10 km (6 mi) in parts of Assam.

Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI of England for its valour against the Axis siege during WWII. The George Cross is still depicted on the national flag.

For years, I had heard about the Canadian cuisine Poutine but had never eaten it. Despite having seen it on menus in the United States, I wanted to sample this Canadian cuisine for the first time in Canada. Poutine originates in the province of Quebec. It's made out of French fries, gravy, and cheese curds. I realize that doesn't sound very tasty (or perhaps it does). We were able to taste it at the first eatery that offered it in the area-Chez Ashton-during my Saint-Roch walking food tour in Quebec City. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it!

Maxwell Lappe, a dentist, invented Nu Nails, an artificial nail designed specifically for nail biters, in 1934. Dentists must be obsessed with nail care, because dentist Fred Slack invented the first modern acrylic nails.

The Indonesian flag, with a red stripe at the top and a white stripe at the bottom, does not appear to be the most inventive or thoroughly thought-out in the globe. While Poland's flag is reversed (white on top and red on the bottom), Indonesia and Monaco have flags that are nearly identical, with the exception of Indonesia's flag being somewhat broader.

A fun fact is that Galileo and Shakespeare were both born in the same year (1564). The English dramatist was reaching the end of his career when Galileo pointed his telescope to the night sky. But he wasn't quite ready to lay down his pen: his late drama Cymbeline contains what might be a reference to one of Galileo's most important discoveries—the four moons around Jupiter. The deity Jupiter descends from the skies in the last act, and four ghosts dance in a circle around him. It may be a coincidence, or, as I argue in my book The Science of Shakespeare, it could be intentional.

If you or someone you know has ever quit smoking with nicotine gum, you can thank Sweden. Nicorette, the first product, was created by Leo AB in Helsingborg. It was inspired by the fact that while on duty, smoking Swedish submariners would switch from tobacco to chewing tobacco or snus to get their nicotine fix. Nicorette wasn't the first time nicotine was placed in chewing gum, but they did design a polymer that regulated the flow of nicotine into the bloodstream, allowing for a continuous release and a gradual withdrawal, allowing millions of people to stop for good.

The employee said black aprons are reserved for "coffee masters." Starbucks baristas have to become certified coffee masters to wear black aprons. Once they're approved by a manager, they have to learn basically everything there is to know about coffee before they can officially call themselves a coffee master. So, if you have a question about something specific, look for a barista in a black apron. 

Richard and Maurice McDonald both the company's founders established and occupied a hot dog stand near the Santa Anita racecourse in Arcadia, California, the USA in the late 1930s. They launched a drive-in barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940, which they converted into a burger establishment in 1948. Maurice and Richard McDonald owned the world's ninth-largest economy, with 27 billion dollars in income from McDonald's franchisees.

Since roughly 600 B.C., when a child has paraded around in a basket in honour of Dionysus, the god of fertility, an infant has been a symbol of the occasion (and wine). The infant symbolises the rebirth that occurs at the beginning of each new year.

Finding easier modes of transportation than walking becomes crucial if you reside in a region that is primarily covered in snow. As a result, some of the early Inuit tribes are credited with developing qamutiks, or dogsleds, and qajaqs, or kayaks. Larger Inuit communities were frequently ferried across the lake on umiaqs. The same materials that were used to build their vessels were also utilised to build the dogsleds, which were made of wood and whale bones.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was the result of a request from Universal in 1927 that Walt and his head animator Ub Iwerks create a cartoon character for them. Oswald was a huge success, with strong merchandising to match. Disney travelled to New York in 1928 to renegotiate his contract with producer Charles Mintz after achieving this success. But Mintz came back with a different proposal: He wanted to reduce the budget. To further aggravate the situation, Mintz was hiring Disney's animators under his nose through secret agreements. Oswald's rights ultimately went to Universal, and Disney felt as though he had lost almost everything as he left New York. But everything functioned as intended.