Unlike Queen Elizabeth II, who was born into the role of monarch, Malaysia's King, Abdul Halim of Kedah, was chosen in December 2011. In Malaysia, the king is elected by the Conference of Rulers and granted a five-year tenure to govern the country. The country's sultans, who inherit their titles from their fathers, make up the Conference of Rulers.

Ella Slack is of comparable height and size as the queen, thus she will perform a rehearsal before major events to eliminate royal annoyances such as the sun getting in Her Majesty's eyes. Slack has been doing it for three decades, but she is not permitted to sit on the throne, so she must kneel above it.

Marie and Pierre Curie took part in examinations of Eusapia Palladino, an Italian medium who claimed she could channel the dead, and attended a series of seances two years after obtaining the Nobel Prize in Physics. Pierre obviously believed that some of Palladino's accomplishments, such as levitating items and tables, were genuine. (Marie didn't appear to be as convinced.)

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a furious rock anthem that exploded out of the speakers, making everything else on MTV seem puny and insignificant in comparison. The author of the song heard it differently. "It's such a perfect combination of cleanliness and nice, candy-ass production," Cobain said in an interview with biographer Michael Azerrad. "It may seem extreme to those who aren't used to it, but I think it's kind of lame."

Several studies have found that hypnosis can be an effective pain management tool. In fact, EEG studies have shown that hypnosis removes the emotional experience of pain while allowing the sensory sensation to be experienced. When they are in this trance-like state, they can feel touch, but their brain does not recognise pain. As they prepare for natural childbirth, an increasing number of women are undergoing prenatal hypnosis training.

Everyone enjoys taking a vacation from work when they can, but in Sweden, the concept is ingrained in society. Fika is a recognized break twice a day where workers share coffee, cake, and conversation. But, don't all workers take breaks? Fika is a social and almost compulsory thing in the Western world, despite the fact that many work breaks are simply theoretical in the Western world. So much so that in most workplaces, anyone who does not participate is deemed disrespectful. Perhaps this is why Swedish employees rank fourth in the world in terms of happiness!

A precious tooth relic of Lord Buddha, transported from India in the fourth century CE, is still kept in Kandy's Temple of the Tooth. Every summer, one of Sri Lanka's seven finest festivals, Esala Perahera (Festival of the Tooth), is held to honour the tooth. More information about the Kandy Festival of the Tooth may be found here: Kandy Festival of the Tooth.

One of my favorite historic Quebec City facts is that Old Quebec is encircled by defensive city walls that were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985.

Google Analytics indicates that interest in crochet has surpassed interest in knitting, and the numbers are still rising. Since 2011, crochet-related searches have consistently outpaced knitting-related searches, and it appears that this trend will continue. Find out more about it here!

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!

What’s with the long face? In Milan, the law compels you to smile. It’s prescribed by a city regulation from Austro-Hungarian times that was never repealed. Exemptions included funeral goers, hospital workers or those at the bedside of an ill family member. For everybody else there is no excuse for being glum, the alternative being a fine.

Noel Odell, an adventurer, was the first to uncover marine fossils on Mount Everest in 1924, proving that the Mount Everest area was formerly covered by an ocean. The summit's limestone and sandstone were discovered to be submerged sedimentary rocks produced roughly 450 million years ago. Geologists believe Everest has only been a mountain for around 60 million years, when the Indian Plate was subducted by the Eurasian Plate, generating the Himalayas. If that's the case, Mount Everest must be growing quicker than in the past, as it would only take around 2 million years for Everest to rise 8,848 meters at current rates of 4 mm/year.

The scent of chocolate induces theta brain waves, which result in relaxation. In fact, research done at Hasselt University throughout Belgium found that when the aroma of chocolate was dispersed in bookstores, book sales increased, particularly for romantic novels. Yes, relaxation! Chocolate also includes tryptophan, which the brain needs to make serotonin, a hormone that induces feelings of well-being. So eating chocolate actually makes you happier!

A vegan, water-based extract prepared from diverse plant-based raw materials without the addition of animal dairy products is referred to as a plant-based milk replacement. To achieve a whole milk substitute, additional vitamins, minerals, oils, and tastes are added depending on the recipe.

Butterscotch is a type of confectionary that has a toffee taste. It is prepared by combining sugar and butter to generate a sticky, sweet concoction that may be used to coat sweets or to make a variety of desserts. The name butterscotch is also used to describe the flavour of brown sugar and butter together, even when the real dessert butterscotch is not present, as in butterscotch pudding (a type of custard).

There was another film before we saw Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. There was a television film version of Doctor Strange in 1978, intended to set the ground for a TV series that never materialized. Even though it was unpopular, few recognise it as a part of the series, owing to the fact that the tale focuses on his employment as a doctor and his desire to earn his powers, rather than using them.

In Greenland, 11% of the population is not Inuit. As a result, any Inuk who lives in Greenland has the opportunity to have new dining experiences, however even this hasn't significantly changed their traditional diet. Because it is difficult to get vegetables and fruit in cold, remote places, anthropologists and other experts have concluded that the Inuit diet has remained mostly unchanged over the centuries and consists predominantly of meat and fish.

One of the few whale species with unfused cervical neck vertebrae is the beluga. They have highly flexible necks as a result of this, and their heads may move in all directions.

Because red hair keeps its pigment more tightly than any other hair color, it must have its pigment taken before being colored by bleaching, which, of course, destroys the hair. Continue to wear red!

Swiggy was clearly on the move. After branching out with Swiggy Stores in March of 2019, it took the operation a step further by adding a new division. Swiggy Go is the name of the new service that Swiggy added in September of 2019. The service provided instant pick-up and drop services throughout all its locations in India. This included a variety of different items with everything from laundry and other retail items to parcel deliveries for businesses and individuals. This marked an important expansion of the services Swiggy offered and it helped to diversify its offerings to reach a larger segment of the population in need of delivery services.

Carl Barnes, an Oklahoma farmer, spent years selectively breeding the colourful corn as a way to reconnect with his heritage. Anyone can now purchase and plant the multicoloured cobs.

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.