The lack of natural predators in their usurped habitat is why sea lampreys have been so successful in their penetration into the Lakes. This increases the urgency with which the administration must cope with the invasion.

Chile is the fifth largest wine exporter and the ninth largest producer. Not just any wine, but some of the greatest and finest selections of wines have been made in Chile since the first wine vines were planted in the region in 1554 by Spanish Conquistadors. Chile has about 1,200 kilometres of viticulture valleys in 14 distinct districts, producing over 10 million hectoliters of wine every year. Make sure you visit Chile Wine Country!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, as the saying goes, and this proved to be true for a very early design of the mousetrap. Colin Pullinger unveiled his Perpetual Mousetrap in the mid-1800s, claiming that it would last a lifetime. Pullinger could still make that claim more than a century later.Even without bait, the 155-year-old device on display at England's Museum of English Rural Life caught a mouse that snuck into it in 2016. In an attempt to build a nest, the mouse entered the trap and activated the see-saw mechanism. Unfortunately, the rodent did not make it. The perpetual mousetrap, on the other hand, clearly does!

India is home to one of the world's hottest chillies, the bhut jolokia or ghost pepper, which is 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. The chilli, which is grown in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur, was certified as the world's hottest in 2007 by Guinness World Records, but it fell out of that position in subsequent years.

Physics confirms what you've probably known since childhood: wet or moist snow is ideal for making your own backyard Frosty. According to one scientist, the ideal snow-to-water ratio is 5:1.

The Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope was bought by the Vatican in 1981. It is one of the world's biggest telescopes. It is located on the summit of Mount Graham in southeast Arizona, and it is where the Vatican performs astronomical research.

Do you keep a horseshoe on your door or a lucky coin in your wallet? Some superstitious individuals think that some artifacts might attract good fortune, and they are, in a way, completely correct. People who took a "lucky charm" with them to a series of memory and analog tests scored better than those who did not, according to a 2010 research published in Psychological Science.

A few other fictitious-sounding details about pirates are correct. According to National Geographic, battling pirates would have lost limbs from time to time, and some of them would have replaced their missing appendages with a hook or a wooden peg. "Members of the crew... received compensation for the loss of body parts in action—an early form of worker's compensation," according to the Smithsonian Institute.

While not everything in The Bell Jar corresponds to Plath's life, she drew on many of her own experiences to write the novel. Just like Esther in The Bell Jar, Plath received electroshock therapy as a treatment for her depression and was hospitalized several times over the course of her life. She received her first electroshock treatment after her first suicide attempt at the age of 20. She was treated at Maclean Hospital in Massachusetts, which has also treated Robert Lowell, Anne Sexton, David Foster Wallace, James Taylor, and Ray Charles.

The relationship between spirituality and religion can be complicated. There are so many different religions today, and some of them have similar beliefs about God or an afterlife. Anyone can enjoy and benefit from spiritual practices, regardless of their religious beliefs (or lack thereof). The relationship between spirituality and religion is that religion is (hopefully) spiritual, but spirituality is not a religion (defined as a set of rules or dogma).

In our list of Spider-Man facts, we discussed how the Clone Saga nearly ruined Marvel Comics, but a decade earlier, DC was in trouble because its heroes weren't selling well. Jim Shooter, Marvel's editor-in-chief at the time, was approached by the head of Warner Communications' publishing but declined the offer, arguing that DC characters wouldn't sell since they weren't very good. Ouch! Consider what would happen if the deal went through. That old Marvel vs. DC comics dispute would not have occurred!

A goat herder in Ethiopia is said to have discovered coffee in the 1500s. He noticed his goats munching on coffee cherries. He noticed a change in their behaviour after that; they gained a lot of energy and didn't sleep at night. The herder informed the local monks of his findings. They realised they could stay up all night praying after making their own drink from coffee beans. The news quickly spread to other Ethiopian monks and then to the rest of the civilised world.

Barbie is named after the Handlers' daughter, Barbara. Ken is named after their son, Kenneth. In Barbie's world, her parents are George and Margaret Roberts from Willows, Wisconsin. Other family members include her siblings: Skipper, Tutti, Todd, Stacie, Kelly, Chelsea, and Krissy. Tutti and Todd are twins … but so are Todd and Stacie, apparently (at least according to Todd's box). She also has cousins named Francie and Jazzie.

MIND THE GAP! That’s the gap between when there was a British Museum tube station and now. The photos above (courtesy of London Transport Museum) show the entrance to the Museum’s underground station in 1921, some gentlemen waiting on the platform in 1903 (with some fabulous hats!), and its construction in 1898. The station opened in 1900 but was closed in September 1933 when the new Holborn station opened, less than 100 yards away.

Donald Davies, a computer pioneer, helped pave the path for the birth of the internet by inventing packet-switched networking. (In addition, fellow Briton Sir Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web.)

Under a microscope, dust mites appear somewhat menacing due to a pair of unsettling, pincer-like claws located close to their mouths. But do not worry; unlike lice and bed bugs, these tiny creatures are not parasites. They do not bite people and do not consume blood.

Moisturizing isn't only for the day! After cleaning your face at night, apply moisturizer since it works better on your skin when sleeping and is not exposed to the elements.

Being in a loving relationship has a positive emotional and physical impact on your life. According to one meta-analysis of more than 3.5 million people nationwide, married people up to the age of 50 were 13% less likely to develop vascular diseases than divorced or single people.

Fish nostrils, like those of humans, do not open into the back of the mouth and are thus not used for breathing. They lead to smell organs, which are extremely sensitive, allowing fish to sense the presence of food in the water from great distances. More nostrils equal more sniffing!

Pulp Fiction was one of the great 90s flicks, but there are a few facts about the film you might not be aware of. One such fact about the Quinten Tarantino film is that one of the scenes was shot in reverse. When Uma Thurman’s Mia Wallace suffers an OD and must be brought back to life with a shot of adrenalin, John Travolta’s Vincent Vega plunges a needle into her chest. To avoid any injury, this scene was actually shot in reverse. Travolta was filmed pulling the needled out of Thurman’s chest. Who would have known? 

Although no one knows where tulips originated, it is evident that the Ottomans adored the flower and helped it spread throughout Europe. According to legend, the flower was introduced to Holland in the 16th century by a Flemish diplomat who visited Süleyman the Magnificent.

In a perfectly dark room, close your eyes. When you open them, the hue you see is known as eigengrau, which translates to "intrinsic grey." When there is no light, humans see a tone of dark grey.

2012 was a golden time for Apple. Because there are reports saying that Apple has sold about 3, 50,000 iPhones per day in 2012.

A landmark study published in 2010 indicated that consuming a single glass of beet juice each day might have a significant influence on a person's blood pressure. The study found that consuming beet juice might considerably lower blood pressure over several hours. This might be an excellent natural technique to reduce blood pressure without the need of drugs. Beet juice is also high in vitamins and minerals, making it an excellent supplement to any balanced diet.