During the first year of being in a romance, a protein in our cells called Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) that is vital for the functions of particular sympathetic and sensory nerve cells, appears to thrive. During youthful love, our senses are heightened, and our fight or flight reaction system is activated.

Despite having one of Europe's oldest histories, Italy has only been a country since 1861. Italy was a unified entity throughout the Roman era. It was thereafter separated into independent states, which it remained until 1861. Because of this lengthy history of individualism, the country now has such a diverse spectrum of cultural variants.

Though concluding definitively that colour affects a person's psyche has proven difficult, there have been a plethora of studies — some official, some not so official — that have come close. These investigations date back to the 1930s, when neurologist Kurt Goldstein began experimenting with colour and appearance. Goldstein discovered, for example, that people automatically assume red objects are heavier, while green objects are lighter.

When kissing, 70% of individuals turn their heads to the right. A German scientist who was monitoring kissing couples in airports, train stations, and beaches came to this conclusion. Perhaps this head posture is related to being right-handed.

In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IV waged war against cats. He said that black cats were Satan's tools. He commanded the annihilation of these felines throughout Europe as a result of this notion. This strategy, however, backfired, resulting in a rise in the number of plague-carrying rats.

Ventriloquist dummies, like dolls, have become a staple of horror films. A ventriloquist's dummy named Slappy is one of R.L. Stine's most iconic antagonists. If they terrify you, avoid visiting the Ven Haven Museum near Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Vintage ventriloquist dummies line the walls. This is undoubtedly your worst nightmare if you're afraid of dolls. How funny, these people should have destroyed them, but no, they thought why not show it to the world...

Stubbs, an orange cat, was named honorary mayor of the Alaskan town of Talkeetna in 1997. With a population of 772 in 2000, it would not have taken many votes to win the position (and the small town didn't have a real, human mayor anyway), but Stubbs proved adept at the role, gaining fans from all over the world and "serving" in the position for years, greeting tourists and becoming a beloved symbol of the town until his death in 2017.

A girl's brain is busy developing fine motor skills, verbal skills, and social skills in her first five years of life, all of which are highly valued by parents and teachers. Meanwhile, a boy's brain is hard at work developing gross motor, spatial, and visual skills. All of these abilities are useful for hunting. As a result, when it comes to learning and fitting in, boys frequently start school at a distinct disadvantage.

Do you consider all of your decisions, weighing all of your options and calculating the impact of each outcome? You may believe you are, but you are incorrect. The majority of your decisions are made subconsciously because your conscious mind would be overwhelmed with information and you would likely become mentally frozen. This is because your brain receives over 11 million bits of information every second, and there simply isn't enough "brainpower" to process it all consciously.

Everyone has experienced the agony of rejection at some point in their lives, but did you know that rejection causes physical harm as well as emotional pain? Even if you are unable to feel physical pain, scientists have discovered that the reactions and cascading events that occur in the brain after rejection or physical pain are nearly identical. Furthermore, the same natural chemical is released in both cases.

This occurred while he was shooting "127 Hours." According to legend, Franco enrolled in an NYU acting class where the teacher gave him a "D." He was working 127 hours at the time. Another aspect of this incident is that the professor was eventually sacked for assigning a "D" grade to Franco's paper.

You may have noticed that women take more risks than men, and there is a scientific reason for this. Women have a larger anterior cingulate cortex than men, which is the part of the brain that weighs options when making a decision. Some argue that this was evolution's way of making women better caregivers and saving the "tribe" when it came to gathering food and establishing social structures.

Many Koreans were forced to fight for the Japanese cause, but one soldier is said to have fought for almost everyone. According to folklore, after fighting for the Imperial Japanese Army, Korean soldier Yang Kyoungjong was captured and forced to serve for the Soviet Red Army, and then the German Wehrmacht. During this period, the Allies arrived in France, and Yang was captured by the US Army.

According to the World Health Organization, only Belarus consumes more alcohol than Moldova. With each person consuming an average of 16.8 litres of liquor each year (excluding under 15s). Well that is a lot of booze..

Queen Elizabeth I used to use ceruse, a combination of white lead and vinegar, to paint her face. Despite how appealing these two components appear, you'll be surprised to learn that they are incredibly corrosive and ageing. "Those ladies that use it on their faces, do rapidly become withered and grey haired, for this doth so terribly dry up the naturall moisture of their flesh," one of her contemporaries observed of women who used ceruse. That sounds like a fantastic concept!

Austrians celebrated their victory over Hungary during the 1848 revolution by clinking their drinks during a toast. Since then, Hungarians have avoided clinking their glasses while toasting since it reminds them of their loss. Instead, if you're drinking a beer in Hungary, say "Egészségedre" while looking your drinking companions in the eyes.

During the Victorian era, there was a significant change in the way people dressed. The Victorian dress reform, also known as the rational dress movement, occurred between the 1860s and 1890s, during the middle and late Victorian eras. Reformers proposed, wore, and even designed clothing that was more practical and comfortable than what was available at the time.

You might have already noticed that every picture of iPhones on any advertisement has the time set at 9:41. But why is that? There is a cool story behind this. When Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone, the local time was 9:42 at that time in San Francisco, California. They knew that they will unveil the iPhone at 9:42 and set the time to 9:42 in the slideshow as well.

However, when the iPad was released, they announced it at 9:41. Since then, this is still in effect as of yet. So, whenever you see an iPhone in any advertisement, you will see the time is set at 9:41. And, it is not a coincidence at all. Now you know the story behind this as well.

You may hear people claim to be natural multitaskers, and you've probably even seen it in job descriptions, but humans simply cannot multitask. You can listen to music while working, but your brain can only handle one higher-functioning task at a time. That means you'll either be working and ignoring the music, or you'll be working and ignoring the music. People are incapable of thinking about two things at the same time.

Traditionally, Russia was Moldova's largest export market, consuming up to 90% of its wine. However, a diplomatic conflict in 2006 resulted in a Russian ban on Moldovan and Georgian products, which has proved disastrous to the economies of both countries. Nonetheless, it is the world's 20th largest wine-producing country (as of 2014).

Robin Dunbar, a psychologist and the director of Oxford University's Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience research department, believes that every guy should spend at least two hours a week with 4-5 buddies. They can use this time any way they choose, from sports to going to bars. According to Dunbar, guys with faithful friends are less likely to be sad and have a better immune system.

Do you despise all things enjoyable? You might be suffering from Cherophobia! People who have this fear tend to avoid any circumstance that others would consider to be enjoyable or cheerful. Cherophobia is derived from the Greek words chero, which means "to joy," and phobia, which means "fear." If you have Cherophobia, please stop reading these fascinating facts right now! We can't comprehend the mental anguish you've gone through by reading this far.

You may have outgrown the hours-of-making-out-on-the-couch stage of your relationship, but you shouldn't dismiss kissing as a pleasurable pastime with your partner—and also a type of exercise! According to Woman's Day's sexologist, one hour of mild kissing burns 68 calories. "Oh my god, an hour?" you may be thinking. Yes, an entire hour. You've got this! You've always wanted to work out with your hubby, and now is your chance.

The mythical hero existed in real life. His given name was John Chapman, and he was from Leominster, Massachusetts. He also has a street named after him, however city planners believed that using his fabled name would be more poetic: Johnny Appleseed Lane.

If you're familiar with Spider-Man, you'll know that one of his most potent talents is his renowned Spider Sense. This heightened sense had alerted him of impending threats and had saved his life several times. His spidey sense was always on and practically hard to avoid. It was unaffected by darkness or blindness. That alone makes it incredible, but it is far more potent than you may expect. It alerted him of existential hazards to his well-being in addition to acute bodily concerns. It would even warn him to any possible witnesses when he changed his outfit, for example.