Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Things you probably never need to know, but fascinating.. (a fwd)


*things you probably never need to know, but fascinating **
anyway

1. Coca-Cola was originally green.
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2. The most common name in the world is Mohammed.
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3.The name of all the continents end with the same letter
that they start with.
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4. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
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5. There are two credit cards for every person in the United
States.
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6. TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the
letters only on one row of the keyboard.
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7. Women blink nearly twice as much as men!
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8. You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.
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9. It is impossible to lick your elbow.
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10. People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you
sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond.
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11. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the
sky.
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12. The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to
be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.
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13. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you
try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in
your head or neck and die.
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14. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great
king from history.

Spades - King David

Clubs - Alexander the Great,

Hearts - Charlemagne

Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

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15. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
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16. If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both
front legs in the air, the person died in battle.

If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died
as a result of wounds received in battle.

If the horse has a all four legs on the ground, the person
died of natural causes.
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17 What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield
wipers and laser printers all have in common?

Ans. - All invented by women.
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18. Question - This is the only food that doesn't spoil.
What is this?

Ans. - Honey
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19. A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
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20. A snail can sleep for three year s.
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21. All polar bears are left handed.
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22. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating
one olive from each salad served in first-class.
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23. Butterflies taste with their feet.
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24.Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.
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25.In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been
domesticated.
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26. On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.
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27. Shakespeare invented the word 'assassination' and
'bump'.
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28. Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the
left hand.
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29. The ant always falls over on its right side when
intoxicated.
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30. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
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31. The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps
out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.
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32. Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats
could have over million descendants.
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33. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the
bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
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34. The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
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35. Most lipstick contains fish scales.
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36. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different
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37. And finally 99% of people who read this will try to lick
their elbow *

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Monday, January 01, 2007

Diamond Doctors - BW25Dec2006

Source: BW25Dec2006.

Global retail jwellery trade is $56-Billion worth.
De Beers' Diamond Trading Company (DTC) controls 50% of Global Diamond Trade.
DTC sells its rough diamonds only to the sightholders who, in turn process and release them to the market.93 DTC sightholders (Dec 06) worldwide out of which 37 are from India.
Indian sightholders account for 60% of DTC's global sales.
Term of a Sightholder lasts 30 months, after which one has to be evaluated again.
DTC and sightholders often work together on marketing initiatives.

Sightholders hold a respectable status in diamond fraternity.
This is a high value business and is based on trust and so the diamond fraternity is close-knit.
Most of the sightholders and diamond merchants have their offices in two buildings - Prasad chambers and Pancharatna building.
Tolerance for outsiders is low in this fraternity.

Throughout the 60s and 70s, diamond traders in Gujarat set up their business in Mumbai.
Two tradional communities in this business have been Jains from Palanpur and Kathiawaris.
Legend goes - initially business was run by Palanpuris and the processing of stones was done by Kathiawari labourers. Eventually they grew from labourers to small entrepreneurs. Overtime Palanpuri businessmen introduced their trustworthy Kathiawari subordinates into the trade.

Drug R&D - The Costly Formula

It costs $800 mn on an average to make a new drug to market.
Five of every 5000 compounds are tested on humans.
One out five drugs that enters trial makes it to the market.
It takes 12 years on an average for a drug to reach the market.

Source: BW25Dec2006.