Do you know number of countries in world

There are 196 countries(click to view list) in the world today.
Unless you don't count Taiwan…
Taiwan is not considered an official country by many, which would bring the count down to 195 countries. Although Taiwan operates as an independent country, many countries (including the U.S.) do not officially recognize it as one. Because the People's Republic of China considers Taiwan a breakaway province of China, countries who wish to maintain diplomatic relations with China have had to sever their formal relations with Taiwan (more than 100 countries, however, have unofficial relations with Taiwan).
How many countries belong to the United Nations?
192 countries are UN members. The exceptions are Taiwan (in 1971, the UN ousted Taiwan and replaced it with the People's Republic of China) and Vatican City. Kosovo is not yet a member. The newest UN members are Switzerland (2002) and Montenegro (2006).
What are the world's newest countries?
The world's newest country is South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011. Before that, the newest country was Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Montenegro became a country in June 2006, after splitting off from Serbia. Since 1990, 29 new nations have come into being. Many of these emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union (14 countries) and the breakup of the former Yugoslavia (7 countries). See our Guide to New Nations.
Are there still any countries that have colonies?
There are 61 colonies or territories in the world. Eight countries maintain them: Australia (6), Denmark (2), Netherlands (2), France (16), New Zealand (3), Norway (3), the United Kingdom (15), and the United States (14). See Territories, Colonies, and Dependencies for a list of the world's colonies and what countries administrate them, p. 663.
Are there still territories in the world that are claimed by more than one country?
There are six major disputed territories in the world: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, Western Sahara, and Antarctica (about a dozen nations have laid claims to portions of it). In addition, there are innumerable other territorial disputes throughout the world, many of which had resulted in ongoing armed conflicts.

List of wars with highest cost of causalities/deaths tolls across the world.

This list of wars by death toll includes deaths that are either directly or indirectly caused by war. These numbers include both the deaths of military personnel which are the direct results of battle or other military wartime actions, as well as the wartime/ war-related deaths of civilians, which are the results of war induced epidemics, diseases, famines, atrocities etc.

Two of the ten most highly estimated death tolls, have been waged in the last century. These are of course the two World Wars. Most of the others involved China or neighboring peoples.

Some events overlap categories.

Knocker-up

 A Knocker-up was a profession in England and Ireland that started during and lasted well into the Industrial Revolution and at least as late as the 1920s, before alarm clocks were affordable or reliable.

A knocker-up's job was to rouse sleeping people so they could get to work on time.

The knocker-up often used a long and light stick (often bamboo) to reach windows on higher floors. In return, the knocker-up would be paid a few pence a week for this job. The knocker-up would not leave a client’s window until they were assured the client had been awoken.

There were large numbers of people carrying out the job, especially in larger industrial towns such as Manchester. Generally the job was carried out by elderly men and women but sometimes police constables supplemented their pay by performing the task during early morning patrols

Very Strange Connection

President Lincoln's oldest son was connected to three presidential assassinations. He was invited, but did not attend, Ford's Theatre (but was by his father's deathbed in 1865); he was on the scene when Garfield was shot in 1881; and he was present for McKinley's assassination in 1901. 

Shortest war in history

Year Fought: 1896
Between: British Empire vs Zanzibar
Outcome: British victory

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. With duration of only 45 minutes, it holds the record of being the shortest war in recorded history. The war broke out after Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini, who had willingly co-operated with the British colonial administration, died on 25 August 1896, and his nephew, Khalid bin Bargash, seized power in what amounted to a coup d’état. The British favoured another candidate, Hamud bin Muhammed, whom they believed would be easier to work with, and delivered an ultimatum ordering Bargash to abdicate. Bargash refused. While Bargash’s troops set to fortifying the palace, the Royal Navy assembled five warships in the harbour in front of the palace. The British also landed parties of Royal Marines to support the “loyalist” regular army of Zanzibar. Despite the Sultan’s last-minute efforts to negotiate for peace via the U.S. representative on the island, the Royal Navy ships opened fire on the palace at 9 am on 27 August 1896 as soon as the ultimatum ran out. With the palace falling down around him and escalating casualties, Bargash beat a hasty retreat to the German consulate where he was granted asylum. The shelling stopped after 45 minutes. The British demanded that the Germans surrender the erstwhile Sultan to them, but he escaped to sea on 2 October 1896. He lived in exile in Dar es Salaam until captured by the British in 1916. He was later allowed to live in Mombasa where he died in 1927. As a final act, Britain demanded payment from the Zanzibar government to pay for the shells fired on the country.

First View of Earth From Moon

On Aug. 23, 1966, the world received its first view of Earth taken by a spacecraft from the vicinity of the Moon. The photo was transmitted to Earth by the Lunar Orbiter I and received at the NASA tracking station at Robledo De Chavela near Madrid, Spain. The image was taken during the spacecraft’s 16th orbit.

rare pic of Sachin tendulkar

Rare pic of Sachin Tendulkar Learning Cricket from his Coach Achrekar...

Rare pic of Amrish Puri with his family

Very rare pic of  Amrish Puri a.k.a "Mogamboo of Bollywood" with his family

World's Youngest GrandFather aged 29 years

An unemployed man, 29, has become one of Britain's youngest grandparents after his daughter gave birth at 14. Shem Davies and his former girlfriend Kelly John, 30, were overjoyed when their daughter Tia, who was born when her parents were 15, gave birth to little Gracie earlier this month.

Tia's boyfriend, Jordan Williams, is 15. Shem said: 'It is an absolute joy to see Gracie thriving. I'm incre

dibly proud of Tia. She'll be a brilliant mum. At first I wasn't overly pleased that she was pregnant but I soon got over than. Now it's all about being positive. I've got to know Jordan and he's shaping up to be a decent young man,' Shem told The People. However, nurses at the maternity unit were left embarrassed after they thought the young grandfather was in fact the teenage father of Gracie. Apparently when he entered the ward they thought the 29-year-old looked so fresh-faced they asked him to prove he was over the age of 16. But the arrival of Gracie wasn't easy as Tia was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, seven weeks before her due date.

Worried doctors decided their best option would be to deliver the tot by Caesarean section. The condition, which often leaves expectant mothers with high blood pressure and protein in their urine, could lead to life-threatening symptoms for both mother and baby.

Tia said the contrast between the carefree fun of the school playground and then the fear of death for her and the baby was something she would never forget. Happily after a 25 minute operation Gracie was born but only weighed 2lb and was rushed to the special care unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, which is close to the family home. Little Gracie is still being kept in an incubator but has managed to put on enough weight which means she will be allowed home in a few weeks.

A week after Gracie was born Tia celebrated her 15th birthday in the ward surrounded by friends and family. The teenager, who has been dating Jordan for 18 months and wants to be a hairdresser, said she didn't plan on celebrating her birthday in hospital but added that her baby daughter was the best present she could ask for.

Once mother and daughter have been released from hospital they will be staying with grandmother Kelly so that Tia can finish school. Grandad Shem, who has a young son of his own, said he is keen to get stuck in and help Tia and Jordan settle into life. Jordan, who sat his final GCSE just weeks before Gracie arrived, said he understands responsibility. 'I'm captain of the school rugby team and that's like having 14 kids.'

Despite her young age, mother Tia says that she would not be happy if newborn Gracie became pregnant at 14 but that she would do as her mum did, which is respect her choice to have a child. She also paid tribute to her mother, who was 15 when she was born, saying that she could not have wished for a better parent and role model adding that they have a very close relationship.

Britain's high teenage pregnancy rate means that many more young people in this generation are set to become grandparents in their late twenties and early thirties. The latest figures show in 2009 38,259 girls under 18 became pregnant, but nearly 50 per cent had a termination. The UK still leads the way when it comes to young mothers, and our rate is five-times higher than in the Netherlands and twice that of France and Spain.

Construction pics of Eiffel Tower from 1878

One of the most famous series of construction progress photos were taken between 1887-1889 documenting the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

This archival shot of the Eiffel Tower during the construction phase was taken in 1878, when photography was still a fledgling technology. The tower is constructed of 18,038 pieces, including 7,300 tons of metal, for a total weight of 10,100 tons. It stands at 324 meters/approx. 1,063 ft. It took a total of 2 years, 2 months and 5 days to complete construction, and contrary to popular belief, the architect behind the project was Stephen Sauvestre-- Gustave Eiffel was the contractor hired to plan the project.

 

 see more pics at http://blog.jobsitevisitor.com/info/projects/eiffel-tower/

132 year old lady

 Possibly the last person on the planet who knew the taste of the air in 1880 has died.
Antisa Khvichava, who claimed to be 132 years old, was enjoying her 47th year of retirement in Sachino, a remote village in the former Soviet republic of

Georgia, when she passed away, according to a British newspaper, the Independent. If she was as old as she said, Khvichava would've been the oldest person to ever live.
Though a birth certificate and passport indicate Khvichava was born July 8, 1880, they are replacements of documents she had lost over the years, raising skepticism over her claim.

But science can't rule out her feat absolutely. If there's a maximum possible human age, it hasn't been found yet.
In 1798, the then-oldest verified person died at 103, according to the Gerontology Research Group. In 1997, France's Jeanne Calment, the current verified oldest, died at 122. [Infographic: Global Life Expectancy]
If Kvichava did, indeed, walk the Earth for well over a century, what did she do right?
Based on current science, the answer might be that, other than avoiding obvious physical threats, she didn't do much to earn her longevity.

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University showed last year that, among a studied population of people older than 95, bad health habits such as smoking, drinking, poor diet and lack of exercise were about as common as in the general population, meaning their longevity seemed to be largely based on genes.
But this does not mean the general population should abandon healthy living and adopt a doctrine of genetic fatalism. Rather, that study and others suggest longevity outliers like Kvichava, a reported daily brandy drinker, have rare genetic protections that transcend unhealthy habits, propelling them into very old age in spite of lifestyle.
For people who aren't prepared to take a gamble that they're genetically predisposed to break 100 (the 2010 Census counted 53,364 centenarians in the United States), the famously abstemious and healthy-living Seventh-Day Adventists seem to hint at a practical regimen for increasing lifespan.

Studies by Dr. Gary Fraser, of Loma Linda University's school of medicine, and colleagues have linked the Seventh-Day Adventists' unusually long lives to exercise, a high incidence of vegetarianism, abstinence from smoking, and frequent consumption of nuts.
Superstitious seekers of longevity also have the option of moving to a place called Georgia. When Kvichava died, she passed the torch for the oldest living person to 116-year-old Besse Cooper in the United States' Georgia.
Cooper's birthday is verified to be Aug. 26, 1896.

Interesting facts about Animals

Interesting Facts About Animal

How many teeth does a bear have? 42 teeth.

How many rows of whiskers does a cat have? Interesting! Four rows.

Never anger a Tazmanian devil… Its ear turns into a pinkish-red shade.

Put a porcupine in water and watch it float.

There are no vocal chords in a giraffe.

How many vocal chords do cats have? Go ahead and count… 100.

A goat's eyes have got rectangular pupils.

Its been 4,000 years and no new animal-species has been domesticated.

Telgi:India's Biggest Conman

 Telgi:India's Biggest Conman

Telgi’s mother was Shariefabee Ladsaab Telgi, and his father was an employee of Indian Railways. His father died while he was young. Telgi paid for his own education at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, an English medium school, by selling fruit and vegetables on trains. Eventually he moved to Saudi Arabia. Seven years later, he returned to India, at which time he began a career in counterfeiting, originally focusing on fake passports
Telgi moved to more complex counterfeiting when he began to counterfeit stamp paper. He appointed 300 people as agents who sold the fakes to bulk purchasers, including banks, insurance companies, and share-broking firms. The size of the scam was estimated to be more than 20,000 crore (US$4.4 billion).
One aspect of the scandal that caused much concern was that it required the involvement of many police officers and other government employees. For example, one Assistant Police Investigator was found to have a net worth of over 100 crore (US$22 million), despite making a salary of only 9,000 (US$198) per month.
On 17 January 2006 Telgi and several associates were sentenced to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment.On 28 June 2007 Telgi was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 13 years for another aspect of the scandal. He was also fined a Rs 100 crore. The Income Tax Department requested that Telgi’s property be confiscated to pay the fine.

Cleanest Country of the World

Do you know which Country have won the award for cleanest Country????

 It's Finland who have won the award.
Second and third was Norway and Sweden respectively.

Dividing Point Between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans

Did you knew about this?
Cape Point, the Dividing Point Between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

The First Laptop Computer

The first laptop computer
Released in 1981 by the Osborne Computer Corporation, the Osborne 1 is considered to be the first true portable computer – it closes-up for protection, and has a carrying handle. It even has an optional battery pack, so it doesn’t have to plugged into the 110VAC outlet for power.
While quite revolutionary, the Osborne does have its limitations. For example, the screen is only 5″ (diagonal) in size, and can’t display more than 52 characters per line of text. To compensate, you can actually scroll the screen display back and forth with the cursor keys to show lines of text up to 128 characters wide.
The Osborne was designed with transportation in mind – it had to be rugged and able to survive being moved about. That’s one reason that the screen is so small – a larger and heavier screen would be more susceptable to damage.
The two pockets beneath the floppy drives work great for floppy disk storage, although the Osborne modem also fits perfectly in the the left pocket and plugs into the front-mounted “modem” port.
Designed as a true portable computer system – it can be considered airline carry-on luggage, and it will fit under the passenger seat of any commercial airliner

Statue of liberty Construction pics

Vintage pics of Construction of Statue of Liberty

There is always a point in time when famous landmarks weren’t there. One image of America which is fixed in the minds of millions is the Statue of Liberty and the history of its construction is fascinating. Take a trip back in time and see extraordinary behind the scenes images of the creation of this superlative structure.

One year old pregnant with twins

One year old pregnant with twins- A yr old chinese girl who is to be operated soon was diagnosed with her twin in her womb.
When Kang Mangru abdomen was seen protruding day by day. she was taken to hospital for ultrasound after which the doctors were amazed to find a baby in the womb the child’s twin brother.
Doctors say that the embryo was not caught in the womb and has found another place to grow.
Mangru will undergo a cesarean delivery.such cases “Foetus in Foetus” is very rare and can be found one in every 500,0000 pregnancy.
http://www.closeronline.co.uk/RealLife/Reallifestories/pregnant-baby-saved-by-surgery.aspx

ThunderHead Cloud

The pic is of "Thunderhead Cloud"!
No, it’s not an explosion or anything. That is just a cloud, looks amazing though.
It’s called Thunderhead Cloud or a Cumulonimbus cloud, and the color which you can see in, is because of the sun rays falling through it.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumulonimbus

J K Rowling's Mystery Girl

London: A Sikh US student's dignified response to a tasteless post making fun of her facial hair has earned her a legion of fans.

A man took a photo of Balpreet Kaur and uploaded onto Reddit in the 'funny' category with the tagline 'im (sic) not sure what to conclude from this', Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.

The aspiring neurosurgeon discovered the picture - which shows her standing in a queue - and, instead of flying into a rage at the person behind the cheap dig, she posted a comment explaining why she didn't remove her hair.

Ms Balpreet, an Ohio State University student, said, "I'm not embarrassed or even humiliated by the attention [negative and positive] that this picture is getting because, it's who I am.

"Yes, I'm a baptised Sikh woman with facial hair. Yes, I realise that my gender is often confused and I look different than most women."

She refused to attack the person who had posted the photo, which many viewers accused of being mean and deliberately trying to draw laughs at Ms Balpreet's expense.

Ms Balpreet said to the original poster that if he had wanted a picture he should have just asked and she would have smiled, and invited people to say hello if they saw her on the University campus.

Her eloquent response to the person behind the picture drew her an army of fans, who called her an 'inspiration' and 'awesome'.

Some wrote to her to express their concern that her body hair might be a sign of polycystic ovary syndrome, which can prompt excessive body hair in the patient.

But, again, the student replied to their responses, assuring them her doctor had said it was just her hormones.

"I've been to the doctor regarding this and it's just a side effect of my hormone levels during my teenage years.

"The hormones have returned to normal but the hair is still there. That's fine :) I don't regret anything nor do I view it as an unfortunate thing."

The Reddit user who posted the picture was branded 'shallow' and 'rude' for posting her picture.

He then responded apologising for his behaviour


This was her response to that comment:

"...I'm a baptized Sikh woman with facial hair. Yes, I realize that my gender is often confused and I look different than most women. However, baptized Sikhs believe in the sacredness of this body - it is a gift that has been given to us by the Divine Being [which is genderless, actually] and, must keep it intact as a submission to the divine will. Just as a child doesn't reject the gift of his/her parents, Sikhs do not reject the body that has been given to us. By crying 'mine, mine' and changing this body-tool, we are essentially living in ego and creating a seperateness between ourselves and the divinity within us. By transcending societal views of beauty, I believe that I can focus more on my actions. My attitude and thoughts and actions have more value in them than my body because I recognize that this body is just going to become ash in the end, so why fuss about it? When I die, no one is going to remember what I looked like, heck, my kids will forget my voice, and slowly, all physical memory will fade away. However, my impact and legacy will remain: and, by not focusing on the physical beauty, I have time to cultivate those inner virtues and hopefully, focus my life on creating change and progress for this world in any way I can. So, to me, my face isn't important but the smile and the happiness that lie behind the face are..."

Read her full response and the discussion here: http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/109cnf/im_not_sure_what_to_conclude_from_this/?sort=new#c6bmnym

Source:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/sikh-student-in-uk-taunted-turns-into-hero-for-poise-and-grace-272535?ndtv_rhs

http://shine.yahoo.com/women-who-shine/sikh-woman-balpreet-kaur-turns-cyber-bullying-incident-203500244.html