What is collateral debt obligation?

Collateral Debt Obligation (CDO) is the cause of the subprime crisis and recession. European banks and investors bought sub-prime housing loan portfolios from original US lenders to diversify their investment portfolio before the sub-prime crisis. At that time, it seemed a lucrative investment avenue. These are known as Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS). Later on, CDOs became toxic assets for these banks and investors.

In star wars, how is a sith different from a jedi?

Star Wars is a series of science fiction movies depicting events taking place in a fictional galactic empire filled with a mysterious force. The Siths and the Jedi are two cult-like orders in the galaxy, and are enemies. The Jedi are the guardians of peace and justice in the empire. The Siths, on the other hand, are devoted to the dark side of the force, which imparts to them evil characteristics like hatred, aggression and malevolence.

What is barcode art?

Barcode art is created using the personalized data of a human being. When an individual's gender, weight, height, age and location are entered, a barcode is formed using realworld data. This barcode can then be printed, mapped, scanned, even depicted on a T-shirt or a coffee mug. The calculation of an individual's BMI reveals the health of an individual. Thus, those considered underweight or over weight are worth less money.

Why is the empty space in a car measured in litres?

Generally, volume in litres is associated with liquid measurements. Space inside a car is a not a perfect cube or an easily calculable shape. Volumes are not always easy to measure for irregular solid objects or spaces. We can use litres and cubic centimetres, or even cubic metres for measuring solid objects, or space that something might fit into, for example, the space of the car boot, as well as for liquids such as drinks, water, and gas.

What is the delta triangle?

The Delta Triangle is an imaginary uninhabited sector of the Milky Way galaxy that finds a mention in the series/ film 'Star Trek', with a lot of similarities with the infamous Bermuda Triangle on Earth. The Delta Triangle has the unusual ability to cause starship sensors fluctuate in a state of chaos while within the region. According to the film's plot, the Delta Triangle is explored by the Starship 'Bonaventure' but it gets trapped in it. Finally, the airship USS Enterprise is sent to investigate the incidences, but that also gets trapped.

What gives sunrise and sun-set an orange glow?

At sunrise and sunset, we see the sun through a greater thickness of air because it is low in the sky Therefore, we are looking at it across the earth's surface rather than directly up into the sky At these times, the sky often turns orange-red because the photonsof red and orange light are scattered through the atmosphere around us.

Which christian festival is the nice carnival linked to?

The Nice Carnival has been held annually since the 14hth century, 12 days before the Christian festival of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and which occurs 40 days before Easter (excluding Sun days). During this period, verious performances and festivities succeed one another on a 2-km stretch of the town The carnival ends with a grand fireworks display on Shrove Tuesday.

What is slow blogging?

It's a movement that emphasizes blogging after thoughtful consideration instead of hammering out posts in a surge of emotion. While successful bloggers are known to update their blog regularly, slow blogging urges bloggers to slow down. In its manifesto, ToddSieling, a Canadian technology consultant, writes that slow blogging is "a rejection of immediacy... an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly..."

What are the silver lotus awards in indian cinema?

The Silver Lotus awards are the national film awards presented in two main categories: feature films and non-feature films. They are the country's oldest award alongside the Filmfare awards. The awards hold the distinction of recognizing merit in Indian cinema as well as presenting awards for the best films in each region and language of the country.

What is a liquidity trap?

In this age of recession and shrinking world economies, governments, in a bid to increase aggregate demand (AD), may lower interest rates to encourage spending. This is because a lower interest rate makes spending relatively more attractive to consumers and businesses than saving in banks. When a government continues to lower interest rates repeatedly and they reaches a level of 0% without correlated increase in AD, then it is called a liquidity trap.

What's the blue nile and the white nile?

Blue Nile and White Nile are two tributaries of the Nile that flow from the South into what is referred to as the Nile proper, the longest river in the world. While the White Nile is the longer tributary, the Blue Nile is the main source of water and fertile soil.

What is the difference between a coat and a blazer?

A blazer is for formal wear and a coat is for anytime wear. Formal blazers are generally made in deep shades. Coats can be made of any fabric like cotton, linen and leather.

What is push to talk feature in mobile phones?

Push to Talk (PTT), also known as press to transmit, is a method by which we can communicate on half-duplex communication lines, including two-way radio, using a momentary button to switch from voice reception mode to transmit mode. A two-way radio can both transmit and receive (a transceiver), unlike a broadcast receiver which only receives content.

How is the distance between planets calculated?

The distance between planets was calculated by Copernicus using Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion: the square of the time period of the revolution of a planet around the sun is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

Who is a musher?

A musher is a person who competes in cross-country races with a dog team and sled. The word mush probably originated from the French term marchons meaning 'let us march'. Mush is a command word to sled dogs and is used to make sled dogs start pulling or moving faster. The person giving the mush command to sled dog is called musher.

What is a staycation?

A staycation is a neologism in vogue, where a person or family stays home instead of taking expensive and stressful vacations to exotic locations. It is a new travel word and is very popular what with today's recession and high prices.

What is 3-g technology?

3-G technology refers to third generation of mobile telephony technology, with improved and extended facilities over the first and second generation technologies. Transfer of data in 3-G is many times faster, up to 384 kpbs.

What is spoofing in it?

The most common sort of spoofing online is 'e-mail spoofing', i.e making an e-mail message appear to have come from one place when really it comes from another. It is generally used by spammers, who do not want their real address to appear on the e-mails they send.

What is the concept of a time machine? How does it work?

To locate an object in a plane, we require four dimensions — length, breadth, height and time. We all travel frequently in the first three dimensions, but can't do it in the fourth dimension 'time'. A time machine is a device or vehicle that can potentially take us into the future or past.

What are floaters?

Floaters can be any of these things: Musca volitans — spots before the eyes caused by opaque cell fragments in the vitreous humour and lens of the eye; a debt instrument with variable interest rate tied to some other interest rate; a va grant with no established residence or visible means of support; an employee who is reassigned from job to job as needed; a voter who votes illegally at different polling places in the same election; a swimmer who floats in the water; an object that floats;an insurance policy covering loss of movable property,

What is a stimulus shelter?

Stimulus shelter is a mechanism that the brain develops to shield us from the barrage of information coming our way every minute. It filters out unimportant stimuli and retain the important ones.

How did the symbols +, - etc originate?

The earliest print appearance of the modern signs seem to come from a book on Mercantile Arithmetic by Johannes Widmann in 1489, used to indicate surpluses and deficits. The + is a simplification of the Latin "et". Robert Recorde, designer of the equals sign, introduced plus and minus in the UK in 1557.

What is a busman's holiday?

The phrase Busman's Holiday means to do the same thing on one's day off as one does all week. The accepted origin of the phrase traces it to drivers of London's horse-drawn omnibuses in the 19th century, who would supposedly spend their days off checking up on how the substitute drivers were treating their horses.

What is bibliotherapy?

Bibliotherapy is an expressive therapy that uses an individual's relationship to the content of books and poetry and other written words as therapy. It is often combined with writing therapy

What does mineral water contain?

Naturally available water, after coming in contact with various salts found in soil, contains a large number of chemicals, including calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. Small quantities of these give water its odour and are useful for the essential functioning of the human body

What is global cooling?

Scientists believe the cooling of the sun causes global cooling. Global cooling is known for the absence of sunspot activity. According to the theory of global cooling, the sun had no sunspots between 2008 and 2009, while sunspot activity was at its peak in the 1990s.

Why are danger signals in red although the eye is most sensitive to yellow and green?

Although the human eye is sensitive to yellow and green, it has become a tradition to use red as a signal for caution. Experts believe that since the deep red colour of blood could shock people into alertness, such a shade was most suitable as a signal for caution.

What is the oldest dance form?

Historians consider the dance form that is today known as belly dance the oldest form. It originated 6,000 years ago and was practised by many ancient cultures, including those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India. Even though the modern belly dance has many negative connotations and is considered to be seductive, it had a totally different purpose in ancient times. Originally, it was performed only by women, for women, sometimes as a part of goddess worship and sometimes to celebrate womanhood. Its practical purpose was to exercise the abdominal muscles of women so that they could go through pregnancy and child birth successfully.

How is doldrum pressure formed?

The equatorial area is a region of high temperature. Due to intense heat, the atmosphere heats up, expands arid becomes lighter. Hence, the air starts rising vertically, causing low pressure on the ground. The horizontal movement of wind in this belt is very feeble. It is, therefore, a calm belt, also known as doldrums.

What is ratware?

Ratware is the colourful name for any mass email software that generates, sends, and automates spam email sending.

What is taipei 101?

Taipei 101 is a skyscraper located in the international business district of Xinyi (code 101) in Taipei, Taiwan, with 101 floors constructed above the ground and five floors underground. Taipei 101 has been the world's tallest completed building since 2004. Though the Burj Dubai building structure surpassed Taipei 101's height in July 2007, the building is still under construction.

Where did the phrase 'throw in the towel' originate?

When you throw in the towel, you are giving up. In its original form, it was called 'to throw up the sponge'. The reference is to sponges used to cleanse combatants faces at prize fights. A contestant's manager throwing in the sponge would signal that the fighter had had enough. In recent years, towels have been substituted for sponges at fights, and consequently, replaced the term in the expression too.

What is the origin of the phrase 'there are no atheists in a foxhole'?

The phrase means in a pressure situation, such as war or a terrorist attack, even committed atheists may start thinking about God. This line is used in the 1942 film 'Wake Island', a story about the military garrison in Wake Island and the travails in the island during the Japanese attack. The phrase is believed to be of World War I origin.

What are mammatus clouds and how are they formed?

True to their ominous appearance, mammatus clouds are often harbingers of a coming storm. Composed primarily of ice, they can extend for hundreds of miles in each direction and individual formations can remain visibly static for 10-15 minutes at a time. While they may appear foreboding, they are merely the messengers.

Why ‘daily soaps' are called so?

Daily soaps are a take-off from opera shows in South America, which were sponsored by soap manufacturers. They were then known as 'soap operas'— these inspired daily television shows, known as 'daily soaps'.

What is 'feeling stressurised'?

Feeling 'stressurised' means the feeling of "being under pressure and stress" at the Same time.

Tidal waves occur at night due to the moon's attraction. Though the moon is present in the day too, why are there no tidal waves?

It is not true that there are no tidal waves during the day. Tidal waves are the result of the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun, but the effect of the sun is much less than that of the moon. In fact, tidal waves occur twice on any day-night cycle of 24 hours — once when the moon is right over the head, and for the second time when the moon is in the opposite position.

How do odi teams choose their colours?

There is no hard and fast rule about choosing cricket colours. In most cases, the country adopts colours from their national flags — as Pakistan, Bangladesh, England, West Indies, Zimbabwe do. In some cases, the country wears the national colours — Australia wears green and gold, Holland wears orange, South Africa wears dark green and New Zealand wears black (silver earlier, as silver and white are their secondary national colours). India wears blue because of the blue Ashok Chakra on the flag, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) flag is also blue.

What is the maginot line?

The Maginot Line was built between 1930 and 1940, and named after French minister of defence Andre Maginot. It was built to prevent attacks from Germany, after learning a hard lesson from World War I. The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortification, consisting of tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts and other defence establishments, like a complex of bunkers. It was constructed to cover its borders with Germany and Italy, although the line stretched from Switzerland to Luxembourg. It was extended further after 1934 to the Strait of Dover. However, it later proved to be strategically ineffective, as the Germans invaded France through Belgium.

What is paypal?

PayPal is a safe and easy way to pay and get paid online. The service allows anyone to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts, buyer credit or account balances, without sharing financial information. Available in 190 markets and 24 currencies around the world, PayPal enables local e-commerce by making payments possible across different locations, currencies and languages. Located in San Jose, California, PayPal was founded in 1998 and acquired by eBay in 2002.

What is the catfish effect?

'Catfish effect' is a term used in human resource management to describe how groups are motivated by the addition of a strong competitor. The phrase comes from the practice of Norwegian fishermen, who add a single catfish into their haul of live sardines. In this way, the sardines swim vigorously to avoid contact with the catfish, and can be brought to market while still alive, thus fetching a higher price.

What is the difference between tomato sauce and tomato ketchup?

In the US, ketchup is prepared with tomatoes, sugar, vinegar/acetic acid and spices. It is used as a dressing or table condiment. Ketchup is cold and is never heated as a rule. Tomato sauce, on the other hand, is made from tomatoes, oil, meat or vegetable stock and spices. Vinegar is not usually used. Sauces are generally served hot. Most manufacturers insist that ketchup is made with spices while Sauce is generally made without spices.

What is the saros cycle?

The Saros Cycle is an eclipse cycle with a period of nearly 18 years, 11 days and 8 hours. The earliest discovered historical record of the Saros Cycle is by the Chaldeans (ancient Babylonian astronomers). It is very useful for predicting the times at which nearly identical eclipses of the sun and moon will occur. A complication with the Saros Cycle is that its period is not an integer number of days.

What is a nuclear umbrella and how does it work?

Nuclear umbrella refers to a guarantee by a nuclear-weapon state to defend a non-nuclear allied state. It is usually used for the security alliances of the United States with Japan, South Korea, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Australia, originating with the Cold War with the Soviet Union. For some countries, it was an alternative to acquiring nuclear weapons themselves.

What is groundhog day?

It is a traditional American festival celebrated on February 2. The legend of Groundhog Day is based on an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year." It is said that if the groundhog pops out from its electrically-heated burrow, sees his shadow, and then disappears again, it will mean that winter is to continue for six more weeks. But if the groundhog does not see its shadow, then winter will soon end. Groundhog Day received worldwide attention as a result of a 1993 film of the same name.

Who is a warmist?

A warmist —or global warmist — is a person who believes that the human race is primarily responsible for warming. Once a term used for scientists whoso believed, it has now taken on a pejorative meaning. There are 'deniers' who believe that while global warming may be true, warming and cooling has been happening for millions of years, and man may not be directly responsible. 'Coolists' are those who disbelieve the warming theory.

How did spectacles originate?

Lenses are the key component of spectacles and were made even in ancient times. However, it is not known whether such lenses were used merely as ornaments or as visual aids. It was discovered around 1000 AD that a glass sphere, when placed on a surface, enlarged the contents of the surface beneath it. The first wearable eye glasses were made by an Italian, Salvino D'Armate, in the 13th century AD. Soon, they became quite popular with priests. While spectacles have undergone many design improvements since then, the credit for making spectacles with double-hinged side pieces is given to British designer James Ayscough, who made them in 1752. In 1784, American inventor Benjamin Franklin made the first bifocals.

What substance do bones of birds contain?

Bones of many adult birds are hollow and are connected to a system of air sacs dispersed through the body Bone or osseous tissue consists of phosphate and carbonate of lime, salt and a few other substances. They are not filled with marrow and contain more calcium than mammalian bone, which tends to make them more brittle and prone to developing multiple fractures.

What is an integrated city?

An integrated city is developed as a whole, by examining the existing city and identifying areas which have been neglected. 'Civic software' is still new and can be utilised to work out problems. Those who advocate this concept aim for at a 'do-it-yourself' city which does not need government departments and funds. They look at integrating the city with a transport system which connects all areas and urban design which taps local resources. Liverpool is the first city with such a project at hand.

What does t in t-shirt stand for?

The origin is uncertain: it may refer to the shape of the shirt as a T — when laid out, it looks like the alphabet T; it may be derived from its use by the army as a 'training shirt'. The shapebased theory is supported by the existence of an A-shirt in the 1930s, which was a typical undershirt and later referred to as a tank top.

Why does an iron nail gain weight on rusting?

Rust is iron-oxide — a molecule consisting of iron and oxygen. When rust forms, the mass of the iron object is increased by the mass of oxygen that has combined with some of the iron.

What is the betawi dance?

The Betawi dance form or 'Topeng Betawi' is an art form of the people living in Java and Ball in Indonesia. The name comes from Batavia, the old Dutch name for the city of Jakarta. It can be used to describe both theatre and dance, with the performers sometimes wearing masks. A performance can include a mix. of dialogue, song, comedy, dance and music, beginning with dance but could include dialogue later. They are sometimes performed by a female singer-dancer and a male clown. Music is provided by a small ensemble of bronze idiophones, drums called gendang, and a two-string spike fiddle called a rebab.

How is the data of emails stored on servers? What is their capacity andwhere are they located?

An e-mail system consists of two different servers running on a machine. One is called the SMTP server, where SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The SMTP server handles outgoing mail. The other is either a POPS server or an IMAP server, both of which handle incoming mail. POP stands for Post Office Protocol and IMAP stands for Internet Mail Access Protocol. In the simplest implementations of POPS, the server maintains a collection of text files — one for each e-mail account. When a message arrives, the POPS server simply appends it to the bottom of the recipient's file. With POPS, once downloaded, email is removed from the POPS server, with IMAP, the mail stays on the server. Size of the server can be 2-10 Terra bytes. All email providers have several clusters of servers in various locations across the world. Each cluster has a few thousand servers. Google server farms are all over the world: 19 in the US where they operate data centres, 12 in Europe, one in Russia and three in Asia.

Why do most birds jump on landmstead of walking?

Smaller birds hop, while larger ones walk by alternating legs. Smaller birds won't get very far with each baby step, However, there are plenty of exceptions, even within the same taxonomic groups, and some species (ravens, robins and blackbirds) move by both methods.

What is the fog index?

The Fog Index was developed by Robert Gunning, an American businessman, in 1952. It is a test designed to measure the readability of a sample of English writing. The resulting number is an indication of the number of years of formal education that a person requires in order to easily understand the text on the first reading. If a passage has a fog index of 12, it has the reading level of a US highschool senior. Texts that require a close-to-universal understanding generally require an index of less than 8. The Bible and Shakespeare reportedly have a fog index of 6.

Why do our joints and knuckles crack?

Joints produce a cracking sound when nitrogen bubbles burst in a thick and clear fluid surrounding the joints to lubricate them, called 'synovial fluid'. When we stretch or twist our fingers, the pressure in the fluid decreases, which leads to dissolving of gases present there, forming bubbles, through a process called "cavitation". When the joint is stretched far enough, the pressure drops and the bubble burst, producing a pop sound. It takes about 25-3O minutes for the gas to redissolve into the joint fluid. During this period, the knuckles won'tcrack.

What is an ice dance?

Ice dancing is a sport in which iceskating pairs perform to music routines similar to ballroom dances. Ice dancers are judged on the difficulty and originality of their dance steps, their interpretation of the music and their timing and unison. Unlike figure skating, ye dancing does not allow movement of strength or technical skill. It hasbeen an Olympic event since 1976.

What is philematology?

Philematology is the study of kissing, what it means and its place in various cultures. It is the subject of a new book A Compendium of Kisses' by Lana Citron, an actress and stand-up comic. Citron talks descriptively about the light cheek-brushing to the French smooch to the 'olfactory kiss' or the rubbing of noses. The study includes observations by celebrities and how the kiss has metamorphosed from an expression of love to social style.

What is philosopher's wool?

The compound zinc oxide (ZnO) is called philosopher's wool. Alchemists, as part of their rituals, would burn zinc in air and collect the residue, which formed into white woolly tufts. They called it lana philosophica in Latin, meaning philosopher's wool. Zinc oxide has many uses: as white pigment in paints, component in zinc ointment for treating skin diseases, material in sun screens and sun lotions, in rubber manufacture and in photocopying products.

What is the emperor pair?

In cricket, if a batsman is out for no score in both innings of a Test match, he is said to have scored a 'pair' or a 'spectacle'. When a batsman is out for a duck in both innings — on the very first ball — in each innings, it is termed an 'Emperor Pair' or 'King Spectacles'. The record for the maximum number of Emperor Pairs is held by ace spinner Bhagvat Chandra Sekhar, who managed it twice in two Tests.

What does eliot's famous line 'i have measured out my life with coffee spoons... Mean?

This line is from the poem The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock, in which Prufrock is a mythical person symbolic of the 20th century man. The poem highlights the emotional woes of this man, who has no self-confidence, is indecisive about proposing to the girl he loves.

What are quarks and gluons?

For close to three decades, nucleons (protons and neutrons) were considered to be the ultimate subatomic particles. As scientists delved deeper, they detected shadows of yet another layer of matter inside nucleons. Unable so far to crack open a nucleon and bring out one of these shadowy objects for observation and measurement, they named them quarks. It is believed that one up and one down quark make up the proton and neutron. Quarks are held together by a force dubbed the chromo force, represented by particles named gluons, which are just as unseen as quarks.

Where is the sonoran desert?

The Sonoran Desert, sometimes called the Gila Desert, is located in North America and covers parts of the state of Arizona and California in the United States and the state of Sonora in Mexico. It is spread over 3,11,000 sqkm.

Why are the wee hours called so and what is the origin of the phrase?

Wee hours mean the early hours of a day, or the period immediately after midnight. They are called so because the word 'wee' in present-day English means 'very small or tiny'. As these hours are the beginning of the new day they came to be referred to as the wee hours. According to the Oxford Dictionary, 'wee' has been in usage with the above meaning since the 1600s in Southern England.

What makes honey sweet?

Nectar is taken from a flower by the bee and carried in the honey sac back to the hive. It is transformed into honey by enzymes produced in the honey sac, which convert the natural sucrose (a complex sugar) in the nectar into fructose and glucose (simple sugar). Fructose is the sugar that makes honey sweet.

What is zero net?

Zero net is the modern strategy to regulate pollution by controlling the use of energy in constructions. The term 'zero net energy' is used when the amount of energy utilised by a building is equal to the amount provided by on-site or nearby renewable energy resources. Such buildings are also called zero energy buildings and are gaining popularity in US and Europe.

How did positions on the cricket field get their names?

The words 'on' and 'off' originate from the offside and near side of a horse or carriage, the 'offside' being the opposite side, which a driver walks or rider mounts. The origin of the word 'slips' is hinted at in an early description of the long stop, who "is required to cover manyslips from the bat". Early cricket writers identify two slip positions — 'short-slip', which was equivalent to modern-day first or second 'slip' position. The other position was 'long-slip', equivalent to the modern-day 'short third man' or 'fly-slip' position. By the turn of the century, an attacking field would usually have two 'slips' — 'first slip' and 'cover-slip' or extra-slip. The name gully apparently derives from the more general meaning of a narrow channel or gorge between 'point' and slips. It became a position in its own right, following the development of off-theory attack towards the end of the 19th century The origin of the term 'point' stems from early cricket when the position was called 'point of the bat' and the fieldsman would field no more than three and half yards from the batsman. 'New fieldsman' was the third man up.

What is coriolis force?

It is an apparent force caused by the earth's rotation. The coriolis force is responsible for deflection of winds towards the right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere. It is also known as Ferrel's law, and is responsible for deflection of the south-east trade winds which enter the Indian peninsula as the south-west monsoon.

What is a travelling exhibition?

A travelling exhibition is that which is available for circulation on a local, national or international level. The collection of the exhibition can be en tirely loaned to organizations for a fixed period of time. Travelling exhibitions are usually supported by governmental organizations to spread knowledge and local culture.

Where is the white city?

Located in Tel Aviv, Israel, the White City was constructed from the early 1930s to 1950s, based on an urban plan by Sir Patrick Geddes. The buildings were designed by architects trained in Europe where they practised before immigrating. They created an outstanding architectural ensemble of the Modern Movement in a new cultural context. Over 4,000 Bauhaus or international-style buildings were built and all painted white. The architecture had to be adapted to suit the extremes of the Mediterranean ; and desert climate.White and light colors reflected the heat. Large areas of glass that let in the light, a key element of the Bauhaus style in Europe, were replaced with small recessed windows. The houses had long, narrow balconies and flat roofs for socializing in the evening.

Who is an ecotarian?

An ecotarian is a person who eats a diet of food grown or produced in an eco-friendly manner. In a wide sense, it is organic, locally produced food, minimally processed and with little packaging. It should have a minimal impact on the planet. An ecotarian is not necessarily a vegetarian, but a meat-eater who sticks to poultry and pork.

What is the chemical composition of ivory?

Ivory tusks and teeth consist of an inner pulp cavity surrounded by dentine — a combination of connective tissues that have minerals and collagen properties. Found in tusks of elephants and teeth of mammals such as the hippopotamus, walrus, boar, sperm and killer whale, ivory forms layers. It gets strength and rigidity from inorganic components, namely mineralised tissues. The organic element, collagen, helps in the growth and repair of ivory, which has no blood vessels, is porous and absorbs and releases moisture.

What causes 'winterline' and why is it visible only in a few places in the world?

From mid-October to January, when the sun sets, the western horizon turns a myriad combination of yellow, red, orange and mauve. This is known as the winterline. The phenomenon is unique to Mussoorie and a part of Switzerland. The sun drops behind a false horizon, a grey and mauve strip, with a bright line of yellow and orange colours at its upper end. It occurs due to the refraction of sunlight at a particular angle, visible only from mountain areas with a long, clear valley towards the west. .

Why does the wwf logo feature a panda?

The World Wildlife Fund was founded in UK by Sir Peter Scott, a British naturalist and painter, in 1961. The WWF got the idea of using Chi-Chi, a female giant panda at London Zoo. The team felt "the big, furry animal with her appealing, black-patched eyes" would make an excellent logo. Another reason was to minimize printing costs (it needed just black and white).

What is the dog house in the glass industry?

The charging end of the glass furnace is commonly referred to as the 'dog house'. It comprises a tank with spaced sidewalls. The glass-batch (raw material) is fed continuously into this opening — called dog house — at one end of the tank, and the melted, refined and conditioned glass is drawn out the other end.

Who is zorro?

Zorro is a charismatic legend, which changed through 90 years of cinema. Zorro's origin lies in Baroness Orczy's 1905 novel 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', where the hero helped scores of French aristocrats escape from France and avoid the guillotine. Johnston McCulley first introduced the character of Zorro. In 1920, Douglas Fairbanks Sr brought fame to McCulley, by starring as Don Diego Vega and Zorro. We now have Antonio Banderas carrying the baton.

What is peep culture?

Pop culture, with television and radio as entertainment, has evolved into peep culture, with reality TV and internet. Entertainment is all about going through people's private lives on blogs and social networking sites. These are tellall, show-all times. Peep culture is a vent for social isolation, ironically, a result of an increasingly virtual world.

What is carbon dating?

It is a method to determine the age of plants and fossils. Carbon has three naturally occurring isotopes, C12, C13 and C14. Of the three, C14 is radioactive in nature and has a half-life (decays to half the strength) of 5,730 years. Scientists measure the strength of C14 in the plant or fossil, and compare it with the expected strength of C14 in the atmosphere, to compute the age. Also known as radio carbon dating, this technique was developed by Willard Libby in 1949. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960.

What is the anchor investor concept?

The anchor investor is a recently introduced category of investor in the Initial Public Offer (IPO). A Qualified Institutional Buyer who gets firm allotment in an IPO of up to 30% of the institutional quota is an anchor investor. The lock-in period for such an investor is 30 days. This is done to instill a higher degree of confidence among the investing community, as an anchor investor is its brand ambassador.

Why does the touch-me-not shrink when touched?

The touch-me-not shrinks due to loss of turgidity (the pressure of content against the cell wall) by cells within the pulvini-specialised motor organs at leaf joints. Upon stimulation, like touching, the leaf cells lose potassium ions, triggering water to leave the cells through osmosis. It takes about 10 minutes for the cells to regain turgidity and the leaves to open out.

What is big crunch theory?

This theory says the universe will one day stop expanding. Then, as gravity pulls on matter, the universe will begin to contract, falling inward until it has collapsed into a superhot, super-dense singularity. The universe is like a giant souffle. It starts out small, expands as it heats up, and eventually, as the souffle cools, begins to collapse. Big Crunch is the consequence of the Big Bang Theory.

Who is known as the 'pumpkin king of britain'?

Ralph Upton of the village of Slindon, in West Sussex, south England, was known as the 'Pumpkin King of Britain'. This market gardener died earlier this year, at 88, and his son Robin Upton took over. The Uptons have been growing pumpkins on their sixacre plot for over 40 years, producing over 50 varieties. Slindon is known as the pumpkin capital of Britain.

Who is super child?

The Super Child University in Gandhinagar promises couples that they can have a super child, who is tutored in the womb. Researchers claim to have studied ancient Indian literature and modern sci ence and feel it is feasible. Couples have to stay at the university for a week after conception. Here, they visualize the kind of child they want and are guided on how to do attain the same.

Why is a feature film so called?

The term 'feature' was an inheritance of the Vaudeville — programme. When the feature film was first marketed, it meant a special film, that could be featured between advertising shorts. A feature film was one that cost more to make, buy, rent, and sometimes mojpe to watch. That usually meant longer films and after 1909, 'feature' was the term used for any multireel film. In 1909, a feature film was 1,000-ft long or a little less, running 15-20 minutes at its slowest speed.

What is maslow's hierarchy?

Maslow's hierarchy is a model for understanding human behaviour, put forth by Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, in the 1940s. It refers to a five-layered pyramid representing the psychological need structure of human beings. Each level further up the pyramid represents a more advanced or higher order need. Maslow suggested that higher order needs (such as self-esteem, self-actualisation) become relevant only when basic needs (physiological, safety, belonging) are met. '

How did the hula-hoop get its name?

The hula-hoop got its name from the resemblance and movements made while spinning one swiftly around the body to Hawaiian hula dances. It is also a trademark for a * plastic ring, which Wham-0 used when it started manufacturing the toy in 1958.

What is the significance of 65 in the dish 'chicken65'?

Chicken65 is a spicy, deep-fried chicken dish popular as a bar snack, entree or quick snack. There exist a number of theories behind the number '65'. One is that '65' represents the year 1965 in which it was introduced by a famous hotel in Chennai. Another is that the number 65 is said to be the number of days taken to prepare the marinade. According to a chef on Youtube, the true story behind the name is that the recipe originated in an Army mess hall where the number 65 referred to the recipe number on the menu.

What do nanomites mean?

Nanomites are nanosized partides, nanorobots or nanites, which when released into the bloodstream of a human kill infected or cancerous cells, The precision and minute size of these particles make them useful in medical science. However, it's still a concept and there's a long way to go before actual nanomites being made.

Who is frenemy?

Frenemy is made of two opposites — friend and enemy — and is used for a person who appears to be both. A friend who shares similar interests and hangs around with you, but who secretly works against your interests and is fiercely competitive. It came into currency with chicklit and television serials, mostly in the feminine world.

What is a zwitter ion?

A zwitter ion is an inner salt of amphoteric compound resulting due to the reaction between acidic and basic groups. Ammo acids and proteins constitute both acidic (-COOH) and alkaline (-NH2) groups, as a result they can form salts with acid and alkali. When dissolved in either acid or alkali, they behave like anions and cations, migrating to either cathod or anode. However, at a definite pH, called isoelectric pH, they form inner salt or zwitter ions, at which they are least soluble and electrically neutral.

Why does the sky look blue from the earth and black from the moon?

A phenomenon called Rayleigh's Scattering causes light to scatter when it passes through particles that have a diameter one-tenth that of the wavelength (colour) of light. Sunlight is made Up of different colours, but because of the elements in the atmosphere, the colour blue is scattered more efficiently than other .^colours making the sky appear blue. However, the moon does not have an atmosphere, so light is not scattered, and the sky appears black.

What is a mud bath?

Mud from certain water sources is wrapped around body parts before a proper bath. This contains therapeutic value and cures some skin-related diseases, including psoriasis. Dead Sea in Israel is especially famous for mud baths, and attracts people from across the world.

What is a quadrillion?

Quadrillion is 1,000 trillion. It has a value in which 1 is followed by 15 zeros in Short Scale countries such as UK and USA. In Long Scale countries like some European nations, quadrillion is 1 followed by 24 zeros.

Why does the black box remain intact in an air crash?

Each aircraft is fitted with two pieces of equipment — Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) — that are designed to survive an air crash so that the data recorded helps investigators reconstruct events preceding the crash. FDR records values of about 700 parameters related to the flight and controls and CVR records conversations taking place in the cockpit. The data is recorded in a crash survivable memory unit and housed in a cylindrical casing made of three layers that can withstand extreme .heat, high impact and pressure. The black box is painted orange, not black, has reflective tape on its surface and is fitted with underwater locator beacon.

What is a wildscape?

It is a garden landscaped for wildlife — like frogs, garden snakes, birds and butterflies. Small wild animals visit a wildscape which provides food, water and shelter.

What is couch surfing?

Couch surfing is getting to know about other parts of the world through the internet. CouchSurfing is an international, non-profit network site that connects travellers with locals in over 230 countries around the world. Since 2004, members have been using the System for cultural exchange. Today, there are over a million couch surfers.

What are anticyclones? How are they caused?

An 'anticyclone' is opposite to a cyclone, in which winds move into a lowpressure area. In an anticyclone, winds move out from a high-pressure area with wind direction clockwise in the northern hemisphere, anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Such a high pressure area is usually spread over a large area, created by descending warm air devoid of moisture. The absence of moisture makes the dry air denser than an equal quantity of air with moisture. When it displaces the heavier nitrogen and oxygen, it causes an anti-cyclone.

What is pink noise?

Pink noise, also known as 1/f noise, is a sound that has equal energy in all octaves. It primarily consists of low frequency sounds. Due to practical constraints, pink noise can be produced only over a certain range of frequencies and occurs naturally. Astronauts listening to electromagnetic radiation in outer space have noted it being emitted from certain stars. In biology, it is produced by the heartbeat and has shown up in DNA sequence statistics.

What is the quantum god effect?

Albert Einstein considered the idea of quantum entanglement, like much of quantum physics, to be ridiculous. The phenomenon asserts that two particles can be connected so that changes in one are instantly reflected in the other,, even if those two particles are light-years apart. Despite its strangeness. reports of entanglement have been well-documented. Known as 'the God effect', entanglement is an area of constant development because of its potential in real-life applications, making possible codes that are unbreakable, instant communication across distances, and teleportation.

How are the maximum and minimum temperatures of a place fixed?

Maximum and minimum temperatures are measured using thermometers mounted inside a wooden box with slits, called Stevenson's screen, which is generally kept facing north. The maximum thermometer is mercury-in-glass — as the temperature rises, the mercury expands and moves freely up a constriction in the thermometer. When air temperature drops, the constriction prevents the mercury from flowing back due to higher pressure, and gives the maximum reading. The minimum thermometer is alcohol-in-glass and is kept horizontally inside the box. As the temperature falls, the alcohol contracts and the index is dragged towards the bulb by the surface of the alcohol meniscus, giving the lowest, or minimum, temperature.

What is a dress rehearsal?

A dress or full dress rehearsal is the pre-final stage of an activity or event, and is performed to ensure that nothing goes wrong at the final event. The concept of dress rehearsal may apply, apart from performing arts, to business promotional programmes also.

Who is known as a cragger?

A cragger is a member of a carbon reduction, action group. Such a person is in terested in reducing her car bon footprint. The word has made it to the growing lexicon of green terms in the Collins Dictionary

What does the bitten apple in the apple computers logo signify?

The original was a quotation by Wordsworth, inscribed into the logo: 'Newton — a mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought'. That was changed by designer Rob Janoff into a multi-coloured bitten apple —the 'rainbow apple' — to commemorate the discoveries of gravity (the apple) and separation of light (colours) done by Isaac Newton. Besides, Alan Turing, the father of modern computing, committed suicide using a cyanide-laced apple. In 1997, .Steve Jobs decided to replace this apple by a solid one.

What imparts fragrance to flowers, fruits and spices?

The fragrance in flowers, fruits and spices is due to the evaporation of certain volatile chemicals into the air. Flowers produce a scent which is a complex mixture of low molecular weight, with volatile compounds such as esters, is emitted into the atmosphere. No two floral scents are exactly the same because of these compounds. Plants pollinated by bees and flies have sweet scents, those pollinated by beetles have strong musty, spicy, or fruity odours.

What is the full form of spa?

SPA is an acronym originating during the Roman Empire, when battle-weary legionnaires found a way to recover from their military wounds and ailments. They sought out hot springs and built baths so they could heal their aching bodies; calling these places 'aquae' and naming the treatment there 'Sanus Per Aquam' (SPA) — meaning 'health by or through water'. During this period, the town Spa in Belgium was founded.

Why does an iron work only when it is hot?

An iron can be worked even when it's not hot. However, it becomes softer when heated, so working on cloth becomes easy. When iron, like any other metal, is heated, it absorbs energy which excites its molecules. This makes the metal softer. This property was known to ancient craftsmen and is used even today in producing iron implements.

What is the kanga?

Kanga (or khanga) is a popular traditional garment worn mostly by women of East Africa. Rectangular in shape, it has enough length and breadth to cover the body from neck to knee. It has bright, colourful designs and is worn as a wraparound dress by women on all occasions. Even men wear it, but only at home. White spots against a dark background, a common design, made it resemble the plumage of the guineafowl called kanga, and hence the name. Today, the kanga is to East Africa, what the sari is to India or the kimono to Japan.

What is brain roughage?

Brain roughage is information fed to the brain to chew on and digest, in digestible chunks. It is a term lifted from gastronomic language to liken the brain to the stomach, and is of very recent origin. Roughage is ingested to help in food digestion, and is considered good for the system, similarly brain roughage. Other such terms are information snacking and junk, as parallels for the brain. Roughage may be a little tough and needs some exercising to digest, but the grey cells need to work and think before absorbing the information.

What is an okapi?

The okapi is a mammal belonging to the giraffe family. Also known as 'forest giraffe', it is native to the Ituri rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. The okapi lives a secluded life and was not discovered until 1900 by explorer Sir Harry Johnson. It is shorter than the giraffe and has stripes on the legs, reminiscent of the zebra. Okapis are herbivores; the name is a portmanteau of two Lese words, oka — a verb meaning to cut, and kpi — a noun referring to the design made on arrows by wrapping the arrow with bark so as to leave stripes when scorched by fire.

What is bee dancing?

Bee dancing is the circling and wag- ging movements made by worker bees to give other bees in the hive information about the location of a new source of food. Bees dance in a particular area in the comb: the dance floor. They perform a waggle dance, indicating that food is farther away, while the round dance indicates the food is nearby

How does an ant know its way home with no clues in a desert?

Experiments by German scientists on the Sahara desert ant, called cataglyphis fortis, have shown that the ant uses a method known as 'path integration' in its navigation. Path integration consists of measuring the extent of each turn, and remembering the direction of its nest, whenever the direction of its path changes, and then measuring the distance of travel in each direction.

What is the history of sudoku?

Sudoku was first designed in the 1970s by a retired architect and freelance puzzle constructor, Howard Garns.The puzzle was first published in 1979 in New York by Dell Magazines and was titled 'Number Place'. In 1984, the puzzle was introduced in Japan by puzzle magazine 'Nikoli' and titled 'Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru' which in Japanese meant, "the numbers must occur only once". This was abbreviated to Sudoku; 'Su' meaning number and 'Doku' meaning single.

What are astroturf groups?

Astroturf refers to grassroots-based citizen groups or coalitions that are created and funded by corporations, trade associations, political interests or public relations firms. They use computer databases, telephone banks and hired organizers to rope less-informed activists into sending letters to elected officials or engaging in other actions that create the appearance of grassroots support for their client's cause.

What's hakkeijamasea paradise?

Located in Yokohama, Japan, the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise is an amusement park consisting of an aquarium, mall, hotel, marina and amusement rides. Also known as the 'Aqua Museum', it has thousands of varieties fish and other aquatic life forms, rides featuring sea animals, besides exotic gardens. It is a top attraction in Yokohama, besting even the temples and zoological gardens the area is known for.

What does bt in bt brinjal signify?

Bt brinjal, a genetically modified version of the common brinjal, is a transgenic vegetable created by inserting a gene (Cry lAc) from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) into it. The insertion of the gene is said to give the brinjal plant resistance against insects like the brinjal fruit and shoot borer and fruit borer.

What is pascal's wager?

It refers to the argument put forward by famous French mathematician Blaise Pascal to help a person arrive at a decision on the existence of God. You'd better believe in God, Pascal argued, because if you are right, you stand to gain eternal bliss and if you are wrong, it won't make any difference, anyway. But if you don't believe in God, and turn out to be wrong, you are eternally damned, whereas if you are right, it makes no difference.

How did the dollar get its sign?

The symbol $ written before the numerical amount is used for the US dollar and many other currencies. The sign's actual origins are not certain, though it is possible it comes from the Pillars of Hercules, which flank the Spanish coat of arms on the Spanish dollars that were minted in the New World Mints. The Pillars of Hercules are in the form of two vertical bars and a swinging cloth band in the shape of an'S'. Another explanation is that the symbol for peso was the result of the abbreviation 'ps' —the p and s came to be written over each other, appearing like '$'. Another possibility is that the dollar sign is capital letters U and S typed one on top of the other. This theory, popularized by novelist Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged, does not consider the fact that the symbol was in use before the formation of the United States.

What is the camel race track?

Camel racing is a deep-rooted traditional sport that finds its origins in the desert culture of the Arabian peninsula, North Africa, and West Asia. The UAE has 15 race tracks across the country Race distances can be 4-10 km and may include anywhere from 15-70 camels.

What is the atomic number of the element named after einstein?

The name of the element is 'Einsteinium', its symbol is Es and the atomic number is 99. Named in honour of Albert Einstein, it is the seventh transuranic element and does not occur naturally in any measura ble quantities. Einsteinium was first identified in December 1952 by Albert Ghiorso, with co-workers at the University of California, Berkeley, when he was examining debris from the first hydrogen bomb test of November 1952.

Why are south africans called the proteas?

The giant or King Protea, South Africa's national flower, is the largest of the proteas species, which make up an important part of the Cape Floral Region, a major global biodiversity hotspot and Unesco World Heritage site. The South African cricket team got its name from this flower with pink and yellow petals. Similarly South Africa's rugby team is called Springboks, which is the country's national animal.

What is a thumbo?

A thumbo is an error made while typing a text message on a mobile phone —basically a mix of thumb and typo. Typo is an old word which means a mistake made while typing. A related word is speako, used to indicate mistakes made while dictating text.

What is wingloading of an aircraft?

Mathematically, wingloading of an aircraft is the total weight of the aircraft (during take-off), divided by the span area of the wings. It is, thus, the weight carried by per unit area of the wing during flight. Wingloading is the most important factor while stress analyzing and designing an aircraft wing. The wing has to be strong enough to safely carry, the 'load' of the entire aircraft.

What is the difference between measles and german measles?

Both measles and German measles (rubella) are viruses. German measles is accompanied by a blotchy red rash. The patient sometimes suffers a slight cold prior to the appearance of the rash. German measles can be dangerous for pregnant women, who have no immunity for the virus. It is called German measles because it was German physicians who first described this disease. Mild upper respiratory affect, high temperature that can last for four days and conjunctivitis are some symptoms of measles.

What is a heat budget?

A heat budget is the perfect balance between incoming heat absorbed by earth and outgoing heat escaping it in the form of radiation. If the balance is disturbed, then earth would get progressively warmer or cooler with each passing year.

What does the warsaw convention signify?

The Warsaw Convention, which took place in Warsaw on October 12,1929, comprising experts in the field of aviation law from 31 nations, intended to create a legal framework that binds international aviation even today. Its regulatory issues consist of mandates covering carriers to issue passenger tickets, baggage checks for luggage, compensation amount and limitation period for claiming^ compensation. It was amended later at The Hague, in 1955, and in Montreal in 1999.

How did red indians get their name?

Red Indian is an offensive term for a native North American. In North America, the term is now considered a racial slur. The use of the term Indian for the natives of the Americas originated with Christopher Columbus, who mistakenly believed that the Antilles were the islands of the Indian Ocean, known to Europeans as the Indies. Though Columbus's mistake was soon recognized, the name stuck, and for centuries the native people of the Americas were called Indians.

Who is a plastinator?

The art of plastination deals with preservation of organs, tissues and whole beings. Plastination, unlike preservation through formalin, involves a series of processes that replace the fluids in the tissues and organs by reactive plastics such as silicon rubber, epoxy resin and polyester resin, in a special vacuum process. This achieves the same objective as formalin, which is to prevent decay, and also retains the natural colour and texture of the specimen. Gunther von Hagens, research assistant at the Institute of Anatomy and Cellular Biology at the University of Heidelberg, in 1978, accidentally stumbled upon using plastics to preserve anatomical specimens.

What is a pity bonus?

Even with economic restrictions, companies are finding ways to pay the big bosses with incentives and discretionary bonuses. 'Pity bonus' is one such sum given to a CEO who fails to qualify for a big payout because of the downturn. Boards of companies make special concessions to award such incentives. CEOs may not be taking home good salaries, but the bonuses make up for the losses.

What is the maastricht discipline?

The term refers to conditions that all countries of the European Union had to adhere to while adopting the Euro as a common currency. To do so, the countries had to show that their economic condition was stable and their fiscal deficit did not exceed 3%. Initially, Poland and some other countries did not join because of their poor growth rate.

What is an ouija board? How does it work?

Modern Ouija boards were developed by William Fuld who sold his patent to the Parker Brothers in 1966. The Ouija Board has evolved from a mindreader to a portal of communication with spirits. It is a small board with letters, numbers from 1 to 9 and words like 'Yes' and 'No'. 'Out' and 'ja' mean, 'yes' in French and German respectively. A heart-shaped plastic planchette or pointer held at the fingertips is used to navigate letters or numbers to spell words, in answer to questions asked to the spirits.

What is the origin of orkut?

'Qrkut' is believed to be of Turkish originand is a common name among men. The person who created the famous online community site www.orkut.com was a Google employee, Orkut Buyukkokten. He reportedly lost his girlfriend in a train accident but believed that she was not dead and that he could find her. Orkut hired developers from across the globe to develop a software to search for her on the web. After spending three years and millions of dollars, he found her. He decided to shut down the site, but the CEO of Google took over the application, though Orkut gets paid for each login!

How does a jukebox operate?

A jukebox is a semi-automatic electro-mechanical music playing device that works on a coin-operated system — a person can select music of his choice by pressing certain numbers. The original design of the jukebox contained a rack of records in vertical slits with numbers designated to each record.

How does a cricketer get inducted into the icc hall of fame?

Taking cue from sports bodies around the world, the ICC and Federation of International Cricketers' Associations launched the 'Hall of Fame' as part of the centenary year celebrations. Initially, 55 cricketers — from Richie Benaud to Sunil Gavaskar — were inducted. The inductees received a Fame cap. The elected members also get a chance to recommend other cricketers as inductees. The new players are announced every year.

How are card structures built?

US card stacker Bryan Berg, 35, made it into the Guinness World Records and then recently broke his own record by building the largest house of free-standing playing cards. The architect successfully created a replica of the Venetian Macau with 2,18,792 cards. These cards are stacked without glue or tape. His method has been tested to support 660 Ibs per square foot. The secret is that cards are placed like grids or honeycombs.

Who is a vegangelical?

A fanatic vegetarian out to convert non-vegetarians. The word vegangelical comes from vegan and evangelical. A vegangelical is someone who thinks that any other lifestyle choice besides veganism is wrong. The word usually used in the West, first made its appearance in print in 2003.

What is silhouette photography?

Silhouette photography is the technique of taking a photograph so the subject appears like a black outline against a bright background. The light should not be too bright or too dull and most of these photographs are taken with the rising or setting sun as the background.

What is baryogenesis?

It is a branch of physics concerned with how baryons were originally formed. Baryons are a family of subatomic particles a