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A lot of things that happen in movies tend to follow a particular formula. This isn’t always a bad thing; it means that you know when something big is about to kick off, or when someone is about to get killed.

The only problem is that in the real world, a lot of these movie lies could be seriously dangerous for your health. While it’s unlikely you’ll find yourself these situations, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared!

If watching American movies is your source of fighting tips, you will have a re-think after reading this listicle

10. Landing On A Car (In A Dumpster) Is Going To Break Your Fall


For anyone who has played Assassin’s Creed, falling into a dumpster is the equivalent of surviving a 100ft fall into a barrel of hay.

If you manage to hit your target (difficult enough as it is), there’s also the fact that – much like hitting water at high velocity – you’re going to break your neck. But let’s imagine you do survive: congratulations – now all you need to deal with are the various discarded syringes protruding from your face.

9. You Can Hold Your Breath For Ages


Now we are sure there are people with a lifetime of experience in deep sea diving who might look at people in movies swimming frantically from one submerged room to the next and think, “Is that all you’ve got?!”

For the average Adamu or Tunde, however – you’re not going to last more than a minute or two.

8. A Clip Of Ammo Lasts For Ages


This one is pretty common – but for that reason, it has to go on the list. You know the scenario: our hero has decided to charge through the 20-something bad guys in the room.

Out comes his pistol: he fires relentlessly until there isn’t a soul left alive. The only catch in this situation is that he just let off a good 40 bullets from one – I repeat, one – magazine!

Your standard civilian pistol will hold 8-10 rounds, a military grade pistol more like 15 – and even if you have an extended magazine (which our hero doesn’t according to our eyes) you’ll be limited to about 30 rounds. Let’s hope you’re not facing a whole army.

7. Throwing Your Gun Away Is A Logical Thing To Do

As a follow on from number eight: once the hero of the movie is done with his weapon, he simply casts it aside.

Now if you’re going to pick up an enemy’s weapon due to lack of ammo, that’s all fine and dandy. Otherwise, it would make sense to hold on to your own gun; it’s probably going to be easier (and cheaper) to get some more ammo than a whole new gun.

6 Automatic Gunfire Is Easy To Avoid


According to American movies, most humans have an electromagnetic charge around their bodies, which means that bullets are going to be deflected away from us in most situations. Ok, this might be false – the first part is true, but definitely not the second.

That being said, how is it possible that one man (or woman) is able to avoid a hail of automatic gunfire? Obviously it wouldn’t be as much fun to watch if the hero of a movie was cut down within ten seconds of the first big action scene – but there are times when you’re watching just thinking “Come on, at least take one hit, I want to believe!”

The lesson? Chances are that in a gunfight, you’ll be hit – early. And you won’t be able to keep running to the open doors of the waiting helicopter.

5. A Group Of Martial Artists Will Attack You One By One

Martial artists are more likely than most to believe in concepts such as honor and respect – but in a situation where our hero is pissed off and out for blood, it probably isn’t the best time to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Best case, he dislocates a shoulder or breaks an elbow; worst case, he snaps your neck, throws you off a very high place – or stabs you.

Instead of respecting your martial arts training, it would make more sense in this situation to throw caution to the wind and bundle the dude!

It’s not stylish, it’s not exactly nice – but the point is that you want to come out on top.



4. You Can Set Things Alight With Cheap Booze


This one could easily fall into a heated debate about the chemical make up of alcohol and the various proofs required for alcohol to be considered flammable. One reason it has been included is because of the way it’s portrayed in movies: one swig of Jack Daniels and a Zippo lighter – hey presto, you’re a human flamethrower!

For the kind of super-quick fire lighting that graces most movies, you would need the kind of alcohol no one should go drinking any time soon – if it’s potent enough to flammable, then it’s probably poisonous, too. This means that if the scene is set in a public place such as a bar, you’re going to have much more of the clientele resembling corpses than you imagined.

3 You Can Train Yourself To Becoming A Killing Machine

This one has been done to death – but to leave it out would be to ignore the elephant in the room.

If you want to become a killing machine, it’s going to take months, if not years of intense training – and in the case of most movies, an excellent documentary maker who can catalogue the events for a quick four-minute summary when it gets turned into a movie.

2. Explosions Are Nothing More Than A Blast Of Hot Air

Set explosives; turn; run; and jump! That’s all there is to it- and once you’ve mastered these simple steps, you can survive any explosion… or perhaps not. A hand grenade has a kill radius of about 5 meters (and an injury radius of 15);

When you think that buildings are normally stuffed like a piñata in movies, this is going to be a lot wider – not to mention the shrapnel hurtling through the air.

Basically: if there is an explosion, you’d want something very sturdy between you and the source. Alternatively you’d want to be very far away in the first place, and not take a chance at trying to outrun an explosion.

1. Turning Over A Table Will Keep You Safe From Gunfire


It’s an age-old idea: if you turn over a table during a gunfight, you can sit tight until you’re ready to pop up and fire another round.

Unfortunately, you’re not going to do so well if this were a real life situation – you should find some more substantial cover, or scram!

Even a wall isn’t going to do much good.


What movie fighting skill do you know would not work in real life? Let us know in the comment section below

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2015/01/05/10-fighting-tips-from-american-movies-that-will-get-you-killed-in-real-life/

Hi, it’s us, Introverts. We just wanted to write a quick note to everyone to clear the air. We know that we can be hard to read, a little closed off and even irritable sometimes, but we do love you.

To help you deal with us, we have put together a list of things you should know.

1. Weekdays Are Me Days.

We swear it’s not because we don’t like you. And it’s also not because we just started watching Game of Thrones. (I mean, how did we actually live before?).

Socializing is for the weekends. We’re up for it then. We’re not up for it on Mondays. Of course we bend the rules for breakups, important meetings or special occasions. So basically, if it’s not your birthday, it can wait ’til Friday.

2. If You Call Me, Have A Reason

Business? We’ll answer. News? OK. Just to talk? Hahaha. Unless you fall into our “special human” category, we’re not answering your phone calls.

And frankly, even our special humans get screened (sorry, Mom). Once again, it’s not that we don’t like you. It’s because we simply do not have the energy to talk for the sake of talking.

Texting is our real friend. If you text us, then you have to tell us what you want to talk about, and we like that lots. Phone calls are for catching up and achieving goals. Anything else is considered a no-go.

3. People We Know Better Be There

Oh, kindergarten. So long ago, we were all shoved into a classroom and told to make friends. So, naturally, us Introverts know how to socialize just like everybody else. But don’t mistake this for being extroverted!

The difference is, we legitimately feel like passing out directly after talking to other humans. And this is probably why we ask the dreaded question, “Well… who is going?” We aren’t saying you’re not cool, we’re just preparing ourselves.

For what, you may ask? For talking to humans we do not know followed by leaving the party early. Sorry we’re not sorry.

4. We Are OK Without A Bajillion Friends

Clearly, it makes sense that if we are horribly rotten at meeting new people, then we probably won’t have a ton of friends. Pretty simple logic. And we’re totally OK with that.

However, the friends we do have are flipping fabulous. Take me, for example! If you are one of my dear friends, then one of two things happened:

1. You clawed your way in (bravo!)

2. We were confined together for a long period of time and forced to talk.

I’m not even kidding. That’s how I met all FIVE of my lovely friends. And I’m considered to be “outgoing” (I know, right? Five.)

Moral of the story? If you’re friends with one of us, we love you more than you know, and you’re flipping fabulous.

5. We’re Intense

Disclaimer: we seriously DO NOT know how to “bring it down,” or “lighten up.” When we are in a great conversation, it normally pertains to politics, religion, money, complicated relationships or anything else we “aren’t supposed to talk about.” These taboo subjects are our life source at cocktail parties, and we can’t help it.

Yes, your dog is too adorable and your outfit is beyond amazing, but what actually gets us going is your career buyer’s remorse or your relationship with your mother. Sorry in advance.

6. We Don’t Reach Out Well

Oh, the horror. Here’s the lowdown: We feel desperate or clingy when we ask someone to dinner, fake and slimy when we network and self-absorbed when filling in a distant friend on our lives.

That’s no excuse — we have to work on these things, but be patient with us. If these things come easier for you, help a little lost Introvert out! We’re cute, and what we lack in social aggression we make up for in poignant conversation.

7. We Like You

We really do. Well, not all of you, but a lot of you. We appreciate that Extroverts talk to us and text (not call) us and inform of us of what’s going on outside of our scary minds!

Even though we have become pretty comfortable in our introverted ways, we all at one point have been rather jealous of how you guys operate.

So, don’t think that we don’t like you just because we prefer to be alone! We aren’t hanging out with each other, either. For real.

To all of our extroverted friends out there — thanks, dudes. We know we’re in a handful. And love to the fellow Introverts out there!

ok, bye

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2015/01/04/an-open-letter-from-introverts-to-everyone-else/

11. This year I will stop extorting money from Innocent Nigerians ~Nigeria Police

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12. This year I will finally provide Nigerians with 24 hours of electricity ~ PHCN

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13. This year I will stop trolling Goodluck Jonathan and focus on something productive ~ APC

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14. We will try our best not to turn the National Assembly to a boxing ring ~ Legislators

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15. I intend to do my job right: Free, Fair and Credible Elections ~ INEC

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16. This year I will stop trying to bore Nigerians to death ~ NTA

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17. I will not embark on any strike action this year ~ NMA & ASUU

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18. This is the year I will finally crash the price of data bundle to N100/Gigabyte

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19. I will not push any topic about Tonto Dike to the front page of Nairaland.com~ Seun Osewa

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20. Why dont you complete the list

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Did we miss any new year resolution that would put a smile on your face? Let us know in the comment section below

1. This year, I resolve to not disgrace myself on National Television ~ Patience Jonathan

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2. To release the Chibok girls and retire from this terrorism business ~ Abubakar Shekau

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3. This year, I resolve to release songs with meaningful lyrics ~ Wizkid

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4. This year, I will remember to verify information before posting on my blog ~ Linda Ikeji

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5. 2015 is the year i will protect my customers from receiving 1000 SMS per day ~ MTN

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6. This year i will try my best to wear clothes that reveal less skin ~ Cossy Orjiakor

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7. This year I resolve to say something good about Goodluck Jonathan ~ Sahara Reporters

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8. This is the year we will stop dancing Sekem on your destiny ~ Witches in Your Village

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9. Never to visit the country called Nigeria ever again ~ Ebola Virus

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10. This seems like the perfect year to return that “missing” $20 Billion ~NNPC

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http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2015/01/03/20-new-year-resolutions-that-would-put-a-smile-on-the-face-of-almost-every-nigerian/

Happy New Year to you too

Before you begin your list of New Year’s resolutions, take a look at last year’s list.

Were you disappointed with the results before January came to an end? If so, you’re doing it all wrong. There’s one important step you must take before you can expect change to occur.

Unhealthy thought and behavior patterns are to progress what water is to fire. New Year’s resolutions simply don’t work until you let go of the old ways of thinking that prevent you from bringing in the new.

So try something different this year to strengthen your resolve. These old patterns will only hold you back; let go of them and you’ll see real changes in 2015!

1. Let go of the lies you tell yourself.

“I can’t do this”. “I’m alone in this”. “No one knows a good idea when they see it”. “Things just never work out my way.”

Be careful what you ask for. If you hold onto limited thinking like this, your mind will fit it all nicely into your reality.

As these thoughts appear, ask yourself, “Is this really true?” Stay grounded in the truth and the stories you tell yourself will become more uplifting and positive.

2. Let go of avoidance.

If you’re avoiding the truth, you’re probably avoiding other things as well. Things rarely get better all on their own.

Create a plan and face the things you need to face. You’ll ask yourself why you didn’t do it sooner.

3. Let go of anger.

Holding onto anger only perpetuates negativity.

It can affect not only your mood, but your health, creativity, and relationships as well. It’s time to process your feelings and resolve these issues, past and present.

4. Let go of unproductive practices.

If it doesn’t work, fix it or get rid of it altogether. Stop pretending things will change.

5. Let go of self-criticism.

People make mistakes. People fail. You are human.

Think of all the time and energy you’ll save if you stop beating yourself up and instead focus on the lessons you’ve learned and just move forward.

6. Let go of unhealthy relationships.

Are there people in your life who consistently drain your energy?

Evaluate these relationships and either spend less time with these toxic people or let go of the relationship altogether.

Save your energy for what’s important.

7. Let go of anxious thinking.

There’s a difference between seeing the big picture and being well prepared and worrying about every possible problem before it exists.

Take calculated risks and focus your energy on preparedness, not anxiety-provoking worry.

8. Let go of thoughts of superiority.

Remember, although you’ve worked hard to get where you are today you had a little help in getting there.

Don’t assume that everyone has enjoyed the same opportunities and benefits that you have.

Get out of your ego and ask others to share their stories; you may be pleasantly surprised at what’s under the cover of that book.

9. Let go of laziness.

Outrageously successful people take care of themselves, help others, and engage in practices that create and maintain a healthy mindset.

Have you been making excuses?

It’s time to put them aside and be truthful with yourself.

10. Let go of the belief that there isn’t enough time.

This the first excuse out of a everybody’s mouth.

If you don’t have the time to take care of yourself, if you don’t invest in important relationships, and if you don’t take the steps that are most critical to the progress of your life, then you are busy doing the wrong things.

11. Let go of the belief that anyone can do it.

When you have a gift, it’s common to believe that anyone can do what you’re doing–that it’s easy.

Stop diminishing your abilities, and be thankful for them instead. Appreciate yourself more!

12. Let go of procrastination. Really.

If you often get caught up in menial chores or allow yourself to get sidetracked, there’s a deeper issue going on.

Get help to understand what it is and stop applying bandages to it with productivity programs that don’t work for you.

13. Let go of thinking someone’s going to rescue you.

People often run to their pastors or soothsayers because they think other people have all the answers.

You already have most of the answers and just need a little help accessing them.

14. Let go of thoughts of lacking.

If you believe you don’t have enough money or support, you probably never will.

Beautiful things have been born out of necessity, so take this opportunity to be resourceful and creative. Think abundantly!

15. Let go of the words ”I can’t.”

The things you feed your subconscious mind will almost always come true. Instead of “I can’t”, try “I can”, and “I am figuring out exactly how.”

16. Let go of putting everyone else ahead of you.

Some people believe it’s selfish to put themselves first.

In most cases, that’s just not true. Stop sacrificing to the point of self-neglect and take care of your own needs first.

Only then can you truly show up in the lives of others in a way that has a positive and healthy impact on all concerned.

17. Let go of waiting for perfection.

Do your best and let it fire.

Too many Nigerians waste time and money struggling for perfection only to find that it doesn’t exist.

What are you really afraid of?

18. Let go of putting your brain before your intuition.

If you have a gut feeling, you’re better off following that than relying on logic.

Your subconscious mind knows things that your brain never will.

19. Let go of trying to impress people with your knowledge.

Your highly technical vocabulary is boring others to tears.

Keep it simple and make it fun!

20. Let go of expecting something in return.

If you are going to help someone, do it because you want to, not because you hope for something in return.

Reciprocity exists, but not always in the way you expect.

21. Let go of waiting for the right time.

There will be times when you don’t have the perfect plan and that’s OK.

Sometimes you just have to trust and be willing to learn from every experience. Understand the difference between strategy and fear of the outcome.

22. Let go of the sloppy look.

A daily shower and decent clothing never hurt anyone.

23. Let go of thinking you need things that you don’t.

Do you have so many electronics that your house is starting to look like a computer village?

Knowing the difference between what you want and what you need is the single most important factor that determines your financial freedom

24. Let go of believing that happiness is anywhere but within you.

No one can make you feel anything, including happiness.

You choose your feelings and thus you choose whether to be miserable or happy. Look deeper, not farther.

25. Let go of the snarky remarks.

Say what’s on your mind rather than camouflage it in sarcasm. Choose your words carefully and tell the truth. People will respect you for it.

Your turn. Do you recognize something you need to let go of before you move into 2015? Let us know in the comment section below

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/31/25-things-you-must-let-go-of-before-the-year-ends/

nice

If you didn’t have the best 2014, and are looking to start the New Year right, then we have the perfect plan for you.

Instead of making resolutions that you are going to break on the second of January, we have a list of traditions from around that is supposed to bring you good luck for all of 2015!

1. Nigeria
In Nigeria, the New Year's Eve is often celebrated by going to Church.

We believe that you need to start the New Year in God’s presence if you want the New Year to be a good one for you.

2. Brazil

If you want to ward off evil spirits, wear all-white clothes on New Year's Eve.

Other Brazilian traditions include jumping over seven ocean waves (one for each day of the week) and throwing flowers into the sea.

3. Romania

Romanian farmers believe that the animals gain a power of speech during the New Year ’s Eve and that it’s a bad omen if you figure out their speech, and if not then it’s a good luck.

Let’s just hope you don’t drink alcohol before doing this, else the animal must surely talk; abi you no trust alcohol again?

They also throw their spare coins into the river to get good luck.

4. Ireland

In Ireland people celebrate the New Year’s Eve by banging loaves of bread on doors and walls to chase the bad luck out of a house and to invite good spirits in.

Person way never chop belle full wan come day thruway bread for wall?

5. Chile
Putting money at the bottom of your shoe is supposed to bring you prosperity for the next 12 months.

Even supernatural beings agree that you need money to make money.

And don’t forget to sweep your house inside out to remove bad energy.

6. Cuba

Cubans recommend that you circle your house with a suitcase when the clock strikes at midnight — it's meant to bring you travelling opportunities in the New Year.

Let’s hope this “travelling opportunity” does not take you to Borno State.

For general good luck, try sweeping the house or throwing water out the window.

7. Denmark
For good luck, it's customary to stand on top of a chair and leap off at midnight.

For extra luck you could smash plates and glasses against the house of your neighbour; that is if he isn’t a retired Army General who spent millions building his house.

8. Argentina
Ladies and Gentlemen who want to get married by every means necessary can start by wearing brand-new pink underwear to attract love.

Even if it doesn’t work, at least you will be wearing nice underwear into the new year.

Still from Argentina, at exactly 12:00, step forward with your right foot to start the year off with…YOUR RIGHT FOOT!

9. Ecuador

Ecuadorians enjoy burning effigies of politicians (and other people they don't like) at midnight. It's meant to get rid of the negative energy of the past year. (Variations of this take place in Panama, Paraguay, and Colombia.)

Imagine how many people would burn the picture of President Goodluck Jonathan and
General Buhari if it were Nigeria.

If burning of effigies aren't your thing, you can also hide money around the house to bring you prosperity in the new year.

10. Greece

In Greece, they have a tradition of eating Vasilópita, a cake with a coin or another small object hidden inside.

Whoever receives the slice with the coin gets good luck for the next year.

Better be careful when eating the cake, because from experience biting hard on a coin is not on the same planet with good luck.

11. The Philippines

A fashion statement is always a good way to start the new year on the right note.

Filipinos enjoy wearing polka dots on New Year's Eve, while carrying coins in their pockets.

Round objects signify prosperity; so many families eat and display round fruits such as oranges and grapefruits.

Another Tradition is to open all doors and windows in your house on New Year’s Eve in order to allow negative energy to leave and good energy to enter.

They also turn on all the lights in the house on New Year’s Eve to ward off evil spirits.

These Philippines can fear evil spirit sha!

12. Russia

How far are you willing to go to make a wish come true?

Would you write down your wish on a piece of paper, burn it, put the ashes in a glass of champagne, and drink it down?

If not, you're clearly not as hardcore as the Russians.

13. Spain
In Spain — and in many other Spanish-speaking countries — it's common to eat 12 grapes at midnight, to bring good luck for each month of the New Year.

Sounds easy, right?

Except you have to eat one grape each time the bell tolls.

14. El salvador

Crack an egg in a glass at midnight and leave it on the window sill overnight.

Whatever figure it has made in the morning, that’s what your fortune will bring next year.

15. Guatemala
At 12 a.m. on New Year’s Day, grab 12 pennies and then go outside your house and you throw the pennies behind you while you face the opposite of the street.

This will bring you money in the New Year.

16. Pueto Rico
In Puerto Rico, traditions involving water are prominent around the new year. One custom holds that throwing a cup or bucket of water out of the window on New Year’s will help to drive away the evil spirits.

Another way of keeping those spirits at bay at the turn of the year involves falling backward into waves as the clock strikes 12.

17. Venezuela

Wear yellow underwear for “good luck.”

18. Peru

Peruvian New Year’s traditions are a dime a dozen, with everything from wearing new clothes and lighting candles to writing down wishes, all practiced with the intention of bringing good luck for the upcoming year.

One of the most interesting of these is the tradition of foretelling the next year’s fortunes with the use of potatoes. According to the tradition, three potatoes are placed under a chair or sofa-- one peeled, one half peeled and one unpeeled. At midnight, one potato is chosen at random, which forecasts the state of next year’s finances, with the peeled potato signifying no money, half-peeled a regular year and unpeeled a great financial bounty in the year ahead.

19. Estonia

In Estonia people eat seven times on New Year’s Day to ensure abundance in the New Year.

If you ask us at giftedgreen, we would say this is just no tradition at all, just an excuse to eat excessively.

20. Around the world

Eating anything green is supposedly lucky if eaten on New Year’s Eve, mainly because they resemble money.

So serve up a bountiful spinach salad, vegetable or green beans to all of your guests and be sure you grab some greens yourself, in order to provide yourself with some prosperity and wealth for the New Year.

How do you spend your New Year’s Eve? And which of these New Year Eve traditions are you willing to try out?

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/31/20-new-year-tradition-from-around-the-world-that-is-supposed-to-give-you-good-luck-in-2015/

braintext:
[color=pink]Google still the same to me[/color]

JOETYNO:
someone please Ask Google wetin dem Change

EdDave:
Google logo. I m still looking @it. Can't see any change.

html14java:
U see, anoda person don tok am

It a very small change, visit the link below to see the difference

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-logo-change-2014-5

Christmas is a time of presents, anticipation, excitement and goodwill virtually anywhere in the world. In different parts of the world, however, the specific traditions used to celebrate Christmas can vary widely.10

1. Nigeria

Here in Nigeria, a typical Christmas consists of buying new clothes for your kids, cooking a ridiculous amount of rice which we all know we are going to waste anyways.

And back in the days, kids usually walk around saying happy Christmas to strangers and non-strangers in the hope that they would be given money in return.

Do we miss those innocent days or what?

2. Venezuela

During Christmas time in Caracas, Venezuela, from December 16 to December 24, the streets are closed for the roller skating mass. Yes, that is exactly what it sounds like: a mass of people roller skating together through town.

Frustrating for those trying to make their way through traffic around the streets that are closed for the holiday tradition? Perhaps, but this is a very well-known tradition in the area, and many people love to participate in it each year.

3. France

In France, Christmas time is all about the light show. Imagine that – the nation that is home to Paris, the “City of Lights,” steals the show during the most lights-focused time of the year.

Examples can be found all over the country during the Christmas season; for example, during the Fête des Lumières from December 5 to December 8, Lyon features over 70 light shows that are simply breathtaking.


4. Brazil

Christmas in Brazil is the most celebrated holiday in the country, since about 90 percent of the population of Brazil consider themselves to be Christians.

Christmas is a big deal in Brazil! Because Brazil is in the southern hemisphere, it is summertime during the holiday season; temperatures can reach well above one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. December 24 is the day that begins the official Christmas celebrations.

It starts with Christmas cooking, which traditionally includes codfish and turkey with beer or juice as a beverage. Because pine trees are rarely found in Brazil, households that have a Christmas party will often feature a fake tree with Christmas lights and decorations. There can be several families at each gathering, with over seventy people attending one Christmas party.

Just before midnight, all the lights in the house are shut off (with the exception of the Christmas tree lights, of course) and the children lie in bed and await the arrival of Santa Claus.


5. Italy

Perhaps one of the most unique ways to celebrate the Christmas season is found in Italy.

In Italy, on January 5, children await the arrival of a magical figure to bring them candy and other goodies. But it is not Santa Claus they are waiting for; no, these children are waiting for a witch named La Befana.

According to legend, the Wise Men asked La Bafana to accompany them to see the infant Jesus. She refused, saying she was too busy. Now she goes house to house each year, leaving gifts and looking for the Christ child.

She is portrayed as coming down the chimneys of various homes and delivering gifts, all while holding a broomstick. Instead of leaving milk and cookies for jolly old Saint Nick, Italian children leave wine and crackers for this mystic witch.

However, in Norway, it is said that you must hide all of the brooms in your house or the witches will steal them and ride them off into the night. Perhaps they are headed to Italy.


6. Finland

In Finland, the Christmas celebrations primarily extend from December 24 to December 26.

Fir trees are set up in each household on Christmas Eve. People in Finland bake gingerbread cookies and other yummy treats.

Finnish Christmas dinner begins on the night of Christmas Eve, at the spotting of the first star in the sky – usually between five and seven o’clock.


7. Mexico

In Mexico, Christmas is known as La Posada.

It is a tradition to carry a picture of Joseph and Mary from house to house in the search of “shelter” before the birth of Jesus Christ himself.

In Mexico, Santa Claus is not usually used to symbolize Christmas like he does in Nigeria. Instead, the people of Mexico choose to use the striking red flower called the poinsettia as a symbol of the season – a tradition that has begun to catch on in other parts of the world as well.


8. Germany

In Germany, the Christmas celebration begins on December 6 and continues non-stop until after Christmas Day.

On December 6, the baking and decorating begins. It all starts with the spiced cookies and cakes, then comes the home-made cards and gifts. One of the more well-known Christmas traditions – and one that originated in Germany – is the creation of beautiful gingerbread houses. Christbaumgeback is the name of German dough that can be shaped like clay before it is baked and used to decorate the Christmas tree.

Although gingerbread and gingerbread houses are certainly a part of Christmas celebrations elsewhere in the world (Nigeria no included), none can match those created in Germany.

9. Belgium

In Belgium there are two Santa Claus figures. There is St. Niklaas and Pere Noel.

Pere Noel visits those who speak the Walloon language, in fact he visits them twice. The first time is on the December 4th he does this so he can find out which children have been good and which children have been bad. If a child is good he returns on December 6th with the presents the good children deserve if they were bad they are left twigs. The good children usually received candy and toys. With the bad children he leaves the twigs inside their shoes or in small baskets that are left just inside the doorway.

10. Estonia

Estonia claims their Christmas (Joulud) has no connection with Christianity at all even when their decorations and customs look suspiciously Jesus-like.

One of the most important Estonian peasant traditions involves the bringing home of authentic “Christmas straw,” which is supposed to symbolize the manger. Whose manger, Estonia?

Christmas Eve and Night are considered sacred, and Estonians use the two-day window for the exclusive purpose of fortune telling, predicting next year’s weather and harvest. Ancestors’ spirits are said to visit families’ houses during this time.

Another of the oldest holiday traditions in Estonia is the Christmas Eve sauna, which is exactly as unappealing as it sounds. After being required to see all of your immediate family sweaty and nude.

What is your most memorable Christmas experience? Let us know in the comment section below


http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/24/10-christmas-traditions-from-nigeria-and-other-parts-of-the-world/

You probably know that Santa Claus takes his name from a corruption of “Saint Nicholas” the 4th century figure who was fond of secretly handing out gifts and he obviously inspired the image of Father Christmas.

There are many other words that are associated with Christmas, what are their origins? From the gifts given to Jesus to some of the common Christmas traditions, here are the histories and etymologies of 5 words associated with Christmas.

1. Myrrh

Most people know that, according to the Bible, the magi brought myrrh as a gift to the infant Jesus, along with gold and frankincense.

Some people also know that myrrh (dried tree sap) was used as an embalming ointment or as incense for funerals and cremations (to mask the smells).

Few people know that, according to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, myrrh trees originated as a result of Myrrha’s lust for her father, Cinyras. With the connivance of her nursemaid, Myrrha repeatedly screwed her unsuspecting father.

When her father realized Myrrha’s identity and that he had been eating the punany of his daughter, he attempted to kill her but she escaped. The gods took pity on her and to release her from her shame, turned her into a myrrh tree.

2. Carol

The earliest references to Christmas carols date back to England.

Before carol we started associating carol to Christmas, it had many uses back then and they include; any joyous song, bands of musicians, the chorus of songbirds at dawn, or to a particular type of circular folk dance or piece of music written to accompany a ring-dance.

Whatever its earliest meaning might have been, carol was borrowed into English from French in the early Middle Ages and can probably be traced back to an ancient Latin or Greek word for a flute-player, choraules.

3. Frankincense

You’ll no doubt have heard the word, but you might not know the meaning—frankincense is actually a type of fragrant resin, obtained from the sap of the frankincense tree, which has long been used to make incense; the frank– of frankincense is an old French word essentially meaning “high quality.”

4. Gift

In Old English, a gift was specifically a wedding dowry, but by the early Middle Ages, its meaning had broadened to mean simply something given freely from one person to another.

It ultimately derives from some ancient Germanic word root meaning something like “give” or “bestow”—which is also the origin of the not-so-festive German word gift, meaning “poison.”

5. Yule

Yule derives from an Old Norse word, jól, that was once the name of a 12-day pagan festival leading up to what we now call Christmas Day.

This was borrowed into Old English as gol or geol as far back as the 8th century, and was originally used both as another name for December (which was called ǽrra geóla, or “before Yule”) and January (which was æftera geóla, or “after Yule”).

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/24/5-words-associated-with-christmas-and-their-interesting-origins/

Though these bans are very difficult to enforce, they regulate actions toward children in homes in which parents remain the authority figures and are largely shielded from public view.

The laws, give children a legal voice and send a clear message to parents that spanking is wrong.

Instead of spanking, use gentle instruction, supported by a strong foundation of love and respect, is the only truly effective way to bring about commendable behavior based on strong inner values, instead of superficially "good" behavior based only on fear.

mizjules:
People like us just used to use n go ! Thanks op, but didn't notice the difference btw google o

It a very small change, visit the link below to see the difference

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-logo-change-2014-5

6. Google


If you’re an obsessive designer, you might have seen a subtle tweak to Google’s logo.

Google’s old logo is synonymous with the internet to many who use its products. Its new logo isn’t much different (the ‘g’ and the ‘l’ have been moved ever so slightly to the right).

You don’t believe us? Click the link below for a detailed explanation and illustration

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-logo-change-2014-5

7. WWE


WWE’s old logo is a holdover from when it had an edgier show in the early 2000s.

8. VISA


Visa’s old logo famously had a golden tip on the ‘V.’ The new logo gets rid of this flourish. The letters are also darker shades of blue.

9. Oxford Dictionaries


Oxford Dictionaries’ old logo was a fairly plain word mark. Its new logo is a bit more stylish, but it looks a lot like the logo for Beats by Dr. Dre.

See what we mean?

https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/537100f16bb3f7b13b8d136c-1200/see-thats-the-beats-logo-on-the-right.jpg

See? That's the Beats logo on the right.


10. Inter Milan FC


Italian soccer giant Inter Milan also made a few changes. The new logo no longer has the star on top.


What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comment section below

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/23/10-companies-you-patronize-everyday-changed-their-logo-and-you-didnt-notice/

http://www.businessinsider.com/2014-logo-changes-2014-8?op=1

Companies change their logo all the time some companies had to completely rebrand themselves; others opted for more subtle changes to their logos.

Which change did you notice even though you make use of these companies on a daily basis?

1. Brut


https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5494535d69bedd3644e024d5-1200/4-brut.jpg

2. Paypal

https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5491c772ecad04f17194f59c-1200/9-paypal.jpg

PayPal made some improvements to its old logo. The new logo has a bolder word mark and more vibrant colors, and the overlapping Ps are designed to emphasize human connection.

The old PayPal logo was stale and outdated. The new one manages to be instantly recognizable but is brighter and looks especially good as a smartphone-app icon.

3. Rebook

https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5491d2626da811835cfd43a2-1200/8-reebok.jpg

If you grew up wearing Reebok Pumps, you may be furious to see the classic Reebok logo go — but don’t worry, it lives on in the retro Reebok Classics brand.

For its main brand, Reebok has stopped trying to play catchup to Nike in professional sports and is instead focusing on ordinary people who are dedicated to fitness. The new logo isn’t the most original design, but it’s clean and looks good on the new workout gear.


4. Volvo

https://giftedgreen.com/2014/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/volvo_logo.jpg

5. Lipton


Lipton’s old logo featured a bright lemon. The new logo isn’t too different

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comment section below

http://www.businessinsider.com/2014-logo-changes-2014-8

Mynd44:
It has also been banned in public schools in Lagos.

For Nigeria to join the list of countries above, we would need to prohibit spanking of kids in the home, in alternative care settings, in day care and in public schools. We would need to prohibit spanking in penal institutions and stop spanking kids as punishment for crimes.

In Nigeria spanking of kids in not prohibited in the home, in alternative care settings, in day care and in public schools.

The Child Right Acts (2003) prohibits spanking of kids is penal institutions but this is not enacted in all states.

The Child Right Acts (2003) also prohibit spanking as sentence for crimes but, as said previously, it it not enacted in all states and other legislation would need to be amended.

Spanking of Children is lawful in areas under Sharia Law.

When it comes to using corporal punishment to train a child, African parents take to whole cake.

The scientific research is pretty clear that spanking kids is ineffective, if spanking truly works, then Nigeria would produce the best children in the world.

Spanking correlates with various bad outcomes, including addiction, depression and other mental health problems. But spanking remains legal in most countries of the world, including the United States.

Sweden was the first country in the world to completely abolish all corporal punishment of children in 1979 and since then 43 countries have outlawed spanking, and two more are about to.

In Africa, six countries have been able to fully protect children from corporal punishment by law.

It is important to note that while the children in these countries are fully protected from every form of corporal punishment by the law, they still get a good beating from their parents and teachers as full implementation of the law in these countries have remained problematic.

1. Togo

Togo banned corporal punishment of kids in 2007. The Children Code of Togo considers corporal punishment a breach of law. The Code also explicitly prohibits punishment in schools and in penal and care institutions.

In order to support the implementation of the prohibition, the government has taken a number of measures, including: Launching the Learn Without Fear Campaign, setting up a child protection hotline that any person can use anonymously and many more.

Though majority of the teachers and parents still believe that beating a child is the most appropriate punishment and corporal punishment continues to be used.

Further work is being put in place to ensure full implementation of the law and elimination of corporal punishment.

2. Kenya

In 2010, Kenya proposed a new constitution can into force on 27 August 2010. The Bill of Rights protects the right of every person not to be subject to corporal punishment by any person in any setting. If you paid any attention to the previous sentence, you will notice that the rights apply to all persons and all settings.

3. Tunisia

In July 2010, Parliament passed a Law amending to Penal Code to remove the clause which provided a legal defence for the use of corporal punishment in childbearing.

Prior to the reform, the Penal Code punished assault and violence which did not lead to serious or lasting consequences for the victim, but stated that “correction of a child by persons in authority over him is not punishable”.

The new law explicitly repeals this clause, making it a criminal offence to assault a child even lightly, even if you are correcting the child.

Opponents of the amendment argued that it undermines parents’ authority and could lead to loosening of traditionally close family ties.

4. South Sudan

On 14 July 2011, the Republic of Sudan became the 193rd member state of the United Nations, having achieved independence on 9 July of the same year.

South Sudan achieved full prohibition of corporal punishment, though legislation prohibiting corporal punishment was originally enacted prior to independence.

In 2005, the Interim constitution stated that “Every child has the right . . . (f) to be free from corporal punishment and cruel and inhuman treatment by any person including parents, school administrations and other institutions”.

Prohibition was confirmed in article the Child Act (2008). The child act protects children from capital punishment, life imprisonment, corporal punishment, or group punishment by chiefs, police, teacher, prison guards or any other person in any place or institution, including schools, prisons and reformatories.

After Independence in 2011 these laws came into force.

5. Cape Verde

Cape Verde has banned all forms of corporal punishment of children, including within the family.

As part of article 31 of the Law on Children and Adolescents 2013, which entered into force in 2013, parents must, „In exercising the right to correction always keep in mind the rights of children and adolescents to an upbringing free from violence, corporal punishment, psychological harm and any other measures affecting their dignity, which are all inadmissible.”

Before 2013, corporal punishment was a criminal offence in all public and private institutions under the Civil Code, but it remained lawful in the home and other care settings.

6. Congo, Republic of

Article 53 on Protection of the Law on the Protection of the Child (2010) states: “It is prohibited to use corporal punishment for disciplining or correcting the child” (unofficial translation)

The government in its report to the committee on the Rights of the Child in 2010, confirmed that prohibition now extends to the home setting.

What is the most memorable beating you have ever received from your parents? Let us know in the comment section below

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/23/6-african-counties-where-it-is-illegal-to-beat-your-kids/

https://giftedgreen.com/2014/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Cover-shallow-1024x626-762x360.png

Real life is the game that – literally – everyone is playing. But it can be tough. This is your guide.

Basics

You might not realise, but real life is a game of strategy. There are some fun mini-games – like dancing, driving, running, and sex – but the key to winning is simply managing your resources.

Most importantly, successful players put their time into the right things. Later in the game money comes into play, but your top priority should always be mastering where your time goes.

Childhood

Life begins when you’re assigned a random character and circumstances:

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Select-your-character.png


The first 15 years or so of life are just tutorial missions, which suck. There’s no way to skip these.

Young adult stage

As a young player, you’ll have lots of time and energy, but almost no experience. You’ll find most things – like the best jobs, possessions and partners – are locked until you get some.

This is the time to level up your skills quickly. You will never have so much time and energy again.

Now that you’re playing properly, your top priority is to assign your time as well as possible. Every single thing you do affects your state and your skills:

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Drink-vs-code-1024x684.png

This may sound simple, but the problem is you won’t always know what tasks to choose, and your body won’t always obey your commands. Let’s break it down.

How to obey your own commands

Many players find that when they choose to do something – say “go to the gym” – their body ignores them completely.

This is not a bug. Everybody has a state, which you can’t see directly, but looks something like this:

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/State.png

If your state gets too low in one area, your body will disobey your own instructions until your needs are met. Try studying when you’re exhausted and hungry, and watch your concentration switch to Twitter.

Your willpower level is especially important. Willpower fades throughout the day, and is replenished slightly by eating, and completely by a good night’s sleep. When your willpower is low, you are only able to do things you really want to.

Every decision you have to make costs willpower, and decisions where you have to suppress an appealing option for a less appealing one (e.g. exercise instead of watch TV) require a lot of willpower.

There are various tricks to keep your behaviour in line:

1. Keep your state high. If you’re hungry, exhausted, or utterly deprived of fun, your willpower will collapse. Ensure you take consistently good care of yourself.

2. Don’t demand too much willpower from one day. Spread your most demanding tasks over multiple days, and mix them in with less demanding ones.

3. Attempt the most important tasks first. This makes other tasks more difficult, but makes your top task more likely.

4. Reduce the need to use willpower by reducing choices. If you’re trying to work on a computer that can access Facebook, you’ll need more willpower because you’re constantly choosing the hard task over the easy one. Eliminate such distractions.

A key part of playing the game is balancing your competing priorities with the state of your body. Just don’t leave yourself on autopilot, or you’ll never get anything done.

Choosing the right tasks

Choosing the right tasks at the right time is most of the game. Some tasks mostly affect your state, e.g.

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Eating-1024x634.png

Others mostly affect your skills:

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Rocking-1024x634.png

You need to put time into things that ensure a healthy state – like food and sleep – to keep your willpower high. And then you need to develop your skills with what you have left.

Some skills are more valuable than others. Good ones can open up whole paths like a tech tree:

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Skills.png

Others are dead ends:

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Dead-skills.png

Combinations of skills are the most effective. It’s very hard to max out one skill to be the best – in fact, that’s often impossible. But it’s much easier to get pretty decent at lots of related skills that amount to something bigger, e.g.

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Entrepreneur.png

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Ladies-magnet.png

See how psychology just helped you become both rich and attractive? You should study that.

Where you live

Your environment has a constant impact on your stats, skills, and your chances of levelling up.

It’s possible to play the game well almost anywhere, but it’s a lot easier in certain places. If you’re female and in the wrong country, for example, you can’t unlock many achievements.

The odds of anyone being born in their optimal location are virtually zero, so research your options, and consider moving early. Location is a multiplier to all of your skills and states.

Finding a partner

Attraction is a complex mini-game in itself, but mostly a byproduct of how you’re already playing. If you have excellent state and high skills, you’re far more attractive already. A tired, irritable, unskilled player is not appealing, and probably shouldn’t be looking for a relationship.

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Marriage-1024x589.png

Early in the game it can be common to reject and be rejected by other players. This is normal, but unfortunately it can drain your state, as most players don’t handle rejection or rejecting well. You’ll need to expend willpower to keep going, and willpower is replenished by sleep, so give it time.

80% of finding someone comes down to being your most attractive self, which – like so much in life – just means putting your time in the right places. If you’re exercising, socialising, well nourished and growing in your career, you will radiate attraction automatically. The remaining 20% is simply putting yourself in places where you can meet the right people.

Money money money

Later in the game you’ll have to manage a new resource called ‘money’. Most players will find money increases throughout the early game, but that this actually introduces more problems, not less.

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Money-2.png

The most important rule of money is never to borrow it, except for things that earn you more back. For example, education or a mortgage can be worthwhile (but are not necessarily so, depending on the education or the mortgage). Borrowing to buy new shoes is not.

Depending on your financial ambitions, here are a few strategies to bear in mind:

1. Not fussed about money. The low-stress strategy: simply live within your means and save a little for a rainy day. Be sure to make the best of all the time you save though, or you’ll regret it.

2. Well off. Choose a career and environment carefully, and be prepared to move often to move up. You’ll need to invest heavily in matching skills, which will cost you time, and be careful not to abuse your state or you’ll burn out.

3. Mega rich. Start your own business. It’s almost impossible to get rich working for someone else. Riches do not come from work alone, they come from owning things – assets – that pay back more than they cost, and your own company is a powerful asset you can create from scratch.

Compound your winnings into more assets, and eventually they can remove your need to work at all.

Later life

Your options change as the game progresses. Marriage and children will reduce your time and energy, and introduce more random elements into the game (“Emergency diaper change!”). This makes it harder to develop yourself as quickly.

Older characters usually have more skills, resources and experience, unlocking quests that were previously impossible, like “owning a house”, or “writing a (good) novel”.

https://oliveremberton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Old-1024x639.png

All players die after about 29,000 days, or 80 years. If your stats and skills are good, you might last a little longer. There is no cheat code to extend this.

At the start of the game, you had no control over who you were or your environment. By the end of the game that becomes true again. Your past decisions drastically shape where you end up, and if you’re happy, healthy, fulfilled – or not – in your final days there’s far less you can do about it.

That’s why your strategy is important. Because by the time most of us have figured life out, we’ve used up too much of the best parts.

Now you’d best get playing.

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/21/life-is-a-game-this-is-your-strategy-guide/

The war between cat and dog people is vicious and will probably never end.

Here’s some ammunition for the next time you are talking to one of those horrible cat lovers.

1. GET SICK LESS!

If our cleaning commercials are to be believed, humanity is in the midst of a war against germs—and we won’t stop until every single one is dead.

In reality, the amount of disinfecting we do is making us sicker; since our bodies are exposed to fewer germs we can’t build up immunities to them.

Fortunately, dogs are covered in germs! Having a dog in the house means more bacteria enters the home and gets inside the occupants (one study found “dog-related biodiversity” is especially high on pillowcases.) In turn, people with dogs seem to get ill less frequently and less severely than people with cats or no pets.

2. RESISTANCE TO ALLERGIES!

While dogs can be one of the worst triggers for people with allergies, growing up in a house with a dog makes children less likely to develop allergies over the course of their lives.

Even if you were just a fetus when your mother lived with a dog, you are still less likely to be bothered by animal hair and dander, or to develop eczema as an adult.

3. BE HAPPIER!

Dog owners are less likely to suffer from depression than non-pet owners. Even for those people who do become clinically depressed, having a pet to take care of can help them out of a depressive episode, in some cases more effectively even than medication.

Since taking care of a dog requires a routine and forces you to stay at least a little active, it is harder to stay inside feeling down all the time. The interaction with and love received from a dog can also help people stay positive.

Even the mere act of looking at your pet increases the amount of Oxytocin, the “feel good” chemical, in the brain.

4. BETTER HEART HEALTH!

Everything about owning a dog seems to lend itself to better heart health. Just the act of petting a dog lowers heart rate and blood pressure.

A Chinese study found that people who own dogs get better sleep at night and are sick less often. Other studies show pet owners have slightly lower cholesterol and are more likely to survive a heart attack.

5. MORE EXERCISE!

While other pets have positive effects on your health as well, dogs have the added benefit of needing to be walked and played with numerous times a day.

This means most dog owners get the recommended minimum 30 minutes of exercise a day, lowering their risk of cardiovascular disease and keeping them in better overall shape than cat owners or people without pets.

6. A MORE ACTIVE SOCIAL LIFE!

Polls show people trust others who have dogs more than just random people walking on the street and are more likely to go up and interact with them.

Even if you live alone, having a dog has the same emotional benefit as that of a human friendship.

7. CANCER DETECTION!

Your dog could save your life one day. It seems that our canine friends have the ability to smell cancer in the human body. Stories abound of owners whose dogs kept sniffing or licking a mole or lump on their body so they got it checked out, discovering it was cancerous.

The anecdotal evidence was later backed up by scientific studies. Dogs are so good at this that some of them are trained to detect cancer, in as little as three hours.

8. A REFLECTION OF YOUR PERSONALITY!

The kind of dog you have tells people a lot about your personality. A study in England found a very clear correlation between people’s personalities and what type of dogs they owned; for example, people who owned toy dogs tended to be more intelligent, while owners of utility dogs like Dalmatians and bulldogs were the most conscientious.

Other studies have found that dog owners in general are more outgoing and friendly than cat owners. But be careful:

Dogs also take on their owners’ personality traits, so if you fly off the handle all the time, it might explain why your dog is so aggressive.

9. LOWER STRESS AT WORK!

The benefits of bringing a dog to work are so increasingly obvious that more companies are catching on.

Studies show that people who interact with a pet while working have lower stress levels throughout the day, while people who do not bring a pet see their stress levels increase over time.

Dogs in the office also lead to people taking more breaks, to play with or walk the dog, which makes them more energized when they return to work. This, in turn, has been shown to lead to much greater job satisfaction and productivity.

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/20/9-benefits-of-being-a-dog-owner/

The war between cat and dog people is vicious and will probably never end.

Here’s some ammunition for the next time you’re talking to one of those horrible dog lovers.

1. YOU’RE SMART!

A study of British pet owners found that people who owned cats tended to be smarter than their dog loving counterparts. Both in terms of IQ score and overall level of education, people who own cats come out on top in the brains department.

It’s probably not the cat itself making you smarter, though; the researchers conducting the study said that smarter people tend to work longer hours, and since cats require less attention than dogs they are a better choice for the busy intellectual.

2. IT’S BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT!

If you’re worried about your carbon footprint, it’s better to own a cat. A 2009 study found that over its lifetime, the resources needed to feed a dog make the same eco-footprint as that of a Hummer.

Meanwhile, cats—which eat less in general and are more likely to eat fish than corn or beef flavored products—only have the approximate carbon footprint of a Volkswagen Golf.

3. HELPING YOU COPE!

Losing a loved one is incredibly painful, but one of the best ways of coping is to own a pet.

Cats have been shown to help people get over their loss more quickly, and show less physical symptoms of pain, like crying.

Despite the fact that they are only animals, cats serve as a social support during difficult times.

People in mourning report talking to their pet to work out their feelings, since it is often easier to talk to something that won’t respond and can’t judge than to another human being.

4. HELPING YOU MATE!

If you’re a single guy and you can’t seem to get a date, get a cat! A British poll found that 82 percent of women agreed they are more attracted to men who like animals. And while having a dog will do wonders for your dating life, a whopping 90 percent of single women said that men who own a cat are “nicer” than other guys.

It seems women buy into the stereotype that cat owners are more sensitive and thoughtful, so listing that you own a cat on your dating profile could do wonders for the number of responses you get.

But remember, a cat is for life, not just until you find a partner.

5. HEART HEALTH!

Owning any pet is good for your heart. Cats in particular lower your stress level—possibly since they don’t require as much effort as dogs—and lower the amount of anxiety in your life.

Petting a cat has a positive calming effect. One study found that over a ten year period cat owners were 30 percent less likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than non-cat owners.

6. COMPANIONSHIP!

The stereotype that dogs are more affectionate than cats is just that: a stereotype. In fact, it turns out that cats can be just as good companions as dogs, especially for women.

A 2003 Swiss study found that having a cat in the house is the emotional equivalent of having a romantic partner. As well as initiating contact much of the time, studies have shown cats will remember kindness shown to them and return the favor later.

But cats really do have the upper hand in these relationships. After thousands of years of domestication, cats have learned how to make a half purr/half howl noise that sounds remarkably like a human baby’s cry. And since our brains are programmed to respond to our children’s distress, it is almost impossible to ignore what a cat wants when it demands it like that.

7. A REFLECTION OF YOUR PERSONALITY!

Owning a cat tells people a lot about your personality. While dog lovers tend to be the life of the party, cat owners are quieter and more introverted.

However, they score very highly when it comes to how trustworthy they are and how much they trust other people. Cat owners are also less manipulative and more modest.

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/20/7-amazing-benefits-of-being-a-cat-owner/

Earlier this year, Pope Francis outlined a ten-point plan for happiness. The Top 10 list appeared in an interview for the Argentine magazine Viva, which was released to celebrate Francis’ first 500 days in office.

Here are Francis’ 10 steps for a happy, healthy life.

1) “Live and let live”

The first step to peace and happiness, said Francis, is following the ancient advice of the Romans: Campa e fascia campà, or, “live and let live.”

This advice is an echo of his now famous “Who am I to judge?” line, which was spoken in the context of his view that the Church should not “interfere spiritually” in the life of any person, gay or straight.

2) “Be giving of yourself to others”

This advice isn’t surprising coming from Francis, who has often admonished Catholic ministers and laypersons alike to live charitably toward all.

Some of Francis’ most well-known comments have to do with his philosophy of economics, which places a special emphasis or “preference” on the poor.

Francis also thinks charity extends beyond money, and includes giving one’s time to someone who needs it. No matter how it’s done, Francis advises against withdrawing into oneself, since that runs the risk of stagnation.

And as he put is, “stagnant water is the first to be corrupted.”

3) “Move quietly”

For his third bit of advice, Francis cited the novel Don Segundo Sombra, which was written by the Argentine novelist Ricardo Güiraldes.

The book, according to the National Catholic Register, follows the journey of its protagonist, who, in his youth “was a rocky stream that ran over everything, but as he became older, he was a running river and in old age was quietly peaceful.”

Francis’ advice is to be more like the older protagonist, moving calmly and slowly through life. The theme of stillness is an aspect of Ignatian spirituality, which Francis, as a Jesuit, has been trained in.

4) Have a healthy sense of leisure

“Consumerism has brought us many anxieties,” said Francis, who has often spoken out against what he sees as the negative effects of capitalism.

Francis said that in Argentina, he’d often take mothers off guard by asking them how often they played with their children. It’s hard to make time to play, and to enjoy art and literature, but “it must be done,” he said.

This advice echoes a passage from his book Pope Francis: His Life is His Words: “people who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen to music, play a sport.”

5) “Sunday is for family”

Following up on #4, Francis said that once a week, people should take a break from their work lives to spend time with their families.

Francis has often spoken highly of the family unit. For example, in a radio interview, he said the concept of family is “necessary for the survival of humanity.” Although Francis has gone on record saying that marriage in a religious sense is limited to heterosexuals, he has also suggested that he is open to considering non-traditional forms of marriage.

The concept of resting once a week from work is an important one in both Jewish and Christian theology, and is actually one of the 10 Commandments.

6) Find ways to make jobs for young people

Francis noted that the rate of drug use and suicide is high among unemployed people under 25.

That crisis, he said, requires us to be creative with helping them find work. For Francis, jobs don’t only give a person money — they give her dignity. In a homily last May, the Pope said, “Power, money, culture do not give us dignity. Work, honest work, gives us dignity.”

7) Respect nature

This one isn’t surprising, either. Francis has discussed environmental concerns before in homilies. And according to the National Catholic Register, he is currently working on various writings about ecology that will “draw attention to the connection between environmental problems and poverty.”

In one of his more provocative turns of phrase during his interview with Calvo, Francis had this to say about our “degradation” of the environment: “Isn’t humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?”

”Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy”

Joy is one of the hallmarks of Francis’ theology. No surprise, then, that one of his secrets to happiness evolves shunning negativity.

Francis made headlines earlier this year for including a curious word choice in his first apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel. In paragraph 85 he wrote, “One of the more serious temptations which stifles boldness and zeal is a defeatism which turns us into querulous and disillusioned pessimists, sourpusses.”

Instead of talking about others who frustrate us, Francis advises that it’s healthy to let negative things pass quickly and quietly.

9) Stop proselytizing

Yes, you read that right. Francis’ recipe for happiness includes cooling it with the aggressive conversion tactics. “The worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes,” he said.

To Francis, we shouldn’t talk with others with the sole goal of persuading them that we’re right. Each person, he said, sees the world in his or her own way, and that should be respected.

Besides, he thinks that ultimately people will join the Catholic Church if they are attracted to it, not if they are argued into it.

10) Work for peace

Francis hasn’t shied away from commenting on international crises. Earlier this week, while addressing the conflict in the Middle East, Francis put out an impassioned plea for the violence to stop: “I ask you with all my heart, it’s time to stop. Stop, please!” In the past, he’s also advocated for those displaced by conflict, and praised those countries, like Sweden, who have taken steps to make things easier for refugees.

Francis said that working for peace must be proactive, and never quiet: ”Peace is the language we must speak.”

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/18/10-tips-for-a-happy-life-according-to-pope-francis/

neoapocalypse:
My first cooking experience was a disaster , after observing my mum in the kitchen for some years I decided it was time to try my hands out at cooking. Calling over my closest friend for the treat , I cooked rice ( done properly ) and stew ( na here the problem dey ). After cooking the stew it just turned green , don't know if it was the curry or thyme but the stew was green. We decided to give the dog the rice and stew and even the dog refused to eat ( probably thinking , na me una one poison , thunder fire una )

Funny

There’s no class in school on how to not be a good boyfriend or girlfriend.

Sure, they teach us the biology of sex, the legality of marriage, and maybe we read a few obscure love stories from the 19th century on how not to be.

But when it comes down to actually handling the nitty-gritty of relationships, we’re given no pointers … or worse, we’re given advice columns in women’s magazines.

Yes, it’s trial-and-error from the get-go. And if you’re like most people, it’s been mostly error.

But part of the problem is that many unhealthy relationship habits are baked into our culture.

We worship romantic love — you know, that dizzying and irrational romantic love that somehow finds breaking china plates on the wall in a fit of tears somewhat endearing — and scoff at practicality or unconventional sexualities.

Men and women are raised to objectify each other and to objectify their relationships. Thus, our partners are often seen as assets rather than someone to share mutual emotional support.

A lot of the self-help literature out there isn’t helpful either (no, men and women are not from different planets, you over-generalizing prick). And for most of us, mom and dad surely weren’t the best examples either.

Fortunately, there’s been a lot of psychological research into healthy and happy relationships the past few decades and there are some general principles that keep popping up consistently that most people are unaware of or don’t follow. In fact, some of these principles actually go against what is traditionally considered “romantic” or normal in a relationship.

Below are six of the most common tendencies in relationships that many couples think are healthy and normal, but are actually toxic and destroying everything you hold dear. Get the tissues ready.

1. The relationship scorecard

What It Is: The “keeping score” phenomenon is when someone you’re dating continues to blame you for past mistakes you made in the relationship. If both people in the relationship do this it devolves into what we like to call “the relationship scorecard,” where it becomes a battle to see who has screwed up the most over the months or years, and therefore who owes the other one more.

You were an asshole at your girlfriend’s 28th birthday party back in 2010 and it has proceeded to ruin your life ever since. Why? Because there’s not a week that goes by that you’re not reminded of it. But that’s OK, because that time you caught her sending flirtatious text messages to her co-worker immediately removes her right to get jealous, so it’s kind of even, right?

Wrong.

Why It’s Toxic: The relationship scorecard develops over time because one or both people in a relationship use past wrongdoings in order to try and justify current righteousness. This is a double-whammy of suckage. Not only are you deflecting the current issue itself, but you’re ginning up guilt and bitterness from the past to manipulate your partner into feeling wrong in the present.

If this goes on long enough, both partners eventually spend most of their energy trying to prove that they’re less culpable than the other, rather than solving the current problem. People spend all of their time trying to be less wrong for each other instead of being more right for each other.

What You Should Do Instead: Deal with issues individually unless they are legitimately connected. If someone habitually cheats, then that’s obviously a recurring problem. But the fact that she embarrassed you in 2010 and now she got sad and ignored you today in 2013 have nothing to do with each other, so don’t bring it up.

You must recognize that by choosing to be with your significant other, you are choosing to be with all of their prior actions and behaviors. If you don’t accept those, then ultimately, you are not accepting them. If something bothered you that much a year ago, you should have dealt with it a year ago.

People spend all of their time trying to be less wrong for each other instead of being more right for each other.

2. Dropping “hints” and other passive aggression

What It Is: Instead of stating a desire or thought overtly, your partner tries to nudge you in the right direction of figuring it out yourself. Instead of saying what’s actually upsetting you, you find small and petty ways to piss your partner off so you’ll then feel justified in complaining to them.

Why It’s Toxic: Because it shows that you two are not comfortable communicating openly and clearly with one another. A person has no reason to be passive-aggressive if they feel safe expressing any anger or insecurity within the relationship. A person will never feel a need to drop “hints” if they feel like they won’t be judged or criticized for it.

What You Should Do Instead: State your feelings and desires openly. And make it clear that the other person is not necessarily responsible or obligated to them but that you’d love to have their support. If they love you, they’ll almost always be able to give it.

3. Holding the relationship hostage

What It Is: When one person has a simple criticism or complaint and blackmails the other person by threatening the commitment of the relationship as a whole. For instance, if someone feels like you’ve been cold to them, instead of saying, “I feel like you’re being cold sometimes,” they will say, “I can’t date someone who is cold to me all of the time.”

Why It’s Toxic: It’s emotional blackmail and it creates tons of unnecessary drama. Every minor hiccup in the flow of the relationship results in a perceived commitment crisis. It’s crucial for both people in a relationship to know that negative thoughts and feelings can be communicated safely to one another without it threatening the relationship itself. Otherwise people will suppress their true thoughts and feelings which leads to an environment of distrust and manipulation.

What You Should Do Instead: It’s fine to get upset at your partner or to not like something about them. That’s called being a normal human being. But understand that committing to a person and always liking a person are not the same thing. One can be committed to someone and not like everything about them. One can be eternally devoted to someone yet actually be annoyed or angered by their partner at times.

On the contrary, two partners who are capable of communicating feedback and criticism towards one another, only without judgment or blackmail, will strengthen their commitment to one another in the long-run.

4. Blaming your partner for your own emotions

What It Is: Let’s say you’re having a crappy day and your partner isn’t exactly being super sympathetic or supportive at the moment. They’ve been on the phone all day with some people from work. They got distracted when you hugged them. You want to lay around at home together and just watch a movie tonight, but they have plans to go out and see their friends.

So you lash out at them for being so insensitive and callous toward you. You’ve been having a bad day and they have done nothing about it. Sure, you never asked, but they should just know to make you feel better. They should have gotten off the phone and ditched their plans based on your lousy emotional state.

Why It’s Toxic: Blaming our partners for our emotions is a subtle form of selfishness, and a classic example of the poor maintenance of personal boundaries. When you set a precedent that your partner is responsible for how you feel at all times (and vice-versa), you will develop codependent tendencies.

Suddenly, they’re not allowed to plan activities without checking with you first. All activities at home — even the mundane ones like reading books or watching TV — must be negotiated and compromised. When someone begins to get upset, all personal desires go out the window because it is now your responsibility to make one another feel better.

The biggest problem of developing these codependent tendencies is that they breed resentment. Sure, if your lover gets mad at you once because they had a bad day and is frustrated and needs attention, that’s understandable.

But if it becomes an expectation that your life revolves around their emotional well-being at all times, then you’ll soon going to become very bitter and even manipulative towards their feelings and desires.

What You Should Do Instead: Take responsibility for your own emotions and expect your partner to be responsible for theirs. There’s a subtle yet important difference between being supportive of your partner and being obligated to your partner.

Any sacrifices should be made as an autonomous choice and not seen as an expectation. As soon as both people in a relationship become culpable for each other’s moods and downswings, it gives them both incentives to hide their true feelings and manipulate one another.

5. Displays of “loving” jealousy

What It Is: Getting pissed off when your partner talks, touches, calls, texts, hangs out, or sneezes in the general vicinity of another person and then you proceed to take that anger out on your partner and attempt to control their behavior.

This often leads to insane behaviors such as hacking into your partner’s email account, looking through their text messages while they’re in the shower or even following them around town and showing up unannounced when they’re not expecting you.

Why It’s Toxic: It might surprise you that some people describe this as some sort of display of affection. They figure that if their partner wasn’t jealous, then that would somehow mean that they weren’t loved by them.

This is absolutely clown—- crazy to us. It’s controlling and manipulative. It creates unnecessary drama and fighting. It transmits a message of a lack of trust in the other person. And to be honest, it’s demeaning. If your boyfriend cannot trust you to be around other attractive men by yourself, then it implies that he believes that up are either (a) a liar, or (b) incapable of controlling my impulses. In either case, that’s a man you do not want to be dating.

What You Should Do Instead: Trust your partner. It’s a radical idea, I know. Some jealousy is natural. But excessive jealousy and controlling behaviors towards your partner are signs of your own feelings of unworthiness and you should learn to deal with them and not force them onto those close to you. Because otherwise you are only going to eventually push that person away.

6. Buying the solutions to relationship problems

What It Is: Any time a major conflict or issue comes up in the relationship, instead of solving it, one covers it up with the excitement and good feelings that come with buying something nice or going on a trip somewhere.

Why It’s Toxic: Not only does it brush the real problem under the rug (where it will always re-emerge and even worse the next time), but it sets an unhealthy precedent within the relationship. This is not a gender-specific problem, but I will use the traditional gendered situation as an example.

Let’s imagine that whenever a woman gets angry at her boyfriend/husband, the man “solves” the issue by buying the woman something nice, or taking her to a nice restaurant or something.

Not only does this give the woman unconscious incentive to find more reasons to be upset with the man, but it also gives the man absolutely no incentive to actually be accountable for the problems in the relationship.

So what do you end up with? A checked-out husband who feels like an ATM, and an incessantly bitter woman who feels unheard.

What You Should Do Instead: Actually, you know, deal with the problem. Trust was broken? Talk about what it will take to rebuild it. Someone feels ignored or unappreciated? Talk about ways to restore those feelings of appreciation. Communicate!

There’s nothing wrong with doing nice things for a significant other after a fight to show solidarity and to reaffirm commitment. But one should never use gifts or fancy things toreplace dealing with the underlying emotional issues.

Gifts and trips are called luxuries for a reason, you only get to appreciate them when everything else is already good. If you use them to cover up your problems, then you will find yourself with a much bigger problem down the line.

What are your thought? Let us know in the comment section below

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/17/6-toxic-relationship-habits-most-people-think-are-healthy/

Australia is known as the “lucky country.”

It was a phrase first coined in 1964 to represent the visceral feelings of both Australians, and visitors to the nation.

It is seen as a reflection of a high standard of living, and a geographical insulation from the bad actors of the world theater.

But ten days out from Christmas, Australia has lost its innocence.

On the 15th of December 2014, a few days back, a suspected Iranian born Islamic extremist held 17 hostages for 16 hours. The siege ended after police raided the building, three people died in total, including the gunman. Numerous hostages were injured during the incident, and a police officer was shot in the face. Officials said the officer is in stable condition.

The suspect, who first took the cafe during Monday morning rush hour, was identified by police as local Muslim cleric Man Haron Monis, who had taken to calling himself “Sheikh Haron.” Officials said he died after being shot during the raid.

As reports spread quickly about the hostage situation, the nationality and religion of the gunman, as well as the involvement of a black flag with the words of shehada, the Muslim affirmation of faith on it, the situation became ugly for Muslims in the country.

It didn’t take long before Xenophobic and anti-Muslim updates started to flood social media in Australia.

As the hostage-taker remained holed up in the establishment, a stirring, inspirational hashtag proliferated across the country. “#Illridewithyou” was meant as a mark of solidarity with Australian Muslims and others, such as Sikhs, who may worry that they will be targeted because of their religious garb. It was sparked by reports on social media of some Australians comforting others who were fearful of reprisal.

On a train, one passenger reportedly spotted a Muslim woman removing her hijab, ostensibly out of fear of being targeted. The passenger told her to put it back on and offered to walk with her in solidarity. And so began #IllRideWithYou. The hashtag went viral and is currently still trending worldwide, hours after the end of the hostage crisis.

The tweets included calls not to blame all Muslims for the hostage crisis and, more universally, for greater tolerance.

From there, the hashtag took off and has been shared on Twitter almost 200,000 times in the past day.

Tessa Kum, who was credited with turning #IllRideWithYou into a hashtag,echoed that sentiment

It is hard to feel hope when you feel helpless. #illridewithyou is a small act, but might be important for someone one day. My thoughts are with those involved, who will be affected for so long to come, and those uninvolved, who are being blamed none the less.

Was The Australian Government Ready For A Terror Attack?

Australia’s government raised the country’s terror warning level in September in response to the domestic threat posed by supporters of ISIS.

Counterterror law enforcement teams later conducted dozens of raids and made several arrests in Australia’s three largest cities – Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. One man arrested during a series of raids in Sydney was charged with conspiring with an ISIS leader in Syria to behead a random person in downtown Sydney.

ISIS, which now holds a third of Syria and Iraq, has threatened Australia in the past.

What Can Nigerians Learn From This Story?

No matter how hard we prepare against terrorists, there will be slip ups, but remember that one is perfect, our security operatives arent, the Government of the United States of America isnt and you (yes you reading this article) are not perfect either.

When these sad event occur what are we supposed to do?

The obvious and prudent thing to do is to unite against the common enemy. You cannot blame one Muslim for the sins of every misguided Muslim. That would be like blaming every Christian for the sin of a psychopath because he happens to be a Christian who believed he was sent by God to kill people.

The best way to defeat Terrorism is if we are united. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

We should learn to see each other as Nigerians, we really do not need to bicker among ourselves. There are tons of bad people who are ready to call us (Nigerians) horrible names; Internet fraudster, Drug pusher, Criminals, Nuisance, prostitutes and many more.

To be honest, we’ve had enough of name calling from outsiders, we should not give them more names to call us. A popular proverb says “When you use your best cloth to wipe your nose, other people will use it as a rag”.

We need to stop this, “It’s only happens in the north” “Thank God I am not a northerner” or the “They should keep killing each other” mentality.

An attack on one Nigerian is an attack on every Nigerian.

Lets unite against Terrorism

More IllRideWithYou Tweets

If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don’t feel safe alone: I’ll ride with you. @ me for schedule. — Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014

Maybe start a hashtag? What’s in #illridewithyou? — Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014

Anyway. #373 bus between Coogee & Martin Place. #illridewithyou @ me if you just want to wear your headdress & not be bothered. — Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014

Today we are One Country, One Nation & One Humanity. This is Australia we dream of, haters & trouble makers have place here.#illridewithyou — Arif (@Atozai) December 15, 2014

I drive but today I visited small business today to assure the Muslim owners that I was with them at this difficult time #illridewithyou

More than happy to join the #IllRideWithYou initiative. T3 or T4 from Sydenham to city and return, daily. — Jakkii Musgrave (@slybeer) December 15, 2014

If you wear religious attire, & need to get from #Adelaide‘s westsuburbs to the city on Tues but don’t want to travel alone#illridewithyou” — Clara Collin (@msclaracollin) December 15, 2014

I drive but today I visited small business today to assure the Muslim owners that I was with them at this difficult time #illridewithyou — Peter Doyle (@PeterDoyley) December 15, 2014

I don’t travel far each day. Redfern to Wynard on the red bus but#illridewithyou if you need me. Let’s stamp out racism & harassment. — RollerDerbyDame (@RollerDerbyMum) December 15, 2014

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/17/the-most-important-lesson-nigerians-can-learn-from-terrorist-situation-in-australia/

Visit the link below, Hope it helps

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/02/12/how-to-choose-the-perfect-christmas-gift-for-your-family-and-friends/

Some of the greatest discoveries are made by accident and it’s no exception when it comes to food. From champagne to potato chips, here are ten delicious foods that were born as a result of good fortune.

If you ever need some validation that failure can lead to success, then take a look at the origin of some of your favourite delicious food.

1. Potato Chips

https://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/tri1025.com/files/2013/09/Potato_Chips_iStockPhoto.png?w=600&h=0&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89

A long time ago, before anybody reading this article was born (1853 to be precise) a customer kept sending a potato dish back again and again because they were too thick and he wanted a crisper chip. Try sending your food here in Nigeria and see what happens, we promise you it won’t be pretty.

Anyways, he kept sending the chips and this made the chef of the restaurant so angry that he deep-fried the taters into oil and sprinkled them with salt to serve. Lo! And behold, the customer loved them.

There, kids, is how potato chips were invented.

2. Saccharin

This possibly cancer-causing invention has a nice story to it.

Saccharin became a food item when a chemical spilled on the hand of a researcher right before he ate lunch. Neglecting to wash his hand, he tasted the super sweet chemical on the bread he was eating.

It turns out that the researcher was actually trying to find alternative uses for coal tar and he ended up finding something sweeter.

Five years later he was issued a patent for the food.

3. Ice Cream Cones

https://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server1400/a07be/products/624/images/1398/MS960_Empty__61550.1410582865.1280.1280.jpg?c=2

Some people would argue that ice cream in forever incomplete without an ice cream cones, well, before the invention of ice cream cones, ice cream were usually sold in cups and plates. Sad, don’t you think?

Ice cream cones were invented when an ice cream vendor ran out of cups, his good Samaritan neighbour who happens to sell pastry decided to help out by wrapping his pastry into cones. And voila . . . the ice cream cone is born.

Even though the story of this story made headlines during its time, it is important to note that an Italian immigrant had already filed a patent for ice cream cones earlier that year.

You know what they say, great minds think alike.

4. Corn Flakes

https://mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/120520631-565x418_2.jpg

Two brothers were trying to find healthy food to serve to their patients and when they accidentally let some boiled wheat go stale, since they weren’t ready to waste the stale, boiled wheat, they decided to see what they could do with the product.

When they tried rolling the hardened dough it cracked into flakes, which the brothers then toasted.

The patients liked the toasted flakes so much that the brothers started experimenting with other grains. Corn was an instant success.

Thus corn flakes came into being, changing breakfast forever.

5. Popsicle

https://www.todayifoundout.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/The-popsicle-was-invented-by-an-11-year-old.jpg

It was 1905 and soda pop had just become the most popular drink on the market. 11 year old Frank Epperson decided he wanted to try saving some money by making his own at home.

Using a combination of powder and water he got pretty close but then absentmindedly left the concoction out on the porch all night. Temperatures ended up dropping severely and when he came out in the morning he found his mixture frozen with the stirring stick still in it.

But the frozen pop tasted great! Frank started selling Epperson icicles.

Eventually, his kids would refer to the frozen pop as Pop’s ‘sicle, causing Epperson to change the name.

Epperson sold the rights to Popsicle® and today, the company sells 2 billion ice pops annually, with cherry being the most popular flavor amongst its consumers.

6. Sandwiches

https://blogs.plos.org/obesitypanacea/files/2014/10/sandwich.jpg

Rumor has that, one day, the Earl of Sandwich was so busy gambling, he did not want to go to leave his gambling table.

So, he ordered some food to be piled between two slices of bread, which he ate while gambling.

The sandwich has been popular ever since

It’s said that the Earl of Sandwich thought of this as a great way to get in a proper meal without the effort of sitting down to dine

7. Coffee

The truth of this one is a bit murky, but the Legend of Kaldi maintains that an Ethiopian goat herder noticed that his flock was acting especially frisky after chowing down on some bright red berries.

After sampling some for himself and verifying the mood shift, he brought the berries to a local imam who studied them, eventually roasting and boiling a batch in water, thus introducing the world to coffee.

8. Cheese Puffs (What you like to call Cheese Balls)

https://heart-2-heart-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/p1160454.JPG

The popular orange treat was just a by-product that was accidentally discovered in the 1930’s.

Created by the Flakall Company, who used flaking machines to break down their livestock feed, the initial orange puff was a result of the moistened corn kernels that were used to prevent the machine from clogging.

It was machine operator Edward Wilson who took the puffed pieces home and made a unique, seasoned treat, but the rest of the world got to taste the unique puff under the brand name they were first known as, Korn Kurls.

9. Coca Cola

The most famous liquid, after water, the popular, carbonated Coke actually started out as an alcoholic beverage.

Invented by Dr. John Stith Pemberton in 1885 as a means in which to calm his patients, the drink then known as Pemberton’s French Wine Coca was forced to change its alcoholic ingredient with the onset of Prohibition.

While the drink had been created as a means to deal with ailments like headaches, impotence and morphine addiction, the first sales of the beverage assured its early popularity and today it remains the most popular of carbonated beverages.

10.Yoghurt

It’s believed that yogurt developed at a time when milk-producing animals became domesticated, possibly around 5,000 B.C.

To transport the animal milk, the milk was often placed in sacks made from the stomachs of animals.

It’s believed that the bacteria as well as the acidity from the lining of the stomachs prompted the milk to coagulate, forming the beginnings of yogurt.

While the story behind yoghurt makes it one of the first processed foods, the diary treat still persists today as a favorite and a daily staple for many

What recipe have you ever invented by mistake? Let us know in the comment section below and we promise not to steal it

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/13/10-delicious-food-that-were-invented-by-accident/

If you like this you should also read


10 More Fascinating Facts About Farts


https://www.nairaland.com/2041810/10-more-fascinating-facts-flatulence

Flatulence or Farting is act of passing gases from your intestines through your anus.

Flatulence or “farts” are the product of a mixture of air and gases in the digestive tract that are a by-product of the body’s digestion process.

Since farting is something that we are all familiar with, we might as well learn a few fascinating facts about it.

1.The average person farts about 14 times a day

Normal range of flatus is around 476 to 1491ml per 24 hours, while the number of flatus is variable; the normal range is given as 8-10 episodes per day.

So it is safe to say that an average person farts about 14 times daily. The average volume of farts daily is half a liter.

Your daily farts are enough to fill a balloon. And if you think you are good at holding them during the day, just know that it is a free flow of traffic when you are asleep.

2.Termites are the largest producers of fart

At first thought you would think that the largest producer of fart should be something as big as an elephant right? Wrong.

The largest producers of farts are termites. Yes, we are shocked too. Termites’ farts produce as much methane as the human industry.

They produce so many farts that termite farts are believed to be a major contributor towards global warming The top ten farting animals are as follows: Termites, Camels, Zebras, Sheep, Cows, Elephants, Labradors/Retrievers, Humans (Vegetarians), Humans (non-Vegetarians), and Gerbils.

Termites alone produce more methane than cows and even all man-made polluting machinery (but don’t produce other harmful chemicals)

3.Rice is the only food that does not make you fart

Now if farts make you feel less of a human then we have the perfect solution for you. Rice.

Yes, rice is the only starch that does not cause any gas. On the other hand, foods such as cauliflower, eggs and meat are notorious for producing smelly farts, whereas beans produce large amounts of not particularly stinky farts.

Beans contain sugars that we humans cannot digest. When these sugars reach our intestines, the bacteria go wild, have a big feast, and make lots of gas!

4.About 1% of the volume of flatus is composed of odorant gases

On average, a fart is composed of about 59 percent nitrogen, 21 percent hydrogen, 9 percent carbon dioxide, 7 percent methane and 4 percent oxygen. All of these gases mentioned are non odorant gases.

Less than 1 percent of their makeup is what makes farts stink. A fart chemical is so pungent that people can smell them at levels of 1 part in 100 million. Now which gas is responsible for such atrocities?

The gas that makes your farts stink is hydrogen sulfide. The more sulfur rich your diet, the more your farts will stink. Examples includes beans, cabbage and eggs.

5.Women fart as much as men. We would like to see a woman who would admit this fact

Most women would not accept this fact in public, but deep within their honest soul, they know it is the truth.

Flatulence has nothing to do with the sex of an individual. flatulence are affected by the bacterial fermentation in your gastrointestinal tract, and sometimes by the amount of air swallowed.

6.Authotysis

Soldier termites can actually turn themselves into bombs by detonating themselves via the explosive release of gas and feces, a process called “autothysis.”

It would be really nice if this is restricted to the world of termites. Just imagine what suicide bombers would do to obtain this kind power.

7.Farts are flammable.

Farts burn because they contain methane and hydrogen, both of which are flammable gases.

Farts tend to burn with a blue or yellow flame

8.SCUBA divers cannot pass gas at depths of 33 feet or below.

At high pressures, gas remains in solution rather than forming bubbles.

At this depth their farts stay in solution and never emerge as bubbles.

9.Creating your atomic Bomb

If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb. Scary right?

10.Farting In cultures around the World

In January 2011, the Malawi Minister of Justice, George Chaponda, said that Air Fouling Legislation would make public farting illegal in his country.

In certain parts of Nigeria,farting in public is seen as a sign of good health.

Source: http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/01/15/10-fascinating-facts-about-flatulence/

No matter how pretty you are or how rich you get, you fart, Genevieve Nnaji farts, Barack Obama farts, Angelina Jolie farts, heck! everybody farts. Trying to convince anybody that you don’t fart is one of the most futile battles you will ever fight

We’ve already given you 10 Fascinating facts about flatulence and as it turns out we have more facts about flatulence to share.

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/01/15/10-fascinating-facts-about-flatulence/

Now for your reading pleasure we are happy to announce our second list of facts about flatulence.

Enjoy the list and be sure to relate any of your thoughts in the comments.

1. Inhaling The Smell Of Farts Might Be Good For Your Health

No one enjoys the smell of flatulence but science has come to tell us that the smell of flatulence has secret health benefits – and could help stave off cancer, strokes, heart attacks and dementia.

Hydrogen sulfide is one of a number of potent smelly gases produced by bacteria as it breaks down food in the gut.

It is toxic in large doses but in tiny amounts it helps protect cells and fight illness, according to experts at Exeter University.

When cells become stressed by disease they try to draw in enzymes to generate their own minute quantities of hydrogen sulfide.

Hydrogen sulphise is so important that Researchers have come up with a new compound named AP39 to assist the body with just the right amount of Hydrogen sulphide (so, you don’t go about sniffing people’s fart)

They believe it will help prevent or reverse mitochondrial damage, which is a key strategy in treating conditions such as stroke, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis, dementia and ageing.

2. Your Farts Do Not Smell Very Offensive To You

Do you wonder why it is every easy for you to comfortably wallow in the smell of your own fart but can barely tolerate a few seconds of another persons’ fart?

Or why you always insist that the smell of your fart is not as horrible as that of every other person on planet earth?

Well, experiments have confirmed that we find the smell of our own farts less offensive than others’.

The reason is that we become habituated to all smells over time.

That’s why you might notice a scent walking into a stranger’s house, but seldom does for your own.

It’s also why you become habituated to the characteristic mix of odors produced by the bacteria inside your own body, which differs slightly from everyone else’s. As a result, your own farts just don’t have the same impact on you — even though they’re just as pungent for everyone else.

3. You Can’t Hold In Your Fart Until It Disappears

If you are on a date with your ultimate crush and you suddenly feel the urge to fart? The logical option would be to hold it in, right? If you hold it long enough it would disappear.

Scientifically, holding in a fart until it disappears is not possible. It might seem to vanish because you stop being conscious of it, and it leaks out gradually, but the physics of flatulence are pretty straightforward.

A fart is a bubble of gas, and there’s ultimately nowhere for it to go besides out of your anus.

Doctors disagree on whether or not holding in a fart is bad for your health.

Some experts think that farts are a natural part of your digestive system, so holding them in won’t harm you.

Others think that at best, holding them in can cause gas, bloating, and other uncomfortable symptoms, and at worst, repressing gas can cause hemorrhoids or a distended bowel.

Even if you clenched your butt and held them in all day, the gas will escape once you go to sleep.

4. There Is A Drug That Helps You Fart Less

In case you’re wondering, the over-the-counter product Beano — which claims to “prevent gas before it occurs” — actually works as advertised. Two different controlled trials have found that it significantly reduces gas production in the hours following a bean-filled meal.

The way it works is pretty simple: the pills contain an enzyme called alpha-galactosidase that cuts complex carbohydrates into shorter, simpler carbs that are much easier to digest.

As a result, they get broken down in your small intestine, rather than making it all the way to the large intestine, where bacteria would ferment them, producing gas.

However, there’s a drawback to habitually taking Beano to prevent gas.

5. Using The Drug Has Its Own Side Effects

For most people, actively trying to limit your gas production isn’t necessary, except you are the kid that was arrested for farting too much in class(yes it actually happened).

The amount you produce is the result of both your balance of gut bacteria and diet, and unless you’re experiencing other sorts of problems — such as painful bloating — it’s not wise to mess (pun intended) with it.

You might decide to stop eating things that produce gas like beans. But these foods, which have complex carbohydrates, are nutrition for the bacteria in our gut. You don’t want to starve them unless there’s a good reason.

6. Some People Fart As A Form Of Greeting

While most cultures feel that farts should be suppressed in polite company, there are some cultures that not only don’t mind letting them fly in public, but they actually enjoy it.

An Indian tribe in South America called the Yanomami use farting as a greeting. Just to say Hi.

In ancient Japan, public contests were held to see who could fart the loudest and longest!

7. Dead People Can Fart

Here’s proof that you can’t escape passing wind, even after you’re dead!

Up to three hours after the body dies, gasses continue to escape from both ends of the digestive tract, resulting in burping or farting noises. This phenomenon is due to muscles contracting and expanding before rigor mortis sets in.

8. There Is A Drug That Makes Your Fart Smell Like Chocolate

In case you are not a fan of drugs that make you fart less, you could opt for this new wonder drug that makes your fart smell like rosy chocolates.

The inventor says he came up with his range of indigestion tablets after he was “nearly suffocated” by the smell of farts

This drug makes people’s flatulence smell sweeter – of chocolate or of roses.

The pills are sold on the internet, visit pilulepet.com to get your copy, NOW!!!

9. If You Fart In Space It Would Propel You Forward

Yes, a fart should propel you forward, since there is virtually no opposing force in the form of friction or gravity to counteract the force of the fart.

10. An Animal Uses Fart To Communicate

In polite society, flatulence is often a social faux pas—especially when issued deliberately. But in the world of fish, group “messing” sessions appear to perform an important social role.

This intriguing idea comes from scientists who discovered that herring create a mysterious underwater noise by farting.

Researchers suspect herring hear the bubbles as they’re expelled, helping the fish form protective shoals at night. It’s the first ever study to suggest fish communicate by breaking wind.

Have you had any horrible experience with farting that you would love to share? Let us know in the comment section below

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/12/10-more-fascinating-facts-about-flatulence/

Near the end of every year, the editors at Time magazine wade through their coverage and pick the most influential newsmaker for their “person of the year” cover. The choice is often controversial, viewed as a mixture of a public-relations stunt and political theater.

But this year, few will question the pick for — as their criteria goes — the “person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year.”

In 2014, it’s the Ebola fighters who put their lives on the line to help stop the spread of a very deadly disease.

On Wednesday, Time shared multiple versions of the issue’s cover, which will each highlight a different caregiver: from the American Ebola survivor and doctor Kent Brantly, to an MSF volunteer health promoter, and an ambulance team supervisor.

According to the magazine, a Liberian, Dr. Jerry Brown, will be featured on the first of five covers shot for the special issue. Brown was the mastermind behind Liberia’s first Ebola treatment center, opening it up in early 2014 at a time when it seemed the world was standing by and watching a slow car crash.

The Ebola fighters beat the likes of Vladimir Putin, Taylor Swift, and even the Ferguson protesters. But Time’s editor Nancy Gibbs wrote that the choice was clear:

“2014 is the year an outbreak turned into an epidemic… It reached crowded slums in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; it traveled to Nigeria and Mali, to Spain, Germany and the U.S. It struck doctors and nurses in unprecedented numbers, wiping out a public-health infrastructure that was weak in the first place.”
“Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and ‘us’ means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day. The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time’s 2014 Person of the Year.”
To date, this is the world’s worst Ebola outbreak and the first-ever epidemic. More than 17,000 people have been sickened by Ebola and more than 6,000 have died.

Health-care workers face more than 100 times the risk of catching the disease. To date, according to the World Health Organization, more than 600 health-care workers have been infected by the virus and, of them, 346 have died.

The Ebola virus is a hemorrhagic fever that kills about 70 percent of its victims. Ebola typically strikes like the worst and most humiliating flu you could imagine. People get the sweats, along with body aches and pains. Then they start vomiting and having uncontrollable diarrhea. They experience dehydration. These symptoms can appear anywhere between two and 21 days after exposure to the virus. Sometimes, patients go into shock. Rarely, they bleed.
In fatal cases, death comes fairly quickly — within a few days or a couple of weeks of getting sick. Survivors return to a normal life after a months-long recovery that can include periods of hair loss, sensory changes, weakness, fatigue, headaches, eye and liver inflammation.

There are five strains of Ebola, four of which have caused the disease in humans: Zaire, Sudan, Taï Forest, and Bundibugyo. The fifth, Reston, was discovered in Virginia and has infected monkeys only. Though scientists haven’t been able to confirm this, the animal host of Ebola is widely believed to be the fruit bat, and the virus only seldomly makes the leap into humans.

The current outbreak involves the Zaire strain, which was discovered in 1976 — the year Ebola was first identified in what was then Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). That same year, the virus was also discovered in South Sudan.

The Ebola virus is extremely rare. Among the leading causes of death in Africa, it only accounts for a tiny fraction. People are much more likely to die from AIDS, respiratory infections, or diarrhea, as you can see.

Since 1976, there have only been about 20 known Ebola outbreaks. Until last year, the total impact of these outbreaks included 2,357 cases and 1,548 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They all occurred in isolated or remote areas of Africa, and Ebola never had a chance to go very far.

And that’s what makes the 2014 outbreak so remarkable: the virus has spread to six countries in Africa plus America, and has already infected more than 17,000 people. It has killed more than 6,000. That is more than seven times the sum total of all previous outbreaks combined.

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/10/7368133/time-ebola-virus

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/11/times-magazine-names-the-times-person-of-the-year-the-ebola-fighters/

The festive season can be an expensive time for everyone. The key is not to go overboard on your purchases. Often debt accumulates with smaller purchases where each one doesn’t appear to amount to much, however, when they are all added together they make a huge dent in one’s finances.

With only a few weeks left till the end-of-year bonus pay outs, a number of consumers are already drawing up long shopping lists before the money is even in their bank accounts.

Overspending during the festive season is easy because of the year-end celebrations and excitement but if you want to begin the New Year in a financially sound position, be aware of how you spend your money this festive season.

December is no different from any other time of the year. Remember, you do not have more money to spend other than your monthly salary. Your bonus (if you get one) should be used to pay off debts and other expenditures.

What do holiday decorations, wrapping paper, cards, food and presents all have in common? They are all expenses that can wreck a holiday budget if we’re not careful. If you are not mindful of your holiday expenses, you may be surprised when you find your wallet empty.

The following tips may be helpful to you this holiday season:

BUDGET.

Create a budget by deciding how much money you are going to be able to spend this holiday season.
If you didn’t budget for a holiday earlier in the year, it might be too late and risky in terms of finances to go on holiday this year.

Also be proactive and double-up on your regular payments such as rent or electricity bills. Unless you enjoy the screams of your landlord on your door at 5 o’clock in the morning.

That way you will be able to afford costs such as school fees and uniform for your kids (if you have kids) which will hit you at the start of the New Year. Set a reasonable budget that won’t put you in debt.

SETTLE YOUR DEBT FIRST

An efficient manager of money know that the first thing you do with your paycheck is to pay your self first and then you clear your debt
After you pay yourself, you settle your debt and put some money to your saving. You have a savings account right? Right? Good, put some money there also.

This seems like a no-brainer right? Wrong.

The holiday season comes with this amount of happiness and joy that incidentally turns off every bit of common sense that some people have.

This holiday season is not the best time to compete with your friends as to who get to buy the best clothes or shoes.

In the end, it all about discipline in handling money

MAKE A LIST (SCALE OF PREFERENCE).

Draw up a list of the possible expenses you will have this holiday season and write them down according to order of importance.
This list can include such things as food stuffs including maybe fruits, greeting cards, decorations, gifts, and specific presents.

It is also a good idea to have a spot for miscellaneous items for the unexpected things that come up.

Also you can ask friends or persons coming over to bring food gifts which you all can share with whatever you’re making, that way your expenses will not be much.

ORGANIZED SHOPPING.

Organize your shopping by writing down the specific stores you need to visit to get the items on your list.
Shop around for cheaper options, avoid unnecessary credit and the ‘buy now pay after three months’ adverts.

If you do borrow money, make sure you borrow only for what is strictly necessary and ensure that you can afford the repayments.

Also while making payments, make sure you pay in cash and not with debit cards because even with debit protections, if your number is stolen, the money is taken immediately from your bank account, getting it back can be difficult.

KEEP RECORDS.

Keep a record of what you have spent so you’ll know whether you need to adjust your budget or not.
Keep all receipts When doing your holiday shopping, it is a good idea to keep all receipts for the purchases that you make. If you remove the price tag, keep it with the receipt in case the gift has to be returned.

We all love the feeling that comes with festive seasons but also we should not get carried away & try to cut back on expenses this holiday season without turning into the Grinch.

GET THE BEST DEAL ON SALES

Its Christmas, and everybody has something to sell at a cheaper price.
There is someone out there who is willing to give you the same product or service for a cheaper price. do you know why? Because Its Christmas, that why.

Though you should be careful so you don’t get to enter a literal ‘one chance’.

Look around, there is a better deal for whatever you are buying this Holiday season.

BUY ONLY WHAT YOU NEED

Since there will be lots of deals you need to be careful and make sure you buy only what you need.
This holiday season will be full of temptations, left right and centre. You might leave your house to buy a toothbrush and come back with a new washing machine, why? There was a sales bonanza.

Not that there is anything wrong with having a washing machine, but it was an unplanned purchase and unplanned purchase is what make you broke in the month of January

Do not go buying ten crates of eggs just because there was a sales slash

GIFTS SHOULD BE SIMPLE

Your family and friends already love you and the people that don’t love you do not deserve such a bank breaking gift
There is absolutely no logical reason for you to break your bank in order to get a magnanimous gift for your family and friends in order to impress them.

We hate to sound corny but it’s the thought that counts. It’s not the extravagance or price of the gift, it’s giving what they need or making sure you’ve given them what you think they need

Visit our guide on gift giving during this holiday season here - http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/02/12/how-to-choose-the-perfect-christmas-gift-for-your-family-and-friends/

Conclusion

Holiday and party meals don’t have to cost a fortune, with creativity and planning, you can scale down food purchases without cutting back on the fun and festivities.

Also as we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December’s bad weather, it’s good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we’re worth the same.

What are your spending tips for the holiday season? Let us know in the comment section below

http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/12/08/the-best-spending-tips-you-can-receive-for-this-holiday-season/