Did you know 11% of people are left handed Did you know August has the highest

percentage of births Did you know unless food is mixed with saliva

you can't taste it

Did you know the average person falls asleep in 7 minutes

Did you know a bear has 42 teeth Did you know an ostrich's eye is bigger than it's

brain

Did you know most lipsticks contain fish scales Did you know no two corn flakes look the same Did you know lemons contain more sugar than

strawberries Did you know 8% of people have an extra rib Did you know 85% of plant life is found in the

ocean Did you know Ralph Lauren's original name

was Ralph Lifshitz Did you know rabbits like licorice

Did you know the Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters

Did you know 'Topolino' is the name for Mickey Mouse Italy

Did you know a lobsters blood is colorless but

when exposed to oxygen it turns blue Did you know armadillos have 4 babies at a

time and are all the same sex Did you know reindeer like bananas Did you know the longest recorded flight of a

chicken was 13 seconds Did you know birds need gravity to swallow Did you know the most commonly used letter in

the alphabet is E Did you know the least used letter in the

alphabet is Q

Did you know the 3 most common languages in the world are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English

Did you know dreamt is the only word that ends in mt

Did you know the names of all continents both start and end with the same letter

Did you know the first letters of the months July

through to November spell JASON Did you know if you try to say the alphabet

without moving your lips or tongue every letter

will sound the same Did you know a cat has 32 muscles in each ear Did you know Perth is Australia's windiest city

Did you know Elvis's middle name was Aron Did you know the flag for Libya is unlike any

other being a solid green color Did you know goldfish can see both infrared

and ultraviolet light

Did you know the smallest bones in the human body are found in your ear

Did you know cats spend 66% of their life

asleep Did you know Switzerland eats the most

chocolate equating to 10 kilos per person per

year Did you know money is the number one thing

that couples argue about

Did you know macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs

Did you know when lightning strikes it can reach up to 30,000 degrees celsius (54,000 degrees fahrenheit)

Did you know spiders are arachnids and not insects

Did you know each time you see a full moon

you always see the same side Did you know Tennessee is bordered by 8

states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky,

Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia - more than any other in the US

Did you know stewardesses is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand

Did you know there is no such thing as a

naturally blue food Did you know honey is the only natural food

which never goes off Did you know M&M's chocolate stands for the

initials for its inventors Mars and Murrie

Did you know that you burn more calories eating celery than it contains (the more you eat the thinner you become)

Did you know the only continent with no active volcanoes is Australia

Did you know the longest street in the world is

Yonge street in Toronto Canada measuring 1,896 km (1,178 miles)

Did you know about 90% of the worlds

population kisses Did you know Coca-Cola originally contained

cocaine Did you know in every episode of Seinfeld there

is a reference to Superman

Did you know the Internet was originally called ARPANet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) designed by the US

department of defense Did you know sound travels almost 5 times

faster underwater than in air

Did you know toilets use 35% of indoor water use

Did you know the fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco

Did you know Koalas sleep around 18 hours a

day Did you know the average speed of a skydiver

is 200kph (124mph)

Did you know the first Burger King was opened in Florida Miami in 1954

Did you know all insects have 6 legs

Did you know that 90% of an iceberg sits under water

Did you know the croissant was invented in

Austria Did you know In eastern Africa you can buy

beer brewed from bananas Did you know African Grey Parrots have

vocabularies of over 200 words

Did you know a giraffe can clean its ears with its 21 inch tongue

Did you know Australia was originally called

New Holland Did you know 'Lonely Planet' for travelers is

based in Melbourne Australia

Did you know the sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter

in the English alphabet Did you know the Grand Canyon can hold

around 900 trillion footballs

Did you know all the blinking in one day equates to having your eyes closed for 30

minutes Did you know your foot has 26 bones in it Did you know the average human brain

contains around 78% water Did you know your brain uses between 20 -

25% of the oxygen your breathe

Did you know 1 nautical knot equates to 1.852 Kph (1.150 mph)

Did you know if you add up all the numbers

from 1 to 100 consecutively (1 + 2 + 3...) it totals 5050

Did you know sponges hold more cold water

than hot Did you know lightning strikes the Earth 6,000

times every minute Did you know fire usually moves faster uphill

than downhill

Did you know cats have over 100 vocal chords Did you know camel's milk doesn't curdle Did you know elephants sleep between 4 - 5

hours in 24 period Did you know it's possible to lead a cow up

stairs but not down

Did you know frogs can't swallow with their eyes open

Did you know elephants are the only mammal that can't jump

Did you know a 1/4 of your bones are in your

feet Did you know your tongue is the fastest healing

part of your body

Did you know a 'jiffy' is actually 1/100th of a second

Did you know on your birthday you share it with

9 million others Did you know 1 googol is the number 1

followed by 100 zeros

Did you know a 1 minute kiss burns 26 calories Did you know you burn more calories sleeping

than watching TV Did you know frogs don’t drink (they absorb

water through their skin)

Did you know at birth dalmations are always white

Did you know hummingbirds are the only bird

that can fly backwards Did you know a duck can't walk without

bobbing its head

Did you know a hummingbird's heart beats at over a 1,000 times a minute

Did you know dragonflies have 6 legs but can't walk

Did you know a crocodile can't move its tongue

Did you know a strawberry is the only fruit which seeds grow on the outside

Did you know that the first MTV video played was 'Video killed the radio star' by the Buggles

Did you know in 1878 the first telephone book

made contained only 50 names

http://www.did-you-knows.com

60 Small

Ways to

Improve

Your Life

in the Next

100 Days May 30 by Marelisa Fabrega 1043.49M Shares | Lifestyle

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to make drastic changes in order to notice an improvement in the quality of your life. At the same time, you don’t need to wait a long time in order to see the measurable results that come from taking positive action. All you have to do is take small steps, and take them consistently, for a period of 100 days.

Below you’ll find 60 small ways to improve all areas of your life in the next 100 days.

Home 1. Create a “100 Days to Conquer Clutter Calendar” by penciling in one group of items you plan to declutter every day, for the next 100 days. Here’s an example:

Day 1: Declutter Magazines Day 2: Declutter DVD’s Day 3: Declutter books Day 4: Declutter kitchen appliances

2. Live by the mantra: a place for everything and everything in its place. For the next 100 days follow these four rules to keep your house in order:

If you take it out, put it back. If you open it, close it. If you throw it down, pick it up. If you take it off, hang it up.

3. Walk around your home and identify 100 things you’ve been tolerating; fix one each day. Here are some examples:

A burnt light bulb that needs to be changed. A button that’s missing on your favorite shirt. The fact that every time you open your top kitchen

cabinet all of the plastic food containers fall out.

Happiness 4. Follow the advice proffered by positive psychologists and write down 5 to 10 things that you’re grateful for, every day.

5. Make a list of 20 small things that you enjoy doing, and make sure that you do at least one of these things every day for the next 100 days. Your list can include things such as the following:

Eating your lunch outside. Calling your best friend to chat. Taking the time to sit down and read a novel by your

favorite author for a few minutes.

6. Keep a log of your mental chatter, both positive and negative, for ten days. Be as specific as possible:

How many times do you beat yourself up during the day?

Do you have feelings of inadequacy?

Are you constantly thinking critical thoughts of others?

How many positive thoughts do you have during the day?

Also, make a note of the emotions that accompany these thoughts. Then, for the next 90 days, begin changing your emotions for the better by modifying your mental chatter.

7. For the next 100 days, have a good laugh at least once a day: get one of those calendars that has a different joke for every day of the year, or stop by a web site that features your favorite cartoons.

Learning/Personal Development 8. Choose a book that requires effort and concentration and read a little of it every day, so that you read it from cover to cover in 100 days.

9. Make it a point to learn at least one new thing each day: the name of a flower that grows in your garden, the capital of a far-off country, or the name of a piece of classical music you hear playing in your favorite clothing boutique as you shop. If it’s time for bed and you can’t identify anything you’ve learned that day, take out your dictionary and learn a new word.

10. Stop complaining for the next 100 days. A couple of years back, Will Bowen gave a purple rubber bracelet to each person in his congregation to remind them to stop complaining. “Negative talk produces negative thoughts; negative thoughts produce negative results”, says Bowen. For the next 100 days, whenever you catch yourself complaining about anything, stop yourself.

11. Set your alarm a minute earlier every day for the next 100 days. Then make sure that you get out of bed as soon as your alarm rings, open the windows to let in some sunlight, and do some light stretching. In 100 days you’ll be waking up an hour and forty minutes earlier than you’re waking up now.

12. For the next 100 days, keep Morning Pages, which is a tool suggested by Julia Cameron. Morning Pages are simply three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning.

13. For the next 100 days make it a point to feed your mind with the thoughts, words, and images that are most consistent with who you want to be, what you want to have, and what you want to achieve.

Finances

14. Create a spending plan (also known as a budget). T rack every cent that you spend for the next 100 days to make sure that you’re sticking to your spending plan.

15. Scour the internet for frugality tips, choose ten of the tips that you find, and apply them for the next 100 days. Here are some possibilities:

Go to the grocery store with cash and a calculator instead of using your debit card.

Take inventory before going to the grocery store to avoid buying repeat items.

Scale back the cable. Ask yourself if you really need a landline telephone. Consolidate errands into one trip to save on gas.

Keep track of how much money you save over the next 100 days by applying these tips.

16. For the next 100 days, pay for everything with paper money and keep any change that you receive. Then, put all of your change in a jar and see how much money you can accumulate in 100 days.

17. Don’t buy anything that you don’t absolutely need for 100 days. Use any money you save by doing this to do one of the following:

Pay down your debt, if you have any. Put it toward your six month emergency fund. Start setting aside money to invest.

18. Set an hour aside every day for the next 100 days to devote to creating one source of passive income.

Time Management 19. For the next 100 days, take a notebook with you everywhere in order to keep your mind decluttered. Record everything, so that it’s safely stored in one place—out of your head—where you can decide what to do with it later. Include things such as the following:

Ideas for writing assignments. Appointment dates. To Do list items

20. Track how you spend your time for 5 days. Use the information that you gather in order to create a time budget: the percentage of your time that you want to devote to each activity that you engage in on a regular basis. This can include things such as:

Transportation Housework Leisure

Income-Generating Activities

Make sure that you stick to your time budget for the remaining 95 days.

21. Identify one low-priority activity which you can stop doing for the next 100 days, and devote that time to a high priority task instead.

22. Identify five ways in which you regularly waste time, and limit the time that you’re going to spend on these activities each day, for the next 100 days. Here are three examples:

Watch no more than half-an-hour of television a day. Spend no more than half-an-hour each day on social

media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Stumbleupon.

Spend no more than twenty minutes a day playing video games.

23. For the next 100 days, stop multi-tasking; do one thing at a time without distractions.

24. For the next 100 days, plan your day the night before.

25. For the next 100 days, do the most important thing on your To-Do list first, before you do anything else.

26. For the next 14 weeks, conduct a review of each week. During your weekly review, answer the following:

What did you accomplish? What went wrong? What went right?

27. For the next 100 days, spend a few minutes at the end of each day organizing your desk, filing papers, and making sure that your work area is clean and orderly, so that you can walk in to a neat desk the next day.

28. Make a list of all of the commitments and social obligations that you have in the next 100 days. Then, take out a red pen and cross out anything that does not truly bring you joy or help move you along the path to achieving your main life goals.

29. For the next 100 days, every time that you switch to a new activity throughout the day stop and ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time at this moment?”

Health

30. Losing a pound of fat requires burning 3500 calories. If you reduce your caloric intake by 175 calories a day for the next 100 days, you’ll have lost 5 pounds in the next 100 days.

31. For the next 100 days, eat five servings of vegetables every day.

32. For the next 100 days, eat three servings of fruit of every day.

33. Choose one food that constantly sabotages your efforts to eat healthier—whether it’s the decadent cheesecake from the bakery around the corner, deep-dish pizza, or your favorite potato chips—and go cold turkey for the next 100 days.

34. For the next 100 days, eat from a smaller plate to help control portion size.

35. For the next 100 days, buy 100% natural juices instead of the kind with added sugar and preservatives.

36. For the next 100 days, instead of carbonated drinks, drink water.

37. Create a list of 10 healthy, easy to fix breakfast meals.

38. Create a list of 20 healthy, easy to fix meals which can be eaten for lunch or dinner.

39. Create a list of 10 healthy, easy to fix snacks.

40. Use your lists of healthy breakfast meals, lunches, dinners, and snacks in order to plan out your meals for the week ahead of time. Do this for the next 14 weeks.

41. For the next 100 days, keep a food log. This will help you to identify where you’re deviating from your planned menu, and where you’re consuming extra calories.

42. For the next 100 days, get at least twenty minutes of daily exercise.

43. Wear a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps, every day, for the next 100 days. Every step you take during the day counts toward the 10,000 steps:

When you walk to your car. When you walk from your desk to the bathroom. When you walk over to talk to a co-worker, and so

on.

44. Set up a weight chart and post it up in your bathroom. Every week for the next 14 weeks, keep track of the following:

Your weight. Your percentage of body fat. Your waist circumference.

45. For the next 100 days, set your watch to beep once an hour, or set up a computer reminder, to make sure that you drink water on a regular basis throughout the day.

46. For the next 100 days, make it a daily ritual to mediate, breath, or visualize every day in order to calm your mind.

You’re Relationship 47. For the next 100 days, actively look for something positive in your partner every day, and write it down.

48. Create a scrapbook of all the things you and your partner do together during the next 100 days. At the end of the 100 days, give your partner the list you created of positive things you observed about them each day, as well as the scrapbook you created.

49. Identify 3 actions that you’re going to take each day, for the next 100 days, in order to strengthen your relationship. These can include the following:

Say “I love you” and “Have a good day” to your significant other every morning.

Hug your significant other as soon as you see each other after work.

Go for a twenty minute walk together every day after dinner; hold hands.

Social 50. Connect with someone new every day for the next 100 days, whether it’s by greeting a neighbor you’ve never spoken to before, following someone new on Twitter, leaving a comment on a blog you’ve never commented on before, and so on.

51. For the next 100 days, make it a point to associate with people you admire, respect and want to be like.

52. For the next 100 days, when someone does or says something that upsets you, take a minute to think over your response instead of answering right away.

53. For the next 100 days, don’t even think of passing judgment until you’ve heard both sides of the story.

54. For the next 100 days do one kind deed for someone every day, however small, even if it’s just sending a silent blessing their way.

55. For the next 100 days, make it a point to give praise and approval to those who deserve it.

56. For the next 100 days, practice active listening. When someone is talking to you, remain focused on what they’re saying, instead of rehearsing in your head what you’re going to say next. Paraphrase what you think you heard them say to make sure that you haven’t misinterpreted them, and encourage them to elaborate on any points you’re still not clear about.

57. Practice empathy for the next 100 days. If you disagree with someone, try to see the world from their perspective; put yourself in their shoes. Be curious about the other person, about their beliefs and their life experience, and about the thinking process that they followed to reach their conclusions.

58. For the next 100 days, stay in your own life and don’t compare yourself to anyone else.

59. For the next 100 days, place the best possible interpretation on the actions of others.

60. For the next 100 days, keep reminding yourself that everyone is doing the best that they can.

Royal

Rumble

Monarchy, Heirs to the throne, Royalty. Things

that have stirred up a media frenzy once again.

Some of us were gripped by Royal Baby fever,

whilst others couldn’t care less. I mean, what

does a monarchy have to do with us South Africans? Nothing and everything.

Some might argue we live in a new world filled

with democracy, republics and the odd dictator

or two, that monarchies are from the old world

and that there should not be a place for it. They

might add that we as humans are all equal, and

that prejudicial behaviour towards one family is biased, and unjust.

Nothing says ‘raised with a silver spoon in your

mouth’ quite like being born into a royal house.

The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby

boy who is now third in line to the British throne

behind his father and grandfather. This means

that unless some tragedy occurred, the little fella

will only take charge of the Commonwealth in about 50 years.

Still, what does that have to do with us Saffas

living under the African sun? The traditions and

spectacles surrounding the royal family are

certainly entertaining and part of world history,

but it has no bearing on how we function as a

society. I beg to differ. Monarchies don’t have an

affect on us individually, but more as a society.

Millions of children are birthed into the world, but

none get as much recognition as that of a major

royal family. We accept that whether by divine

right or historic bloodline, a baby will one day

grow up to be a Ruler over millions. There is

something quite magical about that, whether you

agree with it or not. Tales like that should remain in the period of the Romantics.

Its also a frustrating prospect, someone that you

didn’t vote for, don’t support and have no say in

the way they do things, will

inevitably one day have the

power to influence your life in

major way. Many a revolution

has been formed to overthrow

monarchies, dictatorships and

governments across the world.

The Windsors though have

managed to escape this

prosecution by handing power

to government but still

somehow manage to grab the

spoils. If something goes wrong

the prime minister is to blame, if it goes right it is

because of the monarchs. I suppose this stems

from the support they receive from the

Aristocrats, the people pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Sure they are meant to be a positive force in a

world full of negative influences, but does that

make it right? We know the British to be

procedurally rigid, sticking to century old

guidelines in most affairs. The question I would like to ask is, if monarchs were disbanded and

their wealth and properties returned to

governments to enable their people, wouldn’t the

world be a better place? These Royal families

will just become another dynasty, like the

Bush’s’, the Clintons, the Kennedys… and those are just American examples.

How would such a drastic change influence the

Commonwealth, when Castles, and Palaces,

and treasures collected by an Empire over the

ages gets used to conquer the troubles our world

faces? Sure they’ll lose a culture and traditions

that gave the British Isles the supremacy that

they’ve enjoyed for so long. The argument will

remain that when one group loses power, it

opens up for another one to abuse. The ‘enemy’

you know is less dangerous than the ‘enemy’ you don’t.

Whether the Royal Houses will ever cease to

exist will perhaps remain a mystery for the ages,

they are endangered specie, and whilst they

remain in the confines of the Paparazzi zoo, we should enjoy the show.

Surprise,

Surprise!

There are only two constants in life: death and

taxes. Everything else is subject to terms and

conditions. I guess that is the reason why we get

caught off guard so often; our lives are setup for the unexpected to take advantage.

It comes down to what I mean by unexpected, as

I see it, it means an unforeseeable life altering

event, the type of event that insurance

companies build their business on. A loved one

falling terminally ill, even though they lead a

healthy life, natural events that demolish infrastructure or accidents that lead to death.

The most common responses are usually “things

happen for a reason”, “why

me?” or the non-chalant

“shit happens”. Call me

paranoid but everyday

produces an opportunity

for the unexpected to

happen, that’s why we find

comfort in routines,

routines are safe, they

provide a comfort zone, we

know what to expect whilst

following certain lifestyle

patterns, but then BOOM!

You switch on the lights and a hundred people

yell SURPRISE! Yep, that’s right, it’s your

birthday, and did you really not expect anything

to happen? Sure surprises can be positive as

well, a surprise engagement or an unplanned

bun in the oven. Even lottery winners have

claimed to be surprised by winning, yet they

went out and bought the ticket. If you’re not

in it you can’t win it.

Actions have consequences, to say that you

didn’t expect a result is just plain ignorant.

Ignorance is after all bliss. If we ignore all

the dangers the world has to offer we can

continue living in our cocoons of safety,

matters that we are capable of dealing with,

but if one day that safety net tears, we feel

the impending doom coming down us. Call

me a pessimist, I dare you. Just because

you take note of all possibilities in a situation to

come to the most logical reasonable explanation

does not make you a Cup-half-empty kind of person.

I see a cup, and I see substance within, the rest

just doesn’t matter. Perspective is the difference

between stubbing your toe, and your world

ending. If there’s one thing that gets my goat, is

a person who thrives on the drama the world has

to offer, making mountains out of molehills.

People who constantly carry around their

soapboxes and jump on them anytime

something unexpected

happens, which could

be an infinite amount of different things.

The way we react to

whatever life throws at

us is, is what makes us

human, and those

reactions sets in motion

events that could lead to

another unforeseen

action. Life is a very

mysterious and fragile

concept, which is why

we value it so highly, we

forget sometimes that in the end we are all on

borrowed time, so it doesn’t help to spend it

thinking about what could have been, but rather what could still be.

Obviously that’s just one mans opinion, one

which will change as life progresses. All we can do is to keep on keeping on.

Short-Term Detoxes

1. 1

Do a fruit detox. Fruit detoxes are a great way to fast without starving yourself. Among other health benefits, getting enough fruit can increase your energy levels, help manage your weight, and even reduce the likelihood of stroke.[2][3] You can either detox by eating a variety of different fruits, or by only eating one kind of fruit. For best results, choose a fruit that you enjoy eating so that you don't feel like you're suffering. Do not exceed 7 days in a row of a fruit-only diet.

o Eat citrus fruits. These fruits have the highest detoxifying power, and include oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. [4][5] You can eat them on their own or combine them with other fruits. Again, do not exceed 7 days in a row of a fruit-only diet.

o Try a grape detox. Grapes contain resveratrol, which can protect against cancer and diabetes, and potentially prevent blood clots.[6] They are also a great source of potassium and Vitamin C. Eat nothing but grapes (whichever kind you like) for 3-5 days.

2. 2

Do a liquid fast. Consume nothing but liquids (water, tea, fruit juice, vegetable juice, and/or protein shakes) for 2-3 days.[7] Liquid diets can help jump-start weight loss by restricting caloric intake, and are believed to cleanse your body of certain toxins, though there is no solid research to back up this claim.[8]

o Be sure to include fruit and/or vegetable juices in your liquid fast

to ensure that your body is getting the proper nourishment.

o If your goal is to lose weight, then you will have to change your eating habits once the liquid fast is over, or you will simply gain all the weight back.[9]

3. 3

Eat only fruits and vegetables for 7 days. Fruits and vegetables contain the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. Be sure to eat a diverse combination of produce to ensure that you are getting the proper nutrients. Use the following guide to determine what to eat during your fast:

o Get fiber from kidney beans, black beans, apples, soybeans, blueberries, and artichokes.[10]

o Get potassium from carrots, bananas, lima beans, white potatoes, cooked greens, and sweet potatoes.[11]

o Get Vitamin C from kiwis, strawberries, kale, cauliflower, tomatoes, oranges, Brussels sprouts, mangoes, and bell peppers.[12]

o Get folate from cooked spinach, melons, asparagus, oranges, and black eyed peas.[13]

o Get good fats from avocado, olives, and coconut.[14]