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3481/ Sex is good for you, but
only in small doses, say researchers at Wilkes University,
Pennsylvania. An immune cell called IgA, which helps kill
cold bugs, is produced during sex, they say. And they've found
that sex twice a week lowers your chance of catching a cold.
But after three or more sessions, the level of IgA is reduced
leaving you more susceptible to viruses.
3482/ During a 1992 hula hoop
craze in Beijing three people were hospitalised with twisted
intestines.
3483/ Several medical cases of
carrot addiction have been reported, including a 40 year old
man who replaced cigarettes with carrots, eating up to 5 bunches
a day.
3484/ Twenty four University
of Washington students developed puss-filled pimples after
mud wrestling. Doctors think they could have been caused by
manure in the mud.
3485/ There is a medical condition
which has been termed 'Dr Strangelove Syndrome', which is
caused by damage to certain areas of the brain. It makes the
hands behave independently of each other. If a sufferer is
using the 'normal' hand to button a shirt, the other hand
might unbutton it. Sometimes the rogue hand behaves aggressively,
slapping or pinching the patient.
3486/ A study of more than 3000
British patients found that people on broad spectrum antibiotics
for common infections were 30% less likely to suffer a heart
attack than control patients not on the drugs.
3487/ A New York Cable Company
has come up with an innovative way to get customers to pay
overdue bills. Rather then cutting off the service, they have
instead started to fill all 77 channels with live coverage
of the US Congress. They have found that more people payup
using this approach then simply stopping the service.
3488/ The coldest place in Britain
is Braemar in the Grampians in Scotland. With temperatures
as low as -27 centigrade and on average only 6.3 centigrade.
3489/ The dullest place in Britain
(in terms of sunshine) is Lochranza on the Isle of Arran.
Where for 83 days of the year there is no sunshine (part of
the village is in the shadow of the mountains).
3490/ Red skies occur when light
is scattered by dry air or dust particles in the lower atmosphere.
Since most weather systems in Britain move west to east, a
red sunrise indicates dry weather present, or just past, with
rain expected soon. A red sunset indicates dry weather to
come from the west.
3491/ The storm cock or male
mistlethrush sings as a thunderstorm approaches.
3492/ A swallow only flies high
when winds are light: a sign of settled weather. Approaching
storms bring strong winds up high, so swalows stay low.
3493/ The greatest recorded number
of children born to one mother is 69. In 1792 it was reported
the wife of Russian peasant Feodor Vassilyev gave birth to
16 pairs of twins and seven sets of triplets and four sets
of quadruplets in 27 confinements. Only two of the children
failed to survive beyond infancy.
3494/ One in 50-80,000 pregnancies
are conjoined or so-called 'Siamese' twins.
3495/ Gemellology is the study
of twins.
3496/ In Britain in 1997, one
out of every 70 pregnancies (that's 10,017 pairs) resulted
in twins. About two-thirds of these were 'fraternal', the
result of the unions of two eggs and two sperm. These twins
may not look alike and can be of different sexes.
3497/ The incidence of fraternal
twins varies according to race:
Of African Descent - 1 birth
per 70
Of Caucasian Descent - 1 birth per 88
Of Japanese Descent - 1 birth per 150
Of Chinese Descent - 1 birth per 300
3498/ One pair of American male
twins were seperated for adoption at four months old. When
the twins finally met at the age of 39, they found that they
had both been named James by their adoptive parents. Both
had divorced women named Linda and remarried women named Betty.
Each named their first sons John Alan and had dogs named Toy.
Both had law-enforcement training and were part-time deputies.
Both did mechanical drawing and carpentry as hobbies, did
well in maths, poorly in spelling, and drove Chevrolets.
3499/ There are 15 puppies and
45 kittens born for every human in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
3500/ Couples who have sex three
times a week or more look a decade younger than couples who
have sex on average, twice a week, says an international team
at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. 'Pleasure derived from sex
is a crucial factor in preserving youth', they say.
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