All about Fathers

*Did you know that the word "Dad" dates back to the sixteenth century, or possibly even earlier? It may have originated with the Welsh word "Tad" (meaning father), which later mutated to Dad.

*The word "Father" is derived from the Old English "Foeder".

*Animals are fathers too! Strangely enough, a father ocean catfish is a true example of a devoted father. He carries the eggs of his young is his mouth until they are ready to be born, which may take up to several weeks. During that time, he cannot eat a thing!

*Penguins are another good example; Father penguins keep on their feet in arctic temperatures for sixty days or more to protect his eggs. He hides them on top of his feet, hiding them with feathered flap. Like the catfish, he cannot eat for the duration of his guard of the eggs.

(source: www.kfor.com)

*Martin Luther King, Jr., was originally named Michael, like his father. When Jr. was 5, dad changed both their names to Martin.

*History of Father's Day Festival as seen today is not even a hundred years old. Thanks to the hard work and struggle of Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Washington that just as we have set aside Mother's Day to honor mothers we have a day to acknowledge the important role played by the father. However, some scholars opine that Father's Day history is much older than we actually believe it to be. They say that the custom of honoring dad's on a special day is over 4,000 years old.

*Scholars believe that the origin of Father's Day is not a latest phenomenon, as many believe it to be. Rather they claim that the tradition of Father's Day can be traced in the ruins of Babylon. They have recorded that a young boy called Elmesu carved a Father's Day message on a card made out of clay nearly 4,000 years ago. Elmesu wished his Babylonian father good health and a long life. Though there is no record of what happened to Elmesu and his father but the tradition of celebrating Father's Day remained in several countries all over the world.

(source: fathersdaycelebration.com)


Say Dad/Father in different laguages

* Arabic - "babba" or "yebba" or "abbi"

* Bahasa Indonesia - Ayah/ Bapak

* Filipino/Tagalog - Itay, Tatay, Ama (Father)

* Chinese - 父親, 父亲 bau bau/lo dow; Mandarin: "bà" or "bàba" (informal); 父親 (fù qīn) (Mandarin)

* Czech: Táta

* Dutch - Vader (Father), Papa (Dad)

* Filipino/Tagalog - Itay, Tatay, Tatang, Ama (Father)

* French - Père, Papa

* German - Vater

* Greek - Babbás

* Hebrew: Abba(h)

* Italian/Spanish - Padre, Papà, Babbo

* Japanese - If you're talking about someone father, or talking about your own father with your friends, you should say: Otousan (Oh-toh-oh-sahn) = Father

If you're talking about your own father with strangers, elders, etc. (in a polite setting), say: 父 Chichi (Chee-chee) = Father

* Hindi: "Papa" or "Pita-ji"

* Korean - 아빠 (Dad), 아버지 (Father), appa, abuji

*Portuguese - Pai (Father), Paizinho (Dad)

* Russian - Отец, pronounced as Ohteyetse

(source: answers.yahoo.com; www.ehow.com; babelfish.com)

How I wish these are all correct, I just got them from the web. Anyone here who can correct this "say Dad/Father in Different Languages" is welcome.

Animal Trivia

Okay, you read in my previous post (I've been tagged) that I'm zoophobic but my entire family are animal lovers. I even have a brother who is a vegan simply because he has high regards to animal welfare. So, for them and all the animal lovers out there, here are some facts about the love of your life.

*A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.

*A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

*The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

* A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

* Some baby giraffes are more than six feet tall at birth.

* Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

*A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

* The world's smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat of Thailand, weighing less than a penny.

* There are more chickens than people in the world.

* The largest animal ever seen alive was a 113.5 foot, 170-ton female blue whale.

* A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but monkeys can't.

* A rat can last longer without water than a camel can.

* A single little brown bat can catch 1,200 mosquitoes-sized insects in just one hour.

* An electric eel can produce a shock of up to 650 volts.

* Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

* Certain frogs can be frozen solid then thawed and continue living.

* Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects, flying 50 to 60 mph.

* Goldfish lose their color if they are kept in dim light or are placed in a body of running water,

such as a stream.

* In its entire lifetime, the average worker bee produces 1/12th teaspoon of honey.

* Owls have eyeballs that are tubular in shape, because of this, they cannot move their eyes.

* Large kangaroos cover more than 30 feet with each jump.

Note: Some of the trivia's here, I got from corsinet.com . The others were sent to me through email. There is no way I can tell who the original writer of this. If any of you knows who they are (or you might be the one); just email me or leave a comment here. I would be very glad to give the credit to whom the creadit is due.

Useless Knowledge

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced
enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee...
(Hardly seems worth it)

If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is
produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
(Now that's more like it)

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to
squirt blood 30 feet.
(OMG...!)

A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.
(In my next life I want to be a pig)

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death.
(Creepy, but I'm still not over the pig)

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(Do not try this at home... maybe at work)

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to
its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.
("Honey, I'm home. What the....")

The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping
the length of a football field.
(30 minutes... can you imagine??)

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
(What can be so tasty on the bottom of the pond?)

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
(I still want to be a pig in my next life... quality over quantity.)

Butterflies taste with their feet.
(Something I always wanted to know)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
(Hmmmmmm...)

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.
(If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)

Elephants are the only animal that cannot jump.
(OK, so that would be a good thing...)

A cat's urine glows under a blacklight.
(I wonder who was paid to figure that out.)

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
(I know some people like that.)

Starfish have no brains.
(Starfish...? I know some students in my class like that.)

Polar bears are left-handed.
(Who knew...? Who cares!)

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
(And what about pigs?)

Note: This trivia was sent to me through email. There is no way I can tell who the original writer of this. If any of you knows who they are (or you might be the one); just email me or leave a comment here. I would be very glad to give the credit to whom the creadit is due.

Today's Trivia

· Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

· The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

· Our eyes remain the same size from birth onward, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

· You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV.

· A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a few weeks.

· Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

· The Mona Lisa had no eyebrows.

· When the moon is directly overhead, you weigh slightly less.

· Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned his wife or mother because they were both deaf.

· "I Am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

· Colgate faced big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries because Colgate translates into the command "go hang yourself."


Note: This trivia was sent to me through email. There is no way I can tell who the original writer of this. If any of you knows who they are (or you might be the one); just email me or leave a comment here. I would be very glad to give the credit to whom the creadit is due.