Michael Jackson-one of pop music's biggest stars died

Michael Jackson, one of pop music's biggest stars, have died in Los Angeles, aged 50. Paramedics were called to the singer's Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday and was rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital as he stopped breathing.He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Jackson's brother, Jermaine, said he was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest. The TMZ website reported later he had died. There was no...

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Is it possible to conduct electricity without wires?

Wireless electric power transfer is theoretically possible and it’s in the R&D phase of many leading research labs in the world. Nasa hopes to power its Mars Rover wirelessly in future missions. The basic technology is simple: rectify the received microwave signal using a microwave low-pass filter and a diode. This structure is called rectenna (rectifier + antenna). Many Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems work on wirelessly transferred electric power. But to power your mobile system wirelessly, considerable power needs to be discharged...

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What is the significance of lanterns in Chinese culture?

Signalling the close of the Chinese New Year celebrations, the lantern festival occurs on the first full moon. Lanterns represent the completion of this period of harmony and 'roundness' because they lead the way home for festival guests. The day of lanterns sends the blessing of harmony, order and unity to remain with everyone for the rest of the year. Like the glowing orbs of the lantern festival, the eating of rice dumplings called 'tang yuan', glutinous rice balls with a sweet filling, also symbolises the wish that life runs sweetly and sm...

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Word of the Week: Rape

Word of the Week that was: RapeMeaning: Rape, sometimes called sexual assault, involves sexual intercourse with another person without their consent Etymology: From the Latin verb 'rapere' which means to seize or take by force Origin: Rape originally had no sexual connotations. The word is still used generically in English. In ancient times, rape was viewed less as an assault on a woman and more as a serious property crime against the man to whom...

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Why do we blink when a hammer strikes metal?

Blinking, apart from cleaning and lubricating the soft tissues of eyes, also serves as a protective way of keeping things away from entering the eyes, by lowering the eyelids and lashes for protection. Blinking is a reflex action and happens automatically, as soon as the brain perceives a threat. The striking of hammer is taken as a threat by the brain. There are multiple muscles that control the reflex action of blinking....

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Words of the week : Cricket Test

Words of the week : Cricket TestMeaning: Bloodied by a fearsome terrorist attack and badly hit by economic fraud, cricket is being tested like never before. This is a cricket test rather than Test cricket Origin: Test cricket has had a remarkably smooth run for a 132-year-old game. But two disparate events appear to have plunged it into a crisis - the sudden disappearance in disgrace of Texan billionaire Robert Allen Stanford and the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team touring Pakistan. Stanford's abrupt exit - without paying the bills...

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What is the Calcutta Cup?

On Christmas Day in 1872, a game of rugby between 20 players representing England on one side and 20 representing Scotland, Ireland and Wales on the other, was played in Calcutta. The match was such a success that it was repeated a week later. These matches led to the formation of the Calcutta Football Club in January 1873. The Calcutta Club joined the Rugby Football Union in 1874, and since then it is called the Calcutta Cup....

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Why are hats a rage at the races?

Fascinating hats are worn in Royal enclosures at Ascot and other horse races during Ladies’ Day when women come out in force and the venue turns into a fashion ramp. History shows that popularity of hats and kerchiefs dates back to early 1800s. Outrageous hats, generally made out of a bowl of fruits, were sported by singer/actress Carmen Miranda in the 1940s. Hats indicated a status symbol, adorned with coloured feathers that only the elite and courtiers could afford. Victorian tea hats were also very popular....

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What is viral mail?

A viral email is an online chain letter, which is sent from person to person, almost like ancient talking drums. The term ‘viral’ comes from virus, meaning pass-along. Viral mails are generally humorous in nature. These mails are also used for commercial purposes — called viral marketing or advertising; these are used to spread awareness about products, services or concepts. Viral mail is different from spam, which is let loose on the net.&nb...

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What is the Bombay blood group?

This is an extremely rare ABO group, called so because it was first discovered among some people in Bombay (now Mumbai). Although the group is more likely to occur in East Indians, it is a very rare group even here. It is not restricted to East Indians but found in Caucasians, Japanese, etc. Their red cells lack ABH antigens and their sera contain anti-A and anti-B and anti-H. The anti-H would not be detected in the ABO group but would be detectable in pretransfusion tests....

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What is the origin of the term 'earmark'?

Earmark, which we now use to mean 'to designate' or 'to set aside for a particular purpose', actually has a very simple origin. For centuries, farmers marked their livestock as their property by cutting distinctive notches in the animals' ears. Earmark in this literal sense, first appeared in English around 1591. But the use of 'earmark' in the figurative sense arose only in the late 19th century....

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What are floaters?

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

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Word of the week that was : Summit

Meaning: The highest point; the top; the highest level or degree that can be attained; a conference or meeting of high-level leaders, usually called to shape a programme of action. Summited, summiting, summits is its verb form Etymology: Middle English somet, from Old French sommette, diminutive of som, top, from Latin summum Current significance: This is turning out to be the summer of summits. Here are two that made headlines this week SUMMIT OF HOPE With the world facing the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, there...

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What is 3-G technology?

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

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Who invented the speech bubble and when was it first used?

One of the earliest antecedents to the modern speech bubble was the speech scroll - wispy lines that connected first person speech to the mouths of speakers in Meso-American art. In Western graphic art, labels that reveal what a figure is saying have appeared even in the 13th century. Word balloons began appearing in 18th century printed broadsides and political cartoons from the American Revolution often used the...

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What is a staycation?

A staycation is a neologism in vogue, where a person or family stays home instead of taking expensive and stressful vacations to exotic locations. It is a new travel word and is very popular what with today's recession and high prices. It could involve taking day trips in and around the city. Such a vacation could also include activities like doing up the house and lazing around in the backyard and attending local festival...

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What is administratium?

It is a spoof on administration. Its official definition: Administratium is the heaviest element known to science and was recently discovered at a major US research university. The element has no protons or electrons and thus, has the atomic number 0. However, it does have one neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice-neutrons and 111 assistant vice-neutrons, which gives it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons. Since it has no electrons,...

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What is tongue grafting?

It is a term used in grafting of plants. For the whip and tongue graft, similar cuts are made on the stock and scion. These are made with a single draw of the knife and have a smooth surface so the two can develop a good graft unio...

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What is a prebituary?

A prebituary is an obituary composed or published prior to a person’s death — it is a write-up of the lifetime achievements of famous personalities to mark their 65th birthdays. ------If you know more then give comment----...

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How did the term 'yorker' originate?

Yorker’ is a cricketing term for a straight ball that passes underneath the striker’s bat, especially by pitching it right up to or just inside the popping crease. To ‘york’ means to cheat, trick or over-reach a person. It is also called so because its aim is to ‘entice’ the batsman, who, in moving forward to play it as a full toss, may be yorked as the ball passes under the bat. This style originated in Yorkshire, and was already being perfected in 198...

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