Interesting Facts About Michael Phelps

• Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer and 14-time Olympic gold medalist (the most by any Olympian), who currently holds seven world records in swimming.

• Michael Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics; a total of eight, surpassing Mark Spitz

• Michael Phelps comes from a broken home in Baltimore. His policeman father Fred and school teacher mother Debbie separated when he was only seven. Elder sister Whitney, also a swimmer, has written that she used the swimming pool as a refuge from the yelling.

• When he was 10, Phelps attended the 1996 Olympic Trials to support sister Whitney. She finished sixth in the 200m butterfly final and failed to make the team. The family cried in the stands. Whitney's career was cut short by four herniated discs.

• In November 2004, at the age of 19, Michael Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland. He pleaded guilty to driving while impaired the following month and was granted probation before judgment and ordered to serve 18 months probation, fined $250, obligated to speak to high school students about drinking and driving and had to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meeting.

• Michael Phelps started swimming at the age of five. As a kid, Michael was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). At the age seven, he started swimming partly because he could release all that extra energy in the pool. At first, Michael was scared to even put his face in the water but before long he was swimming competitively. When he was 11,Michael Phelps met his long-time swimming coach, Bob Bowman, who knew right away that Phelps had what it took to be an exceptional athlete.

• Michael Phelps made history by qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, when he was just 15-years-old. By qualifying for the 2000 Olympics, Michael Phelps became the youngest member of the US Olympic team since 1932. Phelps finished fifth in the 200 meter butterfly and shattered the 15-16 National Age Group record. Five months after the Olympics,Phelps became the youngest world record holder in history by setting a new record in the 200 meter butterfly at the World Championships in Japan.

• When Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe said he did not think anyone could win eight races at a single Olympics, Phelps memorized the quote to motivate him for Beijing. He hung a poster of Ian Crocker above his bed after his team mate beat him at the 2003 world championships, to help motivate him for Athens.

• Overall, Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals: six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In winning these medals, he has twice equaled Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin's record of eight medals (of any type) at a single Olympics (Dityatin: Moscow 1980; Phelps: Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008). Out of his eight gold medals from Beijing, five were won in individual events, tying the record for individual gold medals at a single Games originally set by Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps ranks second in total career Olympic medals, after Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina, who won a total of 18 medals (nine gold) spanning three Olympic Games.

• Michael Phelps received the 2004 Sullivan Award.

• Michael Phelps is the proud holder of 27 U.S. National Titles.

• Michael Phelps is the first male swimmer to break two world record in separate events in the same day.

• Michael Phelps is 6'4" tall and weighs 200 pounds.

• Michael Phelps' nicknames are "MP" and "Gomer".

• Michael Phelps needs to wolf down a lot of calories to have the energy for all his swimming. For breakfast, he often eats two egg-and-cheese sandwiches, a bowl of grits, a large omelet and a tall stack of chocolate chip pancakes.

• Michael Phelps comes from a family of swimmers. His sister, Hilary, swam for the University of Richmond and his sister, Whitney, swam at the 1996 Olympic Swimming Trials.

• Michael Phelps is sponsored by Visa, Speedo, PowerBar, At&T Wireless, Omega and Kellogg's.

• Micahel Phelps listens to hip hop and rap to help him get focused before a race, downloading tracks on his MP3 player. Among his favourites is American rapper Young Jeezy.

• Michael Phelps attends the University of Michigan, studying sports marketing and management.

• Phelps' international titles, along with his various world records, have resulted in him being awarded the World Swimmer of the Year Award in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007 and American Swimmer of the Year Award in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007. Phelps has won a total of 48 career medals thus far: 40 gold, six silvers and two bronze. This includes all of theChampionships in which he has competed: The Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships.

Read more...

Interesting Facts About Pencils

• A pencil will write in zero gravity, upside down, and under water!

• More than 14 billion pencils are produced in the world every year - enough to circle the globe 62 times.

• One pencil will draw a line 70 miles long.

• Pencils don't really contain lead.That gray matter is graphite and clay.

• Two billion pencils are made in the United States each year.

• The pencil was invented more than 400 years ago, in 1565.

• Famous novelists Ernest Hemingway and JohnSteinbeck used pencils to write their books.

• Pencils didn't have erasers on them until 100 years ago because teachers felt they would encourage children to make mistakes.

• It would cost $50 in labor and materials for a person to make a 10-cent pencil.

• One million pencils are used annually on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

• The average pencil can be sharpened 17 times, write 45,000 words or draw a line 35 miles long.

• A good-size tree will make about 300,000 pencils.

• In 1908 A.C. Steward developed a press that could imprint round pencils.

• Seeing a pencil in your dream indicates that you are making a temporary impact in a situation. It may also suggest that a relationship may not last long.

• Dreaming that you are sharpening a pencil, suggests that you need to be more flexible in your way of thinking.

• More than 2 billion pencils are used in the United States every year, and most of them have erasers! However, most pencils sold in Europe do not have erasers!

Read more...

Interesting Facts About Mangos

• The mango is known as the 'king of fruit' throughout the world.

• The name 'mango' is derived from the Tamil word 'mangkay' or 'man-gay'. When the Portuguese traders settled in Western India they adopted the name as 'manga'.

• Mangos originated in East India, Burma and the Andaman Islands bordering the Bay of Bengal. Around the 5th century B.C., Buddhist monks are believed to have introduced the mango to Malaysia and eastern Asia - legend has it that Buddha found tranquility and repose in a mango grove. Persian traders took the mango into the middle east and Africa, from there the Portuguese brought it to Brazil and the West Indies. Mango cultivars arrived in Florida in the 1830's and in California in the 1880's.

• The Mango tree plays a sacred role in India; it is a symbol of love and some believe that the Mango tree can grant wishes.

• In the Hindu culture hanging fresh mango leaves outside the front door during Ponggol (Hindu New Year) and Deepavali is considered a blessing to the house.

• Mango leaves are used at weddings to ensure the couple bear plenty of children (though it is only the birth of the male child that is celebrated - again by hanging mango leaves outside the house).

• Hindus may also brush their teeth with mango twigs on holy days (be sure to rinse well and spit if you try this at home - toxic).

• Many Southeast Asian kings and nobles had their own mango groves; with private cultivars being sources of great pride and social standing, hence began the custom of sending gifts of the choicest mangos.

• The Tahis like to munch mango buds, with Sanskrit poets believing they lend sweetness to the voice.

• Burning of mango wood, leaves and debris is not advised - toxic fumes can cause serious irritation to eyes and lungs.

• Mango leaves are considered toxic and can kill cattle or other grazing livestock.

• In India, a certain shade of yellow dye was attained by feeding cattle small amounts of mango leaves and harvesting their urine. Of course as stated above, this is a contraindicated practice, since mango leaves are toxic and cattle are sacred. It has since been outlawed.

• Mangos are bursting with protective nutrients. The vitamin content depends upon the variety and maturity of the fruit, when the mango is green the amount of vitamin C is higher, as it ripens the amount of beta carotene (vitamin A) increases.

• There are over 20 million metric tons of mangos grown throughout the tropical and sub-tropical world. The leading mango producer is India, with very little export as most are consumed within the country. Mexico and China compete for second place, followed by Pakistan and Indonesia. Thailand, Nigeria, Brazil, Philippines and Haiti follow in order.

• According to the Foreign Agricultural Organization, the top mango exporters reported in 1997 are as follows in order: Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Haiti, Guatemala, Venezuela, Peru, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic.

• The fruit of the mango is called a Drupe - consisting of the mesocarp (edible fleshy part) and endocarp (large woody, flattened pit).

• The mango is a member of the Anachardiaceae family. Other distant relatives include the cashew, pistachio, Jamaica plum, poison ivy and poison oak.

• The over 1,000 known mango cultivars are derived from two strains of mango seed - monoembryonic (single embryo) and polyembryonic (multiple embryo). Monoembryonic hails from the Indian (original) strain of mango,polyembryonic from the Indochinese.

• Dermatitis can result from contact with the resinous latex sap that drips from the stem end when mangos are harvested. The mango fruit skin is not considered edible.

• Every part of the mango is beneficial and has been utilized in folk remedies in some form or another. Whether the bark, leaves, skin or pit; all have been concocted into various types of treatments or preventatives down through the centuries. A partial list of the many medicinal properties and purported uses attributed to the mango tree are as follows: anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-septic, anti-tussive (cough), anti-asthmatic, expectorant, cardiotonic, contraceptive, aphrodisiac, hypotensive, laxative, stomachic (beneficial to digestion)....

• Mangiferin - rich in splenocytes, found in the stem bark of the mango tree has purported potent immunomodulatory characteristics - believed to inhibit tumor growth in early and late stages.

• As the mango became cultivated, as early as 2000 BCE, its flavor, size, and texture developed into the exotic, richly flavored succulent treat we enjoy today.

• Mangos are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, and for those who are physically active, whether working out or constantly on the go, mangos are a great way to replenish that lost potassium.

• An average sized mango can contain up to 40% of your daily fiber requirement. If you are eating your mango-a-day, irregularity is not a problem for you and so we'll spare the gruesome details regarding constipation, piles and spastic colon.

• Research has shown that dietary fiber has a protective effect against degenerative diseases, especially with regards to the heart; may help prevent certain types of cancer, as well as lowering blood cholesterol levels.

• The Mango is one of the finest and most popular tropical fruits and has been cultivated in India since 2000 BC or earlier. There are over 400 varieties of Mango throughout the world.

• Mangoes are available late December through August.

• Mangoes should be eaten when soft, and will ripen at room temperature.

• Only 10 percent of all mangoes are grown in the United States.

• To choose a Mango gently squeeze the 'nose' of the fruit. If there is slight give then the mango is ripe. Color is not the best indicator of ripeness.

• A Mango stored at 55 degrees will last for up to two weeks. Do not refrigerate.

• The two most widely available varieties of Mango in the UK are 'Kent' - a green fruit with a red blush and a rich, sweet flavour and 'Keitt' - a green Mango with a non fibrous flesh and a mild, sweet flavour.

• Over 20 million tons of mangoes are grown in the tropics and sub tropics.

• Top Mango exporters are India, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, South Africa and Peru.

• Mangoes can range from 2 - 10 inches in length.

Read more...