ASTONISHING FACTS

A SINGLE COAT WORTH 25 LAKHS BY RAJU

2009-06-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

The fibers of Vicuna are considered as the costliest fiber in the world . Vicuna is a small animal found in Andes mountain. About 40 Vicuna (animal's ) hairs are required to make one coat . One Vicuna produce only about one pound of wool in a year. This is opposed to the Alpaca which can give fifteen pounds in a similar time period.

The Vicuna gives birth in March and April. This is at the end of the rainy season – a time when food is plentiful. Births usually occur in the morning. This gives the baby time to dry out before the cold night comes. The mother goes off on its own and into labor for about half an hour. The female Vicuna then will give birth to a baby weighing about 14 pounds ( 6 kilograms). The mother does nothing to help the baby. The baby at this stage is vulnerable to the attack of the Vicuna’s most dangerous predator – the Andean Condor. Rain is the animal’s worst enemy at the beginning stages of life. The coldness and the damp will slow the newborn down and make it an easy target for the condor.

If the baby survives the first thirty minutes of life then the Vicuna will be on his or her feet and soon able to run faster than a full grown man. Poachers however have nearly exterminated the Vicuna. They have even resorted to mowing the animals down with machine guns. Annually up to 50,000 pounds of vicuna wool are exported as a result of illegal activities. Some countries have now banned the import of Vicuna wool and skin in an effort to save the animal.

Recently world's best fabric company HOLLAND & SHERRY - a Scotland based company, has collaborated with Indian fabric company Digjam & has launched on 14th October 2008 the world's costliest suit length in the capital of India ( Delhi ). The suit length worth approximately 7 Lakhs per meters .Therefore one coat may cost around 20-25 Lakhs .

EDITED BY MOKSHA GUPTA

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW EDITOR -MOKSHA GUPTA

2009-05-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

Team of Only Astonishing Facts warmly welcomes our new Editor Moksha Gupta . Mr. Krishanan Naidu our former Editor, due to some reasons is no longer working with us . After discussing with many knowledgeable web magazine editors we eventually finalized Moksha Gupta as our new Editor .Hope our readers are pleased with our team member decision & we also assure that the quality of content will be maintained .

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR EDITOR MOKSHA GUPTA PLEASE VISIT

www.myselfmoksha.com

WITH BEST REGARDS ,

TEAM ONLY ASTONISHING FACTS

SNAKE OIL & IT'S TABLETS

2009-05-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Snake oil originates in China where it is called shéyóu . In China it was used as a remedy for inflammation and pain in rheumatoid arthritis , bursitis and other similar conditions. Snake oil is still used as a pain reliever in China. Fats and oils from snakes are higher in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) than other sources, so snake oil was actually a plausible remedy for joint pain as these are thought to have inflammation-reducing properties. Snake oil is still sold in traditional Chinese pharmacy stores. Snake fat also played a role in ancient Egyptian medicine .It was mixed with the fats of lion, hippopotamus , crocodile , tomcat and Nubian ibex into a homogenous mass believed to cause bald men to grow hair.

The composition of snake oil medicines varies markedly between products.
Snake oil sold in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1989 was found to contain:
75% unidentified carrier material, including camphor
25% oil from Chinese water snakes, itself consisting of:
20% eicosapentaenic acid (EPA) - an omega 3 derivative
48% myristic acid (14:0)
10% stearic acid (18:0)
14% oleic acid (18:1ω9)
7% linoleic acid (18:2ω6) plus arachidonic acid (20:4ω6)
The Chinese water snake (Enhydris chinensis) is the richest known source of EPA, the starting material the body uses to make the series 3 prostaglandins. These prostaglandins are the biochemical messengers which control some aspects of inflammation, rather like aspirin which also affects the prostaglandin system. Like essential fatty acids , EPA can be absorbed through the skin. Salmon oil, the next best source, contains 18% EPA. Rattlesnake oil contains 8.5% EPA.

PHOTOGRAPH OF SNAKE OIL TABLETS SOLD IN MARKET

WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORTS BY NITI SHARMA

2009-05-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

1. Princess Juliana International Airport (Saint Martin)

Princess Juliana International Airport serves Saint Maarten, the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin. It is the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean. The airport is famous for its short landing strip ??” only 2,180 metres/7,152 ft, which is barely enough for heavy jets. Because of this, the planes approach the island flying extremely low, right over Maho Beach. Countless photos of large jets flying at 10--20 m/30-60 ft over relaxing tourists at the beach have been dismissed as fakes many times, but are nevertheless real. For this reason as well it has become a favourite for planespotters. Despite the difficulties in approach, there has been no records of major aviation incidents at the airport.

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IS HUMAN FOETUS DELICIOUS ? BY KAVITA

2009-05-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

Is human foetus delicious ? & I will say only the Chinese & other people who consume can tell you but for me even the imagination of cooked foetus on dining plate is dreadful ......People from Asian countries like China , Tivan etc buy aborted human foetus for 20- 70 $ from hospitals . They take them to home & consume after cooking . Even the doctors & other hosptal employees consume the human foetus as they believe that the human foetus is very nutritious & healthy. According to sources people consume Placenta even . I am speechless because I can not do anything to erredicate such a mal practice . I just can pray to God for these poor un born babies .
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TATTOO ON TONGUE BY GAYATARI SETH

2009-04-27T01:10:00.000-07:00

Tatoos are very common now a days . People get tatoos generally on their arms ,hands , legs , chest etc but rarely on Tongue .Hawaiian Queen Kamamalu ( 1808 -1824 ) was the first woman who got her tongue tattooed . Her aim was not to enhance her beauty but to depict her grief on the death of her beloved mother-in-law Queen Kaahumanu . When ever I think of Queen Kamamalu's love & respect for her mother-in-law , I feel ashamed for those daughter-in-laws who use their tongue for saying abusive words for their mother-in-laws.
PHOTOGRAPH OF QUEEN KAMAMALU

RAB NE BANA DI JODI BY SHWETA

2009-04-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

Till few years back , I never believed that marriages are made in heaven but after comming to know about the wedding ceremonies of 44 years old world's heaviest man with beautiful Claudia Solis on 26th October 2008 & world's tallest man Bao Xishun with Xia in 2007 .I realized that it is not said in vian that " marriages are made in heaven " .

FOOD SERVED AT OLYPICS 2008 BY RAM

2009-04-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION PLEASE ! Before you look at the below pics please take a deep breathe because you will see pics of food itmes that were served in meals at Olypics 20008 . I cannot say that the meals were mouth watering nor regret them because it is something which must be giving stemina & endurance to the Olypics athletes . However I feel sorry for the inocent animals like Dog , Cow , Horse etc . What do you fee about it ? Feel free to comment .