#1 in the world ... Thx Keith B and Sarah R!

 

 

I can’t verify the statistics but very interesting plus some beautiful pictures!

 

 

The world's hottest place: Death Valley National Park
The highest air temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 degrees Fahrenheit, at Death Valley National Park on July 10, 1913.

 

2

The world's coldest place: East Antarctic Plateau
On the high ridge of the East Antarctic Plateau, the temperature can drop to as low as -135.8 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded in August, 2010.

 

3

World's most populated city: Shanghai
At a whopping 24,150,000 permanent inhabitants, Shanghai is the single city that is home to the most people in the world.

 

4

World's least populated city: Vatican City

With a paltry population of 842, the city-state of Vatican City is the smallest city and state in the world.

 

5

World's wealthiest city: Tokyo
That tower might as well be made of gold, since Tokyo tops the charts with a GDP of $1,520 billion (only beating New York by a mere $310 billion).

 

6

World's poorest city: Kinshasa
Kinshasa is probably the poorest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the poorest country in the world, at a GDP of $55 billion. Many of its residents live on less $1 a day.

 

7

Highest point in the world: Mount Everest
Towering 29,029 feet in the air, the top of Mount Everest is the closest you can get to touching space, while still standing on Earth.

 

8

Lowest point in the world: Challenger Deep

The lowest known natural point in the world is Challenger Deep, 35,797 ft below sea level at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Only three people have ever made it to the bottom, one of which was filmmaker James Cameron.

 

9

Most photographed place: The Guggenheim

Photos have always told stories, but in today's world of cell phone cameras and social media, that story is relayed as data to companies who monitor everything we do. Geotagged data was culled by Sightsmap using a Google-based image sharing software, and can now show us the most photographed places in the world, right down to the landmark. The Winner? The Guggenheim in New York .

 

10

The world's most popular country: Germany

The results of the annual BBC World Country Rating Poll are in, and Germany came out on top as the most positively viewed country in the world among people probably under the age of 85 (at a 59% positivity rating).

 

11

The wettest spot on Earth: Mawsynram, India

Rainwise, anyway. In Mawsynram , India , it rains an average of 467.35 inches per year, and with a record of 1000 inches in 1985.

 

12

The driest spot on Earth: The Atacama Desert

The 600 miles of South America's Atacama desert is the driest place on Earth, no contest. The Desert sees an average of 4 inches of rain every thousand years. Yes, you read that right.

 

13

Sunniest Place on Earth: Yuma , Arizona

In Yuma , Arizona , the sun shines for an average of 11 hours a day. Its forecast is sun for 90 percent of the year, averaging a total of 4015 daylight hours a year.

 

14

Most expensive city to live in: Singapore

The new champion of the world, Singapore has recently beat out Tokyo for the title of "most expensive city" for 2014. Cars can cost between 4-6 times in Singapore what they cost in the US or UK (for example, a Toyota Prius actually costs about $150,000.00 there).

 

15

Least expensive city to live in: Mumbai, India
At the other end of the spectrum, Mumbai , India , is the cheapest place to live in the world, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Index 2014. For some perspective, a loaf of bread that would cost $3.36 in Singapore , would only cost $0.91 in Mumbai.

 

16

Country that consumes the most food: United States

I suppose there must be a reason why Americans have a food-related reputation when it comes to other countries: we eat an average of 3,770 calories a day each.

 

17

The world's oldest city: Damascus

There's quite a bit of controversy over which city gets to officially claim the title of "oldest continuously inhabited city." With evidence of civilization that extends back over 11,000 years, Damascus in Syria is probably the safest bet.

 

18

Youngest country in the world: South Sudan

The people of South Sudan were formally recognized as an independent country in 2011, making it the youngest country in the world to-date.

 

19

The world's most visited city: London

After a several-year bout with Bangkok , London has regained its place as the world's most visited city (according to MasterCard's 2014 Global Destinations City Index). The city sees about 18.69 million international visitors annually, generating $19.3 billion in revenue.

 

20

The world's least popular country: Iran

On that same rating scale, Iran has come in dead last (at a 59% negativity rating). Only 15% of people polled viewed Iran in a positive light.

 

21

The world's most dangerous city: San Pedro Sula, Honduras

In San Pedro Sula , Honduras , there are over 3 murders a day. The violence stems from the city's role as a major hub for illegal drug and arms trafficking.

 

22

Most caffeinated country in the world: Sweden
The coffee in Sweden will put a spring in your step, and hair on your tongue. The Swedes consume an average of 388 mg of caffeine in coffee per person, per day (that's almost 5 Red Bulls).

 

23

Most drunken country in the world: Belarus

In Belarus , each person above the age of 15 drinks an average of 4.62 gallons of alcohol every year.

 

24

The most bicycle friendly city in the world: Groningen , Netherlands

By comparing cities along the criterion of average number of bicycle trips made daily, one city reigns supreme: Groningen in the Netherlands . In Groningen about 50 percent of the population commute via bike daily, making it the city with the greatest proportion of cyclists on the planet.

 

25

World's most energy efficient city: Reykjavik, Iceland

All of the energy and heat used by the citizens of Reykjavik Iceland come from geothermal plants and renewable hydropower, making it the most sustainable and energy efficient city in the world. On their mission to be completely free of fossil fuels by 2050, the city has also been replacing traditional buses with hydrogen-fueled buses, from which the only emissions are water.

 

26

Most cat friendly country: United States
With a pet cat population of 76.43 million feline friends, the United States dominates the world stage for most cat friendly country in the world.

 

27

Most dog friendly country: United States
Similarly, America more than doubles the amount of pet dogs any other country has, with a dog population of 61.1 million.

 

28

Most sexually satisfied country: Switzerland
Switzerland might just be the most progressive and least sexually repressed country in the world. Between liberal views on pornography and prostitution, and sex ed that starts in Kindergarten, over a fifth of the population consider their sex-lives "excellent." They even recently opened up a very successful array of tax-funded drive-in sex boxes in Zurich . Bonus, in spite of all this, Switzerland also holds the title as one of the lowest teen birth rates in the world.

 

29

Least sexually satisfied country: Japan
With its extreme conservatism, Japan is the country with the least sexual satisfaction, as only 15% of individuals reported having a fulfilling sex life. Furthermore, over 45% of Japanese women report being either uninterested in, or actually despising, sexual contact

 

30

Most emotional country in the world: Philippines
Polling citizens in 150 countries over the years of 2009-2011, researchers found that the people of the Philippines were the most likely to respond emotionally to simple questions about their day.

 

31

Least emotional country in the world: Singapore 
That same study revealed that Singaporeans experience the least emotion on the day-to-day. Only 3 out of every 10 reported having any emotional reactions to basic scenarios or when describing their days.

 

32

Country with the longest life expectancy in the world: Monaco
According to the World Health Organization's study from 2013, Monaco tops the charts for longest living citizens, with an average life expectancy of 87.2 years. Men in Monaco live an average 85.3 years, and women live to an average of 89 years.

 

33

Country with the shortest life expectancy: Sierra Leone

On the other side of that coin, the population of Sierra Leone live to an average of 47 years. The men of Sierra Leone live to an average of 47 years old, whereas women live an average of 48 years.

 

34

Sexiest country in the world: Brazil and Australia 
There will always be a debate about which countries are home to the most attractive people, in part because who's to say what is objectively attractive? Though the means are hardly scientific, a recent poll found quite a disparity between which countries men believe are the sexiest, and which countries women find the sexiest. For men, Brazil tops the charts for the most attractive people. For women, it's about the thunder down under in Australia .

 

35

Most stressed-out country in the world: Nigeria

By looking at the dimensions of Homicide Rate, GDP per capita, Income inequality, Corruption, and Unemployment, one thing is clear: Nigeria is hands-down the most stressed out country in the world.

 

36

Least stressed-out country in the world: Norway
Along the same dimensions, Norway was at the far-end of the other side of the spectrum, and is deemed the least stressed-out country in the world.

 

37

Country with the highest average IQ: Hong Kong *
There are a lot of factors that can affect an IQ score, ranging from national and personal wealth to simply who makes the test. As a result, these findings are highly controversial, but seem to suggest that Hong Kong is the country* with the highest IQ, at an average of 107 points. 
*Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China meaning that it falls within the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China, yet does not form part of Mainland China, and has it's own government.

 

38

Country with the lowest average IQ: Equatorial Guinea
According to "IQ and the Wealth of Nations," Equatorial Guinea caps the low end of the global IQ range, with a national average of 59 points.

 

39

World's most well-connected city (for internet): Seoul , South Korea 
Surprisingly, despite it's 618 million internet users spending an average of 18.7 hours a week surfing the net, China didn't even make the top 10. Along the dimensions of average connection speed, availability (weighted towards free access), openness to innovation, support of public data, and privacy/security, Seoul in South Korea is the champion of internet-connectedness. With 10,000 government supported free WiFi spots dotting the city, and an internet speed that goes unchallenged globally, Seoul is an internet junkie's paradise.

 

 

 

Real Life stories ... Thx Nana and Marge R! You two send some wonderful messages for my blog!

Subj: REAL LIFE STORIES

 

REAL LIFE STORIES

 

 

Excellent reading; read all; the 9th 10th are masterpieces!!
MUST READ ALL 14 ONE LINE STORIES…
 
The following stories have wonderful shades of emotions. These are based ontrue incidences both wonderful and inspirational.

These stories will remove some wrong misconceptions that we have about the
people and life in general.
1. Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground. He said, “Believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how I injured my back 3 years ago.
2. Today, my father told me, “Just go for it and give it a try! You don’t have to be a professional to build a successful product. Amateurs started Google and Apple. Professionals built the Titanic.
3. Today, I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing.
4. Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, “Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile.
5. I am blind by birth. When I was 8 years old, I wanted to play baseball. I asked my father- "Dad, can I play baseball?" He said "You'll never know until you try." When I was a teenager, I asked him, - "Dad Can I become a surgeon?". He replied "Son, you'll never know until you try." Today I am a Surgeon, just because I tried!
6. Today, after a 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug. When I tensed up, she realized I didn’t recognize her. She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, “On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center.”
7. Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying. And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.
8. Today at 7AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went into work. At 3PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat tire. When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too. A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job. I start tomorrow.
9. Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother’s hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, “I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often.”
10. Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed. About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.

11. Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, “Why?” She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.” I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?” “Because that’s where I keep all my stuff,” she said.
12. Today, when I witnessed a 27-year-old breast cancer patient laughing hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter’s antics, I suddenly realized that I need to stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.
13. Today, a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me. He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said, “I hope you feel better soon.”.
14. Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn’t eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy. Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was
eating. The first thing the man said was, “We can share it.

Very Urgent- Don't open message "Black Muslim in the White House" ... Thx Clay V!

 

 

 Subject:  Very urgent!!! PLEASE CIRCULATE!
 The Snopes  reference is dated 9/8/14 so this is  current.

 Verified  by Snopes
 
 
  VERY URGENT!!! PLEASE  CIRCULATE to your friends, family  and  contacts.
 
      In the coming days, DO  NOT  open  any message  with  an 
attachment called:
 
    BLACK  MUSLIM IN  THE WHITE  HOUSE , regardless  of who  sent it to 
> you.
 
      It is a  virus that  opens an Olympics torch that  burns the whole 
 hard  disk of your computer.  This  virus  comes from a known  person  who you 
 have  in your list.
 
                                                              Directions:    You  should send this message to all  of your  contacts.
 
      It is  better to receive this e-mail  25 times than  to receive the  
 virus
 and  open  it.
 
     If you receive a message called  BLACK  MUSLIM  IN THE WHITE  HOUSE 
 even if sent by a friend, do not  open,  and shut down your  machine  
 immediately.
 
      It is the worst  virus  announced by CNN.  This  new virus  has  been
 discovered  recently it  has been classified by Microsoft as  the  virus 
 most destructive  ever.
 
      This virus was discovered yesterday  afternoon by  McAfee.  There  
 is no repair yet for this  kind  of  virus.
 
      This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the hard disk,  where 
 vital  information function is stored.
 

Verified  by _snopes.com_ (http://snopes.com/)