WAS THE 1969 MOON LANDING A FAKE?

On July 21, 1969, U S astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. Even today, however, some people believe that the moon landing was an elaborate hoax that was actually staged in a secret area of the Nevada desert. There are conspiracy theories that supposedly support this claim, one such being that no footprints should have been left on the surface of the moon, as there’s no moisture there to allow the dust to clump together to form prints.

WHEN DID THE GAME ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS BEGIN?

Rock, Paper, Scissors is a game of chance generally used to decide trivial matters between two people. Each participant shakes a fist three times, producing on the third shake either a clenched fist (Rock), an open hand (Paper) or two extended fingers (Scissors). Rock beats Scissors (because it can crush them), Paper beats Rock (because it can cover it) and Scissors beats Paper (because it can cut it). If the two players produce the same item, the game is replayed until the stalemate is broken.

HOW DO MOBILE PHONES WORK?

A mobile phone is essentially a two-way radio, like a CB set, transmitting and receiving wireless radio-frequency signals. However, while a CB set is what’s known as a “simplex” device (i e , two people can communicate at the same time but only one person can talk at a time), a mobile phone is described as a “duplex” device (i e , it uses one frequency for transmitting and another for receiving, enabling people on either end of the line to talk and listen simultaneously).

DO WE REALLY USE ONLY 10 PERCENT OF OUR BRAINS?

Do we really use only 10% of our brains?

Psychologists in the early twentieth century commented that humans use only 10 percent of their brains, and Albert Einstein also indicated that humans use only a small portion of the brain. It’s a theory that has been propounded in television documentaries, magazines, advertisements and books over the past century.

WHY DO PEOPLE OFTEN WAKE UP JUST BEFORE THE ALARM?

Why do people wake up before the alarm?

Some people find that, no matter what time they go to bed, they wake at the same time every morning, quite often just before their alarm clock sounds. Scientists believe that a person wakes at the same time each day because of the body’s circadian rhythms, the internal “body clock” that regulates the cyclic processes of the body over a twenty-four-hour period.

IS THE DRINK RED BULL DANGEROUS?

Is the drink Red Bull dangerous?

Red Bull is the brand name of a canned soft drink that is marketed as an energy source and stimulant containing sugar, vitamin B, glucuronolactone, caffeine (around the same amount as in a cup of coffee) and a compound called taurine, which gives the drink its name.

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED SLEEP?

Why do people need sleep?

The origins and purposes of sleep are still not fully understood, and experts have been arguing about them for millennia. Hippocrates, for instance, believed that sleep allowed blood to retreat within the body, while Aristotle thought that sleep was needed for digestion.

WHY DO WOMEN TALK MORE THAN MEN DO, BUT CAN’T READ MAPS AS WELL AS MEN?

Why do women talk more than men do?

While all human brains consist of the same material—about 40 percent gray matter and 60 percent white matter—the brain of a man is significantly different from that of a woman. From studies conducted using intelligence tests, it has been determined that men use nearly seven times more gray matter than women do, whereas women use nine times more white matter than men do.

WHY DO BUSES OFTEN COME IN THREES?

Why do buses often come in three?

A common complaint of people who use public transportation is that of waiting at a bus stop for ages and then three buses arrive all at once. In fact, mathematicians have attempted to explain this everyday conundrum by means of applying complex formulae based on queuing models, correlation and renewal theories, random matrixes and bunching. However, the phenomenon can be explained in fairly simply terms.

IS ONE DOG YEAR EQUAL TO SEVEN HUMAN YEARS?

Is one dog year = seven human years?

The age-old adage that one dog year equals seven human years derives from the simple mathematical division of the average human lifespan by the average canine lifespan. It’s true that dogs do age much faster than humans because of their higher metabolic rate; generally speaking, the larger the mammal, the slower the metabolism and the longer the life.

DO YOU GET WETTER WHEN WALKING IN THE RAIN THAN YOU DO WHEN RUNNING?

Do you get wetter when walking in the rain?

The question of whether people will get wetter if they walk through the rain than if they run through it has been the subject of much bar room discussion. More than that, scientists have been considering the problem for many years, and have concluded that many factors can contribute to which method of progress exposes a person to more rain.

DOES WATER TRAVEL DOWN THE DRAIN IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS IN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES?

Does water travel down the drain?

Folklore states that water drains down the sink in a counterclockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and a clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere, supposedly owing to a physical phenomenon called the Coriolis effect. Named after a French engineer, this effect is caused by the Earth’s rotation subjecting a twisting force to fluids flowing along its surface.

WHAT IS A BLUE MOON?

What is a blue moon?

“Once in a blue moon” is an expression for something that rarely happens, and of course it leads people to ask, what is a blue moon? A literal blue moon occurs when enough smoke or dust is present in the atmosphere to make the moon appear blue. This occurred back in 1883, when the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa exploded, and in 1950, when masses of smoke from Canadian bush fires filled the air.

WHY DO WE YAWN AND WHY IS IT CONTAGIOUS?

Why do we yawn and why is it contagious?

It has traditionally been thought that yawning is an involuntary reflex that draws more oxygen into our bloodstream and removes a buildup of carbon dioxide. This theory was fueled by the notion that when people are bored or tired, their breathing slows, resulting in a lack of oxygen, which causes them to yawn.

WHAT CAUSES JET LAG AND HOW CAN IT BE PREVENTED AND CURED?

What cause jet lag?

Jet lag, or desynchronosis, is a condition that’s caused by crossing time zones during air travel. It is said to be a symptom of the disruption of the body’s circadian rhythms—i e , the day/night, light/dark cycle, which controls the timing of bodily functions such as when you sleep and eat.

WHY WERE NECKTIES INVENTED?

Why were neckties invented?

It is often questioned why such a seemingly useless item of apparel as the necktie was ever invented It’s thought by it might have been the first item of clothing ever worn, taking the form of a strip of fur around the necks of our ancestors.

CAN THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA BE SEEN FROM SPACE?

The Great Wall of China seen from space?

It’s commonly said that the Great Wall of China is the only manmade structure that can be seen with the naked eye from space or the moon. This proposition has been per-petuated in many sources: it’s a question in the board game Trivial Pursuit, it has been contained in schoolbooks across the world and it was stated as being the case by Ed Harris in the 1998 movie The Truman Show.

WHY ARE MOTHS ATTRACTED TO LIGHTS?

Why are Moths attracted to lights?

It’s commonly known that moths are attracted to bright light bulbs and often circle them, giving rise to the saying “like moths to a flame” There are a number of theories as to why moths engage in this often life-threatening practice. The traditional hypothesis is that moths mistake the light source for the moon.

WHY IS THE SKY BLUE?

Why is the sky blue?

One of the most commonly seen sights is the blue sky, yet what’s not widely known is what makes it blue.
The sun emits light that travels through space toward Earth. Because space is a vacuum (i e , it has no atmosphere), the light remains largely undisturbed until it nears the Earth, whose atmosphere is made up of a mixture of gas molecules (mainly oxygen and nitrogen) and other materials. The closer you get to the Earth, the thicker the atmosphere.