What you like and what you don’t like?

• We like something because we get a certain amount of pleasure and happiness from it.
• We like something based on how we see, hear or feel it and what we believe that thing to be
• If you see shrimp as a slimy yucky sea creature, you won’t like to eat it.
• But if you see shrimp as a tasty delicacy, you will like to eat it for sure!
• Our likes and dislikes are initially shaped by our parent’s likes and dislikes.

It is a psychological function!

Liking something is a psychological function which is associated to many conditions like:

Familiarity:

You tend to like something that is familiar to you

Reference:

You tend to like something because you have liked something in reference to it before.

Association:

You might like something because you associate it with a good memory but are unaware of it.

Now, let’s see why do some people like somethings which other people don’t?

Why do some people like scary or tragic movies?

Because they feel it will help them prepare to deal with pain and fear later in life.

Why do some people like spicy food?

It is because of the delicious moment of escape it provides when the heat subsides.

Why do we like something a lot and then after a few years don’t like it at all?

Sometimes we get very attached to something because of the memories associated with it, but as we grow older it becomes less important to us.

How to get what you really want?

What to do when you don’t get what you want?
Everyday, you have something you would want or like to do.
‘want + Getting what you want = Happiness

But not everyday do you get to do that, do you?
‘want’ + Not getting what you want = Sadness

So, what do you do when you don’t get what you want?
The first emotion you feel is anger. Allow yourself to feel it completely. No need to act on it. Decide that you will not do anything until the feeling of anger has a lesser grip on you.

Once you allow yourself to feel angry completely, you will feel tired. Do something that helps you relax. Something that will distract you from what you are not able to get.
‘Want’ + Something you already have = Happiness

Find something you already have and let yourself indulge with it.

It takes time to get what you want. Sometimes a lot of time. But in the meantime you can still be happy instead of angry. Eventually you do end up getting what you want.

What you really really wanted.

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Why do we need stamps?

The first stamp was issued in 1840 in England. Up until then the postage price was paid by the receiver of the mail. However it got difficult to collect money from receivers who refused the mail. What a waste of time, energy and effort! That’s when the idea of a stamp sparked as it ensured the prepayment of mail.

Why do people collect stamps?

A stamps later became something like time capsules. They carried a little information about the history, geography, art and culture of a particular time. So, a good stamp collection gives you a view of the world from any era you would want.

The value of a stamp

The value of a stamp is defined by

• Age of the stamp
• Place where it is issued
• Condition of gum on the stamp
• And the perforation

Stamps become more valuable once they are discontinued. The lesser the total number of a stamp available in the market, the more valuable it is to collectors.
Stamp collections give us a sense of belonging. It helps us to share the history of the world with each other.

8 Amazing Facts about Animal Super Senses

1. Ants have a ‘super-sense’ of smell, which directs them to food from several metres away.
2. A starfish uses its arms to see. There are small spots located at the ends of the starfish’s arms that help it to know the difference between light and dark.
3. Snakes use their tongues to smell. At night, they use their special infrared sensory organs to locate and hunt their warm-blooded prey.
4. Crickets use their legs to hear.
5. Butterflies use their feet to taste the nectar of the flowers.
6. Crocodiles have thousands of small receptors around their jaw line that allow them to sense the presence and location of animals around them from a long way off.
7. Pigeons have something like an in-built compass which allows them to find their way using the knowledge of the Earth’s magnetic field and the position of the sun. That is why they were used to carry messages from one place to another in ancient times.
8. A catfish has tiny hair on their bodies that are extremely sensitive to vibrations. So much so, it is believed that the catfish can detect earthquakes days in advance.

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11 Fun Facts about Penguins

1. Penguins are beautiful black and white birds. They are loved by all children. They waddle around. They are the most social and friendly birds. Penguins stay together in large groups of thousands. They are not afraid of human beings.
2. They cannot fly like other birds. They flap their wings. They swim in water at a speed of 15miles/hour.
3. Penguins cannot breathe underwater. They hold their breaths for a long stretch of time in water. They spring out of water to catch a breath of air before diving back in. But even then they spend three fourths of their time in water.
4. They are warm blooded birds with body temperatures of around 100 F. But they stay in cold weathers like the Antarctica. They have a layer of fat called the blubber, under a thick layer of feathers, which helps in keeping their body warm. They also huddle together to keep themselves warm. But some penguins flap their wings to keep themselves cold in warmer temperatures.
5. A gland below their tails, excrete oil which helps in keeping the shine on the penguins’ bodies. Penguins loose their feathers once a year.
6. Penguins eat fish and shrimp. They have a hook near their bill which grabs the fish. They have bristles on their tongue which helps prevents the slippery fish from escaping. Large penguins can carry 30 fishes in their mouths at one time. Penguins also eat stones, as these help in digestion.
7. They drink salt water as fresh water is not available where they live. A special gland in the penguin’s body removes the salt out of the water.
8. Penguins mate and raise children in an area called rookery. The male penguin calls out aloud and struts his wings about when he wants to attract the attention of a female mate. Penguins sing to each other to familiarize themselves with each other’s voices.
9. Penguins bounce over the rocks for fun. Penguins also love to slide on their ice using their bellies as toboggans. Penguins jump from high ice cliffs and dive into the water for fun.
10. Penguins use rocks to make their nests on the grounds. Male and female penguins take turn in guarding the eggs. Female penguins go out in search for food and come back after two weeks. Then the male penguin ventures out to search for food. When the baby penguin or the chick is born, she sings to familiarize its voice to her parents. The chicks stay together in a group while their parents are out hunting for food.
11. Penguins fall prey to many animals and birds like the Australian sea eagle, the leopard seals, foxes, cats and snakes. The white bellies of the penguins make it impossible for underwater killers to see them.

Did You Know?

• There are seventeen types of penguins.
• The Adelie penguin, the smallest of the penguins, has a black head and a white circle around its eyes; which distinguishes it from other penguins.
• African penguins have an upside down black “U” on their front with black dots.
• Chinstrap penguins have a black band that runs across their chins.
• Gentoo penguins have a thick white band running across their heads.
• The largest variety of penguins is the Emperor penguins, which have orange blushes on their cheeks. They are almost four feet tall and weigh 45 kilograms. Emperor Penguins have been featured in the English movie “Happy Feet,” and around thirty countries have used Emperor Penguins on their stamp photos.
• The Macaroni penguins have black and yellow feathers sticking out from the sides of their heads. This inspired the nursery rhyme “Yankee Doodle went to town…stuck a feather in his cap and called it Macaroni.” There are over 11,654, 000 pairs of Macaroni penguins.
• There are only 5000 Yellow Eyed penguins living in the world, making it the rarest type of penguins.

Where do Penguins live?

Penguins are found in the southern hemisphere like Antarctica. Global warming, and oil expulsions into the sea is making if difficult for penguins to survive. Penguin fossils show that penguins existed sixty million years ago.

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5 Amazing Facts about Deep Sea Creatures

1. The Sunlit Zone is about 500 feet deep from the surface. Most of the sea creatures live here.
2. The Twilight Zone reaches down to about 3300 feet.
3. The Midnight Zone can be as deep as 9,800 feet. Deep sea creatures live in this zone.
4. Most deep sea creatures have a cell in their body that enables them to make light to survive here. This is known as Bioluminescence.
5. This light enables the creatures to find their way and attract prey.

3 Strange Deep Sea Creatures

The Angler Fish– An angler fish has a long fishing rod fin with a light at the end. So smaller fish think it is food and swim towards it.

The Giant Squid– None of them have been seen alive. We only know about them from their dead bodies that have been washed ashore or have been caught in fishing nets. They have sharp beaks.

The Vampire Squid– Its arms are covered with sharp tooth-like spikes. It can extend its arms to twice its body length to catch prey. When threatened, it can draw its arms up over itself and form a defensive web.

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Unsolved Mysteries of the World

1. In the Earth’s outer core, there is liquid iron. Its motion generates a magnetic field. Every few hundred thousand years, the poles interchange. How? Why? We don’t know.
2. The Wow! Signal – Jerry Ehman, while working for the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence in 1977, got a 72 second signal from the constellation Sagittarius. No one knows who sent the signal.
3. Death Valley in California – The place is a big patch of dry earth. Stones somehow manage to slide on this dry earth surface by themselves.
4. A pure and 300 years old aluminum wedge was found in Transylvania, in 1975. Aluminum is always found mixed with other elements. This wedge was found before 1885(when aluminum started being produced).
5. Scientists unearthed an iron screw inserted in a rock in Moscow, in 1998. This screw was probably 320 million years old, but at that time, not even dinosaurs existed.
6. Arkansas witnessed tons of dead black birds falling from the sky, in 2012. No one knows why this happened. Tens of thousands of fish also died in that place, that year.

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12 Interesting Facts about Hypnotism

1. Hypnotism is a natural state of human mind and all of us experience hypnosis minimum two times in a day.
2. In 1892 the British Medical Association (BMA) officially recognized the applications of hypnosis in modern medicine.
3. In World War I and II, hypnosis was used to treat soldiers suffering from combat neuroses. It was also used as a substitute for anesthetics when the supplies were low.
4. Fifteen minutes of hypnosis is equivalent to three hours of sleep.
5. Every human being can be hypnotized.
6. No one has ever got stuck in hypnosis.
7. The practice of hypnotism is more than 3,000 years old. The earliest description of hypnosis was found written on papyrus in an Egyptian tomb dating back to 1500 BC.
8. Egyptians, Romans and Greek used hypnotism for medical and religious purposes.
9. Hypnotism can be used to eradicate bad habits.
10. Mandrake, the main hero of a famous comic strip by Lee Falk, used the power of hypnotism to battle the baddies.
11. A person under hypnosis does not forget anything, unless he or she agrees to forget.
12. You cannot remain hypnotized for more than a few minutes unless you want to.

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19 Interesting Facts about Spiders

1. Spiders are not insects. They belong to the arachnid family that includes scorpions, mites and ticks.
2. Spiders are found on every continent of the world, except Antarctica.
3. There are approximately 40,000 different species of spiders.
4. Spiders can produce silk which they use to create spider webs and capture prey.
5. Abandoned spider webs are known as cobwebs.
6. Most spiders are harmless to humans but a few species, like the Brazilian wanderer and the black widow, can cause human deaths.
7. The fear of spiders is called “arachnophobia”.
8. The large hairy spiders that you see in movies and challenge shows on television are tarantulas.
9. The skeleton of a spider is located outside its body.
10. Spiders do not have a nose or ears. They are able to sense vibrations, touch, and sounds through the tiny hair that cover their bodies.
11. Along with their muscles, spiders use their blood pressure as well to move.
12. A female spider may lay up to 2000 eggs at a time.
13. Spiders have also been sent to the space. Even in the absence of gravity, they built perfect webs.
14. The largest spider in the world is the Giant Bird-eating spider. It can be as big as a dinner plate.
15. The smallest spider is the Patu Marplesi.  You can easily fit 10 of them on the end of a pencil.
16. Spider silk is one of the strongest materials in the world!  Scientists believe that it is even stronger than steel!
17. Some spiders may have as many as eight eyes. Common spiders have only six eyes, while the cave-dwelling species have no eyes at all.
18. Spiders can’t digest solid foods. They must turn the meal into a liquid form with the help of digestive juices.
19. People in South America eat tarantulas as they are a rich source of protein.

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India became the fourth country to reach Mars with Mangalyaan

Aryabhatta was the first satellite developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), in 1975. It was covered with solar cells, which generated electricity in sunlight.,

In the 80s, the Insat 1-B satellite helped spread TV signals all over India. It also became easier to forecast the weather using the images taken by this satellite.

India built its first spacecraft, Chandrayaan I, which orbited around the moon, in 2008.

In 2013, the Moon Impact Probe separated from Chandrayaan and reached the moon. India became the fourth country to put a device on the moon’s surface. The other three are the US, Soviet Russia and Japan.

Data sent from Chandrayaan helped proved that there was water on the moon. The moon probe took measurements to prepare for a rover to land on the moon. This mission is planned for 2016.

In 2013, India launched the Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalyaan. It is set to enter Martian orbit on 24 September, 2014.

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5 Types of Western Dance

1. Hip-Hop Dance

This is done to hip-hop music. It is a street dancing style. This dance has moves which are close to the ground. Balancing your body on your hands and head is an essential part of this dance.

2. Break Dancing

This was made famous by Michael Jackson. It consists of many acrobatic and gymnastic movements.

3. Ballet

Ballet originated in Italy in the fifteenth century. The dance is performed on classical music. It involves dancing on your tip-toes, known as pointe work.

4. Salsa

The Salsa originated in Cuba and Puerto Rico. It is performed on salsa or Latin-American music. Salsa dancing involves the shifting of body weight using the feet. The upper body remains straight

5. Tap Dancing

A tapping sound is created by the metal plates on the dancer’s shoe, in the ball and heel position. Dancers move on a hard surface to make different sounds. So, they are also thought to be musicians. This dance was first performed in the 1800s.

Click here to discover the health benefits of dance.

6 Interesting Facts about the Indian Armed Forces

1. The history of the Indian Army dates back to more than ten thousand years. The concepts of our ancient epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, form the framework of the Indian Army.
2. Today, the Indian Army is the third biggest military force in the world, USA being the first and China, second. There are 1,129,900 active troops and 960,000 reserve troops in our army.
3. The Indian Army has three strong wings – Land force, Air force and Naval. These three wings have three Chiefs who work directly under the President of India.
4. The Siachen glacier is the world’s highest battlefield, at 21,000 feet. Soldiers are taught to survive first and then fight. Soldiers are trained at Siachen Battle School for three weeks in icecraft before they go there.
5. Soldiers walk for two weeks from the base camp to get acclimatised. When the glacier moves, crevasses form, so they are trained in using ladders to cross them. Food, fuel for heat and fibre reinforced plastic huts are constantly flown in by helicopters.
6. The Indian army also plays a very important role in fighting terrorists within the nation in areas like Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and Jharkhand. The army is using the world’s hottest chilli, Assam’s bhut jalokia to fight terrorists.

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10 Interesting Facts about the Micronation of Ladonia

1. Ladonia is a micronation in Sweden. It is 1 square kilometre in size.
2. You will know you are in Ladonia when you see these sculptures– Nimix and Arx.
3. The local Swedish council declared Nimix to be a building, which was not allowed in the nature reserve in 1980.
4. The artist, Lars Vilks, went to court, but lost.
5. In 1996, Vilks, declared the area around the sculptures to be Ladonia, in protest.
6. In 1999, Vilks created another sculpture, Omphalos. Again, the council wanted it removed. Vilks said that he would blow it up on the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize, with 100 tons of dynamite.
7. Before he could do that, the council removed Omphalos secretly. Vilks wanted to create a memorial to Omphalos. He got permission, but the monument could only be 3 inches high.
8. Ladonia has two national anthems, one of which is the sound made by throwing a stone in water. The other is a song on Ladonia’s freedom.
9. The Ladonian language has only two words- “waaaall” and “ÿp.” The official language is phrased Latin. As its 17,000 citizens are across the world, English, Swedish, German, and French are also accepted.
10. Ladonia has a queen and a president. The queen, Ywonne I, disappeared in 2011. A new queen, Carolyn I, was crowned from the Council of Ministers.

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16 Interesting Facts about Cars

Nuts and Bolts

1. 165,000 cars are produced every day.

2. There are more than thirty thousand parts in a car.

3. At a speed of 95 km/hr in your car, you would reach the moon in six months and in another 150 years you would reach the sun.

4. Sugarcane produces the car fuel ethanol.

Firsts

5. Levers were first used to drive a car, and not steering wheels.

6. The dashboard was first built on a horse carriage, and it would prevent the driver from getting muddy by the horse’s trotting and splashing mud all over.

7. The first set of car tires was white.

8. Roads were first built for cyclists to use.

9. Jamshedji Tata was the first Indian to buy a car.

Records

10. The lowest car is the Flatmobile and is only 19 inches high.

11. The longest car is a Cadillac limousine, and is 100 feet long and has 26 tires.

12. The most expensive car was the Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe and sold at $8.7 million.

Did You Know?

13. A woman had invented windshield wipers.

14. British policemen carry teddy bears with them to give to kids involved in car accidents.

15. The Saab brand of cars has an inbuilt ping pong game in its computer board.

16. Adolf Hitler, while serving his punishment in prison; had requested for a car loan to buy a Mercedes car.

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10 Food facts you should know!

1. The oldest soup had the meat of hippopotamus and sparrow as ingredients. It was made in 6000 BC.
2. An average ear of corn has an even number of rows, usually 16.
3. Coconut water can be used as blood plasma.
4. Apples, pears and plums are a part of the rose family.
5. The Maya Indians and the Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency.
6. Tomato ketchup was once used to treat diarrhoea.
7. Why do apples float? 25% of their volume is air.
8. Which vegetable contains 91% water? Cabbage.
9. There are no words that rhyme with orange.
10. The temperature inside a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees cooler than room temperature. This was the origin of the phrase “cool as a cucumber.”

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List of Animals That Went To War

Humans have enlisted animals to help fight their battles since the dawn of war, and today’s militaries use an even wider range of creatures for everything from bomb sniffing to coastline patrolling.

Horse:

Early mounts could pull a chariot or carry lightly armored skirmishing forces. the horse-mounted cavalry became the most prestigious military arm in Europe for several centuries.
A knight’s warhorse was trained to bite and kick.

Elephants:

As early as 1,100 B.C they were trained to serve as mounts, or for moving heavy loads.

Camels:

Camels who can withstand traverse sandy deserts were employed in both world wars and still used by Indian Army.

Dogs:

During the Middle Ages, their large size was used to scare horses to throw off their riders or to pounce on knights on horseback, disabling them until their master delivered the final blow.
Canines were also used with explosives strapped to their backs as anti-tank.
In recent times they were trained to spot trip wires, as well as mines and other booby traps.

Pigs:

Elephants became scared by the squeal of a pig and would panic, bringing disaster to any soldiers who stood in their path of flight

Mules:

Mules are used to carry supplies and equipment over difficult terrain.

Pigeons:

US in World war II used Pigeons to guide bombs apart from carrying war messages.

Rats:

Rat carcasses were filled with plastic explosives, and when these were disposed by shoveling into the furnace, they bombs exploded devastating boiler explosion.

Dolphins:

Dolphins use their sophisticated biological sonar to search for mines based on the concept of echolocation.

Sealion:

The U.S. Navy has accordingly trained sea lions as minesweepers that can locate and mark mines few also carry cameras that provide live underwater video

Stinger Bees:

The ancient Greeks and Romans used the insects as tiny weapons of war to deter enemy troop.
Animal-borne bombs have been used by modern terrorists and insurgents in the Middle East, who have affixed explosives to animals, sometimes left wandering alone, and other times ridden by suicide bombers, in modern insurgent attacks in the Middle East.

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List of World’s Fastest Cars

1. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

   This is the fastest car in the world, covering 268 mph or 431 km/hr. It can speed up from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 2.4 seconds. It is sold with a speed limit of 258 mph- beyond which the tyres might explode.

2. Ultima GTR

   The Ultima GTR is the ultimate race car considered fit for driving on the roads. It can speed up from zero to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds.

3. Hennessey Venom GT

   Speed – 266 mph, 428 km/hr. The Hennessey Venon, costing $1 million, is till date the fastest car on the road after the Ultima GTR.

4. Koenigsegg Agera R

   Speed- 260 mph, 418 km/hr. Fit for driving around not only on plain roads, but also in snow with winter tyres.

5. SSC Ultimate Aero

   This car has been named twice as the fastest car in the world with a speed of 412.28 km/hr between the years 2007 and 2010. They are working towards getting their old title back from Bugatti.

6. McLaren F1

   At a speed of 240 mph, 386 km/hr, and with doors like a bat’s wing; this car might be next on Batman’s list.

7. Porsche Carrera GT

   This car is one of the most technically advanced GT cars till date. A GT car is a luxury car capable of high speeds. It has a speed of 205 mph, 330 km/hr with incredibly powerful brakes.

8. Pagani Huayra

   A beautiful, environment friendly car from Mercedes reaching a top speed of 230 mph, 370 km/hr. Its name suggests ‘The God of wind’.

9. Noble M 600

   Speed- 225 mph or 362 km/hr. It has a cool exterior as well as interior.

10. Ferrari Enzo

    Out of all Ferraris this is the fastest, also known as the roadgoing rocket. It is one of the series of super cars developed by Ferrari which has the top speed of 219 km/hr.

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World’s Top 10 Amusement Parks

1. Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, USA

This is the largest theme park in the world. . It is also the most visited amusement park in the world. It has four different theme parks inside. The Cinderella Castle is a famous attraction.

2. Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, Florida

This park has 18 roller coasters, more than any other amusement park in the world. . It has the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster . Kingda Ka riders move at 128 mph and a height of 456 feet.

3. Everland Resort, Yongin, South Korea

This park gives an actual feel of what a mini tsunami would feel like.

4. Discovery Cove, Orlando, Florida

Kids can play with dolphins and snorkel through coral reefs.

5. Ocean Park, Hong Kong

Ocean Park has the world’s largest aquarium dome where more than 5000 species of fishes can be seen.

6. Hershey Park, Pennsylvania, USA

This amusement park has streetlamps shaped like Hershey Kisses. The park also has the Great Bear roller coaster ride, with twisted steel coasters that loop and turn.

7. Efteling, Netherlands

The park is situated in a real forest setting. It is divided into four sections- fairy realm, travel realm, rough and other. Every section has different rides, haunted houses, magic carpets, beautiful gardens and water bodies. Here, fairy tales are brought to life.

8. Dreamworld, Gold Coast, Australia

You can find the Sumatran tiger here and more than 500 species of wild animals. There is plenty of action with the Tower of Terror roller coaster.

9. Legoland, California

American landmarks have been reproduced with the help of Lego blocks. The safari trek of the park has all different animals from zebras to lions, all built from Lego blocks. The park also has a Lego Driving School for kids.

10. Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Florida

The Marvel Superhero Island here has comic book style architecture. You can see Hogwarts Castle in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section here.

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Art Thefts around the World

1. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci was stolen from the Louvre Museum, France in 1911. Vincenzo Peruggia, who used to work at the Louvre, hid in a closet and walked in the room where the Mona Lisa was kept, when it was empty. He took the painting off the wall and out of its frame. Then he hid the painting under his painter’s smock and walked out. He was caught after two years.
2. A man rented a store near a museum, in Paraguay. He dug an underground tunnel, probably with accomplices. He entered the museum in July 2002 and stole famous art pieces.
3. In December 2000 in Sweden, thieves set off bombs at opposite ends of the city. This diverted the police while they stole valuable works of art. They escaped by motorboat.
4. In 1990, people disguised as cops with fake moustaches knocked at a Boston museum door, at 1:30 am. The guards let them in and the thieves stole $300 million worth of art.
5. How did thieves steal Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure, which weighed over 1814 kilograms? They used a crane-equipped truck. It took them just ten minutes to steal the gigantic sculpture.

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Unidentified Flying Object

UFO stands for ‘Unidentified Flying Object.’ Official records suggest that a UFO sighting occurs somewhere on the Earth at every three minutes! While most of the UFO sightings witnessed by individual persons are dismissed as some confusion or delusion, it is difficult to disregard the sightings that occur in public places and are witnessed by a large number of people.

Winston Churchill, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, had seen a strange airborne vehicle hovering over Kent in England on October 14, 1912. It was the first ‘officially’ registered case of a UFO sighting. The first photograph of a UFO is believed to have been taken in 1883 by Jose Bonilla, an astronomer in Zacatecas, Mexico.

10 Most debated Mass UFO Sightings from around the World

1. Tennessee College Campus, 1853

On the early morning of June 1, 1853, a gleaming airship-like object was seen floating over the Tennessee college campus by a number of resident students.

2. The Aurora Texas UFO Crash, 1897

On April 17, 1897, the citizens of Aurora, a small town in Texas, were awakened early in the morning by a loud noise coming from a mysterious aircraft that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and crashed into a windmill. The debris of the plane was spread over several acres and the body of the pilot was badly disfigured, but whatever was left of him, clearly showed that he was not an inhabitant of this world.

3. Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy, 1954

On October 27, 1954, a crowd of around 10,000 people had gathered to watch a football match. All of a sudden, the stadium was flooded with dazzling lights, strangely resembling Cuban cigars.

4. Levelland, Texas, 1957

On the evening of November 2, 1957, many residents of the city of Levelland in Texas saw a mysterious torpedo-shaped flying object in the sky.

5. The Hudson Valley, New York , 1983

On March 24, 1983, over 300 residents of the Hudson Valley in New York reported that they had seen gigantic V-shaped lights moving slowly through the sky.

6. Ruwa, Africa, 1994

On September 16, 1994, around 62 school children from Ariel School in Ruwa, Africa, saw three shining silver balls swiftly moving around in the sky.

7. Nevada and Arizona, 1997

On the evening of 13th March, 1997, thousands of people in Nevada and Arizona reportedly saw a weird V-shaped airborne object outlined by seven lights in the sky.

8. The O’Hare Airport, Chicago, 2007

On November 7, 2007, several employees and travellers at Chicago’s O’Hare airport saw a weird saucer-shaped metallic aircraft in the sky.

9. Stephenville, Texas, 2008

On the evening of January 8, 2008, about 40 local residents of Stephenville witnessed a brightly lit UFO hovering over the city for five minutes before disappearing into the night sky.

10. Indo-China border, Ladakh Sector, 2013

On the evening of August 4, 2013, Indian Army troops reported the sighting of an illuminated flying saucer in the sky.

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Colorful hair, a big red mouth, cherry red nose and a white face… where have we seen such a man? In circus or birthday parties or even in films and television shows entertaining young kids. Yes! It’s a Clown!

Did you know that the clowns that we see today are an extremely modified version of what they used to be during ancient times? But the purpose of clowns for centuries till date remains the same- to entertain us all, especially children.

The History of Clowns

The first ever clown sightings can be recorded as the court jesters in the courts of kings and royal families. The court jesters entertained the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Emperors of China. The Egyptian clowns came around 2500 B.C and were known as Pygmies.

They were playful and could comment on any policies made by the king, without facing any consequences. Their comments were taken as jokes. The clowns or court jesters used to turn serious matters into funny situations.

Ancient Greek comics show bald headed and larger than normal figures playing the role of court jesters. They also appeared in the plays of the great playwright Shakespeare and often had an important role. They were famous in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

It was not until 1768 that clowns became famous in the circus. Court jesters were now turned into comic fools who provided entertainment to travelers and guests. Clowns in the circus started working on their slapstick comedy skills which would include playing tricks on their counterpart, carrying a bat and hitting with it- missing the target often, throwing pies at each other, juggling and other hilarious acts. Clowns usually do not speak but act out their stories in the form of skits.

The oldest and the classic type of clown is the whiteface clown who, as the name suggests, uses white makeup to cover his face. They were famous in the Greek theatres during the middle ages. This type of clown used to wear extremely bright and strange costumes because they helped him get attention from the crowd.

They performed tasks and actions which were loud, such as jumping and tumbling in a comic manner or playing tricks on their partners. Everything that a whiteface clown did or wore was exaggerated. His pants, shoes, ears, nose was larger than normal.

During the 1860s came the Auguste clowns who were supposed to be the least intelligent of all. Their makeup was limited to their eyes and mouth while they wore a colorful wig on their head. They wore oversized, balloon shaped costumes and behaved in a very clumsy manner. They performed more physical comedy acts such as slapping their partners or throwing pies at each other.

The Tramp or the Hobo clown came during the 19th century when the Auguste and Whiteface clowns started working very well together. These are also known as character clowns who behave as their characters.

They use their facial features like beard, hair, eyebrows, head, and nose in order to create humor about themselves. They use dark makeup and impersonate characters like policemen, tramps, cowboys or firemen. They either appear very happy or very sad but in any situation their main purpose is to make everyone laugh.

Even though clowns have entertained and made everyone laugh, from many centuries, some people hate them and also develop a fear of clowns. This is known as caulrophobia. Sometimes theatre plays and movies have shown the dark side of clowns, instigating the fear of clowns in people.

Interesting facts

1. In the early 1970s, Patch Adams, a doctor, started the culture of clowning for patients in hospitals. This helps patients recover faster and brighten the gloomy hospital mood.
2. In the German language the word clown means ‘don’t leave the kids alone with that one’!
3. Around 300 B.C the Emperor of China wanted to paint the entire Wall of China white, but he was stopped by his court jester; thus saving the lives of many slaves.
4. Clowns have their own set of rules to follow- namely, the Clown Code of Ethics.
5. The National Clown Week, started in 1971 by Richard Nixon, is celebrated in America in the first week of August every year.

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