Smorgasbord Laughter is the Best Medicine – Hosts Debby Gies and Sally Cronin – Flying and Even more Weird Facts

Firstly, some funnies from Debby Gies followed by some funnies from Sally. Thanks to those who share the funnies on the internet.

D.G. Writes is where you will find an archive full of wonderful posts across several subjects including writing tips, social issues and book reviews.

  My thanks to Debby for excellent foraging

D. G. Kaye – Buy: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK Blog: D.G. Writes – Goodreads: D.G. Kaye on Goodreads – Twitter: @pokercubster

Check out Debby’s latest Travel Column: San Juan

Now for some fun from Sally….

More weird facts… some of which I can neither confirm or deny!

1. 45% of Americans don’t know that the sun is a star.
2. By age sixty, most people have lost half of their taste buds.
3. Despite accounting for just one-fiftieth of body weight, the brain burns as much as one-fifth of our daily caloric intake.
4. Fluoridated toothpaste came about as the result of a discovery made in Naples, Italy in 1802, when local dentists noticed yellowish-brown spots on their patient’s teeth – but no cavities. Subsequent examination revealed that high levels of fluoride in the water caused the spots and prevented tooth decay, and that less fluoride protected teeth without causing the spots. It took a while for the discovery to be implemented; the first U.S. fluoridated water tests didn’t take place until 1915, and Crest, the firth toothpaste with fluoride in it didn’t hit stores until 1956.
5. People who laugh a lot are much healthier than those who don’t. Dr. Lee Berk at the Loma Linda School of Public Health in California found that laughing lowers levels of stress hormones, and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds have it best – they laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
6. The first known heart medicine was discovered in an English garden. In 1799, physician John Ferriar noted the effect of dried leaves of the common plant, digitalis purpurea, on heart action. Still used in heart medications, digitalis slows the pulse and increases the force of heart contractions and the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat.
7. The kidneys filter about 500 gallons of blood each day.
8. The human kidney consists of over 1 million little tubes with a total length of about 40 miles in both kidneys.
9. The number one cause of blindness in the United States is diabetes.
10. The most common non-contagious disease in the world is tooth decay.
11. There are 10 trillion living cells in the human body.
12. Every hour one billion cells in the body must be replaced.
13. You can see a candle flame from 50 Kilometres on a clear, dark night. You can hear the tick of a watch from 6 meters in very quiet conditions. You can taste one gram of salt in 500 litres of water (.0001M). You can detect one drop of perfume diffused throughout a three-room apartment. You can detect the wing of a bee falling on your cheek from a height of one centimetre.
14. Lightning keeps plants alive. The intense heat of lightning forces nitrogen in the air to mix with oxygen, forming nitrogen oxides that are soluble in water and fall to the ground in rain. Plants need nitrates to survive, so without lightning, plants could not live.
15. Oak trees do not have acorns until they are fifty years old or older.
16. The giant sequoia, which produces millions of seeds, can take 175 to 200 years to flower. No other organism takes this long to mature sexually.
17. The primary purpose of growing rice in flooded paddies is to drown the weeds surrounding the young seedlings. Rice can, in fact, be grown in drained areas.
18. 75-90% of primary physician visits are due to stress
19. 1 out of every 4 kids in the USA is overweight
20. Each year in America there are about 325,000 deaths that can be attributed to obesity.
21. Eating chocolate three times a month helps people live longer as opposed to people who overeat chocolate or do not eat chocolate at all!

Thank you for joining us today and we hope you are leaving with a smile on your face.. Debby and Sally.