Trivia: Who Killed The Dead Sea?

I'm currently reading Kenneth C. Davis' book, "Don't Know Much About Geography." You'll find the following excerpts on pages 170 and 171 found of his book:

First of all it isn't a sea at all but a lake. The Dead Sea, forming part of the border between Israel and Jordan, is a landlocked salt lake with no outlet. With the Jordan River as its source, the Dead Sea is located 1,289 feet below the level of the nearby Mediterranean Sea, making it the lowest exposed point on the Earth's surface. In biblical times it was known as the Salt Sea because its salt content makes it saltiest "sea" on Earth. The high salt content is a result of rapid evaporation of the water due to the area's extremely high temperatures.

This extremely high saline level makes it difficult to sustain any life forms, which is why it came to be called the Dead Sea. In the Middle Ages, visitors believed that the air above the Dead Sea was poisonous, because no birds flew over its waters. But there are no birds there because there is nothing for them to eat; there are no plants, and any fish carried in from the Jordan River are killed immediately by the water's high salt content.

Trivia: Getting Rich Quickly

Legal methods:

-Marry someone who is already rich.

-Have a rich person die and will you their money.

-Strike oil.

-Discover gold.

-Win the lottery.

Illegal methods:

-Rob a bank.

-Blackmail someone who is rich.

-Kidnap someone who is rich and get a big ransom.

-Become a drug dealer.

For the sake of completeness:

"If you really want to make a lot of money, start your own religion."
- L. Ron Hubbard

Hubbard made that statement when he was just a science fiction writer in either the 1930s or 1940s. He later founded the Church of Scientology. He also wrote Dianetics.

Source: Contributed by James B. Reed to InvestFAQ.com

Science and Technology Trivia from Clipmarks.com

I love trivia and interesting facts. See if you'll find these interesting, too.

clipped from home.bitworks.co.nz Science and Technology Joseph and Etienne Montigolfier, inventers of the hot air balloon, first believed that their balloon didn't rise due to hot air but an invisible gas given off by fire. They named it Montigolfier Gas. The early personal computer, the Sinclair ZX80, had 1 kilobyte of internal memory. Joseph Swan invented a light bulb in 1879, one year before Thomas Edison. But Swan didn't patent his idea and was accused of copying by Edison ( who did patent the idea and is therefore recognised as the inventor ) until it was shown both bulbs were produced in different processes. They then formed a joint company using the best of both technologies. The bicycle was first introduced to British roads in 1888, but the rider had to ring a bell continuously to warn others of their approach. The Dotmatrix printer was developed for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games by the Japanese company Seiko. The fluorescent tube uses 20% of the power to produce an equal amount of light as a tungsten filament bulb.

Trivia: Knowing People

Is it true that people who are the most worth knowing are the hardest to get to know?

Studies at Purdue University found the opposite to be true. The investigation showed that people who are the most difficult to get to know, or who don't like to reveal their true selves to another person, tend to be conflict-ridden, unhappy with themselves, and incapable of a really rewarding relationship with any other human being. They wear a mask, or public self, and they are quick to resent it when any one shows enough interest to probe more deeply to find out what they are really like.

The same studies showed that happy people, who had few conflicts, showed no tendency to hide their real selves behind surface appearances or affectations. They were the same all the way through, liked being known and understood by others, and enjoyed cultivating close relationships with people they were attracted to.

Source: Alfredo M. Tengco (ed.), "Nuggets and Grin Tonics" (Book 1)

(Photo courtesy of www.stockxpert.com)

Bushisms Video

To mark the significant break of this blog from its heretofore staid past, I upgraded its template design from David Bowman's generic "Minima" to this so-called "Snapshot Sable", a creation by David Shea. I am also embedding this YouTube video on Bushisms for your viewing pleasure. From here on, I will post jokes, trivia and other interesting video clips falling under the category of either quotes, jokes, funny anecdotes or trivia.