thebigzowie

Posts Tagged ‘fun facts’

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11 Easy Strategies To Feel Better When Times Get Tough

In Mind-Body, Quality of Life, Zowie Fun Facts on May 3, 2011 at 6:41 pm

A big part of fitness, is health. And as Sara (one of our all-star bootcampers) recently reminded me, health is physical, mental and emotional well-being. However, keeping yourself at optimal health can be challenging for many of us, especially when we are dealing with hard times and stress in our lives.

Lately, a lot of people have been going through some really challenging obstacles and tough times. It’s especially difficult when our loved ones are suffering, and we have to stand by feeling as though there’s not much we can do to help.

This blog gives you 11 Strategies to help you stay strong during the “tough times”, because the stronger you are, the more you can give strength to the loved ones in your life when they need it most. Whether it’s for others, or for yourself, here are the 11 Strategies to handle the tough times in life: Read the rest of this entry »

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Bride Wears Gown Made From WWII Pilot’s Parachute

In Life, Quality of Life, Wild Stuff, Zowie Fun Facts on May 2, 2011 at 10:51 pm

Kate Middleton’s Sarah Burton dress was lovely, but when it comes to back story, a unique wedding gown in the Smithsonian has a romantic tale that’s hard to beat (see pictures at the Smithsonian).

“This wedding dress was made from a nylon parachute that saved the groom’s life during World War II.”

In August of 1944, Major Claude Hensinger, a B-29 pilot, bailed out of his aircraft over Yowata Japan after an engine caught fire.

The major landed on rocky ground, suffering only minor injuries. He slept outdoors that night, using the parachute as a blanket, before being found the next morning.

Hensigner kept the parachute and brought it back to the United States with him when he returned from war. In 1947, he proposed to his girlfriend, Ruth, suggesting that she create a wedding gown out of his lifesaving parachute. Read the rest of this entry »

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Laughter Is The Universal Healer

In Funny Stuff, Life, Medical Benefits, Mind-Body, Quality of Life, Zowie Fun Facts on April 29, 2011 at 9:19 pm

A man goes to a psychiatrist and says, “Doc, my brother’s crazy, he thinks he’s a chicken.” The doctor says, “Why don’t you turn him in?” The guy says, “We would. But we need the eggs.”

If you just laughed out loud, or even released an involuntary chuckle, you probably experienced a surge of endorphins that increased your energy levels, boosted your mood and may have even decreased any aches or pains in your body. These effects are all part of laughter’s positive impact on our daily lives.

“A sense of humour allows us to cope with stress. If we’re able to see the funny side of life’s problems, we are less likely to become distressed, overwhelmed, anxious and depressed by them,” says Rod Martin, a professor at the University of Western Ontario whose research focuses on the psychology of humour.

Although much has been made of laughter’s healing properties, less is known about what actually makes us laugh. Read the rest of this entry »

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8 Powerfully Simple Foods For Relieving Stress

In Food & Drink, Mind-Body, Quality of Life, Zowie Fun Facts on April 20, 2011 at 2:45 am

We all know that tension can wreak havoc on our eating patterns. But the right (healthy!) foods can often help tame mindless munching and cravings and, better yet, actually lower overall anxiety and its symptoms. Eight of our favorites:

Dark Chocolate:  High in flavonoids, which are lauded for their relaxing properties (Lemon Balm and chamomile tea – other good sources), chocolate also contains phenethylamine, a chemical that enhances your mood. The darker the chocolate, the more healthy substances you’re getting in your diet, so look for bars that are 70 percent cacao or higher.

Skim Milk:  Select organic 2% milk to insure calcium absorption. Turns out that a glass of warm milk really is calming. One study found that women who drank four or more servings of lowfat or skim milk every day were about half as likely to experience stress-related PMS symptoms than those who drank less than one serving a week.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Getting Gas On The Cheap!

In Life, Quality of Life, Travel, Zowie Fun Facts on April 17, 2011 at 4:37 pm

Image: A Siegel

Political upheaval in the Arab world has crude oil trading near $110 a barrel. What does that mean for you? The price of gas is going up in tandem – according to AAA, the average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.81, up nearly a dollar from a year ago. And as the summer travel season approaches, some experts say the price could reach $5.

But there are ways to cut down the price you pay at the pump, and meaningful ways to make that tank of gas last longer before you need another fill-up.

Go online

Start bargain-hunting by going online. One of the best sites to find gas-related information is GasBuddy.com. Besides listing the lowest gas prices in your town, it tracks industry trends and tells you why prices are going up, and what to look out for. Read the rest of this entry »

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HDR Imagery Taking The Country By Storm

In Culture, Photography, Wild Stuff, Wonder, Zowie Fun Facts on April 12, 2011 at 6:55 pm

What is HDR?

HDR is short for High Dynamic Range. It is a post-processing of taking either one image or a series of images, combining them, and adjusting the contrast ratios to do things that are virtually impossible with a single aperture and shutter speed.

I would say that about 75% of my images use the technique, and if you are new to it, then you may notice a slightly different “look and feel” to my photographs. You should also probably note that HDR is a very broad categorization, and I really hate categorization. My process starts with using basic HDR techniques, but then there are many more steps to help the photos look more… let’s say… evocative.

I can talk a little bit more about the philosophy behind the photography style here for a quick moment. You might consider that the way the human brain keeps track of imagery is not the same way your computer keeps track of picture files. There is not one aperture, shutter speed, etc.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Dave Barry’s year in review: 2010 a disaster? ‘Shore’ thing

In Culture, Funny Stuff, Life, Quality of Life on April 8, 2011 at 11:30 pm

Dave Barry is considered one of the funniest satire columnists in the country. His 2010 A Year in Review, is arguably one of his best. We include it here (lovingly) swiped entirely and intact from OregonLive.com’s: Dave Barry’s year in review: 2010 a disaster? ‘Shore’ thing. We have also added The Hilarious World of Dave Barry RSS Feed from his Miami Herald Blog in our feeds section lower right below – along with many other fine RSS Feeds we hope you’ll like. Enjoy!

By DAVE BARRY

Let’s put things into perspective: 2010 was not the worst year ever. There have been MUCH worse years. For example, toward the end of the Cretaceous Period, the Earth was struck by an asteroid that wiped out 75 percent of all the species on the planet. Can we honestly say we had a worse year than those species did? Yes, we can, because they were not exposed to “Jersey Shore.” Read the rest of this entry »

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The April Fool’s UFO Landing That Terrified London

In Culture, Funny Stuff, Wild Stuff, Zowie Fun Facts on April 1, 2011 at 9:20 pm

UFO Lands Near London (1989)

On March 31, astonished British policemen were sent to investigate a glowing flying saucer that had settled down in a field in Surrey.

As the policemen approached the craft with their truncheons held out before them, a door opened in the bottom of the ship and a small figure wearing a silver space suit walked out. The policemen immediately took off in the opposite direction.

The alien turned out to be a midget, and the flying saucer was a hot air balloon that had been specially built to look like a UFO by Richard Branson, the 36-year-old chairman of Virgin Records. Branson had taken off in the balloon the day before, planning to land in London’s Hyde Park on April 1. However, a wind change had blown him down a day early in the Surrey field. The police reported that they received a flood of phone calls from scared motorists using roadside emergency phones as the balloon passed over the highway. Read the rest of this entry »

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Flying Cars To Be A Reality In 2012

In Culture, Freedom, Life, Quality of Life, Science, Wild Stuff, Zowie Fun Facts on March 29, 2011 at 12:38 am

Hold on to your hats because 2012 will be the year of the flying car!

Article credited to: Autos & Trends: Flying Cars Set To Hit The Market By 2012

Many have a dream of owning a flying car, but it could finally become a reality within the next year.

U.S. company Terrafugia will start manufacturing flying cars called the Transition Roadable Light Sport Aircraft, which can be transformed from a car to a plane in just 30 seconds.

The Transition can fly at 115 mph and reach 65 mph on the road. On the ground, with its wings tucked up and in, it can fill up with petrol at a normal filling station and fits in an average size garage, according to report in the Sunday Express. It is set to go into production this year and is expected to cost between £125,000 and £160,000 excluding the shipping costs. Read the rest of this entry »

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A News Alert From The Big Zowie!

In Culture, Funny Stuff, Life, Quality of Life, Zowie Fun Facts on March 28, 2011 at 9:33 pm

Hey everybody! It’s me, the Big Zowie!

I just wanted to let you all in on the ZowieNews Network deal. We’re looking for bloggers who want to post on ZowieNews. We get great rankings and we’re looking for people who want to write about good news, inspirational stuff and fun facts everyone NEEDS to know about.

The talking-head news networks serve up plenty of bad news. There’s no end to it! But we’re different. We want people to feel better about the world around them. And there are lot’s of great examples of things going RIGHT with the world. That’s what we’re looking for.

So if you’re a blogger, or just someone who likes what we like and you want to join our blogroll, or send us great stories about interesting and uplifting things in your world, send ‘em on over. Remember, if you think no-news is good news – you need to go zowie at ZowieNews!

Check out our cool blogs and don’t forget all the great news feeds at the bottom of our front page. They’re really zowie!

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