Interesting Facts

According to researchers at the Emory School of Medicine in Georgia, fear can be transmitted from a father to his offspring through his sperm. (They have shown that if mice are taught to fear a certain smell this triggers chemical changes in their sperm.These changes then alter the makeup of their children and grandchildren's brains, causing them to fear the same smell. This could explain my fear of flying, and is bound to open up the whole nature vs nurture debate again.)

In a report titled Perceptions of Flatulence From Bean Consumption Among Adults in 3 Feeding Studies, people's concerns about excessive flatulence from eating beans may be exaggerated. (Donna Winham, of Arizona State University, and Andrea Hutchins, of the University of Colorado, got volunteers to eat half a cup of beans a day for several weeks. In the first week, fewer than half of the beanies reported an increase in flatulence, and over 70% of the participants who had experienced flatulence initially felt that it dissipated by the second or third week of bean consumption. This flies in the face of advice given by Geoffrey Wynne-Jones of Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand, In 1975 he published a treatise in The Lancet, with the alarming title, Flatus Retention is the Major Factor in Diverticular Disease.   Dr Wynne-Jones said: "Diverticular disease is confined to modern urban communities: flatus retention in a rural, primitive society would be pointless … [Th...

According to an annual poll, run by the BBC World Service, unemployment is the world's fastest-rising worry. (The growth in concern was found across all countries surveyed, although corruption and poverty still ranked the highest worries.   Worry about unemployment was six times the rate citing it in the first survey in 2009. In the US, France and Japan - all wealthy, developed nations - the state of the world economy emerged as the main talking point. By contrast, corruption was the most frequently discussed issue in Nigeria, India, Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria and Peru. These are all developing nations, most with poor reputations for transparency in government and business. In another group of developing countries, including China, Russia, Kenya and the Philippines, rising prices for food and energy were the main topic. In Latin America, however, crime and violence emerged as commonly discussed themes. Indeed in Brazil, famous for social tensions in its urban slums,...

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words! (Presumably invented by a sadist!!) xx Source - Wikipedia

You really can smell fear. (According to a study at Rice University in Houston there are chemical warning signals produced by fear. Now they just have to discover the sweet smell of success. There's an a-z list of phobias and fears on the forum.)

According to R&V insurance, Germans are more frightened of a higher cost of living than of terrorism, natural catastrophes or illness. (The list goes like this:- Higher living expenses - 66% Natural catastrophes - 59% Infirmity in old age - 53% Bad health - 51% Political situation - 51% Terrorism - 50% Worsening economic situation - 48%)