Ostrich

Ostrich is the fastest bird, and it has to do with the fact that they have two toes on each feet.

Benefits of Sex

Experts say that having sex two to three times a week can increase your longevity by cutting your risk of heart disease and stroke by half. This is because intercourse burns about 200 calories, which is the equivalent as running for 30 minutes. It may lower your blood pressure, adding two to three more years. A low blood pressure also aids in better quality sleep, strengthens your immunity, and releases heart protective hormones. Additionally, if sex is part of a happy marriage, research shows that you'll get another five years.

Benefits of Natural Light

During daylight hours, natural light is so efficient that it can be the equivalent of a dozen light bulbs.

Child Seating Safety in Vehicles

American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that a child ride rear facing until 20 lbs. to one year of age in a vehicle.

Five Signs of Internal Bleeding

Here are the five signs and symptoms of internal bleeding:

Abdominal pain
Rapid, weak pulse
Discoloration of the skin (bruising) in the injured area
Nausea or vomiting
Vomiting blood
Soft tissue in the abdomen, for example, that's tender, hard, or swollen

Cast Iron Cookware

Cast iron cookware is made from iron that's been melted and formed into pan-shaped molds or casts. They're made from the same base material used in engine blocks and building girders, so they're really sturdy.

Moon Time

A single day on the moon is the equivalent of 27.3 on earth. This is because the moon permanently faces us.

The Pill and Headaches

A report in the journal Neurology suggests that the Pill may cause splitting headaches. Experts blame the steep drop in estrogen the day after you take the last pill of the month. Estrogen protects the nervous system. So when levels drop, you're more vulnerable to different types of pain. If you experience headaches every month, try switching to Mircette. It's the only pill sold in the United States that weans you off estrogen gradually in the days before your period.

Toxic Plants

Some plants are toxic such as these: Amaryllis, azalea leaves, clematis, the berries and leaves of the English Ivy, foxglove, Holly berries, Hydrangea flower buds, the leaves, stems, and berries of mistletoe, and periwinkle.

Buddhism

Buddhism was created by a man named Siddhartha Gautama who left his wife and son to find the meaning of life. He meditated deeply under a tree after fasting and disciplining himself harshly didn't provide him with the answer he was seeking. It was then that he believed he found the truth. He taught that suffering is brought on by people's desires and that suffering can end and complete happiness can be found only by ending all desires. He gave his first sermon to the five wisdom seekers who journeyed with him and was renamed Buddha or the enlightened one. Buddha taught his followers to treat all living things with loving kindness and treat everyone equally.

Hinduism

The Nomadic people who entered northern India and other scattered people of the Indus River formed a new culture in northern India, and the religion Hinduism developed there, as well, beginning around 1500 B.C. They spoke the language of Sankrit and worshipped thousands of gods and goddesses.

Religion

Studies found that there are commonly sixteen reasons why people are attracted to religion. These are power, independence, curiosity, acceptance, order, saving, honor, idealism, social contact, family, status, vengeance, romance, eating, physical exercise, and tranquility.

Pomegranate Juice

Evidence reveals that pomegranate juice can stave off hardening of the arteries and possibly even reverse it! According to Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, pomegranate juice reduced the rate of cholesterol plaque buildup in mice by 30%. And heart cells treated with this juice revealed a 50% increase in the production of nitric oxide, a substance that helps fight plaque. There are a variety of tasty ways to take your medicine. There are more than 130 pomegranate products introduced in 2006.

First Evening Length Ballet

The first evening length ballet was performed by Maria Taglioni and called La Sylphide.

Don Perignon

Costco sells the most Don Perignon (superior quality champagne) on Valentine's day than any other day of the year.

February is National Grapefruit Month

RED GRAPEFRUITS are an excellent source of vitamin C, has 25 times the amount of vitamin A compared to white grapefruits, facilitates the body’s absorption of iron, has an abundance of antioxidants such as lycopene (the redder the grapefruit, the higher the lycopene content) known to lower risk of heart disease and some cancers (pancreas, lungs, and prostate), one grapefruit has 25% of your daily fiber needs (aids in healthy digestion), contains potassium and folate, ideal for pregnant women and may help relieve depression and memory loss.

Warm Grapefruit Tea Recipe

2 cups ruby red grapefruit juice
2-4 tbsp honey
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp whole allspice berries

In a medium pot, combine juice, honey, cinnamon, allspice, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat; strain and discard solids. Serve with a grapefruit segment or strip of zest.

Broiled Grapefruit

Halve a grapefruit, season it with brown sugar, and broil until slightly darkened.

Spinach Salad with Avocadoes and Red Grapefruits

Fill enough spinach to fill a deep bowl, chop up an avocado, and segments of one grapefruit all mixed together in a salad. Eat with dressing of choice.

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was an African American scientist, educator, humanitarian, and former slave. He developed multiple products from peanuts, sweet potatoes, pecans, and soybeans. His discoveries have significantly improved the agricultural production and the health of Southern farmers. Carver's invention included a rubber substitute, adhesives, food related stuff, dyes, pigments, and many more. Previously the main crop in the South was cotton.

AIDS

In 1982 American scientists named the mysterious new illness first seen the year before as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). In 1985, African Americans made up a quarter for new AIDS cases. In 1990, a group of Haitian immigrants protested in New York against the racist stereotyping of Haitians as AIDS carriers. In 1994, the statistics of black AIDS cases surpassed that of whites for the first time. In 1995, AIDS became the leading cause of death for all 25 - 44 year old Americans today. There are 33 million people living with HIV worldwide more than a million of them are in the U.S. African Americans make up 12% of the population and account for a significant 49% of HIV cases.

Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Martin Luther King. Jr., (1929-1968) was one of the most influential African Americans and civil rights movement leaders. He graduated high school at the age of fifteen and continued his educational career with a doctorate in 1953. On December 1955, he accepted the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States. He led the bus boycott, which lasted 382 days. It was this boycott that resulted in the Supreme Court of the United States on December 21, 1956 to declare Negroes and whites to ride the bus as equals. His strength, courage, and commitment to the boycott didn't go without consequences. He was subjected to arrests, house bombs, and personal abuse. As President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization that advocated civil rights movements, the ideals came from Christianity and techniques from Gandhi. King traveled over six million miles and gave over twenty five hundred speeches where there was injustice. He also authored five books and numerous articles. He directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 participants. King consulted with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lydon B. Johnson and was arrested twenty times, assaulted at least four times, and eventually awarded five honorary degrees, named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963. King was also the youngest man to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 4, 1968, where he was to lead a protest, he was assassinated on his balcony's motel room. His efforts and accomplishments are still remembered to this day.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks (1913-2005), a tired seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama made an understandable and stubborn refusal to give her seat up to a white passenger on the bus on December 1, 1955, which changed the dynamics of civil rights. The white bus driver informed her that she was going to get arrest, and she graciously and courageously complied. Parks was arrested, fined for violating a city ordinance, and later outlawed racial segregation on public transportation. A seemingly stubborn defiance began the course of equality on buses. This incident led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., boycotting the bus, which lasted 382 days, attracting the attention of segregation and forcing change. History portrays Rosa Parks as a determined woman who's acts or, technically, lack of changed history, but she's done more for equality than refusal to move. She served as secretary of the NAACP and Adviser to the NAACP Youth Council and tried to register to vote a number of times when it was nearly impossible.

Dr. Charles Richard Drew

Dr. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950) was an African-American physician and medical researcher who developed improved methods of blood storage and preservation. His discoveries revolutionized the medical profession and saved many lives.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary

In 1870 Mary Ann Shadd Cary became the country's first black female lawyer and organized the Colored Women's Progressive Franchise, dedicated to women's rights.

Susie King Taylor

Susie King Taylor served as a Union Army nurse during the Civil War. She was also the first black nurse to publish a memoir of her war experiences, offering valuable insight into the workings of the first black regiment during the War.

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad is a term that described a highly systemized, national secret organization that accomplished prodigious feats in stealing slaves away from the South. It aided fugitive slaves to escape to Canada or other free states. It was run by Northern abolitionists, both whites and free blacks. The metaphor first appeared on print in the early 1840s. The escaping slaves were referred to as passengers, stations represented their shelter, and guides such as Harriet Tubman were known as their conductors. Quakers were particularly prominent as conductors. However, experts note that the accuracy of these records are questionable, as details of the escapes became highly publicized and greatly exaggerated by the North and South, although for different reasons. I'm unsure which details are being referred to, but it is well-known that the Underground Railroad was an organization that helped slaves escape to freedom.

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), an American abolitionist, was born into slavery. She escaped to Philadelphia in 1849 and returned more than a dozen times to help over 300 slaves escape to freedom. She became a speaker for anti-slavery lectures and served as nurse, cook, laundress, scout, and spy. In 1863 she participated in a raid that resulted in freeing more than 700 slaves.

Slavery

Slavery is the state of being owned by another person and having your freedom taken away from you. A slave is forced to work, historically dehumanized, mentally, physically, and sometimes sexually abused. Slavery is often associated with the suffering of Africans. The first African slaves arrived in Virginia in 1615. In 1787 slavery was made illegal in the Northwest Territory, but slavery didn't come to an end until 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States. Yet discrimination of blacks didn't end. Other forms of discrimination have been implemented throughout history and still exist today.

National Wear Red Day

February 2 is National Wear Red Day, which is the American Heart Association's nationwide movement that celebrates the energy and power we have as women and men to eradicate heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of women and causes nearly 500,000, that's half a million, deaths a year. 1 in 8 women, aged 45-64 has coronary heart disease. And this increases to 1 in 4 women over the age of 65. The good news is that heart disease can be largely prevented. Eating healthfully, visiting the doctor regularly, the participation of people across the nation, and the positive contributions the color red and the red dress has been linked with heart health.

Black History Month

February is Black History Month. We have Carter G. Woodson, editor of the Journal of Negro History to thank for this annual celebration. It began in 1926 during the second week of February specifically to coincide the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, two men who made an immense impact on the black population. Over time Negro History Week evolved into the Black History Month that we're all familiar with.