7 Interesting facts about Gajanana

Ganesh Chaturthi is observed during the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the Shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon).
Lord Ganesha is also worshiped in countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Nepal, and China.
Apart from modaks, Puran Poli also makes for one of the major and popular sweets during Ganesh Chaturthi. Like modaks, Puran Poli can also be offered as ‘bhog’ to the Lord and later served as Prasad. Apart from these two, Karanji is another popular sweet offered to the Lord Ganesha.
Though many believe that Lord Ganesha is a bachelor, yet there are numerous instances where Ganesha is represented with two wives-Ridhi and Sidhi.
Throughout Ganesh Chaturthi, Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda, the Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and the Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted.
The first Ganesh Chaturthi celebration dates back to the era of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja. The festival continued to be celebrated by the Peshwas. However, after the fall of the Peshwas, the festival was revived by freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak during 1893.
It is believed that Lord Shiva gave a boon to Ganesha that he would be worshipped before any other Lord. He was thereby declared superior to all gods.

Originally posted at www.mid-day.com

15 less-known facts of the “Face We Carry”

It takes 11 muscles to frown
It takes 12 facial muscles for a genuine smile.
We are capable of making 10,000 unique facial expressions.
There are 6 universal facial expressions; Happy, sad, angry, disgusted, surprised afraid.
True happiness is revealed in our eyes, true sadness is revealed in the muscles of our chin.
There are 21 mimetic facial muscles, the only muscles in your body directly attached to your skin, that creates your expressions.
We regularly flash micro-expressions that last less than 1/25th of a second. This is why our facial emotions flash by so quickly.
We can consciously manipulate muscles of the mouth to smile, pretending we are happy.
Masseter, the muscle we use to chew, is the strongest muscle in the human body. It is capable of pulling up to 80 times its own weight!
Those cheeky dimples are inherited as a family trait and are caused by a shortened muscle. When a person smiles the muscles pull across the skin, revealing a dimple.
Our face is made up of 14 bones
The only bone section that can move is the mandible, the jaw bone.
Our ears and nose are made from a bendy flexible tissue called cartilage.
As we age, our nose lengthens and drops downwards and our ears never stop growing.
Lips are red due to the number of tiny capillaries that are just below our skins surface; blood in the capillaries contains oxygen, which creates the color red.

Originally posted at www.thenakedchemist.com

9 Interesting Facts about Smiles

1. Smiling is contagious.

Neurons in the brain have a synchronizing feature that keeps you in sync with who are you speaking to. If they smile, you’ll smile!

2. Smiling is like medicine.

Genuine smiles – where you smile big enough to squint your eyes — boosts your immune system by decreasing cortisol in you body.

3. Smiling is our first facial expression.

Sure, it might not mean anything until we’re a little bit older, but babies start smiling in the womb.

4. Forcing yourself to smile when you’re sad will actually elevate your mood.

Thanks to endorphins from smiling, faking it till you make it actually works!

5. Smiling makes you look prettier.

Studies have proven that 70% of people find smiling faces to be better-looking than faces with makeup.

6. Smiling can reduce blood pressure.

Not only will those endorphins elevate your mood, but they will also lower your blood pressure — so essentially, smiles save lives!

7. Smiling is a form of exercise!

It takes 26 muscles to smile – so work out your face!

8. We can detect smiles from far away.

Humans can detect smiles from more than 300 feet away, which developed out of a need to be able to distinguish friend from foe.

9. Smiling is a universal sign for happiness.

While it’s not always easy to identify a genuine smile, all people — and even some animals — recognize a smile and what it means.

Originally posted at www.buzzfeed.com

7 interesting facts about Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is the third most popular holiday in the world, behind only Christmas and Easter.
According to the Pew Research Center, more phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year.
A research study conducted by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, found that flowers affect human behavior and make people feel happier and more compassionate around fresh-cut blooms.
In what was formerly Yugoslavia, children would tie up their mother on Mother’s Day. The only way she could be freed would be to “pay” her children with candy and treats.
Anna Jarvis is considered the founder of Mother’s Day in the United States. She quit her job to focus full-time on persuading politicians, business executives and civic leaders into making the holiday official. On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day thanks to the persistence of Jarvis. Jarvis never married nor had children of her own.
Mother’s Day was intended to be a day to honor mothers individually and not collectively, thus the reason for the apostrophe before the “s” – making it singular possessive instead of plural possessive.
Around one-quarter of all flowers purchased throughout the year are purchased for Mother’s Day.

Originally posted at www.easternfloral.com

The Story Of Warli

HISTORY

Unassuming Warli figures painted in white on red ochre walls might not seem like much to the untrained eye. But a closer look will tell you that there’s more to Warli than what meets the eye. It is not just an art form, but a way of life for the Warli (Varli) tribes from the mountains and coastal regions in and around the borders of Maharashtra and Gujarat. This art form that originated around 3000 BC has an enigmatic appeal to it. The intricate geometric patterns of flowers, wedding rituals, hunting scenes and other everyday activities are quite popular among fashion designers and home decor brands.

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL

The tribe has been using basic materials for painting like rice paste with water and gum for the white paint and a bamboo stick that has been chewed on that serves as a brush. It is this simple charm that has attracted designers like Anita Dongre and James Ferreira to use the paintings in their collections. Invented way before the age of cell phones, smileys and emoticons, Warli paintings don’t just pull at your heartstrings thanks to their rustic charm, they also tell a vivid story.

WARLI IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Of all those who are taking inspiration from this art, the lifestyle sector is the one that is most fascinated by its richness. From brightly coloured umbrellas to coffee mugs and tea cups, rustic wall clocks, accents for walls and stationery – Warli is pretty much everywhere. And it doesn’t stop here. The art of Warli is every Indian fashion designer’s new darling. From adorning the borders of colourful scarves and kurtis to embellishing the luxurious jute and silk sarees, Warli has taken over the ramp for good.
Originally posted at www.craftsvilla.com

5 Amazing Facts about Seashells

1. MOLLUSKS MAKE ONLY ONE SHELL.

Mollusks use calcium carbonate and proteins, secreted from their mantles, to build their shells. As a mollusk grows, so does its exoskeleton.

2. MOST SHELLS OPEN TO THE RIGHT.

Although there are some species with shells that are always sinistral, or left opening, nine out of 10 shells are dextral, meaning they open to the right.

3. SHAPE MATTERS.

Seashells can be plain and smooth (think clamshells) or come adorned with spikes and ridges and protrusions.

4. THE PATTERNS ON SHELLS AREN’T RANDOM.

Recent research suggests that the elaborate colors and patterns on shells are, Scales writes, “not frivolous playthings but important registration markers for shell-making that have been subject to the forces of natural selection, and have evolved over time.”

5. THE OLDEST KNOWN HERMIT CRAB USED AN AMMONITE SHELL.

There are nearly 1000 species of hermit crab existing today, which rely on old seashells from dead mollusks to protect their soft abdomens.

Originally posted at www.mentalfloss.com

7 Interesting facts about Gajanana

Ganesh Chaturthi is observed during the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the Shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon).

Lord Ganesha is also worshiped in countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Nepal, and China.

Apart from modaks, Puran Poli also makes for one of the major and popular sweets during Ganesh Chaturthi. Like modaks, Puran Poli can also be offered as ‘bhog’ to the Lord and later served as Prasad. Apart from these two, Karanji is another popular sweet offered to the Lord Ganesha.

Though many believe that Lord Ganesha is a bachelor, yet there are numerous instances where Ganesha is represented with two wives-Ridhi and Sidhi.

Throughout Ganesh Chaturthi, Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda, the Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and the Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted.

The first Ganesh Chaturthi celebration dates back to the era of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja. The festival continued to be celebrated by the Peshwas. However, after the fall of the Peshwas, the festival was revived by freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak during 1893.

It is believed that Lord Shiva gave a boon to Ganesha that he would be worshipped before any other Lord. He was thereby declared superior to all gods.

15 less-known facts of the “Face We Carry”

It takes 11 muscles to frown

It takes 12 facial muscles for a genuine smile.

We are capable of making 10,000 unique facial expressions.

There are 6 universal facial expressions; Happy, sad, angry, disgusted, surprised afraid.

True happiness is revealed in our eyes, true sadness is revealed in the muscles of our chin.

There are 21 mimetic facial muscles, the only muscles in your body directly attached to your skin, that creates your expressions.

We regularly flash micro-expressions that last less than 1/25th of a second. This is why our facial emotions flash by so quickly.

We can consciously manipulate muscles of the mouth to smile, pretending we are happy.

Masseter, the muscle we use to chew, is the strongest muscle in the human body. It is capable of pulling up to 80 times its own weight!

Those cheeky dimples are inherited as a family trait and are caused by a shortened muscle. When a person smiles the muscles pull across the skin, revealing a dimple.

Our face is made up of 14 bones

The only bone section that can move is the mandible, the jaw bone.

Our ears and nose are made from a bendy flexible tissue called cartilage.

As we age, our nose lengthens and drops downwards and our ears never stop growing.

Lips are red due to the number of tiny capillaries that are just below our skins surface; blood in the capillaries contains oxygen, which creates the color red.