Even if you don’t like chickens you may find some of these facts intriguing. For example, the chicken is the closest living relative to the T-Rex. There are over 3 billion chickens in China alone. Some breeds of chickens can lay colored eggs. The Ameraucana and Araucana can lay eggs of green or blue.

The most eggs laid by a chicken in one day is seven. If you make the chickens think it’s daylight, even at night, they’ll lay eggs that are bigger with harder shells. The largest recorded size of a chicken egg was 12 oz and measured 12-1/4″ in diameter. The greatest number of recorded yolks in one egg was 9.

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9296/chicken_trivia_fun_and_facts.html?cat=2

The German drug company Bayer named its new over the counter drug “Heroin” in 1895. The name was derived from the German word “heroisch” (heroic) due to its perceived “heroic” effects upon a user. However it was chiefly developed as a morphine substitute for cough suppressants that did not have morphine’s addictive side-effects; morphine at the time was a popular recreational drug so Bayer wanted to find a similar but non-addictive substitute to market. However, contrary to Bayer’s advertising as a “non-addictive morphine substitute,” heroin would soon have one of the highest rates of dependence amongst its users.

Read More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin

People with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor, according to new research.

A team of scientists has tracked down a genetic mutation that leads to blue eyes. The mutation occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, so before then, there were no blue eyes.

“Originally, we all had brown eyes,” said Hans Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.

The mutation affected the so-called OCA2 gene, which is involved in the production of melanin, the pigment that gives color to our hair, eyes and skin.

“A genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a ‘switch,’ which literally ‘turned off’ the ability to produce brown eyes,” Eiberg said.

The genetic switch is located in the gene adjacent to OCA2 and rather than completely turning off the gene, the switch limits its action, which reduces the production of melanin in the iris. In effect, the turned-down switch diluted brown eyes to blue.

Read More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22934464/

Yes, the banana is a berry. Berries are identified as being many seeded with a fleshy inner layer. So, technically a banana is a berry. And, believe it or not, bananas don’t grow on trees! Originally from Asia, the “banana tree” is really not a tree in the true sense. In fact, banana plants have no wood fiber. The banana plant is the world’s largest herb and a member of the lily family. Bananas grow in tropical areas all around the world where the weather is sunny and hot, and there’s plenty of rain.

Source: http://www.fcs.okstate.edu/cnep/ask/answers/banana.htm

Koalas are not bears. They are MARSUPIALS, which means that their young are born immature & they develop further in the safety of a pouch. It’s incorrect to call them ‘koala bears’ Their correct name is simply ‘koalas’.

Q: Why do we sneeze?
A: Sneezing is a way that your body gets rid of bad things that are in your nose. These things might be bacteria, germs, and other things.

When you suddenly you see a bright light like the sun or a light bulb then you feel like you are going to sneeze. Most people feel like you do when you see the light. Actually 1 out of 3 people sneeze when they see the bright light. Those people are “Photic Sneezers.” Photic really is another word for light. Photic sneezing is something that you get from one of your parents because it is something that runs in one side of your family.

Q: Can you sneeze with your eyes open?
A: Some people can sneeze with their eyes open and some people can’t. Sneezing is a reflex and so is closing our eyes. We have no control over whether or not we close our eyes when we sneeze. Some people don’t have reflex, so when they sneeze then their eyes won’t close.

Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112390/sneezing.htm

An experimental aircraft has set a record for hypersonic flight, flying more than 3 minutes at Mach 6 — six times the speed of sound.The X-51A Waverider was released from a B-52 Stratofortress off the southern California coast Wednesday morning, the Air Force reported on its website. Its scramjet engine accelerated the vehicle to Mach 6, and it flew autonomously for 200 seconds before losing acceleration. At that point the test was terminated.The Air Force said the previous record for a hypersonic scramjet burn was 12 seconds.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100527/ap_on_sc/us_hypersonic_flight

Some 1.2 billion people suffer from obesity