Things You Didn't Know

After conquering the moon and setting a permanent presence for mankind in space with the International Space Station (ISS) the next step in space exploration, and the hardest ever attempted, will be to set foot on our closest neighbour, planet Mars.

Everybody can benefit from using a computer, whether you’re an office worker, a student, a teacher or a doctor, using technology for work and leisure has become a common thing to do. It wasn’t always the case, before the eighties, having a computer was expensive and it was reserved for very specific uses only. Nowadays, in the era of personal computers (the PC), the power of electronics is accessible to everyone.

Microwaves are now part of our every day life without us really realizing what is going on inside this small appliance that have revolutionized cooking ever since its introduction in the seventies. But really, besides being very convenient, the thought of your food getting “nuked” isn’t very reassuring. Is it really safe to eat food possibly contaminated with electrons? And is it possible to get cancer from an overdose of radiations from the oven? People are sensitive about their health, especially when it comes to mixing two things that really shouldn’t go along: radiation and food.

“What a beautiful car, it looks just like a beetle” was the surprised reaction of a woman in the Volkswagen factory looking at a new model that would thereafter be called by that name. That little thing certainly wasn’t the fastest or the most spacious car around, but it still became a landmark of efficiency and ingenuity. Using a very simple design, the Beetle was used by millions to make it one of the world’s most popular car. Its production started just before the Second World War and today, the car is still manufactured in its original version. Not to mention “The New Beetle” introduced in 1998. There are many remarkable things about this little car, and there are a lot of stories hidden beneath its hood.

Is the name Alan Smithee familiar to you? Well he is a movie and TV director that has been in showbiz since the 1960s and he is credited with a lot of material that you have seen. So what’s so mysterious about him? Well although his name appears on the credits of over 50 films, nobody has ever met or seen him; simply because Smithee is a pure invention of the world of cinema. It’s simple, every time a director is not happy about its work, he can go to the American Guild of Directors to have his name replace by Alan Smithee. There is a lot going on in Hollywood that the film industry doesn’t want you to know, and the “Alan Smithee mystery” tells a lot about it.

From March to October, on every second Sunday, the attention of millions of people is directed on a single event: The Formula One Grand Prix. Since its creation in 1950, only the drivers at the top of their art are taking part in this competition where the cars are equally as good. The competing racing teams spend lavishly to bend the laws of physics and sometimes, also, those of sportsmanship. The only rule that stays is Darwin’s “survival of the fittest”. There is little room for mistakes in this world of extremes.

You’re staring at a five-pound tumor. Underneath your fingertips, a chunk of landfill space. And humming beside you is an environmental time-bomb with Intel inside.

If you’re a junk mail (or spam) victim, you’re not the only one. The phenomenon is taking epidemic proportions, and the time and money losses are so high, that spam is now just as harmful as computer viruses. The truth is spammers are so successful that the plague is far from slowing down.

Do you want to become rich? Are you tired of paying bills and being a slave to your boss? If so, I have something for you: how would you like to get your hands on one of Earth’s greatest treasures and for absolutely free! That’s right, no need to buy an expensive package from Mind Magazine, or to work hard to get an costly MBA degree, all you have to do is to sit back comfortably and read through this article.

You have probably heard car advertisements (on television or in magazines) that say some cars are very efficient in their fuel consumption. That’s a myth; all cars guzzle gas no matter how you look at it. A drastic change is needed in the very near future, or ‘Generation Y’ (80s) will have to pay a very hard price to put the environment back on track. Burning fuel like crazy to save 20 minutes in transportation is not the ideal solution. Of course, a car is a great commodity, but a fuel car equals pollution. And that’s why a change is needed.