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What does "Cala Boca Galvao" mean?
Is it a bird? Is it a song? Is it a homeopathic remedy? Cala Boca Galvao is translated "Shut up, Galvão".
So all day on Friday, Brazilians were posting the shut-up comment. Inevitably, others asked what the words meant. That was when the real mischief began. At 2 a.m. on Saturday, a Brazilian wrote in English that it was a bird. (In fact, the Portuguese word for hawk, "gavião," is close to Galvão.) An online petition to save the bird was published; a flier was circulated promising 10-cent donations for each post. The Brazilian author Paulo Coelho wrote on Twitter: "CALA BOCA GALVÃO is the Brazilian version of a homeopathic remedy SILENTIUM GALVANUS."
By dawn Saturday, Fernando Motolese, a comedian and audiovisual producer in São Paolo, Brazil, had started work on his one-minute video. He recruited a British actor, Stewart Clapp, to do the voice-over. "It took about 32 hours to make, without sleep," Mr. Motolese said by phone on Tuesday. The video rallies support for a Brazilian scientist who has devised a special birdhouse to protect the few remaining Galvãos.
The video, posted Sunday night on a Brazilian humor blog and also YouTube, has been viewed a half-million times. By Tuesday evening, "Cala Boca Galvão" remained the leading Twitter subject in the world.
Read full article in New York Times
#facts
Origin of the names of the days
The names of the days are in some cases derived from Teutonic deities or, such as in Romance languages, from Roman deities.
Sunday
The name comes from the Latin dies solis, meaning "sun's day": the name of a pagan Roman holiday. It is also called Dominica (Latin), the Day of God. The Romance languages, languages derived from the ancient Latin language (such as French, Spanish, and Italian), retain the root.
Monday
The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon monandaeg, "the moon's day". This second day was sacred to the goddess of the moon.
Tuesday
This day was named after the Norse god Tyr. The Romans named this day after their war-god Mars:dies Martis.
#education#factsThe most common words imported from Hindi
Indian language is not as difficult as we think. There are many words that we use frequently without knowing their Indian origin.
1. Karma
The mysterious concept of karma - what goes around comes around - is ruling our lives at a linguistic level too. "Karma" comes from Hindi and it is imported in all languages (it seems that everyone believes in karma or fears it)
2. Jungle
Another common word known by almost everybody on this planet. When you're lost in the jungle, don't worry, you'll know at least 2 words to say to the natives: "karma" and "jungle".
3. Guru
Everyone has the same image of the guru. So why inventing the wheel? Sometime in the history, all the gurus of the world had a congress and decided to keep this word in all languages. Even the French Academy agreed to embrace this word, even if they like to be different.
4. Cushy
Cushy comes from Hindi khush (pleasant). Imagine a comfortable Indian room, with plenty of pillows on the floor, diffuse light, relaxing music and oriental scents. This is cushy!
5. Bandanna
Bandanna is a large silk handkerchief or neckerchief usually figured and brightly coloured. It is a very old word with Indo-European roots. This is why there are so many ways to fold a bandanna!
6. Avatar
The most common word used in social networks has also a hindi root.
In Hinduism, avatar is the manifestation of a deity, notably Vishnu, in human, superhuman, or animal form.The word spread in the European world too, but with an abstract meaning of archetype, personification. the Avatar film is a reference for the concept.
It's a sunny day to tip
Whether can influence the tip amounts, according to psychologists.
#facts#psychologyAt an Atlantic City hotel where the room design masks outside conditions, Temple University psychologist Bruce Rind discovered that a room service waiter could boost his tips simply by mentioning favorable weather. When the server told guests that it was raining, tips averaged 19 percent of the bill. But describing sunny skies sent the gratuity rate soaring to 24 percent.
via Psychology Today
The blue M&M
The little blue candies M&M contain a cure for the spinal injuries, scientists say.
Researchers have tested the the effects of a compound called "Brilliant Blue G" on lab rats. They injected the rats with this blue food dye and found out that it relieved pain and improved recovery.
Before you start selecting the blue M&Ms and put them into the aid kit, you should know that they have a limited time to action (15 minutes after the injury takes place) and it is absorbed only intravenously and one side-effect is that the rat's skin turned blue.
Istanbul, Turkey - the city of 2 continents
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city located on 2 continents. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on 2 continents.
#facts#travelChicago Polonia
Next to Warsaw , Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.
Polonia is the proper term for the Polish Diaspora outside of Poland.
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