Veda #26 : Men Are Right, Women Are Left 11:02 PM

Day 26
Today's Fact : "Why are buttons sewn on the left side of women's clothing and on the right side of men's?"


Most of you probably don't know about this one, or even didn't care about this fact. Buttons have been used since ancient times to fasten or decorate clothing. But do you actually know that the button sewn on men's clothes are on the right side, but on women's clothes, its inverted?Amazingly, there were actually an explanation about this one.

In the 1200s, when fitted clothes took the place of loose robes tied by string or fastened by pins, buttons became popular. At that time, both men and women had buttons sewn on the left side of their garments, the same side as women do today. Then, during the Middle Ages, a change occurred. Men needed to unbutton their coats quickly to draw their swords, which hung on their left side. Since the sword was drawn with the right hand, it took a great deal of time for that same right hand to first undo the buttons. Therefore, men's buttons were changed to the right side so that a swordsman could use his left hand to unbutton his coat and immediately draw his sword with his right hand.

see those?can you spot the difference?

There's actually another theory, according to Metali Goswami of De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde, this particular fashion has its roots in the Victorian era, at a time when buttons were expensive and mostly worn by wealthy people. Women also had servants to dress them. Given that most people are right-handed, their buttons were placed on the servant's right, which is the wearer's left side. Men, on the other hand, dressed themselves so their buttons were placed on their right side. Those who could not afford servants copied the style of the wealthy, and women's buttons have remained on the left since.
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Veda #12 : 10:10 rules in clock's advertising 10:05 PM

Day 12
Question by : None - "Why clock's hands always pointing at 10:10, sometimes 10:08 or 10:12, in clock advertising or clock shop?"



Have you ever realized, that most of the clock used in clock's advertising, or the one that displayed at the clock shop, always set to default 10:10 time? except of course, the digital one. There are plenty of people out there who think that clocks in advertisements and in shop displays are set this way to memorize Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. because that was the time at which they were shot or died. Another theory has it that 10:10 was the time that an atomic bomb was dropped on either Nagasaki or Hiroshima, and the setting is in memory of the casualties. But apparently, that's not the reasons.

So what's the real reason for this default setting?
The truth? just Aesthetics. The 10:10 position gives the clock or watch a number of benefits:

• The hands not overlapping, so they’re fully and clearly visible and their styling can be admired.

• The arrangement of the hands is symmetrical, which people generally find more pleasant than asymmetry, making the product more appealing to customers.

• The manufacturer’s logo, usually in the center of the face under the 12, is not only visible, but nicely framed by the hands of the clock.

• Additional elements on the face (like date windows secondary dials), usually placed near the 3, 6, or 9, will still be visible.

According to the folks at Timex (who set their products at 10:09:36 exactly), the standard setting used to be used to 8:20, but this made the face look like it was frowning. To make the products look “happier,” the setting was flipped into a smile (occasionally, you’ll still see the 8:20 setting on some clocks or watches where the manufacturer’s logo is at bottom of the face above the 6).
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Veda #8 : Read Till You Drop! 10:24 PM

Day 08
Question by : Me - "What is the world's thickest book ever made?"

Agatha Christie - Queen of Crime

For you booklover, maybe you have read hundreds or even thousand of books, from thin to thick one. And of course, you must've known an author named Agatha Christie, queen of crime novel. Okay, now tell me, can you imagine all of the novels are bundled into 1 book?yes, one book, full of crime.

Agatha Christi has made many detective figures for her books. From Poirot to Miss Marple, from Tommy and Tuppence to Harley Quin. And now for the first time, for celebrating the first appearance of Miss Marple, all the Miss Marple stories (12 novels and 20 short stories) are collected and published in one volume, for fans and collectors only.

Geraldine McEwan starred as Miss Marple

The Complete Miss Marple runs to a staggering 4,032 pages. Its spine is 322 mm thick, weighing at around 8 kg. There are 68 crimes committed; 11 philandering lovers; 68 secrets and lies; 22 false accusations; 59 red-herrings and 21 romances. 43 murders are solved: 12 poisonings; six strangulations; two drownings; two stabbings; a burning; one blow to the head; one death by an arrow and two people pushed.

This is how the book looks like compared to it's reader...

The Thickest Book in The world

Though no one’s tried it yet, reading at a rate of 30 pages an hour, it would take around 134 hours to finish the book.

And here's the contender, i don't know if it was true or just a photoshop works, this book below actually thicker than Miss Marple's

WikiBook, how thick is that?

Offline Wikipedia...

This is the print version of Wikipedia (yes, consider this as an offline version of Wikipedia). Made by Rob Matthews, this book consists of 5000 pages, around 400 articles, and around 475mm in thick, and surprisingly, it only contain 0.01% of entire Wikipedia's site. Ever imagine how thick this book if the entire contents put in a book?

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Veda #7 : Street Vendor a.k.a Pedagang Kaki Lima 10:44 PM

Day 07
Question by : None - "Why Street Vendor in Indonesia called with Pedagang Kaki Lima (Five Feet Merchant)"

Street Vendor Lego Art by Sean Kenney

Note : Only in Indonesia :)
Simple question tonight, why actually street vendor in Indonesia called Pedagang Kaki Lima (or translated Five Feet Merchant)? Were they actually have 5 feet?it's impossible. Many people had their own joke and understanding about this name, the most popular one is because usually this merchant using a cart with 3 wheels to bring their goods, with those 3 wheels plus 2 of their feet, it makes them 5.

Other story said that this street vendors are illegal seller (not illegal according to their goods, but it's about how they put their "shop" in public places such as pedestarian, without proper consent), so they must prepare themselves to run fast if someday the police do screening at those public places.

But a story is just a story. Now i'm gonna reveal why they called Pedagang Kaki Lima. Well, not revealing actually, but at least this is the most logical explanation to this term.

Pedagang Kaki Lima, first introduced at us when Netherland was under Britain's administrative policy. At that time, General Governor of Netherland at Indonesia, Sir Thomas Raffles, instructed "left side traffic system" which means the automobile and anyone using the road must take left side of the road. He also announced about building a pedestarian walk at the outer left of the road, measured 31 cm in height, and 150 cm in width.

Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles

This 150 cm width equal to about Five Feet (remember, Netherland was under administrative policies of Britain, that's why tehy also use Europe measurement). By the time goes, merchants one by one start to sell their goods at the pedestarian. So that's why the merchants at that place called "Pedagang Kaki Lima" or "Five Feet Merchants"

This is so Indonesia...hohoho

Satisfied? :)

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Veda #4 : Who Is The Oldest Human Ever Live In Earth? 7:03 PM

Day 04
Question by : Aileen Halim - "Who is the oldest human ever live in earth?"


Okay, today's question a lil bit ambiguous, did you mean the oldest human at present time?or the oldest human ever live (that means, they already died but they live for more than 100 years)?Several peoples already claim their longevity due to their extreme age above 110 years a.k.a Supercentenarian. This claims need to be approved by Guiness Books Of World Record or fully verified according to the standards of the Gerontology Research Group. Anyway, not a big problem, i'll find the most correct answer to reveal, who is our Supercentenarian. First, let's split into 2 categories : The oldest living human and the oldest human ever. Then, let's divide those 2 categories into female and male group. One more thing, I wrote the answers based on the source and cross-checked the references up until 4th of January, 2010 ; not according to Guiness Book of World Records as i found out that the book isn't too up-to-date (or at least, i can't find the up-to-date version).

And now, the winners are :
A. Oldest Human Ever Lived
A.1 Oldest Female Ever Lived

Jeanne Louise Calment, 112 years old

Age when passed away : 122 years 164 days
Jeanne Louise Calment, born on February 21 1875, a year before Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone and 14 years before Alexandre Gustave Eiffel built his tower. It seems like Longevity runs in her family as well. Her older brother, François, lived to the age of 97, her father to 93, and her mother to 86. She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, and outlived both her daughter and grandson. The French had their own theories about why she lived so long, noting that she used to eat more than two pounds of chocolate a week and treat her skin with olive oil, rode a bicycle until she was 100, and only quit smoking five years ago. She passed away on 4th of August 2009.

A.2 Oldest Male Ever Lived

Christian Mortensen, age 115

Age when passed away : 115 years, 252 days
Thomas Peter Thorvald Kristian Ferdinand Mortensen (August 16, 1882 – April 25, 1998), known as an adult as Christian Mortensen, was a Danish-American supercentenarian. By the time he died, he had become (and still is) the oldest male ever whose age is undisputed. From March 1995 until his death on April 25, 1998, during this time, he was blind and could no longer walk on his own, but he was mentally aware and could carry on an intelligent conversation (when he wanted to) almost until the end. He always preferred a vegetarian diet and said the key to longevity is to "live a good, clean life." One of his greatest passions in life was a fine Danish cigar.

B. Oldest Human Living
B.1 Oldest Female Living

Kama Chinen, 114 years old

Age at the present days (4th of January, 2010) : 114 years, 239 days
Kama Chinen born 10 May 1895 from Okinawa, Japan, is, at the age of 114. The world's oldest female living up until now. Kama Chinen took over the vacant title left by Gertrude Baines, 115 years old, when she died of heart attack Friday, September 11, 2009 in LA, California. In September 2008, Kama Chinen was reported to be in a wheelchair: "Though her daily activities require assistance, she enjoys going outside in a wheelchair with a nurse, the ministry said."

B.2 Oldest Male Living

Walter Breuning at his 113, still looks healthy!

Age at the present days (4th of January, 2010) : 113 years, 105 days
Walter Breuning (born September 21, 1896) is an American supercentenarian with the 113-year-old, considered to be the world's oldest man, attributes his long life to eating well and keeping physically and mentally active. On September 2009, the world's oldest man has celebrated his 113th birthday - revealing he takes one aspirin a day to stay healthy. Mr Breuning is in such good shape that he still strolls the halls of the retirement home, wearing a suit and tie, and walks the ramps to his second-floor apartment.

GOD BLESS THIS PEOPLES!!
oh btw, here's a fun fact for you : From 10 oldest people that are still living in this world, 9 of them are FEMALE (rank 1-9) and 1 MALE at the last position. :)

Satisfied? :)
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Veda #3 : Why Only 160?? 9:21 PM

Day 03
Question by : none - "Why i can only type 160 characters when i'm sending text message?"

Have you ever experience something like this : you want to talk about things with your friends, families, or colleagues, then you're texting them, trying to explain something, but unfortunately the text has reached its limit at 160 characters?
why only 160 you asked? (or in this case, i'm the curious one). There seem to be varying stories about the history of SMS, some say it’s the amount of characters on a typical postcard, yeah right, based on the research, most of the postcard sent contain about 150 letters, more or less. But i'm not talking about postcard tonight, hoho, maybe some other time, i'll find the answers.


Now, we know who resposible for the limitation. Once at 1985, a Germany named Friedhelm Hillebrand sat in front of his typewriter, alone in a room in his home in Bonn, and typing randomly several questions, and random things that came across his mind. He then realized that he was never type or use letters more than 160 characters. (my question is : why did he do that?don't he had something to do beside counting the letters?).

Friedhelm Hillebrand

Anyway, based on that magic number, he asked all the GSM carriers at that time to use 160 as texting limit. He could do that because, unfortunately, his position as the chief of non-voice services comittee of Global System for Mobile Communication Group at 1986. This format is still used up until now and being used by one of the social networking site, Twitter. (what?you want to know why Twitter use this number too?)

Here's a hint or quick tip for you who want to text someone about something long (err...referring to the long story, not the story about long thing) and doesn't want to be trapped with this limitation, use this : "call me!important!" :p

Satisfied? :)
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