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 #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 #2 : Kingdoms in the world 7:25 PM

Day 02
Question by : Babypunk - "How many kingdoms are left in the world?"

The Supreme Leaders in the World

(click the image for larger size)

Based on the dictionary, kingdom is a state, territory, lead by an absolut monarchs or by supreme leader. Monarchs have various titles, including king or queen, prince or princess, emperor or empress, or even duke or grand duke or duchess. Many monarchs also are distinguished by styles, such as "Majesty", "Royal Highness" or "By the Grace of God."
and now the question is : how many kingdoms are left in the world?

To answer this, let's list all the kingdoms in the world. However, i'm not gonna mention the name of kingdom under subnation.
Let's start alphabetically :
1. Andorra - Co-Princes Nicolas Sarkozy
2. Bahrain - King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah
3. Belgium - King Albert II
4. Bhutan - King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
5. Brunei - Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
6. Cambodia - King Norodom Sihamoni
7. Denmark - Queen Margrethe II
8. Japan - Emperor Akihito
9. Jordan - King Abdullah II
10. Kuwait - Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
11. Lesotho - King Letsie III
12. Liechtenstein - Prince Hans Adam II
13. Luxembourg - Grand Duke Henri
14. Malaysia - King Mizan Zainal Abidin
15. Morocco - King Mohammed VI
16. Monaco - Prince Albert II
17. Netherland - Queen Beatrix
18. Norway - King Harald V
19. Oman - Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said
20. Qatar - Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani
21. Saudi Arabia - King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
22. Spain - King Juan Carlos I
23. Swaziland - King Mswati III
24. Sweden - King Carl XVI Gustaf
25. Tonga - King George Tupou V
26. Thailand - King Bhumibol Adulyadej
27. United Kingdom - Queen Elizabeth II
28. Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI

FYI, there is a reason why they called Great Britain with United Kingdom. There are 15 countries in the world that unite under Great Britain's monarch. They are : Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevise, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Island, and Tuvalu.
Therefore, they only have one supreme leader, under Queen Elizabeth of UK monarch.

So, that makes there are only 28 kingdoms left in the world, out of 195 countries.

Satisfied? :)
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