Top 10 Facts about International Tiger Day

Global Tiger Day, often called International Tiger Day, is an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation, held annually on 29 July.

It was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit.

The goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues.

The seventh annual Global Tiger Day was celebrated in various ways around the world. 

Local events have been organized in Bangladesh, Nepal, and India as well as non-tiger-range countries such as England and the United States.

The tiger is the largest of the world’s big cats and this magnificent creature, with its distinctive orange and black stripes and beautifully marked face, has a day that is dedicated to it.

This was first celebrated in 2010 and was founded at an international summit that had been called in response to the shocking news that 97% of all wild tigers had disappeared in the last century, with only around 3,000 left alive.

Tigers are on the brink of extinction and International World Tiger Day aims to bring attention to this fact and try to halt their decline. 

Many international organisations are involved in the day, including the WWF, the IFAW and the Smithsonian Institute.

Many factors have caused their numbers to fall, including habitat loss, climate change, hunting and poaching and Tiger Day aims to protect and expand their habitats and raise awareness of the need for conservation. 

Top 10 Facts about Victor Hugo

Victor Marie Hugo  was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement.Victor Marie Hugo  was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement.

His brothers were Abel Joseph Hugo (1798–1855) and Eugène Hugo (1800–1837). He is considered to be one of the greatest and best-known French writers of all time.

In France, Hugo is known primarily for his poetry collections, such as Les Contemplations (The Contemplations) and La Légende des siècles (The Legend of the Ages). He produced more than 4,000 drawings in his lifetime, and campaigned for social causes such as the abolition of capital punishment.

He is buried in the Panthéon in Paris. His legacy has been honoured in many ways, including his portrait being placed on French currency. Hugo's childhood was a period of national political turmoil.

In 1848, Hugo was elected to the National Assembly of the Second Republic as a conservative. Hugo's advocacy to abolish the death penalty was renowned internationally.

Hugo published his famous political pamphlets against Napoleon III, Napoléon le Petit and Histoire d'un crime. Victor Hugo fought a lifelong battle for the abolition of the death penalty as a novelist, diarist, and member of Parliament.

He had also pleaded for Benito Juárez to spare the recently captured emperor Maximilian I of Mexico but to no avail.  He was in Paris during the siege by the Prussian army in 1870, famously eating animals given to him by the Paris zoo.

On 9 April, he wrote in his diary, "In short, this Commune is as idiotic as the National Assembly is ferocious.  Victor Hugo, who said, "A war between Europeans is a civil war" was an enthusiastic advocate for the creation of the United States of Europe.

He expounded his views on the subject in a speech he delivered during the International Peace Congress which took place in Paris in 1849.  On July 14, 1870 he planted the "oak of the United States of Europe" in the garden of Hauteville House where he stayed during his exile on Guernsey from 1856 to 1870.

Hugo suffered a mild stroke on 27 June 1878. Two days before dying, he left a note with these last words: "To love is to act". Hugo's death from pneumonia on 22 May 1885, at the age of 83, generated intense national mourning.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Oskar Fischinger

Oskar Wilhelm Fischinger (22 June 1900 – 31 January 1967) was a German-American abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter.

He made over 50 short films, and painted around 800 canvases, many of which are in museums, galleries and collections worldwide.

Among his film works is Motion Painting No. 1 (1947), which is now listed on the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.

He invented a "Wax Slicing Machine", which synchronized a vertical slicer with a movie camera's shutter, enabling the efficient imaging of progressive cross-sections through a length of molded wax and clay.

Fischinger apprenticed at an organ-building firm after he finished school until the owners were drafted into the war.  Fischinger attended a trade school and worked as an apprentice, eventually obtaining an engineer's diploma.

In Frankfurt, Fischinger met the theatre critic Bernhard Diebold, who in 1921 introduced Fischinger to the work and personage of Walter Ruttmann, a pioneer in abstract film. Inspired by Ruttmann's work, Fischinger began experimenting with colored liquids and three-dimensional modelling materials such as wax and clay.

Upon arriving in Hollywood in February 1936, Fischinger was given an office at Paramount, German-speaking secretaries, an English tutor, and a weekly salary of $250.

He prepared a film which was originally named Radio Dynamics, tightly synchronized to Ralph Rainger's tune "Radio Dynamics". This short film was planned for inclusion in the feature film The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936).

In 1924, Fischinger was hired by American entrepreneur Louis Seel to produce satirical cartoons that tended toward mature audiences. "In 1926 and 1927, Fischinger performed his own multiple projector film shows with various musical accompaniments.

Fischinger died in Los Angeles in 1967. A great deal of inaccurate information continues to be published about Fischinger, largely taken from decades-old sources, often repeated online.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about International Yoga Day

It is commonly and unofficially referred to as Yoga Day, is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015.

An international day for yoga was declared unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 11 December 2014

It is also called Yoga Day, World Yoga Day, UN International Yoga Day.

The word "yoga" is said to come from the Sanskrit root "yuj," meaning "to join."

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his UN address suggested the date of 21 June, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world.

It was the Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who first supported Mr. Modi for his unique proposal.

More than 100 cities in United States of America will host a ‘Yogathon’ on International Yoga Day

The idea of an International Day of Yoga was the first proposed by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi during his speech at the UNGA, on 27 September 2014

INDIA POST released commemorative Stamps, First Day Covers and Minisheet on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga on 21 June, 2015.

The Reserve Bank of India released two commemorative coins of denominations ₹ 10/- and ₹ 100/- on the International Day of Yoga.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Go Skateboarding Day

Go Skateboarding Day (GSD) is an official annual holiday conceived by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) to promote skateboarding.

The holiday was started in California for Rob Dyrdek's work done for the community's skateboarders.

 It is usually marked on June 21. The holiday was conceived in 2004

This holiday is celebrated by millions of skaters around the world.

On July 14, 2002 when New Yorkers Kerel "Srikala" Roach and Bryan Chin organized the first All City Skate Jam and circulated flyers for a day-long gathering of skaters from all walks for life

 The day was a celebration that gained attention from other pros and larger businesses, including the International Association of Skateboard Companies, which, a year later, christened June 21 Go Skateboarding Day by 5boro Skateboards founder/owner, Steve Rodriguez.

Celebrate Go Skateborading Day in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2014 we let the streets to demand ours rights, after all, many of us skaters from Brazil are workers, students, or people looking for a job in the labor market.

North Florida's Hemming Plaza hosts an annual Go Skate Day celebration

Nike sponsored a large Go Skateboarding Day event in Cologne. Hundreds of skateboarders joined in to celebrate Go Skateboarding Day in Lima, Peru

Vans hold an annual celebration of Go Skate Day in Singapore. In 2014, hundreds of skaters showed up at Sommerset Skate Park for the event.

Top 10 Interesting Facts World Hydrography Day

Hydrography is the science of surveying and charting bodies of water, such as oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers.

World Hydrography Day, 21 June, was adopted by the International Hydrographic Organization as an annual celebration to publicise the work of hydrographers and the importance of hydrography

The date chosen for World Hydrography Day is the anniversary of the founding of the International Hydrographic Organization

The observance of the day emphasizes importance of hydrography particularly in protection of marine reserves and also promotion of safe navigation in international waters and ports.

IHO  was established as the International Hydrographic Bureau in 1921.

In 2005 the IHO adopted the concept of a World Hydrography Day, which was "welcomed" by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution A/RES/60/30 Oceans and the law of the sea

World Hydrography Day was adopted, in the words of the UN, with the aim of: ... giving suitable publicity to its [IHO's] work at all levels and of increasing the coverage of hydrographic information on a global basis ...

Once a theme is agreed, the IHO Member States, international and national hydrographic organisations and services develop activity programs and events that highlight the annual theme.

It  is determined by the member states of the International Hydrographic Organization and is intended to promote the importance of hydrography internationally, multilateral cooperation and effective collaboration in data exchange, charting and standards development.

The theme for 2017 is "Mapping our seas, oceans and waterways - more important than ever"


Themes of World Hydrography Day
2017: Mapping our seas, oceans and waterways - more important than ever
2016: Hydrography - the key to well-managed seas and waterways
2015: Our seas and waterways - yet to be fully charted and explored
2014: Hydrography - much more than just nautical charts
2013: Hydrography - underpinning the Blue Economy
2012: International Hydrographic Cooperation - supporting safe navigation
2011: Human Resources - The important element to the success of hydrography
2010: Hydrographic Services - the essential element for maritime trade
2009: Hydrography - Protecting the marine environment
2008: Capacity Building, a vital tool to assist the IHO in achieving its mission and objectives
2007: Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs); an essential element of safety at sea and efficient maritime operations

Top 10 Interesting Facts World Humanist Day

World Humanist Day is a Humanist holiday celebrated annually around the world on the June solstice, which usually falls on June 21.

According to the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), the day is a way of spreading awareness of Humanism as a philosophical life stance and means to effect change in the world.

The holiday developed during the 1980s as several chapters of the American Humanist Association (AHA) began to celebrate it

From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the AHA and IHEU passed resolutions declaring World Humanist Day to be on the northern summer solstice.

The manner in which World Humanist Day is celebrated varies considerably among local Humanist groups, reflecting the individuality and non-dogmatism of Humanism as a whole.

World Humanist Day has not yet become a fully celebrated holiday in all Humanist organizations, although many of them are beginning to recognize it and plan events and activities around the holiday.

In 2013, the first National Humanist Day will be organized in The Netherlands.

The Humanists of Florida Association has recommended groups hold Introduction to Humanism classes on World Humanist Day.

The Humanist Association of Ireland held poetry readings in the park to celebrate the day.

Some groups actually develop intricate social rituals, music, and proceedings which highlight the metaphoric symbolism of the solstice and the light (knowledge) which brings us out of darkness (ignorance).

Top 10 Interesting Facts about World Giraffe Day

World Giraffe Day is an exciting annual event initiated by GCF to celebrate the longest-necked animal on the longest day or night of the year – 21 June – every year!

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is excited to announce that World Giraffe Day – 21 June 2017 is dedicated to saving Masai giraffe in Kenya and Tanzania.

By supporting World Giraffe Day (WGD) you directly help save giraffe in Africa. With only 100,000 giraffe remaining in the wild, the time is right to act NOW!

According to the GCF blog, this year, World Giraffe Day 2017 focuses on the Masai giraffe in southern Kenya and Tanzania.

Zoos, schools, NGOs, governments, institutions, companies and conservation organisations around the world are hosting events on 21 June every year to raise awareness and support for giraffe in the wild

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Cleveland Zoo Society are committed to securing a future for giraffe.

Not only is it a worldwide celebration of these amazing and much loved animals, but an annual event to raise support, create awareness and shed light on the challenges giraffe face in the wild.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation, based in Namibia, is dedicated solely to the conservation of giraffe and its habitat and works closely with African and international government and non-government organizations, universities and other partners.

Giraffe populations in the wild have decreased 40% in the last decade. There are now fewer giraffe in the wild than African elephants.

Giraffes, like this baby pictured in Japan a few years back, are loved the world over. So the world pauses each year on June 21, or near that date, to pay tribute to the beautiful, neck-mazing beasties.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about World Music Day/ Fete de la Musique

The first World Music Day was celebrated in the year 1982, in Paris.

The Fête de la Musique, also known as Music Day, Make Music Day or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration taking place on 21 June.

World Music Day is the brainchild of former French minister of culture, Jack Lang, who wanted to encourage more people to take up music seriously and professionally.

Over 700 cities across 120 countries, including Germany, Italy, Greece, Russia, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, the United States, and Japan celebrate World Music Day on june 21.

Amateur and professional musicians are encouraged to perform in the streets, under the slogan "Faites de la musique" ("make music", a homophone of Fête de la Musique).

In the western world, we are familiar only with scale, that known as the diatonic scale which should be familiar to anyone who took music classes or choir in school. But this is not the only or even the first scale that music can use.

There’s the chromatic scale, which has 12 notes instead of the 7, and the octatonic scale, which has 8 notes, but these are just the beginning.

The best way to Celebrate World Music Day is to spend the day listening to all your old favorites, and if you’re truly feeling adventurous start exploring YouTube for music from different cultures

Unlike other music festivals, the World Music Day allows any and every one to showcase their musical prowess.

Many free concerts are organized, making all genres of music accessible to the public. Two of the caveats to being sanctioned by the official Fête de la Musique organization in Paris are that all concerts must be free to the public, and all performers donate their time for free.

Top 10 Facts about World Sickle Cell Day

The 19 of June, has been chosen to celebrate every year the World Sickle Cell Day in order to raise awareness of the disease in the world.

It was celebrated first time on 19th of June in 2009.

It focuses on raising awareness of sickle-cell disease, also known as sickle-cell anemia, which is the most frequent genetic disorder worldwide.

Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder, characterized by an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin molecule in red blood cells.

This Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008 in order to increase the awareness about the sickle cell disease and its cure among the common public.

It is celebrated annually by the active participation of the various government organizations, health funding agencies, non-government organizations, NGOs and other health organizations.

It is celebrated to develop courage among public and support them through the educational and dramatic activities aiming to remove social stigma and myths about sickle cell anemia.

Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents.

SCD is most prevalent in Africa, Asia, North and South America and parts of Italy and Greece

All the doctors will be given the good training facility for better prevention, research work and proper implementation of the resources minimizing disease complications.

WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY THEME
2016 -  Exhibit courage and address ineffective areas of support
2015 - Stop your Silence and Share your Truth
2014 - Break the Silence on Sickle Cell Disorder
2013 - know your sickle cell status
2012 - Keeping Hope Alive
2011 - Educate and Unite
2010 - Awareness, Education and Hope
2009 - The Burden of Sickle Cell Disease – a Public Health Approach
2008 - recognition of sickle-cell anemia as a public health problem

Top 10 Facts about LIGO

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool.

The three most prominent physical differences between LIGO, a gravitational wave observatory, and astronomical observatories- First - LIGO is blind, Second - LIGO is the opposite of round. , Third - LIGO cannot function alone.

LIGO operates two gravitational wave observatories in unison: the LIGO Livingston Observatory (30°33′46.42″N 90°46′27.27″W) in Livingston, Louisiana, and the LIGO Hanford Observatory, on the DOE Hanford Site (46°27′18.52″N 119°24′27.56″W), located near Richland, Washington.

LIGO’s arms are so long that the curvature of the Earth is a measurable 1 meter (vertical) over the 4 km length of each arm.

Construction of LIGO's original gravitational wave detectors was completed in 1999.

Length: 4,000 m (13,123 ft 4 in) , Wavelength: 43–10000 km; (frequency 30–7000 Hz)

LIGO will be used for research into the nature of gravity, and it will open up an entirely new window onto the universe. It will thus be a scientific tool both for physics and for astronomy.

The gravitational waves detected by LIGO on that fateful day were generated by two black holes colliding and merging into one nearly 1.3 BILLION light years away!

LIGO-India, or INDIGO, is a planned collaborative project between the LIGO Laboratory and the Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations (IndIGO) to create a world-class gravitational-wave detector in India

LIGO is designed to detect a change in distance between its mirrors 1/10,000th the width of a proton! This is equivalent to measuring the distance to the nearest star to an accuracy smaller than the width of a human hair!

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Gilbert Baker

Gilbert Baker was born June 2, 1951, in Chanute, Kansas. His mother was a teacher, his father was a judge and his grandmother owned a women’s clothing store.

Gilbert Baker, the creator of the rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBT community, is being celebrated with a Google Doodle on what would have been his 66th birthday.

He said the clothes and fabrics interested him from a young age.   In 1984, he designed flags for the Democratic National Convention. He came out as gay when he was 19.

Baker told the New York Times he was outgoing as a child, but felt like an outcast because he was gay.

Baker served in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972. He worked as a medic and was stationed in San Francisco.

Baker designed displays for Dianne Feinstein, the Premier of China, the presidents of France, Venezuela, and the Philippines, the King of Spain, and many others.

He worked at a military hospital, treating injured soldiers who had served in the Vietnam War

In 1979, Baker began work at Paramount Flag Company in San Francisco, then located on the southwest corner of Polk Street and Post Street in the Polk Gulch neighborhood.

He was discharged honorably in 1972 and stayed in the city, joining the movement.

He became friends with Harvey Milk, Cleve Jones, who was his roommate, and other leaders.

Top 10 Interesting Facts About the Rainbow Pride Flag

The rainbow flag, commonly known as the gay pride flag or LGBT pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride and LGBT social movements

The most common variant consists of six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is typically flown horizontally, with the red stripe on top, as it would be in a natural rainbow.

Gilbert Baker was an American artist and gay rights activist who designed the rainbow flag in 1978

There are several independent rainbow flags in use today. The most widely known worldwide is the pride flag representing LGBT pride.

The original gay pride flag flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.

The flag originally consisted of eight stripes; Baker assigned specific meaning to each of the colors: Hot pink-sex, Red- life, Orange - Healing,Yellow - Sunlight, Green - Nature, Turquoise- Art, Indigo - Harmony, Violet - Spirit

The largest LGBT pride flag was 30 feet wide and 1 mile long. The giant rainbow flag was carried by more than 10,000 people during New York’s Gay Pride parade in 1994. The parade was in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

Hot pink is no longer a non-standard color in flag fabric production. Baker was recently able to create the world’s longest Rainbow Flag – restored to its original eight colors – to celebrate the flag’s silver anniversary.

In 1989, the rainbow flag came to nationwide attention in the United States after John Stout sued his landlords and won when they attempted to prohibit him from displaying the flag from his West Hollywood, California, apartment balcony.

Spirit Day, the first observance of which took place on October 20, 2010.The name Spirit Day comes from the purple stripe of the rainbow flag, whose creator Gilbert Baker defined it as "representing 'spirit'".

Top 10 Facts about Gold

The word "gold" comes from the Old English word "geolu," meaning yellow.

Aurophobia is the fear of gold

Gold is a chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number 79.

Gold has been discovered on every continent on earth.

The world's largest gold bar weighs 250 kg (551 lb).

In its purest form, it is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal.

Gold is edible.

Around 161,000 tons of gold have been mined by humans.

Chemically, gold is a transition metal and a group 11 element.

Six ten-billionths of the Sun is gold.

Top 10 Facts about Robots

Who made the first robot in the world?
The first digital and programmable robot was invented by George Devol in 1954 and was named the Unimate.

Where was the term robotics first used?
It was the brainchild of a brilliant Czech playwright, novelist and journalist named Karel Čapek (1880-1938) who introduced it in his 1920 hit play, R.U.R., or Rossum's Universal Robots. Robot is drawn from an old Church Slavonic word, robota, for “servitude,” “forced labor” or “drudgery.”

How robots have changed?
Over the years, robots have changed from being stationary and simply performing one specific task to being multi-tasking, mobile machines. Understand how far robotic technology has come since 1770 with information from an electrical and computer engineering professor in this free video on robots.

Who discovered the robot?
The term robot was first used in the 1920's in Karel Čapek's play, R.U.R, long before any metal mechanizations were invented. There was no discovery of robots.

When did the first robot appear?
1495- Designs for a humanoid robot

What is Robotica?
Robotica is a robot combat show (similar to the early seasons of Robot Wars) produced for the American television cable channel TLC, a subsidiary of the Discovery Channel.

How was the word robot coined?
But it's really a new word to the English language. It was the brainchild of a wonderful Czech playwright, novelist and journalist named Karel Capek. He lived from 1880 to 1938. And he introduced it in 1920 in his hit play "RUR," or "Rossum's Universal Robots."

What are the different types of robots?
There are six main types of industrial robots: cartesian, SCARA, cylindrical, delta, polar and vertically articulated.

What is an autonomous robot?
Autonomous robots are intelligent machines capable of performing tasks in the world by themselves, without explicit human control. Examples range from autonomous helicopters to Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner.

What is a social robot?
A social robot is an AI (artificial intelligence) system, such as an android, that is designed to interact with humans and possibly also with other robots.