Polar bear

HISTORY

In 1252, King Haakon IV of Norway sent a polar bear to London as a present to King Henry III. It was the first polar bear seen in Britain.

King Henry kept the polar bear at the Tower of London. The sheriffs of London provided twopence a day for the bear's upkeep and when this ran out, it was allowed to catch fish in the River Thames.

The King commanded that the sheriffs provide a muzzle, chain and strong cord to hold the bear as it swam in the Thames.

Haakon IV gave polar bears to other monarchs including Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.

The first polar bear in America was exhibited in Boston on January 18, 1733. When asked what polar bears ate, the handler said "drunk Irishmen."

Polar bears were originally known as white bears. The term polar bear was first recorded in 1781.

A starving polar bear in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard attacked a party of British school children on August 5, 2011. The team was camping near the Von Post glacier, some 25 miles (40 km) from the settlement of Longyearbyen when they encountered the emaciated bear. 17-year-old Horatio Chapple, a pupil of Eton College, died of injuries sustained and four others were hurt, two seriously, The bear was shot dead by one of the expedition's leaders, Spike Reid, who himself suffered severe facial injuries.

FAMOUS POLAR BEARS

Gus was a 700-pound (320 kg) polar bear and icon of the Central Park Zoo in New York City. He died aged 27 on August 27, 2013 after being visited by over 20 million people during his lifetime.

Gus came to public notice in the 1990s, when he began swimming obsessively in his pool for up to 12 hours a day. Reporters dubbed him "neurotic", "depressed", "flaky", and "bipolar," turning him into a "symbol of the stress of living in New York City". As part of his therapy and treatment, Gus was the first zoo animal in history to be treated with Prozac.

Gus in November 2011. By Marie-Lan Nguyen -  Wikipedia Commons

On December 13, 2017, Philadelphia Zoo celebrated their polar bear Coldilocks' 37th birthday, in her last few years she was the oldest polar bear in America. On February 20, 2018, Coldilocks,was euthanized after declining health including potential liver and spinal problems.

POPULATION AND REPRODUCTION

Because of expected habitat loss caused by climate change, the polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species.

International Polar Bear Day is an annual event organized by Polar Bears International every February 27 to raise awareness about the conservation status of the polar bear.

The latest estimate of the worldwide polar bear population by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature is 22,000 to 31,000, and the current population trend is unknown. Around 70 per cent are found in Canada.

Polar bears have a very slow reproductive rate, females typically having only five litters (usually of two cubs) in a lifetime.

For polar bears, a single mating session may last up to 65 minutes, with a male mating with the same female for as long as 10 days.

Mother polar bears nurse their cubs for as long as 30 months. Some cubs stop nursing as young as 18 months of age, but remain with their mothers for survival until they are 30 months old.

BEHAVIOR 

The polar bear is the most carnivorous of all bears. Their main diet consists of seals and fish.

AWeith Wikipedia 

Polar bears can smell seals 40 miles away.

Polar bears will eat almost anything they come across, however toxic - hence the need to keep them away from rubbish dumps.

When it comes to hunting, the polar bear is at a disadvantage. Most Arctic land animals can outrun it, and most marine animals can outswim it. They catch prey mostly by waiting patiently at seal breathing holes.

Polar bears often hunt walruses by simply charging at a group of them and eating the ones that were crushed or wounded in the mass panic to escape. Direct attacks are rare.

There is no evidence for the common belief that polar bears camouflage themselves by covering their black noses when hunting on the ice.

When polar bears are in a good mood they like to float on the surface of the water.

Unlike brown and black bears, polar bears do not hibernate.

ANATOMY

Polar bears fur is made up of a layer of dense underfur and an outer layer of guard hairs, which appear white but are in fact transparent. They reflect light, so they appear white.

Polar bears have so much blubber and fur for insulation that they are almost invisible when photographed with infrared film, which detects heat. The only part that can be seen is a spot in front of the bear's mouth made by its warm breath.

Polar bears have stiff fur on the soles of their feet which stops them from slipping on snow and ice as well as letting them move around silently.

The fur of bears kept in captivity can turn pale green, owing to algae forming inside the guard hairs.

The skin of a polar bear is black, which helps it to absorb more of the heat from the sun.

An adult male polar bear typically weighs around 351kg (775lb) or the weight of about five men. Females weigh half as much.

When born, the cubs weigh only about 500g, or 1lb.

The largest polar bear ever recorded was a male weighing in at 2,209lb - that's very nearly a ton.

Polar bears have 42 teeth.

Polar bears can run at 25 miles an hour and jump more than six feet in the air.

Polar bears don't slip because they have hairs on the soles of their feet that grip the ice

Polar bears are left handed.

FUN POLAR BEAR FACTS

The scientific name for the polar bear is Thalarctos maritimus from the Greek arktos, “bear”, and thalassa, “sea”.

Thalassarctine means of or pertaining to the polar bear.

One pound of polar bear liver contains enough vitamin A to fulfill a human's needs for 20 years.

In the 19th century a team of Arctic explorers all died from a vitamin A overdose caused by eating a polar bear’s liver.

It is customary for the residents of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada to leave their car doors unlocked in case someone needs to take shelter from a Polar Bear.

Source Daily Express

Poland

HISTORY

The name "Poland" originates from the name of a West Slavic tribe called Polanie that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, "Polanie" means "people living in open fields".

After his marriage to the Christian Dobrawa of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polanie, Mieszko I, converted to Christianity on April 14, 966, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state.

The word "Poland" was written officially for the first time in 966.

The coronation of King Bolesław I the Brave of Poland took place on April 18, 1025. He was the first Polish ruler to receive the title of rex (Latin: "king").

Coronation of the First King, by Jan Matejko.

Bolesław I died shortly after his coronation, most likely from an illness.

The earliest known contemporary depiction of a Polish ruler shows King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland, who ruled between 1025 and 1031, being presented with a Liturgical book by Matilda of Swabia (see below).

Kraków was the headquarters and the place of coronation of Polish kings and the nation's capital from 1038 until the move to Warsaw in 1596.

The first Mongol invasion of Poland started on March 18, 1241. Led by Subutai and Batu Khan, the Mongol army crossed the border of the Kingdom of Poland and launched a devastating campaign that resulted in the destruction of several major cities, including Krakow and Sandomierz. The invasion was part of the larger Mongol Empire's conquest of Europe, which also included campaigns in Hungary and the Balkans. 

The Mongols withdrew from Poland later that year after the death of their leader, Ögedei Khan, and their defeat in the Battle of Legnica.

In 1569, Poland formed a strong union with Lithuania called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe with a uniquely progressive political system.

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent after the Truce of Deulino, which was signed on December 11, 1618. It concluded the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia. In the years 1618–1621 Poland covered an area of 990 000 km.²

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth after the Truce of Deulino. By Maciej Szczepańczyk.

Russia, Prussia and Habsburg Austria began the First Partition of Poland to help restore the regional balance of power in Eastern Europe among those three countries on August 5, 1772.

The Polish Constitution of May 3, was the first codified national constitution in Europe and the second ever in the world after that of the United States. It was adopted by the Great Sejm (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on May 3, 1791. The document was designed to redress the Commonwealth's political defects, which conferred disproportionate rights on the nobility (szlachta) and over time had corrupted politics. It was referred to as "the last will and testament of the expiring country" and was in effect for only 14 months and 3 weeks.

Constitution of May 3rd, enactment ceremony inside the Senate Chamber at the Warsaw Royal Castle, 1791

Russia and Prussia, fearing the mere existence of a Polish state, arranged for, and in 1793 executed, the Second Partition of the Commonwealth, which left the country deprived of so much territory that it was practically incapable of independent existence.

The popular and distinguished general Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who had several years earlier served under Washington in the American Revolutionary War, led Polish insurrectionists against numerically superior Russian forces in the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising. Despite the victory at the Battle of Racławice, he was ultimately defeated.

The highest mountain in Australia, Mount Kosciuszko, was named after General Tadeusz Kosciuszko.

In 1795, the Commonwealth was partitioned one last time by Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria, and with this, it effectively ceased to exist.

Stanisław II August, the last King of Poland acceded to the throne in 1764 and reigned until his abdication on November 25, 1795.

Stanisław II August, the last King of Poland

The partition ended Poland's independent existence for 123 years. The core of the country became the Grand Duchy of Warsaw under the protection of Napoleon I in 1807.

After the failed Napoleonic Wars, Poland ceased to exist as a political entity, and was divided between the victorious powers Russia, Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the Congress of Vienna of 1815.

The November Uprising was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. It began on November 29, 1830 in Warsaw when young Polish officers from the military academy of the Army of Congress Poland revolted, led by Lieutenant Piotr Wysocki. Large segments of the peoples of Lithuania, Belarus, and Right-bank Ukraine soon joined the uprising.

Although the insurgents achieved local successes, a numerically superior Imperial Russian Army under Ivan Paskevich eventually crushed the uprising. The Russian Emperor Nicholas I issued the Organic Statute in 1832, according to which henceforth Russian-occupied Poland would lose its autonomy and become an integral part of the Russian Empire. Warsaw became little more than a military garrison, and its university closed.

Shortly after the armistice with Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic.  Józef Piłsudski assume supreme military power on November 11, 1918, which is recognized as the symbolic first day of Polish independence.

White and red were officially adopted as the Polish national colors in 1831. They derive from the colors of the coats of arms of the two constituent nations of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The national flag was officially adopted on August 1, 1919.

Poland’s flag is the same as Indonesia’s but upside down.

General Józef Haller de Hallenburg first performed the symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea on February 10, 1920, at the port of Puck (Putzig). The ceremony symbolized the restored Polish access to the Baltic Sea that was lost in 1793 by the Partitions of Poland.

In 1921, Poland defeated Soviet Russia in the Polish-Soviet War that started in 1919, which reaffirmed its independence.

Gabriel Narutowicz took office as the first president of Poland on November 11, 1922. Tragedy struck just five days later when Narutowiczwas was assassinated at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw by painter and right-wing nationalist Eligiusz Niewiadomski.

Narutowicz in his office, just days before the assassination

Poland lost independence again not long after the beginning of World War II, after suffering a defeat by both the USSR and Nazi Germany. Although the government collapsed, the Polish people fought on by forming the largest and most effective resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Europe. It succeeded in disrupting German supply lines to the Eastern Front of World War II, provided military intelligence to the British, and saved more Jewish lives in the Holocaust than any other Allied organization or government.

The Polish government wrote a White Book with proof of the mass extermination of Jews in German occupied Poland and gave it to the United Nations on December 10, 1942.

20% of Poland's population died in World War II, the highest percentage of any nation.

Grave of a Polish Home Army resistance fighter 

After the war, Poland became a communist country within the Eastern Bloc. The new government was appointed by Joseph Stalin and was under the control of the Soviet Union.

The 2,120 ft Warsaw Radio Mast, the world’s then-tallest structure, was completed on May 18, 1974. It collapsed in August 1991.

The radio mast in Konstantynów, Poland.

The lyrics of U2's song "New Year's Day" refer to the movement for solidarity lead by Lech Walesa in Poland. After it was recorded, Poland announced they would abolish martial law, coincidentally, on New Year's Day, 1983.

In 1989, Poland ceased being a communist country and became a liberal democracy, holding its first free elections in more than 40 years.

Poland's change of government was the first in a series of events that led to the states of Eastern and Central Europe regaining their independence and the fall of the USSR in 1991. After the democratic consolidation, Poland joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.

Flags of Poland and the European Union

FUN POLAND FACTS

The oldest restaurant in Europe is located in Wrocław, Poland. Piwnica Swidnicka has been operating since 1275.

Outside view from 1859

Bigos, often translated into English as hunter's stew, is a Polish dish of finely chopped meat of various kinds stewed with sauerkraut and shredded fresh cabbage.

Each side of the main square in Krakow, Poland is 200 metres long.

Polish people marry the youngest within the European Union (26.5 years old for men and 24 years old for women on average).

Nearly 35% of the 60 million Poles live abroad and large Polish speaking communities can be found in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Argentina and Brazil.

Poker

Poker is a card game in which two to eight people play (usually for stakes), and try to obtain a hand of five cards ranking higher than those of their opponents. The one with the best scoring hand wins the central pool.

The name Poker is believed to be descended from the 18th century French game poque. However there are also references to the German game pochspiel which also contains an element of bluffing.

HISTORY

Poker closely resembles the Persian game of as nas, and may have been taught to French settlers in New Orleans by Persian sailors. It is commonly regarded as sharing ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero, the French brelan and the English three-card brag.

English comedian Joe Crowell reported in Thirty Years Passed Among the Players in England and America (1844), seeing poker being played on a Mississippi steamboat en route to New Orleans in 1829. The game was played with a deck of 20 cards, using only the aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens. The four players placed bets on which player's hand was the most valuable.

The earliest contemporary reference to poker occurs in J. Hildreth's Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains, published in 1836,

Jonathan H. Green, in Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (1843), mentions rules to what he described as the “cheating game”, which was then played on Mississippi riverboats, on which gambling was a common pastime.

By 1850 the full 52-card English deck was being used, and the flush was introduced.. Meanwhile the game was being spread from the Mississippi to the rest of the country by riverboats.

During the American Civil War, many additions were made, including draw poker, stud poker (the five-card variant), and the straight.

Officers of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry playing cards in front of tents. Petersburg, Virginia,1864

FAMOUS POKER PLAYERS

Jack McCall shot Wild Bill Hickok (James Butler Hickok) in the back as he played poker at a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory on August 2, 1876. McCall was hanged.

Hickock's last hand is said to have included the ace of clubs, the ace of spades and two black eights. This has been known as 'dead man's hand' ever since.

James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, photograph date unknown

President Warren G Harding was obsessed with poker. He once included an entire set of priceless White House china in a bet and lost it.

Richard Nixon was an excellent poker player. He was so good that his first campaign for the House of Representatives was mostly funded by poker winnings from his time in the navy.

The actor Toby Maguire took up tournament poker in 2004. Molly Bloom, who runs the world's most exclusive high stakes poker game, nicknames him 'Hannibal Lecter' because of his ruthless attitude at the table.

Antonio Esfandiari once held the record for the greatest prize money won in a poker tournament. A one-time professional magician, on July 3, 2012 he bagged $18.3 million (£13.8 million) in Las Vegas. He sometimes uses his magic skills at the poker tables, performing tricks for his opponents to distract them.

Antonio Esfandiari 2007.jpg 

The single greatest prize money won in a poker tournament is $20.56 million, which was won by Bryn Kenney in the Triton Million for Charity in London in 2019. The Triton Million for Charity was the largest poker tournament ever held in terms of buy-in, and it had a prize pool of $111.11 million.

FUN POKER FACTS

The game and jargon of poker have become important parts of American culture and English culture. To call someone's bluff means to challenge a person on their stated intention. In the game of poker, (which was formerly known as bluff), calling someone's bluff meant making an opponent show their hand to reveal its value was weaker than the heavy betting suggested.

The phrase up the ante, meaning, to increase the risks to gain a bigger reward, originated in the 1800s. It comes from playing poker where an 'ante,' money in the pot, is typically required before a player can take part.

The potential for Royal Flush in poker is 1 in 649,740.

Pokémon

Pokémon is a media franchise that is owned by The Pokémon Company, a Japanese consortium between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.

The name Pokémon is the romanized contraction of the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters.

"Pokémon" is identical in both the singular and plural, as is each individual species name; it is grammatically correct to say "one Pokémon" and "many Pokémon", as well as "one Pikachu" and "many Pikachu".

HISTORY

The Pokémon franchise is based on the concept of catching, collecting, raising, trading, and battling with hundreds of different creatures. This concept was first thought of by Pokémon executive director Satoshi Tajiri, albeit with a different concept and name, around 1989 or 1990, when the Game Boy was first released.

The concept of the Pokémon universe, in both the video games and the general fictional world of Pokémon, stems from the hobby of insect collecting, a pastime which Satoshi Tajiri enjoyed as a child.

The Pokémon franchise began as a pair of video games for the original Game Boy that were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo on February 27, 1996.

Pokémon is now represented in many types of media and spans video games, trading card games, animated television shows and movies, comic books, and toys.

Pokémon - I Choose You!, the pilot episode of the Pokémon anime series was first broadcast in Japan on April 1, 1997 and premiered in the United States on September 8, 1998.

Ash with his newly received Pokémon; Pikachu from the pilot episode

An episode of the anime called Dennō Senshi Porygon (Electric Soldier Porygon in the United States) was first shown in Japan on December 16, 1997. One part of the episode showed quickly flashing red and blue lights, which caused 685 Japanese children to have epileptic seizures  Because of this, the anime went on a four-month break, and several laws were put in place regarding the flashing lights.

In 1998 Nintendo of America brought the series over to America. Pokémon's first stop in the country was Topeka, Kansas. For one day the city renamed itself ToPikachu in celebration of the popular species of Pokémon.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II gave his blessing to the Pokémon franchise. This was reported by the Italian Bishops' Conference's satellite TV station, Sat2000, which said that the games did not have "any harmful moral side effects" and were based on "ties of intense friendship."

The Pope's blessing was seen as a positive endorsement of the Pokémon franchise, which was facing some criticism at the time from some religious groups. These groups were concerned about the games' violence and their promotion of evolutionism.

In 2002, researcher Andrew Balmford found that eight-year-old British children could identify 80% of Pokémon, but only 50% of common wildlife species.

The Pokémon character Pikachu served as the mascot for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The video games have sold more copies than every other series except Nintendo's Mario series.

Pokemon is the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, beating out Star Wars by over $16 billion.

POKEMON SPECIES

Although there are 802 different species of Pokémon, most people will know of the mascot of the company, an electric mouse Pokémon known as Pikachu.

Pikachu. By Promotional press kit material for the Pokémon series. Artwork by Ken Sugimor

The Pokemon Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are based on Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.

If Pokémon were real, Blastoise's water cannons would shoot at Mach 4 — which would blow a hole right through a human.

Jynx, a species of Pokémon, was criticized because it looked like it was using blackface. It was especially an issue in the United States', where critics insisted that the species enforced a negative stereotype against African Americans. As a result the Jynx now has purple skin instead of black skin, and anime episodes featuring it with its old skin color have been banned.

POKEMON GO

Pokémon Go is a free-to-play, location-based augmented reality game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. In the game, players use a mobile device's GPS ability to locate, capture, battle, and train Pokémon, who appear on the screen as if they were in the same real-world location as the player.

Pokémon Go got its start in an April Fool's joke by Google and The Pokemon Company in 2013, called "Pokemon Challenge".

Following the release of Pokémon Go on July 6, 2016, Nintendo's share price rose by 50%.

Pokémon Go earned an estimated $200 million in its first month for Nintendo and developer Niantic.

It took 75 years for 100 million people to get access to the telephone; "Pokemon Go" hooked that many users in less than one month in 2016. That is how fast the digital revolution is compared to other transformations.

At the height of Pokémon Go,  several players tried sneaking into a highly classified military explosives plant in Virginia because a Charizard was reportedly located inside the arsenal.

By September 2016, Pokémon Go had been downloaded over 500 million times worldwide, and became the fastest game to make over $500 million in revenue.

Pentagon employees are banned from playing Pokemon go inside the building because the users' movements are inadvertently mapping the insides of the Pentagon for all to see.

Poison

HISTORY

Poison was discovered in ancient times, and used by ancient tribes and civilizations as a hunting tool to quicken and ensure the death of their enemies or prey.

Grooves for storing or holding poisons have been plainly found in the hunting weapons and tools of early humans, showing that ancient peoples had already discovered poisons of varying potency and applied them to their weapons.

Gu was a poison created in Ancient China by placing scorpions, centipedes and snakes in a jar and having them fight. The poison would be drawn from the survivor and then used to incapacitate enemies.

Classical Greek philosopher Socrates committed suicide by drinking a hemlock potion after he was sentenced to death for the crime of corrupting youth and flouting the state.

The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

At the time of the Roman Empire, one of the more prevalent uses was assassination. The first known instance of the crime of poisoning at Rome was in 331 B.C., when a high mortality was said to be caused by some poisons prepared and administered by 20 Roman matrons. On being forced to drink their own concoctions to prove the charges false, they perished by their own wickedness.

Later, Nero used cyanide to dispose of unwanted family members.

Mithridates VI King of Pontus who reigned around 114–63 BC, lived in constant fear of being assassinated through poison. He was paranoid to the point that he administered daily amounts of poisons in an attempt to make himself immune to as many toxins and venoms as he could. Later in his life, Mithridates tried to kill himself via poisoning but failed because he had developed resistance over the course of his reign.

For many years it was suspected Clement II, Pope for only nine months before his death in October 1047, was murdered by his successor, Benedict IX. A mid-20th century toxicological analysis of his remains confirmed he’d been poisoned by lead sugar. this toxin was used to sweeten wine since the days of the Romans. It is not clear, however, whether he was murdered or whether the lead sugar was used as medicine.

Arsenic became a popular method for murder during the Middle Ages because the symptoms it produced, such as stomach pain, were similar to cholera which was rife at the time.

When the Spanish introduced the potato to Europe, most Europeans were originally suspicious of them. This was in part because people realized that the potato is a member of the nightshade family, all of which are very poisonous.

The 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning was the arsenic poisoning of more than 200 people in the English city of Bradford. Sweets accidentally made with arsenic were sold from a market stall, killing 21.

In 2010, there were approximately 727,500 emergency department visits in the United States involving poisonings—3.3% of all injury-related encounters.

In 2013, poisoning resulted in about 180,000 deaths worldwide, down from 200,000 in 1990.

FUN FACTS

The skull and crossbones has long been a standard symbol for poison.

Toxic house plants poison more children than household chemicals.

Broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprouts all contain a little bit of cyanide—eating them primes your liver to deal better with other poisons.

A quarter of the residents in a small Argentinian village have a genetic immunity to arsenic after centuries of drinking poison-laced water.

The Poison Garden at Alnwick, Northumberland in North East England, features some of the world’s most deadly plants. A sign on the gate warns: “These plants can kill”.

Poison ivy is not a true ivy. It belongs to a different plant family.

Poison Ivy foliage during autumn leaf coloration in Ewing, New Jersey. By Famartin  Wikipedia

If poison ivy is smoked, it can cause a rash on the inside of the lungs and even respiratory failure.

Mangoes and pistachios are in the same family as poison ivy.

The poisonous liquid that the Apheloria Virginiensis giant millipede secretes—which includes cyanide—smells like cherry cola.

Victims who ingest puffer fish poison from wrongly-prepared sushi experience symptoms that are similar to nerve gas and die of asphyxiation.

Poinsettia

The poinsettia, traditionally an American Christmas flower, was originally grew in Mexico.

HISTORY

Poinsettias were used by the Aztecs to produce red dye and as a medication for fever.

In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuitlaxochitl, meaning "flower with leather petals" and it was believed to represent the new life that warriors attain in battle.

The name of the plant in Mexico, "Nochebuena" literally means "a good night" in Spanish, but this is also the name that is given to Christmas Eve, so for Mexicans, this is the Christmas Eve flower.

Leaves, bracts, and flowers at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in  India. By J.M.Garg 

The plant's association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where a peasant girl, commonly called Pepita or Maria, was anxious to bring a gift in celebration of Jesus' birthday to the Christmas Eve service. She had nothing of value, though, so she went empty-handed. On her way to the church she met an angel, who told her to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Miraculously, crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became poinsettias.

Franciscan friars in Mexico started to include the plants in their Christmas celebrations from the 17th century and the Poinsettias became popular decorations for Mexican churches and homes during the Christmas festival.

A red Poinsettia. By André Karwath aka Aka  Wikipedia Commons

The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus.

The poinsettia - pronounced "poyn-SET-ee-ah" or "poyn-SET-ah" - is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, who served as the USA's first ambassador to Mexico, from 1825 to 1829. During that time he came to admire a shrub with brightly-colored red leaves encircling small, greenish-yellow blossoms, which the Mexicans had adopted as their Christmas flower. He liked it so much that he sent specimens back to the USA, where they soon flourished.

Poinsett grew the beautiful plants in his Greenville, South Carolina plantation and gave them out as gifts to friends.

Poinsettia Day was officially declared by an Act of Congress. It is in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett, who died on December 12, 1851.

DESCRIPTION

The true flowers of the poinsettia are small and yellow. They are surrounded by much larger, colourful modified leaves called bracts. The bracts turn most often from green to a bright red during flowering, but they can also be orange, pale green, cream, pink, white, or marbled.

In Mexico, the poinsettia is a perennial shrub that can grow up 12 feet high. In the US commercial growers have bred dwarf varieties that can thrive as potted plants.

Today, the poinsettia is the highest selling potted flowering plant in U.S.

Sources Europress Encyclopedia,  About.com, Stl Public Radio

Pogo stick

The modern pogo stick was invented by Germans Max Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall and patented in Hanover in March 1920. They called their device a "spring end hopping stilt".

In 1922 a British patent was awarded to Walter Lines for a "new or improved hopping-pole for use in exercise or in playing games".

The two-handle pogo stick design was patented by George B. Hansburg in 1957.

By Srd2005 - Own picture,  Wikipedia Commons

The word 'pogo' is thought to be made up of the first two letters of the German inventors' names, though Hansburg said that 'Pogo' was the name of a Burmese girl he had seen whose father had created a crude version of the device so that the daughter could travel to the local temple for prayers.

The sport of Extreme Pogo, or Xpogo, was introduced around 1999 using poles that can reach around 10 feet.

By Xpogo - Wikipedia Commons

The official record for the highest jump on a pogo stick is 3.378 m (11 ft 0.99 in) by Russian athlete Dmitry Arsenyev.

The longest pogo stick marathon is 206,864 bounces, achieved by James Roumeliotis (USA) at Pogopalooza 8 in Costa Mesa, California, USA on July 29, 2011. Roumeliotis bounced for 20 hours and 13 minutes for the marathon held at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Roumeliotis started bouncing at 10:00am on July 29th and finished at 6:13am on July 30th. He used a X-Pogo Elite pogo stick and wore a protective helmet and knee pads. Roumeliotis is the first person to break the 200,000 bounce barrier.

Source Daily Express