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Saturday, December 7, 2013

62 Facts About Italy You Probably Didn't Knew

Unknown - 2:57 AM
  1. The name Italy comes from the word italia, meaning “calf land,” perhaps because the bull was a symbol of the Southern Italian tribes.
  2. Italy is approximately 116,400 square miles (including Sicily and Sardinia), which is slightly larger than Arizona.
  3. Italy is one of the most crowded nations in Europe. Its population is estimated to reach 58,126,212 by July 2009. The population of United States is estimated to reach 307,212,123 by that same date.
  4. The capital of Italy is Rome (also known as the Eternal City) and is almost 3,000 years old. It has been the capital since 1871 and is home to the Dome of St. Peter's, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum, and the famous Trevi Fountain.
  5. The official name of Italy is the Italian Republic (Repubblica Italiana).
  6. Italy is said to have more masterpieces per square mile than any other country in the world.
  7. mountainous hill
    Nearly 80% of Italy is either mountainous or hilly
  8. Almost four-fifths of Italy is either mountainous or hilly.
  9. In 2007, a dog named Rocco discovered a truffle in Tuscany that weighed 3.3 pounds. It sold at auction for $333,000 (USD), a world record for a truffle.
  10. The Italian wolf is Italy’s unofficial national animal and plays a large role in the legend of the founding of Rome.
  11. The author of “Pinocchio” (“pine nut”), Carlo Collodi (1826-1890), was Italian.
  12. When McDonald's opened in 1986 in Rome, food purists outside the restaurant gave away free spaghetti to remind people of their culinary heritage.
  13. italian cheese
    Italians created parmesan, provolone, mozzarella, and many other cheeses
  14. Parmesan cheese originated in the area around Parma, Italy. Italians also created many other cheeses, including gorgonzola, mozzarella, provolone, and ricotta. No one knows when the pizza was invented, but the people of Naples made it popular.
  15. The University of Rome is one of the world’s oldest universities and was founded by the Catholic Church in A.D. 1303. Often called La Sapienza (“knowledge”), the University of Rome is also Europe’s largest university with 150,000 students.
  16. There are two independent states within Italy: the Republic of San Marino (25 square miles) and the Vatican City (just 108.7 acres).
  17. Italy’s San Marino is the world’s oldest republic (A.D. 301), has fewer than 30,000 citizens, and holds the world’s oldest continuous constitution. Its citizens are called the Sammarinese.f
  18. Vatican City is the only nation in the world that can lock its own gates at night. It has its own phone company, radio, T.V. stations, money, and stamps. It even has its own army, the historic Swiss Guard.
  19. Most of Italy’s natural flora and fauna has disappeared due to centuries of cultivation. Most of its natural wildlife has also disappeared due to over-hunting.a
  20. Italians suffer more earthquakes than any other Europeans. In 1693, an estimated 100,000 people died in an earthquake in Sicily. The most deadly recent quake in Italy occurred in Naples in 1980, killing 3,000 people.
  21. No other country in Europe has as many volcanoes as Italy. This is because the Italian peninsula stands on a fault line. Three major volcanoes (Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius) have erupted in the last hundred years.
  22. By the year 2000 B.C., Italic tribes (Oscans, Umbrians, Latins) had established themselves in Italy. They were followed by the Etruscans in 800 B.C. and the Greeks, who established colonies known as Magna Graeca in southern Italy (present-day Apulia). Rome was founded in 753 B.C., and soon thereafter the Romans began conquering the peninsula.
  23. At its height in A.D. 117, the Roman Empire stretched from Portugal in the West to Syria in the east, and from Britain in the North to the North African deserts across the Mediterranean. It covered 2.3 million miles (two-thirds the size of the U.S.) and had a population of 120 million people. During the Middle Ages, Rome had perhaps no more than 13,000 residents.
  24. Like most of Europe, Italy was ravaged in the middle of the fourteenth century by the Black Death, a combination of plagues (chiefly the bubonic) that were carried to Genoa by Italian merchants returning from the Middle East. The recovery stimulated growth and helped spawn humanism and the Renaissance.
  25. Two Italians in particular contributed to the eighteenth-century's Enlightenment: Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794), whose essays on Crime and Punishment led to broad reforms in the treatment of prisoners and criminals, and Giambattista Vico (1668-1774), a philosopher, rhetorician, and historian who is often thought to have ushered in a modern philosophy of history.
  26. move away
    From 1861 to 1985, more than 26 million people left Italy to seek a better life
  27. From 1861 to 1985, more than 26 million people left Italy (mostly from the overcrowded south) to seek a better life. Only one in four came home again.
  28. The highest peak in Europe is in Italy. Monte Bianco (White Mountain) is 15,771 feet high and is part of the Alps.
  29. Though Italy’s economy lagged behind the rest of Europe during the first half of the twentieth century, currently it is the world’s seventh largest economy.
  30. In northern Italy, last names tend to end in “i”, while those from the south often end in “o.” The most common Italian surname is Russo.
  31. Italian is a Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin, the dialect spoken by the people living during the last years of the Roman Empire. Italian has more Latin words than any other Romance languages, and its grammatical system remains similar to Latin. Latin is still the official language of the Vatican City in Rome.
  32. In the 1930s and 40s, Italian fascist Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) tried to eliminate foreign words from Italian. In soccer, “goal” became “meta” and Donald Duck became “Paperino.” Mickey Mouse became “Topolino” and Goofy became “Pippo.” While the ban was not permanent, the Italian names remain common.
  33. tourists italy
    Tourism accounts for nearly 63% of Italy’s national income
  34. Over 50 million tourists a year visit Italy. Tourism is vital to Italy’s economy and provides nearly 63% of Italy’s national income.
  35. Italian Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simon (1475-1564) was once thought to have painted in somber shades, but after his frescos on the Sistine Chapel were cleaned, it was discovered that he actually painted in bright colors, such as purples, greens, and pinks. Centuries of dirt and smoke from candles had toned down the bright colors. Some art historians argued that the restorers went too far in their cleaning efforts and removed the dark shadows Michelangelo intended.
  36. In 2008, Italian experts proposed insulating Michelangelo’s David from the vibrations of tourist footsteps to prevent the marble from cracking.
  37. Known as the “Three Fountains,” Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) are arguably the three most famous Italian authors of all time. Dante’s Divine Comedy (Divina Commedia) had tremendous influence on Italian literature, and he is considered the father of the Italian language.
  38. The pre-dinner passeggiata (evening stroll) is one of Italy’s most enduring leisure activities where Italians stroll about the streets to see and be seen.
  39. When European Jews were being persecuted during WWII, it was not unusual for some Jews to hide in Italy’s ancient catacombs.
  40. The Shroud of Turin is an ancient piece of linen cloth believed to bear the faint imprint of a male body, perhaps Jesus Christ after he was killed. It has been in the Turin’s San Giovanni Cathedral for at least 420 years. While scientists have determined the shroud was made no earlier than the 1200s, others continue to debate when and how the shroud was created.
  41. Begun in 1560 for Cosimo l de’ Medici, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is one of the oldest museums in the world and contains famous works by Michelangelo, Botticelli, and da Vinci.
  42. Approximately 85% of Italians are Roman Catholics, with Protestants, Jews, and a growing Muslim community making up the minority.
  43. soccer
    Italian soccer fans are calledtifosi, meaning ”carriers of typhus”
  44. Soccer is Italy’s most popular sport, and the famous San Siro Stadium in Milan holds 85,000 people. Italy has won the World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006), making the country’s team second only to Brazil's in number of wins.
  45. Soccer was introduced to Italians in the late 1800s by the British, but it was not until the 1930s under Mussolini that the sport took off on an international level.
  46. Soccer fans in Italy are called tifosi, meaning “carriers of typhus.” Italian soccer fans are known for their rowdy behavior and lack of inhibition.
  47. In 1454, a real human chess game took place in Marostica, Italy. Rather than fight a bloody duel, the winner of the chess game would win the hand of a beautiful girl. To commemorate the event, each September in even-numbered years, the town’s mainpiazza becomes a life-sized chess board.
  48. Italians claim to have taught the rest of Europe how to cook. Italy is responsible for introducing the world to ice cream (via the Chinese), coffee, and fruit pies. In addition to Belgium and France, Italy also claims to have made the first French fries. The first Italian cookbook was written in 1474 by Bartolomeo Sicci.
  49. Italy has hosted the Olympic Games three times. The 1956 Winter Games were held at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Zuel, and the Dolomite Alps. The 1960 Summer Olympics were held in Rome. And Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics.
  50. Italy’s birthrate is the second lowest in the Western world. Both political and church leaders have expressed concern and have offered rewards to couples who have more than one child.
  51. The biggest holiday in Italy is Christmas. Many people celebrate Christmas Eve with a huge feast, often featuring seafood. The Christmas season lasts until Epiphany, January 6, the date when the Three Wise Men are said to have reached Jesus’ manger.
  52. Italy is among the world’s leaders of the fashion industry. In the 1950s, Italian designers such as Nino Cerruti and Valentino led the world in creating stylish fashions. Additionally, Armani, Versace, Gucci, and Prada have become internationally recognized. Italy is also known for fine sports cars, such as the Ferrari and Lamborghini.
  53. The first violin appeared in Italy in the 1500s, probably from the workshop of Andrea Amati (1505-1578) in Cremona. The city later became the home of Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), the most famous of violin-makers.
  54. The world’s longest land tunnel is the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, which proves a 22-mile railway link between Switzerland and Italy.
  55. flag italy
    The Italian flag was heavily influenced by the French flag
  56. Influenced in part by the French flag, the Italian flag has evolved over several hundred years. The flag is vertically divided into three equal sections of green, white, and red, representing hope, faith, and charity. Another interpretation is that the green represents the Italian landscape, white represents the snow-capped Alps, and red represents the bloodshed that brought about the independence of Italy.
  57. Italy was one of the founders of the EU and is a member of the Group of Eight (G8), a forum for eight of the world’s most powerful nations.
  58. Venice, Italy, is one of the world's most beautiful and unusual cities. It was founded over 1,400 years ago on a collection of muddy islands in a wide and shallow lagoon. It has been sinking into the mud for centuries and is plagued by floods.
  59. The Sardinian islands are famous for their “witches” who make health potions for local people. The “witches” are usually women and they use a secret language that they pass on to their daughters.
  60. A part of northern Italy called Val Camonica contains about 350,000 petroglyphs that were created nearly 10,000 years ago.
  61. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian-born scientist. When he argued that the Earth revolved around the Sun, the Catholic Church imprisoned Galileo in his own house. The Church issued a formal apology in 1992.
  62. Italian citizens who are at least 18 years old can vote for the lower house in the parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. Citizens who are at least 25 years old can vote for the 315 members of the upper house, the Senate.
  63. Italy’s long coastline and developed economy draws many illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and Africa. Additionally, Latin American cocaine, Southwest Asian heroine, and organized crime have all found an active market in Italy.
  64. Many single Italian children live at home until their 30s, even if they have a job. The Italian family stands at the heart of Italian society.
  65. The world’s first operas were composed in Italy at the end of the sixteenth century. Opera reached the height of popularity in the nineteenth century, when the works of Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868), Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), and Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) became hugely popular. The late tenor Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007) is a national celebrity, and Claudio Monteverdi (c. 1567-1643) is regarded as the father of the modern opera.
  66. Leaning Tower of Pisa
    The Tower of Pisa is famous for leaning over 14 feet from the perpendicular
  67. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built in 1173 and began to lean soon after, probably due to a poorly laid foundation. During WWII, the Nazi’s used it as a watch tower. After reconstruction efforts in 2008, engineers declared the tower would be stable for at least another 200 years.
  68. The Arabs brought dried pasta to Italy in the thirteenth century (though fresh pasta was made before then). It was commonly eaten with honey and sugar; tomato sauce was not added until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The old-fashioned way of eating pasta was with the fingers, arm held high and head tilted back. Pasta traditionally was made by the mother of the household, who passed the precious technique to her daughters. There are currently more than 500 different types of pasta eaten in Italy today.
  69. The language of music is Italian. The word “scale” comes from scala, meaning “step.” And andante allegropresto, and vivace are just a few of the many Italian musical notations. [SOURCE]

Friday, December 6, 2013

Natural remedy to lighten dark lips within a week

Unknown - 2:26 PM
Lighten Dark LipsThere are many things on a face that is visible to other but not really to one’s self. This is because we get used to seeing those flaws on our face. But visible problems like dark lips can’t really be hidden from the naked eye. Rosy lips are always the most appealing part of a girl. Today in this fast world, no one has the time to wear lip gloss, lipsticks or balms all the time. You don’t need to be an expert to realize that there is something wrong with your diet or health that is causing your lips to lose their rosy color. It isn’t natural for lips to appear so dark. There is always a cause or two in such scenarios. So this article will help you understand why lips lose their color and how to bring that color back.
Prominent causes:
Everything has a reason; similarly, there are many reasons for people to lose the rosy color of their lips. These include:
  • Smoking is a main cause of dark lips. This is visible in both girls and boys who smoke. The lips lose their color because of the constituents of the cigarette. Smoking itself is injurious to health. Not only does it affect your health and damage your organs from the inside but change your appearance from the outside as well, making you sluggish.
  • Drugs can also make your lips dark and your eyes pale. They have a bad impact on our health otherwise. Drugs have the capability to make you lose your senses and you are not aware of what your intake is. Drug abuse in any case isn’t allowed.
  • Coffee is another cause of dark lips. Caffeine brings about many changes and one of these is pale skin and dark lips. Caffeine is also present in tea and dark chocolate. So control your intake of such high caffeine content products.
  • Sun exposure also causes your lips to change color and lose health. Ultraviolet rays are responsible for such changes on the skin. They may cause allergies, and even sunburns. So keep yourself protected from the sun, wear a scarf or a hat.
  • Lipsticks also have such chemicals that can make your lips lose color. Check your lipsticks and their use as well, don’t apply lipstick on daily basis, not even lip balms and lip glosses. These are after all chemical products and cause damage to our lips.
Perfect remedies available:
Women might compromise on their diet, but they will never compromise on their skin and facial features at risk of being damaged. Especially when it comes to something so crucial as the lips, we see that dermatologists have configured easy home remedies for them to try at home and make their lips luscious pink again. Only with continuous use can you truly contain this natural pink color and a shine on your skin. A few tips and tricks are mentioned below; make sure you follow them properly for excellent results:
  • Oil Massage: you may apply any oil, such as castor oil, almond oil and even mustard oil. Many people even apply petroleum jelly or Vaseline on their lips. Applying them at the time of bed gives the oil enough time to soak into the skin of the lips and make them genuinely soft and pinkish in shade. Also try mixing Castor oil and almond oil and then applying its mixture on the lips.
  • Chill the lips: yes chill your lips with ice cubes. Massage the ice cube on the lips so that it brings back its nourishment. Also try experimenting by applying lip balm and then giving your lips an icy massage. This will give a string feeling to your lips and will make you feel good later.
  • Honey: it is a natural compound used for years for the treatment of many ailments. Yet, skin and lips have always had a honey application for a fairer and glowing effect. Honey nourished the lips and give sit the perfect pink color that you desire. Apply honey whenever you can during the day or night when you can.
  • Berries: berries have always brought the best color of the lips out and even. Eating strawberries, raspberries and other delicious berries can give your health as well as juicy sweet lips that aren’t dark anymore.
  • Use of dairy products: at night before sleeping, apply yogurt on your lips and massage well. The contents of the yogurt itself will make your lips soft and rosy pink. Dairy products have habit of providing skin and our body with elements that are essentially needed for existence.
Over all, take much care of your lips and your health. Bad or dark lips just show that you are either doing something wrong with your health or that you aren’t least bothered, both cases aren’t good enough. Take much care of your health. [SOURCE]

A Sperm Donor Fathered Hundreds of Children FTW!

Unknown - 8:22 AM


In college, most people just get a part-time job at Star-bucks to make some extra cash. But, University of Utah student Chase Kimball, known as 007, consistently donated his sperm at a price of $20 to infertile couples. At one point the clinic told him, “You’ve got too many kids locally and we can only use your sperm if someone orders it from outside the state.” He deduced that during 1970-1980, it is likely that he fathered “hundreds of children.” This story along with movies like “The Switch” and “The Kids are Alright” may seem funny, but they actually bring light to the shaded nature of the sperm donation industry.


Up until now, donation has mainly been a secret and often unsafe practice. In fact, some studies have shown that the children of sperm donation were more troubled and depression-prone that most young adults. There have been calls to regulate the industry by ensuring that there are no more than 10 kids from the same donor in one area, testing donors, and monitoring both donor’s and children’s medical records. Kimball is now a 56-year old lawyer in New York City. He has reunited with some of his children, and received mixed results.

While he identified with one of his teenage off-springs, the other one called him a “scam artist” and a “sleazoid.” Remembering his younger days, Kimball said; "For a long time, whenever I'd see crowds of children, I would look intently and wonder if one of these children was mine."


(Source)


There's a town in Austria named Fucking. The mayor has to go to these extreme measures to protect the signage!

Unknown - 8:17 AM
The Austrian town of Fucking has erected theft-proof road signs embedded in concrete blocks.’

Officials acted because they were fed up with English-speaking tourists stealing them as souvenirs.

After the last ‘Welcome to Fucking’ sign was stolen, Mayor Siegfried Hauppl ordered brand new theft-proof road signs.

They are bolted and welded to steel posts embedded in concrete in the ground and the mayor added: “It would take all night to steal one.”

Fucking always attracts a lot of attention in the summer months, with tourists driving up from nearby Salzburg to pose for pictures in front of the Fucking signs.

But Mayor Hauppl said that while the money tourists spent in the area was welcome, locals were fed up with having to replace the signs.[SOURCE]

22 Computer Facts that you didn't heard before

Unknown - 7:28 AM



  1. The day after Internet Explorer 4 was released, a few Microsoft employees left a 10 by 12-foot Internet Explorer logo on Netscape's front lawn with a message that said "We love you" at the height of the browser wars in the late 90s.
  2. Google logs each search queries into its systems to enhance future search.
  3. All the three founders of YouTube Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim were working for Paypal when they started YouTube.
  4. The domain name www.youtube.com was registered on Valentines Day (February 14, 2005).
  5. One of the biggest leaps in Google's search engine usage came about when theyintroduced their much improved spell checker giving birth to the "Did you mean..." feature. This instantly doubled their traffic.
  6. The first ever video that was uploaded on Youtube is by Jawed Karim (one of youtube founders) titled "Me at zoo" on April 23rd, 2005. This video is all of 18 seconds long.
  7. Anthony Greco, aged 18, became the first person arrested for spim (unsolicited instant messages) on February 21,2005.
  8. The 80's arcade game Phoenix was the first game ever, to introduce the concept of end-level bosses. The game had players shoot their way through an alien mothership's defences.
  9. The first game to incorporate real time audio effects, or basically, the difference in the same sound in different physical environments was Duke Nukem 3D. When the player shot his gun in the water, the sound would be muffled and gurgly.
  10. The GNU license was around since 1976, the GNU Emacs were the first machines to be released with this license.
  11. Sony introduced the 3.5 inch floppy in 1981.
  12. In 2003, a 14-year old Romanian boy collapsed and was hospitalised because he had been playing Counter Strike for nine days in a row.
  13. On June 17,1980 Atari's 'Asteroids' and 'Lunar Lander' were the first two video games to ever be registered in the Copy right office.
  14. In 1968, International Master David Levy made a $3,000 bet with McCarthy a researcher in Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University that no chess computer in the world would beat him. He won his bet.
  15. The first all-computer chess championship was held in New York in 1970, and was won by CHESS 3.0 - a program written by Slate, Atkin and Gorlen at Northwestern University, Illinois.
  16. Starcraft is the first computer game to be played in space. It was sent on shuttle mission STS-96 back in 1999 by Daniel T. Barry, a mission specialist.
  17. April 30, 1993 is an important date for the Web because on that day, CERN announced that anyone may use WWW technology freely.
  18. Microsoft released Internet Explorer in 1995. This event initiated the browser wars. By bundling Internet Explorer with the Windows operating system. By 2002, Internet Explorer became the most dominant web browser with a market share over 95 per cent.
  19. The minimum number of satellites needed to show your position on the GPS device is 3. A signal from one GPS satellite will just tell your distance from that particular satellite. If you know your approximate latitude and longitude, you can figure out which point you are at. Four satellites are necessary to accurately determine altitude.
  20. The concept of stylesheets was already in place when the first browser was released.
  21. The first web site was built at CERN. CERN is the French acronym for European Council for Nuclear Research and is located at Geneva, Switzerland.
  22. Although many teenagers were involved in hacking before 2000, it was the year the first underage hacker was actually sent to jail. Jonathan James spent time for Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

A mysterious deadly lake that anyone who touch it will become a stoned corpse

Unknown - 5:05 AM
  
The lake Natron in Northern Tanzania has been welcoming a lot of attention ever since the photographer Nick Brandt happened to grab hold of a few images of dead birds and such creatures off the coast. Of course there is nothing fascinating about the pictures of dead creatures, but what makes you gasp in a deep breath would be the way they were found on the shoreline – they were petrified. 

The ultimate deception comes into play when any bird or an animal comes across this mysterious  and deathly pool of water, they get confused by the hyper reflective surface, hit onto it right about just to be turned out to an insensible hard matter. Is this starting to look like another ‘Bermuda Triangle’? Though the word petrified might be a misnomer, Nick Brandt recollects that the birds he found on its coasts were literally calcified and looked like a stone carved figure of a bird perfectly preserved,although it wasn't as hard as a stone.He took them with him and set them up in its natural shape,still remaining as a token of obscurity. 




Natron is one among the most alkaline lakes in the world with enormous amounts of sodium carbonate and baking soda that are believed to have contained in it from the volcanic ashes of the Great Rift Valley. And that’s how the name was coined. It holds within itself such harsh environment that barely any organism could survive within it unless they are adapted to it,like the extremophile fish and certain algae. The lake can reach a surface temperature of about 60 °C and a pH as high as 10. This might be just enough to burn the skin and gradually pull away its life. The whole phenomenon is believed to be due to the chemical composition of the lake which turns the animals into a shape resembling the Egyptian mummies.


Nevertheless,as against the popular belief that the lake turns anything into a stone, the process doesn't necessarily turn every living unadapted creature into a stony mass and it’s not essentially an instantaneous process, rather it occurs over extended periods.The place is a huge breeding ground for the North Africa’s lesser flamingos and certainly they come out alive, and yes, some might get trapped into this nature’s magic box turning itself into the epitome of misfortune. [Source]

This is the most relaxing song ever made according to science

Unknown - 4:36 AM
springsThis eight minute song is a beautiful combination of arranged harmonies, rhythms and bass lines and thus helps to slow the heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress. The song features guitar, piano and electronic samples of natural soundscapes.

A study was conducted on 40 women, who were connected to sensors and had been given challenging puzzles to complete against the clock in order to induce a level of stress. Different songs were then played, to test their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and brain activity. The results showed that the song Weightless was 11 per cent more relaxing than any other song and even caused drowsiness among women in the lab. It induced a 65 per cent reduction in overall anxiety and brought them to a level 35 per cent lower than their usual resting rates. 


According to Lyz Cooper, founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, the song has been created using various scientific theories and make use of musical principles that are known to have individually calming effects. Hence these elements have been combined together by Marconi Union to make the perfect relaxing song ever. The song comprises of a sustaining rhythm that starts at 60 beats per minute and gradually slows to around 50. Thus, while listening to the song, your heartbeat automatically comes to match that beat. She even adds that it is necessary for the song to be eight minutes long because it takes about five minutes for entertainment to occur. The gaps between the notes have been chosen to create a feeling of euphoria and comfort. In addition, there are no repetitive melodies in the song which allows one's brain to completely switch off since one is no longer trying to predict what is next. The random chimes in the song help induce a deeper sense of relaxation and the final element in the song is the low, whooshing sounds and hums, those like the Buddhist chants.

Moreover, sound therapies have been used for thousands of years to help people relax and improve health and well-being. Among indigenous cultures, music has been the heart of healing and worship. The song, weightless is ideal for unwinding and putting an end to a stressful day.

According to Dr David Lewis-Hodgson, from Mindlab International, which conducted the research, this song induced the greatest relaxation, higher than any other music tested till date. In accordance to the Brain imaging studies, music works at a very deep level within the brain, stimulating not only those regions responsible for processing sound but also ones associated with emotions. The song Weightless can make one drowsy and hence should not be heard while driving.

Richard Talbot, from Marconi Union, was fascinated to work with a therapist to learn how and why certain sounds affect people's mood. Though he always knew the power of music, they had previously written songs using only their gut feeling.

The study conducted by bubble bath and shower gel firm, Radox Spa found the song was even more relaxing than a massage, walk or cup of tea. According to Cassie Shuttlewood, from Radox Spa, it is understandable not to spend hundreds of pounds on massages, spa weekends and yoga retreats to reduce stress levels.

The top ten relaxing songs are known to be 

1. Marconi Union - Weightless 
2. Airstream - Electra 
3. DJ Shah - Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix) 
4. Enya - Watermark
5. Coldplay - Strawberry Swing
6. Barcelona - Please Don't Go 
7. All Saints - Pure Shores 
8. Adelev Someone Like You 
9. Mozart - Canzonetta Sull'aria 
10. Cafe Del Mar - We Can Fly
[SOURCE: www.telegraph.co.uk]


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