The Philippines has had over 1200 political assassinations in the last decade!

The political killings in the Philippines are a series of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Left-wing politicians and activists, journalists, human rights advocates, the political opposition, and outspoken clergy that have increased dramatically since 2001.
Numerous actors are said to be responsible for these killings which include the New People's Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Left-wing political groups, such as the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, meanwhile blame the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit, and government-backed militias.
They state that it is part of the official government policy of eradicating the threat from the insurgency of the Communist Party of the Philippines and was officially sanctioned by the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with the code name of Oplan Bantay Laya. These series of events have placed the Philippines on the human rights watch lists of the United Nations and the United States Congress.
Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings has criticized the Philippine government for not doing enough to stop the killings, many of which had been linked to government anti-insurgency operations. They estimate that there has been 1,200 assassinations in the past decade.
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Men actually take break-ups harder than women!

Contrary to popular belief it is men who suffer more when a partnership ends. It found that men in their early twenties find breaking up and the highs and lows of romantic relationships more traumatic than women.
This is because by that age women may already have a network of close relationships made up of friends and family in addition to a partner. Young men, however, often lack that support. If their romantic partner is the only person that they confide in they are more emotionally vulnerable when that is taken away - even if they don't put their feelings on display.
When a relationship goes wrong it has a greater impact on younger men's identity and self-worth. While men found rocky relationships more stressful than women they were also more likely to reap greater emotional benefits from an ongoing happy romance.
Sociology experts have suggested that the results collected from 1,000 unmarried adults aged 18-23 could be partly influenced by the current economic crisis. If young men find it difficult to find employment then their sense of identity is more likely to be reliant on personal relationships.
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Hemingway lived through 2 plane crashes, anthrax, pneumonia and dysentery before committing suicide!

Ernest Hemingway is one of the most iconic writers in American history. He had four wives and three kids during his life. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works.
Three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Once he graduated high school, he soon enlisted with the World War I ambulance drivers over in Italy. He was seriously injured in 1918 and sent home with mortar shrapnel wounds. It was on his 3rd honeymoon that he contracted anthrax.
During World War II he was in a car accident that left him with a concussion. He later suffered in two other car accidents. He also suffered through pneumonia and dysentery. At one point he even suffered burns from a bushfire. In 1952, Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in two successive plane crashes that left him in pain or ill health for much of the rest of his life.
He lived through many physically painful and even more emotionally painful situations in his life, and it was the emotional ones that finally ended him. He died of suicide in 1961.
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Rolly Pollies are actually crustaceans, NOT bugs!

Pillbugs are pretty interesting creatures. They are commonly known as rolly polies, potato bugs, wood louse, and armadillo bug. They're more related to shrimp and crayfish than insects, though, because they're actually crustaceans.
They breathe through gills. The mothers carry their eggs in a pouch and they all curl into tight balls when they feel threatened. Pillbugs can drink through their anus and they don't urinate but they do eat their own poop. Their blood is blue and when they're sick they actually turn blue themselves.
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A filmmaker is suing so you can sing Happy Birthday for free!

Jennifer Nelson is a filmmaker with a mission: To make Happy Birthday free for anyone to sing. This may sound weird to you until you remember that the Happy Birthday song is actually under the copyright of Warner/Chappel music. That's right: You have illegally sung it the all your life.
Jennifer Nelson says that the song has to be in public domain due to a series of issues with the copyright. One of her biggest points: The sisters credited with writing the song appear to have written neither the music nor the lyrics to it.
They are suing Warner/Chappel to release the song in public domain, and to return the royalties they collect on it, estimated at $2 million per year!
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The Baker's Dozen has really morbid origins!

A Baker's Dozen isn't actually a dozen, it's actually 13. While you might think that this is just bakers being generous and giving you an extra donut or piece of bread. However, the reason it exists is because bakers were trying to protect themselves.
During the reign of Henry III, the Assize of Bread and Ale statute was enacted. According to this statute, bakers who were found to shortchange their customers could be severely punished; up to and including having their hands chopped off!
As a result, they started baking bread in 13s, so that they wouldn't be known as cheats. This also protected them in case they lost, burnt or ruined one of the pieces of bread they had baked, leaving them with a legal dozen.
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The plural of Wildebeest is 'Wildebeesties'!

Wildebeesties are goofy looking animals, so it's only fitting that they are given a goofy name. One such name is one of three grammatically correct plural forms of the name Wildebeest. The three ways you can make 'wildebeest' plural is by referring to them as 'wildebeest', 'wildebeests' or my personal favorite, 'wildebeesties'.
The wildebeest, which admittedly looks a lot like a cow and a zebra combined together, strolls through the African plains. It's tough being a wildebeest, as even though there are hundreds of thousands of them still alive, local hunters and poachers, as well as threats from other animals in the wild, has caused the wildebeest population to drop dramatically. Hopefully, they won't go extinct within the next few decades, because their only legacy would be the fact that we could call them 'wildebeesties'!
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