How big is oort cloud?

 Oort cloud is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to the oort cloud.

Earth is 150 million kilometers from Sun. This is called 1 AU.

Imagine a sphere, as wide as Earth's orbit. It's big. So big, that light will take ~ 17 minutes to get from one edge to the other. Let's call it an Earth sphere.

Neptune orbits 4.5 billion kilometers away from the Sun. A sphere as wide as neptune's orbit (or Neptune sphere, if you will), would contain 20,000 Earth spheres.

The Oort cloud, a spherical region full of comets and icy bodies, starts from ~2000 AU away from Sun, and extends as far as ~100,000 AU. (This is an estimate).

At that size, it would contain 27 billion neptune spheres.

It's so large, that light will take ~3 years to get from one edge to the other.

What are some crazy coincidences in history?

 History repeated itself so precisely in England that it almost defies explanation. Two murders, two young women, 157 years apart, yet their stories are so strikingly similar they read like the same crime.

This is the story of Erdington murders.

• Mary Ashford was killed on 27th May 1817 in Pype Hayes Park, Erdington, Birmingham. Barbara Forrest was killed on 27th May 1974 in Pype Hayes Park, Erdington, Birmingham.
• Both Mary and Barbara were 20 years old at the time.
• Both events occurred on a Whit Monday, a popular English bank holiday.
• Mary and Barbara were both born on 31st December.
• Both women spent their last evening dancing before being assaulted and killed.
• The Last name of the accused in both cases was Thornton.
• Mary and Barbara had expressed a feeling of doom in the days before the tragedy.
• Both Thorntons were acquitted due to lack of evidence against them.
• A Sibling of each of the victims refused to accept the verdict and fought for justice but neither murder was ever solved.

Coincidence or history repeating itself?

What are the secrets that cricketers shared?

 

• Sachin once revealed that he once played with tissues in his underwear!!….. Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar once revealed that due to an upset stomach he had to once play with tissues inside his underwear!

The incident happened during the Super Sixes phase of the 2003 ICC World Cup when India were taking on Sri Lanka March 10 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

"Here I am a bit embarrassed to reveal a very personal secret relating to the Sri Lanka match. On the eve of the match I had a bad stomach and was feeling dehydrated. This happened because I had not yet fully recovered from the cramp I had suffered while playing Pakistan and as a result had a lot of isotonic drinks," Tendulkar writes in his autobiography 'Playing It My Way' .

Just nine days previously, Tendulkar had played a match-winning knock of 98 against Pakistan for which he was named man of the match at Centurion.

"I also added a teaspoon of salt to the energy drinks, thinking it would help the recovery, and that caused a tummy upset. In fact, the situation was so bad that I had to bat with tissues inside my underwear. I even had to go back to the dressing room during one of the drinks breaks and was feeling extremely uncomfortable in the middle."

Despite the tissues, Tendulkar went on to score a patient 97 off 120 balls, the highest score of the match, which helped India win the contest by a massive 183 runs.

"I somehow scored 97, but batting with stomach cramps wasn't a pleasant experience. I was pushing myself to the limits of endurance and in the end I was glad that the effort paid off”added Sachin Tendulkar in his autobiography.

You are just amazing Sir !!!

NO words to describe his dedication and determination level to cricket.

Who was Durdhara? Was she Greek or Indian?

Chandragupta Maurya married a daughter of his eldest maternal who had come to Pushpapura (Patliputra) with the King’s mother. He wedded her and raised her to the dignity of Queen Consort. She became pregnant and after taking precautions, her pregnancy got to full term.She was mother of Bindusara who died due to eating poisoned food of Chandragupta Maurya when she was just seven days from delivery. Chanakya cut her head off and did cesarion. The baby was kept in bellies of different goats for seven days and due to blood spots on the baby, he was named Bindusara.

Source- Mahavansh Tika (written in 10th Century CE)

Chandragupta had a queen named Durdhara and when she was pregnant, out of deep love for the King, sat to dine with him. The food was mixed with poison by Chanakya to make him immune. As soon as she ate his food, she died immediately. Chanakya to save her child did cesarion and due to a mark of poisoned blood on his forehead, he was named Bindusara.

Source- Parishisth Parvan (written in 12th Century CE)

There is no source available which says Durdhara was a Greek. In both Mahavansh Tika and Parishisth Parvan, she is mentioned as Chief Queen (Queen among all the queens of Chandragupta).

What are some amazing pictures one has to see twice to understand?

 There are a lot of things in our lives which are not the same as they seem to be. All of you have a firm believe that cameras never lie. People usually think what they see in pictures is true but that not true. Pictures also lie, they have tendency to confuse your mind completely. Some pictures are so difficult to understand that you will never get them in first look. Some of these sort of pictures are given below :

1. A House In Air

2. Ant The King

3. Man Having Legs like Female

4. Woman With No Body

5. Shark Broken Into Peaces

6. Car Under Bear

7. A Snow Tree

8. Smoke In Water:

9. Ships On The Sky

10. Longest Beard

11. Painting Or Water

12. Half Cut Bear

13. Sea In A Bulb

14. Sitting In Air

15. Ground And Underground

16. Dog Like Face

17. Two In One Deer

18. Horse Eating Another Horse

19. Zebra On The Road

20. Wrapped Cars

21. A Walk On The Sky

22. Upside Down

23. Stone In Air

24. Camel On A Camel

25. Headless Person

What are some lesser known facts about Indian cricketers?

 Virender Sehwag is generally never afraid to face a bowler but once the man did not want to take first strike due to superstition

This happened long back around 2004, test series between India and Pakistan.

The series was drawn 1-1 and the decider was in Rawalpindi. Pakistan were bowled out for 224 and Parthiv was told he would open with Sehwag.

The teenager was barely a couple of years old on the international scene and certainly did not want to do so, but the captain Sourav Ganguly had said so and Dada's word was law.

Now Sehwag was in great form with scores of 309 and 90 in the first two Tests. Parthiv begged him to take first strike but Sehwag felt he would get out first ball if he did so was not willing.

After a lot of begging, Parthiv convinced the dashing opener to face the first ball. Wonder of wonders!

Now imagine what happened? Yes, you are right, ace seamer Shoaib Akhtar came steaming in and sent his man to the pavilion!

Patel said he could not believe his eyes and realised he was in great trouble. He even thought that this would end his cricketing career.

Luckily Parthiv battled his demons to make 69 and India piled up 600. They won by an innings and 131 runs inside 4 days to clinch the series 2-1

The victory gave India its first Test series win on Pakistani soil. However, even today, when Patel recalls the moment, he wonders that how a batsman of such stature could buckle under the pressure of something called superstition

What was the relationship between Premnath and Raj Kapoor?

 Premnath fell in love with actress Bina Rai during the filming of Aurat and later married her. Raj Kapoor's wife Krishna Nath was sister of Prem Nath. So Premnath and Raj Kapoor were brothers-in-law.

They also shared a professional bond as Premnath was a part of many films directed by Raj Kapoor.

These include Aag, Awara, Barsaat and Bobby. They were also seen together in Dharam Karam which was directed by Randhir Kapoor.

In Awara, Premnath plays a cameo in the song Naiyya Teri Majhdar. Besides this Raj Kapoor played a cameo of a gypsy singer in Chandi Sona which also starred Premnath. Chandi Sona was directed by Sanjay Khan and starred himself and Parveen Babi as the main lead.

In addition of being relatives Premnath and Raj Kapoor were good friends and were often seen together at social events and industry functions.

Image(s) Courtesy: Google

Why didn't people on the Titanic use wooden furniture to stay afloat?

 Despite there being a lot of floating debris left after the Titanic disappeared underwater the victims never had a chance as they were soaked in near-freezing water that would have killed them, even if they could avoid other panicking people and remain composed and focused enough to attempt finding and lashing pieces of debris together and getting out of the water.

While the majority of the death certificates issued stated the cause of death as drowning, the vast majority in fact died from hypothermia. Let’s be clear, they “did.” Specifically, when (untrained) people unintentionally go overboard or fall into water, one of the first things they reactively do (often in a panic) is try to grab anything around them to keep themselves afloat. But more importantly, unlike how the movie portrayed it, the act of using floating debris to survive is far more complicated than it sounds. For example, even if a chair floats, you can’t exactly just sit or stand on it while it’s in the water - unless you have incredible knowledge of ocean physics and balancing strength.

People indeed used the debris to try to keep themselves afloat. Sudden immersion into freezing water typically causes death within minutes, either from cardiac arrest, uncontrollable breathing of water, or cold incapacitation; almost all of those in the water died of cardiac arrest or other bodily reactions to freezing water within 15–30 minutes.

The main problem all of the passengers faced when abandoning ship was extreme cold, not drowning. As for trying to put together a makeshift raft, few probably had the skills to do so. Even if they did, with panic and chaos all around, being denied access to the lifeboats, and the ship sinking right underneath of them, most were likely not in a state of mind where they would be able to put together a makeshift raft out of furniture or other items.

Who do you think is better actor among Nawzuddin Siddhiqi and Irfan Khan?

Irfan Khan and Nawazuddin Khan are considered good actors.

But, Irrfan Khan was better actor in many ways.

Educated : Irrfan Khan , a former royal, was known as a well read actor.

This post graduate also graduated from National School of Drama, Delhi.

He had meticulously studied known plays and scripts as an actor.

Theatre : For years, he did street plays ; amateur and professional theatre.

Irrfan Khan did odd jobs in Mumbai before he debuted in movies.

Acting : His subtle acting earned him many admirers across the world.

No wonder , he earned laurels in Pan Singh Tomar ; Life of Pi ; Maqbool ; Namesake; Lunchbox ; Hindi Medium ; Slumdog Millionaire ; Talvar.

Gentle : Irrfan Khan was known for his dignity.

He stayed away from controversies and earned praise from many.

Self made : Nawazuddin Siddiqui grew up in a rural household.

He worked his way to graduate in science and then in drama from National school of Drama.

Suffering : Nawaz did every odd job to survive as an actor.

He faced penury and abject humiliation from many.

Success : Naturally, his success sparkled in Manto ; Lunch Book ; Sacred Games ; Black Friday.; Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Strange : Unlike Irrfan Khan , Nawazuddin ,a talented actor, isn’t seen as a mainstream hero.

Nawazuddin is known for controversies (autobiography ; divorce ; allegations)

Nawazuddin acted in many controversial movies , Babu Moshai Bandookbaaz; Haramkhor ; Gangs of Wasseypur ; Raman Raghav 2.0.

Irrfan Khan thoughtfully chose his roles.

Fact : Irrfan Khan (1967–2020) was a legend. Nawazuddin is yet to be one.

Pic Credits : Google Images / Web

What is something that almost nobody knows about cricket?

 Some unknown facts about cricket…..

1. David Warner is the only cricketer in Australian Cricket’s 132 year’s history to be selected in national team, without prior experience in first class cricket.

2. Despite having 12 surgeries, Ashish Nehra made his comeback in 2016, at the age of 36.

3. India is the only country who has whitewashed Australia,in a series played in Australia. This happened when India defeated Australia by 3–0, in a T20 series, in 2016.

4. 58 and 75 are the only scores(less than 100), never scored by Sachin Tendulkar.

5. Peter Siddle is the only bowler to take a Hat-Trick on his birthday

6. Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli are the only batsmen to achieve rank 1 in ICC rankings across all 3 formats.

7. George Bailey made his international debut for Australia as a “Captain”.

8. Virat Kohli is the only player in IPL history to represent same franchise since season one(2008)