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Author: Nour Ali
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You have been using google WRONG
You read it right; you have been using google wrong all this time!
We already know/use google as the enormous search engine where full information about ANYTHING is always available
But what you don’t recognize is that google is more than just our magical knows-it all godmother
Google doesn’t only KNOW everything, it also can DO everything. There are awesome tricks and tips that can save you time and effort if you only know them, So whey waiting ?
Let’s explore what else google can offer us more than searching results!
1-Time Travel !
Do you remember Nirvana, Parasuco Jeans and Flannels? You have seen it all
But what you didn’t see is how google looked in 90’s ?
how about a quick trip then ?
type “google in 1998” and you will be taken to the their search page back in the 90’s !
2-Manage your time
You also can use google as a countdown device to keep track of your time
Just type “set timer for X “. It will beep on zero
3-Obviously, Flipping a coin
Are you confused what to choose? Want to toss problematic decisions?
Google will do it for you, just type “flip a coin” or “heads or tails” and we are done!
4-Checking your Flight
Ever went to airport on time then your flight is delayed and you have to stay there for another 2 hours?
Just type the destination and name of your flight and you will never be in this situation again
5-Convert like you never did before
Inches, kilometers, miles, whatsoever, google will still do the hard job for you
Now that math’s homework is a piece of cake!
6-Compare things
Because google care about our health
They developed this interesting feature where you can compare food regarding calories, fat, vitamins and a full nutritional report
Just write “hot dog vs. pasta” and take care of what you choose !
7-For the fellow nerds
Let’s go back to basics; you all know these soft-wares are originaly 0’s and 1’s
And google knows that, that’s why they reliesed a binary edition for those who can recognize the biggest number of different 0&1 combinations
Search “google binary” and test your knowledge!
8-100 years old news
Ever heard of google news? What about a News Archive?
Where there’s an option to search in newspapers that goes back to 1880 !
9-Lists, everywhere!
Discovered a new band and you are excited to hear all their songs?
have a favorite author want to read all his book?
Or maybe Painters, actors or directors, just mention it and google will collect Every thing for you!
10-Etymology of words
If you are interested to know roots and evolution of a certain word there’s no need to go over multiple books and web pages, just search for “Etymology of keyword“
11- weather forecasts and Sunrise
Don’t know what to wear today? should you take your umbrella with you or not? When the sun is rising so you can call your cousin in different country? just ask, it has all the answers for you
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5 ancient beauty customs THANK GOD it stopped
Old is gold. We all agree on that, and most of us had been in a point where our grandmothers told us something that turned to be beneficial by time
BUT, not everything coming from the glorious past is right; actually sometimes it might hurt you real real bad!
Exactly like the following beauty practices
1 – Lotus Feet
Looks like a peaceful name right? Well . Imagine your feet having to grow in only 10 cm space for the sake of beauty!
Not so peaceful anymore, ha
Foot binding is the practice of applying a painful tight binding to the foot in order to prevent its growth
- “Yaoniang binding feet” by Wang Hui 王翙 (1736-1795) – Illustration from Sexual Life in Ancient China, Van Gulik 1961, originally a woodblock print from Qing Dynasty. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.
It all started in China
when the Emperor Li Yu “last emperors of fifth dynasty”
made a 6 feet tall golden lotus decorated with pearls and asked his mistress Yao Niang to bind her feet in the shape of crescent moon by white silk bandage and Dance on the tips of her toes like a lotus
Actually her performance was so exquisite that she “skimmed on top of golden lotus”
And the Emperor expressed his delight and affection by saying: “lotus springs from her every step!”
Historic findings say that feet binding already existed with the beginning of the fifth dynasty,
but it was densely imitated by upper class ladies after Yao Niang performance and became more popular in Song dynasty
Now the application wasn’t easy at all,
For the ideal foot had to be:
1-No longer than three inches. –That’s 10 cm’s in western measurements!-
2-The cleft between the heel and the sole should be 2-3 inches deep. –Meaning the foot had to be severely bent-
3-The foot should appear as an extension of the leg rather than a stand for the body.
“Theatre school’s model student” by Ellen Catleen – Catleen (Thorbecke), Ellen (1934) Peking Studies, Kelly and Walsh, Shanghai, China. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. In order to achieve such extreme requirements, the process had to start in early
age ‘4 to 9 years’, before the foot arch takes its
The feet were soaked in warm mixture of herbs and animals blood to soften it, then toes were curled under, pressed downwards and squeezed into the sole of the foot until the toes broke.The broken toes were held tightly against the sole while the foot was drawn down straight with the leg and the arch of the foot was forcibly broken
It doesn’t stop there,
Other that having disfiguring results, list of health issues included serious infections because of nails in-grow
recurrent fractured feet bones , muscle atrophy and sometimes paralysis!
“GebundenFuss” by Book by Ernst v. Hesse-Wartegg (-1918) – Aus „China und Japan“ von Ernst v. Hesse-Wartegg (Verlagsbuchhandlung von J. J. Weber in Leipzig, 1900.. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons. 
“Abb475ChinesischerFrauenfussGoldenewLilie genannt“. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. Why did they bear all that?
No pain, No gain. It’s beauty honey!
They believed beautiful women had to have small feet; also they believed rich women don’t need their feet to work so they can afford having them bonded!
And being beautiful and rich mean you are suitable for marriage which was the ultimate goal for women those days
“True bound foot of a chinese woman 43 years Wellcome V0031188” by http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/7a/b1/86c7760d26038ce021798607fed2.jpgGallery: http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0031188.html. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. It was estimated that by 19th century, about 40% of Chinese women had bound feet and 100% of women in upper class!
In 1912, the republic of china government banned foot binding, and many movements engaged in campaigns against foot binding and it was very successful in many regions
By 1999 the last the last shoe factory making lotus shoes, Zhiqiang Shoe Factory in Harbin, closed.
Stay tuned for the next bizarre beauty technique !
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9 jobs to help you travel
Are you interested in traveling?
Exploring the world and getting to know new cultures is becoming a the new hype
but talking about traveling means talking about draining your bank account, quitting stable job and jump to the land of unknown
Actually it shouldn’t be that hard, and all people should have the right to explore the planet they live in ,
So here are 9 interesting jobs that will offer you to travel and Finance your adventure :
1 – Teach English
Those who speak English have a huge privilege in the modern world, they are speaking English !
Teaching English in foreign countries will allow you to explore the world because there’s a huge demand English teachers , and luckily all what you need is a certification!
2- WWooF
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms , network of national organizations that facilitate placement of volunteers on organic farms placed in 99 different countries
You will work for certain amount of time for room and food and no prior experience in needed !
3- Tour Guide
Are you friendly? , have good memorizing skills ? love to explain things to people ?
You should work as a tour guide where you get to be in different foreign countries revealing the beauty of their culture and history to tourists
4- Become a Yachtie
Sounds crazy right ?
To travel the word in the middle of the sea with all dangers and adventures we saw in Hollywood movies
Yachties get paid a generous amount of money because of their working requirement, Crazy long hours , bizarre conditions, sometimes dangerous ones
So if you are and outgoing adrenalin junkie who loves exploring , this is for you
5- Au Pair
Do you love children ? let me say it right , can you handle children ?
Au Pair is a nanny who is from a foreign country, working for and living as a part of the host family
Your chance gets better if you can teach kids a new language or skills , but take care contracts start from 6 months and up
6- Cruise Ship
back to ocean!
cruise ships hire all the time, they have around 1237 jobs right at this moment, they even hire cupcakes supervisors !
What are you waiting for ?
7- translators
If you are fluent in more than one language, you have a good chance to travel . companies and tour guides for example will need your assistance, but it requires certifications
8 Seasonal jobs
another popular choice to travel is taking a seasonal job, like fruits and vegetables picking , though the working hours might be long but the demand is high and it’s a total new experience that will help you travel the world
if you are looking for something more active and cold , you may consider becoming a ski instructor, France and Canada are the common destinations for that
9 – flight attendance
Flight discounts for you and your family, every 3 days you are in a new country and more
flight attendance is a clear choice to those who are all about travelling.
The problem is that most companies will only accept those with certifications and sometimes prior experience is requested.
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8 things only INTP personality will understand
Being one of the very few 3% of population is difficult!
INTP personality is one of Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) 16 personalities types
INTP is an abbreviation stands for,
- I – Introversion
Means INTP get their energy from inside of themselves; they don’t need to be energized by outer stimuli
- N – Intuition
INTPs See the bigger picture, think in an abstract way and look for future possibilities more than immediate applications
- T – Thinking
They make decisions depending on their minds not feelings. Because they prioritize objective thinking
- P – Perception
Being freedom lovers, INTPs delay taking decisions or making judgments, prefer to keep all possibilities open
Now you think being INTP is easy, believe me it’s not!
This list will tell you why?
1 – Ideas are everywhere, NO REALLY EVERYWHERE!
INTPs minds explode with thoughts from the moment they wake up, the funny part is they are very calm and oriented with their mind explosions.
In the time people get distracted if they had 2 ideas at the same time, INTP will be constructing a full debate about something taking into account ALL variables and possibilities that can affect their argument!
2- Don’t lie to me; I’ll appreciate your honesty more than your good words
Knowing they are VERY open minded and flexible humans, INTPs HATE being lied to.
Another reason is their sanctification of truth, and you are here trying to manipulate truth! HELL NO!
3- We might hurt you badly, but won’t realize it!
INTPs are RADICALLY honest and have very underdeveloped emotional perceptions; they just don’t understand it and consider it irrational!
Don’t think that INTP will understand when you try to explain why your mutual friend was upset that time when he told him “you are very slow in understanding this, never mind I won’t explain it again!“ . Because for INTP what he said was the objective truth and people shouldn’t be upset of what’s real!
4 – RESPECT my personal space, OR…
“We appreciate those who respect our personal space and we respect people’s personal space in return”
INTPs are very private; you don’t expect to understand them in couple of weeks or so. They like to keep things for themselves, either because they face a hard time explaining the complexity of their thoughts, or because they see their inner world a very precious place that no one can enter.
5- Study is a hobby, and knowledge is entertaining!
Yes you read it right. When kids in high schools struggle to understand algebra equations or that logical argument, INTP will be
having THE TIME OF HIS LIFE slicing those problem sets into their basic structures, and solving them
When they grow up, reading books, watching documentaries, learning new languages will be rituals for them
In a matter of fact, anything in this world is a potential search project for them, even lyrics Nicki Minaj songs!
INTP’s quality time is not with people, it’s in learning new stuff
6-The infamous: NEVER MIND!
INTPs think in a very complex ways. They build sophisticated systems in their minds and expect everyone to understand it the first time it’s explained. When someone can’t understand it, they will get disappointed that people can’t get this very simple principle!, and will reply with “ok, never mind!
7- We are better, period.
INTPs have an inner secrete believe they are different and superior to others. In a matter of fact if you want to upset an INTP, compare him to another person and see the look on his face!
8- When we say we don’t care, we mean it.
Because it means we lost our innate curiously about that subject – which is our ultimate drive-, so we simply move on!
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Jimmy wales , The man who didn’t want to be rich
what if you have an idea that will bring you tones of money , and takes you to Mark Zuckerberg richness level ,
will you take the chance and do it ?
Well , This man didn’t !
Screenshot from Jimmy Wales site Jimmy Wales , Wikipedia founder , the man who choose not to take a penny from his great idea .
“Jimbo at Fosdem cropped“. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons. The Origins
It all started in Chicago when Jimmy and his friends Tim Shell and Michael Davis decided to use their private company Bomis to launch Nupedia which is an English language encyclopedia where articles were written by expert volunteers and reviewed by expert editors – experts you say ! –
“Nupedia logo” by Wikimedia Foundation. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons. “ The idea was to have thousands of volunteers writing articles for an online encyclopedia in all languages… It was no fun for the volunteer writers because we had a lot of academic peer review committees who would criticize articles and give feedback. It was like handing in an essay at grad school, and basically intimidating to participate in. “
— Jimmy Wales on the Nupedia project New Scientist, January 31, 2007
Leap of faith
On Monday 15 , January 2001 , Wikipedia had seen the light
Jimmy Wales thought Wikipedia will be a “ complete rubbish “
Starting as a simple profitable project aiming to backup Nupedia , then turning into the biggest open source , web-based encyclopedia .
just like things turn out the EXACT way we expect , Wikipedia only needed couple of days to prove itself as the new deal !
It took Wikipedia few days to overly grow and exceed the number of articles on Neupedia
Then a new concept was born . “Open source , web-based encyclopedia , that accepts contributions of ordinary people !”
with patience and hard work , early editors , experts and regular people had built a self-regulated society that proven to be successful with time .
And what did Jimmy gain from all this ?
Nothing !
He totally refused to cheapen the encyclopedia by using ads as a source of money
Because accepting ads meant questioning the integrity of wiki , giving compensations , and even have wiki at the mercy of advertising companies where they might have some control over materials and publishing .
And When Asked ?
When asked on Quora “Is Jimmy Wales Rich ? “ , this was his response :
“By any sane standard of measurement, yes, of course I’m rich. Nearly half of the people on earth live on less than $2 a day. I spend more than that on my cellphone bill. About 80% of the people on earth live on less than $10 a day.
But the point I’m making is that people often get sucked into a way of thinking about things that makes them think that a reasonable standard for measuring whether someone is wealthy or not is appropriately measured relative to Mark Zuckerberg or the Google guys or whatever.
But there’s another angle to this, and that is to ask what “wealth” means. People who equate wealth in any serious way with “amount of money that you have” are missing a lot of richness in how humans value things.
What I think people most value (or ought to most value) is rich and interesting life experiences. On that level, there is no doubt that I’m rich, and much richer than one might imagine from my relatively meagre (compared to billionaires!) financial resources. As I’ve mentioned in another Quora answer somewhere, there are car dealers in random Midwestern towns in the US who have vastly more money than I do. But they have nothing like my quality of life as measured by interesting experiences.
So, my final answer is: yes, I’m rich. But not in the way most people think about the question. “
Being aware of the amount of money and luxurious life he’s wasting on himself for the sake of pure knowledge , Jimmy wales is taking Perfectionism to a whole new level .
So the next time you check something on wiki , remember the great generosity standing behind the curtains of this phenomenal project and think of ways to practice it yourself – you can start by donations –
Because people like Jimmy Wales , people like YOU , are the ones who give hope to this world !
