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No.10 - Round Earth
This is an idea that is fully accepted by most people, but it was not always held with such certainty. While it is a misconception to think that most people believed in a flat earth well into the early modern period, it was certainly a commonly held belief in early Chinese thought, and it was not until the great Greek mathematicians that Europeans started to accept the spherical earth theory. Pythagoras is the man most commonly associated with the idea, but it was really only in the Renaissance, and the beginning of voyages that circumnavigated the earth, that his ideas became proved beyond all doubt.
No.9 - Perturbation theory and the existence of Neptune
Sir Isaac Newton’s laws on gravity allowed him to calculate the orbital paths of the planets of our solar system. We won’t try to explain the math; it's way over our heads, but when Newton’s theory was tested, the orbit for Uranus was inaccurate. It was proposed in 1843 that an invisible planet was causing this disturbance -- or perturbation -- of Uranus’s orbit. Only in 1846 was Neptune finally recognized, within one degree of the mathematical predictions for its location. To suggest an extra planet which no one had ever noticed before may have seemed far-fetched, but turned out to be remarkably precise. 
No.8 - Comets being a celestial phenomenon
For centuries, comets were seen as dire predictions of things to come. Halley’s Comet appeared before the Battle of Hastings in 1066. But what they actually were was again the work of Aristotle, who suggested that they were spontaneous combustions of gas in the upper atmosphere. While this view was popular among many, the Roman writer Seneca the Younger was the first to challenge this view, suggesting that they were a celestial phenomenon. It was Tycho Brahe, the preeminent observational astronomer, who proved that they must in fact exist way beyond the moon, in space. 
No.7 - The expanding universe
The size of the universe is one question that, as of yet, has no answer. It was suggested by no less a figure than Albert Einstein that the universe was of fixed dimensions, and became known as the Cosmological Constant. In 1929, a man named Edwin Hubble (you may have heard of him) observed that the universe was expanding, due to the fact that objects moving away from earth appeared in the red part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Hubble’s Law, as it became known, transformed the perception of the universe as being static, and blew the question of its size wide open.
No.6 - Atoms
The word atom derives from a Greek term meaning something that cannot be divided, and therefore reckoned to be the smallest particle possible. It was undoubtedly strange, going against the widely accepted notion that all things were made up of the four elements -- earth, wind, water, and fire. The likes of Leucippus and Democritus held that all things had the same building blocks, which were simply rearranged to form different objects. While it took centuries for the scientific community to prove the idea, it is now a cornerstone of scientific thought.
No.5 - Quarks
If the idea of an atom seemed crazy -- being so minute it was undetectable for centuries -- imagine how it would seem to then talk about an even smaller, subatomic particle. Described as an “elementary particle,” quarks are believed to be constituent parts of atomic particles (i.e., protons, neutrons and electrons). When the idea was introduced in the 1960s, it was seen by some as merely an abstract concept to help explain things we didn’t understand. Over the following decade, further research and mounting evidence supported the quark model, finally convincing people of its validity.
No.4 - Tycho Brahe and the "stella nova"
Since antiquity, men believed that the universe beyond the moon was fixed and unchangeable (a theory known as celestial immutability). In 1572, a very bright star suddenly appeared in the sky. Because of this notion of celestial immutability, it was believed by many observers to be something happening in the atmosphere, or somewhere between the earth and the moon. Tycho Brahe went against the accepted wisdom of his age, believing it to be a new star. We now know that what he witnessed was a supernova, and his assertion that the universe was in fact mutable is now beyond doubt.
No.3 - Black holes
Imagine being the first person to hear the idea that in space there were these objects that were so dense and had such a strong gravitational pull, that nothing could escape from them, not even light. The idea was first proposed in 1783, by a geologist no less, which made it seem even less plausible. Over the years, the mathematics gradually reached a point where the idea of black holes is widely accepted. Astronomical observation has also added weight to the argument, with phenomena such as gravitational lensing and gamma ray bursts seeming to indicate their presence.
No.2 - Heloicentric solar system
Narrowly missing out on the top spot, the idea that the earth revolved around the sun, rather than vice versa, was one of the most controversial astronomical theories ever. First espoused by Nicolas Copernicus, who knew how controversial the idea was, it was echoed by Galileo Galilei, who spent 10 years under house arrest because of his beliefs. Seen as heretical and “contrary to scripture” the heliocentric solar system went against the geocentric view that held sway at the time. Only in the 18th century were texts in support of heliocentricism finally removed from the church list of banned books.
No.1 - The Big Bang
Appropriately, the biggest question of all, the birth of the universe, claims the top spot. No one knows for certain how the universe started, but this theory built upon the expanding universe idea, which suggested that at some point everything was much closer together. It is now supported by the majority of scientists, and there is a huge body of evidence to support it.
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Top 10: Crazy Theories About The Universe That Were Proved True
Think Before Selecting Toys For Your Kids
What is the most dangerous non-edible consumer product in Europe today? Look in your child's playroom. According to a 2007 European Commission report, the number of notifications for 'toys' were more than double that for 'motor vehicles' or 'electrical appliances'.
Toys can be risky because some of them contain toxic chemicals like lead and have unsafe design and bad finishing, like sharp edges. Most of these come from China - the largest global producer of toys.
In January, Newsweek reported China and India as the world's leading economies. However, both countries face compelling systemic problems when it comes to product quality.
China was also involved in a contaminated milk case. Around the same time, the US Food and Drug Administration decided to ban import of over 30 medicines produced by Ranbaxy India.
The reason: unsafe manufacturing conditions. How is it that Indian inespectors can never find any fault with such products? Perhaps we need to accept that emerging economies like China and India cannot adopt the standards of advanced economies overnight.
So, while Japan could refuse Chinese food imports and the US could reject drugs manufactured in India, what can India do about Chinese toy imports? Ban them? India did exactly that on January 23. But the six-month ban wilted under China's threat to drag India to the World Trade Organisation.
As a countermeasure, India has put in place international safeguards. Now toys entering India will require certification from accredited laboratories.
As a macroeconomic measure, this is fine. This will help China to conform to international standards.
However, this tactic is of limited strategic use. China's true competitive advantage lies in producing toys cheap (it has 70 per cent share of the global toy market).
India must consider microeconomic countermeasures, firm by firm. A positive engagement with Chinese toy manufacturers will be the most mutually beneficial.
Indian businessmen should start diversifying their toys suppliers within China. Competition among them will generate better quality.
Then, an association of Indian toy importers could take charge of the supply chain by forming joint ventures or starting toy factories in China. This way, India could help China grow and also ensure the health of our children.
[source]
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Mind Blowing Facts
1. Turtles have no teeth.
2. Prehistoric turtles may have weighed as much as 5,000 pounds.
3. Only one out of a thousand baby sea turtles survives after hatching.
4. Sea turtles absorb a lot of salt from the sea water in which they live. They excrete excess salt from their eyes, so it often looks as though they're crying.
5. Helium is a colourless, odourless, tasteless inert gas at room temperature and makes up about 0.0005% of the air we breathe.
6. Helium Balloon Gas makes balloons float. Helium is lighter than air and just as the heaviest things will tend to fall to the bottom, the lightest things will rise to the top.
7. Helium Balloon Gas makes balloons float. Helium is lighter than air and just as the heaviest things will tend to fall to the bottom, the lightest things will rise to the top.
8. Camels can spit.
9. An ostrich can run 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour).
10. Pigs are the fourth most intelligent animal in the world.
11. Dinosaurs didn't eat grass? There was no grass in the days of the dinosaurs.
12. Dolphins can swim 37 miles per hour (60 kilometers per hour).
13. A crocodile's tongue is attached to the roof of its mouth? It cannot move. It cannot chew but its Digestive juices are so strong that it can digest a steel nail, Glass pieces, etc
14. Sharks are immune to disease i.e they do not suffer from any Disease.
15. Animals are either right- or left-handed? Polar bears are always left-handed, and so is Kermit the Frog.
16. Paris, France has more dogs than people.
17. New Zealand is home to 70 million sheep and only 40 million people.
18. Male polar bears weigh 1400 pounds and females only weight 550 pounds, on average.
19. Bison are excellent swimmers? Their head, hump and tail never go below the surface of the water.
20. There are 6 to 14 frogs species in the world that have no tongues. One of these is the African dwarf frog.
21. A frog named Santjie, who was in a frog derby in South Africa jumped 33 feet 5.5 inches.
22. The longest life span of a frog was 40 years
23. The eyes of a frog flatten down when it swallows its prey
24. The name `India' is derived from the River Indus
25. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
26. Chess was invented in India.
27. The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
28. The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices.
29. India has the most post offices in the world
30. 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH
31. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
32. Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world
33. The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
34. A snail can sleep for 3 years.
35. The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start
36. Twenty-Four-Karat Gold is not pure gold since there is a small amount of copper in it. Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.
37. Electricity doesn't move through a wire but through a field around the wire.
38. The first bicycle that was made in 1817 by Baron von Drais didn't have any pedals? People walked it along
39. The first steam powered train was invented by Robert Stephenson. It was called the Rocket.
40. A cheetah does not roar like a lion - it purrs like a cat (meow).
41. The original name for the butterfly was 'flutterby'
42. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
43. Ants don't sleep.
44. Dolphins usually live up to about twenty years, but have been known to live for about forty.
45. Dolphins sleep in a semi-alert state by resting one side of their brain at a time
46. A dolphin can hold its breath for 5 to 8 minutes at a time
47. Bats can detect warmth of an animal from about 16 cm away using its "nose-leaf".
48. Bats can also find food up to 18 ft. away and get information about the type of insect using their sense of echolocation.
49. The eyes of the chameleon can move independently & can see in two different directions at the same time.
50. Cockroach: Can detect movement as small as 2,000 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom.
51. Dragonfly: Eye contains 30,000 lenses.
52. Pig's Tongue contains 15,000 taste buds. For comparison, the human tongue has 9,000 taste buds.
53. The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
54. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
55. Earth weighs 5,972,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons
56. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.
57. A duck's quack doesn't echo anywhere
58. Man is the only animal who'll eat with an enemy
59. The average woman uses about her height in lipstick every five years.
60. The first Christmas was celebrated on December 25,
61. AD 336 in Rome.
62. A Cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves to death.
63. A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but monkeys can't
64. A rat can last longer without water than a camel can
65. About 10% of the world's population is left-handed
66. Dolphins sleep with one eye open
67. Snakes have no external ears. Therefore, they do not hear the music of a "snake charmer". Instead, they are probably responding to the movements of the snake charmer and the flute. However, sound waves may travel through bones in their heads to the middle ear.
68. Many spiders have eight eyes.
69. The tongue of snakes has no taste buds. Instead, the tongue is used to bring smells and tastes into the mouth. Smells and tastes are then detected in two pits, called "Jacobson's organs", on the roof of their mouths. Receptors in the pits then transmit smell and taste information to the brain.
70. Birds don't sweat
71. The highest kangaroo leap recorded is 10 ft and the longest is 42 ft
72. Flamingo tongues were eaten common at Roman feasts
73. The smallest bird in the world is the Hummingbird. It weighs 1oz
74. The bird that can fly the fastest is called a White it can fly up to 95 miles per hour.
75. The oldest living thing on earth is 12,000 years old. It is the flowering shrubs called creosote bushes in the Mojave Desert
76. Tea is said to have been discovered in 2737 BC by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water.
77. A person can live without food for about a month, but only about a week without water.
If the amount of water in your body is reduced by just 1%, you'll feel thirsty.
If it's reduced by 10%, you'll die.
78. Along with its length neck, the giraffe has a very long tongue -- more than a foot and a half long. A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue
79. Ostriches can kick with tremendous force, but only forward. Don't Mess with them
80. An elephant can smell water three miles away
81. If you were to remove your skin, it would weigh as much as 5 pounds
82. A hippopotamus can run faster than a man
83. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history
84. The world's known tallest man is Robert Pershing Wadlow. The giraffe is 5.49m (18 ft.), the man is 2.55m (8ft. 11.1 in.).
85. The world's tallest woman is Sandy Allen. She is 2.35m (7 ft. 7 in.).
86. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.
87. The blue whale is the largest animal on earth. The heart of a blue whale is as big as a car, and its tongue is as long as an elephant.
88. The largest bird egg in the world today is that of the ostrich. Ostrich eggs are from 6 to 8 inches long. Because of their size and the thickness of their shells, they take 40 minutes to hard-boil. The average adult male ostrich, the world's largest living bird, weighs up to 345 pounds.
89. Every dolphin has its own signature whistle to distinguish it from other dolphins, much like a human fingerprint
90. The world's largest mammal, the blue whale, weighs 50 tons i.e. 50000 Kg at birth. Fully grown, it weighs as much as 150 tons i.e. 150000 Kg.
91. 90 % of all the ice in the world in on Antarctica
92. Antarctica is DRIEST continent. Antarctica is a desert
93. Antarctica is COLDEST continent, averaging minus 76 degrees in the winter
94. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and it doesn't have a moon. Its atmosphere is so thin that during the day the temperature reaches 750 degrees, but at night it gets down to -300 degrees.
95. Jupiter is the largest planet. If Jupiter were hollow, you could fit 1000 earths inside! It is made up of gas and is not solid. The most famous feature on Jupiter is its Red Spot, which is actually an enormous hurricane that has been raging on Jupiter for hundreds of years! Sixteen moons orbit Jupiter.
96. Saturn is a very windy place! Winds can reach up to 1,100 miles per hour. Saturn is also made of gas. If you could find an ocean large enough, it would float. This planet is famous for its beautiful rings, and has at least 18 moons.
97. Uranus is the third largest planet, and is also made of gas. It's tilted on its side and spins north-south rather than east-west. Uranus has 15 moons.
98. Neptune takes 165 Earth years to get around the sun. It appears blue because it is made of methane gas. Neptune also has a big Spot like Jupiter. Winds on Neptune get up to 1,200 mile per hour! Neptune has 8 moons.
99. Pluto is the farthest planet from the sun... usually. It has such an unusual orbit that it is occasionally closer to the sun than Neptune. Pluto is made of rock and ice.
100. Just about everyone listens to the radio! 99% of homes in the United States have a least one radio. Most families have several radios.
101. Sound is sent from the radio station through the air to your radio by means of electromagnetic waves. News, music, Bible teaching, baseball games, plays, advertisements- these sounds are all converted into electromagnetic waves (radio waves) before they reach your radio and your ears.
102. At the radio station, the announcer speaks into a microphone. The microphone changes the sound of his voice into an electrical signal. This signal is weak and can't travel very far, so it's sent to a transmitter. The transmitter mixes the signal with some strong radio signals called carrier waves. These waves are then sent out through a special antenna at the speed of light! They reach the antenna of your radio. Your antenna "catches" the signal, and the radio's amplifier strengthens the signal and sends it to the speakers. The speakers vibrate, and your ears pick up the vibrations and your brain translates them into the voice of the radio announcer back at the station. When you consider all the places the announcer's voice travels
103. Every radio station has its own frequency. When you turn the tuning knob on your radio, you are choosing which frequency you want your antenna to "catch."
104. Mountain lions are known by more than 100 names, including panther, catamount, cougar, painter and puma. It's scientific name is Felis concolor, which means "cat of one color." At one time, mountain lions were very common!
105. The large cats of the world are divided into two groups- those that roar, like tigers and African lions, and those that purr. Mountain lions purr, hiss, scream, and snarl, but they cannot roar.
106. They can jump a distance of 30 feet, and jump as high as 15 feet. It would take quite a fence to keep a mountain lion out!
107. Their favorite food is deer, but they'll eat other critters as well. They hunt alone, not in packs like wolves. They sneak up on their prey just like a house cat sneaks up on a bird or toy- one slow step at a time. A lion can eat ten pounds of meat at one time! That's equivalent to 40 quarter-pounder hamburgers!
108. Queen ants can live to be 30 years old
109. Dragonflies can flap their wings 28 times per second and they can fly up to 60 miles per hour
110. As fast as dragonflies can flap their wings, bees are even faster... they can flap their wings 435 times per second
111. Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
112. You can't kill yourself by holding your breath
113. Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day
114. Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people
115. The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!
116. Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!
117. Women blink nearly twice as much as men
118. Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible
119. Coca-Cola would be green if colouring weren't added to it.
120. More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.
121. Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand
122. Earth is the only planet not named after a god.
123. It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska, USA.
124. Some worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food!
125. It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open
126. Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not
127. Slugs have 4 noses.
128. Owls are the only birds who can see the colour blue.
129. Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end
130. More than 1,000 different languages are spoken on the continent of Africa.
131. There was once an undersea post office in the Bahamas.
132. Abraham Lincoln's mother died when she drank the milk of a cow that grazed on poisonous snakeroot
133. After the death of Albert Einstein his brain was removed by a pathologist and put in a jar for future study.
134. Penguins are not found in the North Pole
135. A dentist invented the Electric Chair.
136. A whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound
137. Alexander Graham Bell's wife and mother were both deaf
138. Cockroaches break wind every 15 minutes.
139. Fish scales are an ingredient in most lipsticks
140. Canada" is an Indian word meaning "Big Village".
141. 259200 people die every day.
142. 11% of the world is left-handed
143. 1.7 litres of saliva is produced each day
144. The worlds oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old!
145. The largest beetle in the Americas is the Hercules beetle, which can be 4 to 6 inches in length. That's bigger than your hand!
146. A full-grown male mountain lion may be 9 feet long, including his tail!
147. There are two kinds of radio stations: AM and FM. That's why there are two dials on your radio. AM is used mostly for stations that specialize in talking, such as Christian stations that have Bible stories and sermons; sports stations that broadcast live baseball and football games; and stations that specialize in news programs and "talk shows," where listeners call the station and discuss various topics. FM is used mostly for stations that specialize in music.
148. The average lead pencil can draw a line that is almost 35 miles long or you can write almost 50,000 words in English with just one pencil
149. The Wright Brothers invented one of the first airplanes. It was called the Kitty Hawk.
150. The worst industrial disaster in India, occurred in 1984 in Bhopal the capital of Madhya Pradesh. A deadly chemical, methly isocyanate leaked out of the Union Carbide factory killing more than 2500 and leaving thousands sick. In fact the effects of this gas tragedy is being felt even today.
151. Mars is nicknamed the "Red Planet," because it looks reddish in the night sky. Mars has 2 moons.
152. Venus is nicknamed the "Jewel of the Sky." Because of the greenhouse effect, it is hotter than Mercury, even though it's not as close to the sun. Venus does not have a moon but it does have clouds of sulfuric acid! If you're gonna visit Venus, pack your gas mask!
153. Tens of thousands of participants come from all over the world, fight in a harmless battle where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets.
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Facts About Nokia
1) The ringtone "Nokia tune" is actually based on a 19th century guitar work named "Gran Vals" by Spanish musician Francisco Tárrega. The Nokia Tune was originally named "Grande Valse" on Nokia phones but was changed to "Nokia Tune" around 1998 when it became so well known that people referred to it as the "Nokia Tune."
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2) The world's first commercial GSM call was made in 1991 in Helsinki over a Nokia-supplied network, by Prime Minister of Finland Harri Holkeri, using a Nokia phone.
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3) Nokia is currently the world's largest digital camera manufacturer, as the sales of its camera-equipped mobile phones have exceeded those of any conventional camera manufacturer.
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4) The "Special" tone available to users of Nokia phones when receiving SMS (text messages) is actually Morse code for "SMS". Similarly, the "Ascending" SMS tone is Morse code for "Connecting People," Nokia's slogan. The "Standard" SMS tone is Morse code for "M" (Message).
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5) The Nokia corporate font (typeface) is the AgfaMonotype Nokia Sans font, originally designed by Eric Spiekermann. Its mobile phone User's Guides Nokia mostly used the Agfa Rotis Sans font.
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6) In Asia, the digit 4 never appears in any Nokia handset model number, because 4 is considered unlucky in many parts of Southeast/East Asia.
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7) Nokia was listed as the 20th most admirable company worldwide in Fortune's list of 2006 (1st in network communications, 4th non-US company).
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8. Unlike other modern day handsets, Nokia phones do not automatically start the call timer when the call is connected, but start it when the call is initiated. (Except for Series 60 based handsets like the Nokia 6600)
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9) Nokia is sometimes called aikon (Nokia backwards) by non-Nokia mobile phone users and by mobile software developers, because "aikon" is used in various SDK software packages, including Nokia's own Symbian S60 SDK.
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10) The name of the town of Nokia originated from the river which flowed through the town. The river itself, Nokianvirta, was named after the old Finnish word originally meaning sable, later pine marten.
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