Wisdom disconnect: Jan. 27, 2010

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Better than vampires: Blood makes up approximately eight to nine per cent of oneโ€™s body weight. It is estimated that 1.2 million mosquitoes biting you simultaneously would drain your body of all its blood.

Trust your instincts: French philosopher Albert Camus preferred train travel to car travel. One day, car manufacturer Facel Vega managed to convince Camus to drive with him to their mutual destination. In an ironic twist of fate, Vegaโ€™s car crashed and Camus died. Found on Camusโ€™ dead body was his unused train ticket.

Doesnโ€™t matter if youโ€™re black or white: Contrary to popular belief, polar bears are not white. Rather, they have black skin with clear fur. The black skin absorbs sunlight to help keep the bear warm. Polar bears appear white because of how sunlight reflects off their clear fur.
And another polar thing: Japan was once the home of three green polar bears. The bears turned green after swimming in a pond with high algae content at the Higashiyama Zoo. The algae made its way into the hollow spaces of the bearsโ€™ fur, making it difficult to wash off.

Aura: Reiki is a form of therapy originating in Japan. In reiki, the practitioner re-aligns the energy waves surrounding their patient by holding their hands in certain positions on or near the patientโ€™s body. Successful reiki reduces stress, pain, and/or fatigue.

Lefties beware: They say that on average left-handed people die younger than right-handed people. This isnโ€™t because lefties just happen to drop dead a few years before their right-handed counterparts; rather, it is due to the fact that approximately 2500 left-handed people per year die from using machinery intended for right-handed people.

I lost count around 63: If you think the Hundred Years War fought between England and France lasted for 100 years, youโ€™re wrong. It actually lasted 116 years, from 1337 to 1453.

Right: For those of you who canโ€™t handle Wikipediaโ€™s โ€˜left-wingedโ€™ tendencies, Conservapedia is for you. Conservapedia is a Christian-conservative version of Wikipedia. It was created in 2006 by Andy Schlafly, who felt that Wikipedia had too much of a โ€œliberal, anti-Christian and anti-Americanโ€ bias.

A wise man once said: โ€œFreedom is nothing but a chance to be betterโ€ โ€“Albert Camus


Serving the Waterloo campus, The Cord seeks to provide students with relevant, up to date stories. Weโ€™re always interested in having more volunteer writers, photographers and graphic designers.