The Eyes

Brainpower Newsletter

I had last week's newsletter mostly prepared beforehand, because I knew we would be getting back from Ecuador the day before. But I am still catching up on everything, so this week's newsletter will be a bit shorter than normal.

By the way, in the little town of Banos, Ecuador, I played chess every day for five days in the center of town, with a few regulars that I knew from our visit there four years ago. I have always thought that chess is a great brain exercise, but even more than that, it develops the thinking processes and the brain itself if it 's taught at a young age. Fortunately, Manolo (I can't recall his last name), who was my primary opponent, teaches the kids in the schools there.

I almost hate to admit it, but I was beat by one boy in Banos that was ten years old, and four years ago I was beat by an eight-year-old! I should mention that I am a decent player (and I play almost every week). It just shows you how powerful the mind already is at a young age, and what a difference a good teacher can make.

Enjoy the newsletter!

- The biggest ocean is the Pacific, which covers 32.6% of the Earth's surface.

- The longest river is the Nile, in Africa, at about 4,160 miles (6,695 kilometers) in length.

- To light up, fireflies use Luciferin, which when combined with oxygen enables them to produce light. The process is called bioluminescence. They light up to attract a mate.

If you quickly glance at the following trivia questions, you might think they are not too difficult. However, most people will get less than half of them right. See if you can get five of the ten.

1. Where did Chinese gooseberries originally come from?

2. Where are Panama hats made?

3. How many years did the "Hundred Years War" last?

4. What color is the "black box" in jet airplanes?

5. What was the first name of King...

Continued here:
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/trivia-questions.html

At the University Of Newcastle they have a lounge where you can get coffee. People are encouraged to pay a fair price, and there is a suggested price list. Money is simply dropped in a box. Researchers started with the idea that people are better-behaved when they are being watched - a reasonable assumption.

But they wondered if that "watching" needed to be real or if it could be symbolic and still have a similar effect. So they put a picture of flowers next to the price list in the coffee-lounge, and later put a picture of two eyes looking out at the coffee drinkers. The amount people put in the box while the eyes were there was almost three times the amount they put in the box when the picture of the flowers was there.

Forwards I am heavy backwards I am not. What am I?

(Answer is below)

Make a brainpower smoothie with some orange juice, a banana, possibly some fresh or frozen strawberries, and a small handful of walnuts. Throw these all in a blender and mix for a minute before drinking. Make it your first food of the day. The fruit gives you energy and vitamins your brain needs. The walnuts, in addition to having omega-3 fatty acids and amino acids that are good for the brain, also keep the glycemic index rating of the smoothie lower, which helps prevent a brain-fog inducing spike in blood sugar.

Here are a few brain facts to amuse and inform you:

- Your brain uses 20% of your blood. About 20% of your blood is pumped to the brain, which needs it to keep up with the heavy metabolic demands of its neurons.

- Your brain uses 20% of your oxygen....

Continued here:
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/brain-facts.html

Often it feels easier to believe in lies than to take an honest look at things the way they are. When this is the case, it is as though, as a society, we publicly sanction a lie. The following is an example of one such lie.

If It Saves One Life It's Worth It

The lie that some new regulation or action is worth it if it saves one life is just a pleasant thought, usually with no relation to reality. It may or may not be worth it, depending on the cost. You can rightfully put unlimited value on your own life. However, all actions to save others lives have to take into account the real cost.

For example...

Continued here:
http://www.999ideas.com/public-lies.html

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Until next time,

Steve

www.IncreaseBrainpower.com

Riddle Answer: Ton (read it backwards).

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