80% of all communication is self-talk

English, the second most spoken language in the world (Mandarin is the most spoken), has more words in it than any other language. But English speakers generally use only about 1% of the language. About 1/3 of the more than one million English words are technical terms.

Men and women are equally talkative, speaking about 16,000 words a day audibly. Very talkative people speak about 50,000 words per day. Thus said, about 80% of all talk communication is self-talk, talking to one self.

English is the top Internet language but the fastest-growing of the world's 2,700 languages is Nerdic.

The longest word in the world is a Latin-based scientific word describing a process in the human cell. It is 207,000 letters long - enough letters to fill 80 typed sheets of letter-size (or A4-size) paper.

Note: The image is from Inspired Services

Did you know that earth is not completely round?

Earth is not exactly round; it is slightly pear-shaped. The North Pole radius is 1.73 inch (44mm) longer than the South Pole radius. Plates carrying the continents migrate over the earth's surface a few inches per year, about the same speed that a fingernail grows. Which also is about the speed at which the moon is moving away from earth; the moon is moving away at 1-and-a-half inches (3,8cm) per year. The reason probably being that earth is rotating ever slower - 1.4 milliseconds per century slower, some sources calculate 3 milliseconds per century - meaning less gravitational pull on the moon. Earth is also moving away from the sun at 5.9 inches (15cm) per year.

What the average human body contains

The average human body contains enough potassium to fire a toy cannon, phosphorus to make 2,200 match heads, carbon to make 900 pencils, fat to make 7 bars of soap or 75 candles, iron (0.01% of body mass) to make a 7.5 cm nail, water (70% of your body) to fill a ten-gallon tank, and enough sulphur to kill all fleas on an average dog. Sulphur is necessary for the production of keratin, a protein that promotes healthy hair and skin. You can calculate how much sulphur your body contains at WebElements.

Of the 117 known elements, 24 are found in the human body, making up about 5% of your body - half of that is calcium. A combination of elements make up minerals. Health24 explains the minerals in your body and HowStuffWorks shows you the mechanics of your body.

The most important part of a human, though, is having a healthy attitude.

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Did you know that many important medicines were discovered without testing them on animals?

Logo for EU products not tested with animals

If penicillin had been tested on guinea pigs, it might never have reached the public. It is lethal to guinea pigs and other animals. In fact, many important strides have been made in human health without the use of testing on animals. These include the discovery of drugs such as digitalis, nitrite, quinine and penicillin; anaesthetics such as chloroform, ether and nitrous oxide gas; surgical procedures for cardiac aneurysm, appendicitis, brain tumours, cataracts, and bladder and gall stones. Even the link between cancer and smoking in humans was discovered without the use of animals.

Products that were not tested on animals carry the famous Leaping Bunny logo. A different happy bunny logo (shown) is used n Europe. Perhaps you can help Stop Animal Tests.

Most expensive items sold on eBay and the truth of bargains

There are two truths you should keep in mind:

1. The golden rule of business is: those with the gold rule.

2. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Both rules apply to eBay. And collectors, those with the gold, spent a bit of their money on the most expensive items sold on eBay:

1. Gulfstream II jet: $4.9 million.

2. 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card: $1.65 million.

3. Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy" baseball bat: $577,610.

4. Diamond Lake Resort in western Kentucky: $1.2 million.

5. Round of golf with Tiger Woods: $425,000.

Many more spent on things that sounded to be too good to be true. That's why eBay ain't what it used to be.

However much money you have to spend on goodies, happiness cannot always be bought. Or can it? Journalist Benjamin Wallace, author of The Billionaire's Vinegar, unravels the secrets - and the fraud - of the world's most expensive cars, food, wine and other very interesting and weird items in this video.

Benjamin Wallace on the price of happiness