Thursday, December 31, 2015

Cities that have Google Fiber

Currently, only three cities have Google Fiber - Provo, Kansas City (MO) and Austin. Work is also in progress to bring Google Fiber to several additional cities including Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh–Durham.

There are also several more cities under consideration for Google Fiber, but not yet planned. These potential cities include Portland (OR), San Jose, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Chicago, Louisville, Jacksonville and Tampa.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

When is Ella Wahlestedt's birthday?

Though various sources suggest different dates, according to the actress herself, it's August 1, 1998.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Can green tea extract help weight loss?

Green tea and green tea extract has a lot of tea benefits, and one claim is that it can help with weight loss or maintenance. This is due to green tea's high caffeine and catechin content, both of which are believed to speed up energy metabolism, therefore leading to weight loss. Despite this however, a study shows that green tea's ability to cause weight loss seems false, or insignificant at best.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Who was the original Sin Cara?

WWE wrestler Sin Cara was initially played by Luis Urive, better known by his ring name Mistico, when the character debuted in April 2011. After Urive was suspended for violating WWE's Wellness policy that August, the company began using another wrestler named Hunico to portray Sin Cara. When Urive was reinstated, this was worked into a new storyline, with Urive portraying the original Sin Cara and Hunico playing an impostor who was trying to steal the Sin Cara identity. A real-life situation from both wrestlers' past was also worked into the story - both had used the named Mistico in the past, but Urive won the legal rights to the name in 2005, forcing Hunico to use a different name. This would be Hunico's reason for trying to steal the Sin Cara identity. The rivalry culminated in a Mask vs. Mask match during an October episode of Smackdown, in which Urive's Sin Cara won, and Hunico unmasked.

The remainder of Urive's time in WWE would be marred by injuries, so much so that Hunico actually began wrestling as the character again. Urive left WWE in January 2014, and took the Sin Cara character with him to other promotions, despite the fact that WWE was still using Hunico as Sin Cara at the time. Urive would eventually begin using other ring names such as Myzteziz, Caristico and his pre-WWE name, Mistico. Hunico meanwhile, still wrestles as Sin Cara.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Pinta, a lightweight image editor

Pinta is an image editor available on many operating systems including Linux, Mac and Windows. More advanced than Paint, but not as complex as Photoshop or GIMP, Pinta is a good middle ground for users who need a simple, but capable image editor. It is based on another image editor, paint.net.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Finding and installing free fonts

Finding new fonts to use isn't hard, as there are many sites such as 1001 Free Fonts and DaFont that offer free fonts for download. Some sites, like Font Squirrel, even offer fonts that are completely free for commercial use.

Installing new fonts is also easy, as modern operating systems allow you to simply right-click the font file (double-click in Mac) and click "Install." In older operating systems that don't offer this option, just move the font file to the system's font folder - C:\Windows\Fonts or C:\WINNT\Fonts in Windows and /Library/Fonts in Mac.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Where to get Swag Codes

Swagbucks is a site where members can perform activities such as searching, shopping and playing games to earn Swag Bucks, which can then be redeemed for prizes like cash and gift certificates. One way to earn Swag Bucks is to use Swag Codes, special text codes that can entered on the site for points. Because Swag Codes are temporary and can appear suddenly and disappear within hours, you have to act quick in order to find and redeem them. Two sites to find Swag Codes are SBCodez and Swag Codes Spoiler.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

How did Satan's Kingdom get its name?

There are three places named Satan's Kingdom - one in Connecticut, another in Massachusetts and the last one in Vermont. The latter two are actually spelled Satans Kingdom, without the apostrophe.

Satan's Kingdom, Connecticut, received its name due to the presence of Native American outlaws that once lived in the area. Outcasted from the Tunxis tribe, they would commit crimes such as stealing chicken and murder.

Satans Kingdom, Massachusetts, was named for its rough terrain and wildlife. It likely served as a warning to prevent people from entering its potentially dangerous grounds.

Satans Kingdom, Vermont was believed to be named so by someone who "expected fertile, rolling acres and had received rocks and hills instead." It should be noted that government officials and locals alike have denied the existence of a place named Satans Kingdom.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Are Bridgit Mendler and Shane Harper still dating?

Despite rumors that Bridgit Mendler and Shane Harper are engaged or even married, Bridgit has confirmed that the two actors have broken up in an interview, stating "I'm single, so I guess that means I'm undateable." Bridgit and Shane started dating during their time together as co-stars on the Disney Channel show Good Luck Charlie, and had been dating for three years prior to the breakup.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Does the United States have an official language?

The United States of America does not have an official language, though English is considered the de facto language as it is the one used for legislation and is spoken by roughly 80% of the nation.

Although America doesn't have an official language on the federal level, 31 states have official languages. Of them, all 31 use English as their official language, while Alaska also have native Alaskan languages and Hawaii has the Hawaiian language in addition to English.

Friday, December 18, 2015

What are the names of the Try Guys from BuzzFeed?

The names of the four BuzzFeed Try Guys are Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, Eugene Lee Yang, and Zach Kornfeld.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Is activated carbon necessary for aquariums?

No, activated carbon isn't necessary for aquarium filtration. What activated carbon can do is remove organic molecules that causes odor and water discoloration, medication, chlorine and certain heavy metals such as copper. In a normal situation, activated carbon is unneeded as it isn't doing anything your water conditioner and regular water changes aren't already doing. However, there are certain situations that can warrant the usage activated carbon in your filter. It is useful for removing medication after your fish has been treated, as well as removing unwanted water coloration that can be caused by the addition of driftwood to your aquarium.

So why is activated carbon often included with aquarium filters, and recommended by manufacturers to replace monthly? Because it's just a simple money grab, and an easy way to sell you something that you don't need.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Where to read Sun Tzu's Art of War online

Sun Tzu's Art of War is one of the most revered and perhaps the most well-known military text in the world. It has an influence not only on military thinking, but in many forms of competition such as business, law and sports as well. While available in book form from many publishers, a free translation can also be found on the site Sonshi.com.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Birds of Prey theme song

The theme song for the TV series Birds of Prey was Revolution by Aimee Allen. The song was the opening track to what was supposed to be Allen's debut album, but the album was dropped when her record label, Elektra Records, merged with Atlantic Records and remains unreleased to this day.

When Birds of Prey was released on DVD five years after the show ended, the theme song was replaced, likely due to legal difficulties with securing the rights to Revolution. The song used for the DVD opening is named "My Remedy." It is unknown which musicians are behind the song, and it's possible that it was created solely as a theme song for the DVD. Despite the new theme song, Revolution and Aimee Allen both remained in the closing credits in the DVD.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Whatever happened to KevJumba?

KevJumba, real name Kevin Wu, was a popular YouTuber with over 2.9 million subscribers and 355 million video views. Despite this success, he seemingly disappeared from the public eye without explanation. His last uploaded video was in September of 2013, and his Twitter and Instagram accounts aren't active either. Even the release of his movie Man Up in the summer of 2015 didn't seem to bring KevJumba out of hiding.

So what happened to Kevin Wu? According to many, KevJumba has taken up religion and is aiming to become a monk. He has also visited various schools to promote his religion of Hare Krishna as well, and it was through these visits that fans managed to find out what he's up to nowadays. Though there remains no official announcement or closure, it does seem KevJumba has quit YouTube and moved onto a new life.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Is cyanocobalamin safe?

Cyanocobalamin is a commonly-used source of vitamin B12 in vitamin supplements, but concerns about its safety has been raised due to the fact that it contains cyanide. While there seems to be a lot of articles going around the internet that claims cyanocobalamin is dangerous or toxic, it is actually safe for humans. Although cyanocobalamin contains cyanide, the amount in it is too insignificant to cause any damage. In fact, our bodies deal with detoxifying cyanide regularly because it naturally occurs in many of the fruits and vegetables we consume.

One study shows that 1,000 micrograms of cyanocobalamin contains only 20 micrograms of cyanide, and for a 140 pound person, it takes 3,175 micrograms of cyanide to cause a risk and 31,750 grams to become lethal. This means if you took a vitamin B12 supplement that contains 1000 micrograms of cyanocobalamin, you would need to take about 158 of them at once for the cyanide content to even become a potential risk. Additionally, only vitamin B12 supplements would even contain that high an amount of cyanocobalamin; most multivitamins actually contain 100 (1667% the daily value) or less.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Are there penguins in the North Pole?

No, penguins do not live in the North Pole. In fact, with the exception of the Galapagos penguin, all species of penguins live in the southern hemisphere in the wild. This also means they do not share a natural habitat with polar bears, which are exclusive to the northern hemisphere, despite often depicted together in popular culture such as Coca-Cola's Christmas ads.

Interestingly enough, the northern hemisphere did have a similar bird called the Great auk. Much like penguins, Great auks walked on two feet, and had a similar appearance with black backs with white fronts. Once found all over the northern Atlantic in places such as Canada, Greenland and Iceland, Great auks are now extinct due to hunting, with the last known sighting in 1852.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Is Arizona iced tea from Arizona?

No, Arizona iced tea is actually from New York. Arizona Beverages was founded in 1971 as a beverage distributor under the name as Ferolito, Vultaggio and Sons, and it wasn't until 1992 when the company began producing their iconic iced teas. Originally located in Brooklyn, they are now headquartered in the Long Island hamlet of Woodbury.

So why the name Arizona? According to the company themselves, the owners wanted to name it after someplace hot and decided on Arizona after looking at a map. Santa Fe was also under consideration. A story claims the decision was made when Vultaggio remembered his uncle moved there, while another story claims the name originated when Vultaggio’s wife was inspired by a trip to the state.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Are Liv and Maddie real twins?

Liv and Maddie is a Disney teen sitcom about identical twins Liv and Maddie Rooney. Though both parts are played by a single actress, Dove Cameron, it actually requires three actresses to make it work. When Dove is playing one of the characters, a body double stands in for the other role, and it's through the magic of camerawork and editing that enables the two characters to appear as twins.

Both Liv and Maddie have individual actresses that act as Dove's body double - Emmy Buckner is the body double for Liv and Shelby Wulfert is the body double for Maddie. Neither actress play the double for the other character, and neither Dove, Emmy nor Shelby are twins in real life.