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The Danube Delta is not only the second largest delta on the planet, but also the most preserved one on the European continent. According to recorded history, the delta was formed about 5,000 years ago on the place of what was initially a gulf to the Black Sea.

Nowadays, it is home to a great number of animals and plants and it contains 25 types of ecosystems, some of them strictly protected. If you happen to travel to Romania, the Danube Delta is one of the must-see attractions you cannot afford to miss. Following is a list of the top 10 facts that I have learned about this unique place.

1. Its biodiversity is close to the one of the Great Reef in Australia

According to ARBDD statistics, so far over 5,000 species and plants and animals have been identified in the Danube Delta. And, the same source states that that it is very likely that the numbers of animals and plants in the delta is even greater than that considering the various habitat types that exist in this area. This is why biologists concluded that the biodiversity present in the Danube Delta is almost as great and amazing as the one found in the Great Coral Reef.

2. The Danube Delta still continues to grow

Even though geologists agree that the Danube Delta started to form many thousand years ago, its landscape is ever-changing. To put it simply, it is estimated that approximately 67 million tons of alluvia make their way to the delta each year, a fact that determines this lost paradise to slightly increase on a yearly basis.

3. It is the birdwatcher’s paradise

The Danube Delta is the largest home for over 300 resident and migratory species of birds, mainly because of its crossroad location (parallel 45) between the Equator and the North Pole. The vast majority of species can be best observed during late spring (March or April) to mid fall (October) and the most noteworthy birds you are very likely to spot include the red-breasted goose, glossy ibis, small egret, Dalmatian pelican, the white pelican, ferruginous duck and the pygmy cormorant. It is necessary to mention that this delta is home to the largest population of pelicans in Europe.

4. The Danube Delta contains three interesting channels

Covering over 2,000 square miles, the Danube Delta comprises of an intricate network of channels spread between three main ones. The three channels – Chilia, Sulina and Sfantu’ Gheorghe – have their own “personalities” and individual attractions. For instance, if you were to visit the youngest channel – Chilia – you will have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the largest pelican colony and check out the beautiful wild horses that live nearby to the Letea forest.

5. It has an incredibly rich cultural heritage

As previously mentioned, the Danube Delta is among the best preserved deltas of the world. First attested by Herodot around the fourth century B.C. this place is still not tainted by the hand of man and currently has a rather small population of 15,000 inhabitants. However, human presence in the delta can be traced back to 5,000 years B.C. Many of the artifacts dated from prehistoric times as well as many traces of the ancient Greek, Byzantine and Roman cultures are still present there.

All of us have moments when we find it practically impossible to deal with important and urgent tasks due to distractions. However, according to psychologists, some people are deliberately looking for distractions that prevent them from getting things done. Procrastinators, as psychologists call them, are people who constantly make decisions that interfere with their overall performance and that have a negative impact on their lives. Without further ado, let’s review both the positive and negative effects of procrastination, in no particular order by looking at facts about this lazy activity!

1. Procrastination is a lifestyle

Procrastination can be viewed as a lifestyle mainly because the behaviors it determines in people take over all aspects of their life. To put it simply, procrastinators do not notice any negative consequence of performing tasks at the last minute and perhaps this is why they continue to do so. This is one of the reasons why they are actively looking for distractions that do not require a high level of commitment from their part. And, distractions these days are extremely easy to find, especially when you have a computer connected to the internet.

2. Procrastination is strongly related to self-regulation abilities

Even though procrastination can be linked to poor time management and planning skills, in reality it refers to a problem of self-regulation. In other words, the procrastinator does not perceive time any differently from others, but he is just more optimistic than the rest of us. Add the fact that procrastination is seen as a lifestyle and you will understand the futility of asking these individuals to create a weekly planner and stick to it.

3. Procrastinators are prone to substance abuse

The substance abuse among procrastinators is usually higher and it is a consequence of the individual’s inability of self-regulation. The low performance in life that is determined by the lack of serious engagement in various activities practically activates the avoidant coping mechanisms and makes them drink/utilize recreational drugs more often than they intend to. This can be perceived as a vicious circle since you do not like the way things are going, yet you do nothing serious about it.

4. Procrastinators often lie to themselves

Procrastinators are very likely to lie to themselves: essentially, they are convinced that they work very well under pressure and that they can finish all tasks on the next day, when they will surely feel up to it. Obviously, the urge to finish those charts tomorrow is usually absent that day and most of them do not perform well under pressure. When this happens, the coping mechanisms become active again and this is the moment when the procrastinator begins to believe the task is not really that important after all.

5. Procrastination has health consequences

Studies performed on procrastinating college students underlined several health problems for people in this demographic. Research shows that procrastinators have a weakened immune system, meaning that they are more prone to develop gastrointestinal problems and suffer from colds as well as flu more frequently. In addition, since they are not really using their internal resources, procrastinators are more likely to experience sleep disorders such as insomnia.

Despite the rapid advances of the last century, the medical profession still doesn’t know everything about the human body’s response to disease, so it’s vital to continue studying how disease impacts the body and to develop the drugs that will fight disease and prolong life. The way this is done is through medical trials. Every drug must be rigorously tested before being granted a licence. Part of that process is to carry out trials with healthy human volunteers and this is how it works.

1. Applying is Simple

The process of applying for the Volunteer Panel involves a few forms and takes about six weeks. You’ll be invited to a medical screening and once your application is approved, you will be contacted

2. Free MOT

As part of the application process, volunteers receive a thorough medical screening to identify any obvious or underlying problems, prior to being accepted on to the panel, or into a specific trial.

3. Paid

Those participating in a Healthy Volunteer trial are paid an honorarium for between £50 and £2000, depending on the length of their commitment. Travel expenses are also paid. In cases where volunteers leave the trial early, their honorarium is reduced.

4. Second Income

With an opportunity to participate up to four times a year, some people use paid medical trials as a second income.

5. Access to New Drugs for your Condition

If you are invited to participate in a condition specific trial – say, for asthma, or diabetes – you won’t receive payment, but you will have access to new and perhaps better treatment which could bring marked benefits to your condition.

Professional sports are the most entertaining form of reality television and there is no doubt about it.  Every week there is news of trades, injuries, tragedies and other stories that catch our viewers’ eyes. Trades, injuries, The list goes on and on so there’s no point in list every single news that hits sports  news. And when nothing is happening and everything is dull, there is still the matter of games, coaches being fired, players being suspended for a variety of reasons and the all important, “Where is the this team going to play in?”

There are many “scandals” that have taken place over the course of the existence of the NFL. Many happened long before most of us were even born or were old enough to read about what had taken place. Others have had a ringside seat to some of the best scandals this side of the OJ Simpson Trial.

This article examines top 10 jarring NFL scandals of all time. To make this list of all-time scandals, players, coaches and performers  had to stand out for doing something crazy–not just a DUI or assault case. Think big when reading this article.

1. Big Ben’s Sexual Relations:

Pittsburg Steeler’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is famous and well liked, but behind every hero there is a story. In 2008, allegations emerged in Lake Tahoe regarding allegations of sexual assault. Roethlisberger was suspended for 6 games, which was then reduced to 4 in 2010. The 2008 case was sidelined by more allegations in March of 2010 in Milledgeville, Georgia.

2. Eddie DeBartolo Jr.: Extortion:

This owner is the most disliked in the history of NFL and for good reason. He and the Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards got into trouble with the law for extortion and for failing to report a felony when getting a river boat casino license. He received a $1 million fine and was put on a 2 year probation, as a result.

3. OJ Simpson Murder Trial:

The OJ Simpson murder trial was by far the most disgraceful scandal to every hit NFL. The football star was tried on two counts of murder following the 1994 death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman. It was the most publicized criminal trial in American history, being shown throughout North America on television networks. After a lengthy trial that lasted 9 months, Simpson was acquitted.

This was the least of his problems. The Brown and Goldman families sued Simpson for damages in a civil trial. The jury found there to be a preponderance of evidence against him to lead a civil trial.

Time Magazine said it all: “An American Tragedy” with a mugshot of O.J on the cover.

4. Lawrence Taylor Sex Scandal:

Lawrence Taylor is one of the best known defensive players in the history of the NFL. He’s ranked on top by former players, coaches and media critics. Although he is on top on TV, he is considered to be at the bottom in real life. He is drenched in controversy time and time again. He’s admitted to using drugs throughout his career, being suspended several times for failing drug tests. He was also jailed 3 times for drug possession. In 2011, he came  under scrutiny yet again for sexual misconduct against a 16 year old. But this is not all, Mike Wallace revealed that Taylor hired prostitutes and spent thousands of dollars a day on narcotics. WOW!

5. Super Bowl XXXIII:

Atlanta Falcons’ defensive back Eugene Robinson was arrested for soliciting a prostitute for $40 in Miami. The prostitute was actually an undercover cop. What was disgraceful about the whole scandal was that Robinson was the recipient of the Bart Starr Award from a Christian group Athletes in Action. He was even a bigger let down in the game, missing tackles and throwing an interception.

Many people associate porn with a variety of media, such as books, magazines, photos, drawings, animations, films, videos, video games etc. The term applies to the depiction of the act rather than the act itself, and does not include live exhibitions like sex shows and striptease.

This article sets out to entice readers and to provide fascinating facts which they never knew about until now.

1.

Watching pornography seems to be an intense task for the eyes. However, new research has proven that it can actually quiet down a part of the brain that processes visual stimuli. This is the exact opposite of watching other movies that send extra blood flow to this brain region. This helps explain the reasons why there is sexual arousal in people. It may not send blood to the visual stimuli, but will definitely send it to the region responsible for sexual arousal.

2.

Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam determined that women do look at internet porn, but are less likely to pay for it. This causes the gender gap to widen into an abyss. Both Ogas and Gaddam did research examining sexual preferences through data compiled from search engines like DogPile and AOL and internet porn sites such as Fastasi.cc and PornHub.

3.

As disgusting as these sounds, MILFs are as popular as 19 year olds. This was again found by research done by Ogas and Gaddam. Older women were so popular that men searched more times for a fifty year old than a 19 year old.

4.

In 2010, there were 420 million internet porn pages and 4.2 million porn websites. 68 million requests were made on search engines daily for this specific topic.

5.

Porn industry is approaching a crossroad. The industry is embracing new technologies that are hitting the market and are throwing out traditional porn producers at the same time.

With the death of Kim Jong-il on December 17, 2011, came a wave of unprecedented confusion. No one outside of North Korea knows anything about Kim Jong-un. The man lived a mystery life up until 2010 when he received the ranking of a General. Here are just 10 unknown facts which recently came to light upon his succession.

1. Schooling:

Despite the seclusion of North Korea, Kim Jong-un attended an English language school in Berne, Switzerland under an alias, “Pak Choi”. His former classmates testified to the fact that Kim Jong-un attended Gumligen International School and Liebefeld public school.

2. Shy:

Unlike his father, Kim Jong-il, who murdered his own brother at the age of 5, Kim Jong-un was a shy boy and a good kid.

3. Unknown Birthdate:

No one can actually say when Kim Jong-un was born. Many believe he was born in late 1983 or early 1984 in Pyongyang. The intelligence has provided a date (January 8, 1984) that to this day is a mystery with a big ?.

4. Rare shots:

Kim Jong-un was hardly shown in public. Many never knew what he looked like until the mid-1990s. It was only in June of 2010 that he was introduced to the public.

5. Puberty:

Kim Jong-Un hit puberty at the age of 8, simultaneously inventing the handlebar mustache.

Nortel Networks, formerly the Nortel Telecom Limited, was a multinational telecommunications company with headquarters in Canada. In 2012, top executives at Nortel, including CEO Frank Dunn, were accused of cooking the books. Accruals were shifted in order to prevent profit which would trigger employee bonuses. Frank Dunn specifically was accused of encouraging the manipulation of numbers to make his company seem more profitable at good times so that he and other executives would receive bonuses. Only financial statements would reveal the scam. The company went bankrupt in 2009.

1. January 14, 2009

Nortel Networks Corporation and other affiliated companies were given protection from their creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

2. July 30, 2009

Representing former employees of Nortel and those receiving long term disability benefits, Koskie Minsky was hired to assist with future claims. There are no claims at the present moment as Nortel pays for the claims to disability.

3.

The company originated in 1885 when Bell created a mechanical department to manufacture telephones and telephone equipment. In 1889, the department started to manufacture the first switchboard. The Nortel company was not incorporated until 1895 under the name Northern Electric & Manufacturing Company Ltd.

4.

The name changed to Northern Telecom Ltd in 1976. The company aimed to focus on digital technology. The following year, it introduced its DMS line of Digital Central Office Telephone Switches. The new development was a success.

5.

Northern Telecom/Nortel was the first non-Japanese company and supplier to market its switches in Europe and China.

Smoking tobacco literally means burning as well as inhaling the substances. The practice has been around since 5000 B.C.E when it was cultivated in South America. During the colonial years, American colonists harvested the tobacco crops and used it for subsistence.

Many wonder what the facts are relating to smoking cigarettes. I pulled out 10 fascinating facts that not many people would know, especially from looking at the carton.

1.

Cigarette smoking is a significant source of avertable morbidity and untimely mortality in the world.

2.

Half of the smokers who smoke for long term periods will die from the tobacco inside cigarettes. Remember that every cigarette you smoked cuts a minimum of five minutes of your life. This is about the same time it takes you to smoke it.

3.

Smoking costs the United States over $150 billion (average) a year in health care costs and expenditures. Canada spends about $3 billion dollars (average) a year on health care costs caused by smoking.

4.

Each day 3,000 children worldwide smoke their first cigarette. At least 3 million adolescents become regular smokers.

5.

For every 100,000 15 year old teenage smokers, 20,000 are likely to die from smoke related diseases before the age of 70. This is way below the average mortality rate in the Western Countries.

There are some misconceptions about Somali pirates with increasing news coverage. They are gaining the attention of the international community with the hostile tactics. The question this article desires to ask: who are the pirates? What is their motive? Who pushed them to the edge? Well let’s take a look at these questions in 10 interesting facts.

1.

The cause for insurgency was corporations and foreigners ‘trespassing’ on Somali waters. Foreign corporations dumped their waste inside the Somali waters, while foreigners were fishing. Somalia is a country that has a large fishery dependency. With scarce income, many Somali fishermen are protective of their property and their assets.

2.

The Guardian in the U.K. reported that 44% of piracy incidents on world seas between January and September 2010 were caused by Somali pirates. There were 289 incidents in total.

3.

Piracy has hindered on the delivery of shipping material and has increased shipping costs. The Telegraph reports that piracy has cost £10 billion a year in trade.

4.

In just the fall of 2011, 300 people were held hostage by differing groups of Somali pirates. The international Maritime Bureau thus has considered Somali coast to be a dangerous stretch of water to enter.

5.

They are not your typical pirates. They do not wear eye patches and swords. They are more modern than Captain Cook. They have RPGs in their hands which they use as scare tactics for ransom.

It is with great sadness that we lost another superstar with such a fascinating voice and with some of the biggest potential in the music and the entertainment industry. Houston like Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse left us too soon. Let them not die in vain and let’s remember a lesson or two on drug abuse.

1. Multiple Awards:

Houston has won 6 Grammys, 30 Billboard awards and 22 American Music Awards. The most famous songs were I Will Always Love You and Your Love is My Love.

2. Church Gospel:

She began singing in her church in gospel choir in Newark, New Jersey at age 11. Clive Davis who was having a party at the time of her death found her fame.

3. Collapse before Death:

National Enquirer covered a story 2 days before Houston’s death. She was seen in public, out of place and being tipsy while trying to get into her car. When in the car, she collapsed. Many feared she had a relapse. In fact one person even asked if they should call the police. She had a good performance, but was too dishevelled with blood on her leg right after.

4. Houston viewed the cover page:

Houston viewed the cover page right before her death. She was in the gift shop of the hotel. She was quite distraught.

5. El DeBarge & Whitney Houston:

Elda Barge spoke to Houston in an embrace the Thursday before her death. Houston was adamant on getting help and specified that she was in trouble. She wanted Barge to help her get through her troubles the way that he did.