Beautiful Facts About Butterflies:

Ahh, butterflies… Whether they’re in the pit of our stomachs, floating over lush pastures or as stickers on a colorful notebook,  butterflies are beautiful creatures, they bring feelings of joy & happiness bringing us back to our childhood memories. But could there be more than meets the eye about these wonderful creatures? Well there is actually, and in this article, we’re going to look at 30 interesting facts about butterflies you probably never heard about!

1. There are over 17,500 recorded butterfly species in the whole world. Out of this number, 750 can be found in America.
2. Butterflies belong to the Lepidoptera class of insects which are characterized by their large scaly wings.
3. The Cabbage White specie of butterfly is the most commonly found in the US. While they are called Cabbage White, they are characterized by their two black markings at the top of their wings.
4. Monarch butterflies migrate to escape from the cold, not to procreate contrarily to popular belief.
5. Monarch butterflies are the only insect in the whole world that travels over 2,500 miles on average every winter.
6. However, while the Monarch is the only butterfly to cover this wide a distance, many butterfly species flee weather conditions in the winter, such as the Clouded Skipper, Red Admiral, Cloudless Sulfur and American Lady just to name a few.
7. The North American Monarch is one of the species that has been the most severely impacted by recent climate changes, with their numbers seeing dips and spikes over the last few years.
8. Butterflies don’t taste with taste buds, but rather sensors located under their feet.
9. A group of butterflies is known as a flutter.
10. Butterflies can see beyond the ultraviolet spectrum and their eyes consist of a network of 6000 lenses.
11. Did you know that many adult butterflies do not excrete waste at all? As a matter of fact, many adult butterflies use everything they eat as energy.
12. Contrarily to popular perception, the wings of butterflies are totally clear and the colors we see are the effect of light reflecting on the tiny scales covering them.
13. The wings of butterflies move in a figure 8 motion.
14. Butterflies can vary greatly in size. The biggest butterfly specie has a 12 inch wingspan, while the smallest ever recorded only covers half an inch.
15. Some butterflies can be very picky about where they lay their eggs. As a matter of fact, some butterflies will only lay their eggs in one type of plant.
16. The first thing a caterpillar eats after it hatches from its cocoon is usually the shell of the cocoon itself.
17. In some places, you can find so many caterpillars feeding on plants that you can actually hear them munching.
18. The time it takes a caterpillar to evolve into a butterfly is usually between 10 and 15 days depending on the particular specie.
19. Butterflies are cold blooded creatures for the most part.
20. Some butterfly species are extremely fast. As a matter of fact, the Skipper Butterfly can fly faster than a horse can run.
21. Butterflies have long tongues that are shaped like tubes that gives them the ability to soak up food instead of sipping it.
22. Male butterflies engage in what is called “puddling”. In fact, many male butterflies get nourishment by drinking water from mud puddles, which allows them to extract much needed minerals.
23. A group of butterflies puddling together is referred to as a “puddle club”.
24. Some species of butterflies drink blood coming from open wounds of other animals.
25. Many scientists thought butterflies were completely dead until they first identified butterfly ears in 2012.
26. The Common Buckeye Butterfly is considered as one of the most striking species of butterflies with its wide upper wing bars and big, multicolored eyespots.
27. The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly is one of the biggest butterfly species on the planet, with wings spanning from 4 to 7 inches.
28. The adult butterfly only lives 3 to 4 weeks in average.
29. Many butterfly species are polymorphic and have the ability to blend in with their surrounding environment.
30. Butterflies cannot fly if the air temperature falls under 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Since butterflies are cold blooded animals, they can regulate their body temperature, which renders them completely immobile in cold weather.

So there you have it, 30 great facts about butterflies. So next time you see a larvae munching on leaves, or see them floating around your yard, remember that these little flying flowers are much more than just mere insects. You’ll now be able to appreciate them for what they truly are, tiny little miracles of nature.

20 Surprising Facts About Malta:

When I think of Malta, thoughts flood into my head of sitting in the baking sun, slurping ice-cream on St Paul’s Bay and watching the ships out on the Mediterranean. There’s something for everyone in Malta, and here we’re going to look at 20 surprising facts about this beautiful little island!

1. There are 365 churches in Malta, one for each day of the year!
2. On the 1^st May, 2004 Malta joined the EU.
3. Malta actually has their own language but the majority of the population also speak English.
4. Malta is around 179 miles (288 km) north of Africa and around 58 miles (93 km) south of Sicily.
5. The population is 400,000, the 3 islands, Malta, Gozo and Comino only equate to 122 sq. miles (316 sq. km).
6. Paul was shipwrecked on the island in 60 A.D. while on his way to Rome bringing Christianity to Malta.
7. The country held the record for the biggest gathering of people dressed as storybook characters. This was done by 453 people in March 2011 at Chiswick High School. This record was trumped in 2014 in Singapore with 1560 people.
8. Whilst on his way to Egypt, Napoleon took over Malta in 1798 from the Knights.
9. Malta became independent from the British in 1964.
10. Malta has their own Marmite-esque product, Kinnie. A bitter-orange-and-herb flavoured soft drink that’s been popular since 1952. Personally, I don’t like it!
11. Malta has a range of endemic Maltease wildlife including Maltese Ruby Tiger Moth, Schembri’s Spider Fly and Maltese Field Beetle.
12. Favourite local desserts include kannoli’s (fried pastry filled with ricotta) and Helwa tat-Tork (sweet mix of whole and broken almonds)
13. There are a plethora of famous faces born on this beautiful little island including 24 producer Jon Cassar, RED 2’s Emma Heming and Game of Thrones hunk Andrei Claude.
14. A 330-feet deep submerged land bridge used to connect Malta to Sicily.
15. Malta once belonged to Britain, but as of 1964 Malta is now its own independent country.
16. Valetta, Malta’s capital, is often known as the first planned European city, being sketched in 1565 during the order of St. John.
17. Evidence, including 11 Megalithic monuments, suggests people have lived on the island since around 5000BC.
18. Malta took their biggest footballing defeat in 1983, losing 12-1 to Spain, a game many claim was fixed to allow Spain to progress in the 1984 Euros.
19. As of November 2016, Malta stand at 156^th in the Olympic ranking. In the 2016 Olympics, Malta had 7 participants but zero medals.
20. The largest Catherine wheel, built by Lily Fireworks Factory on 18^th June 2011, in Mqabba, Malta, had a diameter of just over 105 ft (32 meters).

So there we have it, the beautiful island really does a range of mind-blowing trivia to satisfy everyone’s fact-finding love. Speaking as someone who’s visited the island numerous times, there really is something mesmerizing about the country and I strongly urge everyone to visit. Whether you like it or hate it, you can’t deny the ever-impressive historical significance of the island, or the stunning geographical areas.

Exactly..!!

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Facts about Game of Thrones Series:

If you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, check out the most interesting facts about this television series.

1. HBO’s T.V. Show Game of Thrones is based on a series of books by author George R. R. Martin known as the Song of Ice and Fire series.
2. When making an ideal cast, Martin and producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss had only two definite actors in mind. These being Peter Dinklage (Tyrion) and Sean Bean (Eddard).
3. In the original pilot “Winter is Coming” for Game of Thrones there are several actors who were replaced later on, including those that originally played Catelyn Stark and Daenerys Stormborn.
4. MagistarIllyrio’s manse across the Narrow Sea is actually the summer palace of Malta’s president. Although camera crews were not permitted to film inside, the palace was also used as the Red Keep’s gardens in King’s Landing.
5. All of the snow and ice that is seen on-set is created for the use of Game of Thrones.
6. After the filming of the third episode, Sophie Turner (Sansa) adopted the dog that played Sansa’s direwolf Lady.
7. The first season of Game of Thrones premiered on April the 17th, Sean Bean’s birthday!
8. Shortly after the filming of the Dothraki wedding was completed, Malta was hit by one of the worst storms in their history, causing many of the props to be lost at sea!
9. HBO commissioned the Dothraki tongue through the Language Creation Society and created by linguistics expert David Peterson. At the start of filming there were approximately 1700 words, and there are now 3000.
10. Actor Liam Burke was cast as Aerys II Targaryen, the ‘Mad King’, in flashback scenes but these scenes were cut from filming.
11. Actress Maisie Williams is right-handed, although her character Arya is left-handed, so she learnt all her fight scenes with Syrio left-handedly.
12. In his audition tape, Jason Momoa (KhalDrogo) performed the Haka dance, an ancestral war-cry, dance or challenge of the Maori people from New Zealand.
13. Most cast members haven’t read the books that the series is based on so as not to find out their characters’ fate as some think this will affect their acting.
14. In a letter to actor Jack Gleeson (Joffrey), author Martin complemented him on his acting saying “Congratulations on your marvellous performance, everyone hates you.”
15. There are more words within the Dothraki tongue for ‘kill’ than there are for ‘love’.
16. The part when Ser Hugh of the Vale dies – including the falling horse, the spurting blood and other effects – was kept as a secret from the likes of Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams (Sansa& Arya) to create a genuine reaction.
17. The crypts beneath Winterfell and the dungeon beneath the Red Keep in King’s Landing are the same set.
18. During the scene where Daenerys eats the horse’s heart, actress Emilia Clarke was chewing for filming all day – her retch at the end of the scene was genuine!
19. During the scene in which Ned is seen in a fever dream after his clash with Jamie Lannister, actor Sean Bean caught the flu in order to look as feverish as possible for this scene.
20. Winterfell’s courtyard may look realistic enough but it is actually set within a car-park to allow for 360 degree shots.
21. Actress Carice van Houten was previously asked to audition for a role within season one, but couldn’t due to schedule conflicts. She was asked to audition for a different role within season two and was later cast as Melissandre.
22. The pool within the godswood of Winterfell is actually filled with black paint in order to make it as reflective as possible.
23. The armourer seen crafting the sword Needle for Jon Snow in the T.V. show is Tommy Dunn, and he is the smith who creates all the weapons used in the show.
24. One of the production artists who helped design Pandora within Avatar also worked on Game of Thrones, with their influence seen especially through the Vale of Arryn and the Eyrie.
25. Jon Snow’s night-time chase towards the end of season one lead to a stunt-woman needing eight stitches after the set’s generators crashed and she ran into a tree.
26. The sky-cell of the Eyrie where Tyrion is kept was in the parking lot facing the trailers of the rest of the cast. It also over-looked the same place where James Cameron built his gigantic replica of the Titanic.
27. The actor who plays the character Theon Greyjoy is Alfie Allen, Lily Allen’s younger brother who her song ‘Alfie’ is wrote about.
28. The dead stag at the opening of season one on the road is no prop – in fact it was killed by local hunters and gutted by an animal handler Kenny after being left for a few days to ripen.
29. After the pilot episode many people believed the girl nailed to the tree was a doll and it was criticised for this. The facts are that it was actually a 19 year-old actress, Claire Wright.
30. The title sequence, by Angus Wall of E52 Elastic, was based on the notion of a raven flying over a map. Martin said that “because geography is very important, getting in the map was a good idea” and was pleased with Wall’s opening title sequence.

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”

Interesting Facts About The Lord of the Rings:

We’ve read the books and we’ve seen the films, but what are some interesting facts that you might not already know about The Lord of the Rings? Well here’s the top 25 facts we could find!

1. The role of Gandalf was offered to Sean Connery, but he didn’t understand the script after reading it and turned it down.
2. J.R.R. Tolkien used just two fingers to type a whopping 1,200 pages of text for the books.
3. The character Merry was named Marmaduke Brandybuck when Tolkien first wrote the books, but he later changed her name. What a relief!
4. The Beatles tried to make a film of Lord of the Rings starring themselves, but Tolkien wasn’t keen on the idea and it was put to a speedy end.
5. Christopher Lee had not met J.R.R. Tolkien until he bumped into him unexpected while having a drink in an Oxford bar.
6. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen didn’t film any scenes together.
7. Around 18,000 costumes were made for the filming of all three Lord of the Rings films. In some cases, as many of 40 clones of the same costume needed to be made.
8. The two Hobbit films had a huge budget – twice as much as for all three LotR films.
9. Due to a phobia, Sean Bean would not get in a helicopter to fly to one of the New Zealand mountains used for filming. As a result, he had to climb up there every single time instead.
10. Christopher Tolkien, son of J.R.R. Tolkien, does not like the Lord of the Rings books written by his father.
11. Viggo Mortensen, the actor who played Aragorn, ended up buying two of the horses used in the films.
12. ‘The Return of the King‘ won an Academy Award in the ‘Best Picture’ category. This made it the first fantasy film to win this award.
13. More than 2,000 weapons and 10,000 arrows were created for the filming of the LotR trilogy.
14. Viggo Mortensen learnt how to speak Elvish for the purpose of the films. He also speaks five other languages, including Danish and Italian.
15. Christopher Lee was successful in getting the role of Saruman, but his real ambition was to play Gandalf. The producers thought his age would interfere with the fighting scenes.
16. Peter Jackson, the director of the trilogy, had a cameo role in each of the three films. His children also had cameo appearances.
17. Cast members from ‘The Fellowship of the Ring‘, including Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen, had the number nine in Elvish tattooed onto them after filming had ended.
18. Christopher Lee had read the Lord of the Rings books every year for more than 40 years before he was cast as Saruman.
19. Ian McKellen kept some items from his time playing Gandalf, including the staff, sword and wizard’s hat.
20. Sean Astin and Orlando Bloom were just two of the actors who sustained injuries while on set, and Viggo Mortensen broke two of his toes!
21. Cate Blanchett loved her costume while playing Galadriel, and when filming had finished, the prosthetic elf ears were given to her as a gift.
22. It takes Frodo 17 years to start his adventure. Although it doesn’t seem like that in the films, it is years after finding the ring that he actually sets out on his venture.
23. Legolas is known for his white-blond hair in the films, but the books don’t actually specify his hair colour.
24. While Tolkien admitted that the books can be seen as being a reference to historical events, he did not intend them to be allegorical.
25. ‘The Return of the King‘ broke the record for the film with the highest amount of people featured in it.

Interesting Facts About Monopoly:

Are you one of the billion people who has played Monopoly? Check out these fun and interesting facts about the world’s number one board game!

1. Monopoly was created by the Parker Brothers and is subtitled as ‘The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game’.
2. Simply out, the aim of the game is to dominate the market as a single entity.
3. The earliest game can be traced back to 1903.
4. This version was created by Elizabeth Maggie, who wanted a game to understand tax.
5. Two famous characters are Jake the Jailbird, and Officer Edgar Mallory.
6. Mr Monopoly’s true name is Rich Uncle Pennybags.
7. Over 275 million games have been sold worldwide in over 111 different countries, and has been translated into 43 languages.
8. It has been played by over a billion people with the longest running game lasted for 70 days straight.
9. Tokens have included elephants and purses.
10. Between 1940 and 1960, it was voted America’s number one game.
11. Escape maps, compasses, files and money were smuggled in Monopoly cases during World War II.
12. During the 1970’s, a Braille version was created for those who are visually impaired.
13. In 1972, the Commissioner of the Public Works wanted to rename places on the board, but the public stopped him.
14. In 1978, the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue offered a chocolate Monopoly game at $600.
15. Icons have been featured on postage stamps.
16. Monopoly at McDonalds encourages you to save tokens from your meals to win big prizes like a car, on an instant win like an apple pie.
17. More than six billion houses, and 2.25 billion hotels have been made.
18. Many editions are available, including Disney, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and many more.
19. There are many world tournaments for the game. They have taken place in: Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Singapore, United Kingdom, and, United States.
20. The most expensive game board was made by designer, Sidney Mabell. It had a 23 carat board, and a diamond studded dice, and cost over $2,000,000!
21. It has been on over seven media platforms, in twenty languages. Since the launch, it has been downloaded over 10 million times.
22. A board game was sent to space in 2007.
23. In 2008, 3000 people passed “Go” online, in a world record attempt.
24. It was awarded the Best Mobile App Award in 2008.
25. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), a heated game of Monopoly occurs, after which cold water is thrown on the patients.