Random Facts #4

1. People who are snoring are not dreaming.

2. 1 in 10 people dream in black and white.

3. Your nostrils take turns inhaling. You breathe through one for about 3-4 hours then switch to the other one.

4. Texas is the only state in the US that allows its residents to vote from space.

5. Frogs cannot swallow with their eyes open.

6. Yawning is a mechanism to wake the brain up when it requires it.

7. Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different.

8. 76% of people prefer to eat the ears off the Easter bunny chocolate first.

9. Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

10. Babies are born without knee caps. They don’t appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age

A Childhood Trauma Memoir

Apparently, English was actually the third language that I learned in my life. I first learned Korean when I was a baby, and the first school I went to was a Spanish school (where I was obviously taught in Spanish). So, I didn't know how to speak nor write in English until I was like in first grade or something. But, how am I supposed to remember that? My mom always goes around asking me, "Do you remember this? Do you remember that?" And, I obviously don't remember since she's always talking about something that happened when I was only three or four years old. But, there is this particular story about me that my mom brought up yesterday that I actually could remember clearly.

I was about four or five years old at that time. You know, the age when you think there are monsters under your bed and ghosts in the closet. My room was located at the end of the main hallway. Since my parents' room was exactly at the other end, I just needed to walk straight from my room to get there.

Almost every single night, because of being startled by a nightmare or mostly for no apparent reason, I'd wake up. I could never go back to sleep since I had my own little world where things would crawl out of my bed and eat me alive or something (I mean, I was only four years old). So, I always went to my parents' room where I would feel safer. But, I didn't just walk normally to their room. It was dark and scary. I would close my eyes and run straight in the dark until I reached my sanctuary where I would keep on sleeping in peace with my parents.

It was okay to have my eyes closed since the hallway was wide and straight, and the door to my parents' room was always open. So, doing my nightly routine, I woke up like at two in the morning and ran on full speed straight towards the room just like any other night. But, this night was a bit different. My dad, of course, decided to leave the door closed this particular night. He didn't do it on purpose, but that still doesn't change the fact that the door was closed. So, I was running on full speed when I suddenly felt this wooden block hit my face. I somehow fell backwards and I was crying all alone in the dark. Soon enough, my parents sleepily came out of the room and turned the lights on. They got so freaked out the moment they saw me: My entire face was all covered in blood and I was still on the floor crying. But, they calmed down soon after they found out what happened and noticed that the blood was actually not that serious since it only came from my nose.

So yes, that's my story. It's probably the oldest happening that I can remember of my childhood. I guess it was a bit traumatizing for me at that time since I still remember it. Anyway, I think that's it for now.

Random Facts #3

1. Laughing strengthens the immune system.

2. The color blue has a calming effect on humans: It causes the brain to release calming hormones.

3. Blueberry juice boosts memory.

4. It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

5. Kissing is healthier than shaking hands.

6. If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on the right side (and the left side if you're left handed).

7. No piece of normal-size paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.

8. The city of Portland in Oregon was named after a coin toss in 1844.

6. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.

9. In Korea and other East Asian countries, the age of the person is counted from conception and not physical birth.

10. When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red.

Lights, Camera, and Action!

So, you might wonder who this is. No, it's not me. It's this other Asian kid I know from the school. It's hard to explain this photo in a few sentences so here's the story.

Our Spanish teacher works as an actress. Her friend (who happens to be an executive producer or whatever) needed to have Asians for a commercial that they were going to take. So, the teacher gave my friend and me the phone number to call the company. We called, and this person told us to come visit that afternoon to try out for it, and so we did. They first took pictures of us in different angles and we had to do different kinds of faces. Then, they recorded a video where we had to say a short speech introducing ourselves. It was kind of weird since we were in a typical room where the background is completely white and all the lights are pointed towards you. But, we managed to do it and they told us that they were going to call us if we were chosen. Since they didn't call me afterward, I just forgot about it later on.

About two weeks later, right after coming back from a lovely trip on Holy Week, I received a phone call right when I was getting off the plane. My friend and I were chosen to be two of the four people that were going to come out in the commercial. Of course, we were very happy. We skipped a full Wednesday of school just to go to the commercial. We were even happier now.

So, we went to the place we had to go to. The other two actors were another Korean guy like us and a Vietnamese woman. We asked the director what we had to do for the commercial. To put it short, we all ended up acting as Chinese people and the commercial was about China entering the World Cup for their first time. But, it didn't matter that none of us were Chinese since all Asians look the same with their funny little eyes (that was sarcasm by the way). And, I had to act as a typical guy on the streets in China, holding a long wooden pole with two buckets at the ends full of vegetables. Let's just say it was interesting.

Anyway, we at least got paid well. So, this is a photo I took when my friend was about to start the scene he had to do. I just felt like sharing.

Read Me Carefully

1. It's impossible for someone to bite their own tongue using all their teeth.

2. Recent scientific studies show that 96% of the people who somehow managed to do this, had a higher brain capacity than an average man.

3. You have tried it by now and probably noticed that you can do it.

4. Numbers one and two were false. Most human beings can do it.

5. You thought, for an instance, that you had a gifted mind. But, now you notice how silly you were, trying to bite your own tongue just because of a random blog post.

6. By now, you are either laughing because of your silliness, or frowning because of your anger towards the blogger that posted this.

7. You have nothing better to do since your still reading this.

8. You really want to stop reading this because it's getting really boring, but you just can't. You want to finish reading until the last number.

9. I really have nothing else to write though.

10. Nothing.

Random Facts #2

1. Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but he declined.

2. An earthquake on Dec. 16, 1811 caused parts of the Mississippi River to flow backwards.

3. Astronauts get taller when they are in space.

4. Canada is an Indian word meaning ''Big Village''.

5. Early Romans used to use porcupine quills as toothpicks.

6. The U.S. Government spent $277,000 on pickle research in 1993.

7. All the swans in England are property of the Queen.

8. Animals will not eat another animal that has been hit by a lightning strike.

9. Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper.

10. Dogs and cats, like humans, are either right or left handed ("pawed").