Random Facts About People

Following on from my Random Facts About Food and Drink hub, I thought I'd write about people, because let's face it, there's nothing quite so weird and wonderful as us humans sometimes. But why stop at food, drink and humans huh? I'm on a roll with my random factness, so here's some more! Scroll down to read the random facts about people.

Here's:

Random Facts About Animals

and

Random Facts About The Human Body

Safe T Man is a fake male aimed at protecting women from real ones. He's 185cm tall and weighs 5kg. His face and hands are made from latex and the facial features have been painted on. According to marketing materials: 'when travelling, simply place Safe T Man in the passenger seat of your car. When alone in your home, set a place for Safe T Man at the dinner table. Watch TV with him, or place him at a desk'.

You can choose light or dark skin, blonde, dark or grey hair.

Button on legs are optional.

Symbols of eternal love aren't expensive in Zambia, as copper is a locally mined metal. A wedding ring is usually made from sliced electrical tubing and then beaten to size. These wedding rings are widely available in street markets, but there is a huge downside to wearing one. If worn on a daily basis, your finger will turn green!

On the night before their wedding, Malaysian muslim women stain all 10 fingers up to the first joint with henna. They believe that this will protect them from evil spirits entering the body.

Henna can stain for up to 2 months, and steer well clear of black henna, that can cause lifelong scarring and other health issues. Traditional red-brown henna is perfectly safe, so make sure you check what is being used.

'Status Shoes' give men an extra 5cm in height. They look like an ordinary men's shoe but they secretly have a platform built inside that the foot rests on. So if you're short and concerned about it, buy some 'Status Shoes' or you could always walk around in a pair of platforms, which is what these essentially are, the platforms are just cleverly hidden.

Simon Cowell possibly wears these.

Successful Sumo wrestlers are well fed (obviously!), well paid, and are showered with gifts by their fans. They live and train in stables with other Sumo wrestlers and the teenage apprentices do the cooking, laundry, and even wipe dirty bottoms if the wrestlers are too large to do it themselves.

A successful Sumo wrestler has no trouble finding a wife, they will often be Japanese models or actresses. After retiring, usually in their early 30's, a Sumo wrestler will drop a large amount of weight.

Lead is a heavy metal that causes poisoning in humans. Children are most affected by continuous exposure and can lead to lower intelligence. In most developed countries, lead has been removed from products used in daily life. Products such as high-gloss paints and gasoline contained high amounts previously. Lead however is still used in some everyday things, such as certain eyeliners. It's found in khol, a mineral compound that is used in khol pencils to enhance the eyes in certain countries. Morocco is where the most dangerous khol can currently be found.

Moose dropping were popular souvenirs during the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics in Norway. However, they are always popular in Sweden where 2000 jars a year are sold. If you don't want a whole jar of poop you could always fashion yourself with moose dropping earrings. They're apparently quite popular.

Hig heels are bad for you. Heels more than 5.7 cm in height distribute weight unevenly putting stress on the spine and causing back ache. They also put pressure on the bones near the big toe, leading to stress fractures and hammer toes. Prolonged wear can also cause arthritis.

In 1998, Mayor Elcio Berti of Bocaiuva Do Sul, Brazil spent $35000 and gave out free Viagra to the town's people to boost the dwindling population of 10000. He had previously tried to ban conraception.

Bocaiuva Do Sul literally translates as 'out in the sun too long'.

The Lovers Mitten is designed for cosy couples to hold hands even in freezing temperatures. A set consists of 3 mittens, 2 for the outside hands and a shared mitten with 2 openings for the holding hands.

Flip Flops are cheap, waterproof and versatile. They're a plastic or rubber version of woodern slippers worn throughout Asia for centuries. Flip Flops were imported and made popular in the USA during World War II when soldiers wore them on submarines. Most Flip Flops are mostly made in Taiwan and Singapore. To make them, a machine cuts the soles out of a sheet of rubber and punches a hole in each, then a second machine pushes a V-shaped thong through the hole.

In Eastern Europe and South America, some Flip Flops are made from rubber tyres.

In Kenya a Maasai medicine man isn't considered respectable until he can stretch his ears over his head. Favourite ways of stretching ears are by using stones or tin cans. Maasai Elders also use film cannisters which double up as snuff carriers. When their aluminum cooking pots wear out Kenyan Turkana tribesmen melt them down to make lip plugs, which are inserted into the lower lip. These are worn only by married warriors and are seen as a status symbol.