TopTrending Friday#7- The Top 10 Most Spoken Languages

The Top 10 Most Spoken Languages

Well, welcome back to another short (but interesting) post... As I said last week, we don't have much time to spend nowadays so we have to make these short posts. With that said, let's get to it!
<Bare in mind that all information is taken from InfoPlease>

1. Chinese 

OK, you might be wondering... "What? It's not English?" Well, nope. In fact there are more than 1 billion Chinese-speaking people in the world today.

2. Spanish

Yep, not English again. There are about 414 million people speaking Spanish. You can already seethe huge gap between Chinese-speakers and Spanish-speakers.

3. English

Finally... There are more than 335 million people speaking English (including you)! 

4. Hindi

About 260 million people in the world speak Hindi.

5. Arabic

There are more than 237 million people speaking Arabic.

6. Portugese

The close neighbor of Spain earns a total of 203 million speakers.

7. Bengali

No surprise here, Bangladesh is one of the most populated countries in the world today. Bengali earns itself 193 million speakers.

8. Russian

More than 167 million people know how to speak Russian!

9. Japanese

The Land Of The Rising Sun has about 122 million people speaking its language.

10. Javanese

More than 84 million people speak Javanese.

OKAY, I think that's all for today's post. Keep an eye out for other posts as well.

Thanks For Reading

Scientific Sunday#6- Magnetism

Magnetism

I am sure everyone of you who are reading this blog post has seen a magnet before. A special stone that attracts metals to it. You can find it at your everyday tools like screw driver, compasses and refrigerator doors. But have you ever wonder what is it made out of and why it attracts metals. A magnet is made out of  material that can be magnetized, mostly nickel, iron, cobalt and some rare material. They are so called ferromagnetic. 

Earth's magnet

A magnet's power to attract or repel is all in its atom. Electrons and protons are laways in motion. Because any moving charge generates a magnetic field, each of those particles has one. Usually the fields are haphazard, but in materials such as iron, they tend to line up within specific regions called domains. When ferrous, or iron- containing rock is molten, all the domains align with Earth's own magnetic field. Thats how natural magnets are formed.

Today we do have harnessed magnet in our everyday lives. They reside in television screens- including CRT( cathode ray tube), LCD( liquid crystal display), LED( light-emitting diode), and plasma screens. Magnetic resonance imagining(MRI) allows us to make medical dianoses that were previously unimaginable. Electromagnetism has improved our transportation system in the form of maglev( magnetic levitation) trains. Magnets intergal to electric motors enable such tools as power drills, garbage disposals, and electric razors. 

Magnetic fields have two polarities- usually called north and south- that attract each other but repel its own. Depending on how the charged particles( electrons and protons) are aligned in the magnet. Humans have known about this force for a long time- as far back as the ancient Greek. Columbus used a magnetic compass in 1492 on his famous voyage to seek trade route to India, and in 1600, William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elizabeth 1 of England, tool the idea further by proposing that Earth itself was a giant magnet. Which he was right about.

Compass

Compass expended our ability to navigate and explore our world without losing our sense of direction. Before the invention of compass, voyagers used stars and coastal landmarks to navigate their voyage. Ancient Chinese were the first to discover water-based compasses: Magnetic needle floating in bowls of water. The needles were magnetized by stroking them with a lodestone, a naturally magnetized piece of mineral magnetite(iron oxide). Originally, the needles were used in fortune telling before being put to a more practical use. 

A compass works by sensing the magnetic field that is produced by Earth's core, which contains iron. The magnetic field is weak at the surface, which makes sense given that it's spread out across the entire planet. For the magnetic field to have any effect on the compass at all, the needle must be light and have an almost frictionless bearing. 

Creature like cows, birds, and bacteria apparently carry compasses around with them: They all have an unerring sense of where true north lies. How they manage this remains a mystery, but a recent study of a curtain kind of bacteria offers a clue. Researchers discovered that these organisims have minute particles of magnetite inside them. The particles line up with Earth's magnetic field. Scientist have found similar magnetic particles near the brains of bees, trout, and migrating birds.

Thanks for reading

TopTrending Friday#7- Top 5 Most Overrated Companies/ Associations

Top 5 Most Overrated Companies/ Associations

Hello again! Lately at TopTrending Friday, we have been writing a lot about Tech. Today, lets move away from that category and talk about the Top 5 Most Overrated Companies/ Associations (these can come in any type of category).

Note: All these are based on our own opinion......

1. Apple

Why buy an expensive phone when you can just buy a cheaper one with the same features??? To me, Apple is just a more expensive and one of the most overrated brands out there. It is said that you can look "fancier" or "have more swag" when you own an Apple smartphone......

2. FIFA

I have heard that FIFA is a very overrated association for what they do, but I couldn't find why. So, I got some help from 2 friends from All is fair in YNWA and Democracy to help me out.
Rohan: FIFA is one of the most overrated associations out there as they are said to be corrupted and are trying to corrupt the game of football with bribery. Here's some proof to show it!

3. Beats By Dr Dre

Beats By Dr Dre, another overrated company. The name 'Dr Dre' just seems to persuade customers to buy it even though it costs more (and it isn't even that good)! I would rather buy a cheaper, more reliable set of Sony headphones.

4. Volkswagen 

Volkswagen stuns customers with the sleek design of their cars. However, according to several customer reviews, the car is not long-lasting and does not have that high of a second-hand price if you are planning to sell it.

5. Bing

Microsoft spent so much money creating Bing to compete with Google, almost EVERY computer that runs on the Windows Operating System (or OS) automatically sets the default browser as Bing. The thig is, it all works the same: Google and Bing, there's no difference between the two.

Alright, I hoped you enjoy this short post, we are all very busy this month so we can't afford to make long posts. If our posts don't come in on time, well, you know why... That's all for now

Thanks for reading

TopTrending Friday#5- Top 10 Emmy Awards Nominees (PREDICTED) Who Are Expected To Win!

Expect The Unexpected

With the newly announced Primetime Emmy Awards event date- 20th September 2015, a lot of predictions have been going about who will be nominated and even who will WIN. 

Note: The nominations are NOT confirmed, we are just giving OUR opinion on who is most likely to win.

A Brief History Of The Emmys

If you are familiar with the Emmy Awards, feel free to skip this section. The Emmy Awards is an award ceremony held first in 1949 to recognize excellence in the television industry. The upcoming Emmy in September will be a Primetime Emmy awarded to American TV celebrities. The 2 most popular Emmys are the Primetime Emmys and the Daytime Emmys, both awarded to Americans. The International Emmys awards international TV celebrities.

The Emmy Award!

With That Said, Lets Get To The Topic

Here are 10 of the most popular celebrities and TV shows expected to win (In no particular order)...

10. Jim Parsons from The Big Bang Theory

The traditional "Best Comedy Actor Award" winner is expected to make his move again this September. With 6 Emmy Awards nominations and taking 4 under his belt, he is a force to be reckoned with in the 2015 Emmy Awards. Jim has won the 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 "Best Comedy Actor" Award. However, he was beat in 2009 and 2012 by Alec Baldwin and Jon Cryer respectively.

9. Julia Louis-Dreyfus from Veep

Although Veep was beat by Modern Family in the "Best Comedy Series Award", Julia Louis-Dreyfus still continues to rock the "Best Comedy Actress Award" by winning it 3 times in a row! She will be competing for her fourth this September.

8. Modern Family

This TV comedy series is predicted to win again in 2015 after  winning the "Best Comedy Series Award" in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. And guess what, this series first started in 2009! The reason why is quite obvious, this series provides a very HONEST perspective of a modern American family's lifestyle.

The series will be aiming for its 6th award this September.

7. Game Of Thrones

Despite me really hating this show, this TV series will be looking to win its first "Best Drama Series Award". Don't take it easy with this series, as it has also won the "Outstanding Sound Editing Award- Series" in 2012 and the "Outstanding Art Direction For A Contemporary Or Fantasy Series Award" in 2014. Yes, the name is that long.

6. Jon Hamm from Mad Men

After being nominated for "Best Drama Actor Award" 7 TIMES IN A ROW, and only winning one in 2008, I'm sure Jon will be trying hard to win his second. It is most likely that he will be competing against his rivals Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad and Damian Lewis from Homeland. 

5. Julianna Marguiles from The Good Wife

With 2 "Best Drama Actress Award" wins- 2014 and 2011. Julianna will be defending her title in 2015 along with the popular TV show, The Good Wife. Some of her close rivals include Claire Davis from Homeland and Viola Davis from How To Get Away With Murder.

4. The Amazing Race

EVERYONE knows this reality TV series. After the 27TH season just kicking off this past June. Expect to see a lot from this TV series as it will be going for a win in the "Best Reality Competition Program". Close rivals include The Voice and So You Think You Can Dance.

3. Ryan Seacrest from American Idol

We all are familiar with this guy. Rated 5/5 by GoldDerby, he will be looking for his first win in the "Best Reality Host Award". With American Idol, he was nominated 6 times for this award and has yet to win it. Don't underestimate him, though, as he has won once in 2010 with Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

2. The Tonight Show 

Remember Jimmy Fallon? Yeah, he hosts this talk show, if you don't know. This talk show is rated 8.1/10 by IMDb and will be wanting to win its first Primetime Emmy in the "Best Variety Talk Show Award".

1. Saturday Night Live

The name is no stranger to us, well it's been on air for more than 3 decades, so yeah. This TV series has 40 SEASONS altogether! It will be looking to win this September in the "Best Variety Sketch Series Award". 

Well, I guess that's it. Remember that these are not confirmed and are just predictions. Feel free to tell us if we had any incorrect statements given or if we missed anything out, we will correct them immediately. 

Fact: The name "Emmy" is a feminization of the nickname "Immy", an abbreviation of  the image orthicon tube, which is a part of  a TV camera.

Hungry for more Emmy Awards facts? Visit Neatorama's page on this!

More predictions? Visit GoldDerby's page on this!

Or maybe you aren't sure of some of the TV series stated above. If so, you might want to visit IMDb's list of popular TV series!

Historical Saturday's#6 Marco Polo

HISTORICAL SATURDAY’S#6- MARCO POLO

Welcome back fellow viewers to another Historical Saturday article. Personally, its been a while since we had this and I’m sure some of us feel that this is getting a bit stale, so I shall be doing post something special in a week or two.

Well, on to the topic, today we are going to touch on one of the most influential travellers that inspired many other explorers. His name is Marco Polo. Marco Polo was famous for travelling to Mongolia, China, alongside his books and reputation with the Mongolian ruler Kublai Khan.

Early Life

Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice, Italy along with a wealthy merchant family. He lived with his father, Niccolo, and his uncle Maffeo, both who were successful jewel merchants. His mother died when he was young, therefore his extended family raised him up

Reason being to why the brothers, Niccolo and Maffeo Polo only came back after a long time was because they had left for a long-term trading expedition. They encountered a few problems on the way back, such as the Fourth Crusade, The Byzantine conquest of Constantinople and the Mongolian Empire.

During these encounters they were greeted by the Mongolian embassy to meet Kublai Khan. They met Kublai Khan and he questioned them on European affairs. He told the both of them to go back to tell the Pope to bring Christianity to Mongolia. They arrived back in Venice in 1269 and it was the first time Marco Polo met his father.

Marco Polo’s trip to China

In 1271, two years after the brothers came back, they along with Marco decided to go back to Mongolia. They got hold of what they could to fulfill Kublai’s request, such as Holy Oil, gifts, documents and two clergy from a church before returning to him.

The two clergy soon abandoned their expedition to Kublai Khan, but the Polos continued.  They travelled on camel till they reached a Persian port city of Hormuz. They searched for a suitable ship, but there were none to suit their liking. The Polos gave up on the search and took several trade routes that were known to be the Silk Road.

It took the Polos an additional three years to reach Mongolia, after having to pass a perilous journey. Kublai took Marco Polo into his court as a tax collector, a governor and an inspector. Marco Polo was basically his right hand man, and he travelled around Asia alongside learning the languages.

Marco Polo spent 24 years in the continent of Asia and working for the Mongolian Empire. The Polo’s decided to go back to Venice, but Marco was captured during a battle on the way back home. He was captured by the Genoese army in 1298, but released in 1299.

Legacy

Altogether, they travelled the Asia continent for thousands of miles and passed through China, India and Japan. Marco documented all of his explorations and wrote many documents and books about it. All of which would become a big part in the inspiration of explorers, such as Christopher Columbus.

Marco Polo died in the year 1324 in Venice, he was succeeded by his wife and three daughters, but he left many documents and books that would inspire many explorers.