The Face Of Love

I am not a big flower fan. I like their fragrance, design and pure beauty, but as far as I am concerned, they die too quickly. While I enjoy and appreciate joy that they bring, I wish they lasted longer.

I had a friend who used to be a florist and occasionally when I went into the shop, I would see various people excitedly buying flowers; roses, carnations, tulips, gladiolas and pansies.

Surprisingly the most popular flower was the sunflower. People seemed to be snapping them up like crazy. The shop could never keep them in stock. When the shop closed for the day, I stayed and helped my friend clean up.

On the floor was a sunflower that had gotten trampled in the rush to buy his relatives. When I picked it up, it seem to emanate a warmth, a peaceful presence, a life energy, a spiritual vibration, a love, if you will.

Sunflowers are not petite like roses, or fluffy like carnations, not even particularly attractive, but very alluring. As I stared at it, I got a sense of peace. It was almost like I was holding a live presence in my hand.

I felt drawn into this unusual looking flower. Something had to be inside that flower. The energy pulled me in like a force of nature. As I looked deeper into it’s center, it looked like a face and I’m sure it was winking at me.

I had to know more about these magical flowers. The scientific name of sunflowers is Helianthus, Helia for sun and Anthus for flower.

Sunflowers are one of the fastest growing plants. They can grow 8 to 12 feet tall in rich soil within six months.

The tallest sunflower was grown in The Netherlands (25' 5.5" tall) grown in 1986 by M. Heijmf.

The largest sunflower head on record measured 32 1/2 inches across its widest point and was grown in Canada.

The shortest mature sunflower on record was just over 2 inches tall and was grown in Oregon using the Bonsai technique.

Sunflowers requires only 90 to 100 days from planting to maturity.

The sunflower is native to North America and was used by the Indians for food and oil. Some farmers use it to feed their livestock.

We use sunflower seeds to make oil, bird seed and for snacking. They have lots of calcium and 11 other important minerals. They do have 50% fat, but it is mostly polyunsaturated linoleic acid.

Wild sunflower is highly branched with small heads and small seeds, in contrast to the single-stem and large seed head of domesticated sunflower.

Sunflower heads consist of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers joined together by a receptacle base. The large petals around the edge of a sunflower head are individual ray flowers which do not develop into seed.

A well-known sunflower characteristic is that the flowering heads track the sun's movement, a phenomenon known as heliotropism.

The daily orientation of the flower to the sun is a direct result of differential growth of the stem. A plant-growth regulator, or auxin, accumulates on the shaded side of a plant when conditions of unequal light prevail. Because of this accumulation, the darker side grows faster than the sunlit side. Thus, the stem bends toward the sun.

Most people think a sunflower "follows the sun," but that actually happens when sunflower are very young plants, long before they are ready to bloom. A field full of sunflower looks beautiful first thing in the morning, as they point their faces toward the east. By noon they're pointing straight up, and by evening, to the west. If you check back the next morning, they'll be facing east again.

The French word for sunflower is tournesol, which literally means "turn with the sun."

Sunflowers date back to ancient times? Carbon dating of seeds found in North American clay date back nearly 3,000 years.

Early American natives used the sunflower long before corn and beans were brought to America. They ate the seeds, ground the small kernels into flour, extracted oil from seeds for their hair, and used the seeds, flower petals, and pollen to make dyes for face paint, cloths and baskets.

In Peru, the Aztecs worshiped sunflowers, they placed sunflower images made of gold in their temples and crowned princesses in the bright yellow flowers.

Sunflowers made their way to Europe in the early 1500’s. They were used for gifts carried by Spanish settlers returning home.

The great Russian ruler Peter the Great liked sunflowers so much when he saw them in Holland he took seeds back to Russia. By the 1700’s sunflower seeds were being eaten all over Russia. The former Soviet Union grows the most sunflowers and is the national flower of Russia.

Sunflowers are the state flower of Kansas, USA.

Sunflower stems were used to fill lifejackets before the advent of modern materials.

The Sunflower paintings of Vincent Van Gogh show a mental connection not only between the artist's name and the painting, but also between the artist and the influence of Sunflowers on the development of art through these paintings. Van Gogh's Sunflower paintings have altered mankind's perspective of art and life. These Sunflower photos captivate the mind and leave you astounded in their simplistic beauty.

Most of us call them sunflowers with an "s." But according to Mary Lou, whose work in sunflower breeding took her to many parts of the world for 23 years, sunflower never turns into sunflowers - - ever! So, if you have one sunflower or twenty, you still have sunflower. Period.

The large, cheerful heads of sunflowers are associated with goodwill, friendship, and happiness. Beautiful in small groupings in a garden, planted over large plots of land, or growing wild, these flowers native to the Americas give every person who sees them a reason to smile.

So many facts about sunflower(s) that they are making my head spin.
Since that day, I look at sunflowers in a different light. Every time I see one, I look at it with a knowing glance. We have the same goal - we just want to make you smile.

We are like sunflowers. They turn toward the sun for nourishment and growth, while we turn towards love for the same benefits. Let your love turn others into sunflowers.

That day, I took the sunflower home, put it in some water and it lasted much longer than any other flower. I have changed my mind about flowers. They are here for a reason - to give us love - and love changes our perception of love.

Things You Didn't Know You Wanted To Know

I am on one of those binges again. It doesn’t involve food, drugs, alcohol or sex - sorry to disappoint you. It’s a trivia binge.

Every time I research one subject, I get bombarded with so many captivating tidbits about various subjects that it makes my initial research take a lot longer.

Since you all are the intelligentsia - the movers of thoughts - the shakers of ideals, the dividers of reason and concur(er)s of meaning - (I know, that was a slippery one), I know that these brain boosters won’t fall on deaf ears.

So get ready to learn more things you didn’t know you wanted to know. Remember them. There will be a test later.


More people die from eating sharks than from being eaten by them. This is due to a poison in the shark meat.

The DNA of humans is closer to a rat than a cat.

The kidneys filter 400 gallons of blood a day.

The longest engagement lasted 67 years and the couple married when they were 82 years old.

Queen Victoria used marijuana to relieve menstrual cramps.

Abe Lincoln bought 50 cents worth of cocaine in 1860.

The most expensive perfume in the world is Parfum VI, which was made by Arthur Burnham. It is a 4 inch bottle covered with diamonds and 24-carat gold and costs around $85,000. Only 173 bottles of the scent - a tribute to the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI - were made.

The smallest bone in the human body is the stirrup bone which is located in the ear.

It takes 63,000 trees to make the newsprint for the average Sunday edition of The New York Times.

Upper and lower case letters are named 'upper' and 'lower,' because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the 'upper case' letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored smaller, 'lower case' letters.

Sailors once thought that wearing a gold earring would improve their eyesight.

Early Romans used porcupine quills as toothpicks.

There are six million parts in the Boeing 747-400.

More people are killed annually by donkeys than die in air crashes.

Every day is about 55 billionths of a second longer than the day before it.

Men with a certain rare medical condition can breast-feed babies.

Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.

Hong Kong has the most Rolls Royces per capita.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Snails can sleep for 3 years without eating.

The Taj Mahal was actually built to use as a tomb.

There are 1,665 total number of steps in the Eiffel Tower.

The most expensive shoes in the world are ruby slippers located in Harrods in London, which costs 1.6 million and has a full time security guard. The shoes are made from platinum thread and contains 642 rubies.

The best time for a person to buy shoes is in the afternoon because the foot swells around this time.

There is about 200 times more gold in the worlds oceans, than has been mined in our entire history.

Four sunken nuclear submarines sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. One, a Russian sub resting in deep water off of Bermuda, holds 16 live nuclear warheads. Scientists and oceanographers are unsure what the impact of the escaping plutonium will have, but warn that corrosion could create the proper chemical environment for a massive nuclear chain reaction.

Are You Smarter Than Your Brain?

If you are anything like me, you are always trying to outsmart your brain. When I think that I can outrun my brain, I come to find that it has already run a marathon around my thoughts.

When I think I can out jump it, I find that it is already jumped 100 feet in the air. It has skills like a ninja, prowess like a Spartan, and is the prototype for Rodan’s, The Thinker.

Listen. Can you hear it chuckling in the background mocking me? It has no mercy. It prides itself on its ability to travel at mach speed. Before I even think about doing something, it has already done it.

It is a relentless taskmaster. When it says, “run,” I say, “how far?” When it says, “jump,” I say, “how high?”

Through all of my brain gymnastics or brainastics, as I have nicknamed it, I have been waiting for the day to teach my brain a lesson in humility, gratitude and less task-mastering.

Finally it came to me in an anonymous email. “God this is great,” I exclaim to myself. This email has been circulating for at least three years that I am aware.

It is from an orthopedic surgeon who probably had too much time on his hands. (and I thought it was just the watchmaker who had all the time in the world.)

If you have few minutes, try this.

While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it.

While doing this, draw the number, "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction! There is nothing you can do about it.

Your brain will crack the whip, shouting at you to keep doing it until you can defy the phenomenon, but your attempts will be futile. Just when you think your foot has won, your super brain will point to your users manual and show you that the phenomenon is preprogrammed - - in your brain!

Before this day is done you will try it again, if you've not already done so. Doesn’t God have a wicked sense of humor? At your next party, you could keep your friends amused for hours, days, months, or years.

Oh yeah, don’t try this at home. Try it at work so everyone can see you. Your boss will love it and may even call you into his/her office to have a little chat.

I guess I should be grateful that my brain is looking out for me. It serves it purpose in our evolution. Just by doing the above trick, our frustration can turn into patience, focus, agility, gratitude and humility.

We can never beat our brain. The old adage stands true, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Even a nonconformist like myself could appreciate that.

25 Ways To Perk Up Your Trivia

Picture this: you’re at a party having great time and suddenly someone breaks out the game, Trivial Pursuit. Your eyes almost pop out of your head, your heart palpitates, you’re in a total panic.

You don’t want to be subjected to this game of knowledge, so you try to escape, but before you have a chance, someone grabs your arm and says, “Let’s play.”

Before the word, “No” can gurgle its way out of your mouth, you are sucked into the utter abasement of not knowing anything. Fear no more. If you learn trivia slowly then you are bound to be the hit of any party.

So let’s get the ball rolling so you can be the life of the next party.

Here are some facts that will impress the best Trivial Pursuit players. Have a great weekend.

The average person can live 11 days without water.

It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.

35 meters of hair fiber is produced every day on the average adult scalp.

10 percent of all human beings ever born are alive at this very moment.

The Population of the world can live within the state boundaries of Texas.

If you tried to count to stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take 3,000 years to count them all.

The number of cars on the planet is increasing three times faster than the population growth.

The first known heart medicine was discovered in an English garden. In 1799, physician John Ferriar noted the effect of dried leaves of the common foxglove plant, digitalis purpurea, on heart action. Still used in heart medications, digitalis slows the pulse and increases the force of heart contractions and the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat.

In the 40's, the Bich pen was changed to Bic for fear that Americans would pronounce it “Bitch.”

Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know your there.

In ancient Rome it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades - King David; Clubs - Alexander the Great; Hearts - Charlemagne; and Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one leg front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all 4 legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

First novel ever written on a typewriter was "Tom Sawyer."

Roman Emperor Caligula made his horse a senator.

Every year the sun loses 360 million tons.

Russia has the most movie theaters in the world.

If you can see a rainbow you must have your back to the sun.

Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better.

Napoleon made his battle plans in a sandbox.

In ancient Greece, children of wealthy families were dipped in olive oil at birth to keep them hairless throughout their lives.

About 8 million blood cells die in the human body every second, and the same number are born each second.

In 1994, electromagnetic interference (EMI) from a nearby cellular telephone captivated a power wheelchair at a scenic vista in Colorado, sending the passenger over a cliff.

More people working in advertising died on the job in 1996 than died while working in petroleum refining.

If a native Hawaiian woman places the flower on her right ear, she is available. The bigger the flower, the more she’s desperate.

The Love Dance

Valentine’s Day - I love it - I hate it.

Why you ask? I love the sentiment of honoring love - that in itself is a beautiful expression of who we are - and that’s where my love ends.

Why would I, a person so full of love actually hate something that doesn’t perpetuate hate? Why do I frown upon something that makes many (superficially) happy and others despise themselves for not being included in all the hoopla? Glad you asked.

The reason for this love-hate relationship lies in the hands and the vapid Souls of those evil little marketers out to make a quick buck on sentiment? The marketers have drawn their arrows back and pierced the very heart of sentiment.

They do it with every holiday, except Groundhogs day? Why the discrimination? What have those furry little creatures ever done to marketers? Seriously, if they could find an emotion and attach it to Groundhogs day, they would do it in a heart beat.

Over the last two weeks, I have seen so many commercials for diamonds, chocolates, flowers, cards, restaurants, and ahem, K-Y jelly that it’s ridiculous.

Is it not fashionable or cool just to tell a person,“I love you?” What’s the matter with that? Oh yeah, because the marketers have decided that when you tell people that you love them, don’t tell them empty-handed or you won’t get any love in return.

For every person who feels good from love; love makes an equal amount of people feel bad. That loneliness doesn’t die easy; it multiplies if it can’t be embraced by love.

It’s all well and good to talk about higher love, but when we have been hurt so badly, we can’t help to think that such love doesn’t exist.

I am not talking about what some people refer to as the divide between romantic and spiritual love - I think all loves springs from higher love and we consign it to various areas of our lives.

There IS a higher love, there will always BE a higher LOVE, but when we are feeling low, we can’t think high.

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries.

Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it, "From Your Valentine." Other aspects of the story say that St. Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14th to honor St. Valentine.

Gradually, February 14th became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15th. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14th to be St. Valentine's Day.

It wasn't until 1537 that England's King Henry VIII declared February 14th an official holiday.

So do you think the marketers are doing us a disservice by perpetuating the myth that love comes wrapped in a pretty package? What about those people who don’t believe in the commercially of the day who feel themselves being drawn into the marketers lair?

Take my hand and let us get back to the dance of love, the celebration of being. Step into the rhythm of all that is love; the beauty, the colors, the nuances, the collaboration of emotion and everything that transpires between two Souls.

Valentine’s Day is not really not about the day, it’s about the sentiment in your heart. Love is a patient teacher, it rules with the steady hand of tenderness. Don’t let the marketers kill everything that is love. Believe in love for all and all for love?

INTERESTING LOVE STUFF

The heart is the most common symbol of romantic love. Ancient cultures believed the human soul lived in the heart. Others thought it to be the source of emotion and intelligence. Some believed the heart embodied a man's truth, strength and nobility. The heart may be associated with love because the ancient Greeks believed it was the target of Eros, known as Cupid to the Romans. Anyone shot in the heart by one of Cupid's arrows would fall hopelessly in love. Because the heart is so closely linked to love, it's red color is thought to be the most romantic.

According to psychologist Dr. Jane Barr Stump, one out of every four men believes he's in love on the first date. But only one out of 6 women believes she's in love even by the fourth date. Women take longer and tend to be more practical.

Psychologists contend that a man is less likely to love two women at the same time than is a woman to love 2 men at the same time. They theorize that this is so because rarely, if ever, does the active pursuer love more than one person. Despite gender equality, more men than women are the active pursuer. It's not unusual for a woman, pursued by 2 men, to claim that she loves both of them.

In Guam, there are men whose full-time job is to travel the countryside and deflower young virgins. These men are paid by the virgin or by her family. Under Guam law, it is expressly forbidden for virgins to marry.

In Columbia, is the city of Cali, the first time a woman has sex with her husband, her mother must be present in the room when it happens in order to witness the act.

Experts on missing persons claim that most husbands who report their wives missing cannot give an accurate description of them. They can usually recall their wives height and weight, but cannot recall their hair or eye color, and certainly not clothing. Interestingly, if a car is missing too, husbands more accurately describe the car.

According to historians, women and men did not kiss in ancient China. In fact, they considered the custom revolting.

Researchers report that men with high testosterone levels tend to lack verbal skills.

When Buster Mitchell's girlfriend walked out on him, he went back to his beloved and decided to make it legal with her. Mitchell, 28, went to the county courthouse in Knoxville, Tenn., and started filling out the marriage license application. He listed his fiancee's birthplace as Detroit, her father as "Henry Ford" and her blood type as "10-W-40." When the clerk questioned him, the clerk discovered that Mitchell was trying to get a license to marry his car - a 1966 Ford Mustang GT. He plans to try again elsewhere.

It's reported that more than 10,000 marriages a year now are directly traceable to romances which begin during coffee breaks.

The matrimonial pollsters contend their studies indicate the man who kisses his wife good-bye when he leaves for work every morning averages a higher income than does the fellow who doesn't do that thing. Husbands who exercise the rituals of affection tend to be more painstaking, more stable, more methodical, thus higher earners.

2 out of 5 have married their first love.
Only 4% asked the parents' approval for their bride's hand.
1 in 5 men proposed on his knees
6% propose over the phone.

In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.

The primary ambition of a Zulu's wife is to help her husband acquire sufficient means to buy another wife - so they can split the chores.

In a study respondents mentioned three qualities which they considered essential for happy, long-lasting relationships. Affection was named most important by the majority, second only to communication. Sex, on the other hand, which they separated from affection, was relegated to eighth position.

Opals Are Forever

Leah got me to thinking about opals. So I did a little digging (no pun intended) and discovered that they have quite a rich history.

The name opal is derived from the Latin word opalus, meaning “seeing jewel.” According to another theory the word opal comes from upala, a Sanskrit word simply meaning a stone.

The origin of the birthstone goes back to the time of Moses. It was at his command that the Breast Plate of the High Priest was made with the twelve colors, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, and a corresponding gemstone was attributed to each color.

Over the centuries, the number twelve developed mystical proportions. There were twelve tribes of ancient Israel, twelve apostles, twelve foundation stones of the Holy City, twelve months of the year and twelve signs of the zodiac.

As time passed, people wanted to own all twelve stones of the sacred Breast Plate and began wearing one gemstone set into a piece of jewelry each month and changing it as the months changed. Eventually, in a quest for individuality, people began wearing only his or her stone of birth all year, giving birth to the twelve birthstones.

Each birthstone supposedly represents a magical power. Some were said to ward off evil, protect the wearer in battle, cure blindness, gout and palsy, and even immunize the wearer from drunkenness, though I am not sure this works today. If that’s the case, I think I could make a killing selling opals to celebrities.

Opal is fundamentally colorless, but such material is rarely found. Disseminated impurities generally impart to opal various dull body colors that range from the yellows and reds derived from iron oxides to black from manganese oxides and organic carbon.

The milkiness of many white and gray opals is attributable to an abundance of tiny gas-filled cavities in them. Precious opal reflects light with a play of brilliant colors across the visible spectrum, red being the most valued.

When people form a new relationship, it too in essence changes colors as two individuals merge and become one and love takes on a deeper meaning.

Pliny, a learned Roman scholar, described opal as having "the fire of the carbuncle, the brilliant purple of the amethyst, the sea green color of the emerald all shining together in incredible union."

The Romans believed opal was the symbol of hope and purity. They called it, "cupid paederos; child as beautiful as love. They thought the wearer would be safe from disease. Romans regarded them as good luck charms because of the likeness to a rainbow?

They are referred to as "Cupid's Stone.”

Opal was included among the noble gems and was ranked second only to emerald by the Romans.

The Arabs believed that opals fell from the heavens in flashes of lightning and thus acquired their marvelous color.

The Orientals referred to them as "The Anchor of Hope"?

Ancient Greeks believed the opal had the power of giving foresight and the light of prophecy to their owners.

The Aborigines have known of opals since the Dreamtime. The Australian Aborigines have a tradition that, “The Creator took the colors of the rainbow, and put them into stone to make opals." Aborigines believe the opal has a spiritual value that represents something an ancestor left behind as a sign of his or her presence.

The Wangkumara people have a legend which tells how their people gained fire from opal stones, with the assistance of a Muda - a Creator who switches from human form to pelican.

William Shakespeare described the opal as "The Miracle and Queen of Gems"?

A Roman Senator, Nonius, chose to be exiled rather than give his valuable opal to Mark Antony who wanted to give it to his lover, Cleopatra. Later Mark Antony had a beautiful Hungarian opal, and gave it to Cleopatra.

One Roman Emperor offered to trade one-third of his kingdom for a single opal.

Napoleon presented his Empress Josephine with, "The Burning of Troy," a magnificent opal with brilliant red flashes.

The opal is the National Stone of Australia.

Australian opals are incorporated in many pieces of Royal Jewelry. One such piece was made for the Queen of the Shin Dynasty dating back to the turn of the century. This was a white opal which was embedded in her headdress.

Queen Victoria also wore opals throughout her reign and opals became sought after as the Royals of Britain were regarded as “models of fashion,” at the time.

A beautiful opal called the orphanus was set in the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor. It was described "as though pure white snow flashed and sparked with the color of bright ruddy wine, and was overcome by this radiance."

Opals are also in the crown jewels of France and other crowns around the world.

The oldest opal artifact, estimated to have been collected at around 4000 B.C., was found in a cave in Kenya.

An opal is more than 60 million years old and dates back to the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Opals were typically found where hot springs once flowed. When the hot springs dried up, the silica that lined the walls hardened into opal. Most of the precious opal marketed in ancient times was obtained from occurrences in what is now Slovakia.

An opal has an extraordinary ability to refract light and reflect specific wavelengths of light. This capability is so unique that the term "opalescence," was coined to describe it.

The interplay of different wavelengths of light gives opal its unique visual appeal, and makes it one of the most sought-after gemstones in the world at all times.

Opals are considered to be very magical. They are reputed to have healing powers and are used for various rituals. Wearing a black opal near the heart is said to ward off evil and protect travelers.

In the late 18th century, the opal was considered to bring bad luck to its possessor. The Spanish King Alfonso XII had given an opal ring to his wife who died shortly thereafter. The ring was passed on to family members and each person who wore it died mysteriously.

Eventually the king himself wore the ring and he too died unexpectedly. While historians will say that the deaths can be attributed to the cholera epidemic of the times, many have blamed the deaths on the opal.

Medieval people also associated opal with the Evil Eye and even the Black Plague and thought it made a person invisible when the gem was wrapped in a bay leaf.

Opals are fascinating aren’t they? Thanks Leah for showing me the light.

Behind New Years Resolutions Part II

Here's to a happy, healthy and wise new year. Let us all march forward into our dreams and fulfillment. Here are more facts about New Years.

• It didn't always begin on January 1st and it still doesn't begin on this date everywhere even today.

• New Years begins today for cultures that utilize a 365 day solar calendar.
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• January was named by Romans after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances.
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• In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar developed a calendar, called the Julian calendar that would accurately reflect the seasons and January became the beginning of the New Year.
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• During the Middle Ages, Christians changed this day to December 25th, then March 25th, Annunciation day.
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• In the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1st.
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Behind New Year's Resolutions Part I

I cried and cried to make my New Years resolutions, 'til I met the man who had none.

Every year millions of people celebrate New Years. We have parties with friends, pop champagne, sing Auld Lang Syne and kiss at midnight. Then we start thinking about those dreaded New Years resolutions.

Here are some interesting facts about New Years.

• New Years resolutions began in 153 B.C. by Janus; a mythical Roman king.
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• Depicted with two faces at the head of the calendar, Janus looked at the past and to the future. He became an ancient symbol for resolutions.
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• At midnight on December 31st, while Romans exchanged gifts of sacred tree branches for good fortune, they sought forgiveness from enemies.