Interesting Facts On India That You Had No Idea About

A floating post office

India has the largest postal network in the world with over 1, 55,015 post offices. A single post office on an average serves a population of 7,175 people. The floating post office in Dal Lake, Srinagar, was inaugurated in August 2011.

The highest cricket ground in the world: At an altitude of 2,444 meters, the Chail Cricket Ground in Chail, Himachal Pradesh, is the highest in the world. It was built in 1893 and is a part of the Chail Military School.

Shampooing is an Indian concept: Shampoo was invented in India, not the commercial liquid ones but the method by use of herbs. The word 'shampoo' itself has been derived from the Sanskrit word champu, which means to massage.

Kumbh Mela gathering visible from space: The 2011 Kumbh Mela was the largest gathering of people with over 75 million pilgrims. The gathering was so huge that the crowd was visible from space.

Bandra Worli Sealink has steel wires equal to the earth's circumference

It took a total of 2,57,00,000 man hours for completion and also weighs as much as 50,000 African elephants. A true engineering and architectural marvel.

The Indian national Kabaddi team has won all World Cups: India has won all 5 men's Kabaddi World Cups held till now and have been undefeated throughout these tournaments. The Indian women's team has also won all Kabaddi World Cups held till date.

Water on the moon was discovered by India: In September 2009, India's ISRO Chandrayaan- 1 using its Moon Mineralogy Mapper detected water on the moon for the first time.

Science day in Switzerland is dedicated to Ex-Indian President, APJ Abdul Kalam
The father of India's missile programme had visited Switzerland back in 2006. Upon his arrival, Switzerland declared May 26th as Science Day.

India's first President only took 50% of his salary: When Dr Rajendra Prasad was appointed the President of India, he only took 50% of his salary, claiming he did not require more than that. Towards the end of his 12-year tenure he only took 25% of his salary. The salary of the President was Rs 10,000 back then.

The first rocket in India was transported on a cycle: The first rocket was so light and small that it was transported on a bicycle to the Thumba Launching Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

 India has a spa just for elephants: Elephants receive baths, massages and even food at the Punnathoor Cotta Elephant Yard Rejuvenation Centre in Kerala. Now that's a BIG step for the country.

India is the world's second-largest English speaking country

India is second only to the USA when it comes to speaking English with around 125 million people speaking the language, which is only 10% of our population. This is expected to grow by quite a margin in the coming years.

The world's largest producer of milk: India recently overtook the European Union with production reaching over 132.4m tonnes in 2014.

 
The first country to consume sugar: India was the first country to develop extraction and purifying techniques of sugar. Many visitors from abroad learnt the refining and cultivation of sugar from us.

Rabindranath Tagore also wrote the national anthem for Bangladesh
Rabindranath Tagore is credited not only for writing the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, but the Bangladeshi national anthem, Amar Sonar Bangla, as well. He was also offered knighthood by the British but refused the honour after the Jalianwala Bagh massacre.

Dhyan Chand was offered German citizenship

After defeating Germany 8-1 in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Major Dhyan Chand, the wizard of hockey, was summoned by Hitler. He was promised German citizenship, a high post in the German military and the chance to play for the German national side. Dhyan Chand however declined the offer.

Astronaut Rakesh Sharma said India looks saare jahaan se achcha from space
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked the first Indian in space, Rakesh Sharma, about how India looked from space. His response was our famous patriotic song, "Saare Jahaan Se Achcha."

Havell's is purely an Indian brand & named after its first owner

Though the company was bought for just 10 lakh Rupees a long time ago and is now a multi-billion electrical goods company, it's an Indian company and is still named after its original owner, Haveli Ram Gupta.

Diamonds were first mined in India
Initially, diamonds were only found in the alluvial deposits in Guntur and Krishna District of the Krishna River Delta. Until diamonds were found in Brazil during the 18th century, India led the world in diamond production.

Snakes and Ladders originated in India

Earlier known as Moksha Patamu, the game was initially invented as a moral lesson about karma to be taught to children. It was later commercialized and has become one of the most popular board games in the world.

Cool Interior Design Tricks to Transform Your House

Accent wall: To make your room colorful and exciting, it’s not necessary to paint every wall. Simply paint one wall, or decorate it with wood panels.

Transparent furniture: This trick works especially well for small studio apartments because transparent furniture creates the illusion of extra space, adding a light and airy feeling to your interior design.

DIY ordinary furniture into designer pieces: With a bucket of paint and a few wood blocks, you can transform the simplest furniture into a designer piece. It will also be one of a kind.

 Plants: Plants bring life to the most boring home designs and also significantly improve the microclimate in a room. You can place them in different corners of the room or group them together on one shelf.

 Books as a design element: No need to hide your books in bookcases: their colorful spines will serve as a wonderful decoration. They can be showcased on the most unusual surfaces, even inside an old radiator.

Different chairs: Having identical chairs around your dining table is an old-fashioned and boring way to go. Decorators now suggest bringing different chairs into the same design: the main trick is to make sure they all work well together. For example, they can be of the same color or have a similar design.

Unusual lighting: Simple fairy lights can be turned into far more than a source of light. For instance, they can become an unusual canvas for polaroid photos.

Room dividers: A room divider is a great way to separate your space into several cozy areas. Besides, a divider does not have to be built from scratch: you can use a storage cabinet with open shelves.

A cozy window seat: The space by your window is the perfect place for relaxing. It could be a storage bench or a full sofa, where you can curl up with a good book or nap.

Bonus: In addition, if you really love nature, you can incorporate it into your design. For instance, use wooden elements in your furniture, hang a wall mural with a forest theme, or build a hanging bed for an outdoorsy feel.

Amazing Facts about Tea

1. You will be surprised to know that there are around 1,500 different types of tea.

2. Do you know that tea is the national drink in Afghanistan and Iran. Both the green tea and black tea are prepared with lots of sugars. Black tea is a warming beverage and green tea is consumed as a thirst quencher.

3. The United Kingdom consumes about 62 billion cups of tea per year , or 165 million cups a day.

4. Ireland stands in first place when it comes to the list of countries ordered by annual per capita consumption of tea .

5. Russians started drinking tea in the 17th century, but it did not become widely popular until the beginning of the 19th century because of its high price. Tea in Russia has historically been prepared in a samovar, which keeps tea hot for hours is a heated metal container.

6. It is the man’s job to pour the tea in Morocco. To have a slightly frothy head in each glass of tea he holds the long spouted pot high above the glass while pouring.

7. India is the world’s second largest producer of tea. In 2009, India produced 979,000 tonnes;China was first with 1,359,000 tonnes.

8. It is widely believed that iced tea was invented by Richard Blechynden, a British tea merchant at the St. Louis World Fair in 1904 .

9. Most of the tea that is consumed in the United States is iced tea and an estimate shows that it is around 85%. Each year over 519 million pounds of tea is imported into the United States.

10. Do you know that in the U.S. over 1.42 million pounds of tea is consumed every day.

11. You will be surprised to know that the Lipton Tea Factory produces 5 billion tea bags a year, present in Jebel Ali, Dubai.

12. Worldwide the total value of the tea market was over $20 billion, in 2005.

13. Every year over 3 million tons of tea is produced around the world.

14. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world.

15. White tea undergoes the shortest process of oxidation. Black tea undergoes the longest.

16. It is important to store loose tea or tea bags in a sealed or tin jar, because tea absorbs moisture.

17. Americans consumed around 65 billion servings of tea in 2011 which is approximately 3 billion gallons. An estimate shows that 14% of all tea was green tea, 85% was black tea and the rest was white tea and oolong tea.

18. The North-east and South have the greatest concentration of tea drinkers, in the United States.

19. It takes about three years before a new plant is ready to harvest but for a tea plant to produce seed it takes around four to 12 years.

20. At least 50 inches of rain a year is needed for tea plants.

21. Do you know that most of the world’s tea is grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn and in mountain areas 3,000-7,000 feet above sea level. Tea-producing countries include Indonesia, Kenya Malawi, Sri Lanka, Argentina, China, India, and Tanzania.

22. The flushes of the plant or just the top 1 to 2 inches of a mature plant are picked to make tea. It takes 7 to 15 days during growing season for a new flush to grow.

23. You will be surprised to know that a tea plant can grow into a tree that is as tall as 52 feet if its leaves are not harvested. But the cultivated plants are usually pruned to waist height.

24. There are 6 basic categories of tea: 1) white, 2) black, 3) post-fermented, 4) oolong, 5) yellow and 6) green.

25. Do you know that in China Black tea is called “red tea”.

26. At a price of $8,888 per couple, The Ritz Carlton of Hong Kong has the world’s most expensive High Tea meal.

27. The most expensive teabag in the world is a handcrafted diamond teabag made by Boodles jewelers worth $15,250, which contains 280 diamonds and is being used to raise money for a children’s charity in Manchester, England.

28. Tieguanyin is the most expensive tea in the world which is a rare Chinese tea and costs around $1,500/lb. The tea is named after the Buddhist deity Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy) and is an oolong tea.

29. Recent studies suggest that tea, especially green tea helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, helps bad breath, reduces some forms of cancer, reduces blood pressure, helps with weight control, acts as an anti-inflammatory, kills bacteria and virus, and has neuro-protective power.

30. You will be surprised to know that more than half of tea brewed in the U. S. was prepared using tea bags which is over 65%.

31. Do you know that tea was discovered accidentally, it was discovered by Chinese Emperor Shen-Ning in 2737 B. C., where he discovered the beverage when tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water.

32.In 1904 the United States invented both the tea bag and iced tea. Many tea lovers consider the tea bag as one of the worst inventions of the 20th century and most of us don’t know that Tea brewed with loose tea is generally considered to be richer than tea made from bags.

33. From one pound of loose tea leaves more than 200 cups of tea can be brewed.

34. Tea contains less amount of caffeine than coffee, a cup of tea contains less than half the caffeine of a cup of coffee.

35. Famous songs about tea are “No, No, Nanette,” “Tea for Two,” and “When I Take My Sugar to Tea.”

36. The Duchess of Bedford,one of Queen Victoria’s ladies in waiting is usually credited with the idea of “English Afternoon Tea.” The British invented two kinds of afternoon tea: “High tea,” which is served on a “high” dining room table and “low tea,” or afternoon tea served on a low “tea table.”

37. You will be surprised to know that Black tea constitutes most of the world’s tea consumption which is around 75%.

38. Black tea is the most common tea beverage in the United States, Europe, and the U.K.. Green tea is popular in China and Japan. White tea and Oolong are in general less popular.

39. Do you know that all tea is made from the leaf of the plant Camellia sinensis and the specific types of tea are made by processing the tea leaves differently.

40. Oolong tea is the most “fussy” type of tea. The least processed type of tea is White tea.

41. Tea is an important part of the day and an expression of hospitality in many parts of the world.

42. Tea was a major factor in establishing connections between the West and the East. You will be surprised to know that tea was also a catalyst for developing new technologies such as faster transport ships and many others.

43. Green tea can help to boost the health of plants when added to water as it is full of antioxidants.

44. Studies show that green tea can stop bleeding. The tannins that are found in green tea help to stop bleeding by coagulating the blood.

45. The world’s best selling tea brand is Lipton.

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma unseen photos