NONFICTION TALK ; EXAMINATIONS

Away for a while, exams are approaching !

After that, I'll read with a vengeance.

NONFICTION TALK : WHO'S FIRST, TURKEY THE BIRD, OR TURKEY THE NATION?

Have you ever wondered about that?

Here's the hidden story.

If you’ve ever visited Turkey, you probably ate shwarma, but it’s unlikely that you were served a crispy, golden turkey leg. The former center of the Ottoman Empire isn’t exactly a breeding ground for the bird that we most closely associate with Thanksgiving. In fact, the turkey is native to North America.

So why do they share the same name?

First, let’s get the facts on the two turkeys.

Meleagris gallopavo is an odd-looking bird that is known for his bare head, wattle, and iridescent plumage. Like many species, the feathers of the male turkey are brighter than the female.

The republic of Turkey straddles Asia and Europe and has coastline along the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Aegean. Its capital city is Ankara.

Here’s how they are related. In the 1540s, the guinea fowl, a bird with some resemblance to the Thanksgiving avian, was imported from Madagascar through Turkey by traders known as turkey merchants. The guinea fowl was also nicknamed the turkey fowl. Then, the Spanish brought turkeys back from the Americas by way of North Africa and Turkey, where the bird was mistakenly called the same name. Europeans who encountered the bird in the Americas latched on to the “turkey fowl” name, and the term was condensed simply to “turkey.” Turkeys have fared better than their guinea fowl relatives on the international scene, perhaps explaining why you probably have never heard of guinea fowl until right now.

The Turkish name for the bird is hindi, which literally means “Indian.” This name likely derived from the common misconception that India and the New World were one and the same.

The turkey’s acceptance into the Old World happened quickly. By 1575, the English were enjoying the North American bird at Christmas dinner.

We want to acknowledge, as some commenters have noted, that our previous explanation of “turkey” confusion was a bit, well, confusing. We hope that our revisions are clearer. We at the Hot Word aren’t too chicken to admit when our writing is a turkey; hopefully, with our meatier explanation, your appetite for nomenclature knowledge is sated (let us know if you’re still confused.)

Source :  http://hotword.dictionary.com/turkey/#7OL57fW7dp8MAlhy.99 

NONFICTION TALK : BOOKS WRITTEN IN DNA CODE

source : http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/science/2012/aug/16/book-written-dna-code

Extract from article :

Scientists who encoded the book said it could be soon cheaper to store information in DNA than in conventional digital devices.

Scientists have for the first time used DNA to encode the contents of a book. At 53,000 words, and including 11 images and a computer program, it is the largest amount of data yet fully stored artificially using the genetic material.

The researchers claim that the cost of DNA coding is dropping so quickly that within five to 10 years it could be cheaper to store information using this method than in conventional digital devices.

Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA - the chemical that stores genetic instructions in almost all known organisms -  has an impressive data capacity. One gram can store up to 455bn gigabytes : the contents of more than 100bn DVDs, making it the ultimate in compact storage media.

Hmm.
Far-fetched idea, but with tech nowadays, anything is possible..

NONFICTION TALK: 10 MOST DISTURBING BOOKS

The 10 Most Disturbing Books Of All Time

source : http://www.popcrunch.com/the-10-most-disturbing-books-of-all-time/

10. Blindness - Jose Saramago
9.  Requiem For A Dream - Hubert Selby Jr.
8.  Naked Lunch - William Burroughs
7.  We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
6.  The Road - Cormac McCarthy

5.  American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

4.  Johnny Got His Gun - Dalton Trumbo

3.  The 120 days of Sodom - Marquis De Sade

2.  The Turner Diaries - Andrew McDonald

1.  The Girl Next Door - Jack Ketchum

personally, I haven't read any of this. Anyone up to the dare? Share your experience !