Here in Italy we still don’t have an unique number for emergencies. It is sad, because you can get confused by too many different numbers like 112 (Carabinieri), 113 (Police), 115 (Firefighters), 117 (Financial Police), 118 (Medical emergency), 1515 (State Forestry Department), 1530 (Cost guard). However if you call Carabinieri they should forward your call to the right service.
In many country around the world (but not US) and in almost all country in the EU, 112 is the number for every kind of emergency. Mobile phones let call it even if the keyboard is locked or there isn’t a SIM installed and when you dial it GSM system will redirect you to the right emergency number for your country if it isn’t the 112 (ex. 000 for Australia). Finally, did you know that 11th February (11/2) is the 112 day in Europe?

Learn all information about 112 emergency number on Wikipedia.

ACME corporation is a fictional corporation from Looney Tunes, where it often appears in Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Its name derives from Greek and means “peak”, “excellence”, “prime”, which is fun because all ACME products tend to fail. Today ACME is used as a generic name for a corporation or an industry. I doubt ACME is a trade mark and I like to think that if I will ever start a corporation I will call it ACME Inc.

Discover all ACME corporation uses on Wikipedia.

I always thought that gremlins were invented by the movie Gremlins. I was wrong because gremlins origin date back to the WWII, were according to the legend, they undermined RAF planes. In years, gremlins appeared in many stories, with different rules and aspect every time. Nevertheless I like to remember them as the main characters of the namesake film.

Continue reading the Gremlin legend on Wikipedia.

I never studied economy seriously so sometimes, while reading daily news, there are some occurrences in the world I don’t understand. I try to figure the explanation by the Internet. During one of these researches I encountered the word petrodollar. It caught my attention due to its semantic meaning. I then discovered that almost all the oil in the world is trade in dollars and this fact has a big influence on the global economy.

Learn more about Petrodollar on Wikipedia.

When I make projects about travelling by plane the first words that come in my head are “low cost”. Still, more than 50 years ago, there were the first prototypes of supersonic planes. Projects were ambitious and a lot of technical problems come up during the tests: overheating, difficult starts and landings, radiations by the sun, cruising range… but Concorde became reality and worked for decades, practically unchanged, until the only and fatal accident that caused the disposal of the entire fleet. Probably all the supersonic travels would be terminated the same in a few years due to the too high costs.

Read the full story of the only supersonic plane for civilians ever exited, the Concorde.

Last Tuesday was the day of the lottery’s results. Every year United States offer ~ 50.000 permanent resident visa at random to people around the world. For many is a way to change their life. There are some rules but almost everybody can apply for the lottery. The lottery if free, but there is plenty of scams around the web that promise the Green Card in exchange of money. The only official web site about the Green Card is the Electronic Diversity Visa from the U.S. government, where you’ll find application process, conditions etc.

But first, for understanding what a Green Card really is, how it works and what it implies (and also why is it called in that way), continue reading about the Green Card on Wikipedia.

It is famous for its unconventional shape. I tried it only once, in 2008, at Helsinki airport, while I was coming back from India. The Ball chair is a classic from 60s (who of you remember The Prisoner?) and together with the lava lamp, it will remain a cult forever.

Come back in time and read about the Ball Chair.

American Express created it in 1999 but rumors and urban legends started in 80s. If you are an individual who can afford virtually anything you know what I’m talking about. Formerly know as a black card, the Centurion card is the credit card for the elite users. You cannot ask for it, you must be invited from American Express itself. Annual fees start from 2.500$ per person, but probably this is last of your problems if you can hold one of these. In bundle with the card you will receive the exclusive magazine Blak Ink. and countless benefit studied to satisfy ultra rich people.

Continue to dreaming about having a Centurion Card.

The prohibition era in United States fascinates me because of the consequences: more hard the alcoholic ban was, more the consumption increased.
It was a total fail: it didn’t stopped the consumption of alcohol, it didn’t stopped the sales, it increased the organized crime, lots of people died for smuggling or simply because they drank adulterated products. Still, for years, the prohibition was law and police tried to make people obey to it.
I probably heard the word speakeasy for the first time watching The Untouchables and surely it is a curious word with its own history.

Let’s find out what was a Speakeasy.

When I first read this page I immediately started dreaming about a hidden world under kilometers of ice. It’s breathtaking thinking about what can possibly live under there, isolated from us and the rest of the world for twenty million years, like an independent biosphere. What could possibly find Russian scientists? And what will happen when the two worlds finally will get in touch? My imagination is already light years ahead…

Have a good time reading about Lake Vostok.