Top 10 Facts You Never Knew About Michael Jackson

King of pop is dead, you all know that don’t you. Growing up

in the 80s was like living in the middle of an epidemic and

no one was immune to the thriller fever. I have had my

dancing days but I never was a big fan of the king of pop

. After the thriller fever I got jabbed by the big four of rock

music (The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Doors)

and to them my loyalty still prevails. The big four also had

some of the biggest eccentrics ever; Keith Moon and Led Zeppelin

were, however, were only content with driving Rolls Royce in a

swimming pool or throwing TVs from hotel windows, Jackson on

the other hand bought The Beatles. Here are our top 10 things

you never know about MJ.

10. Not just ‘The King of Pop’ But a King for Real
Michael Jackson was crowned the king of the gold-mining

village of Krindjabo, populated by the Agni tribe, located near

Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Amon N' Djaolk, the traditional tribal

chief of Krindjabo, placed a crown of gold upon his head

and pronounced him "king of Sani.

09. Multiple Inductions

He has received multiple inductions in almost every hall of fame.

Twice in Rock and Roll hall of fame, Thrice in Grammy hall

of fame and once in world music hall of fame, MTV Video

Producer’s hall of fame, Song Writer’s hall of fame, Soul Train

Award’s hall of fame and BET Award’s hall of fame.

08. 13 Guinness world records

Jackson also has 13 world records under his belt. These

records include, the best selling album of all time

(Thriller), most successful entertainer of all time,

youngest vocalist to top the US singles chart and

first vocalist to enter the US singles chart at number one.

07. 345 awards and certificates

Although the recognizable awards only amounts to 197 in all,

however, the total number of awards, certificates and

honors amount to a staggering total of 345.

06. Patent for smooth criminal shoes

Do you remember the ‘lean’ in the smooth criminal video?

He could have used wires in the video but there was no

way he could have pulled it off in the live concert. Or

could he? Michael Jackson created special shoes to

perform the ‘lean’ on stage. He also has a patent

for them. The shoes were designed to quickly slide into

pegs that rise out of the floor at just the right moment.




05. Most Awards in a single year
Jackson has the record for:

Most Grammy Awards won in a single year in 1984 ceremony

(eight, Carlos Santana equaled this feat in 2001).

Most American Music Awards won in a single year in 1984

ceremony (eight, equaled by Whitney Houston in 1994).

Most World Music Awards won in a single year in 1996

ceremony (five, tied with Whitney Houston in 1994).
Most Billboard awards won in a single year in 1983 ceremony

(thirteen)

Michael Jackson also has the record for more music

awards than any other artist in the history of music.

04. Fastest Ticket Sales

His, now-cancelled, ‘This is it’ tour in 2009 has the record

for fastest ticket sales in history, with 700,000 tickets sold

in about four hours.

03. Most Humanitarian Entertainer

Jackson has supported more charities than any other pop

singer - 39 charitable organizations either with

monetary donations through sponsorships or by participation

in their activities.

02. Honorary Stamp

In 1985, Michael Jackson was featured on a 60 cent stamp from

the island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

01. The Oscar Goes To...

Michael Jackson bought David O. Selznick's 1940 Best Film

Oscar for Gone with the Wind for $1,542,000 on June 12,

1999. The Academy Awards no longer permits such sales,

all but ensuring that it will remain the most expensive Oscar.

Top 10 Extinct Animals (alive only in photographs).

We have killed more species of animals than criminals arrested

in the last five decades. We may try to ignore the facts but

the experience of seeing (and / or photographing) an animal and

then realizing that the animal only be alive in a photograph is

not a happy thought. Here is a list of Top 10 Extinct Animals

(alive only in photographs).

Meanwhile, each day we welcome 2,10,000 more humans on

this planet; 15 lakh more every week! This is why mankind calls

itself a virus. For instance, 78 percent of marine mammals are

now endangered due solely to accidental death and one in

every

four mammals are threatened because of habitat

damage. According to recent stats, Asia has the most

endangered species at 79 percent.

Tasmanian Tiger

The Tasmanian Tiger was the largest carnivorous

marsupial of modern history. Despite being termed as

a 'tiger,' it wasn’t even vaguely related to cats, its closest

living relative is the Tasmanian Devil.

The principal cause of its extinction was mass hunting, though

the last one died in the Hobart Zoo, in Tasmania, Australia,

on September 7, 1936 due to neglect!

Quagga

The Quagga was the queer brother of the zebra. The stripes

on a Quagga were limited to its frontal portion and the

rest of the body was similar to a horse with the exception

of white feet. Photographs are the only proof that this animal

ever existed. By 1870s, they were all killed, the last one died

at a zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on August 12, 1883.

Passenger Pigeon

How can a bird, whose biggest flock recorded in 1820s

consisted of a billion birds be extinct in only 100

years? During colonization the slaves and the poor were

encouraged to hunt pigeon for food and pigeon

meat was commercialized as cheap food. Farmers

also had a grievance against their vast numbers. So

as a solution they terminated the species. The last known

Passenger Pigeon, named “Martha”, died in captivity on

September 1, 1914, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1896

Golden Toad

An Australian biologist Tim Flannery has described the

extinction of the Golden Toad to be the first demise of a

species due primarily to global warming. Recognized

by its bright golden-orange color, the species was last

sighted in 1989.

Caribbean Monk Seal

In 1491 Columbus, during his voyage, wrote about tiny

‘sea wolfs’; his team hunted and ate eight of them. The

trend ended in 1952, when all the monk seals were

extinct. The species was officially declared extinct just

last year, on June 6, 2008.

Pyrenean Ibex

The last known Pyrenean Ibex died on January 6, 2000.

However the species was brought back to life. This year

in January, Pyrenean Ibex became the first ever

species to be brought back into existence through

cloning. Though the newborn died just seven minutes

after due to lung failure, the events have raised optimism.

Bubal Hartebeest

The Bubal Hartbeest was first domesticated by the

Egyptians and even has a mention in the Old

Testament. The mythological aura however wasn’t

resilient enough to save it from European hunters.

The last was probably a female which died in the Paris Zoo

in 1923.

Tecopa Pupfish

The Tecopa Pupfish was the first species to be declared

extinct under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The

fish were first discovered in the Tecopa Hot Springs in California

in 1942. The springs were replaced with bathhouses, hotels

and trailer parks for tourists.

Pink Headed Duck

Pink headed ducks were natives of north-east India. They are

now extinct. However no official statement on this matter has

been provided. There have been only two sightings of this

shy bird, both in Myanmar; however the sightings have

failed to provide any proof. The photograph was taken in1930.

Susu Dolphin

Susu Dolphin or the Ganga Dolphine are not extinct,

however only 500 of the lot are alive. I give them five more

years.

Gun Bling - Point Blank Fashion

Time for a new trend in the concrete jungle; you have to check

out this range of ballistic fashion statements.

Shayad Shotgun-Shadi ka khayal aaya hai, ise liya mummy ne tumhe chai pe bulaya hai.

Goli maar ball main… get it!

Ever heard of gothic, well this is totally ballistic.

That’s something to discourage purse snatchers.

The cinch in any domestic argument.

Master the fine art of textual intercourse

So she’s been messaging you and you have been messaging her back. Wonder what’s really going on in her mind? Decode her here.

L - Think of me as special.

If she signs her initial, she’s trying to work out how much you like her. She reckons you know loads of girls with the initial ‘L’ but hopes this ‘L’ will stand out.

. (Period) - Stop thinking of me, or I’ll call the police.

A full stop might mean that she’s telling you, “Don’t even think about it, I’m way out of your league”. Or perhaps, it just means that she’s very particular about her commas and full stops. Don’t worry, she’d only have corrected your punctuation for the rest of the relationship.

X - You are nice, I like you.

For the uninitiated, ‘x’ in short messaging lingo stands for a kiss. Don’t start jumping about and whooping for joy yet, though. Most women will add one ‘x’ to just about every text message that they send out, regardless of who it’s being actually sent to. While it’s tempting, don’t read too much into it.

XXXXXX - You’re nice, I’m a bunny-boiler. And I’m actually hiding outside your door.

So many kisses could mean only one thing. She wants you badly, you’re the one, you are the one! The one that she wants to hack up and keep in her freezer! She’s obsessed with you, maybe just a little too much. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Get Her A Gift And Get The Girl

‘What’s the easiest and the most effective way of impressing

a girl and impressing upon her the idea, that she means

the world to you?’ Our resident Casanova, the Playa

answered – just get her a gift. I did a double take, for

if my memory served me right The Playa is extremely

disparaging about guys who shower women with

flower and gifts. After all only a guy with an incredibly

low self esteem would use gifts as a form of ‘proposal’.

‘It’s a crude sidearm of a guy with no game’ says the playa.

So what led to a sudden and dramatic change in his philosophy?

Why giving gifts is a bad idea

He explained ‘using gifts to snag a woman early when you

are both testing the waters rarely ever works. But that’s

because of the kind of gifts guys usually go for. More

often than not, the gifts they are purchase are

unimaginative, cliqued and horribly expensive.

Moreover, using fancy gifts to get a girl early on in

a relationship is a way of saying – I feel I need

to bribe you into liking me (because as a man

I have little else to offer). However, a gift

that’s thoughtful, interesting and romantic

(in the true sense of the word) is a powerful

attraction building tool.’

A lesson from life

Honestly, I never quite understood the difference

before I met my current girlfriend. A Facebook

friendship to begin with, our chats (despite my

aversion to chatting) lengthened. And without

actually ever saying so, the bond had definitely

deepened between us. She like me was in

between relationships and before a fortnight

had passed, we were nicely into each other.

However, even though we both kept making

plans to meet up, our busy schedules conspired

to keep us apart. Then came a three day

impromptu trip to Mclodganj (Dharamshala)

with my colleagues. Leaving aside the various

adventures we had over there (one of which included

trippinn with a British Rock band and crashing at

the place of the lead singer), what made this

trip significant the practical lesson I received on

The Playa’s funda of buying gifts for potential girlfriends.

Mclodganj like most of tourist hotspots is filled

with shops selling local curios. Masks, statuettes,

woollens and handicrafts of every imaginable

variety – however, nothing enthused me enough to

pull out my wallet. Even though I really wanted to

purchase something for my lady love, the admonitions

of the Playa coupled with the fact that I didn’t see

anything she couldn’t have got in Janpath (near CP in Delhi)

acted as a restraint. Instead of getting her a cheesy

(and expensive) memorabilia that would make me

look cheesy, I’d get her nothing at all. It’s not as if I’m

stingy, but here we are talking about a girl I haven’t even

met.

Meaningful Gifts - Know What I Mean

However, on the third and last day of the trip, as were

walking to the mall area, from where we were supposed

to board the bus, I spotted a really old man sitting

under tree carvingdesigns on wooden blocks. The

designs were really

intricate and some of them beautiful enough to take my

breath away. These would make a perfect gift, I thought.

Mah girl

had told me that she was a fervent devotee of Lord

Krishna, and a member of the ISKON group. She had

also told me that she performs there every Sunday

with the other devotees.

Dressed in a traditional lehenga- choli she danced in

front the idol – interesting girl, don’t you think. So I asked

this fellow if he had carved a Krishna motif. After rustling

through his basket, he took out a block on which a peacock

feather was carved. And while it looked interesting enough,

what really sweetened the deal was the carving was actually

a tattoo imprint. The guy dipped it into thick mehendi mixture

and made an imprint on my arm. It rocked!! Talk about thoughtful

gifts.

She loved it!!

Needless to say that she was ecstatic with the gift

and the very interesting story which accompanied

it. A mild exaggeration of sorts but as the Playa says,

a little spice never hurts.