Thank the internet. O.O lol. sorry if I'm not allowed to take stuff from it. The topics are random... New Year's Fun Facts: •According to statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, more vehicles are stolen on New Year's Day than on any other holiday throughout the year. •Why should you ring in the New Year with family and friends? It is thought that the first visitors you see after ringing in the New Year would bring you good or bad luck, depending on who you keep as friends and enemies. Keep your friends close and your enemies far, far away! •The Times Square New Year's Eve Ball came about as a result of a ban on fireworks. The first ball, in 1907, was an illuminated 700-pound iron and wood ball adorned with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs. •Today, the round ball designed by Waterford Crystal, weighs 11,875-pounds, is 12 feet in diameter and is bedazzled with 2,668 Waterford crystals. •Due to wartime restrictions, the New Year's Eve ball was not lowered in 1942 and 1943. •Throughout the year, visitors to Times Square in New York City write their New Year's wishes on pieces of official Times Square New Year's Eve confetti. At the end of the year, the wishes are collected and added to the one ton of confetti that showers the crowd gathered in Times Square in celebration of the New Year. •The top three destinations in the United States to ring in the New Year are Las Vegas, Disney World and New York City. •Food plays a big role in New Year's traditions. Eating black-eyed peas, ham or cabbage are thought to bring prosperity. However, stay away from bad luck foods like lobsters, because they move backwards, and chicken, because they scratch in reverse. It is believed that eating these on New Year's day might cause a reversal of fortune. •In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico families stuff a life-size male doll called Mr. Old Year with memories of the outgoing year and dress him in old clothes from each family member. At midnight he is set on fire - thus burning away the bad memories of the year. •According to this survey, 40 to 45 percent of American adults make one or more resolutions each year. The top New Year's resolutions include weight loss, exercise, quitting smoking and better money management. By the second week of January, 25 percent of people have abandoned their resolutions. In Italy, people wear red underwear on New Year's Day as a symbol of good luck for the upcoming year. Basketball Fun Facts: •In the very beginning the color of the basketball was brown, but later it was changed into a brighter color; that is orange. •The first basketball game took place in 1982, where the court was half the size of today's courts, and only one point was scored during the match. •The NBA (National Basketball Association) was founded in 1949, after the combination of the NBL (National Basketball League) and the BAA (Basketball Associate of America). •Basketball was first played by a soccer ball untill it was changed in 1929. •Michael Jordan is considered one of the best basketball players around the world. The record score of 5,987 made him a legend in the world of basketball. •The reason why a backboard was added is because the audience in the balcony used to interfere in the game by handling the ball. •In 1967, slam dunks were considered illegal; nine years later it was legalized again. •The first hoop was like a peach with a bottom and every time a team scores, the referee would climb a ladder to get the ball. •Women's basketball began in 1892, and some rules were modified to fit women. •The game was made an official Olympic game in berlin Germany, 1936. How to make it in basketball: Confidence Confidence is something that a coach can sense. They know that if you have confidence then it will contribute to your success on the court. Likewise, they know if you lack confidence it's because you haven't been working on your game and have no reason to be confident. Play to Your Strengths Show off your strengths! Don't go overboard, but play up a couple of your greatest strengths. If you're a great spot-up shooter, then show the coach that you're money when spot-up shooting. If you're a great passer, then show off your passing abilities and rack up the assists in tryouts. You still want to show that you have a complete game, but try to play down your weaknesses as well. If you're not a great 3-point shooter, then you shouldn't be chucking up 3's in tryouts every time you touch the ball. However, don't show that you don't have confidence in your shot, just be smart about your decisions. Take the shot when you're wide open, but limit them. LISTEN For some reason, many players just don't do this part. I suppose it's because if they're not going to listen on the court then why would they listen to other people's advice? As I said earlier, you have to be confident, but not cocky. If your coach is trying to give you advice on how to improve your game, then listen to him/her! This doesn't only apply to coaches, though. Your teammates may give you advice as well and will be communicating what's happening around you on the court. Listen to what they have to say! COMMUNICATE Not only should you be listening, but you should be trying to help out your teammates as well. Coaches love it when a player makes the players around them better. This is usually more of an "in-game" communication in which you would tell your teammate that you notice a weakness of his/her man, or that if he/she sets a screen then the roll to the basket has been open. Perhaps more important, though, is being vocal on the court. You want to be calling out screens or cutters when on the defensive end to warn your teammates. Not as importantly, you'll want to be vocal on offense as well. Holler "wolf" if a defensive player is sneaking up behind your teammate handling the ball. You can also let your teammates know when you or another teammate is open or has a mismatch. Oreo Fun Facts: •The Oreo biscuit was first created in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company in the U.S. •The first Oreo cookies are introduced to Canada in 1949 (so was Newfoundland, as it joined the Confederation in March). •50 percent of all Oreo eaters pull apart their cookies before eating, with women twisting them open more often than men!?! •Every year, more than $1.5 billion of Oreo cookies are sold around the world. Canada is the fourth largest number of Oreo lovers in the world, following the USA, China and Venezuela. •Each Oreo cookie face has 12 flowers stamped in the design. •It would take a stack of 69,159 Oreo cookies to reach the height of the CN Tower in Toronto. •Canada's Oreos are made in Montreal. And in an 8 hour shift, the bakery bakes more than 1.1 million Oreo cookies. •In addition to the traditional Oreo cookie, there are specialty flavours created for global markets. In China, try Oreo Green Tea Ice Cream; in Argentina, try Oreo in banana and dulce de leche duo. •Oreo cookies are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. •Oreo has created a limited-edition Birthday Cake Oreo Cookie to celebrate this year's 100th birthday! (look for the golden packages in stores) How to make Oreo birthday cupcake: Ingredients 1 pkg (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix 4 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped 1/3 cup whipping cream 1 pkg (250 g) cream cheese, softened 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened 2 Tbsp milk 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups icing sugar 10 OREO cookies, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 24 maraschino cherries, drained 24 mini OREO cookies PREPARE[/b[ cake batter and bake as directed on package for 24 cupcakes; cool completely. Microwave semi-sweet chocolate and whipping cream in small microwaveable bowl on MEDIUM 1-1/2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 1 min. Dip tops of chocolate in chocolate glaze. Refrigerate 10 min. or until firm. [b[MEANWHILE,beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add milk and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in sugar until well blended. Stir in chopped cookies. SPREAD tops of cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Top with cherries and mini cookies just before serving. EXTRA/ Poke hole in top of each cupcake with handle of wooden spoon; fill with some of the prepared frosting. Dip tops in chocolate glaze; refridgerate 10 min. or until firm. Spread with remaining frosting. Garnish as directed. I'll put more if I have time. Hope you liked it. And if anything is misspelled.