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Sharpen Your General Knowledge
Shamim Ansary:
What Is a Balloon Mortgage?
The balloon mortgage offers very low interest rates in the beginning and then after a certain period of time the balance either must be refinanced or paid in full.
In a variety of the balloon mortgages, after the specific time period, the loan is recalculated with the interest based on a specific index or margin, which makes the total payment significantly increase.
Shamim Ansary:
What Makes the Stars Twinkle?
Not only does the light from the stars appear to twinkle or jump about, it also appears to change color.
When the light from the stars is traveling through space, there is no twinkling or changing of color. It is the earth’s atmosphere that makes the stars twinkle and change color.
This is brought about by the winds in the earth’s atmosphere, which make tiny dust particles move at different speeds. Light passing through these jumbled layers is refracted and appears to change color and jump about.
Some nights the stars appear to jump about more than usual. That’s because on that night there are greater differences in the speeds of the winds in the atmosphere.
Did you know that when you look at the stars with a big telescope, all the twinkling is exaggerated? Sometimes the stars jump about so much astronomers just give up and turn off their big telescopes.
Shamim Ansary:
What Are the Most Common Surnames In the United States?
The most common surnames in the United States in order, are Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, and Brown.
A surname is a name added to a given name and in many cases, a surname is a family name.
In Western countries, a surname is also known as a “last nameâ€, but in many countries in Asia, the family name, or surname, comes before the person’s first name.
In Iceland, however, most people do not use family names. Instead, a person’s surname indicates the first name of the person’s father.
Shamim Ansary:
What Do You Do If a Deer Runs Out In Front of Your Car While You’re Driving?
If a deer runs out in front of your car, stay calm, and try not to further endanger yourself, your passengers, other traffic, or the deer as you would in any other collision situation.
But there are several preventative steps you can take to avoid running into deer in the first place.
The first is being aware of the season. Deer are most prevalent in June, when young fawns are on the move, and from October through December (mating season).
A good thing to remember during these times, and always, is to lower your speed in heavily deer-populated areas; if you see deer signs, heed them.
And keep your eye especially keen during the dawn and dusk hours, when deer are most active.
Most car-deer collisions happen during these low-light times of day. If you do hit a deer, some states allow you to keep the carcass.
Whether you want venison for dinner or not, contact the authorities and alert them about the hit immediately.
Shamim Ansary:
What Battle Was Fought After the War Was Over?
One of the most famous battles of the War of 1812 was the Battle of New Orleans, in which General Andrew Jackson and his troops defeated a larger British army.
The battle was fought on January 8, 1815, 15 days after a peace treaty between the United States and England had been signed in Europe. But the news, which came across the Atlantic Ocean on a ship, didn’t reach Jackson or the British troops before the battle.
Although the Americans were outnumbered more than two-to-one at New Orleans, they lost only 71 men while the British lost 2,000!
At the time of the battle, even President James Madison in Washington, D.C., didn’t know about the treaty or the battle!
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