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Deep in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, there are no cities or roads. The only way to get in is by boat or with a special kind of airplane that can land on the water. The foliage is so thick that you can barely see the sky when you’re underneath the trees. And the few people that live there live very different lives from people in the United States, or even people in the rest of Brazil. They can go for months or even years without ever seeing people from outside the jungle. Because they live so far from civilization, they don’t need to have jobs or money. They get what they need to eat by picking it off trees, catching it in the water, or hunting it with bows and arrows. When they need to sleep, they go to huts made of palm leaves with dirt floors and use thin tree branches as a bed.

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Once in a while, one reads a story that proves the old adage that real life can prove far more unusual than fiction.

Greg Mortenson was an amateur American mountain climber, living out of a Volvo in Berkeley, barely getting by while working as a nurse in hospital emergency rooms. In 1993 he went to Pakistan as part of an expedition to climb K2, the world’s second highest mountain — 100 feet or so shorter than Mt. Everest, and many times as dangerous. He and two fellow mountaineers nearly made it to the top when disaster struck. One of the them fell, and had to be carried for two days across some of the most difficult rocky and icy terrain in the world, with little food or water, barely alive. On the way back to camp, Greg got lost and nearly died from the cold.

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Twelve new stars will shine on the 5th season of the most popular ballroom dancing competition, Dancing with the Stars. The celebrities picked for the televised dancing competition vary in age, and often come from different professional backgrounds. They range from starlets to Hollywood legends, boy band stars to rappers, and even female wrestlers to professional athletes. On the fifth season of this hit show, the celebrities who will attempt to outshine one another are: Melanie Brown a.k.a. “Scary Spice”, Sabrina Bryan, Helio Castroneves, Mark Cuban, Jennie Garth, Josie Maran, Cameron Mathison, Floyd Mayweather, Wayne Newton, Marie Osmond, Albert Reed, and Jane Seymour.

In Dancing with the Stars, each celebrity is paired with a professional dancer who will teach them some fancy footwork in preparation for their weekly performance. After the performance, there are three judges who usually give brief critiques and cast their votes. Viewer participation is highly encouraged as viewers are allowed to cast their votes for their favorite star online or by phone.

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So you’ve read the entire Harry Potter series, but did you know that author J.K. Rowling drew much of her inspiration from myths and stories that existed before?

In a recent interview, Rowling shared that her inspiration for part of the most recent book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” came from a story “The Pardoner’s Tale” written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century as part of his collection, “The Canterbury Tales.” In The Pardoner’s Tale, three men set out to find and kill Death. Similarly, in the Deathly Hallows, there is a story of three brothers who succeeded in beating Death by crossing a river and as reward received gifts from him.

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Who is Bao Xishun, you ask? You might know him as the tallest living man in the world. Bao Xishun, a mongolian herdsman was recognized in 2005 by the Guiness World Records as “The world’s tallest man alive”. He was born in Mongolia, China in 1951 and stands a reported 7′9″ tall. His family is said to be descended from the offspring of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

Bao Xishun claims to have been the same height as many kids while growing up. It wasn’t until the age of 16 when he experienced a sudden spurt of growth that shot him to his current height. Because of his abnormal height he developed rheumatism (painful conditions of muscles, tendons, joints, and bones) at a young age and is still undergoing daily medical treatments.

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Ancient people can become new discoveries. This week, scientists and archaeologists studied a body found in Egypt in 1903 and discovered that it is actually the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt’s most powerful female pharaoh. This finding is being called the biggest Egyptian discovery since Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922.

Queen Hatshepsut became Pharaoh when her husband Pharaoh Thutmose II passed away after 13 years of rule. Thutmose’s son, Thutmose III, was too young to take the throne so Hatshepsut was put in place as the regent – a temporary ruler. Even as Thutmose became old enough to take the throne, Hatshepsut declared herself the real Pharaoh and continued her rule.

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How much do you know about pirates? Have you just watched the new “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie? Have you read any other facts about pirates? Do you think that you are an expert on “Blackbeard”, “Captain William Kidd” or even “Captain Jack Sparrow”?

Try to see if you know the answers to these interesting pirate questions. But remember, there are still many unanswered questions about pirates. Ahoy Matey!

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Did you know that our body type is determined by the genes passed onto us by our parents? These genes determine our physical traits – how we look and lots of other stuff about us. Usually your body will look like one or both of your parent’s bodies because you inherited a certain body type.

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Every year since 1875, crowds have gathered in Louisville, Kentucky to watch “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” known as the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is a 1¼ mile race for 3 year old purebred horses. The race has been held at the Churchill Downs race track since 1937.

The Kentucky Derby is known for being the oldest continuing sporting event in the United States. Derby fans include members of the royal family, celebrities and the regular folks who participate in the festivities every year. The Kentucky Derby is actually a two week long celebration that includes parties, concerts and parades leading up to the horse race which always takes place on the first Saturday of May.

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It might sound too good to be true, but recent studies have found that eating minimally processed chocolate, or dark chocolate, may actually be good for you. Researchers have found numerous health benefits associated with the cocoa beans which are used to make chocolate.

Raw cocoa and dark chocolate contain very high levels of antioxidants known as flavonoids. Two types of flavonoids, catechins and epicatechins, are found in dark chocolate which help boost chocolate’s antioxidant properties. Although these flavonoids are still being tested to better understand their ability to prevent illness, we already know that dark chocolate contains up to 4-times the amount of flavonoids found in green tea.

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Fox’s newest game show, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?   has been topping the Nielsen national ratings charts and only slightly behind the #1 rated American Idol. Hosted by stand-up comedian, Jeff Foxworthy, this new game show offers adult contestants a chance at $1 million by answering a series of questions that are taken directly from elementary school textbooks. Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?   measures a contestant’s knowledge of various subjects targeted at the 5th grade level. The subjects covered include Math, Geography, Social Studies, Science and Spelling.

This show has attracted so many viewers because both adults and kids can play along at home while watching. The show has 5 resident 5th graders that play the game alongside the adult contestant. During each round, the contestant chooses one 5th grader to be his classmate and is given a chance to receive help from them if necessary. The contestant who answers 10 questions correctly receives $500,000, and gets a shot at answering an additional question for $1 million.

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Are you familiar with the amazing life of Helen Keller? At only 19 months old, Helen Keller was struck with a sudden illness that left her deaf and blind. For years, she lived in a world of darkness and silence without any way to express herself. With hopes of one day being able to communicate with their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Keller enrolled Helen in the Perkins Institute for the Blind where she met her teacher Annie Sullivan.

Helen was very eager to learn how to communicate with people and Annie Sullivan, who was also blind, helped her accomplish this. Helen’s big breakthrough in communication came one day when she made a connection between the word water and water itself. This was accomplished when Annie poured water into the palm of Helen’s hand while spelling out ‘w-a-t-e-r’ in her other hand. It wasn’t too long after this initial breakthrough that Helen began reading raised letters and eventually Braille (raised dots). Eventually Helen was able to read Braille in 5 different languages (English, French, German, Greek and Latin). She even learned to speak using the Tadoma method (a way to interpret speech by touching the lips and throat of others as they speak).

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