Interesting Facts and Trivia

Interesting China Info (from ZG Briefs, www.zgbriefs.com)
*The national quality standards regulator issued rules for the production of wood and bamboo disposable chopsticks on Monday. The standards aim to ensure product quality and save wood, said a Standardization Administration of China official at a press conference in Beijing. According to the rules, wood disposable chopsticks can only be made of birch, poplar and other widely planted trees and they encourage makers to use bamboo, which grows much faster than trees. Li Zhonghai, head of the SAC, said that as most disposable chopsticks in China are made of leftover materials from the lumber industry, it is not necessary to completely ban their production and use. China produces around 45 billion pairs of chopsticks a year, of which 60 percent are exported overseas.
- National Chopsticks Standards Issued (October 12, 2005, Xinhua)

*China's second manned spacecraft launched on October 11th and is planned to last 5 days.
*2008 Beijing Olympics are predicted to produce 1.8 million jobs in the city.
*Due to longer life expectancy (71.8 years) and the one child policy, more than 10% of China's population (1.3 billion) is over 60.

Other Random Info (from www.on-this-day.com and www.thefreedictionary.com)
On this day in history...
*Noah Webster was born.
*Marie Antoinette was beheaded.
*Ether was used for the first time.
*The Chinese "Long March" began.