Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

Prostitution, defined as the practice of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment is usually described as "the world's oldest profession" as it has been practiced throughout ancient and modern culture. Some people go into prostitution voluntarily while others are forced to prostitute themselves. Historically, most prostitutes have been females and most clients, males. The narrative is a lot more dynamic today with a wider variety of prostitutes - male, female and transgender. Also, the scope of prostitution has been widened to both heterosexual and homosexual activity. Here's all the facts you need to know about prostitution. 1. According to 2012 estimates, there are about 40 - 42 million prostitutes in the world. 2. As reported by Live & Invest Overseas, the following are the ten countries with the most sex workers per 10,000: 10 - Thailand: 45 sex workers per 10,000 9 - Germany: 49 sex workers per 10,000 8 - Malaysia: 52 sex wor...

The Gadhimai festival, the world's largest animal sacrifice event began on Tuesday morning in Nepal, despite fierce objections from animal rights groups. The Gadhimai festival - a two day event - began with the killing of a goat, a rat, a pig and a pigeon by a priest, who also drew blood from five points of his body. This was followed by the descent of 200 butchers wielding carved kukri knives into the temple arena - a walled arena bigger than a football field - ready to behead an estimated 3,500 buffalo. Excited devotees climbed trees to watch the bloodbath.  This religious event has been held every five years for the last 260 years, in Bariyarpur village, Nepal. In 2009, at the height of the festival, an estimated 500,000 buffalo, goats, pigeons, pigs and other animals were slaughtered, according to Humane Society International. The said NGO reports the number dropped to about 30,000 in 2014. In 2015, Gadhimai Temple Trust - the festiva...

Today, we'll be taking a look at the Emerald Isle, better known as the Republic of Ireland. In case you're wondering, Ireland is called the Emerald Isle because of its vales of green and lush rolling hills. These are the most distinguishing facts about Ireland: 1. From 1845 to 1849, Ireland experienced the Great Famine - also called the Great Hunger - characterized by mass starvation and disease. This was caused by the failure of Ireland's staple crop - the potato - in successive years, caused by late blight. The disease attacks and destroys both the leaves and tubers of the potato plant. The Great Famine resulted in at least one million deaths in Ireland and the emigration of another one million people during the famine years. It also caused the deaths of 100,000 people outside Ireland. 2. Ireland ranks second in tea consumption in the world, only after Turkey. Ireland has a very high tea consumption rate per capita - 2.19 kg of tea per year. Ireland is followe...

Today, we're sharing with you guys, the most fascinating facts about Romania, a country found in Eastern Europe. In case you're wondering what Romania means, it means "citizen of the Roman empire". If your curiosity has been stirred up, you can proceed with the most interesting facts. We end with general facts as usual. 1. In 1857, Romania's capital Bucharest, became the first city in the world to be illuminated with kerosene lamps. 2. The highest rock sculpture in Europe is found in Romania. It is a sculpture of Decebalus, the last king of Dacians considered to be the ancestor of the Romanians. The sculpture is 42.9 m in height and 31.6 m in width. It is located near the city of Orsova in Romania, on the Danube Gorges. 3. The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is the heaviest building in the world. It weighs about 4,098,500,000 kilograms and contains 700,000 tonnes of steel and bronze, 900,000 square meters of wood a million square feet of marb...

Gadi Sagar lake  Today, we'll discover interesting things about the second most populous country in the world - India. We'll start with the outstanding facts then end with general ones. 1. An Indian, Vijay Kumar V.A holds the record for the most teeth in a mouth. He has 37 teeth, five more than the average number for adults.   2. India exports over $415 million worth of hair annually. It is estimated that about 40,000 pilgrims - especially those who cannot afford to donate money or jewelry - donate their hair in temples every day, as a spiritual offering. 3. India is the world's largest milk producer, followed by the US, China, Pakistan and Brazil. India produces 21% of the world's global milk output. 4.  Mawsynram and  Cherrapunji, the two wettest places in the world, are found in India.  Mawsynram receives an annual rainfall of 11,871 millimeters, while Cherrapunji, only 15 kilometers from Mawsynram, receives 11,777 mill...

You may already know Singapore for its beauty and tech prowess but there is a lot more you could learn about Singapore. We'll go through the eye-catching facts then provide general facts at the end. Let's get going! 1. Singaporeans are the fastest pedestrians in the world. They walk at an average speed of about 6.15km per hour (18 meters in 10.55 seconds). Usain Bolt may just have found his competition! 2. Chewing gum is banned in Singapore. Without medical prescription, being in possession of chewing gum will get you in trouble with the police. 3. Has the thought of urinating in an elevator ever crossed your mind? Have you ever thought of enacting such a thought? Measures have been put in place in Singapore to prevent urination in elevators. Their elevators are equipped with Urine Detection Devices (UDDs). They detect the scent of urine, then set off an alarm and closes the doors until the police arrive to arrest the offender. A specific law has been passe...