By Age 3, children usually begin to identify with one gender. Is the reason why biological or environmental?

By Age 3, children usually begin to identify with one gender. Is the reason why biological or environmental?

Most children are known to act within the norms or confines of typical male or female behavior from an early time in life. Usually by age 2 or 3, children have identified as either male or female.

We do know that the biological gender of a baby is determined long before that. In fact, it's determined upon the fertilization of a mother's egg. The 23rd pair of chromosomes makes that determination. An XY combination means that a child will be male, while an XX combination means that a child will be female.

Gender-related issues are not always so black and white. After an egg is fertilized and physical organs develop, there are still complicated questions raised about a person's identity.

There is quite a lot of debate about the concept of gender, including the way that word itself should be defined. Some support the idea that gender identity is environmental, meaning that it is determined by common behavior or activity that a child observes and learns, such as playing with dolls vs. trucks. Others argue that identifying with one gender is caused mainly by biological factors.

Whether one of these theories is right and the other is wrong, or if the truth lies somewhere in between, has not been settled. It certainly has provided speculation and interesting research, though.

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The world’s hottest vodka is so hot its makers insist that you don’t buy it. How hot is it?

The world’s hottest vodka is so hot its makers insist that you don’t buy it. How hot is it?

According to it's website, the world's hottest vodka is made with naga chilli peppers. The vodka itself comes in at 250,000 Scovilles (a unit of measurement that is used to rate spiciness). 250,000 Scovilles is also its name. In fact, this particular vodka is so hot it comes in a bottle with industrial-grade sealing wire and a lead security seal with a skull and crossbones embossed on it.

If you're still not convinced of the extreme hotness of this product, it is recommended that the bottle be cut open with wire cutters. Actually, the makers of the world's hottest vodka suggest that you don't even buy it at all. With some benevolent advice, they at least make the attempt to spare potential customers from having to consume their own vodka!

As you can imagine, the purchase of this vodka is not taken lightly. Buyers are warned and must understand that drinking it involves some risk of danger to their health. Additionally, a person who wishes to buy a bottle of naga chilli flavored vodka should be sound of mind (not drunk), responsible, and know that the manufacturer and retailer are not responsible for any damage or misuse that results.

One more interesting fact: A bottle goes for $55.29 (U.S.).

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A man once wrestled a bear, was left for dead, and crawled over 200 miles back to his hometown!

A man once wrestled a bear, was left for dead, and crawled over 200 miles back to his hometown!

Not much is known about Hugh Glass, but he is famous for being mauled by a bear. He was an American fur trapper in the early 1800s. Glass was scouting for an expedition in 1823 when he stumbled upon a grizzly bear with her two cubs. The bear charged Glass, picked him up, and threw him to the ground before he could gather his rifle. He got up and repeatedly stabbed the grizzly while it clawed him over and over again. 

Glass managed to kill the bear with the help of his two partners, but was badly wounded and unconscious by the end of the ordeal. Convinced that he wouldn’t live, his superior had Glass’s two partners stay with him until he died and then have him buried. 

The partners ended up taking Glass’s things and running off, because they said some Indians arrived. Glass regained consciousness, though, with a broken leg, wounds on his back exposing his ribs, and abandoned without any equipment or weapons. He was 200 miles from the nearest town, Fort Kiowa. 

Glass set his own leg and covered himself with the bear hide. He laid his wounded back on a rotting log and allowed the maggots to eat his dead flesh to keep from getting gangrene. 

Glass crawled to the Cheyenne River and made a raft to float on. He made it to Fort Kiowa and began his recuperation. He then set out to get his revenge on the two partners that abandoned him. He ended up sparing one, because he was so young and the other because he’d joined the army. He did, however, get his lost rifle back. What a man! 

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Super Glue can be used to close wounds!

Super Glue can be used to close wounds!

Before we relate this awesome fact to you, we must advise you: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! So, with that being said, did you know that Super Glue can be used to close wounds?

It was first used for this purpose back in the Vietnam War when medics would use it to close soldiers’ wounds quickly to get them back to the battlefield. It was so useful for stemming bleeding that it was credited for saving many lives back then!

Today, many use the glue for this purpose including veterinarians and professional athletes. Sealing a small wound (like a paper cut) with Super Glue can reduce pain, quickly stop bleeding, and even reduce scarring!

Although possibly useful in emergencies, experts say not to use the glue for wounds as it can cause irritation, kill skin skills, and lead to other not-so-good side effects.

Dermabond is a safer alternative to Super Glue and has been given the okay by the FDA for the purpose of wound closure.

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The author of Sherlock Holmes was a Sherlock himself! Learn more about this amazing man

The author of Sherlock Holmes was a Sherlock himself! Learn more about this amazing man

What if Robert Downey, Jr. Actually had an Iron Man suit and went around saving the world in a totally unconventional ways? What if Christian Bale actually had an awesome Batmobile and bat suit and lived in a bat cave? Well, there actually are a few heroes from stories that lived up to their hype.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was an actual seeker of justice himself. He investigated two closed cases and lead to the exoneration of the crimes for which two men were accused. Doyle even paid most of the appeal costs for one German man after his defense of him proved successful.

Not only did he investigate on his own, but his police work also helped to create a better system that would make it more difficult for injustices to be done in the future.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a prime example of a true life hero that was honored in his own work and in later writings from other people. Some of his cases were even converted into television dramas or movies.

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A long-closed car dealership had hundreds of nearly unused cars from the 1950s and ’60s! What was their fate?

A long-closed car dealership had hundreds of nearly unused cars from the 1950s and ’60s! What was their fate?

Chances are you've probably heard stories about people discovering forgotten vehicles. Collectors and automotive enthusiasts may spend their lifetimes searching for dream cars that remain in nearly perfect shape. But how often do they really find the treasures they are looking for?

A sizeable collection of long-forgotten vehicles were auctioned off in the small town of Pierce, Nebraska. About 500 vehicles had been stored away. What's even more rare is that many of them were practically "new." There were some vehicles from the 1950s that had only a few miles on their odometers!

The dealership opened in 1946. It was truly a small business, with only one mechanic on hand. It was a business that has been described as a "mom and pop" operation that required hard work, honesty, integrity, and kindness.

While the new vehicles were stored in warehouses, many trade-ins were kept on a family farm. Eventually the collection of cars grew to a considerable size before the dealership finally closed.

The dealership was owned by Ray and Mildred Lambrecht, husband and wife. Their daughter says it was a painful decision to sell off their inventory of vehicles. On the other hand, many people will be thrilled to own great pieces of American history.

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Mormons believe that God lives near a planet or star named Kolob. What else does Mormon scripture say?

Mormons believe that God lives near a planet or star named Kolob. What else does Mormon scripture say?

A passage in the Book of Abraham reads, "I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God… And the Lord said unto me: these are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me."

Naturally, you may have a few questions about the book of Abraham. It was written by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, in 1835. Consequently, it is part of the foundation of the Mormon religion, with many Mormons believing it to be divinely inspired, especially among fundamentalists of that faith.

In addition to Joseph Smith, there have been other prominent men in the history of Mormonism who have spoken about Kolob and it's significance, including B. H. Roberts, Brigham Young, and John Taylor. Each of them considered Kolob to be near the place in which God dwells.

Interestingly, Kolob is also believed to have governing qualities. According to Roberts, there are many great stars near together, but the one that is of exceeding greatness is Kolob, which governs all stars "of the same order as that to which our solar system belongs."

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Living at a high altitude can protect you from diseases, but it also strongly correlates to higher suicide rates!

Living at a high altitude can protect you from diseases, but it also strongly correlates to higher suicide rates!

Researchers have looked at data from all 2,584 counties in the contiguous United States and have found what would appear to be a strong link between the factor of altitude and suicide rates, though altitude does not seem to correlate strongly with the death rate in general.

From 1979 to 1998, there were 596,704 suicides in the United States, which is 1.4% of 42,868,100 total deaths. The median suicide rate per county was 14 per 100,000.

After sifting through all their information, it was shown that suicide rates tended to increase with an increase in elevation regardless of the age, gender, race, or income of those who killed themselves, or of the population density of the counties in which they took place. Likewise, whether or not a firearm was used in suicides did not fluctuate significantly.

The ratio for average suicide rates between the 50 highest and 50 lowest counties was about 4.2 to 1. Meaning altitude greatly differed between these two sets of counties. Obviously, the data has shown that that is not just a coincidence.

Apart from suicide, it has been found that living in higher elevations helps prevent certain diseases. With respect to disease and suicide, there is no definitive answer that has been given to resolve the question of why these correlations exist, though there are theories.

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Preschool children were randomly assigned to different social groups. How did their behavior change?

Preschool children were randomly assigned to different social groups. How did their behavior change?

Anyone who has been to a school or a workplace probably knows that it is part of human nature to form groups with others. In most cases, groups or cliques are formed on the basis of friendship. Having certain things in common with other members is usually the criteria for admission.

So, some researchers wanted to experiment with that idea. In a study that was conducted to observe the effects of labeling on attitudes, children from 3-5 years of age were tested for their classification skills and self-esteem. The results were then used to ensure that the composition of the "red" and "blue" groups was random.

Teachers then began to implement the results by labeling children and organizing classroom activity accordingly. At the same time, there were control classrooms in which teachers ignored the results completely.

The results? As expected, children in classrooms who had differentiated between "red" and "blue" showed greater in-group bias on various measures than their counterparts in the controlled classrooms.

At any rate, it may be a bit alarming to see how reluctant even children can be to be inclusive when they are taught to distinguish between the "insiders" and the "others" in social settings. That's especially true when there is no discernible difference between the two groups, except for an arbitrary classification as either "red" or "blue."

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Messenger birds are tough. This one survived a missing leg, eye, and a bullet to the chestQ

Messenger birds are tough. This one survived a missing leg, eye, and a bullet to the chestQ

Dog is man's best friend. Apparently the same goes for carrier birds, who have been known to commit extremely heroic deeds and go beyond their expected functionality to perform tasks that everyone thought to be impossible.

During World War I, these birds, mostly pigeons, were used to carry messages to and from the front line. Often, they would be shot down by enemy soldiers who already had the bird's sender suppressed. One battalion of the 77th division owes their lives to one of these birds, Cher Ami, a blue check.

On October 3, 1918, more than 500 American soldiers were trapped behind enemy lines with no way of escaping on their own. They even began to receive friendly fire from troops who were unaware of their position. Whitney dispatched three pigeons. The first two were shot down almost immediately after they took flight. However, a third, Cher Ami, was able to take flight and deliver her message 25 miles away in 65 minutes even after losing an eye, a leg, and being shot through the breast.

The message that she relayed read, "We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven's sake, stop it." The men were eventually rescued. Cher Ami lived a bit longer but soon died of her injuries.

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