

    var news_pos = 0;
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    arr_news[0] = "Forgot your pillow? A large zip-seal plastic bag filled with air makes a handy replacement. It's not goose down, but it might keep you from getting a nagging crick in your neck overnight.";
    arr_news[1] = "Stash a few dollars under the in-sole of your shoe just in case. (You wouldn't want to be caught out with out any money for a drink)";
    arr_news[2] = "To keep batteries from discharging if a flashlight is accidentally nudged on during travel, put the batteries in backward. Rearrange them as soon as you reach your destination.";
    arr_news[3] = "Top ten items to pack for a hike: Map, flashlight, compass, first aid kit, knife, matches, extra clothing, water, food, sunscreen. Never hike without water, even if you don't plan on hiking very far.";
    arr_news[4] = "Drape a hanky or other cloth from the back of your cap to protect neck and ears from sun, wind, precipitation and body-heat loss.";
    arr_news[5] = "When traveling on buses make sure you have a fleece or warm outer, the air conditioning is usually set ludicrously cold.";
    arr_news[6] = "When cooking foil-wrapped foods directly in campfire coals, add a second foil wrap over the first. This creates a package that's less likely to get punctured, which lets dirt in and steam and juices out. Also, when you remove the outer wrap, the inside package will still be clean, and the opened foil can be used as a plate or serving dish.";
    arr_news[7] = "Bring plenty of US Dollars, or US dollar travellers cheques, you'll get a much better exchange rate.";
    arr_news[8] = "Make sure your boots are comfortable and have been worn in before you hike. New hiking boots will often cause blisters.";
    arr_news[9] = "Forgot your alarm clock? Drink a good draught of water before retiring and let nature wake you. The more you drink, the earlier you'll wake.";
    arr_news[10] = "Carry aspirin and adhesive tape in your outdoor gear. Pain and inflammation from insect stings disappear quickly when a slightly moistened, crushed aspirin tablet is taped over the sting.";
    arr_news[11] = "All water, if not bottled is suspect. Purify drinking water by boiling it for one minute at sea level and one additional minute per every 1,000 feet of elevation.";
    arr_news[12] = "Take a photograph of all your travel belongings before you set off and keep copies on your email account.";
    arr_news[13] = "To cross a river, choose a path where the current is slowest and use a long pole stuck against the river bottom on the upstream side to help stabilise you.";
    arr_news[14] = "Waterproof matches by dipping them in candlewax."
    arr_news[15] = "Prevent blisters by putting plasters on immediately you feel anything rubbing. Duct or gaffa tape makes an excellent alternative.";
    arr_news[16] = "A high altitude halo around the sun or moon increasing in size over time means good weather is on the way. If it's decreasing bad weather is coming.";
    arr_news[17] = "Spray mosquito repellent into your hands, then rub onto the skin. You'll cover all your skin that way and there is much less wastage.";
    arr_news[18] = "Vitamin B12 mixed with baby oil is an excellent repellent against sand flies.";
    arr_news[19] = "Bring good zip-lock bags for passports, toilet-roll, camera's, extra paper for making fires etc.";
    arr_news[20] = "Line your rucksack with a large plastic bag before heading off on a trek.";
    arr_news[21] = "You should drink at least 3 litres of water every day.";
    arr_news[22] = "Take a scan of your passport and store digitally in your email account - found easily in an emergency.";

    arr_know[0] = "Venezuela has never been cheaper. The Bolivar is at an all time low against the dollar and Euro. Your money will go far here.";
    arr_know[1] = "The tallest waterfalls in the world are Angel Falls in Venezuela. At 979 m, they are 19 times taller than the Niagara Falls, or 3 times taller than the Empire State Building. ";
    arr_know[2] = "About 50% of Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace. This is called propinquity.";
    arr_know[3] = "Botanically speaking, the banana is a herb and the tomato is a fruit.";
    arr_know[4] = "Tourism is the world's biggest industry, affecting 240 million jobs.";
    arr_know[5] = "Half the world's population earns about 5% of the world's wealth.";
    arr_know[6] = "Hot water freezes quicker than cold water.";
    arr_know[7] = "The sun is 330,330 times larger than the earth.";
    arr_know[8] = "A third of the world's people live on less than $2 a day, with 1,2 billion people living on less than $1 a day.";
    arr_know[9] = "The richest woman today is Liliane Bettencourt, the daughter of L'Oreal's founder. She has a net worth of $14 billion (depending on how the stock market did today).";
    arr_know[10] = "There are more than 7 million millionaires in the world.";
    arr_know[11] = "The first instance of global electronic communications took place in 1871 when news of the Derby winner was telegraphed from London to Calcutta in under 5 minutes.";
    arr_know[12] = "Fishing is the biggest participant sports in the world.";
    arr_know[13] = "The Bible still is the world's best selling book.";
    arr_know[14] = "The oldest continuous trophy in sports is the America's Cup. It started in 1851, with Americans winning for a straight 132 years until Australia took the Cup in 1983.";
    arr_know[15] = "To make one kilo of honey, bees have to visit 4 million flowers, travelling a distance equal to 4 times around the earth.";
    arr_know[16] = "One in ten people in the world live on an island.";
    arr_know[17] = "For 3000 years and until 1883, hemp was the world's largest agricultural crop from which the majority of fabric, soap, paper, medicines, and oils were produced.";
    arr_know[18] = "Your heart beats 101,000 times a day. During your lifetime it will beat about 3 billion times and pump about 400 million litres (800 million pints) of blood.";
    arr_know[19] = "The word malaria comes from the words mal and aria, which means bad air. This derives from the old days when it was thought that all diseases are caused by bad or dirty air.";
    arr_know[20] = "The Earth is slowing down - in a few million years there won't be a leap year.";
    arr_know[21] = "The average person can survive for 3 weeks without food though only 3 days without water.";
    arr_know[22] = "Eskimos use refrigerators to keep food from freezing.";
    arr_know[23] = "The opposite sides of a dice cube always add up to seven.";
    arr_know[24] = "New Zealand is home to 4 million people and 70 million sheep.";
    arr_know[25] = "Julius Caesar was known as a great swimmer.";
    arr_know[26] = "The Warao Indians of the Orinoco Delta have lived a nomadic life for the past 20,000 years that is still virtually untouched by the modern world.";
    arr_know[27] = "75% of wild birds die before they are 6 months old.";
    arr_know[28] = "There have been more Venezuelan Miss Worlds than from any other country.";
    arr_know[29] = "2 billion people still cannot read.";
    arr_know[30] = "There are no mosquitoes on top of Mount Roraima.";
    arr_know[31] = "If the amount of water in your body is reduced by just 1%, you'll feel thirsty.";
    arr_know[32] = "Napoleon reportedly carried chocolate on all his military campaigns.";
    arr_know[33] = "The sailfish is the fastest swimmer, reaching 109 km/h (68 mph). Dolphins can reach 60 km/h (37 mph).";
    arr_know[34] = "It is impossible to out-swim a shark - sharks reach speeds of 70 km/h (44 mph). Humans can run about 35 km/h (21 mph)";
    arr_know[35] = "The heart of a blue whale is the size of a small car.";
    arr_know[36] = "The largest giant squid ever recorded was captured in the North Atlantic in 1878. It weighed 4 tons. Its tentacles measured 10 m (35 ft) long.";
    arr_know[37] = "The pleasant feeling of eating chocolate is caused by a chemical called anadamide, a neurotransmitter which also is produced naturally in the brain.";
    arr_know[38] = "The muscle that lets your eye blink is the fastest muscle in your body. It allows you to blink 5 times a second. On average, you blink 15 000 times a day. Women blink twice as much as men.";
    arr_know[39] = "Thomas Cook, the world's first travel agency in the world, was founded in 1850.";
    arr_know[40] = "We actually do not see with our eyes - we see with our brains. The eyes basically are the cameras of the brain. One-quarter of the brain is used to process information from the eyes.";
    arr_know[41] = "Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.";
    arr_know[42] = "Mosquito repellents don't repel, they hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.";
    arr_know[43] = "The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.";


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