As the flu continues to sweep the US and Mexico, other countries are taking precautions to avoid the disease, now dubbed N1H1. Some countries, like Egypt, may be taking it a bit TOO far. Although not a single case has been confirmed or reported, they have ordered all pigs in the entire country to be slaughtered.
Egypt is home to approximately 300,000 pigs, mainly consumed by Christian minorities, which makes up about 10% of the population. Pig farmers are outraged over the slaughter, and many have even begun blocking roadways leading to their farms to prevent the Health Ministry from slaughtering their pigs.
"We remind Hosni Mubarak that we are all Egyptians. Where does he want us to go?" said Gergis Faris, a 46-year-old pig farmer in another part of Cairo who collects garbage to feed his animals. "We are uneducated people, just living day by day and trying to make a living, and now if our pigs are taken from us without compensation, how are we supposed to live?"
Despite statements from the global health officials that the slaughter is completely unnecessary, Egyptian officials are following through.
"It is unfortunate," the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said of Egypt's decision. "The crisis today is in transmission from human to human. It has nothing to do with pigs," he told The Associated Press.
They had a similar approach to the bird flu epidemic a couple years back. Egypt was one of the hardest hit countries, and as a result, they killed upwards of 25 million birds.
Although 23% of you said you were "not concerned at all" about swine flu, reports of the illness spreading might change your opinion up a little.
The number of confirmed cases in the US has now increased to 91 across 10 states, and a 23-month-old boy in Texas died after becoming infected with the disease. This is the first swine flu related death in the US, although the little boy had been visiting from Mexico and reportedly had pre-existing medical conditions that contributed to his death.
Although the illness is far more of a danger to poor countries with weaker public health systems, we don't see the point of obliterating an entire species in a country. What do you think?
Today marks Barack Obama's 100th day as the 44th President of the United States. How much of a difference has he made in this very small amount of time?
Based on recent poll results, Obama has the highest approval rating - 69% - in 20 years. Although there is an undeniable divide between Democrats and Republicans (93% of Dems approve of his activities, versus only 36% of Republicans), 50% of Americans believe the country is "on the right track" - quite a stark contrast to the 19% from before his election.
This video from CNN captures highlights of Obama's first 100 days.
We might not understand a solitary word she is singing, but that hasn't kept us from falling in complete love with this song. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Today's SocialVibeSong of the Day is Coeur de Pirate - Comme des Enfants. This French cutie is also known as Quebec-based Béatrice Martin. Listen and let us know what you think in our poll below.
Do you have a suggestion for Song of the Day? Send to editors@socialvibe.com. Be sure to make your subject line "Song of the Day" and include your SocialVibe URL. If we use your song, we'll give you 50 SocialVibe points!
Although it is possible for women under the age of 18 to develop breast cancer, it is not as common as it is in older women. We never thought we would see the day when a ten year-old little girl was diagnosed with breast cancer.
When Hannah Powell's mother noticed her daughter scratching her breast, she asked her what was up. After hearing that her nipple had been itchy, she investigated further and discovered a lump in her breast. She took Hannah to the doctor, where tests were run and she was eventually diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. As far as her treatment goes, it is still unclear whether she will be treated by a pediatric oncologist or a breast cancer specialist.
Follow Hannah's story, give her encouraging words and find out more at ourlittlesweetpea.com.
Here's how you can help - educate yourself. Early detection is your best bet for prevention. Keep A Breast recommends all women begin self breast exams as soon as they are fully developed, between the ages of 10-16.
Not sure how to do a self-breast exam? No problem. Some of the ladies from Keep A Breast along with dudes from bands like Rise Against, Gym Class Heroes, Paramore, The Pink Spiders, Thursday and more are here to show you how.
Let's face it, we're all children at heart. One of my favorite pastimes as a child was coloring in coloring books. There's nothing quite like sitting down with a fresh coloring book and having at it with a big old box of Crayolas...
-The first box of Crayola crayons was sold in 1903 for a nickel and included the same colors available in the eight-count box today: red, blue, yellow, green, violet, orange, black and brown.
- In the last 98 years, more than 100 billion Crayola crayons have been made.
- The name Crayola was coined by Alice Binney, wife of company founder Edwin, and a former school teacher. She combined the words craie, which is French for chalk, and ola, for oleaginous, because crayons are made from petroleum based paraffin.
- Crayola crayons currently come in 120 colors including 23 reds, 20 greens, 19 blues, 16 purples, 14 oranges, 11 browns, 8 yellows, 2 grays, 2 coppers, 2 blacks, 1 white, 1 gold and 1 silver.
- Although Crayola crayons come in 120 different colors, the labels are only made in 18, which cover the full color spectrum.
- Nearly 3 billion crayons are made each year, an average of 12 million daily. That’s enough to circle the globe 6 times with color!
Our designer friends will be happy to hear that Aaron at ColorSchemer.com created a fun list of all 120 Crayola Colors along with their hex codes and RGB values. They say, “all of these colors are rough approximations from Crayola’s current list of 120 Crayon Colors.” For example, This is Robin Egg Blue.This is Wild Strawberry.This is Dandelion.
Were you the type that had to put each crayon back in it's exact spot or did you sprawl them out on the floor around you?? Does anyone here still color?
P.P.S. Just for fun, we took this "What color crayon are you?" quiz. I got a yellow crayon, which is ironic, because I look terrible in yellow and it is one of my least favorite colors.
You Are a Yellow Crayon
Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors.
You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius.
Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way.
While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme.
Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.
Doesn't it make you feel all warm & fuzzy using SocialVibe to make a difference in the lives of people across the globe? We wouldn't be able to do this without our brands, and they wouldn't be able to do this without you. To thank you, they are giving you weekly prizes, which we lovingly call Perks.
Here are this week's winners!
Colgate - Nikon COOLPIX S60 Digital Camera Kit-Kat
Upper Deck - Box of 2008 SP Baseball Cards beccaface93
Congratulations, guys!
Want to win your own Perk? It's easy to enter. To find out which brands are offering Perks, just click the "Brands" tab at the top of SocialVibe.com and filter "Perks" on the lefthand side. Or, just search "Perks" here on The Vibe (the SocialVibe blog), and you'll find what you're looking for - we announce any and all news about Perks here.
A couple in Waterford Township, Michigan were recently devastated when their six-pound chihuahua, Tinkerbell, was literally blown away by a 70 mph gust of wind.
Dorothy and Lavern Utley had setup a booth at a nearby flea market and brought their beloved Tinkerbell along. The long-brown-haired tiny canine was perched atop their platform trailer when the wind picked up - no pun intended - and swept Tinkerbell away.
Distraught, the Utleys contacted a pet psychic hoping to get some answers about the whereabouts of their dog. They credit the help of the psychic for pointing them in the direction of a wooded area nearly a mile away from where 8-mo old Tink had last been seen. And there she was... dirty and hungry, but absolutely thrilled to see her owners.
Dorothy Utley tells The Detroit News that her cherished pet "just went wild" upon seeing her.
Well I never. If this isn't just the most adorable, if not a little bit odd, story I've ever read! Next time you're out with your tiny dog and the wind picks up, get that cutie on a leash!
