Wunderlich

Since human life began man has searched for ways to increase his own pleasure of sex and to make himself irresistible to lovers. Over the centuries a wealth of lotions and potions, commonly termed aphrodisiacs, has developed as the perfect solution to increasing libido, stimulating the sexual organs and increasing mans attraction to potential lovers.

Named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, aphrodisiac describes anything that increases libido and stimulates the sexual organs, ranging from simple herbs and natural substances, to many other dubious techniques, some dangerous in the extreme.

Here are ten more things you may not already know about aphrodisiacs:

* Aphrodisiacs have uses other than to make sex more enjoyable and in some countries where marriages are arranged between parties who may never previously meet, parents often administer them in the hope of attracting love and romance to the relationship. In arranged marriages between Hindus, a bowl of honey is often placed beside the couple. Honey has an acclaimed place in Indian mythology, and a chain of bees forms the bowstring of Kama, the Indian God of Love.

* The word honeymoon itself derives from a popular aphrodisiac, honey, and an ancient English tradition where newlyweds ate only honey and drank mead - made from honey - during the early weeks of the marriage.

* In 18th century London, John Graham, O.W.L. (the initials stood for Oh, Wonderful Love!) made a fortune charging people for the privilege of sleeping on his celestial bed which was claimed to increase the sleepers sexual powers after he awoke, of course. The bed had curious coils attached to it, soft music was played, incense was burned, and colored lights bathed the sleeper.

* Although, historically, aphrodisiacs are drugs like Spanish Fly and L.S.D., alcohol, animal glands, and countless foods, herbs and spices, recently the term has come to describe most things that are sexually stimulating, from books and movies, to pornographic magazines, and erotic dancing.

* In Victorian times, gentlemen who felt their sexual powers waning ate prairie oysters, being bulls testicles, and rich in male sex hormones. Of many weird substances used in Victorian England, experts say this is one that may indeed have worked.

* Lizards were used as aphrodisiacs by early Arabs and Europeans who, having dried, pulverised and mixed the powder with sweet wine, professed it the finest of all love potions.

* In ancient Eastern Asia, snake blood was thought to benefit men whose prowess was fading and, even today, some Asian restaurants serve snake blood as an alleged aphrodisiac.

* In some Asian countries, gallstones are thought to be a potent aphrodisiac with an immense market value. As recently as March 1997, Mary Claire Stevens, a meat-packing plant food inspector in Minnesota, USA, was charged with felony theft accused of taking gallstones from the Long Prairies Packing Plant to sell on the international market!

* Sadly, antlers from live Reindeers caused the death of many of these magnificent creatures, but also led to the Tibet Red Deer being certified as extinct by the World Conservation Union. A tiny herd discovered recently in Tibet is now under close guard by conservationists.

* The use of rhino horns (and tiger bones) for medical purposes was declared illegal by the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China in May 1993, although it appears minimal clandestine trade continues with prices suitably inflated. In Eastern Asia tiger bones, fat, liver and penis are among the most highly prized aphrodisiacs, and affordable only by the very rich or extremely desperate! In Taiwan and South Korea a bowl of tiger penis soup will set you back about $350 and will allegedly let you make love like a tiger, meaning the whole thing should be over in thirty seconds!

Read more about love potions at:http://www.1st-in-aphrodisiacs.com Avril Harper writes about numerous other subjects at http://www.avrilharper.com

Let your feet tapped with the new Motorola ROKR with iTunes. This slim and candy bar handset is all set to rock the world with its superb music quality and easy-to-use communication features. With iTunes, you will never miss your track anymore. Transfer songs swiftly coordinate with your iTunes desktop music library and play your preferred tracks, anytime-anywhere. Supported with several music file formats, it plays on all popular music file formats efficiently.

As far as phone design is concerned, its a slim and compact candy-bar phone. Featuring a vibrant 262k colour TFT screen, Motorola ROKR provides a good platform for watching videos, pictures and phone features. Below the screen is an intuitive keypad combined with short-cut keys, which are used to access frequently used applications with ease. Simply touch the button and your favourite track starts playing. Endowed with an in-built VGA camera, you can capture still as well as motion pictures take pictures and videos and share with friends and family via MMS and email.

The Motorola ROKR also comes supported with optional removable TransFlash memory card
allowing you to accommodate more pictures, songs and videos with ease. In addition, the device offers advanced messaging features such as MMS, Email, instant messaging and EMS
express your feelings through pictures, videos, texts, music or manage your document via email. The device lets you stay in touch with the world, always.

The tri band handset also comes with impeccable connectivity options such as WAP, GPRS enabling users to browse the Web, manage emails or stay up-to-date with latest news and information. As far as performance is concerned, the Motorola ROKR is one of the most efficient and powerful music phone. Play, listen to your music and soothe your senses. The device is always ready to deliver.

Gian Bryan is a webmaster of the site. Mobile Phone, Latest Phones

Everywhere you look you can see them, some are so small you can barely discern them from the fabric of your clothing, they lurk around every corner and in every crowd.

No, I am not talking about the newest strain of bird flu, or even an imminent terrorist attack, what I am describing is a weapon far more subtle and not nearly as deadly.

Logos, every piece of clothing you purchase has one these days, from jacket to underwear. Look down at your clothes, go ahead, they wont hurt you, do you see the classic checkmark of Nike? Or perhaps the stylish omega of Lululemon? From ancient Greek to a simple checkmark, these well known symbols adorn our clothing, our cars, and even our toothbrushes.

But why would anyone bother to put some checkmark or color on your shirt? Because it pays. Major corporations make billions of dollars a year off of merchandise such as clothing, and spend millions every year to make sure they make even more then next year.

Now, we all know that companies must advertise to sell a product, and they must try to make some revenue on the product in the process, its a simple factor of consumerism. Most adults know that a brand name may mean quality or a certain style, and some brands are supposedly better than others in an unofficial hierarchy.

The question is however, how do the younger generations, such as high school students, perceive these logos? Are youth these days willing to spend that outrageous 35$ for a simple t-shirt, or 70$ for a pair of shorts? Many would disagree, but if clothing companies such as Quiksilver and Nike spend millions per year on advertising targeting youth, then there must be some payoff. So if high school students are spending outrageous amounts of money on clothing just for a little logo, first of all, why? And second, where is all this money coming from?

I saw a couple buddies starting to wear them, they were something new that I noticed was becoming a lot more popular, so I decided to give them a try, says Thomas, a local highschool student. People definitely notice a unique hoodie or t-shirt compared to sweat pants and a plain t-shirt,

It seems corporations have found the best advertising front available, its free, it will last for as long as the brand stays in popularity, and it walks around, proudly showing off the miniature advertisements pasted on shirts, shoes, and pants. When do students become walking billboards? Some as early as grade 5, and if you think that a 10 year old is working double shifts at the local gas station to pay for his or hers 35$ shirt, think again. So are parents actually the true target of this assault of trendy merchandise? Perhaps a 500$ wardrobe is standard with pencils and a notebook these days.

My parents pay for some stuff mainly pants and shirts, but hoodies, hats and extra stuff I like, I have to pay for, says Thomas.

Are students working weekends and after school simply to wear their meagre salaries on their backs? Maybe so, but why not save the money and buy a car? Or maybe that new of dirt bike? Because you have to, especially in the fearful conformity of high school, if everyone is wearing white, you wouldnt want to be one of the black sheep.

Maybe there is no stopping it, it was bellbottoms then, its zip up sweatshirts now, maybe in the next few years it will be fluorescent jumpsuits or bellbottoms once again. I guess this is the price we pay for our ever so comfortable lifestyle, you basically buy your popularity these days, at 35$ a shirt. Will people stop wearing brand names? Probably not, school uniforms could be an alternative, although with everyone wearing the same brands, we basically are in school uniforms. So the next time you turn over that price tag and gasp, maybe take another look at exactly what you are buying, and instead of throwing the money down the drain, save up and buy that car (cars are also another issue, but lets not get into that.) youve always wanted, heck, you could even treat yourself to a nice meal. If we all take that advice than maybe there is a cure for this cancer of consumerism, we have the antidote to this poison, but nobody has realised that yet, not even me.

Now you must excuse me, I think I need a new pair of shoes...

Shay Pomeroy is a writer for a Canadian newspaper in Lake Country, British Columbia. He intends to pursue a career in journalism/communications.
NOTE: Submitted articles have been edited for personal content(Names, Places, ect.)