Happy Fathers Day!! Continue celebrating by checking out these fun and interesting Fathers Day Facts!

• There are 64.3 million estimated number of fathers across the nation.
• There are 9,003 men’s clothing stores around the country (as of 2006).
• The necktie is the most common and famous Father’s Day gift.
• 23,270 is the number of sporting goods stores around the country in 2006.
• The first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19 1910 in Spokane, Washington USA.
• There are 140,000 estimated stay-at-home dads in the country.
• 25.8 million fathers who are part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2008.
• Father’s Day was supported by President Calvin Coolidge in 1924.
• 1.8 million is the number of single fathers in 2008. Currently, among single parents living with their children, 16 percent are men.
• In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared the 3rd Sunday of June as Father’s Day with a presidential proclamation.

GALLERY: 10 Father’s Day Gifts For Under $100!

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GALLERY: Get Your Man A “Kanye” For Father’s Day

Dress Dad Up Differently This Father’s Day

1. Super Bowl parties are second only to Thanksgiving…in food consumption. The big game fan’s food of choice? The avocado. Snopes.com estimates that about 8 million pounds of avocados are sold in preparation for Super Bowl Sunday.

Justin says he regrets not supporting Janet during Superbowl performance

2. Forget the countdown. It’s the touchdown that is the top at-home party event of the year. About 7.5 million parties are held on Super Bowl Sunday with 43.9 million party attendees. Having guests over for the big game?

3. It’s an American tradition with global popularity. Football is as American as apple pie so you might be surprised at how popular it is around the world. The big game is broadcast across the globe in 232 countries and territories and in 34 languages.

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Quick & Easy: Superbowl Party Check List

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Michelle Obama turns 46 years old today, completing her first year as First Lady. Here are 46 things you didn’t know about about Michelle Obama.

1. Her nickname is “Miche” (pronounced “Meesh”).

2. Her husband calls her “My Rock”

3. Her father worked the swing shift in the boiler room at Chicago’s water purification plant.

4. She grew up with her older brother, Craig, and parents in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment. She shared the living room with her brother, which was separated by a room divider.

5. She and her brother both skipped a year at school – second grade.

6. As a girl, she loved her “Easy-Bake Oven”.

7. Michelle was student council treasurer in high school.

8. Growing up, she practiced playing the piano so much that she had to be told to stop.

9. Although a great athlete, she shied away from competitive sports because, her big brother says, “she hated losing”.

10. Her father died of complications from multiple sclerosis when she was in her 20s.

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11. Michelle attended only public schools while growing up in Chicago.

12. She was assigned Barack’s mentor when he came to her Chicago firm for a summer job.

13. Her first impression of Barack wasn’t great; after seeing a photo of him in the law firm directory she decided he had a big nose.

14. She declined Barack’s first invitations to go out on a date, saying it would be inappropriate.

15. Her father and brother had always said you could tell a lot about someone’s character on the court, so before agreeing to date Barack, she asked her brother to take him on on the basketball court.

16. Her university dissertation was entitled, “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community.”

17. Santita Jackson, Jesse Jackson’s daughter and Michelle’s high school classmate, sang at the wedding.

18. She works out “like a gladiator,” according to friends.

19. She hates tights – too “painful.”

First Lady reveals secret ingredient on “Iron Chef America”

20. At the Democratic National Convention in 2004, moments before her husband went on stage to give his speech, she said: “Just don’t screw it up, buddy!”

21. She watches reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show

22. For breakfast she likes fruit, eggs and bacon.

23. When she got to Princeton she said the tutors weren’t teaching French correctly.

24. She refused to accompany her husband for walks in the cold Chicago winters.

25. She is the former associate dean at the University of Chicago.

26. On their first date Barack took her to see Do The Right Thing, a Spike Lee movie set in Harlem.

27. Her brother, Craig Robinson, is the basketball coach at Oregon State University.

28. At Princeton, Michelle majored in sociology. She got her law degree from Harvard.

29. She worked for Chicago’s Mayor Daley in the city’s office of planning and development.

30. She uses a webcam to stay in touch with Barack while separated.

Michelle Obama voted “Most Fascinating Person Of ’09″

31. She cooks shrimp linguini – her husband’s favorite meal.

32. Michelle wrote her own stump speech during the campaign and delivered it without notes.

33.  Michelle made Barack promise to quit smoking if he ran for president.

34. She plans not to have any more children.

35. She graduated from high school second in her class.

36. She cut back from her six-figure salary with the University of Chicago hospital system to help her husband with his campaign.

37. Michelle makes Barack do the dishes.

38. As vice president of community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Centre, Michelle supervised a five hundred per cent increase of volunteerism in the hospital.

39. She was on the board of six major organisations, including the prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and Tree House Foods; and Vice President, Community and External Affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals.

40. She routinely drew audiences of 1,000-plus supporters, even when she was campaigning on her own, on the trail

41. Her inauguration dress was designed by Cuban-American designer, Isabel Toledo. Her green gloves were J Crew and her shoes by Jimmy Choo.

42. After her husband’s election to the US Senate, Michelle decided to stay in Chicago with their daughters instead of relocating to Washington, DC.

43. Her great-great-grandfather, Jim Robinson, was a slave in South Carolina before the Civil War.

44. Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama are the only First Ladies to receive master’s degrees.

45. She has committed each episode of The Brady Bunch to memory.

46. At 5 ft 11″, she is tied with Eleanor Roosevelt for tallest First Lady.

Feasts celebrating mothers have existed throughout the world since the beginning of time. The modern version of Mother’s Day in the United States, was first observed in 1907. Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia decided that it would be a wonderful way to honor her deceased mother. Two years later, Jarvis and friends began a letter-writing campaign to create a Mother’s Day observance. Soon after, in 1914, the US Congress passed legislation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

How Many Mothers?

• 82.8 million Estimated number of mothers in the United States in 2004.
• 55% Percentage of 15- to 44-year-olds who are mothers.
• 81% Percentage of women 40 to 44 years old who are mothers. In 1980, 90 percent of women in that age group were mothers.

How Many Children?

• 2.1 The total fertility rate (TFR) in 2006 — the first time since 1971 that the nation’s TFR was at replacement level, which is the birth rate required to replace the population.
• 94.1 Number of births in 2006 per 1,000 women of childbearing age in Utah, which led the nation; at the other end of the spectrum was Vermont, with a rate of 52.2 births.
• Jacob and Emily The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively, in 2006.

Mothers Day Cards, Flowers & Gifts

• 21,135 Number of florists nationwide. Their 101,861 employees will be especially busy selling bouquets for Mother’s Day. The flowers you buy mom probably were grown in California or Colombia.
• 12,473 Number of employees of 120 greeting-card publishing establishments in 2005.
• 12,854 The number of cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores nationwide in 2005. Perfume is one of the most popular gifts given on Mother’s Day.
• 29,624 Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2005 — the place to purchase necklaces, earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.

Click here for more Celebrity Mama’s Boys!

New Moms

• 4.3 million Number of women who have babies each year. Of this number, about 450,000 are teens, and more than 100,000 are age 40 or over.
• 25.2 Median age of women when they give birth for the first time – meaning one-half are above this age and one-half are below. The median age has risen nearly three years since 1970.
• 40 Percentage of births taking place annually that are the mothers’ first.
• 36,000 Number of births each year attended by physicians, midwives or others that did not occur in hospitals.
• 1-in-31 The odds of a woman delivering twins. Her odds of having triplets or other multiple births was approximately 1-in-539.
• August The month with the highest number of births, with 369,316 taking place that month in 2005.
• Tuesday The most popular day of the week in which to have a baby, with an average of more than 13,169 births taking place on Tuesdays during 2005.

Working Moms

• 751,322 The number of day-care centers across the country to which mothers turn to help juggle motherhood and careers.
• 5.6 million Number of stay-at-home moms in 2006.

Click here to see Celebs With Their Moms!

Single Moms

• 10.4 million The number of single mothers living with children under 18, up from 3.4 million in 1970.

Meals with Mommy

• 54% and 79% Percentages of children younger than 6 who eat breakfast and dinner, respectively, with their mother every day. The corresponding percentages who eat with their father were 41 percent and 66 percent.

The diet industry is a super-expensive one. But are you really getting your money’s worth, or should you just stick with good, old-fashioned working out and eating right? Check out what Health.com has to say below.

[From Health.com]

MYTH: The African herb hoodia is an effective appetite suppressant

FACT: It’s still unclear whether hoodia makes it easier to skip dinner and save a few hundred calories, although there is some anecdotal evidence of the herb’s powers. “Hoodia is reported to arrest hunger for those making long journeys in the desert,” explains Roberta Anding, RD, a clinical dietitian and the director of sports nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The active ingredient in hoodia is believed to be a compound called P57. Research suggests that animals who have had P57 injected into their brains eat less, but this effect is unlikely to be replicated in humans taking hoodia capsules, Anding says.

Hoodia hasn’t been studied in humans, and until it is the plant’s safety and ability to stop hunger are anyone’s guess.

MYTH: I don’t need to diet or exercise if I’m taking a weight-loss supplement

FACT: Practically every supplement’s label-not to mention every weight-loss expert and dietitian-will tell you that if you want to shed pounds you’ll also need to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly.

Even the over-the-counter drug Alli, a half-strength version of the prescription weight-loss medication orlistat, should be thought of as a boost to dieting and exercise, not a replacement for either. If you take Alli, you’ll need to stick to a low-fat diet (no more than about 15 grams of fat per meal) or you could experience some pretty unpleasant side effects. “Alli keeps your gut from absorbing some of the fat you eat,” explains Saul Shiffman, PhD, a senior scientific advisor to Pinney Associates in Pittsburgh. “So if people eat too much fat at a meal it’s flushed through, and they can feel bloated and even stain themselves.” The bottom line? Taking Alli may require a change in diet.

What are 4 more myths? Click here to find out.

Can diet supplements hurt more than they help?

Don’t make one of the 6 common dieting mistakes!

If you’re a woman who’s been turning to the internet to self diagnose your self, you may be doing yourself a disservice.

Here are some facts that could help ease your mind from essence.com.

Secret # 1: Birth control pills may cause your sex drive to wane.

If your desire for canoodling hasn’t seemed quite the same since you started taking “the Pill,” it’s not your imagination. It’s 100% true that birth control pills can reduce the desire for sex in many women.

This is true not only for women in their reproductive years. It’s also true for women going through menopause who may use a low dose pill to control symptoms such as hot flashes and mood swings.

What can you do to get your sex drive back? Switching pill brands or formulations sometimes helps. If it doesn’t, consider switching to another form of birth control such as an IUD – if you’re in a monogamous relationship – or condoms. Another option is to take the Pill less frequently and use another method of protection to prevent pregnancy. If you’re using the Pill for relief of symptoms such as hot flashes, talk to your doctor about cutting back the dosage.

Secret # 2: To reduce some side effects of birth control pills – including nausea – insert them vaginally.

Inserting the Pill vaginally is not harmful. It can be very effective, particularly if you are suffering with any nausea or vomiting for any reason, including from taking the Pill.

This little known secret came to light thanks to an Israeli study published in the journal Contraception. Doctors compared two groups of women using the Pill. One group took the pill by mouth; the other inserted it into the vagina and let it dissolve. The result? The women who used the vaginal route had less nausea, vertigo, headache, breast tenderness, period pain, and stomach upsets than the ones who took the Pill orally.

Read more here.