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- China is the reason why most pencils are yellow! It's true. During the 1800s, the best graphite (also known as "lead" in pencils) in the world came from China. American pencil-makers wanted a special way to tell people that their pencils contained Chinese graphite. In China, the color yellow is associated with the ideas of "royalty" and "respect". American pencil manufacturers began painting their pencils yellow to share this "regal" feeling with China.
- In ancient China, they looked at the dark and light areas of the moon and pictured a rabbit and a toad. The story: They were making magic medicine.
- Feng Shui: Pronounced feng-shway. Feng Shui is a Chinese system of determining the luckiest places to put things. It means "wind and water", because the system seeks harmony with natural forces. It's believed by many that your home, business, or family tomb will bring you bad luck if you have bad feng shui. If these things are not in the right places, your luck will be bad.
- Living on top of a hill is bad luck because your luck and money could roll out the door.
- Living under an overhanging rock, because it could fall on you.
- Living at the bottom of a hill near a straight driveway is bad because it can send "killing" forces toward the house.
Examples of Good Feng Shui:
- Living near a body of water. Water is a life-giving force.
- Living near a winding driveway. Curves fool demons, which fly in straight lines.
- Living with your house halfway up south-facing slope. It will be less windy than top, and sunny in the winter.
There is actually such a thing as a feng shui expert you can hire who will come and check over your house to see if everything's okay. You might be told to move a door, install a fountain, or put up a mirror to keep evil forces away among other superstitious things.
If neighbors do not like each other, they will get into feng shui wars that erupt when neighbors put up mirrors to reflect each other's bad luck.