The Numbers Behind China

China is huge and growing at breakneck speed. With 1.3 billion people, China’s population is four times the size of U.S.

China is trying hard to be more than just the world’s factory. It is looking to be an innovator. Earlier this year, China has introduced a patent development strategy that ambitiously aims to have 2 million patent applications by 2015. We are also witnessing a growing list of Western technology companies partnering with Chinese companies.

Nokia, Google and Groupon are some recent active companies while Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg had taken time to visit China last year. To fuel innovation, Chinese Internet giant, Tencent has also recently set up a $760 million fund to invest in local start-ups. Dell forecasted that it would invest $250 billion in China over the next ten years. All these, I believe, are snippets of hint towards an innovative China in the near future.

In 2009, China produced over 67 million LCD TVs and 619 million mobile phones. The infographic below tells the tale of China in statistics and helps you to understand the country better.
Click to Enlarge.

Current Longest Serving World Leaders Then and Now

These are some photos of the longest serving world leaders as they were when they first took office and as they appear now. Although they have aged it wasn’t their looks that kept them in office for decades.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand: 64 years



Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom: 59 years



Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah (Malaysia): 52 years



Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei: 43 years



Qaboos Bin Said of Oman: 40 years



Muammar Gaddafi of Libya: 40 years



Queen Margrethe II of Denmark: 39 years



King Carl XVI Gustaf 0f Sweden: 37 years



King Juan Carlos I of Spain: 35 years



President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen: 31 years



José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola: 31 years



Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe: 30 years



Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain: 30 years

30 Funniest Lost and Found Pet Signs

It's always sad when your pet runs off, especially if he is a rodent masquerading as a cat. While we hope all the pets found their ways to safe homes, we're pretty sure these people shouldn't be in charge of anything that is alive and completely understand why they ran away.