WHY RED AND GREEN ARE CHRISTMAS COLORS.

Why  red and green are Christmas colors, you might have thought about this but as we know each Topic of life has different stories attached to it..

 '' Some Say, that Red is for the Blood of Christ that flowed from Him to save you from you sins,and, green is the
new life you receive when you ask God to forgive you of you sins.
Gold for the streets of gold you will walk as a lover of God and a Christian-washed in Blood of the Lamb-all of your sins washed away and you are clean and Holy.
Wonderful!''(Almost Every one thinks so)

Sorry, but the above answers are wrong. Our tradition of decorating with bows of Holly and pine trees and so forth is an ancient pagan tradition for celebrating the Winter Solstice on Dec 23 - 24. These traditions were continued after most of Europe adopted Christianity.

The green celebrates nature and the coming of Spring. The bows of Holly (real ones) have red berries on them. The gold was added later - it looks really cool with the other colors - when used in moderation - and adds a royal or regal touch to the decorations.

Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas, what it stands for (Peace on Earth, Good Will to all men), and the decorations. Just keeping it real by telling you the truth behind the dates and its colors.

Feed your Brain With Facts.

Why Turkeys are Called Turkeys

In the 16th century, when North American turkeys were first introduced in-mass to Europe, there was another bird that was popularly imported throughout Europe and, most relevant to this article, England, called a guinea fowl.  This guinea fowl was imported from Madagascar via the Ottoman Empire.  The merchants who did this were, thus, known as “turkey merchants”.  The guinea fowl themselves eventually were popularly referred to as “turkey fowl”, similar to how other product imported through the Ottoman Empire acquired their names, such as “turkey corn”, “turkey wheat”, etc…. (more)

Killer hornets Kills People in china.

At least 19 people have been stung to death by hornets -- which may include the world's largest hornet species Vespa mandarinia -- in China's central Shaanxi province in the last three months, according to the city government of Ankang, the apparent epicenter of a recent spate of fatalities and injuries.

A total of 583 people in the area have been stung by hornets since July 1, say city officials. Seventy victims are still recovering in hospitals.

Chen Changlin was hospitalized after being attacked by hornets, while harvesting rice last week.

"I ran and shouted for help, but the hornets chased me about 200 meters, and stung me for more than 3 minutes," he recounted to the state-run China Youth Daily.

Chen said hornets had first swarmed a woman and child working nearby, who then ran towards him. Both later died from the hornets' toxins.

"The more you run, the more they want to chase you," said another victim, whose kidneys were ravaged by the venom. When he was admitted to the hospital, his urine was the color of soy sauce, according to local reports.

Earlier this month, 30 people -- including 23 primary school children aged between six and eight years -- were injured in a hornet attack in Guangxi province, south of Shaanxi. Their teacher, Li Zhiqiang, told his students to hide under tables as he tried to drive away the insects before he lost consciousness. The school's headmaster told local media that most of the injured suffered stings to their heads, necks, hands and feet.

Nearly 60 students and teachers were injured in a separate incident in the province at the start of the month, according to state media.

Experts say a number of reasons may have contributed to the apparent increase in hornet activity, including the region's recent hot, dry weather, land development and hornet sensitivity to the smell of people.

The Asian killer hornet, which is suspected in these incidents, are formidable, carnivorous killers, according to the non-profit Honeybee Conservancy. The species feed their young with the larvae of other insects and use their talons and mandibles to sever the limbs and heads of their prey. The hornet's venom sting is a neurotoxin so powerful that it dissolves human tissue, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

This week's latest incidents spurred the Ankang city government to hold an emergency video call addressing local concerns. Vice Mayor Lu Qi said he would increase investment in regional hornet control. Mayor Xu Qifang added the city would establish a 24-hour emergency hornet response team.

Adapted from: CNN

Do These Weird Creatures Really Exist?

Loch Ness Monster (Nessie) 
 Nessie is believed to live in Loch Ness Lake in Northern Scotland. The first person to see the Loch Ness Monster was a man named Saint Columba. In 565 A.D. he was swimming in the lake and saw a giant dinosaur-like creature. One of the more recent sightings of the monster occurred in 1933 when George Spicer and his wife saw 'a most extraordinary form of animal' crossing the road in front of their car. Later other people have claimed to see the monster and even took its pictures. Believers say the creature represents a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs.
 Other people believe it was an elephant swimming in the water with its trunk sticking out, or a dog with a stick in its mouth. Some of them even believe it was a submarine equipped with a monster head on top! And what about you? Do you believe there is a dinosaur-like creature swimming in Loch Ness Lake?

Abominable Snowman (Yeti)

 The first person to meet Yeti was Charles Howard-Bury. While he was climbing Mt. Everest in 1921 he saw a weird creature that walked like a human, it was covered in fur that was darker compared to the snow. The first Yeti photographs were made in 1925 from a distance of about 300 yards. Several people claim they have seen a Yeti-like creature or its giant footprints in Himalayan Mountains of Nepal or in Tibet. There are beliefs that the abdominal snowman is really a huge langur monkey, a giant ape (which is now an extinct animal), a Himalayan blue or brown bear and even a human hermit.
 

Chupacabra (Goat Sucker) 

 Chupacabra was discovered in 1995 in Puerto Rico. This monster is said to have killed a dozen of sheep via 3 puncture wounds that were found on the animals’ chests. Chupacabra is believed to completely drain the victims’ blood. Shortly after more Chupacabra stories began to spring up in USA, Mexico, Central America, & South America with people claiming the monster killed their farm animals. Those who saw the creature said it looked like a small dog missing most of its fur crossed with a rat and jumped like a kangaroo. A rancher from Texas had spotted and killed the monster with attacked his farm. He believed it was Chupacabra. However DNA tests proved the creature to be a coyote  with demodectic mange disease. Some theories suggest that Chupacabra is a hairless dog or wolf.


The Secret of the Bigfoot
 Bigfoot was first seen in 1958 by hiking travelers near Mt. St. Helens, Washington. However people say that such a creature existed even earlier, but under a different name. Though nobody knows exactly if Bigfoot really exists, the creature was seen over a hundred times in different places. It means there must be something extraordinary about it, right?
 Almost all US states have reported sightings of Bigfoot. The origin of the creature might be not that mysterious. Some people believe it was a man in a monkey suit, others – a big ape running around. Or maybe it was just a person with abnormal hair growth, a bear or just a mass media hoax?

Top 10 Brain-Damaging Habits

1. No Breakfast :People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration. 
   
2. Overeating: It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power. 
   
3. Smoking: It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease. 
    
   
   
4. High Sugar consumption: Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development. 
   
5. Air Pollution: The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency. 
   
6. Sleep Deprivation: Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells. 
   
7. Head covered while sleeping: Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects. 
   
8. Working your brain during illness: Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain. 
   
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts: Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage. 
10. Talking Rarely: Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain. 
    

(Source: Unbelievablefacts)

The Pocket Bike.

You must have seen crazy bicycle riders who perform unbelievable stunts and rough driving over streets or anywhere else,its all about balancing and skills that come from years of experience.

Okay, there's not much to say about this one except that it's equal-dose silly and awesome. 

That guy's actually really good to keep his balance and make it work. I'm sure it's harder to do than it looks here...

SCIENCE CREATED ANIMALS.

1.Sudden-Death Mosquito

These mosquitoes are created for sudden and quick death. These mosquitoes are released to mate with the females which in turn release the lethal genes from the males mosquitos and are transferred to the females which kills them or kills the young ones in her, so that they can't reproduce. Scientists at British bio-tech company claims that it can control the spread of the dengue fever "It involves irradiating male insects, causing mutations that make them sterile" claims the company. (Image credits: Centers for Disease Control)

  2. GloFish

Glofish is a genetically modified zebrafish which glows in dark. The fish has been ccomes in bright fluorescent colours like red, orange and green.

It all started in 1999 when Dr. Zhiyuan Gong and his colleagues were working on a fluorescent protein  which was originally extracted from a jellyfish. They inserted the gene into a zebrafish embryo and allowed it to integrate into zebrafish genome. These fish were created trying to create a fish(fluorescent) that can detect pollution by fluorescing in the presence of environmental toxin. These fish absorbs light and then re-emit it, which makes them look like they are glowing. GLofish the first genetically modified animal to be available as a pet.(Image Source: www.glofish.com)

3.Dolly the Sheep

Dolly the Sheep is the first cloned mammal created from a single microscopic cell from a single parent. Dolly was created in 1996 and lived until 2003 where she died of a lung cancer which is common in older sheeps. She was cloned at the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, Scotland by Ian Wilmut and his colleagues. Normally off-springs are a result of interaction of sex cells but in case of dolly’s birth, sex cells were not involved she was created using the process of nucleus transfer. Dolly was fertile and produced 6 lambs in total till her death.(Image Source: www.telegraph.co.uk)

4.Vacanti Mouse

The Vacanti Mouse created in 1995 by  Dr. Charles Vacanti, at the University of Massachusetts  was a laboratory mouse which had a human ear grown at its back. The ear was actually made by seeding cow cartilage cells nto a biodegradable ear-shaped mold.It was created to show that the transplantation of fabricated cartilage structures into human body is possible.(Image Source: www,news.bbc.co.uk)

5. See-Through Frog

The magnificent see-through frog was created to silence the world against dissection of the animals. This see-through frog does not require dissection to see its organs, blood vessels and eggs. We can see how organs grows, how cancer spreads through the skin of the frog. It truly a miracle in genetic engineering.(Image Source: www.news.nationalgeographic.com)

6.Ruppy 

A cloned beagle from South Korea popularly called Ruppy, which means Ruby the puppy, glows under ultraviolet light. Ruppy was created by Byeong-Chun Lee. Ruppy was cloned by using viral transfection of fibroblasts cells with a protein, forming a red fluorescent gene. Now, that a pet i would love to have.(Image Source: www.asterling.com)

7. Landmine Detecting Plants

 A company called Aresa Biodetection from Copenhagen has created a plant which can come handy in combat areas. These plants can actually detect land mines buried under the ground. Whenever flowers from the plant hit nitrogen dioxide which will reach the land mines buried under the ground the plant will change it's color to red.(Image Source: 1,2)

8.Enviropig

A genetically modified pig has been created for making the environment a little less polluted and safe to live in. The pig genetically modified pig produces 65% less phosphorus in its feces.(Image Source: www.ideaconnection.com)

9.Fuel Excreting Genetically Modified Bugs

A researcher at silicon valley boasts of creating a genetically modified bugs which eat agricultural waste and excrete diesel fuel.(Image Source: www.changethethought.com)

Extracted from:unbelievablefacts

FREE WORD CLOUD GENERATORS.

Word Clouds have caught the attention of the country and have become a part of the 21st Century classroom. While Wordle is the king of Word Cloud Generators here are some other word cloud tools that have some outstanding capabilities that are worth investigation.  Each tool provides a unique way  that can be used in  the classroom to facilitate the creation and study of word clouds. I especially was impressed with a few tools that actually helped students analyze a group of text using more then just the generated cloud.

Thanks for the visit, and as always please feel free to follow me on Twitter (joshuajsmart), I will follow back and we can learn from each other.– Josh

Wordle – (http://www.wordle.net) The king of word cloud generators generating awesome results with full editing capabilities. Check out the advanced tools for even more capabilities. Want to put words together so they stay together in the cloud, then just put a (~) in between – Example (Fort~Wayne). To have students avoid forums and galleries that may not be  appropriate be sure to link them using  the address (http://www.wordle.net/create). No log-in or email are required. Program allows printing, in order to save right click on Wordle picture and save as a jpeg and or make a screen print.
ABC Ya - (http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm)  This application may be the most Wordle like and, in fact, operates much like Wordle. It creates final results that allow for font change, color change, and a randomized layout.  It does not seem to provide the function on word frequency, important to older users. Save options are in  jpeg format and there are print options. If you are used to Wordle this application may be an good alternative. It does not require email or log in.

Tagul - (http://tagul.com/) – Tagul has some features that Wordle doesn’t, like custom shapes selection and multiple fonts usage in one cloud. It also allows for the use of tagged words that can act as pointers to URL’s if embedded in a web page. It abounds in options but registration may limit classroom use.  Requires a log in with email.

Word It Out (http://worditout.com/) – Much like Wordle, it creates word clouds out of any text that you paste into the text box. This application allows  the word cloud to be customized by size, font, and color scheme.  Word It Out also allows the user to  ignore certain words and thus  keeps them out of the word cloud.  Can be used without a login, although the saving option requires an email. Can work around this option by right clicking to save as jpeg and/or screen print.

Tag Crowd (http://tagcrowd.com/) – While it does not give the color,unique style, or layout variation of of Wordle, it does allow one to see frequency of words. It also allows a file to be uploaded or a URL address to be used.  The word cloud creations can be saved as a PDF files or  printed from a full screen print menu. No login or email is required and free use of the product is for nonprofit use listed under creative commons.

Wordsift - (http://www.wordsift.com/) – This hidden gem from Stanford University doe not give the pretty effects of Wordle,  but does give several awesome  features that allow students to really analyze a word cloud. One unique feature allows words to be listed by how common or rare they are. Also allows for words to be listed in alphabetical order. Wordsift allows the user to click on words to view in an online visual thesaurus with dictionary, google  images, and word sentence placement. It even allows the user to view words by subject area and cross curricular areas by unique color coding and definitions that relate to specific disciplines.  Watch this video lesson on using Wordsift with students on a lesson about Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. What a great way to analyze a speech!  It even covers assessment of students using Wordsift. No login or email required. Any printing or saving would need to rely on a screen print.

Make Word Mosiac – (http://www.imagechef.com/ic/word_mosaic/) – A creative tool put out by Image Chef. This is one tool in their suite of tools to be used for people who like to create.  It allows for different shapes, colors, and fonts. It makes a real cool word cloud but may have limited use in the classroom. Items can be emailed and embedded in different social network forums. By pressing the more button you can save a jpeg. Larger images with higher resolutions are available for a price. Login or email does not appear to be required. Be sure to read terms of use of any usage outside of personal.

VocabGrabber – (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/vocabgrabber/) – Another creative tool that allows students to analyze a group of words. While it lacks the flashy pictures and clouds that Wordle can create, it has substance in creating lessons that can be used to really understand a word passage.  VocabGrabber analyzes text and generates lists of the most useful vocabulary words then displays how  those words are used in context. Copy text from a document and paste it into the box, and click  Grab Vocabulary! VocabGrabber will automatically create a list of vocabulary from the  text, which can be sorted, filtered, and saved. Click on any word in the cloud and a snapshot of the Visual Thesaurus map appears along with definitions for that word, and  examples of the word in the text.

TagCloudGenerator – (http://www.tag-cloud.de/) – This is a service that does not allow pasting in of text, but instead goes to a website that is entered by the user. The effects are impressive since the results are a moving flash file that can be downloaded. It also provides an HTML tag cloud.  It even provides a service for WordPress Blogs.

TagCloud - (http://www.tagcloud.com) – A word cloud generator since 2005 and is currently offline getting an overhaul. It is listed here so that it can be reviewed when it is back on-line.
 Have a great week! 

HOW TO DETECT IF SOMEONE IS LYING TO YOU.

You suspect that your spouse is cheating on you? You think that your boss is intentionally prolonging the long-awaited promotion? You are convinced that your friend is avoiding you for some reason? These are the questions that are in our head from time to time, and because of that here are few tips that can help you discover if someone is lying to you.

Dr. Paul Seager, a psychologist at the University of Lancaster, in his book Would I lie to you? he reveals how people lied and he broke some of the common myths about lying. Here are a few of his tips that can help you to easily identify liars in your environment, but also to stop believing in myths about identifying lies.

EYE CONTACT
The biggest myth about lying is that people who lie avoid looking directly into your eyes. Good liars actually look right in the eye longer and harder than someone who does not lie, because they know that people believe that liars avoid a direct eye contact.

ANXIETY
Another myth states that a person that is lying shows great discomfort, and is constantly fidgeting. The opposite is true. When someone has to invent a lie, he eliminates all the attention from the body and directs it to the brain. The result is an unusually calm liar, and much calmer person than it really should be in that situation.

WATCHING UP AND RIGHT
The third myth is that the person that is lying is usually fixed on some view point. This is not confirmed by any investigation. It is believed that when our view is going up or down and left or right, we actually dig in our memory and then we are telling the truth. However, our sentences are involving different types of memories that stimulate different parts of the brain. So Dr. Seager believes that it is a myth as well.

TON OF THE VOICE
When a person is lying, its voice becomes slightly higher. Scientists believe that a slightly higher voice than usual is a sign that those people are most likely lying. The problem is that it is very difficult to see. If it comes to people you know, then you can see if their voice changes the color when you ask awkward questions. If it is a bit high, it is most likely that it is the someone who really lies.

BOMBING ISSUES
When a some person lies, it must concentrate on the story, and this usually results in easy answers. If you want to catch a person in a lie, let him tell you what he intended, and then start with a series of questions on it. If that person lies, his answers will be quite vague and they will lack in details.

RETELLING BACKWARDS
This is a technique often used by police officers. They will ask someone to explain their version of a particular event. Then they will request that person to explain that again, but this time start from the end. If someone lies, it will be very difficult and it is most likely that a person will become confused.

SPEED OF THE RESPONSE
Experts call this latent period of reaction time, and this is the time it takes a person to answer the question. If someone is lying, it will invest a lot of effort to come up with a lie, and for that is needed some time. Then it comes to a short pause between the set of questions and answers.

VERBAL SIGNS
If you think your partner is cheating on you, you should ask him a direct question: Are you cheating on me? It is important to listen carefully to the answer. If answer is: No, of course not, you can somewhat be sure that your partner is telling the truth. However, if the answer to your question is: How can you ask me that? How long we know each other? I am shocked at the moment... it will be suspicious. Namely, it is typical to avoid the true answer and the person who says it is most likely lying.

BEHAVIOR CHANGE
If you talk to someone who is relaxed and calm, you can determine what is its normal behavior, or what it is in a normal circumstances. When you set it a specific question and it suddenly change behavior, you can be sure that something suspicious is going on.

Windows Keyboards Shortcuts 2

                                

                                  Dialog box keyboard commands

• TAB: Move to the next control in the dialog box.
• SHIFT+TAB: Move to the previous control in the dialog box.
• SPACEBAR: If the current control is a button, this clicks the button. If the current control is a check box, this toggles the check box. If the current control is an option, this selects the option.
• ENTER: Equivalent to clicking the selected button (the button with the outline).
• ESC: Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button.
• ALT+underlined letter in dialog box item: Move to the corresponding item.

       Microsoft Natural Keyboard with IntelliType software installed

• Windows Logo+L: Log off Windows.
• Windows Logo+P: Starts Print Manager.
• Windows Logo+C: Opens Control Panel.
• Windows Logo+V: Starts Clipboard.
• Windows Logo+K: Opens Keyboard Properties dialog box.
• Windows Logo+I: Opens Mouse Properties dialog box.
• Windows Logo+A: Starts Accessibility Options (if installed).
• Windows Logo+SPACEBAR: Displays the list of Microsoft IntelliType shortcut keys.
• Windows Logo+S: Toggles CAPS LOCK on and off.

                         

                                     Windows Explorer tree control

• Numeric Keypad *: Expands everything under the current selection.
• Numeric Keypad +: Expands the current selection.
• Numeric Keypad -: Collapses the current selection.
• RIGHT ARROW: Expands the current selection if it is not expanded, otherwise goes to the first child.
• LEFT ARROW: Collapses the current selection if it is expanded, otherwise goes to the parent.

 

 

                                   Properties control

• CTRL+TAB/CTRL+SHIFT+TAB: Move through the property tab . 

See more shortcuts here: windowskeyboardsshortcuts.com

Windows keyboard shortcuts 1

 

 

Windows system key combinations

• F1: Help
• CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
• ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
• ALT+F4: Quit program
• SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently
• Windows Logo +L: Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE)

 

 

Windows program key combinations

• CTRL+C: Copy
• CTRL+X: Cut
• CTRL+V: Paste
• CTRL+Z: Undo
• CTRL+B: Bold
• CTRL+U: Underline
• CTRL+I: Italic

 

 

Mouse click/keyboard modifier combinations for shell objects

• SHIFT+right click: Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands
• SHIFT+double click: Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu)
• ALT+double click: Displays properties
• SHIFT+DELETE: Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin

General keyboard-only commands

• F1: Starts Windows Help
• F10: Activates menu bar options
• SHIFT+F10 Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item (this is the same as right-clicking an object
• CTRL+ESC: Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item)
• CTRL+ESC or ESC: Selects the Start button (press TAB to select the taskbar, or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu)
• CTRL+SHIFT+ESC: Opens Windows Task Manager
• ALT+DOWN ARROW: Opens a drop-down list box
• ALT+TAB: Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window)
• SHIFT: Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a CD-ROM to bypass the automatic-run feature
• ALT+SPACE: Displays the main window's System menu (from the System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the window)
• ALT+- (ALT+hyphen): Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu (from the MDI child window's System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the child window)
• CTRL+TAB: Switch to the next child window of a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) program
• ALT+underlined letter in menu: Opens the menu
• ALT+F4: Closes the current window
• CTRL+F4: Closes the current Multiple Document Interface (MDI) window
• ALT+F6: Switch between multiple windows in the same program (for example, when the Notepad Find dialog box is displayed, ALT+F6 switches between the Find dialog box and the main Notepad window)

 

 

Shell objects and general folder/Windows Explorer shortcuts

For a selected object:

• F2: Rename object
• F3: Find all files
• CTRL+X: Cut
• CTRL+C: Copy
• CTRL+V: Paste
• SHIFT+DELETE: Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
• ALT+ENTER: Open the properties for the selected object

 

To copy a file

Press and hold down the CTRL key while you drag the file to another folder.

 

To create a shortcut

Press and hold down CTRL+SHIFT while you drag a file to the desktop or a folder.

 

General folder/shortcut control

• F4: Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
• F5: Refreshes the current window.
• F6: Moves among panes in Windows Explorer
• CTRL+Z: Undo the last command
• CTRL+A: Select all the items in the current window
• BACKSPACE: Switch to the parent folder
• SHIFT+click+Close button: For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders
• CTRL+SHIFT+N: New Folder

Accessibility shortcuts

• Press SHIFT five times: Toggles StickyKeys on and off
• Press down and hold the right SHIFT key for eight seconds: Toggles FilterKeys on and off
• Press down and hold the NUM LOCK key for five seconds: Toggles ToggleKeys on and off
• Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK: Toggles MouseKeys on and off
• Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN: Toggles high contrast on and off

 

Microsoft Natural Keyboard keys

• Windows Logo: Start menu
• Windows Logo+R: Run dialog box
• Windows Logo+M: Minimize all
• SHIFT+Windows Logo+M: Undo minimize all
• Windows Logo+F1: Help
• Windows Logo+E: Windows Explorer
• Windows Logo+F: Find files or folders
• Windows Logo+D: Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop
• CTRL+Windows Logo+F: Find computer.
• CTRL+Windows Logo+TAB: Moves focus from Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the system tray (use RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW to move focus to items on the Quick Launch toolbar and the system tray).
• Windows Logo+TAB: Cycle through taskbar buttons.
• Windows Logo+Break: System Properties dialog box.
• Application key: Displays a shortcut menu for the selected item.

 See more shortcuts here: windowskeyboardsshortcuts.com