Pautakan 2016: The 23rd Province-wide Interscholastic Academic Competition in Palawan

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Get ready to cohere and conquer as UP Palaweños brings you Pautakan 2016: The 23rd Province-wide Interscholastic Academic Competition in Palawan.

To be held on January 9, 2016 at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum, the competition involves four different contests, namely, the Online Essay Writing Contest, On-the-Spot Poster Making, Online Photography Contest, and the main event, the Quiz Bee. Only participants coming from Palawan-based schools may join the abovementioned activities. Cash prizes, trophies, medals, and different freebies await the winners of each event.

One of the biggest and most established of its kind in Palawan, the UP Palaweños Pautakan is an annual event which aims to bring the best out of the Palaweño youth in a wide range of fields, including science, general information, visual and literary arts, and others. The theme for this year’s Pautakan is “coalesce”, which means to merge. In the context of a competition, this means to work as a team. This year’s Pautakan highlights the idea that success is best achieved, not when one is divorced from others, but when individuals join together for a common goal.

Just Some of Life's Unsolved Mysteries

Wazzup Pilipinas!

1. Why tobaccos and cigarettes are still being sold when they are obviously harmful to our health.
2. Why softdrink companies continue to exist when there are healthier alternatives out there.
3. Why people still buy firecrackers when they offer nothing but a few minutes of eye candy and more possibly a lifetime of missing fingers.
4. Why fastfood restaurants continue to flourish while home-cooked meals are in the verge of disappearing.
5. Why we continue to throw away our trash carelessly in the streets when we all know they will just contribute to flooding, pollution, sanitation and health problems, etc.
6. Why we keep on voting for the wrong people (those who are involved in political dynasties, prevention of Freedom of Information bill, etc.)
7. Why there are still gasoline-powered cars when electric and solar-powered vehicles are better.
8. Why basic services like electricity, telecommunication and water utility companies are monopolized by a few companies.
9. Why plastic bags (considered non-biodegradable thus harming the environment) are being banned and replaced by paper bags and boxes that are made from trees which are part of the environment.
10. Why we believe in celebrity endorsements that are obviously fake (skin-whiteners for ladies that are already white-skinned, chefs promoting instant food or seasonings, basketball players promoting products that are supposed to enhance height, etc.)
11. Why food supplements are popular when their natural equivalents can be found at many supermarkets.

12. Why we keep asking why when we already know the answer to our questions.

Are We Ready to Throw Away Our Hoverboards?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The hottest trend this holiday season comes with a major health warning after several reported injuries. They are literally hot nowadays!

Amazon has recalled hoverboards over fire safety fears due to several news of units exploding or catching fire. There was also an advisory to their buyers to throw away certain hoverboards, and they also rolled out some safety standards.

Many have also been taking hard falls resulting to injuries like fractured bones. Mike Tyson was among those that fell off their hoverboards. To stay safe on hoverboards, it is not enough to just wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. You might as well wear a butt pad.

Some countries have also banned the use and selling of the gadget. They are banned from use in many public roads and pavements. Russell Crowe wasn't happy with an Australian airline that wouldn't let his children take their hoverboards on a flight. The actor was apparently unaware of the safety concerns linked to the devices when his sons wanted to take them on a holiday. Crowe took to Twitter to air his grievances with Virgin Australia Airlines.

China's makeshift hoverboard industry is also imploding after Amazon's safety crackdown. There are several places that have stop selling these new fad because some parts are obviously cheap and faulty and could really cause spontaneous combustion (bursting into flames).