Share your most interesting / funny / useless fact with us. I'll start us off:
Nichelle Nichols ("Lt. Uhura") resigned from Star Trek after the first season, but reconsidered after a conversation with a big Trek fan. The fan? Martin Luther King, Jr.
The first webcam was created to watch a pot of coffee.
The 2 wives that Henry VIII had executed were actually 1st cousins.
Cats have 24 whiskers.
William Shatner(Kirk) and Nichelle Williams(Uhura) shared TV's first inter-racial kiss.
Did you know....More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines?
Astronaut Gordon Cooper used a only wristwatch, knowledge of star patterns, and math estimations to determine the correct pitch for re-entry when his capsule lost power.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on December 06, 2011, 04:07:04 PM
Did you know....More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines?
That's nuts! Do you have a source for this?
Google shows a great many sources for that one. Probably relating back to a time when tipping and/or rocking a soda machine would cause it to give free soda. That issue has long been fixed, but the other issue was those machines weigh several hundred pounds...tip it too far and.....splat.
Coca Cola is actually green before coloring is added to it.
The longest one syllable word in the english languaged is "screeched".
Who can we thank for creation of the first freaking insurance company ?
Nicholas Barbon, M.D. and relating to what event/incident ? The Great Fire of London in 1666.
source and more details ? http://www.irmi.com/expert/articles/2001/klein07.aspx (http://www.irmi.com/expert/articles/2001/klein07.aspx)
President Teddy Roosevelt died from an "infected tooth."
There are over 100 pyramids in China and at least one is twice the size of Egypts largest.
I am really not sure what you are asking for.
You can pan for gold in the streets of New York City, and there is a guy now that makes up to 300 dollars a day doing so.
Quote from: Valiss on December 06, 2011, 05:12:12 PM
Quote from: Rowen MacD on December 06, 2011, 04:07:04 PM
Did you know....More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines?
That's nuts! Do you have a source for this?
Picked it off a Trivia site.
I do know people have been crushed when they fall over, so I assumed that is what happened.
While in Tech School in the military; we actually had
beer vending machines. One of the guys in the mens' dorm was killed when the machine tipped over on him while he was trying to get free cans....it was the 80's. I don't think the machines had the 'tilt' functions they do nowadays (they shut down if they are tipped past a certain degree)
Just Google Killed by vending machine (http://www.google.com/search?q=killed+by+vending+machine&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1) and you'll find a number of "sources," few of which have any reputable references to support the allegations. I did find a brief article in the New York Times here (http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/09/us/vending-machine-kills-youth.html) from 1989.
Quote from: Valiss on December 06, 2011, 05:12:12 PM
Quote from: Rowen MacD on December 06, 2011, 04:07:04 PM
Did you know....More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines?
That's nuts! Do you have a source for this?
Vending times magazine reported this back in the mid 1980's. People whose product got stuck try shaking it loose and manage to tip the machines forward on themselves.
I have an Automatic Products combination candy and pop machine in my business and it came with brackets to secure it to a wall. So since they are doing things to avoid stupid law suits, there has to be some truth to this.
Ferret
Aye..... I was killed by a vending machine once.
You're born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult, you only have 206.
The budget for the two "The Hobbit" movies coming out in 2012 and 2013 is almost twice as large as that of the entire Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
4 people a year die from toothpick related injuries (I know someone who had a relative who was one of them :o).
Giraffes have no bones. The entire structure of their bodies is held up by air-filled tubes. Early hunters were surprised when giraffes deflated when shot.
Oh, drat, that's a useless falsehood of the day. Let me try again ...
Perfume was widely used in the renaissance period because people thought bathing was unhealthy and they needed something to cover their odor.
Sorry, that's a tasteless fact of the day. How about this:
Gasoline fumes can be set off explosively by a single spark, so all metal should be grounded properly when you are working around gasoline fumes.
Nope, drat, that's a useful fact of the day. I guess I just can't stay on topic.
In the Wizard of Oz Dorothy's last name is Gail. It is shown on the mail box.
The majority of popular Christmas songs were written, in fact, by Jews.
The heart of a Blue whale typically weighs 1,320 lb....
Captain Kirk never said "Beam me up, Scotty"
The first President of Zimbabwe was called President Banana.
The average ear of corn has 800 kernels arranged in 16 rows.
Robin Williams was considered for the lead role in "The Shining" but, after seeing Mork & Mindy, Kubrick deemed him too psychotic for the role.
The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.
On average, each American consumes approximately two hundred and sixty pounds of meat in a year.
I consume 261. Does that make me above average?
Giraffes have blue tongues.
The purple dye that is used to stamp the grade of meat usually somewhere on the outer layer of fat is edible. It is made of grape skins.
It would be very bad if it was not edible.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
A Hippos milk is pink. Now if it was strawberry flavored I would really be impressed.
Starfish have no brains. (Hmm...maybe there's some starfish in me....)
A duck's quack does not echo, and scientists have no idea why.
Harvard University Library has four books bound in human skin.
When a person dies, hearing is generally the last sense to go. The first sense lost is usually sight, then followed by taste, smell and touch.
In 16th century Europe many druggists sold medicine made from powdered mummies. Such "medicines" was considered good for gout and the inflammation of the mucus membranes and was often incorporated into products known as "mummy balm" or "egyptian salve". In 1564 someone named Guy de la Fontaine attempted to corner the market in Alexandria, only to discover that the dealers there were selling the mummified remains of derelicts who had died from a variety of diseases.
Sir Miles Partridge once played dice with Henry VIII for the bells of St. Paul's church and won, and promptly collected the bells.
Madame de Montespan; the second wife of Louis XIV once lost 4 million francs in a half an hour at a gambling table.
Leonardo da Vinci invented the scissors. He did it to demonstrate the principles of planes
The word "tip" meaning gratuity was originally an acronym for "To Insure Promptness.
In ancient Japan public contests were held to see who could break wind the loudest and longest. Winners were awarded many prizes and received great acclaim.
It costs more to buy a new car today than it cost Christopher Columbus to equip and undertake three voyages to and from the New World.
America once issued a 5 cent bill.
Haydn could write music only on clean white paper. Mozart composed while playing billiards. Christoph Gluck would write only seated in the middle of a field. Rossini composed most of his music when he was drubk. Wagner found it easiest to compose when he was dressed up in historical costumes.
President James Garfield could write latin with one hand and greek with the other - simultaneously. Leonardo da Vinci could draw with one hand and write with the other simultaneously.
Hot water weighs more than cold.
For those of you still interested, here's few more.
In medieval China it was not unusual for a mother to breast-feed a child until the child was seven years old.
The female condor lays a single egg once every two years.
Some dying words of the famous and infamous:
Ludwig Van Beethoven: "Applaud friends, the comedy is finished."
Henry David Thoreau: "Moose...Indian..."
Thomas Edison: "It's very beautiful over there."
Lady Nancy Astor: "Am I dying, or is it my birthday?"
Tallulah Bankhead: "Codeine... Bourbon"
Humphrey Bogart: "I should never have switched from scotch to martinis."
Sir Winston Churchill: "I'm bored with it all."
Queen Elizabeth I: "All my possessions for a moment of time."
Eugene O'Neill: "I Knew it, I knew it. Born in a hotel room and god d**n it, died in a hotel room."
Francois Rabelais: "I owe much; I have nothing; the rest I leave to the poor."
Union Gen. John Sedgewick (killed in battle in the Civil War): "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
Dylan Thomas:"I've had 18 straight whiskies, I think that's the record."
Oscar Wilde: "Either that wallpaper goes, or I do."
At the moment of being hanged, many observers have noted the victim if male, often has an erection and may even ejaculate.
The story of the little dutch boy who placed his finger in a dike to save a town from a flood is an american invention.
Tuna can swim 100 miles in a single day.
Before 1863, postal service in the United States was free.
Punctuation did not come into use until the advent of printing in the fifteen century. Before that, words written by scribes runtogetherlikethis.
In NY state, it is illegal to shoot at a rabbit from a moving trolley car.
Every citizen of Kentucky is required by law to take a bath once a year.
Tablecloths were originally meant to serve as towels with which guests could wipe their hands and faces after meals.
The Mad Hatter character in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and the phrase "Mad as a hatter" are based on a tragic episode in manufacturing history during the 18th and 19th century where hatmakers used various chemicals in their work, among them mercury used to cure the felt.
***Note To Self: Don't Play Trivial Pursuit Against Chainshot***
The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.
There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
Norway has eaten it's entire stockpile of butter due to a dieting fad.
Brown and serve rolls came into being in the 1930s in Little Rock, Arkansas at Meyer's Bakery.
Hot Springs Reservation was created by an act of Congress on April 20, 1832, making it the first national park among all the current National Parks System parks, however, it was not officially designated as part of the NPS until 1921. Yellowstone is the first official entry in to the NPS.
The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
Over 450 gallons of fake blood were used in the two Kill Bill movies
You are more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker than by a shark. And the sharks are easier to avoid. ;)
(if you can't guess, the few random facts I know come from my zoo employee husband :) )
Bayer, famous for producing aspirin, purchased prisoners at Auschwitz to test new drugs.
John F. Kennedy could read four newspapers in twenty minutes
Pole vaulting originated as a method of transportation in European marshes.
Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
A blue whale's tongue is the size of and weighs more than an elephant.
In The Empire Strikes Back there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field
Johnny Ramone was a life-long Republican who thought Reagan was the greatest president in his lifetime.
The average adult falls asleep seven minutes after turning out the light.
I am SOOOOOO not average...
I turned out the light around 8pm... it's 12:30 am now. My alarm will go off in about 3-1/2 hours so that I can go to work. How's that for useless?
A snail can sleep for three years.
Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox, Unix is a registered trademark of AT&T.
In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child.
If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action for an SR-71 Blackbird was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile.
Quote from: Valiss on December 15, 2011, 10:34:00 AM
If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action for an SR-71 Blackbird was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile.
The Blackbird was an awesome piece of hardware! A friend who worked for Lockheed said that all of the published stats were "conservative" to say the least. New York to London in 1 hour 55 minutes...
J.R.R. Tolkien typed the entire LOTR trilogy while using only two fingers.
The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life".
Heath Ledger's Joker scared Michael Caine (Alfred) so bad, he forgot his lines.
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every 2 weeks otherwise it will digest itself.
The lowest note in the known universe is caused by the rumbling of a black hole in the Perseus galaxy; its 57 octaves below middle C.
The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London
When the marmoset is born, the father cleans it, then carries it to the mother only when it needs to be nursed. When the baby can eat solid food, the father will feed it.
Florida prescribes 6 times more Oxycodone than all other 49 states combined, with the top 50 Oxy prescribers all within the state.
Right-handed people live on average, 9 years longer than left-handed people
Because of such a small budget, "3 Ninjas" was the most profitable film of 1992.
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwiiojLDnS1qclstoo1_500.jpg)
Political correctness is time sensitive.
In Missouri it is illegal for a man to marry his widows sister......................
In the state of Nebraska, persons afflicted with Gonorrhea may not marry.
There is also a statute on the books for the City of Omaha: A man is not allowed to go about in public with a shaved chest.
In Oklahoma it is illegal to fish for whales...
Quote from: Rani Zemirah on December 20, 2011, 06:42:54 PM
In Oklahoma it is illegal to fish for whales...
Whales aren't fish, so you're legally free to do all the whaling you want in Oklahoma. :P
Pardon my linguistic error... Whaling is illegal in Oklahoma. :P lol
The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
Actor David Niven graduated from Sandhurst, the British Military Academy.
Quote from: Rani Zemirah on December 20, 2011, 09:58:18 PM
Pardon my linguistic error... Whaling is illegal in Oklahoma. :P lol
Ahh! That's different! In that case...
"Where in the bloody
hell would anyone find a frekking
whale in Okla-
bloody-homa?!?!?!?!!??!??" asked the Wizard in a slightly excited state.
A white man hasn't ran in the 100 meter finals at the Olympics since 1980.
In Texas, it is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on December 21, 2011, 07:03:18 AM
Quote from: Rani Zemirah on December 20, 2011, 09:58:18 PM
Pardon my linguistic error... Whaling is illegal in Oklahoma. :P lol
Ahh! That's different! In that case...
"Where in the bloody hell would anyone find a frekking whale in Okla-bloody-homa?!?!?!?!!??!??" asked the Wizard in a slightly excited state.
Port of Cattoosa, maybe?
"The Tulsa Port of Catoosa is one of the largest, most inland river-ports in the United States! Located at the head of navigation for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in Northeast Oklahoma, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa offers year round, ice-free barge service with river flow levels controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers."It does actually have ocean-going capability, with access via the Arkansas river to the Mississippi river, and into the Gulf of Mexico. I'm not saying that it's even remotely possible that a whale could make it up there... but obviously at some point in history
someone did... :D
And that's not even the
weirdest law on the OK books... ::)
On that note Catoosa is rather famouse for its Route 66 Blue Whale.
Oklahoma has more shoreline then any other state in the U.S.
We also speak more languages and dialects here then all of Europe combined.
rabbi
would you please explain that second one a bit more.
Due to Oklahoma being indian Territory first there are 64 tribes considered native to the State of Oklahoma with some tribal languages having up to 7 different dialects with English, Spanish, and German plus variouse others having claimed nativity. Tried to find the exact snumber and source but can not remember where I saw it at. Was also informed of this while in Germany during a required class after first arriving there. With all the different tribes and thier dialects there are more languages spoken in Oklahoma then all of europe.
The second not the third
My apologies good sir misunderstood as the second you refere to Oklahoma has more shoreline then any other state in the U.S. Our abundant lakes, rivers, creeks, and navigational channels with a total of 11,611 miles of shoreline. We also have more man made lakes than any other state with enough water to cover the entire state in over two feet of water.
Interesting claim, seeing how Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline along 63,000 miles of natural streams, lakes, and rivers, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. That's more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.
I aint gonna contest or measure lol just going by the info given.
http://www.chacha.com/question/how-many-miles-of-shoreline-are-in-oklahoma (http://www.chacha.com/question/how-many-miles-of-shoreline-are-in-oklahoma)
Sorry was not trying to start anything here was just trying to catch a whale honest.
Boise City, Oklahoma was the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II. On Monday night, July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m., a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base (50 miles to the south of Boise City) dropped six practice bombs on the sleeping town.
Can we say friendly fire I think a Texan was behind this lol
No worries, mate! People tend to forget about us here in the Great Frozen North. :D
I try to forget about it on a daily basis... ;)
Quote from: The Rabbi on December 21, 2011, 11:37:57 PM
Boise City, Oklahoma was the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II. On Monday night, July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m., a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base (50 miles to the south of Boise City) dropped six practice bombs on the sleeping town.
Can we say friendly fire I think a Texan was behind this lol
It was only a Texan if he hit the target, otherwise it was not.
A chicken with red earlobes will produce brown eggs, and a chicken with white earlobes will produce white eggs
QuoteBoise City, Oklahoma was the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II. On Monday night, July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m., a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base (50 miles to the south of Boise City) dropped six practice bombs on the sleeping town.
While it may be true Boise City was the only US city bombed in WWII, other bombing attacks were carried out on the west coast with the intent on setting large forest fires which would engulf many smaller towns and thus induce panic. See:
http://www.historynet.com/japanese-bomb-the-continental-u-s-west-coast.htm (http://www.historynet.com/japanese-bomb-the-continental-u-s-west-coast.htm)
Additionally, the Japanese sent many paper balloon incendiary bombs via the jet stream to set fires in the US. See-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon)
After reading the last post I would dare to say I was totally unaware of The West Coast bombings had heard of the fire balloons but was not sure of thier effectiveness.
In the 3 state corner of Illinoise,Iowa, and Missouri the 3 facing/opposing (point of view I guess) All had a common denominator WarsaW Il. KeokuK Ia. and AlaxandriA Mo. Each ends with the same letter that it begins with. For the record I do believe Warsaw no longer exist but reserve the right to be wrong.
Only 59% of U.S. adults know that the earliest humans and dinosaurs did not live at the same time.
Princess Diana had her navel pierced - and fitted with a 2.8-carat diamond stud - just a few hours before her fatal accident.
87% of U.S. citizens believe everything they read, never bothering to verify it. (I can attest to that based solely on the number of "the sky-is-falling" emails that I receive. I've referred dozens of emails to Snopes or other debunking sites.)
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on December 23, 2011, 11:11:03 AM
87% of U.S. citizens believe everything they read, never bothering to verify it. (I can attest to that based solely on the number of "the sky-is-falling" emails that I receive. I've referred dozens of emails to Snopes or other debunking sites.)
you mean like the sheer amount of idiots who believe our president was born overseas even though he has a birth certificate from hawaii?
at the end of It's a Wonderful Life when they sing Auld Lane Zyne, Jimmy Stewart, playing George Bailey, is laughing because Karolyn Grimes, playing ZuZu, doesn't know any of the words in the song and is flubbing it. So if you watch the movie watch for this part at the very end!
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on December 23, 2011, 11:11:03 AM
87% of U.S. citizens believe everything they read, never bothering to verify it. (I can attest to that based solely on the number of "the sky-is-falling" emails that I receive. I've referred dozens of emails to Snopes or other debunking sites.)
Noooo KIDDING. I absolutely cannot count the number of times I have debunked a ton of hoaxes, some ten years old or older that are yet going around because of folks that cannot google or snopes anything...
Topless saleswomen are legal in Liverpool, England – but only in tropical fish stores.
since I'm officially on a Christmas bender this evening, my useless fact du jour shall be..........................
In the 1983 classic "A Christmas Story" they created the flagpole scene with a pipe and a vacuum cleaner suction, had a hole on the pole, Flick put his tongue up to it and the vacuum did the rest of the work. Made it look like he was stuck for real.
Quote from: kcdcchef on December 23, 2011, 01:09:19 PM
at the end of It's a Wonderful Life when they sing Auld Lane Zyne, Jimmy Stewart, playing George Bailey, is laughing because Karolyn Grimes, playing ZuZu, doesn't know any of the words in the song and is flubbing it. So if you watch the movie watch for this part at the very end!
Same movie. When George goes back into Mary's Mother's house to get his hat, and ends up hugging and kissing Mary, there is a lot of lines left out of that scene. It was Jimmy's first movie after his service during the war and he forgot a lot of his lines in the excitement and filming. Frank Capra left the scene that way.
Ferret
next useless Christmas fact, you can watch NORAD track Santa every Christmas eve. Great stuff.
NORAD Santa is really useful to me! That's the only I could get my renlet to go to bed tonight, by showing her that Santa was still down in Central America, and he wasn't going to turn back North until all the kids up here were in bed, asleep! Worked like a charm! :D
Quote from: Rani Zemirah on December 25, 2011, 12:43:47 AM
NORAD Santa is really useful to me! That's the only I could get my renlet to go to bed tonight, by showing her that Santa was still down in Central America, and he wasn't going to turn back North until all the kids up here were in bed, asleep! Worked like a charm! :D
great stuff, isnt it? i love it.
Yeah... I just wish I could be sleeping now, also!!!
Me too
An ounce of platinum can be stretched 10,000 feet.
If a human being had the metabolism of a hummingbird, we would need about 200,000 calories a day to stay alive...
It would also take 17,000 hummingbirds to lift a 150 lb man......
QuoteGoogle shows a great many sources for that one. Probably relating back to a time when tipping and/or rocking a soda machine would cause it to give free soda. That issue has long been fixed, but the other issue was those machines weigh several hundred pounds...tip it too far and.....splat.
Coca Cola is actually green before coloring is added to it.
Does that make it "Soylent" Cola? :D ;)
Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
Michael Meyers mask in the Halloween movies is made from a William Shatner "Captain Kirk" mask off of Star Trek. All those movies he is killing people they were running from an eyebrowless Captain Kirk that was really pale.
If ... Captain Kirk was ... coming toward ...me, I'd ... run, too!
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on December 28, 2011, 01:26:43 PM
If ... Captain Kirk was ... coming toward ...me, I'd ... run, too!
I bet you saw that Sulu gift . . . didn't you ? http://roflrazzi.wordpress.com/files/2008/11/celebrity-pictures-william-shatner-perfect-gift1.jpg (http://roflrazzi.wordpress.com/files/2008/11/celebrity-pictures-william-shatner-perfect-gift1.jpg)
The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.
Hyde getting old...he's beginning to repeat himself.. :D
you are calling someone old Merlin?
I feel ancient as the hills...... especially over the last couple weeks.
In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
Quote from: kcdcchef on December 29, 2011, 12:15:10 AM
you are calling someone old Merlin?
If anyone knows old, it's me... :P
Quote from: MrHyde on December 29, 2011, 12:21:19 AM
I feel ancient as the hills...... especially over the last couple weeks.
In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
It's not exactly the eyebrows and eyelashes part that sounds worst to me ...
There are 18 different animal shapes in the Animal Crackers cookie zoo.
File sharing is now a recognized religion in Sweden, and it's called ''Kopimism''.
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
Quote from: MrHyde on January 04, 2012, 12:47:02 PM
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
Now that's really useless--but kinda cool!
Useless fact:
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books, Sherlock Holmes never said, "Elementary, my dear Watson."
There's a sucker born every minute, wasn't said by P.T. Barnum.
Ferret
P.T. Barnum's prized elephant Jumbo was executed in public, hung by a crane by the neck, for trampling people alive.
Quote from: kcdcchef on January 04, 2012, 11:26:06 PM
P.T. Barnum's prized elephant Jumbo was executed in public, hung by a crane by the neck, for trampling people alive.
Jumbo got hit and killed by a train.
Ferret
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."
Quote from: kcdcchef on January 04, 2012, 11:26:06 PM
P.T. Barnum's prized elephant Jumbo was executed in public, hung by a crane by the neck, for trampling people alive.
Mary an elephant with Spark's World Famous Shows Circus was hung for killing a handler.
Ferret
Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
Once you've solved 5,472,730,538 games of Sudoku, you've solved 'em all.
Gloucestershire airport in England used to blast Tina Turner songs on its runways to scare birds away.
The Simpsons producer's contract allows them to write the show without interference from Fox. This allows them to make fun of the network.
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
Quote from: MrHyde on December 09, 2011, 10:15:04 AM
A duck's quack does not echo, and scientists have no idea why.
Deja Vu? ;D
The Super Soaker was invented by a nuclear engineer out of a PVC pipe and Coke bottle
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7cA4iz7St_I/Twc57nX3WtI/AAAAAAACQ2Y/J3CNgynelYo/s500/interesting-facts-popular-inventions-12.jpg)
Lonnie Johnson first sold the idea to Lamari by firing it inside their Philadelphia offices. He was then introduced to Hasbro — awesomeness has ensued ever since.
Useless facts, of the day . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6QNzH4x1rY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6QNzH4x1rY)
Bag-pipes were invented in Persia, not Scotland
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jMQswmtJDEk/Twd_Hyi-lqI/AAAAAAACQ2k/Re_tac1wr4w/s500/interesting-facts-popular-inventions-1.jpg)
"It was most likely a rather crude instrument comprised of reeds stuck into a goatskin bag. As civilization spread throughout the Middle East and into the Mediterranean lands, the people brought along their music."
when sugar first starts boiling it looks exactly like boiling water.
The loudest burp on record was 107.1 decibels. Record set in 2008 before a live audience.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on January 09, 2012, 03:10:25 PM
The loudest burp on record was 107.1 decibels. Record set in 2008 before a live audience.
...they never heard me in my prime...it may have been before SPL meters were invented....
(http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxjenyMXlq1qzk2apo1_500.jpg)
Robert Mitchum was released from a Los Angeles County prison farm after spending the final week of his two-month sentence for marijuana possession there.
The story goes: In the fall of 1948, Mitchum, the star of classics such as Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter, was smoking a joint at a small party in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles when detectives burst in and arrested him. Mitchum reportedly said at the time, "Well, this is the bitter end of everything—my career, my marriage, everything." In fact, it wasn't really that bad. Mitchum was separated from his wife Dorothy at the time, but the two reconciled when she returned to support him through the scandal. The public didn't mind much either; Rachel and the Stranger, the first movie released after his troubles, was a box-office hit.
There is some reason to believe that Mitchum's arrest was less than fair and designed to bring publicity to the Los Angeles Police Department's anti-drug efforts. Although high-priced studio lawyers questioned irregularities in the case, it was later agreed that Mitchum would accept 60 days in jail and several years' probation.
Mitchum died in July 1997.
(http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx5ip2TqkD1qbq82bo1_500.jpg)
One got a pardon (no time served) and the other, no time served but he wrote some interesting letters . . .
(http://squib.homestead.com/hooverufo.jpg)
More on these useless facts of the day (larger view and other Hoover letters) ?
http://ufocon.blogspot.com/2011/04/j-edgar-hoovers-saucer-crash-secrets-by.html (http://ufocon.blogspot.com/2011/04/j-edgar-hoovers-saucer-crash-secrets-by.html)
The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses.
The current head of the Korean imperial dynasty (and de facto Emperor of Korea) works as a general manager in a department store.
A cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves to death.
Quote from: MrHyde on January 13, 2012, 11:12:30 AM
A cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves to death.
lol, that one is pretty useless.
To avoid the nine days wait, shall we just go ahead and squash them flat then, put them on the fast train . . . ?
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxppn3HTI81qii551o1_500.jpg)
Heheh!! I gotta tell you, Archer...between you and Hyde, I've acquired a life-time of useless information! LOL! You've got too damned much time on your hands.... :D
The Statue of Liberty's index finger is eight feet long.
Wouldn't you hate for her to flip you off??? LOL!
it;s a fine of $25 to perform in the nyc subway system without a permit
Former president Bill Clinton only sent 2 emails in his entire 8 year presidency.
I don't blame him... email is admissible in court!!!
Rain has never been recorded in some parts of the Atacama Desert in Chile.
The final race in the movie 'Cool Runnings' featured footage from the actual heat when they crashed in 1988.
Quote from: kcdcchef on January 14, 2012, 12:11:00 AM
it;s a fine of $25 to perform in the nyc subway system without a permit
I'm curious...perform what?
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
You can remove toilet rings with denture tablets. Drop in one tablet. wait 30 minutes, and brush.
You could save money by dropping your dentures in there, too!
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on January 17, 2012, 04:39:02 PM
You could save money by dropping your dentures in there, too!
Ewwwww.
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on January 17, 2012, 03:19:22 PM
Quote from: kcdcchef on January 14, 2012, 12:11:00 AM
it;s a fine of $25 to perform in the nyc subway system without a permit
I'm curious...perform what?
sing. dance. musical instrument. balet. interprative dance.
Ah! So they don't bother the "ladies"... ;)
The people of Easter Island have a word called "Tingo" which literally means "the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them."
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on January 17, 2012, 05:39:57 PM
Ah! So they don't bother the "ladies"... ;)
from my experience living and working in nyc, they tend to look the other way on those performances.
Cinderella is known as Rashin Coatie in Scotland, Zezolla in Italy, and Yeh-hsien in China
Cat whiskers are roughly as wide as their bodies so the cat can tell if they'll fit through openings by just sticking their head in them first.
QuoteCinderella is known as Rashin Coatie in Scotland, Zezolla in Italy, and Yeh-hsien in China
not to contradict
but I was raised in Northern Italy from the age of 1 to 10
and Cinderella is called Cenerentola
maybe Zezolla is a dialect of some part of Italy
Quote from: Valiss on January 19, 2012, 10:30:37 AM
Cat whiskers are roughly as wide as their bodies so the cat can tell if they'll fit through openings by just sticking their head in them first.
The exception to this is the Sphynx, which has whisker pads, but no real whiskers, if it is truly hairless... mine, who has a bit of fuzz on her feet and on the last 1/3 of her tail has just barely there whiskers, which are sort curled into themselves.
Siberian cats are supposed to cause little if any allergic reaction to those allergic to cats.
Quote from: Celtic Lady on January 19, 2012, 09:09:43 PM
Siberian cats are supposed to cause little if any allergic reaction to those allergic to cats.
Same thing with ceramic cats, too.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
Scholars have determined from official documents of Governor Felipe de Neve, Commandant General de la Croix and Viceroy Bucareli that the settlement now known as Los Angeles' was originally named 'El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles' (The Town of the Queen of the Angels.)
http://www.laalmanac.com/history/hi03b.htm
And there is an even longer version out there: "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" though it is incorrect.
The original TRON movie didn't win any special effects awards because the Motion Picture Academy thought they "cheated by using computers."
The president sends you a letter of congratulations if you reach your 100th birthday.
Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards. They are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.
American astronauts must be under 6 feet tall.
The female pigeon cannot lay eggs if she is alone. In order for her ovaries to function, she must be able to see another pigeon. If no other pigeon is available, her own reflection in a mirror will suffice.
Born in 1790, John Tyler was our 10th President. He took office in 1841 after William Henry Harrison died. And he has two living grandchildren! Not great-great-great-grandchildren. Their dad was Tyler's son. How is this possible? The Tyler men have a habit of having kids very late in life. Lyon Gardiner Tyler, one President Tyler's 15 kids, was born in 1853. He fathered Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. in 1924, and Harrison Ruffin Tyler in 1928.
1Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word "GOLF" entered into the English language.
Sorry, Mr. Hyde, but that's a bit of modern day silliness.
http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/golf.asp
Pope Benedict IX had wild orgies and sold the Papacy.
Read the topic, Hyde... Useless Fact! ;) (just giving you a hard time..which you so richly deserve...)
*grin*. Fact. Mr. Hyde does seem to get called out more than anyone else in this thread.
And that fact is not useless ;D
Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.
Alan Rickman started his movie career when he was 42. And his first role was being Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
Quote from: Valiss on January 27, 2012, 05:37:13 PM
Alan Rickman started his movie career when he was 42. And his first role was being Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
He
did have 10 years experience in TV prior to beginning his movie career, but his movie career certainly
did start off with a huge bang. What a great role! After seeing him in
Die Hard, he's been one of my favourites. Until you mentioned it, I didn't realize
Die Hard was his first flick. Have you seen him in
Bottle Shock?
I love useless facts! I have often been called a storehouse of useless information.
Here are a few of my favs:
Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.
Marilyn Monroe had six toes (not that anybody really noticed).
If you keep a Goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
A polar bear's skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear.
*Teach always has rum nearby*
Teach, that *last* fact is most definitely not useless. :)
Comedian Demetri Martin wrote a 224 word palindrome.
the creators of Married with Children really wanted Sam Kinison and Roseanne Barr/Arnold to play Al and Peg Bundy.
Heroin was invented by Bayer in 1898 as a cough remedy.
U.S. cities with more country music on the radio have higher suicide rates.
A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
It's against the law to pawn your dentures in Las Vegas.
They need to pass a law with some teeth in it... ::)
No war has been fought where both countries had a Mcdonalds. *not sure how outdated this one is, but could be the answer to peace we've been looking for...:))
Coconuts kill more people in the world than sharks do. Approximately 150 people are killed each year by coconuts.
The first African American elected to state office in Texas after the Civil War was also a Democrat, a woman, and gay.
Windmills always turn counter-clockwise. Except for the windmills in Ireland.
The ball on top of a flagpole is called a 'truck'.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 01, 2012, 12:13:18 PM
The ball on top of a flagpole is called a 'truck'.
That one wins most useless fact of the week. More that half a century of trips around our nearest star and that one hasn't surfaced anywhere as important within the data/memory bank. Bravo for that find. :D
Oh yea, my useless fact ? After 50 or so trips around that star, it becomes patch, patch .... patch, to keep ye vessel afloat.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 01, 2012, 12:13:18 PM
The ball on top of a flagpole is called a 'truck'.
...Drunk driver, you think?...
Rowen...I'm sorry! I'm going to challenge that. At least slightly...It seems to be true that in the military the ball is called a truck, but in the civilian world it's called a finial. The truck is the part directly below which the finial attaches to that contains the pully mechanism to hoist the flag. Truck is short for truckle, a small wheel or rotor and is from the latin Trochlea, a system of pullys.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=truckle
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?word=truck
*how's that for way too much information? * :D
French mathematician Joseph Fourier believed wrapping his body in a blanket was beneficial to his health. He died after tripping on it and falling down the stairs.
He deserved it...his transforms broke me...
Xanax's active ingredient only costs $0.024 to make, but the consumer pays $137.79 for 100 pills; a markup of 570,000%
Quote from: Anna Iram on February 01, 2012, 01:59:40 PM
Rowen...I'm sorry! I'm going to challenge that. At least slightly...It seems to be true that in the military the ball is called a truck, but in the civilian world it's called a finial.
:D
That's fine Anna! I don't mind at all ;)
In the military we called the fancy halberd type tips on the ceremonial flags for indoor and parade use 'finials', but not the base flagpole for some reason. In my entire 24 years in the AF, we always called it 'the ball on top of the flagpole' or the 'truck'. But you are correct; it is technically a 'finial' by any definition.
Apparently 'truck' is, as you say, a military thing, probably because at one time or other the finials were used to house the truck mechanism to keep the halyards from tangling (and it sounds more macho ;D).
Today: There are only 14 blimps in the world.
The Japanese had an underwater aircraft carrier during WWII.
Farts have been clocked at a speed of 10 feet per second.
.....OK...I gotta ask...How did they clock it? ???
Clocks made before 1660 had only one hand - an hour hand.
Filmed the flame of a lit one perhaps?
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on February 02, 2012, 04:38:18 PM
Filmed the flame of a lit one perhaps?
Thought someone would say it. The truth is out there . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBtw44qesWk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBtw44qesWk)
Its a photo finish and candlepower measurement . . . no ?
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 02, 2012, 04:01:02 PM
Farts have been clocked at a speed of 10 feet per second.
.....OK...I gotta ask...How did they clock it? ???
By how fast everyone else ran? :D
The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
You're subject to fines and/or imprisonment for making "ugly faces" at dogs in Oklahoma.
Quote from: MrHyde on February 03, 2012, 04:54:19 PM
You're subject to fines and/or imprisonment for making "ugly faces" at dogs in Oklahoma.
Do not count on it. (1) Most of the Walmartians live in Oklahoma; (2) Jails are all full; (3) they don't enforce leash laws outside the two largest cities of the state. One could go on with this list however; know that butt ugly is a popular middle name or nickname for locals. What jury could convict with those circumstances ? ;D
(http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q314/honewatson/miss-america/lauren-nelson.jpg)
Okay, Hyde it is granted that Miss Oklahoma is an exception.
Me thinks her some of the genes were imported. :P
That's my mom!
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on February 03, 2012, 05:46:41 PM
That's my mom!
If you've been there, color me jealous, even if it was a one way ticket. :D
For most people, no matter how hard you pinch the skin on your elbow with your fingers it doesn't hurt.
Research has shown that allowing chocolate to melt in your mouth produced brain and heart rate activity that was similar to - and even stronger than - that produced with passionate kissing.
Maybe now, Rowen, but when I was younger...well, let me just say, no way... :o :P ::) :)
'Jedi' is an official religion, with over 70,000 followers, in Australia.
The powerpuff girls were originally called "the whoopass girls".
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 02, 2012, 04:01:02 PM
Farts have been clocked at a speed of 10 feet per second.
.....OK...I gotta ask...How did they clock it? ???
So, I'm a bit late answering, but it was probably done via a variation of Schlieren photography or one of the Velocimetry methods: Schlieren photography (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlieren_photography) Velocimetry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocimetry)
Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender.
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
At age 21, George Clooney tried out for the Cincinnati Reds, but obviously didn't make it.
In medieval times, clothes were stored close to the toilet shaft, as the ammonia fumes would kill any fleas.
buddy ebsen ( beverly hillbillies barnaby jones ) was first tin man in wizard of oz but had to leave the film due to allergic reactions and health issues related to the aluminum dust they used for his tin man look. next guy got paste instead of dust and buddy complained of lung issues til he died over that film.
Valentines theme!
As a rule, 66 percent of people keep their eyes closed while kissing. The rest take pleasure in watching the emotions run the gamut on the faces of their partners.
There was no punctuation until the 15th century.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 08, 2012, 04:25:22 PM
There was no punctuation until the 15th century.
That would raise a question in my somewhat warped mind, Rowen...So, what would women then experience once a month?
While studying at Cornell, Bill Nye had Carl Sagan as a professor.
A useless fact . . . (http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz4t9uTw2h1qavqqoo1_500.jpg)
Seth Macfarlane wrote for Cow and Chicken, Dexters Laboratory, I am Weasel, Jonny Bravo and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
Wyatt, one of the lead characters from the classic Weird Science (1985), is an Assistant Professor of English at CSU - Long Beach, and earned his Ph.D. from Texas A&M. Ilan Mitchell-Smith tries to hide his past career from his students.
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on February 08, 2012, 04:36:49 PM
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 08, 2012, 04:25:22 PM
There was no punctuation until the 15th century.
That would raise a question in my somewhat warped mind, Rowen...So, what would women then experience once a month?
I just had to wipe down my keyboard, Merlin. Fortunately I was only drinking water. ;D
I think back then they were referred to as 'moon days' or 'courses'.
Pirates believed that piercing the ears with such precious metals as silver and gold improved one's eyesight.
(There are a few rumors regarding earrings and pirates-I like this one)
Oak trees are struck by lightning more than any other tree.
The warmest temperature ever recorded on Antarctica was 3 degrees F.
Andrew Jackson was the only US president in history to ever pay off the national debt in full.
Quote from: Valiss on February 02, 2012, 03:41:49 PM
The Japanese had an underwater aircraft carrier during WWII.
the keyword is
had
The IRS employees tax manual has instructions for collecting taxes after a nuclear war.
Just as America entered WWII, serial bomber George Metesky informed NYPD that, as a patriot of his country, he would make no bomb threats for the duration of the war. He stayed true to his word.
Diabetes was first diagnosed in 1815 when French chemist Michael Eugene Chevreul discovered that the urine of a diabetic was identical to sugar found in a grape.
Useless fact: There is a fine line between precision and significance.
(http://www.mathworks.com/help/toolbox/fuzzy/significance_cartoon.gif)
There is a 98.2% chance that there is a molecule in your lungs that came from Julius Caesars last breath.
The average person spends three years of his or her life on a toilet.
In Laguna, Brazil, bottlenose dolphins actively herd fish towards local fishermen and then signal with tail slaps for the fishermen to throw their nets. This collaboration has been occurring since at least 1847.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 10, 2012, 10:59:40 AM
The average person spends three years of his or her life on a toilet.
wow. i've got one of those fun intestinal diseases, wonder how many years I've been on one? i got 4-5 years probably. damn i better live to 120 to get some time back darnit!!!!!!
Quote from: MrHyde on February 09, 2012, 10:11:15 PM
Diabetes was first diagnosed in 1815 when French chemist Michael Eugene Chevreul discovered that the urine of a diabetic was identical to sugar found in a grape.
I just know there's a joke in there somewhere about bad wine... ;D
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 09, 2012, 04:08:43 PM
The IRS employees tax manual has instructions for collecting taxes after a nuclear war.
More bad jokes... this time with cockroaches and tax collectors. :D We may have a crossover thread in the making! LOL
Quote from: Rani Zemirah on February 11, 2012, 03:31:00 AM
Quote from: Rowen MacD on February 09, 2012, 04:08:43 PM
The IRS employees tax manual has instructions for collecting taxes after a nuclear war.
More bad jokes... this time with cockroaches and tax collectors. :D We may have a crossover thread in the making! LOL
on this forum? no way!
I can't help it... it's not like I WANT to have all these bad jokes rattling around in my head... but I guess something's gotta take up a little space in there, eh? :D
But at least I'm not actually inflicting them on anyone, right? Well, except through inference, I guess... ::) :D
In 1929 a "Bat Tower" was built in the Florida Keys to control mosquitoes. It was filled with bats, which promptly flew away - never to return.
(http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzg0foQdRQ1qa0uujo1_500.png)
Actually, I find that quite useful, Archer. I'd never seen that before, and it could be a lifesaver at some point!
When Stephen Colbert correctly recalled the entire biography of LOTR character Aragorn from memory during Viggo Mortensens appearance on The Daily Show, Mortensen sent Colbert a platter full of LOTR characters carved out of chocolate.
The state with the most gay couples is California, with approximately 92,138. The state with the least gay couples in North Dakota, with approximately 703 couples.
Ernest Hemmingway founded an annual fishing tournament in Cuba, where he lived for many years. Fidel Castro was the winner of this contest in 1960.
Quote from: MrHyde on February 16, 2012, 08:29:23 PM
Ernest Hemmingway founded an annual fishing tournament in Cuba, where he lived for many years. Fidel Castro was the winner of this contest in 1960.
Fidel has won a number of things. (http://images-partners-tbn.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGyWV9EKaUN6XGZkvRWgp8ejBK8Glb2mqSG3pLIsILiiAvoSQO:www.researchhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/leninpeacemedal.jpg)
He is one of seven of the Lenin Peace Prize Recipients that come to mind, if my info/memory is accurate: Pablo Picasso, Nikita Khrushchev, Fidel Castro, Linus Pauling, Leonid Brezhnev, Salvador Allende, Indira Gandhi
Only about 50 Canadians complained about the Superbowl XXXVIII "wardrobe malfunction" compared to 540,000 American complaints to broadcasting stations.
Which country suffers from the greatest sexual repression? One guess...
As a result of that repression supremacy statistic MtE, is there opinionated or judgmental persecution of enlightened progressive citizens ?
Oh yes, usless fact: More often than not, the number of toothpicks in a newly purchased box, will vary. :P
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on February 16, 2012, 09:56:59 AM
Actually, I find that quite useful, Archer. I'd never seen that before, and it could be a lifesaver at some point!
Same here, Archer. Thanks for sharing that info.
There is a long-standing proposal to make the northern part of Michigan an independent state called "Superior."
Why Some People Become Temporarily Less Intelligent in Group Settings
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/why_some_people_become_temporarily_less_intelligent_in_group_settings/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email (http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/why_some_people_become_temporarily_less_intelligent_in_group_settings/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email)
In 1980, Detroit presented Saddam Hussein with a key to the city.
I hope they changed the locks....
Dubai has no sewer system, instead they use poop trucks to haul the entire cities' excrement away.
and they dump it straight into the ocean
Cable did not have commercials until around 1980.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a865LICUC5w/T0PXwWnsSmI/AAAAAAAAVM8/_-VMXm2rf8w/s400/Gloucester-coin.jpg)
A "unique" medieval coin from the reign of William the Conqueror has been discovered in a field near Gloucester.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme said that until the coin was discovered, there were no known examples of William I coins minted in Gloucester between 1077-1080.
"The discovery of this coin therefore proves that the mint was in operation throughout the whole reign of William I," it said.
http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2012/02/unique-11th-century-coin-discovered.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheArchaeologyNewsNetwork+%28The+Archaeology+News+Network%29 (http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2012/02/unique-11th-century-coin-discovered.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheArchaeologyNewsNetwork+%28The+Archaeology+News+Network%29)
and more useless fact ?
Do this . . .
(http://aiden-groundpounder.smugmug.com/photos/475609968_mnxkR-XL.gif)
get this . . . ? :D
(http://aiden-groundpounder.smugmug.com/photos/299220510_SHafy-L.jpg)(http://aiden-groundpounder.smugmug.com/photos/299220520_cJEM8-L.jpg)
Pine Ridge, Nebraska, has only 14 residents yet contains 4 liquor stores which sold a total 4.9 million cans of beer in 2010.
The alarm clock was not invented by the Marquis de Sade, as some suspect, but rather by a man named Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1787. Perversity, though, characterized his invention from the beginning. The alarm on his clock could ring only at 4 am. Rumor has it that Hutchins was murdered by his wife at 4:05 am on a very dark and deeply cold New England morning.
In 2008, test subjects could not tell the difference between audio played through Monster Cables and audio played through coat hangers.
Leaders of governments are like diapers and thus, should be changed frequently.
While accepting his honorary Oscar in 1972, Charlie Chaplin received a 12 minute standing ovation when introduced to the crowd.
Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplain lookalike contest in San Francisco. He failed to even make the finals.
Secondly... in a different contest at a different date in Cleveland a rising young actor/comedian named Bob Hope took first place.
Noodles, guitarist in The Offspring, was the school janitor and welcomed into the band because he was old enough to buy alcohol.
The same master swordsman who performed Darth Vader's lightsaber duels in the in the original Star Wars movies also did sword choreography for Highlander, The Princess Bride, The Three Musketeers, Zorro, and the LotR movies.
The Italian version of "You can't have your cake and eat it too" is "You want your bottle full of wine and your wife drunk".
Gene Roddenberry was inspired to introduce the character of Chekov in his Star Trek TV series in response to the popularity of Davy Jones, complete with hairstyle and appearance mimicking that of Jones.
~RIP Davy Jones~ 1945-2012
One of the Monkees best-loved tunes was penned by ex-Kingston Trio member John Stewart, sung by Davy Jones...
Fellow member Michael Nesmith created a television program which later developed into a larger project known as MTV.
Other fun Monkees trivia:
Davy Jones had a successful career on the British stage before he became known as a Monkee and also, due to his diminutive height, had been a horse racing jockey.
Michael Nesmith's mother invented "White Out..." and he wrote the Stone Poneys' hit "Different Drum." Linda Ronstadt was the lead singer of that band.
Stephen Stills tried out to be one of the Monkees, turned down because of conflicting contract info.
Their 1968 movie, "Head," which was written and produced by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson, directed by Bob Rafelson. Other players (often cameos) were played by Victor Mature Jack Nicholson, Teri Garr, Carol Doda, Annette Funicello, Frank Zappa, Sonny Liston, Timothy Carey and Ray Nitschke. Also appearing on screen in brief non-speaking parts are Dennis Hopper and Toni Basil.
During the heyday of The Monkees , another performer came onto the scene with the same name as Davy's so to stop any confusion this artist who was born David Jones changed his name to
.....David Bowie.
Love the Monkees trivia...and Bowie trivia showing up.
Other people who auditioned: Paul Williams, Harry Nilsson, Danny Hutton (later of Three Dog Night). The long-standing rumour that Charles Manson auditioned is false...
Posted elsewhere, here is some more Monkees trivia.
Being the youngest in the family, my sisters wanted to take me to my first "rock show." The Monkees were slated to play The Hollywood Bowl on June 9th, 1967 and because of their incredible popularity, it was decided that attendance would be decided by lottery. My sisters sent in our names, but sadly, they weren't picked. Especially sadly because the opening act for that show was Jimi Hendrix with The Experience. True fact. He played seven dates with them (including the Bowl) before being asked to leave, some say because of petitioning by the DAR.
I know it's totally rude, but I saw a comment on one website stating, "Now, I'm a bereaver."
He left on the Last Train to Clarksville.
Yeah, I'm going to hell
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on February 29, 2012, 04:04:17 PM
Other people who auditioned: Paul Williams, Harry Nilsson, Danny Hutton (later of Three Dog Night). The long-standing rumour that Charles Manson auditioned is false...
I thought the rumor was that Charles Manson wanted to be a Beach Boy, not a Monkee...
Quite possible that rumour was floating about as well, LadyFae.
There was a connection between Manson and the Beach Boys: they recorded a song written by Manson, "Never Learn Not to Love," originally titled "Cease to Exist." The song was used as a single B-side, and was included on the album 20/20. The Manson family reportedly lived with Denny Wilson for a while.
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
Kinda like some drivers.
In 2010 a heat wave in Russia lead to the deaths of over 1,000 people, the majority of whom drowned as a result of swimming while they were drunk.
that today is Celebrate women day(all the ladies here got a rose with baby breath and what looks like wheat not sure yet)
A small airplane can fly backwards.
The United States produces enough plastic film annually to cover the entire state of Texas.
All 13 minerals necessary for human life can be found in alcohol beverages.
*wheeee*
Quote from: Rowen MacD on March 08, 2012, 05:20:39 PM
All 13 minerals necessary for human life can be found in alcohol beverages.
*wheeee*
Thank gods!
Quote from: Rowen MacD on March 08, 2012, 05:18:03 PM
A small airplane can fly backwards.
Art Scholl, the stunt pilot who first did that maneuver of flying backwards, died during the filming of
Top Gun when (they suspect) the plane he was flying to film the pancake-spin sequence in which Goose was killed, ended up in the same type of spin.
Under the Higher Education Act, a prior conviction for marijuana possession will make you ineligible for federal student loans, whereas convictions for rape or murder have no impact on eligibility.
Do you know if that still holds true under the latest (the ninth) re-authorization of the HEA (1965)?
TSA rules prohibit gel inserts on your shoes, but allow you to travel with a monkey helper.
(as a side note, I couldn't actually find an airline that would allow a monkey...)
Playing Tetris after a traumatic event reduces the occurrence of negative flashbacks.
In 2009 a Canadian secondary school student submitted to NASA a detailed 92-page proposal for a permanent 1,700-meter space settlement, with the estimated cost as just over 2/3 that of the Iraq War.
Even a small amount of alcohol placed on a scorpion will make it go crazy and sting itself to death.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on March 14, 2012, 12:21:09 PM
Even a small amount of alcohol placed on a scorpion will make it go crazy and sting itself to death.
Cheap whiskey has the same effect on me...
So you're saying this is a good test for bad alcohol? ;D
In Scotland it is illegal to be a drunk in possession of a cow.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on March 19, 2012, 03:16:50 PM
So you're saying this is a good test for bad alcohol? ;D
In Scotland it is illegal to be a drunk in possession of a cow.
Aye, but not if you get the cow drunk too ...
Quote from: iain robb on March 19, 2012, 03:28:01 PM
Quote from: Rowen MacD on March 19, 2012, 03:16:50 PM
So you're saying this is a good test for bad alcohol? ;D
In Scotland it is illegal to be a drunk in possession of a cow.
Aye, but not if you get the cow drunk too ...
Sure...then the DUI becomes a MooI..
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on March 19, 2012, 04:00:44 PM
Quote from: iain robb on March 19, 2012, 03:28:01 PM
Quote from: Rowen MacD on March 19, 2012, 03:16:50 PM
So you're saying this is a good test for bad alcohol? ;D
In Scotland it is illegal to be a drunk in possession of a cow.
Aye, but not if you get the cow drunk too ...
Sure...then the DUI becomes a MooI..
LOL :)
The Grinch's dog is named Max.
Kermit the Frog is left-handed.
In the 1800's, rum was considered excellent for cleaning hair and keeping it healthy. Brandy was believed to strengthen hair roots.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on March 20, 2012, 04:57:24 PM
In the 1800's, rum was considered excellent for cleaning hair and keeping it healthy. Brandy was believed to strengthen hair roots.
From the inside! :D
If memory serves, Brandy ... was a fine girl.
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on March 21, 2012, 05:14:57 AM
If memory serves, Brandy ... was a fine girl.
Ah, such a good wife she would be. Her eyes could steal a sailor from the sea.
Back in the olden days (into the 1990s), newspapers measured column width and headlines and the like not in inches or millimeters, but in picas and points. There are approximately 6 picas to an inch and ... drat, I think it was about 72 points to an inch. I used to have to know that stuff. Column and story lengths, however, were measured in inches.
(Yes, indeed ... 72 points to an inch. I still think in points and picas (12 points) doing layouts ... it happens when you're ancient. I learned the basics of the printing trade when I used to go to the Boys Club. I learned typeset printing there.)
When doing typeset printing, you would load individual letters one at a time, upside down and backwards.
With two forks and a charge, a pickle will emit light.
(I bet a few of you are considering testing this)
There are no hog lips or snouts in SPAM.
There's oatmeal in goetta to absorb all the fat, I suppose.
*Rowen, got my pickle on the forks and I'm charging at the dog. Lot's of barking but as of yet no light
.
And my fact for the day: An ant, when intoxicated, will always fall yo the right. Gonna try this out later today. :)
Quote from: Anna Iram on March 21, 2012, 07:49:50 AM
And my fact for the day: An ant, when intoxicated, will always fall yo the right. Gonna try this out later today. :)
It probably cost at least $1 million of our tax dollars to figure that one out ...
Quote from: Rowen MacD on March 21, 2012, 07:14:53 AM
With two forks and a charge, a pickle will emit light.
(I bet a few of you are considering testing this)
No thanks. I quit doing stupid s**t when I was in my
30s 40s 50s last week.
Keanu Reeves gave away almost all of his earnings from the Matrix to the special effects team, turning them all into millionaires.
Quote from: Valiss on March 21, 2012, 11:56:47 AM
Keanu Reeves gave away almost all of his earnings from the Matrix to the special effects team, turning them all into millionaires.
Taxes on their earnings funded government studies on drunken ants, flatulent mosquitoes and incontinent moose.
The real cashew fruit contains an irritant closely related to the toxins in poison ivy. The nut must be roasted to rid it of this toxin. This real fruit grows beneath a very tasty false fruit (false because it contains no seed) that has such a fragile skin that it cannot be shipped.
The current speed record for dynamic soaring R/C gliders is 498 mph.
Maurice Sendak originally wanted to write a book called "Where the Wild Horses Are" but changed it to 'Wild Things' after discovering he couldn't draw horses.
My Administrative Assistant looked at my hands and insisted I rub some of her moisturizer on my finger cuticles. It worked to my surprise.
Can we get some pictures to verify this, Jack? ;)
Then, it would no longer be a useless fact.
Tim Burton was originally uncomfortable with casting Christopher Walken in Batman Returns, on the basis that the actor "scared him."
Mountain Dew's original slogan was "It'll tickle your innards."
Americans did not commonly use forks until after the Civil War.
Food can only be tasted if it is mixed with saliva.
At no point during the nursery rhyme does it ever specify that humpty dumpty is an egg.
Some libraries allow you to check out seeds with the intention that you will replace the seeds when your crop is harvested.
In 1975 a 17 year old boy was killed while riding his moped. He was killed exactly a year after his 17 year old brother was killed while riding the same moped, in the same intersection, by the same taxi, with the same driver, carrying the same passenger.
In December 1982, an intoxicated Salvadoran immigrant broke into Arlington National Cemetery at night, and knelt before the eternal flame on JFK's grave.
He had a heart attack, fell into the flame, and was burned to death.
Stannous fluoride, which is the cavity fighter found in toothpaste is made from recycled tin.
The San Diego airport has free wifi. It's not very high speed though.
Now, if you frequent this aiprort, you might find that useful information but I hypothesize that most of you don't and therefore it's useless.
Besides, I'm bored... :)
I'm a Capricorn. Now, I ask you... how much more useless can a piece of information be? ::)
I'm bored too, Luv...
Rain contains vitamin B12.
My back hurts.
In the state of Texas it is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.
Stephen King once called Glenn Beck "Satan's mentally challenged younger brother."
Quote from: LadyJessica on April 03, 2012, 09:59:42 AM
In the state of Texas it is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.
How many times have I broken the law?!?
Quote from: Valiss on April 03, 2012, 01:08:26 PM
Stephen King once called Glenn Beck "Satan's mentally challenged younger brother."
I've always considered Stephen King to be brilliant.
Merlin is a self acknowledged three (or more ) sip offender.
(http://www.oldmerlin.com/img/Avatar_08.jpg)
WANTED
in Tehas for 3 sipping without sitting the hell down. ;D
Now, THAT'S what I call USELESS!
During an average lifetime, a man will spend 3,350 hours removing 27.5 feet of stubble.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on April 03, 2012, 03:23:50 PM
During an average lifetime, a man will spend 3,350 hours removing 27.5 feet of stubble.
Wanna bet?
The longest beard ever measured belonged to Hans Langseth of Norway.
At his death in 1927 it was 18 feet 6 inches long.
......AND The longest ear hair belongs to Radhakant Bajpai of Naya Ganj, Uttar Pradesh, India, measuring 5.19 inches.
In 1977, Tom Waits successfully sued the LAPD for $7,500 after being arrested for arguing with undercover cops about a guy cutting in line.
Quote from: Lady Kett on March 30, 2012, 03:52:02 PM
The San Diego airport has free wifi. It's not very high speed though.
Now, if you frequent this aiprort, you might find that useful information but I hypothesize that most of you don't and therefore it's useless.
Besides, I'm bored... :)
The Atlanta airport does NOT have free wifi.
Next on deck: whatever the heck the airport is in Connecticut!
Here's another useless fact: I am sick to death of conferences!!
The actor who portrays The Most Interesting Man in the World lives on a sailboat in Marina Del Ray.
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on April 03, 2012, 03:26:59 PM
Quote from: Rowen MacD on April 03, 2012, 03:23:50 PM
During an average lifetime, a man will spend 3,350 hours removing 27.5 feet of stubble.
Wanna bet?
Merlin, she said an AVERAGE lifetime. Seriously... just how "average" do you really think
your life could have been? :P :D
Quote from: Valiss on April 05, 2012, 12:09:01 PM
The actor who portrays The Most Interesting Man in the World lives on a sailboat in Marina Del Ray.
I recognize him as a actor that made the rounds in the 1960s on a few TV westerns.
The little boy who voiced Bambi became the youngest-ever drill instructor in the Marines and served three tours in Vietnam.
I guess he was really upset when they killed his mother... :P
US Child Abuse Laws didn't exist until an orphan girl was found beaten so badly in her foster home that Animal Cruelty (ASPCA) had to intervene.
The most yolks ever found in one chicken egg was nine.
SweeTarts are a compressed tablet form of Pixy Stix.
According to Top Tenz:
Top Ten Best Candy Bars
1. Snickers
2. Twix
3. Kit Kat
4. Butterfingers
5. Hershey Bar
6. Milky Way
7. Three Musketeers
8. 100 Grand
9. Baby Ruth
10. Crunch
^I volunteer to test that^
Vampire bats adopt orphans, and are one of the few mammals known to risk their own lives to share food with less fortunate roost-mates.
A 4 foot walrus penis bone sold at auction in 2007 for $8,000.
That would be one expensive (but interesting) walking stick....
Do you have a soft cloth, Rowen? I need to remove a cup of coffee from my monitor... :P
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on April 11, 2012, 01:27:04 PM
Do you have a soft cloth, Rowen? I need to remove a cup of coffee from my monitor... :P
I take you were not the winner? ;D
The ant, when intoxicated, will always fall over to its right side.
Gotta test that...
Slash from the band Guns N' Roses refuses to allow "Glee" to use the band's music because he thinks the show sucks.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on April 11, 2012, 01:23:47 PM
A 4 foot walrus penis bone sold at auction in 2007 for $8,000.
That would be one expensive (but interesting) walking stick....
On that raccon's are still being used as toothpicks.
Jim
^^ick!^^
Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music.
When asked for his last request before being executed by firing squad, convicted murder James W. Rodgers asked for a bulletproof vest.
Reno, Nevada is actually west of Los Angeles, California.
The youngest Pope was 11 years old.
Mississippi is the only state in the US where open container is legal so long as the driver stays under the legal limit (.08).
There is a tree in Australia that if you brush against it it will affect you for 3-6months and if you shake it you can breath in its toxic needles.
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart had no idea how to play chess when they appeared in X-Men 2.
1990 is closer to the moon landing than it is to present day.
Quote from: Valiss on April 20, 2012, 10:10:53 AM
1990 is closer to the moon landing than it is to present day.
Huh ??? ....I'm a tad bit confused by this one.
Quote from: Celtic Lady on April 22, 2012, 10:14:00 PM
Quote from: Valiss on April 20, 2012, 10:10:53 AM
1990 is closer to the moon landing than it is to present day.
Huh ??? ....I'm a tad bit confused by this one.
Only because I had the same "huh" moment and had to research it a bit to get the point! ;)
1990 to 1969 is 21 years. 2012 to 1990 is 22 years. So 1990, is on the other side of the proverbial 50-yard line between 1969 and 2012.
True, but what's the point in picking 1990?
Hummingbirds can fly backwards, but can't walk.
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsnokmAAND1qhmkv2o1_500.jpg)
Quote from: Jack Daw at Work on April 23, 2012, 06:41:14 AM
True, but what's the point in picking 1990?
It's useless? ;)
According to History.com - Apr 23, 1014:
King Brian of Ireland murdered by Vikings
Quote from: Lady Kett on April 23, 2012, 07:51:31 AM
According to History.com - Apr 23, 1014:
King Brian of Ireland murdered by Vikings
Hey, that's not useless! I can put that on my calendar and every April 23, choose someone of Nordic descent to slap, and then explain why.
Hmm. With all the Viking blood in my Irish and Scottish heritage, I could probably just slap myself.
OK. So maybe it is useless.
Here's another:
The recommended valve gap on air-cooled Volkswagens originally .004" but the valves tended to "burn" at that setting. Mechanics quickly discovered that .006" was better.
And for those who would say that's more obscure than useless:
Before the advent of modern pens, geese were specially bred for quill feathers for making quill pens.
William Shakespeare born this day in 1564.
A Japanese word, "Bushusuru," was coined after George H.W. Bush publicly vomited on the Prime Minister of Japan during a formal state dinner. The word literally means "to do the 'Bush' thing, or to vomit."
Quote from: Archer on April 23, 2012, 07:32:27 AM
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsnokmAAND1qhmkv2o1_500.jpg)
This is actually a picture of Merlin taking a nap after snacking on a whole box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes.
More likely a case of Girl Scout cookies... ::)
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on April 23, 2012, 12:45:14 PM
More likely a case of Girl Scout cookies... ::)
Merlin, to me, it's all about the cereal.
If Barbie were a "real size" woman, she would suffer from chronic diarrhea due to having only a few inches of intestines and room for only half a liver.
When talking movies were first shown in France, cinema owners placed speakers behind the screen and carried them back and forth as the action required.
Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain was born on a day in 1835 when Haley's Comet came into view. When He died in 1910, Haley's Comet came into view again.
The shortest war on record was fought between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.
The Canadian province of New Brunswick (which was part of the UK at the time) had a bloodless war with the US state of Maine in 1839
In 1537, England's King Henry VII officially declared February 14th the holiday of St. Valentine's Day.
This is the 1st year since 1949 that "Michael" is not in the top 3 US baby names.
After Rat-Packer Sammy Davis Jr died in 1990, his Widow soon discovered that he was nearly broke and owed back taxes. She then had his body exhumed to strip him of the $70,000 worth of jewelry he had been buried with.
More than 400,000 U.S. houses still lack indoor plumbing.
Due to a strange law in America where importing toys resembling humans are taxed higher than those that do not; Marvel successfully argued in court that because their X- men action figures are mutants, they should be exempt from the tax.
After the mother was killed in Finding Nemo, the clownfish father would have changed sex to actually become Nemo's mom.
The movie Twister was rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "intense depiction of very bad weather".
During the chariot scene in 'Ben Hur' a small red car can be seen in the distance.
Of the 17k+ words that Shakespeare wrote, over 1700 are recorded there for the first time....
Taco Bell has tried to enter the Mexican market twice, failing both times, even after branding their food "American" food.
Quote from: Valiss on May 29, 2012, 04:16:13 PM
Taco Bell has tried to enter the Mexican market twice, failing both times, even after branding their food "American" food.
LMAO.
As of about nowish, I've been married to my trusty Sidekick for about 789,040,800 seconds (or, 9,132 days and 10 hours....or...25 years and some change!) :)
Now I need go calculate where 1B comes in....
Pulp Fiction was right. A Quarter Pounder with Cheese is called a Royale with Cheese in Paris.
They also have a Royale with Bacon.
What kind of bacon - Canadian/British or American?
Quote from: Jack Daw at Work on June 06, 2012, 08:21:16 AM
What kind of bacon - Canadian/British or American?
I don't know, probably American but I didn't go in. I just say the ads through the window.
The first cat to ride in an airship (a dirigible named America) was 'Kiddo' a grey tabby, in 1910.
Though the trip across the Atlantic was not completed, he is still considered to be the first pet to get airborn.
He did not like it.
The America carried radio equipment, the first aircraft so equipped, and apparently the historic first, in-flight radio message — to a secretary back on land — read:
Roy, come and get this goddamn cat!
Twix gets its name from a combination of "Twin Sticks".
Half of all identity thieves are either relatives, friends, or neighbors of their victims.
No patent can ever be taken out on a gambling machine in the United States.
The Bible has been translated into Klingon.
I enjoy reading these useless tidbits, but not all are facts...for the record.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on June 10, 2012, 10:38:33 AM
No patent can ever be taken out on a gambling machine in the United States.
Not quite accurate, although based on
some fact. From the
US Government Patent Office, 706.03(a) (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0700_706_03_a.htm):
"A rejection on the ground of lack of utility includes the more specific grounds of inoperativeness, involving perpetual motion. A rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 for lack of utility should not be based on grounds that the invention is frivolous, fraudulent or against public policy. See Juicy Whip Inc. v. Orange Bang Inc., 185 F.3d 1364, 1367-68, 51 USPQ2d 1700, 1702-03 (Fed. Cir. 1999) ("[Y]ears ago courts invalidated patents on gambling devices on the ground that they were immoral., but that is no longer the law.Congress never intended that the patent laws should displace the police powers of the States, meaning by that term those powers by which the health, good order, peace and general welfare of the community are promoted.we find no basis in section 101 to hold that inventions can be ruled unpatentable for lack of utility simply because they have the capacity to fool some members of the public."). The statutory basis for this rejection is 35 U.S.C. 101. See MPEP § 2107 for guidelines governing rejections for lack of utility. See MPEP § 2107.01 - § 2107.03 for legal precedent governing the utility requirement."
Aerosmith made more money from their Guitar Hero game than any of their albums.
The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
And here I thought army tanks were bad. Read somewhere that they get 3 gals to the mile. ;D
That's why they don't generally take tanks on road trips...
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on June 12, 2012, 04:19:02 PM
That's why they don't generally take tanks on road trips...
Only odyssey's? (bah dah bing)
Homer, the Odyssey, gets about 25 mpg normally...and unlike a tank, it's comfy and has a beer cooler...
Odysseus had tanks?
And, more importantly, a beer cooler!
More people have a phobia of vomiting (Emetophopia) than death.
My boss is an idiot.
While not a fact you can check through creditble internet sources, I assure you I (and my co-workers) have supporting evidence.
Idiot Boss is not theoretical. It is an axiom.
Quote from: Lady Kett on June 13, 2012, 12:19:25 PM
My boss is an idiot.
While not a fact you can check through creditble internet sources, I assure you I (and my co-workers) have supporting evidence.
I love it.
President George W. Bush was once a cheerleader.
President George H. W. Bush was a southpaw.
Quote from: Jack Daw at Work on June 30, 2012, 01:28:52 PM
President George H. W. Bush was a southpaw.
Strange! I could have sworn he was a Republican!
Quote from: Jack Daw at Work on June 30, 2012, 01:28:52 PM
President George H. W. Bush was a southpaw.
Do you mean he switched to being right handed or that he has passed away? :D
African violets are not related to violets. They were named that because of the primary flower color. The botanical name "Saintpaulia" honors Baron Walter von Saint Paul who first discovered them and brought the plants back to Europe in 1893
The Armillaria ostoyae, popularly known as the honey mushroom, started from a single spore too small to see without a microscope. It has been spreading its black shoestring filaments, called rhizomorphs, through the forest for an estimated 2,400 years, killing trees as it grows. It now covers 2,200 acres of the Malheur National Forest, in eastern Oregon. The largest organism in the world.
The most interesting man in the world is actually actor Jonathan Goldsmith. Hardly a Hispanic sounding name!
The M16/M4 series of rifles is the longest serving service rifle in US military history, it was first adopted in 1963. It replaced the rifle with the shortest service life, the M14, 1958 to 1963 (the M14 is still issued but only in limited numbers and for special use such as Squad Designated Marksmen).
I'd like to have an unaltered M14 and a Garand. You wouldn't happen to have some you don't need, would you, Sir Ironhead? :)
World's Rarest gemstone is Jadeite USD $3 + Million/Carat
Until recent years jadeite has been something of a mystery mineral, but we now know of primary sources in Guatemala as well as several California occurrences of white or grayish jadeite. Boulders in which a few small freestanding crystals have been seen occur in San Benito Co., California, with additional finds in Clear Creek, between New Idria and Hernandez. All Mexican jadeite is in artifacts, from unknown sources. The record price for a single piece of jadeite jewelry was set at the November 1997 Christie's Hong Kong sale: Lot 1843, the "Doubly Fortunate" necklace of 27 approximately .5 mm jadeite beads sold for US$9.3 million
(http://www.hkgemsnjewelry.com/itemphotos/1898%28a%20jadeite%20floral%20and%20diamond%20brooch%29.jpg)
That is so beautiful... so stunning.
The pincers on the tailend of the earwig do not bite or pinch.
Cows don't bite because they have no upper front teeth.
Cow pies are the result of a bowel mooovement... ::) So bad! :-\
A smack on the back of your hand Merlin ;)
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin-
While all cheese making requires a license, Limburger cheese making requires a master cheese maker's license.
A Greek taxi driver has the highest recorded mileage to date (2.9 million miles) on a Mercedes. He donated his car to the museum, and was gifted a new car.
There was Russian novel published in 1999 which re-tells The Lord of The Rings from Sauron's perpective.
That would be neat to read
The Queen is the only person in the UK who is not required to have a driving licence in order to drive.
A giraff can lick its own ears.
Quote from: Valiss on April 02, 2013, 01:07:53 PM
A Greek taxi driver has the highest recorded mileage to date (2.9 million miles) on a Mercedes. He donated his car to the museum, and was gifted a new car.
I heard at one point that Volvo used to have a deal where if you reached 1 million miles, they'd give you a new car.
George Lucas paid the entire $33 million production fee for Star Wars V himself, taking out a loan from the bank. He made his money back in three months, and Star Wars V went on to gross over half a billion dollars, making it the most successful independent film of all time.
For every person on Earth there are an estimated 200 million insects.
The biomass of all the ants on earth is roughly equivalent to the biomass of all the humans on earth.
There's a scientific concept called "The Red Queen Hypothesis" that was named for something said by the red queen in Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.
http://www.indiana.edu/~curtweb/Research/Red_Queen%20hyp.html
I'm full of useless information. :))
There are 62 pieces of Lego for every person on Earth.
The pupil of an octopus' eye is rectangular.
In exchange for Pepsi products, Russia gave Pepsi 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer. At the time, it was 7th largest submarine fleet in the world.
What would Pepsi want with a submarine fleet?!?
They have to be able to take out CocaCola some how. lol.
Supposedly Pepsi sold it off for scrap metal.
They should have used the warships to blow themselves up...
Quote from: KeeperoftheBar on June 06, 2012, 06:38:32 AM
Pulp Fiction was right. A Quarter Pounder with Cheese is called a Royale with Cheese in Paris.
They also have a Royale with Bacon.
They also have a chicken sandwich with Sauce Yankee. I declined on that choice.
Marga
Emus and kangaroos can not walk backwards.
Willie Nelson once smoked a joint on the rooftop of the White House as Secret Service looked on.
Quote from: Valiss on April 10, 2013, 10:26:00 AM
Willie Nelson once smoked a joint on the rooftop of the White House as Secret Service looked on.
Ah! But did he inhale?
Can't verify this but:
When Clans of long ago wanted to get rid of unwanted members without killing them, they would burn their homes-hence the expression
"To Get Fired."
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on April 10, 2013, 12:58:14 PM
Quote from: Valiss on April 10, 2013, 10:26:00 AM
Willie Nelson once smoked a joint on the rooftop of the White House as Secret Service looked on.
Ah! But did he inhale?
It's Willie Nelson. Of course he inhaled!
Amotivational syndrome is a lack of drive to advance in life, often attributable to the chronic use of marijuana.
With over $8.5 billion worldwide film earnings, Tom Hanks is the highest all-time box office star.
At one point in time, Harrison Ford was a star of the 5 top grossing films
There are more chickens than people in the world.
Perfumed ointment was found in King Tut's tomb. It was analyzed and there is a recipe to duplicate it accurately.
The male walrus' skin is very wrinkly, which protects it when jousting with the other males.
The majority of people believe that violent crime rates are at an all time high, despite the fact that they have been steadily declining for decades
The official motto for the California Conservation Corps is "Hard work, low pay, miserable conditions...and more!"
Quote from: Valiss on April 17, 2013, 12:31:09 PM
The majority of people believe that violent crime rates are at an all time high, despite the fact that they have been steadily declining for decades
The power of the media is scary.
The anti-pollution gadgets do some good:
It would take twenty new mid-size cars to generate the same amount of pollution that a mid-size 1960's car did.
Quote from: Valiss on April 18, 2013, 09:59:06 AM
The official motto for the California Conservation Corps is "Hard work, low pay, miserable conditions...and more!"
That reminds me of what was said to me as I interviewed for my first job, "The work is bad, the pay is worse, and there's no chance for advancement."
Apples are a member of the rose family.
Daniel Day-Lewis hasn't appear on stage since 1989 after he played Hamlet and claimed to see the ghost of his own father during the performance.
It was customary in ancient Japan for women to blacken their teeth with dye as white teeth were considered ugly.
Gene Wilder's only demand when cast as Willy Wonka was that he enter the courtyard hobbling, lose his cane and do a somersault, so that "from that time on, no one will know if I'm lying or telling the truth."
Americans have the highest rate of illegal drug consumption in the world, and the government has spent an estimated $1 Trillion over 40 years waging the war on drugs.
Incorrect, Valiss. Reverify your sources. Mine are from Great Britain. U.S. is either in the middle or near the bottom based on rates and type of drug.
Less than 1% of the people in the world can lick their own elbow.
Quote from: LadyFae on April 18, 2013, 04:06:17 PM
Apples are a member of the rose family.
Wild Rose hips taste and smell like apples too, though they are not as sweet. :) They are a very good source of vitamin C.
~Oak trees are struck by lightning more than any other tree.
I suppose Rose went wild from someone licking her hips, eh?
Quote from: LadyFae on April 24, 2013, 01:16:33 PM
Less than 1% of the people in the world can lick their own elbow.
How many tried? Come on! Raise your hands!
I don't lick elbows- you never know where they've been.
An average person's yearly fast food intake will contain 12 pubic hairs.
Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
There's enough water in Lake Superior to cover North and South America in a foot of water. It's also the largest freshwater lake on earth by surface area.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior
Wikipedia was the easiest site to read but multiple sources confirm.
Quote from: Alissende on May 02, 2013, 10:26:22 PM
There's enough water in Lake Superior to cover North and South America in a foot of water. It's also the largest freshwater lake on earth by surface area.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior)
Wikipedia was the easiest site to read but multiple sources confirm.
Yeah, but have you ever tried swimming in Lake Superior? BRRR!!!!! (I grew up in Superior- we didn't really do much "swimming.")
James Madison was the shortest and lightest US President at only 5'4" and about 100 lbs.
I wouldn't want to swim in it!
Another lake one.
The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest lake. The Soviet Union diverted most of the water sources that fed it and now it's broken into 2 separate lakes. (Down from 4)
No word in the English language rhymes with "month."
No single word in the English language rhymes with "orange".
The flavor of bubble gum comes from the fusion of vanilla, wintergreen and "cassia," a form of cinnamon.
Mountain Dew was originally meant as a mixer for whiskey.
According to the Texas Restaurant Association, 800,000 orders or chicken-fried steak are served in Texas every day.
The IRS employees tax manual has instructions for collecting taxes after a nuclear war.
The only bone fully grown at birth is located in the ear.
Some lions mate over 50 times a day. :o
They sleep on average 18-20 hours a day. Now that's a very active 4-6 hours!!
That's a LOT of pu... wait, I can't say that on here... ::) :P
Actor Harrison Ford has a species of spider named after him.
Babies are born without knee caps.
They don't appear until the child reaches 2-6 years of age.
People photocopying their buttocks are the cause of 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide.
I can honestly say, I've never tried that. But I wonder, who has?
Ian Fleming is best known for writing a dozen-plus James Bond novels. He also wrote a children's book, that was made into a movie. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was released in film form in 1968.
If you haven't read Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang do so.
I read the children's book after the movie came out when I was a kid. Other than the names of some the characters, there is very little similarity. It's sooo much better than the Disney musical, IMHO.
The car in the book is a sentient machine ala Knight Rider, and Professor Potts has no idea what his newly restored 'Paragon Panther' can actually do. I just loved the insults it would fling at the driver via it's elaborate dashboard, when the operator didn't do precisely what the car wanted him to.
~The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the
toughest tongue twister in the English language.
~Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
One of the available languages for the Illinois Dept. of Employment Security is Klingon.
Al Capone's business card said that he was a used furniture dealer.
(I actually won a free round of drinks at a bar one night by answering that as a trivia question!)
It's impossible to hum while holding/pinching your nose.
Quote from: RenStarr on August 22, 2013, 06:23:38 PM
It's impossible to hum while holding/pinching your nose.
And of course I had to test that! :D LOL
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
-A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why. :o
Actually it does echo but the echo comes back on the same frequency as the original quack which is why we don't hear it. Gotta love Mythbusters
~90 percent of women who walk into a department store immediately turn to the right.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on August 24, 2013, 11:01:06 AM
~90 percent of women who walk into a department store immediately turn to the right.
Politics? In a department store?!?
Most studies have shown that Humans, when confronted with a fork in the road will turn right. That is why mazes are designed with left turns. (http://www.bradwarthen.com/2012/05/general-for-mazes-crowds-always-turn-left/)
Due to the effect of Thermal Expansion, the Eiffel Tower is up to 15cm taller in summer.
Wolves run on their toes, which help them to stop and turn swiftly.
Rats can't vomit. #7 on the list. (http://listverse.com/2009/01/03/10-weird-and-wonderful-oddities-of-nature/)
Lemons contain more sugar than strawberries.
Quote from: scarletnyx on September 13, 2013, 03:59:46 PM
Rats can't vomit. #7 on the list. (http://listverse.com/2009/01/03/10-weird-and-wonderful-oddities-of-nature/)
Wizards can... Yuck!
Every second, Americans collectively eat one hundred pounds of chocolate.
A person uses approximately fifty-seven sheets of toilet paper each day.
PIGS Have Been Used in Battle
In ancient times, if you were being attacked by war elephants the thing to do was to release the pigs. Elephants are distressed by the sound of pigs squealing. Attacks would be broken up as the pachyderms did anything to get away from the noisy porkers. Flaming pigs were also launched by catapult much like the Mongol use of flaming cats. It is of interest to note that the explosive charge loaded into naval guns is still referred to as "The Pig".
If someone wants to launch flaming pigs at me, all I can say is... bring on the BACON!!! It's breakfast time!!!
Seriously... what an awesome way to restock your supply line! "Hey, lets go attack Hannibal in the morning! He's just a couple of leagues from here, and he flings crispy bacon!"...
... I'll bring some eggs ...
I wonder of any of the neighbors toss griddle cakes... ;D
The term, "above board," today means someone who is honest and forthright. Its origin comes from the days when pirates would masquerade as honest merchantmen, hiding most of their crew behind the bulwark (side of the ship on the upper deck). They hid below the boards.
All polar bears are left handed.
So, Ladyfae, I'm left-handed. What are you trying to say?
I'm sure it's not that you're fluffy and good at swimming.
Possibly that ...all southpaws are special (says the mom of a lefty).
It is against the law to mispronounce the name of the State of Arkansas in that State.
A barber is not to advertise prices in the State of Georgia.
Being from Arkansas, I had to check that out, Rowen. It seems that's folklore.
In Little Rock, flirtation between men and women on the streets may result in a 30-day jail term. Now THAT'S real law!
The expression, "cup of joe", referring to a cup of coffee, originated with Josephus Daniels (1862-1948), who was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms in the U.S. Navy was abolishing the officers' wine mess; so, from then on, the strongest drink aboard ship could only be coffee, and over the years, a serving of coffee became known as "a cup of joe".
Every person has a unique tongue print.
(Next time I burglarize a home, I'll remember not to lick the countertops.)
Hyenas were once domesticated and raised for food in ancient Egypt.
The expression, "feeling blue" may have come from a custom among many sailing ships. If the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during a voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to home port.
Despite the hump, a camel's spine is straight.
...there you go...talking about sex again...
Babe Ruth wore a cabbage leaf under his cap to keep him cool. He changed it every 2 innings.
The "head" is the bathroom aboard a US Navy ship. The term is derived from the old sailing ships when the place for the crew to relieve themselves was all the way forward on either side of the bowsprit, the front part of the hull to which the figurehead was fastened (Think of the Argo in Jason and the Argonauts).
The largest earthworm ever found was in South Africa. It measured about 20 feet long.
Sounds like an anaconda, to me! :o
If Barbie were life-size, she would be 7'2" and her measurements would be 39-23-33.
Is there anything wrong with that? Amazon women have a right to live, too.
Quote from: Jack Daw at Work on November 20, 2013, 03:01:32 PM
Is there anything wrong with that? Amazon women have a right to live, too.
Yeah...and they have good prices on books, too!
Quote from: Jack Daw at Work on October 24, 2013, 06:33:42 AM
The expression, "cup of joe", referring to a cup of coffee, originated with Josephus Daniels (1862-1948), who was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms in the U.S. Navy was abolishing the officers' wine mess; so, from then on, the strongest drink aboard ship could only be coffee, and over the years, a serving of coffee became known as "a cup of joe".
I heard that the americano is called that because of American GIs in Europe during and after WWII. The local coffee was too strong and bitter for their tastes, especially espresso, so they would ask to have it mixed with hot water. So if you drink americanos, you drink your espresso like an American, watered down.
Skunks can spray up to 20 feet, but they are only accurate up to 5 feet.
Because of the rotation of the earth, an object can be thrown farther if it is thrown west.
Quote from: Hoowil on November 20, 2013, 04:30:53 PM
Quote from: Jack Daw at Work on October 24, 2013, 06:33:42 AM
The expression, "cup of joe", referring to a cup of coffee, originated with Josephus Daniels (1862-1948), who was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms in the U.S. Navy was abolishing the officers' wine mess; so, from then on, the strongest drink aboard ship could only be coffee, and over the years, a serving of coffee became known as "a cup of joe".
I heard that the americano is called that because of American GIs in Europe during and after WWII. The local coffee was too strong and bitter for their tastes, especially espresso, so they would ask to have it mixed with hot water. So if you drink americanos, you drink your espresso like an American, watered down.
The important coffee is that coffee is my favorite coffee, do you coffee that?
5% of all women surveyed say they never wear underwear.
Time to resurrect this amusing thread!
My entry for October 28th 2014:
When possums are playing 'possum', they are not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror.
And fainting goats are really having a seizure, not fainting.
A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
About twenty-five percent of the population sneeze when they are exposed to light (the 'sun-sneeze' is genetic).
The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they can be easily confused at a crime scene.
Vikings would give their injured men onion soup. If you could smell the soup through the abdomen after it was eaten, it meant that man was beyond treatment.
"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order
Correction: According to Guinness: AEGILOPS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegilops)
The dot over a "j" or an "i" is called a "tittle".
Quote from: RenStarr on October 30, 2014, 07:19:32 AM
The dot over a "j" or an "i" is called a "tittle".
Is that where we get the word "titillation'?
It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska. (Apparently farts are still OK)
Quote from: Rowen MacD on October 30, 2014, 10:24:25 AM
Quote from: RenStarr on October 30, 2014, 07:19:32 AM
The dot over a "j" or an "i" is called a "tittle".
Is that where we get the word "titillation'?
It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska. (Apparently farts are still OK)
I'm guessing there are a lot of old farts in church in Nebraska (remember Confusious says "he who farts in church, sits in own pew :) "
(** I have such strange friends **)
But it makes life so much more interesting, don't you think? We're all Mad here... ;D
If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would stand seven feet, two inches tall and have a neck twice the length of a normal human's neck.
Quote from: Rowen MacD on October 23, 2013, 02:41:06 PM
It is against the law to mispronounce the name of the State of Arkansas in that State.
And the difference in pronunciation between 'Kansas' And 'Arkansas' is due to the French vs English pronunciation
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-we-pronounce-kansas-and-arkansas-differently-2014-2 (http://www.businessinsider.com/why-we-pronounce-kansas-and-arkansas-differently-2014-2)
And Cajun is a twisted mispronunciation of Acadian...
In 1980, a Las Vegas hospital suspended workers for betting on when patients would die.
Ignoramus:
The grand jury used to write ignoramus on the back of indictments not found or not to be sent to court. This was often constructed as an indication of the stupidity of the jury, hence its present meaning.
The Ottoman Empire still existed the last time the Chicago Cubs won a World Series.
I think the Roman Empire still existed, RenStarr...
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on November 06, 2014, 09:16:17 AM
I think the Roman Empire still existed, RenStarr...
I"m sure there are some die hard Cubs fans that feel that way.
It feels like it's so far back, the Library at Alexandria only had one scroll.
Sigh.
Says the baseball fan from Chicago's 'burbs.
The mask worn by Michael Myers in the original "Halloween" was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white.
There are 62 Legos for every person on Earth.
A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness.
She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not.
Is that why her mum called her a "little stinker?"
The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.
Polar bears are left handed.
Gedunk – Refers to snack foods, such as candy and chips, as well as the place they're sold. Associated with the Navy, and can be used in the phrase "gedunk sailor" as a pejorative remark for inexperienced sailors.
My ex-husband was in the Navy 30 years ago, and I *still* refer to vending machines as "gedunk."
(This statement is also a "useless fact," ;) )
Deer can't eat hay.
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill
There are 20 calories per inch in a bully stick.
Quote from: RefMom3 on October 28, 2015, 10:28:48 AM
There are 20 calories per inch in a bully stick.
(** I'm not touching that line.... **)
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on October 28, 2015, 11:07:18 AM
Quote from: RefMom3 on October 28, 2015, 10:28:48 AM
There are 20 calories per inch in a bully stick.
(** I'm not touching that line.... **)
Probably wise, Sir ;)
I heard this little gem on WGN radio, while I was on my recent drive to Muskogee for their Halloween festival. I was so excited, because it seemed an excellent fit for this space ;)
It's estimated that at any one time around 0.7% of the world's population is drunk.
That begs the question:
At any one time during any Faire, what percentage of the Faire population is drunk? ???
I'm betting it's a bit higher then 0.7%.
I hope someone's enjoying my percentage ;)
I like to share ;)
The donuts are great.
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on November 13, 2015, 12:25:27 PM
The donuts are great.
But that is a very use-FUL thing to know.
(**burp**) Yeah... I'm full...
this topic hasn't seen any action in over 5 years. How about that for useless fact of the day.
Charlie Pride was one of John Wayne's favorite country performers.
For the late Charley Pride, I'd think that was a very useFUL fact.
just a little over nine months till TRF
Except for very rare instances, American election years are leap years.
Quote from: RefMom3 on July 07, 2023, 08:21:58 PMExcept for very rare instances, American election years are leap years.
Wow...was never aware of that!
Nor was I, and the friend who told me then went on a big explanation of what actually constitutes a leap year. They include: a leap year is exactly divisible by 4; if it is divisible by 100 it is not a leap year unless it is also divisible by 400. I don't know who came up with the rules, but all I can say is there were reasons I was a history major.
Quote from: RefMom3 on July 11, 2023, 08:00:31 PMNor was I, and the friend who told me then went on a big explanation of what actually constitutes a leap year. They include: a leap year is exactly divisible by 4; if it is divisible by 100 it is not a leap year unless it is also divisible by 400. I don't know who came up with the rules, but all I can say is there were reasons I was a history major.
Interesting! A History major! Love that :)). I love history also but my knowledge is extremely limited.
If you think about it, no one's knowledge of history is complete, right?
(By the way, I don't know if you would find it interesting, but there is a
series of books called the Chronicles of St. Mary's, by Jodi Taylor; it is
about people who study history in contemporary time...but don't call it time
travel! And voila; here we have my history and library degrees meet! ;D )
For sure!
Oh, Thank you for that referral! I'll check it out :)