What weird facts do you know? [Archive]

protege

10-04-2006, 12:17 PM

Let's see now...

Does anyone know why Morris Minors have a raised trim line down the middle of the car? It seems that the prototype car was judged to be too narrow. The car was cut in half, and the parts were moved apart until the width was correct. The parts were then welded back together, and the body jigs modified. In fact, if you look at the earliest cars, the bumpers have plates over the gap.

BrassCowboy

10-04-2006, 03:03 PM

80% of people who watch the Super Bowl on television, only do so to view the commercials.

Jpurple

10-04-2006, 03:22 PM

Giraffes are the only animals with no vocal cords.

I'm usually a fount of useless knowledge, but that's all I can think of right now.

Cia

10-04-2006, 04:36 PM

Horses can't barf.

Giraffes have the same number of vertabra as humans.

Becks

10-04-2006, 05:04 PM

You know, I know LOTS of weird facts...they're all escaping me for the moment, however. :(

Knightmare

10-04-2006, 05:40 PM

Vultures are the only birds that poop on their own feet to cool them off.

The length of my foot is the same length as from my wrist to my elbow (true for most people)

The little plastic piece at the end of a shoelace is called an aglet

The indentation between your nose and lips is called a philtrum

A pig's orgasm lasts for 38 minutes

I am the Cliff Claven of useless knowledge!

Greenday

10-04-2006, 06:23 PM

You can tell the sex of a baby alligator by the temperature of the egg.

You can tell the estimated outside temperature by how many times a cricket chirps in a 15 seconds, then you add 37.

The name for reproduction in worms(which are hermaphrodites) is called penis fencing. You can guess at what it involves.

BrightEyedKitty

10-04-2006, 06:26 PM

52.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

officegirl

10-04-2006, 06:35 PM

This thread is a great idea! I love useless facts! Here's a few of mine-

~The inside of an ice machine at a restaurant is dirty than the toilet seat in it's bathroom.
~Barbie's parents names are George and Margaret.
~A cow releases 125 gallons of gas per day.
~27% of female lottery winners hid their winning ticket in their bras.
~When you sneeze, all of your bodily functions, including the beating of your heart, momentarily stop.
~A jiffy is an actual unit of time, measuring 1/100th of a second.
~Adolf Hitler was Times Man of the Year in 1938.
~In Israel, it is illegal to pick your nose on Sabbath.
~Being unmarried can shorten a man's life by 10 years.

It's fun to spring these random facts on people....randomly :) And they are great ice breakers!! I love to collect them!

Spiffy McMoron

10-04-2006, 07:05 PM

Oh, man, this is perfect for me...

-Canda's date of confederation (July 1, 1867) was a Monday.

-At the Battle of Fort Sumpter (First battle of the American Civil War) lasted for two days, in which the Confederacy bombarded the fort. During this bombardment, nobody was killed. However, two people were killed in the ceremony to hand the Fort to the south when a ceremonial cannon exploded.

-Peter the Great of Russia died of a cold, after jumping in a river in February to save a peasant working on the new Russian capital of St. Petersburg.

-Charles X of Austria died on a hunting trip, after eating some bad mushrooms that he'd picked. No word on how "fun" his death was for him.

-Had they not died of those two causes, both of these men probably would have died of syphillis, which was rampant amongst the upper class of society in the 17th and 18th centuries.

-At the start of the 20th century, marathon runners commonly ingested a mixture of brandy, honey, and cocaine, thinking that it would give then energy for the race, and numb the pain of cramping muscles.

-Galapagos lizards actually digest part of their bones to shrink in size. They do this to survive the doughts brought on by the "La Nina" effect.

-The Stanley Cup is the oldest sports trophy given out in North America. Tradition dictates that all members of the winning team spend at least one day with the Cup.

-Noodles were originally a Chinese invention, brought to Italy by Marco Polo.

-Christopher Columbas never actually saw the area now known as America, even though he is usually credited with discovering it.

Hotelboy

10-04-2006, 07:26 PM

I know the airspeed velocity of a swallow.....

Lace Neil Singer

10-04-2006, 07:57 PM

I know the airspeed velocity of a swallow.....

Is that an African or European swallow?

Irving Patrick Freleigh

10-04-2006, 08:01 PM

-There are three squirts in a male ejactulation
-Adolf Hitler had a flatulence problem, probably brought on by his strict vegetarian diet :fart:
-Graham crackers used to be used to quell masturbatory urges (I saw this on Pop-Up Video once).

And that's all I got. I promise I will try to get my mind out of the gutter.

PuckishOne

10-04-2006, 08:51 PM

The Stanley Cup is the oldest sports trophy given out in North America. Tradition dictates that all members of the winning team spend at least one day with the Cup.

And on that theme...

The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 23 times, the most championships by a single team in any professional sport.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky originally tucked one side of his jersey into his shorts when playing because the jersey was too big for him, and it got in the way when he was shooting the puck. It soon became a superstition, however, so much so that he had Velcro put on both to secure it.

And a Truly Random Factoid:

The scientific name for the North American beaver is Caster canadensis.

repsac

10-04-2006, 10:14 PM

During WW2, the Captain of the HMS Glowworm became the only officer in known history to be awarded a medal on the recommendation of the enemy.
http://www.rickard.karoo.net/articles/weapons_HMSGlowworm.html

Adolf Hitler had a condition where the sound of his own voice aroused him.

Lace Neil Singer

10-04-2006, 10:17 PM

During the Second World War, the Americans experimented with breeding glowing foxes. They were going to set them loose in Japan to lower morale, cuz of the Japanese being superstitious about foxes.

SteverinoNY

10-04-2006, 10:39 PM

The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 23 times, the most championships by a single team in any professional sport.

Sorry...the Montreal Canadiens have won the most championships in the history of hockey with 23 Stanley Cups, but the NEW YORK YANKEES have the record for most championships in the history of professional sports with 26 World Series titles.

PuckishOne

10-04-2006, 11:09 PM

Sorry...the Montreal Canadiens have won the most championships in the history of hockey with 23 Stanley Cups, but the NEW YORK YANKEES have the record for most championships in the history of professional sports with 26 World Series titles.
And so they do. :) I stand corrected.

SteverinoNY

10-04-2006, 11:21 PM

And so they do. :) I stand corrected.

I love my hockey don't get me wrong, but either way the Canadiens or the Yankees are the class of their sports! :)

Hooray Hockey Season...GO RANGERS! :)

repsac

10-04-2006, 11:29 PM

Gotta say something for the Braves now. I mean we hold the record for getting to the world series or post season the most, with the fewest wins.

If the team management had been wise enough not to scrap our world series winning team, things might be different. :cry:

Spiffy McMoron

10-05-2006, 12:01 AM

Adolf Hitler had a condition where the sound of his own voice aroused him.

The invasion of Russia by Germany was codenamed Operation Barbarossa. It started on June 22, months after the German generals had wanted to. The generals wanted it earlier to take advantage of as much good weather as possible before the feared Russian winter settled in. Why was June 22 chosen? Because that was when Napolean Bonparte invaded Russia, and Hitler wanted to show the world that he was superior to NB.

Ringtail Z28

10-05-2006, 12:27 AM

San Diego has a soccer team, most people down here don't know that. I couldn't tell you their name though. :D

Fish are attracted to the smell of WD-40.

Ringtailed Cats aren't cats at all.

AR-7 mags made by Henry don't work in Charter Arms AR-7s.

In the city of San Diego people have been executed for stealing.

Spiffy McMoron

10-05-2006, 12:31 AM

Hooray Hockey Season...GO RANGERS! :)

One more quick one, to any fans of the Maple Leafs, Senators, or le Habitants: The last three times a Canadian team has made it to the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, all of the teams came from the Western Canference (Vancouver, 1994; Calgary, 2004; Edmonton, 2006)

Kitten in the box

10-05-2006, 01:33 AM

Elephants cannot jump
A fly vomits on thier food so they can eat the enzymes
There have been cases of certain hospitals using specially bred maggots to help heal an infected wound that is not responding to regular care. (I actually saw this on animal planet's most extreme...nasty i know but its true)

Kiwi

10-05-2006, 01:53 AM

76 % of all statistics are made up on the spot:D

irateguy

10-05-2006, 02:33 AM

The Reds have won their last 9 World Series games
The Bengals have never won a playoff game that was played outside of Cincinnati
James Brown Recorded his first song in Cincinnati

dispatch

10-05-2006, 04:30 AM

you are never more than 3 feet away from a spider

every time you sneeze, you get 90% of the way to acheiving an orgasm

in the male orgasm, there is a split second where there is no concious thought

the US government did a $12 million dollar study to try to figure out why inmates wanted to escape from prison

Spiffy McMoron

10-05-2006, 05:17 AM

in the male orgasm, there is a split second where there is no concious thought

Some would argue that this happens all of the time in males. :lol:

BrightEyedKitty

10-05-2006, 05:51 AM

76 % of all statistics are made up on the spot:D

Beat you. See Page 2. ;)

Kiwi

10-05-2006, 06:40 AM

52.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

GAH!!!! :D

stickycoins

10-05-2006, 06:41 AM

You can tell how many miles away a storm is if you count very slowly(1001, 1002, etc) after a lightning flash, until you hear thunder. If you stop at 1005, it's 5 miles away. This is a country folklore thing my Grandfather told me and I found it's pretty much true.

Lace Neil Singer

10-05-2006, 11:30 AM

I used to count "1 chimpanzee" personally. And yep, it does work.

Jpurple

10-05-2006, 04:18 PM

Odd facts about Bangkok!

1) The official name of Bangkok is the longest place name in the world (No, I can't write it, I haven't got Thai fonts installed) Translated, it sounds like Lwaxana Troi's titles- City of Angels, Great City of Immortals, Magnificent City of the Nine Gems, Seat of the King, City of Royal Palaces, Home of the Gods Incarnate, Erected by Visvakarman at Indra's behest.

2) A much shorter and funnier name for Bangkok: The Big Mango

3) Bangkok has the lowest percentage of road surface (measured as a part of the entire city area) of any major city in the world

4) Jpurple has lived in Bangkok for entirely too long....

Lace Neil Singer

10-05-2006, 06:51 PM

Personally, I have a quiet snigger at the way it sounds, but that's probably just me.

BrassCowboy

10-05-2006, 07:10 PM

San Diego has a soccer team, most people down here don't know that. I couldn't tell you their name though. :D

Are you refering to Chivas USA?

Irving Patrick Freleigh

10-05-2006, 07:15 PM

dispatch

10-05-2006, 08:28 PM

what's bad is that I've had the son "one night in bangkok" stuck in my head off and on for a few months now, not sure why, maybe my brain is telling me I should play more chess

the romans used human urine as toothpaste

"ring around the rosie" is about the bubonic plauge

"four and twenty blackbirds" was a pirate recruiting song

bill clinton inhaled

tintaglia

10-05-2006, 09:04 PM

you cant lick your own elbow

in Scooby Doo, shaggy's name is 'norville'

tacohuman

10-06-2006, 02:16 AM

the amazon basin is the most linguistically diverse (has the highest number of language families represented) region on earth.

BusBus

10-06-2006, 04:36 AM

The same woman does the voice for Jimbo Jones and Agnes Skinner on the Simpsons

ZumZum

10-06-2006, 04:55 AM

You can tell it's going to rain if the leaves on the trees are upside down.

Broomjockey

10-06-2006, 05:45 AM

You can tell it's going to rain if the leaves on the trees are upside down.

But what if all the trees have needles? :lol:

AFpheonix

10-06-2006, 06:49 AM

Horses can't throw up (thank god, could you imagine the size of mess an animal that big could make?)

The dish on an arabian's face is called a "jibbah"

The little lip thing they do when they come in contact with a strong smell is called "flehmen"

Ok, so I don't do so good on the non-equine trivia...:lol:

tacohuman

10-06-2006, 01:18 PM

damin, a language used by intiated males in the lardil and yaangkal tribes of australia, is the only language outside of africa known to used clicks as regular speech sounds.

one of the most prolific contributors of literary citations in the oxford english dictionary (he alone submitted something like 12000 citations during its creation) was an american civil war veteran locked up in british asylum for the criminally insane.

SuperDan

10-06-2006, 03:55 PM

The resonating frequency of a chicken's skull is 7 Hz

The trumpet is the most mentioned musical instrument in the Bible.

Lightening can and does strike the same place twice. Many tall buildings are struck hundreds of times per year.

Cary Elwes is the only genuine Englishman to have ever played Robin Hood.

BrassCowboy

10-06-2006, 04:19 PM

one of the most prolific contributors of literary citations in the oxford english dictionary (he alone submitted something like 12000 citations during its creation) was an american civil war veteran locked up in british asylum for the criminally insane.

Wasn't that Dr. W. C. Minor?

That guy really was messed up. Just look him up on Wikipedia.

Now mine:

Although they made four movies together, Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder were not friends. In fact, Pryors cocaine use strained the relationship even more.

I found that really surprising because they were so good in Another You, Stir Crazy, Silver Streak, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.

tacohuman

10-06-2006, 07:32 PM

Wasn't that Dr. W. C. Minor?

That guy really was messed up. Just look him up on Wikipedia.
.

it was indeed. for a really good, indepth analysis of minor's role in the creation of the oed, and his relationship with its creators (james murray in particular), check out the professor and the madman: a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the oxford english dictionary by simon winchester.

MystyGlyttyr

10-06-2006, 07:55 PM

Oh boy, here comes Mysty with the wrestling facts. These are the only trivia I collect!

Matt Hyson (formerly Spike Dudley, currently Brother Runt) has a transplanted achilles tendon to replace a snapped ACL in his knee. So far as I'm aware, he's the only member of the big four feds of pro wrestling (WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA) to have ever had a transplant and continue wrestling.

Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson has had calf and chest implants.

Despite being billed as 5'6", Rey Mysterio is in fact closer to 5'3".

Chris Jericho was an only child and is NOT a natural blonde. (HA HA)

repsac

10-07-2006, 12:54 AM

Statisticaly speaking, it's highly improbable that you will complete a survey and get anything that's listed free on the net. HOWEVER, due to bait and switch laws, should you actually complete the surveys, the companys have to send you the product. (I'm told my Sony Vaio comes tomarrow Fed Ex.) ;)

The longest stretch of straight railway line in the world ends / starts in Western Australia. One of the worlds classic rail journeys starts in Perth.... the Indian Pacific, with its windows shielded from the sun by a film of gold!

You can't sneeze in your sleep.

Hitler's favorite movie was King Kong.

"Spheno Palatine Gangleoneuralgia" is the technical term for an ice cream headache.

The average speed of a man's orgasm is 28 MPH.

Correction fluid was created by the mother of Monkee, Mike Nesmith.

It is considered an insult to tip at a restaurant in Iceland.

There is a regular ore train in Mauritania that is believed to be the longest in the world. At being a little over 2km long, with only one locomotive, it's possibly true. HOWEVER:

One railroad (Whose name eludes me) has a locomotive that carries a full sized motorcycle in a box underneath. This is so that IF something goes wrong halfway back, the crew doesn't have to walk the two miles to find the problem.

Seanette

10-07-2006, 01:35 AM

Tigers can purr as well as housecats can.

I had a zoo-type tiger (OK, an adolescent specimen) in my lap once, purring his heart out at me for scritching his ears.

Ringtail Z28

10-07-2006, 04:40 AM

Pro wrestler Kerry Von Erich spent a number of years wrestling while wearing a prostetic leg.

Kitten in the box

10-07-2006, 06:42 AM

If you open a band-aid in the dark when you pull back the paper you can sometimes see the static electricity...(a fine blue line..don't know how but I have seen it happen to me when I did it for an experiment)

Adult alligators will respond to terrifed squeaks of hatchling babies and rush to their defense...even if they are not their parents (proven on animal planet by an animal expert..he was examining a baby alligator and it sqeaked because it was terrifed)

A hippo's fully open mouth measures over 3 feet top to bottom

The force of a human sneeze is over 100 miles an hour

Despite the amazing 3000 pound per square inch bite pressure of an alligator/crocodile its jaws are really weak....meaning they can be held shut with a hand (if one has the proper training to do so...like on animal planet) or it can be held together with rope. the animals do not have the stregnth to open their jaws if they hare held together.

Certain parrots have 1000 pounds per square inch bite pressure behind their beaks.

A large snapping turtle can snap a broom handle in half if it wants to.

lordlundar

10-07-2006, 02:19 PM

The classification of a desert is a region that recieves less than 5cm of percipitation per year, as such, the antarctic is a desert.

(fun argument with my manager on that one)

thegiraffe

10-07-2006, 02:49 PM

Becks

10-08-2006, 04:16 PM

You can't sneeze in your sleep.

A few years back, while sleeping I woke up, sneezed and went right back to sleep.

Kitten in the box

10-10-2006, 12:52 AM

The Lungfish if harrassed can create a sticky mucus to cover itself...that means if a hungry predator tries to eat it they will get a mouth full of nasty mucus that is hard to swallow.

An Electric eel can power a lightbulb if it is using its electricity as a defense and a bulb is put up to it. (actually saw that once)

The Kommodo dragon does not have to chase down its prey if it escapes after being bitten....its bite contains toxins that quickly kill its meal so it only has to 'walk' at its leisure to find it

The Kommodo dragon is the biggest land lizard in the world .

BrassCowboy

10-10-2006, 01:40 AM

Fidel Castro and Kinky Friedman prefer to smoke Montecristo No. 2 Cigars.

Although they selected QB Troy Aikman with the #1 overall pick in the regular NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys still drafted QB Steve Walsh with the #1 pick in the supplemental draft.

Plaidman

10-10-2006, 02:23 AM

A lightning bolt generates temperatures five times hotter than those found at the sun's surface

There are no turkies in Turky.

Skepticisms is the longest word that alternates hands when typing.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable".

ArenaBoy

10-10-2006, 03:25 AM

Leo Fender, the founder of Fender guitars never played a guitar in his life.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have had at least 6 different line-up changes when they released some of their albums.

In Japan, they have oxygen bars where you can inhale out of tanks.

In Italy, you're favorite soccer team can also be affiliated with your politics.

Spiffy McMoron

10-10-2006, 08:03 PM

Tigers can purr as well as housecats can.

Also, large cats (lions, tigers, etc.) can get high on catnip, and do the same goofy things that a regular housecat does-although it's probably more dangerous to play with them when they are high.:lol:

There is no known instance of an ostrich actually putting it's head into the ground.

Your eyes and mouth are technically concidered to be a type of sphincter.

John A MAcDonald-Canada's first prime minister-was widely known to be a drunk. Impressive to be known as that when the Parliement building has a bar in the basement. However, near the end of his life, he became a spokesman for sobriety.

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, is known as "Chicago North", because during Prohibition, Al Capone and other mobsters smuggled hooch out of the city using a labrynth of tunnels built under the town. It was widely thought to be a rumour, until the tunnels were accidentaly found during the demolistion of an old bar.

MystyGlyttyr

10-10-2006, 08:41 PM

Hey Mysty -

I think I remember my dad saying that Chyna (I forget her real name) lives/lived by me. Do you know off the top of your head her real name and whether she lives/lived anywhere near central florida?

Joanie Laurer, although she does sometimes go by Joanie Lee, and now by Chynna Doll. Also, she has lived in Florida at least twice in the past that I know of, though she's moved around a few times and I'm not sure where she lives now, though Florida is where I would bet as it's a mecca for professional wrestlers (nice tax laws, heh). Hope that helps, heh heh.