Tell Me Something I Don't Know

[CoffeeMonkey]

Natural bread starters are mixtures of flour and water that have colonies of yeasts that were started with fruit skins and gathered from the air. Wild yeasts float all around us, especially in watery areas. A starter is basically immortal, as long as it's fed and its environment is maintained. san Francisco sourdough starter has been alive for 150 years.

Starters (or preferments) encourage gluten strength, assist in rising and extend shelf life. Along with the yeasts, different kinds of good bacteria grow, and the acids they produce give bread complex flavor. they are what makes sourdough sour.

There are lots of different kinds of preferments. You can make levain (a natural starter) by soaking raisins in water for a couple of days, and then over a week or so feeding it doses of flour and water. Once the levain has grown, you can start using it, and keep it in your fridge to slow it down. Only problem for the home baker is that you have to feed it every couple of days in the fridge or the yeast will run out of food and die. If you don't bake a lot, this can lead to a bread monster that will take over a small town. To make starter for just one loaf that is super easy, try poolish. Mix eight ounces (by weight) of flour and water with half the yeast from your recipe. Cover and let it hang out in a warm place overnight. Then just add the rest of your ingredients and mix as normal.

[fireheart]

In the South Park film, this scene occurs: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IiNYmiM0Nfw (definitely nsfw!!) originally that scene was going to involve cartmans mum engaging in certain acts with animals.

Funnily enough, keeping in with the theme of ass-related jokes in the film, the piano that is played during big gay als song later in the film is labelled "felcher and sons."

[EricKei]

Before he started doing movies, Elvis spent some time performing at the (long-since closed) Pontchartrain Beach amusement park in New Orleans.

The Purpose of "knocking on wood" is to awaken Wood Sprites to grant you wish. When Christian's adopted the practice it was said to be the same as knocking on the true cross, which makes no sense really.

Another (supposed) Christian interpretation is that worms which may be living in the wood are spies for that mean red dude who lives down below, and convey poorly-chosen words to him that people have said (read: their JOB is to give the evil GM ideas) if they say something that is just "begging for trouble" -- knocking startles and confuses the little buggers, so they forget whatever it was that you said.

[hinakiba777]

The dot on the letter i and j is called a tittle.

Benicio Del Toro wears a ring with a wooden stone in it, so that when he needs to "knock on wood," he can do so easily.

The Purpose of "knocking on wood" is to awaken Wood Sprites to grant you wish. When Christian's adopted the practice it was said to be the same as knocking on the true cross, which makes no sense really.

A group of owls is called a paliament. They are also called wisdoms or studies. Crows come in murders, and a group of ravens is called an unkindness. Which seems...unkind.

A group of Ferrets is called a business. A group of unicorns is called a blessing. A group of zombies is called a shambling. A group of God is called a Himself. (That being the Judeo-Christian God, not gods as in a pantheon. That always made me giggle. I used to have a graphic with the group names for all animal groups both Mystical, mythical, and real)

[sms001]

Spock shoots porn.



(Actually, Leonard Nimoy is a great photographer, some of which are nudes. And he's rather good.)

[fireheart]

A group of owls is called a paliament. They are also called wisdoms or studies. Crows come in murders, and a group of ravens is called an unkindness. Which seems...unkind.

A group of rhinos is called a crash.

Also for completely random facts, Australia is home to one of the deadliest spiders in the world, but there haven't been any fatalities recorded for just over 30 years now.

[Sunshine]

My grandmother taught george w in elementary school. Had to paddle him for misbehavior too. It didnt take apparently....lol

[violiavampyr]

Dalmatians are completely white at birth. Their spots don't come in for another few weeks.

[Tama]

Christopher Lloyd refrained from blinking while on camera as Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit in order to, per the Wiki article, "perfectly portray" the character.

[firecat88]

Ireland has the highest rate of people born with Spina Bifida in the world. North Carolina has the second highest.

[AnaKhouri]

A group of owls is called a paliament. They are also called wisdoms or studies. Crows come in murders, and a group of ravens is called an unkindness. Which seems...unkind.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Max Brooks, the author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, is the son of Mel Brooks.

[Bright_Star]

"Rocky" won an academy award for best picture of 1976.

[MoonCat]

Dave Thomas, the father of David Boreanaz, once hosted a children's TV show in Buffalo called Rocketship 7.

[jedimaster91]

The plastic tips at the end of shoelaces are called 'aglets'. Their true purpose is sinister.

Justice League quote for the win!