NationStates Jolt Archive

OK, just a little thread for people to post bizarre pieces of trivia. Feel free to challenge anything you think is false. I'll start off:

> The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

A man in Britain once killed himself because the numbers he always played in the lottery came up when he didn't play them...(though he only stood to win about 50 pounds...)

> 0.99... = 1

> 0.99... = 1

sort of...though in mathematical terms there's still a .0000.......1 difference between them
it's an infinte series of 0's endig in a 1. it's a paradox, i know. lol.

pound for pound, the human body generates more heat than the sun

> A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

sort of...though in mathematical terms there's still a .0000.......1 difference between them
it's an infinte series of 0's endig in a 1. it's a paradox, i know. lol.
it does not end in a 1, 'cause it does not end

1) Camelwrestling exists
2) A man prooved Pythagoras' Theorem in 520 different ways
3) you can stack 10 bowlingballs vertically without glue or support

The oldest still-functioning democratic legislative body is Iceland's Alting, founded by the Norwegian Vikings who settled there.

Even while his top generals ate off of golden plates, Atilla the Hun continued using his old wooden bowl and untensils.

Atilla the Hun died from a nose-bleed

Transylvania, most famous for its psychotic vampirism practicing nobles, was also the birth place of the Unitarian religion.

Rasputin was shot five times through the heart, and then thrown in a river. When his body was recovered later, it was found that he had died from drowning.

Rasputin was shot five times through the heart, and then thrown in a river. When his body was recovered later, it was found that he had died from drowning.

Wasn't he poisoned too?

Like Gaius Julis Caesar; being stabbed 33(? I think) times and still being able to say "Et tu, Brute?"

US President James K. Polk had a mullet.

The second biggest country in the world in terms of land area is the Republic of China.

US President James K. Polk had a mullet.

The second biggest country in the world in terms of land area is the Republic of China.

According to this (http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/GEOGRAPHY/LargeNations.html), Canada is the second biggest, and China is the third.

I ran out of snapple caps but as soon as I get one I post something especially meaningless

I ran out of snapple caps but as soon as I get one I post something especially meaningless

Don't you always post stuff that is especially meaningless?:D

According to this (http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/GEOGRAPHY/LargeNations.html), Canada is the second biggest, and China is the third.

That's why it is trivia.

The People's Republic of China is in 3rd place.

But the Republic of China (the government in Taiwan) is in 2nd place because they claim to rule over Taiwan, Mainland China, and Mongolia! Since several Central American and African nations recognize ROC as a sovereign state, then the Republic of China would be the second largest sovereign nation in the world.

That's why it is trivia.

The People's Republic of China is in 3rd place.

But the Republic of China (the government in Taiwan) is in 2nd place because they claim to rule over Taiwan, Mainland China, and Mongolia! Since several Central American and African nations recognize ROC as a sovereign state, then the Republic of China would be the second largest sovereign nation in the world.

And Mongolia? I was unaware.

Like Gaius Julis Caesar; being stabbed 33(? I think) times and still being able to say "Et tu, Brute?"

Lol. He also managed to kill two of the senators. The thing about politicians is that they suck at fighting and Caesar spent just about his whole life on the march.

Isn't overkill fun, though?

It's still "legal" to hang someone in Nevada, USA for shooting your dog on your property.

The eye of an ostrich is bigger than it's brain

The piano in the song Taking Care of Bussiness by Bachman-Turner Overdrive was played by a pizza delivary man who happened to bring a pie to the band during the recording session and said "ya know what that song needs...a piano" followed by a retort of "okay smart one then you play it"
The rest is history.

the earth moves faster than 800.000 kph

germanys most deadly weapon in WW1 was a single person.

germanys most deadly weapon in WW1 was a single person.
what did they do with him? drop his dead body (attached to a rope) on the enemy and then haul him back up?

germanys most deadly weapon in WW1 was a single person.

The Red Baron?

Women can open their anus willingly

Lol. He also managed to kill two of the senators. The thing about politicians is that they suck at fighting and Caesar spent just about his whole life on the march.

Isn't overkill fun, though?

He wounded the senators, not killed them - he was only armed with a stylus after all. Some of them also wounded each other, since there were so many trying to get around him.

He never said 'Et Tu Brute' (at least according to Suetonius), since he said it in Greek (which was the Roman equivalent of us using Latin - i.e. it sounded a bit pretentious and highbrow).

A piece of trivia of my own here - IIRC Caesar's was the first recorded post mortem (which is how they knew the number of stab wounds).

Women can open their anus willingly

'Can', but never do. Not in my experience, anyway...

OK, that was a pretty tasteless comment. I apologise. The Devil told me to do it!

every time you sneeze you have a tiny little orgasm

every time you sneeze you have a tiny little orgasm
I think you're having WAY better sneezes than the rest of us....

Though it is popularly believed that at the first showings of the Lumiere Bros. film "A Train Arriving at a Station" (keeping in mind that this is when the special effect for film was that it was moving...) the audience jumped out of thier seats as the train arrived, this actually never happened.

Eh? EH? A trivial reference about a trival reference about a trivial accuracy! See that come up in Trivial Pursuit....

Orson Welles was the original Shadow on the radio, but only when the character became central to the show. The first Shadow was the host of a mystery show. Orson did the voice, all except the opening because Orson couldn't do the famous laugh.

At the time Orson was doing several radio shows at once and would have stand ins at rehersals who would make notes on the scripts. He read the scripts for the first time on the air and said that often he had no idea how he was going to get out of some of the situations.

I kinda suck at this trivia thing. I'm really just boring......ah well.

I kinda suck at this trivia thing. I'm really just boring......ah well.
indeed

The longest wrestling match was almost 12 hours

Dolphins and some birds rest their brains one half at a time (only one side of the brain is ever asleep at one time). Dolphins have adapted this so they can sleep without drowning. Birds... I assume it's something to do with avoiding predators...

The german pilot Hans Ulrich Rudel flew over 2500 sorties in WW2, destroying over 500 tanks, 150 artillery pieces, 1000 other vehicles (mainly transports), a battleship, 2 cruisers and a destroyer, and lived to survive the war.

Extremely low frequency (<20 Hz) sounds damage your brain to the point where you can die of it.

The worlds largest living predator is the sperm whale*

*other whale species are larger, but these are filter feeders. The sperm whale actually hunts its prey, which includes giant squids...

Women can open their anus willingly

i do not want you to prove that one!
or did you learn this from experience?

i do not want you to prove that one!
or did you learn this from experience?


*Gag*

when McDonald's mayonnaise was tested for it's ingredients, they found 13 different types of sperm!

Turtles and some fishes don't age as other species do. They don't die unles they get eaten or get an infection.

Actually this hasn't been proven yet, but nobody hasn't prove the opposite either.

i do not want you to prove that one!
or did you learn this from experience?
Lucky me I just heard it was true

every time you sneeze you have a tiny little orgasm

one of the reasons I LOVE SNIFFING PEPPER!

when McDonald's mayonnaise was tested for it's ingredients, they found 13 different types of sperm!
Brits eat so much drugs (especially painkillers and antidepression pills) that traces of the drugs can be found in tab water.
In Finland they have found traces of minipills in the sea water.

The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache on a standard playing deck!

No piece of square dry paper can be folded more than 7 times in half!

The electric chair was invented by a dentist!

a raw egg once survived a fall from 230 metres

'Trivia' is derived from 'Trivium', a medieval course of grammer, rhetoric and logic.

Which in turn is derived from the latin for 'the place where three roads meet'.

1001 to 1
Odds for George W. Bush winning the Noble Prize this year. Same as Slobodan Milosevic (Centrebet)

1001 to 1
Odds for George W. Bush winning the Noble Prize this year. Same as Slobodan Milosevic (Centrebet)
I can only say

:eek:

Chinese eat 50.8% of all the pork in the world but own only 1.1% of vacuum cleaners.

1001 to 1
Odds for George W. Bush winning the Noble Prize this year. Same as Slobodan Milosevic (Centrebet)

Well, I'm sure he won't win a Nobel for literature or chemistry, but surely he's dead-on for the Peace prize? They gave it to Kissinger after all. Maybe he still hasn't killed enough people yet to qualify.

chewing broccali uses more calories than are absorbed by digesting it.

if you take a chicken egg that has no flaws in it. put you thumb at the base and put the first finger on the right (don't know technical name) at the tip. Then squeese. If the egg has no flaws you will be unable to brake it.

if you had 4 such eggs. put them on the bases on the floor, put a book on the eggs so that they are at the 4 corners, and stand on the book. The eggs won't brake.

The fear of vegetables is called Lachanophobia!

The fear of vegetables is called Lachanophobia!
Some people have that? whoa

Years on Uranus are as long as it's days

In Texas, it's against the law for anyone to have a pair of pliers in his or her possession.

In Philadelphia, you can't put pretzels in bags based on an Act of 1760.

Alaska law says that you can't look at a moose from an airplane.

In Corpus Christie, Texas, it is illegal to raise alligators in your home.

In Miami, it is forbidden to imitate an animal.

It is against the law to mispronounce the name of the State of Arkansas in that State.

In Illinois, the law is that a car must be driven with the steering wheel.

California law prohibits a woman from driving a car while dressed in a housecoat.

In Memphis, Tennessee, a woman is not to drive a car unless a man warns approaching motorists or pedestrians by walking in front of the car that is being driven.

In Tennessee, it is against the law to drive a car while sleeping.

In New York, it is against the law for a blind person to drive an automobile.

In West Virginia, only babies can ride in a baby carriage.

In Georgia, it is against the law to slap a man on the back or front.

A barber is not to advertise prices in the State of Georgia.

In Louisiana, a bill was introduced years ago in the State House of Representatives that fixed a ceiling on haircuts for bald men of 25 cents.

In Oklahoma, no baseball team can hit the ball over the fence or out of a ballpark.

In Rochester, Michigan, the law is that anyone bathing in public must have the bathing suit inspected by a police officer !


In Kentucky, it's the law that a person must take a bath once a year.

In Utah, birds have the right of way on any public highway.

In Ohio, one must have a license to keep a bear.

In Tennessee, a law exists which prohibits the sale of bologna (sandwich meat) on Sunday.

In Virginia, the Code of 1930 has a statute which prohibits corrupt practices or bribery by any person other than political candidates.

In Providence, Rhode Island, it is against the law to jump off a bridge.

In the State of Kansas, you're not allowed to drive a buffalo through a street.

In Florida, it is against the law to put livestock on a school bus.

In New Jersey, cabbage can't be sold on Sunday.

In Galveston, Texas, it is illegal to have a camel run loose in the street!

In North Carolina, it is against the law for dogs and cats to fight.

In Singapore, it is illegal to chew gum.

In Cleveland, Ohio, it is unlawful to leave chewing gum in public places.

In Virginia, chickens cannot lay eggs before 8:00 a.m., and must be done before 4:00 p.m.

In New York, it is against the law for children to pick up or collect cigarette and cigar butts.

In Massachusetts, it is against the law to put tomatos in clam chowder.

In Washington State, you can't carry a concealed weapon that is over 6 feet in length.

In San Francisco, there is an ordinance, which bans the picking up and throwing of used confetti.

In Kentucky, it is illegal for a merchant to force a person into his place of business for the purpose of making a sale.

It is against the law in Connecticut for a man to write love letters to a girl whose mother or father has forbidden the relationship.

In Michigan, married couples must live together or be imprisoned.

In the state of Colorado, a pet cat, if loose, must have a tail-light !

In Phoenix, Arizona, you can't walk through a hotel lobby with spurs on.

In California, a law created in 1925 makes it illegal to wiggle while dancing.

In Utah, daylight must be visible between dancing couples.

In Michigan, it is against the law for a lady to lift her skirt more than 6 inches while walking through a mud puddle.

In North Carolina, it is against the law for a rabbit to race down the street.

In Georgia, it's against the law to spread a false rumor.

In West Virginia, one can't cook sauerkraut or cabbage due to the odors and the offence is subject to imprisonment.

In Missouri, a man must have a permit to shave.

The law states that more than 3000 sheep cannot be herded down Hollywood Blvd. at any one time.

In Texas, it is still a "hanging offense" to steal cattle.

The longest word in the english language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Enjoy.

a village in wales

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

a village in wales

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Been there. They sell tapes from which you can learn to pronounse the name. Usually just llanfairpw.

Menneken Pis (in Antwerpen, Belgium) is rather small

Manneken Pis stands in Brussels actually.

Manneken Pis stands in Brussels actually.
DAMN! I knew I would make that mistake. When we, some friends and me, were in Brussels this summer, someone wanted to go and see Menneken Pis. Someone else said:"Ok, but we'd have to go to Antwerpen for that" We laughed at him real hard and now it's in my head that it's in Antwerpen. :mad: :headbang:

My point was that it was small

It takes an object abut 18 seconds to free-fall 1.6 kilometers.

Canadians are more likely to say "meh" in an actual conversation, than any other people in the world.

Lol. It is rather small, yes. ;)

Germans say "ne?" a lot

a village in wales

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

A hill in New Zealand:

Tetaumatawhakatangihangakoauaotamateaurehaeaturipukapihimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuaakitanarahu

http://www.fun-with-words.com/images/longname_nz.jpg

Kermit the Frog is Left-handed

> Blink 182 got their name (partially) from the number of times Robert DeNiro says f**k in the movie scarface - 182 times! ;)

Turtles can breath through their butts.

> The Nobel Peace Prize was founded by, and named after, Alfred Nobel, the inventor of TNT explosive.

> The Nobel Peace Prize was founded by, and named after, Alfred Nobel, the inventor of TNT explosive.
Save it for the common knowledge thread.

A hill in New Zealand:

Tetaumatawhakatangihangakoauaotamateaurehaeaturipukapihimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuaakitanarahu

http://www.fun-with-words.com/images/longname_nz.jpg
I believe that's the longest word in any language in the world. At least according to Guiness. Correct me if I'm wrong, please!

There are different sizes of infinities.

Orson Welles was the original Shadow on the radio,
which is why only adults were fooled into believing that "The war of the worlds" was a real alien invasion - all of the children recognised Welles' voice.

The only British warship still in enemy hands is a row boat from the Crimean war, which is on display in Finland. The RN offered to pay for Helsinki's streets to be paved if the Finns gave it back, but the Finns said no...

If you are travelling on a cruise ship in the middle of the atlantic ocean that is going anywhere between 10 and 20 knots in the direction east. The wind is going in the south direction but travelling at about 15 MPH. There may be whales in the water that you will be able to see with you own two eyes. But that is not all. If you threw a penny off the bows end and it landed in the water below you. The penny would sink to the bottom of the ocean never to be seen again.

There are different sizes of infinities.
Explain yourself.

Explain yourself.

Hmm. Ok, how about the sum of all odd numbers ( first infinity ) is larger than the sum of all even numbers (second infinity )? :)

Also, there are more numbers between 0 and 1 than there are integers.

Hmm. Ok, how about the sum of all odd numbers ( first infinity ) is larger than the sum of all even numbers (second infinity )? :)
A better answer would have been: http://scidiv.bcc.ctc.edu/Math/infinity.html

Hmm. Ok, how about the sum of all odd numbers ( first infinity ) is larger than the sum of all even numbers (second infinity )? :)
I call bullshit. There are no infinities between, so there cannot.

Cardinalities of infinity-
Whole/Natural numbers <=* Integers < rational numbers < real numbers < complex

There are a few equals, and if you want to get into numbers that you can get a PhDᆴ in science related fields without hearing of, you can go down a bit, but I've never run into those in actual use, only heard of them.


*My rule of thumb is "there must be infinite numbers included in the above set between any two of the previous set," but since integers (...,-2,-1,0,1,2,...) has infinite outside those (0,1,2,... and 1,2,3,...), it's not incorrect to say that there are more.

ᆴSpecifically, my Father's 30-something year old PhDs in Toxicology & Pharmicology. It was the first time I've ever heard him say "I don't know," and the only time I've ever heard "I've never heard of that." I'm not even out of undergrad yet, and know of them entirely because I met one professor who actually understoof when I started swearing in Arabic. That's a whole 'nother story, though.

Extremely low frequency (<20 Hz) sounds damage your brain to the point where you can die of it.
I cite bullshit (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_280a.html).
A later expansion on that, which you would need to register a $15 account on the forums to search for, goes on to say that "acute anxiety is pushing it." More of, you get discomfort, but unless the magnitudes were big enough to shake your inner ear apart (essentially, deafening), there wouldn't be much more than knowing you should hear something, but not quite knowing what.

Oh, yeah, my own...
A duck's quack really, truly does echo.

Humans taste like long pig.

A better answer would have been: http://scidiv.bcc.ctc.edu/Math/infinity.html

Don't miss a chance, do ya? Sigh. Well, you're right. That would have been a "better answer," however, not being a math major, or even very good at it, I gave the best one I could think of at the time. Forgive me for thinking that this was a "trivia" thread.

The Red Baron?
they drived this person in a locked and heavily guarded trainwaggon through the whole country and let him go at the russian border.
this person was called Lenin. :D

Germans say "ne?" a lot
wrong.

I cite bullshit (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_280a.html).
A later expansion on that, which you would need to register a $15 account on the forums to search for, goes on to say that "acute anxiety is pushing it." More of, you get discomfort, but unless the magnitudes were big enough to shake your inner ear apart (essentially, deafening), there wouldn't be much more than knowing you should hear something, but not quite knowing what.
Membranes of the brain could start resonating, possibly resulting in death

wrong.
I've found it to be true

I've found it to be true
dont think i say "ne?" very often. sometimes, as counterquestion maybe but it is anything but common. or i just dont notice, thats possible too.

Save it for the common knowledge thread.HAHAHA....you're so cool...

...anyway...

> Only one in every 2000 babies is born with a tooth.

> Hamsters can have sex about 75 times a day

> The shortest common word in the English language which contains all of the vowels in order is "facetious" (there is a word "aerious" which is shorter, but it is not recognised by most official dictionaries)

> Men are able to read fine print better than women can

Castro started his political career as a nationalist. Mussolini started his as a communist, he was even nicknamed "the anti patriot"

Brass Eye Trivia:

DR FOX (radio presenter) : Genetically, paedophiles have more genes in common with crabs than they do with you and me. Now that is scientific fact. There's no real "evidence" for it but it is scientific fact.

;)

White men can't jump

Atilla the Hun died from a nose-bleed

Rasputin was shot five times through the heart, and then thrown in a river. When his body was recovered later, it was found that he had died from drowning.
Attilla died during his wedding night. Of course he drunk copious amounts during the night. The story he died from a nosebleed isn't quite true.
The MUCH more likely scenario is: 'esophageal varices'.
Attila's death is a CLASSIC scenario for this event: a night of heavy drinking for a chronic heavy drinker. Chronic alcoholism leads to acid reflux disease which culminates eventually in esophageal varices rupturing. This is VERY common, in fact the public doesn't realize it, but this is the number one cause of death for chronic drinkers, NOT liver disease, which is number two.
Essentially we are talking about a hemmorhoid, only at the bottom of the esophagus instead of the rectum. When they rupture the victim drowns in his own blood, coughing and spitting up blood from mouth and nose. They usually die before getting a transfusion.
I think it is safe to say that Attila was a heavy, chronic drinker; most of the military men (and a helluva lot of other people) were in ancient days. Blood transfusions, of course, were not available."

Rasputin was invited to a dinner party where he was fed poisoned cakes and wine (cyanide, more than enough to kill a man). When that failed, he was shot six times. They left the body, but when they came back he had staggered off. So they beat him with chains (and supposedly cut off his extremely impressive shlong, which I believe is on display in a Museum in Russia) and finally threw him in the partially-frozen river. When his body was dragged out a couple of days later the autopsy showed water in his lungs - meaning he was still alive when chucked in.

No piece of square dry paper can be folded more than 7 times in half!
Actually the world record as it stands is 12 times. But that is with a piece of paper 300 metres long.
It has been calculated that, theoretically at least, if you took a sheet of A4 paper and folded it seventeen times it would be taller that the average house.
If, somehow, you managed twenty-five folds, the paper would be taller than the Matterhorn.

The plastic thingys at the end of shoelaces are called aglets, and the holes are called eglets. Good words to remember when playing scrabble. Also Ai, which is a three-toed Sloth.
A Boeing 747's wing-span is longer than the Wright brother's first flight.
The giant squid has the biggest eyes of any creature (about a foot/30 cm in diameter).
You can't lick your elbow
The original translation of Coca Cola in Chinese literally translated into "Lick the wax tadpole", or "Female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. They didn't realise that Chinese is a visual language. They just picked characters that sounded like Coca Cola.
Marilyn Monroe had 6 toes.
TYPEWRITER is the longest word you can make using just one row of the keyboard.
No words in the English langauge rhyme with:
Orange
Month
Silver





80% of ppl will try to lick their elbow when told this. Did you?

The oldest still-functioning democratic legislative body is Iceland's Alting, founded by the Norwegian Vikings who settled there.

Even while his top generals ate off of golden plates, Atilla the Hun continued using his old wooden bowl and untensils.

Atilla the Hun died from a nose-bleed

Transylvania, most famous for its psychotic vampirism practicing nobles, was also the birth place of the Unitarian religion.

Rasputin was shot five times through the heart, and then thrown in a river. When his body was recovered later, it was found that he had died from drowning.

He was also poisoned and had his genitalia cut off.

Another piece of trivia:
Most NationStater's don't read the previous replies before posting their own.

Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntlerg

There were 99 elevators in each of the two twin towers; 11
express cars to the lower sky lobby, 12 to the upper sky lobby; 72 local
passenger elevators and four freight systems. Including the ancillary
buildings, there was a total of 239 elevators and 74 escalators.

...and here's a TRULY useless piece of trivia:

> Jay Leno (of late night talkshow fame) and Pat Morita (Mr Miyagi from Karate Kid, also starred in Happy Days) were in a buddy cop movie together. The movie is called Collision Course (1989). Most people I've told this to think I'm pulling their leg. :p

Some people have that? whoa

Years on Uranus are as long as it's days



Actually, a year on Uranus is approximately 84 Earth years, and its day length is 17 hours and 14 minutes.


On Caesar ---> It is generally believed he never said "Et tu, Brute". That phrase though is thought to be a whistful last sigh to an old friend. In reality it is more a bitter curse towards him, along the lines of 'the same to you', meaning he wished Brutus would also be stabbed.

sort of...though in mathematical terms there's still a .0000.......1 difference between them
it's an infinte series of 0's endig in a 1. it's a paradox, i know. lol.

NOOOO!!!

There have been whole threads wasted on this, but I cannot help but supply an answer to this nonsense.

.99... = 1. Period. There is no difference between the two. None.

Moreover, there is no such number as "an infinite series of zeros ending in a 1." If there were, it would literally (no, not "almost" -- literally) equal zero. After all, what other number could come between it and zero? None. Therefore, they would have to be equal. Therefore, if you want to say the difference between 1 and .99... is ".000...1" (still nonsense), then FINE... because you are only saying that the difference between the two is 0, and they are the same number!!

Cardinalities of infinity-
Whole/Natural numbers <=* Integers < rational numbers < real numbers < complex

Some of that is correct... but, not all.

Your chart should look like more like this:

|Even naturals| = |odd naturals| = |all naturals| = |even integers| = |odd integers| = |all integers| = |rational numbers| < |irrational numbers|. Not positive off-hand that there are more real numbers than irrationals, but I'm willing to go with it. And yes, there are certainly more complex than real numbers.

> Blink 182 got their name (partially) from the number of times Robert DeNiro says f**k in the movie scarface - 182 times! ;)
Robert de Niro wasnt in scarface. i think you must mean Al Pacino.

There is a Superman hidden in every single episode of Seinfeld.

Another piece of trivia:
Most NationStater's don't read the previous replies before posting their own.

I read them about half the time. Obviously I read this one (thus the quote) and it ranks among the most interesting I've read.

It's not exactly trivia just an odd question: If con is the opposite of pro, then isn't congress the opposite of progress?

Go to Page 7 to see my actual bit of trivia. I posted it earlier.

Roughly 8% of the world's population is incapable of visual dreaming while asleep.

Wal-Mart is China's 8th largest trading partner, putting it ahead of the UK and Russia.

Robert de Niro wasnt in scarface. i think you must mean Al Pacino.
Yes, that was actually what I meant - thanks for picking that one up ;)

Here's another piece of trivia while I'm here:

> Xanthophobia is the fear of the color yellow or the word yellow :)

You can't lick your elbow
I can.
You have to go at it from a slightly different angle from the one that you'd try automatically- if you're trying to lick your right elbow, put your right hand over your right shoulder, push the elbow towards your mouth with your left hand and stick your tongue out. You can get it with the bottom of your tongue.

> The Japanese cremate 93 percent of their dead, as compared to Great Britain at 67 percent and the United States at just over 12 percent.

NOOOO!!!

There have been whole threads wasted on this, but I cannot help but supply an answer to this nonsense.

.99... = 1. Period. There is no difference between the two. None.

Moreover, there is no such number as "an infinite series of zeros ending in a 1." If there were, it would literally (no, not "almost" -- literally) equal zero. After all, what other number could come between it and zero? None. Therefore, they would have to be equal. Therefore, if you want to say the difference between 1 and .99... is ".000...1" (still nonsense), then FINE... because you are only saying that the difference between the two is 0, and they are the same number!!

yes there is!

.99999999999....+1=1.9999999999.....

NOT 2

I believe that's the longest word in any language in the world. At least according to Guiness. Correct me if I'm wrong, please!

Well, you did ask....all I can say is thank f*ck for copy/paste.

The longest official word ever (1,913 letters) is the term for the formula C1289 H2051 N343O375 S8

Methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenyl-
alanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysyglutamyl-
gycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonyl-
leucylglycylaspartylprolylglycyllisoleucylglutamylglutaminyl-
serylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucyl-
glutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucyl-
glycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucyl-
alanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginyl-
alanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanyl-
glycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanyl-
glutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyl-
lysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucyl-
leucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenylalanyl-
asparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyl-
tyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalyl-
aspartylsrylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalyl-
glutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminyl-
alanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanyl-
prolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartyl-
alanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminyl-
isoleucylalanylseryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyl-
tyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycyl-
alanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylleucyllysyl-
glutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminyl-
glycylphenylalanylglysylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminyl-
valyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylalanyl-
glycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucyl-
isoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamyl-
prolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenyl-
alanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginy-
lserine.

And I would like to thank the HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy (http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A182765) for that

Moreover, there is no such number as "an infinite series of zeros ending in a 1." If there were, it would literally (no, not "almost" -- literally) equal zero. After all, what other number could come between it and zero? None. Therefore, they would have to be equal. Therefore, if you want to say the difference between 1 and .99... is ".000...1" (still nonsense), then FINE... because you are only saying that the difference between the two is 0, and they are the same number!!

I find fault in that logic. It that were true you could say that ANY number equals ANY other number just by dint of logic.

Let's use whole numbers for the example beause it's quicker.
By your logic, 1 equals 2 because there's no other number who could come between 1 and 2. Same thing for 2 and 3. Again for 3 and 4. Therefore 1 equals 4 because 1=2=3=4.

...and here's a TRULY useless piece of trivia:

> Jay Leno (of late night talkshow fame) and Pat Morita (Mr Miyagi from Karate Kid, also starred in Happy Days) were in a buddy cop movie together. The movie is called Collision Course (1989). Most people I've told this to think I'm pulling their leg. :pGene Wilder (Blazing Saddles) and Harrison Ford (Star Wars) did a western together also. Who can name it?

the most consumed vegitable in the USA is French fries, not potato but French fries

$1.19 is the most you can have in coins and still not break a dollar bill.

Gene Wilder (Blazing Saddles) and Harrison Ford (Star Wars) did a western together also. Who can name it?

A. The Frisco Kid (1979) :p

And still with movie trivia:

> In Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987), Doug Bradley's character's name wasn't "Pinhead". He was just named "Lead Cenobite", but was given the name shortly after the film started.

Well, I'm sure he won't win a Nobel for literature or chemistry, but surely he's dead-on for the Peace prize? They gave it to Kissinger after all. Maybe he still hasn't killed enough people yet to qualify.

And Nelson Mandela, Gorbachev, Yasser Arafat, Le Duc Tho, Martin Luther King (whose 'non-violent' demonstrations really weren't very 'non-violent,'), Jimmy Carter, etc.

posted by New Fubaria
> Only one in every 2000 babies is born with a tooth.

As was Louis XIV, with more than 1 tooth, much to the dismay of his wet nurse.

--Gene Wilder (Blazing Saddles) and Harrison Ford (Star Wars) did a western together also. Who can name it?
Frisco Kid!

> Elvis Presley made only one television commercial - an ad for "Southern Maid Doughnuts" that ran in 1954.

> While Motorhead's "1916" was released in 1991 and Rush's "2112" was released in 1976, Van Halen's 1984 was actually released in 1984...

if you pick up a guenia pig by the tail, it's eyes will fall out....

The dot above an "i" or a "j" is called a "tittle".

*giggles like an immature child*

The lowest denomination of U.S. currency isn't the penny-it's something called the "mill", authorized by Congress a long time ago but never minted. Maybe that's why they can charge our gasoline by 9/10 of a gallon...

> Brazil accounts for almost 1/3 of the world's coffee production, producing over 3-1/3 billion pounds of coffee each year.

People don't do heroin because meph is cheaper!

People don't do heroin because meph is cheaper!
meth?

The longest word in the english language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Enjoy.

It actually isn't, there's a much longer word that I can't remember and that has almost no use at all ever.

> Jimi Hendrix was the opening act for the Monkees on their first tour.

If a young adolescent turkey looks up when it's raining, it can drown

Pigs can't look at the sky

Heart muscle cells contract natually. The cardiac tissue is the only tissue which can contract without electrical impulses.

An ostrich was once found with half the components necessary for a simple combustion engine in its stomach.

Goats will not eat anything - they will not eat my socks

Well, you did ask....all I can say is thank f*ck for copy/paste.

The longest official word ever (1,913 letters) is the term for the formula C1289 H2051 N343O375 S8

Methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenyl-
alanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysyglutamyl-
gycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonyl-
leucylglycylaspartylprolylglycyllisoleucylglutamylglutaminyl-
serylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucyl-
glutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucyl-
glycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucyl-
alanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginyl-
alanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanyl-
glycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanyl-
glutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyl-
lysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucyl-
leucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenylalanyl-
asparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyl-
tyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalyl-
aspartylsrylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalyl-
glutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminyl-
alanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanyl-
prolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartyl-
alanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminyl-
isoleucylalanylseryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyl-
tyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycyl-
alanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylleucyllysyl-
glutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminyl-
glycylphenylalanylglysylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminyl-
valyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylalanyl-
glycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucyl-
isoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamyl-
prolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenyl-
alanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginy-
lserine.

And I would like to thank the HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy (http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A182765) for that
Proteins are named in shorter ways than simply naming their amino acids. Also, scientific words and general names of places are not allowed in word length measurements. the SOED shows antidisestablishmentarianism to be the longest word, although it isn't really a word because it is contradictory.

in India they have nursing homes for cows. :confused:

Proteins are named in shorter ways than simply naming their amino acids. Also, scientific words and general names of places are not allowed in word length measurements. the SOED shows antidisestablishmentarianism to be the longest word, although it isn't really a word because it is contradictory.

Antidisestablishmentarianism is a valid word, as it means: the opposition of the separation of church and state. Establishmentarianism is the favoring of the church and state being one, just as disestablishmentarianism is the separation of church and state. The act of opposing disestablishmentarianism is antidisestablishmentarianism. Therefore, it is a valid word.

The record for the number of beers drunk on a flight from Melbourne to London is 52.

chewing broccali uses more calories than are absorbed by digesting it.
thought that was celery

Sleeping takes more energy than watching TV

Napoleon was going to build a giant elephant instead of the Arc de Triomphe. (Strange but true)

thought that was celery

Celery, and I believe cucumbers, although that may not be true.

if you pick up a guenia pig by the tail, it's eyes will fall out....
Guinea pigs don't have tails. Hang on I'll just go check....


<sounds of pigs squealing>



Nope. No tail. And when I pick up my gf's pigs and hold them upside down by their hind legs their eyes stay firmly inside their sockets. Still two eyes per pig.

I think perhaps another urban myth there.

Appreciate it if no-one tells my gf how I tease her pets, btw.

Edison tried to invent a gun-powder powered engine for a helicopter . . .
he blew up his lab, and decided to stop work on that project.

Rainfall is measured with a Ombrometer.

Alcohol is added to soap to make it clear.

Pearls melt in vinegar.

The hottest flame known is produced with carbon subnitride (C4N2), which can generate a temperature of 4988°C.

For every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel are needed at lift-off.

A single ounce of gold can be beaten into a thin film covering a hundred square feet.

To 'crack' a whip, the tip must be travelling faster than the speed of sound.

Sugar was first added to chewing gum in 1869 . . . by a dentist ( William Semple)

For reasons of security, only people who were illiterate were considered for more routine jobs at the first atomic bomb construction centre in New Mexico.

The screwdriver was invented before the screw.

Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave.

The energy released in the ten minutes of a normal hurricane is roughly equivalent to the energy contained in all the nuclear stockpiles of the world.

The typewriter was invented in 1829, and the automatic dishwasher in 1889.

The first taxi with metered fares were operational in 1907.

Rubber is an impertinent ingredient in the manufacture of bubble gum.

There is enough petrol in a full tank of a Jumbo Jet to drive an average car four times around the world.

Pierre and Marie Currie's notebooks were sold in auction in 1984, after their radiation levels were checked.

The zeppelin 'The Hindenburg' which exploded in a huge fireball, was filled with hydrogen.

The United States consumes 25% of all the worlds energy.

Speleology is the study of Caves.

The wristwatch was invented in 1904 by Louis Cartier.

The stratosphere is higher than the troposphere.

The search for the existence of ghosts is Eidology

Guinea pigs don't have tails. Hang on I'll just go check....


<sounds of pigs squealing>



Nope. No tail. And when I pick up my gf's pigs and hold them upside down by their hind legs their eyes stay firmly inside their sockets. Still two eyes per pig.

I think perhaps another urban myth there.

Appreciate it if no-one tells my gf how I tease her pets, btw.
:D sadisticly funny

SEX!!!!!


Now that I have your attention...



In the state of California, it is illegal to peel oranges in hotel rooms.

In New York City, it is illegal to leave your horse tied outside of a bar if you go inside to get a drink.

In the state of Idaho, the only legal place to shoot a whale is from the back of a pickup truck.

President William Howard Taft remains the only U.S. president to have been stuck in a bathtub.

Goldfish have a 7 second memory span.

Having an orgasm is 400% more effective at inducing drowsiness/relaxation than Valium.

During filming of the Moulin Rouge, Nicole Kidman broke a rib.

Alexander Grahm Bell got a patent for his telephone only hours before someone else tried to do the same.

Certain deserts in Peru average less than 0.02 inches of annual rainfall, making them the driest places on earth.

Humans and Dolphins are the only 2 animals that have sex for pleasure.

Humans and Elephants are the only 2 animals that fear seeing corpses of their own species.

In terms of risk demographics, lesbians are the least likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease.

A nuclear power plant emits less radiation in to the environment than a television.

During World War II, only 2 civilian deaths attributable to the war occured on U.S. soil.

Current president George W. Bush tried to ban use of the colour purple on official government documents because he felt it was suggestive of homosexuality.

Only 3 people in the world have been able to execute a "900" on a skateboard.

In Star Trek, a type 2 phaser pistol is capable of vaporizing 650 cubic meters of rock.

Due to the fact that their feet do not damage grass, the fact that they can carry 100+ pounds, and the fact that they can be trained in less than 10 minutes, Llamas make excellent golf caddies.

*bows*

The record for the number of beers drunk on a flight from Melbourne to London is 52.
I heard that it was that Aussie cricketer David Boon wasn't it?

Proteins are named in shorter ways than simply naming their amino acids. Also, scientific words and general names of places are not allowed in word length measurements. the SOED shows antidisestablishmentarianism to be the longest word, although it isn't really a word because it is contradictory.
There is a word 1 letter longer:
floccinaucinihilipilification
Defined as "the act of estimating as worthless"
Jesse Helms once used it in a speech. As the first usage was 1741, there's ever possibility he may have in fact invented it himself. He was pretty bloody old, remember.

There is also:
Antidisestablishmentarianistically
an abverb of the above word.
and:
Pro-pseudocontraneoantidisestablishmentarianalistically
which is "in favour of the false behaviour in the manner of a person belonging to the movement opposed to the new version of the movement opposed to the first movement."

The word:
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Defined as "a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica or quartz dust." But however there are strong indications that the word was coined by puzzler Everett Smith in 1935 as a hypothetical long word that could result from the protraction of medical terms. The actual name of the disease is pneumoconiosis, which is 14 letters long.


The longest 'word' in the English langauge could arguably be Human mitochondrial DNA, at 207 000+ letters.
But that's just getting silly.

Alexander Grahm Bell got a patent for his telephone only hours before someone else tried to do the same.
It's worth reading about the history behind this bit of trivia.
The other guy, Elisha Gray, apparently was on the right track for making the first telephone and when Bell caught wind of what Gray was doing immediately sent off his plans, which weren't nearly as advanced and weren't working properly to the patent office.
Bell's plans got there in the morning and Gray's in the afternoon.
Because Bell's were first, even though they were incomplete - more of an idea for a telephone than any actual invention - they were accepted and Gray's rejected.
Strangely enough, a week or so after Gray's plans were submitted, Bell had an 'insight' into how to solve the problems he'd been having and produced a phone remarkably similar to the design Gray had submitted.
A lengthy lawsuit occurred, but it was eventually found in favour of Bell.
Years later, the Patent officer admitted showing Gray's plans to Bell.

Just some more trivia for you.

I heard that it was that Aussie cricketer David Boon wasn't it?

beat Mev Hughes record of 51 :)

The zeppelin 'The Hindenburg' which exploded in a huge fireball, was filled with hydrogen.
If this is considered trivia, I may just have to kill myself.

It's worth reading about the history behind this bit of trivia.
The other guy, Elisha Gray, apparently was on the right track for making the first telephone and when Bell caught wind of what Gray was doing immediately sent off his plans, which weren't nearly as advanced and weren't working properly to the patent office.
Bell's plans got there in the morning and Gray's in the afternoon.
Because Bell's were first, even though they were incomplete - more of an idea for a telephone than any actual invention - they were accepted and Gray's rejected.
Strangely enough, a week or so after Gray's plans were submitted, Bell had an 'insight' into how to solve the problems he'd been having and produced a phone remarkably similar to the design Gray had submitted.
A lengthy lawsuit occurred, but it was eventually found in favour of Bell.
Years later, the Patent officer admitted showing Gray's plans to Bell.

Just some more trivia for you.

Ooh, more trivia for you, if that's your cup of tea.

Thomas Edison did NOT, in fact, invent the lightbulb. Nor did Columbus discover America.

Joseph Swann produced a cruder version of the lightbulb, which Edison vastly improved on later. And as for America, credit goes to the Vikings, who had settlements in newfoundland hundreds of years before Columbus was even born.

If this is considered trivia, I may just have to kill myself.
can I have your cd player?

can I have your cd player?
Sorry, don't own a cd player. I guess you could have my iPod if you want.

And, in the interest of staying on topic: Oda Nobunaga, a Japanese feudal lord, used "Napoleonic" military tactics about 200 years before Napoleon began his military campaigns.

I guess you could have my iPod if you want.

*shrugs* i'll take it

beat Mev Hughes record of 51 :)

Boony is GOD! :p

Boony is GOD! :p
Boof is better he is South Australian

Boof is better he is South Australian

Boof's an acolyte, where's his huge moustache?

Boof's an acolyte, where's his huge moustache?
meh ill concede that

meh ill concede that

And now Hookesy's gone, Boof's a mere shadow of his former self.

OK, let's see...
The world's termites outweigh the world's humans by 10 to 1

There are enough explosives on Earth to annihilate mankind 50 000 times over

In the last 3000 years of human history, there have been approximately 230 years of peace in the civilised world.

During filming of the Moulin Rouge, Nicole Kidman broke a rib.
Not really trivia. In fact not really interesting either.
I mean, who cares?

Certain deserts in Peru average less than 0.02 inches of annual rainfall, making them the driest places on earth.
The driest place on Earth is parts of Antartica which get no rainfall. No snow or ice either.

Humans and Dolphins are the only 2 animals that have sex for pleasure.
Who came up with this? I think every animal has sex for pleasure. Why else would they do it? Go down to a farm and watch a bunch of steers in a paddock. They spend the whole time trying to hump each other. Obviously not for procreation puroposes, so surely for pleasure.

Humans and Elephants are the only 2 animals that fear seeing corpses of their own species.
Another thing they have in common: Elephants knees bend forward like our own.
Elephants can't jump either.

A nuclear power plant emits less radiation in to the environment than a television.
Well aside from Chernobyl and 3-mile island that is...

During World War II, only 2 civilian deaths attributable to the war occured on U.S. soil.
That was an idiot who tried to pick up one of those paper balloon incendiary devices the Japanese sent over on the jet stream.

And as for America, credit goes to the Vikings, who had settlements in newfoundland hundreds of years before Columbus was even born.
Erik the Red's son I think it was, Leif Erikson. Around the turn of the first Millenium. Settled for a dozen or so years and then were driven off by hostile indian tribes. Who of course had found America 10 000 years previous to either Leif or Chris.

The zeppelin 'The Hindenburg' which exploded in a huge fireball, was filled with hydrogen.
"Oh, the Humanity!!"
Not about the fireball, but being told this info.

Uranus' planetary axis makes only and 8 degree angle with the orbital ellipse, making Uranus' days about as long as an Uranian year

There are three scientific explanations of how planes fly. One is speed creating lift, one is pressure differences creating lift and one is downwash from the wing creating lift by pushing. They are all true and they are all apparently mutually exclusive. Basically planes fly and we don't really understand why. Best not to think about it when travelling really.

Like Gaius Julis Caesar; being stabbed 33(? I think) times and still being able to say "Et tu, Brute?"


The first stab was through his wrist with a pen. :)

Alexander Grahm Bell got a patent for his telephone only hours before someone else tried to do the same.


Hardly trivia. If you want trivia connected with him try this: after he died the entire telephone system in the USA and Canada was shut down for one minute as a tribute to him on 4th August 1922.

Hardly trivia. If you want trivia connected with him try this: after he died the entire telephone system in the USA and Canada was shut down for one minute as a tribute to him on 4th August 1922.


what then, if not trivia.

did you know:

that trivia is defined on dictionary dot com thusly:

'Insignificant or inessential matters; trifles.'

did you know:

the above bit of trivia qualifies this post for most post modern post ever

did you know:

4 hobbits died and 15 were hurt in the making of lord of the rings - 2 towers.

the disclaimer 'no animals were harmed in the making of this film' was only legally used because hobbits are not real animals.

what then, if not trivia.

Banality: trivia also should contain something of the unusual in it. To say that a 'cat has four legs' isn't trivia, nor is saying 'like many others inventors AGB received a patent for his invention just before a competitor did'. Now if we were to say something like 'millipedes don't actually have a thousand legs, 700 is about the largest number recorded' or 'AGB was trying to invent a device for speaking to the dead and as a result of his research invented the telephone', then these are trivial, but not entirely banal.

Some of the first land animals were millipededs. TWO METRE long millipedes!

Banality: trivia also should contain something of the unusual in it. To say that a 'cat has four legs' isn't trivia, nor is saying 'like many others inventors AGB received a patent for his invention just before a competitor did'. Now if we were to say something like 'millipedes don't actually have a thousand legs, 700 is about the largest number recorded' or 'AGB was trying to invent a device for speaking to the dead and as a result of his research invented the telephone', then these are trivial, but not entirely banal.

perhaps they should change this thread to 'the unusual trivia thread'

till then - long live banality i say

> Humble pie was a 17th century English dish made with the heart, liver, kidneys, etc. of a deer, baked in a crust with apples, currants and spices.