# Useless facts



## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 13, 2006)

Post a useless but interesting fact.
Who knows, you might get some rep.


It costs more to buy a new car today in the United States than it cost
Christopher Columbus to equip and undertake three voyages to and from the
New World


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## MtnBiker (Jun 13, 2006)

The fortune cookie was invented in 1916 by George Jung, a Los Angeles noodlemaker


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## GotZoom (Jun 13, 2006)

Ethiopia means "Land of Sunburned Faces" in Greek.


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## Shattered (Jun 13, 2006)

GotZoom said:
			
		

> Ethiopia means "Land of Sunburned Faces" in Greek.



The above is a completely useless fact.


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## GotZoom (Jun 13, 2006)

Shattered said:
			
		

> The above is a completely useless fact.



I thought it was interesting too.

(Just for you)

Cats, camels, and giraffes are the only animals in the world that walk right foot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot, left foot, etc.


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## Joz (Jun 13, 2006)

Barbie's full name is, Barbra Millicent Roberts


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## Shattered (Jun 13, 2006)

GotZoom said:
			
		

> I thought it was interesting too.
> 
> (Just for you)
> 
> Cats, camels, and giraffes are the only animals in the world that walk right foot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot, left foot, etc.



Silly boy.

Pointing out that your useless fact was indeed a useless fact was MY useless fact.


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## Abbey Normal (Jun 13, 2006)

Bananas are America's #1 fruit.

(acutally, I thought that was kind of interesting).

I'll try harder.


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## Bonnie (Jun 13, 2006)

The corkscrew was invented by M.L. Bryn, of New York, in 1860.


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## Abbey Normal (Jun 13, 2006)

A Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband doesn't give her coffee.


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## Bonnie (Jun 13, 2006)

In Lehigh, Nebraska it's against the law to sell donut holes.


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## Bonnie (Jun 13, 2006)

Under the law of Mississippi, theres no such thing as a female Peeping Tom.:tng:


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## Mr. P (Jun 13, 2006)

Mr. P is a STUD! NOT. :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:


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## manu1959 (Jun 13, 2006)

Abbey Normal said:
			
		

> Bananas are America's #1 fruit.
> 
> (acutally, I thought that was kind of interesting).
> 
> I'll try harder.



tomatos are a fruit so my fact is more useless

oh and thomas crapper invented the shitter


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## deaddude (Jun 13, 2006)

You are more likely to die choking on shark meat than you are to die in a shark attack.


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## jillian (Jun 13, 2006)

Abbey Normal said:
			
		

> A Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband doesn't give her coffee.



Ah...my kind of town! :cof: 

The little indented space between your nose and upper lip is called the philtrum. 

yeah...that's pretty useless. :scratch:


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## Joz (Jun 13, 2006)

There are 2,598,900 5-card hands in a 52 card deck.


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## Dan (Jun 13, 2006)

Right now my foot feels kind of normal.


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## manu1959 (Jun 13, 2006)

i could post something really witty but i can't


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## Dan (Jun 13, 2006)

You should.


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## manu1959 (Jun 13, 2006)

Dan said:
			
		

> You should.



u 1st


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## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 13, 2006)

Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, was home to Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Anoka, MN (where I live) is the Halloween Capitol of the World

The writers of The Simpsons have never revealed what state Springfield is in. (my guess would be Confusion)

Bruce was the nickname of the mechanical shark used in the "Jaws" movies, which is where the creators of Finding Nemo got the name for their great white shark.

Billy Idol's song "White Wedding" was written about when Billy's younger sister got pregnant at 16 and their parents made her get married to the father.


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## jillian (Jun 13, 2006)

fuzzykitten99 said:
			
		

> Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, was home to Rocky and Bullwinkle.
> 
> Anoka, MN (where I live) is the Halloween Capitol of the World
> 
> ...



*Addendum* Bruce the mechanical shark was given the name because it was Spielberg's lawyer's name.


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## Avatar4321 (Jun 13, 2006)

I like swords.


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## Abbey Normal (Jun 14, 2006)

Disney World in Orlando, Florida covers 30,500 acres (46 square miles), making it twice the size of the island of Manhattan, New York.


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## Mr.Conley (Jun 14, 2006)

fuzzykitten99 said:
			
		

> Billy Idol's song "White Wedding" was written about when Billy's younger sister got pregnant at 16 and their parents made her get married to the father.


I'm sorry, but that was not a useless fact at all. I've been wondering what that song was about forever.

Oh, you can't tie an alligator to a fire hydrant in New Orleans.


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## Mr.Conley (Jun 14, 2006)

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world.


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## Semper Fi (Jun 14, 2006)

Coca-Cola in Japanese means "to make mouth happy"

Iceland consumes the most Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola originally cost 5 cents, was green, and intended to cure hangovers and morphine addictions by being mixed with water.

There never was cocaine added to Coca-Cola, there were, however, trace amounts from the Coca leaf, from which the drink was made.


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## Avatar4321 (Jun 14, 2006)

The largest area of fresh water is found in the Guarani Aquifer, a expanse of groundwater which lies beneath Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.


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## dilloduck (Jun 14, 2006)

Avatar4321 said:
			
		

> The largest area of fresh water is found in the Guarani Aquifer, a expanse of groundwater which lies beneath Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.



Now there's a fact that may not be all that useless !


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

Groucho Marx never said "Who are you going to believe? Me or your own eyes?" that line was actually said by his brother Chico

Humphrey Bogart never said "Play it again Sam" in the movie Casablanca, he merely said "Play it"

The potato is originally from South America

Tom Cruise is from Syracuse, New York and originally wanted to be a priest

Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of Spring

The Great Pyramid was the tallest man made structure in the world from the time it was built in 2400 BC until the time the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris in 1889

The number zero did not exist until its invention by the Indian mathematician, Brahmagupta, in the 7th century

Until the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China, the Great Wall of China was the only man made object visible from the moon

The Persians invented the customs of shaking hands, wearing trousers and celebrating one's birthday

Romanian is a romance language like Italian, Portugese, Spanish, and French.

According to imdb.com, Paul Reubens, a.k.a. "Pee Wee Herman" was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps (sorry, Semper Fi, things like that happen!  ).

Captain James T. Kirk's middle name is "Tiberius"

The pilot episode of Star Trek, "The Cage", was based on the movie "Forbidden Planet" which in turn was based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

The tallest mountain known to Man is not on Earth, but on Mars. Olympus Mons is 88,600 feet high (about 27 kilometers), over three times taller than Mount Everest. The mountain takes up the same surface area as the state of Arizona. The tallest mountain on Earth, not the highest,  is the island of Hawaii, it stands over 31,000 feet tall from the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The highest mountain on Earth is as everyone knows, Mount Everest at 29,028 feet.

"Heroin" is a registered trade mark of the Bayer Corporation (as in Bayer Aspirin)

The calendar we now use is called "The Gregorian Calendar" after Pope Gregory. In it leap years occur every 4 years, except for century years not divisible by 400 (so 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was).

The first coded message was invented by Julius Caeser.


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## no1tovote4 (Jun 14, 2006)

Penguins have knees.


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## Shattered (Jun 14, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> Penguins have knees.



So do I.  You don't see me bragging about it. :cof:


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## Shattered (Jun 14, 2006)

No word in the English language rhymes with "MONTH".

It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 14, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> Penguins have knees.


oh yeah, well kangaroos have retractable testicles.


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

Shattered said:
			
		

> No word in the English language rhymes with "MONTH".


or "orange"


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## Joz (Jun 14, 2006)

The 'Looney Tunes' song is actually called, The Merry-go-round is broken down.


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## Shattered (Jun 14, 2006)

There is a seven letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.


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## Joz (Jun 14, 2006)

Dirty Harry's badge number is 2211.


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## Bonnie (Jun 14, 2006)

President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to announce to the world that Maxwell House coffee is "Good to the last drop."


Chewing gum is outlawed in Singapore because it is a means of "tainting an environment free of dirt."


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## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 14, 2006)

Dan Aykroyd was born with syndactylism. He has webbed toes.


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## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 14, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> or "orange"



or purple.


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## Abbey Normal (Jun 14, 2006)

Mr.Conley said:
			
		

> I'm sorry, but that was not a useless fact at all. I've been wondering what that song was about forever.
> 
> Oh, you can't tie an alligator to a fire hydrant in New Orleans.



I had always heard that "White Wedding" was a euphemism for doing both heroin and cocaine.  :huh:


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## The ClayTaurus (Jun 14, 2006)

The Smashing Pumpkins' cheerful-sounding song "Today" (with the sing-songy lyric: "Today is the greatest day I've ever known") is actually about Corgan contemplating suicide.


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

Bonnie said:
			
		

> President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to announce to the world that Maxwell House coffee is "Good to the last drop."


The Teddy Bear got its name from Theodore Roosevelt. Legend has it that, while hunting, he was brought a bear cub and refused to shoot it.


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

Greenwich Mean Time is sometimes referred to as "Zulu Time".


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 14, 2006)

Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore were freshman roommates at Harvard.


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

Lauren Bacall and former Israeli Prime Minister,Shimon Peres,  are cousins

Singer Carly Simon is the daughter of Richard Simon, who co-founded Simon and Schuster Publishing Company.


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 14, 2006)

The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 14, 2006)

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.


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## The ClayTaurus (Jun 14, 2006)

Duct tape's original use was to keep ammunition dry during WWII.


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## jillian (Jun 14, 2006)

Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve were roommates at Juliard.

Sigourney Weaver's birth name was Susan Weaver and is the daughter of former NBC President Sylvester "Pat" Weaver.

Ripley's cat in Alien is named Jones.


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

The ClayTaurus said:
			
		

> Duct tape's original use was to keep ammunition dry during WWII.


"Radar" is actually an acronym for "Radio Detection and Ranging"


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

The real names of the Marx Brothers were

Groucho - Julius

Harpo - Adolph

Chico - Leonard

Zeppo - Herbert


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## Abbey Normal (Jun 14, 2006)

Most lipstick contains fish scales.


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## Abbey Normal (Jun 14, 2006)

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.


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## GotZoom (Jun 14, 2006)

Many sailors used to wear gold earrings so that they could afford a proper burial when they died.


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## 5stringJeff (Jun 14, 2006)

One cannot see the Great Wall of China from space.  It's roughly the same width as a four-lane highway.  You'd have better luck seeing Interstate 5 between Tacoma and Seattle.


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## Semper Fi (Jun 14, 2006)

5stringJeff said:
			
		

> One cannot see the Great Wall of China from space.  It's roughly the same width as a four-lane highway.  You'd have better luck seeing Interstate 5 between Tacoma and Seattle.



Very good.

You can, however, see the light from the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, because of it's blue light atop the pyramid that shines straight up.


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## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 14, 2006)

Director Garry Marshall owns and has lived in the same house that Julie Andrews stayed in while filming Mary Poppins, for over 30 years.

Incidentally, the first Princess Diaries, directed by Garry Marshall, in which Julie Andrews starred in, was filmed on the same sound stage that Mary Poppins was filmed.

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. (this must be where the dumb blonde theory comes in! :tng: )

Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave

The Ramses brand condom is named after the great phaoroh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds recieved in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan (Wendy) are the only two Disney cartoon features with both parents that are present and don't die during the movie. 

The soft raised underside of a horse's hoof is called the 'frog'.

To "testify" was based on men in the Roman court swearing to a statement made by swearing on their testicles.


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## no1tovote4 (Jun 14, 2006)

fuzzykitten99 said:
			
		

> If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds recieved in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.



http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.htm

&

http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usamhi...graphies/animals/Horses/equestrianstatues.doc

I hate to tell you this one...  This one is a romantic urban myth...  Two sources confirm that there is no actual relation to hooves and the type of death of a soldier...

Also added to the myth, if the soldier is standing beside the horse the horse died in the battle.

It is however a vocational standard, but all statues are not made specifically by those who are by vocation statue makers...


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## no1tovote4 (Jun 14, 2006)

The Camel Brigade really did happen....

The Army experimented with Camels as an alternative to horses in the 1800s...


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## Joz (Jun 14, 2006)

Kermit is left-handed.


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## Mr.Conley (Jun 14, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Kermit is left-handed.


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## no1tovote4 (Jun 14, 2006)

The "truism" that humans only use 10% of their minds is a myth...

Unfortunately we use most of our minds, which begs the question...

Is this all that there is?!

:scratch:


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

The brightest star in the sky is Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major

The nearest star to our sun is Proxima Centauri at 4.2 light years (a light year is the distance light travels in a year, approximately 6 trillion miles)

Only 5 planets were known up until the 1700s, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The planet Pluto was not discovered until the 1930s

Mercury and Venus are the only two planets that do not have a moon

The largest planet is Jupiter. If hollowed out, it could contain 1,000 planets the size of Earth.

The only moon in the Solar System with an atmosphere is Titan, which orbits the planet Saturn

The four largest moons of Jupiter are known as "The Gallilean Moons" because Galileo Gallelei was the first to see them.

The planet planet with the most moons, 21, is Uranus.

The largest star in our galaxy that is known to us is the star Betelgeuse with an estimated radius of 650 Solar Radii (about 270 million miles).

The largest crater on our moon is Ptolemy, with a diameter of 153 kilometers (91 miles) and a depth of 2.4 Km (1.4 miles)

On another note....

The smelliest substance known is Ethanethiol. Humans can detect the smell of ethanethiol in concentrations as low as one part in 50 billion parts of air. Not surprisingly, this substance forms part of a skunk's musk.

The most poisonous substance know is Botulinum toxin. This substance is the main ingredient in Botox and in botulism.


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## KarlMarx (Jun 14, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> The "truism" that humans only use 10% of their minds is a myth...



Actually, College students on Spring Break are known to use much less than 10% of their brains (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less), as anyone who has seen the DVD "College Girls Gone Wild" can attest to.


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## Abbey Normal (Jun 14, 2006)

During the chariot scene in 'Ben Hur' a small red car can be seen in the distance.


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## Joz (Jun 14, 2006)

The movie on at the drive-in when the Flintstones come on is called, The Monster.


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## no1tovote4 (Jun 14, 2006)

Abbey Normal said:
			
		

> During the chariot scene in 'Ben Hur' a small red car can be seen in the distance.



It's a VW Bug.  I pointed it out to my mother the first time I saw it on TV...


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## Mr.Conley (Jun 15, 2006)

Seoul, South Korea has the largest population of any city on the planet.


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## Semper Fi (Jun 15, 2006)

Sitka, Alaska is the largest city on earth.


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## Mr.Conley (Jun 15, 2006)

semper fi said:
			
		

> Sitka, Alaska is the largest city on earth.


Wasn't it Anchorage?

I'll check.


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## Mr.Conley (Jun 15, 2006)

According to the site I found, Australia's Mount Isa as the largest city by area.


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## Semper Fi (Jun 15, 2006)

Mr.Conley said:
			
		

> According to the site I found, Australia's Mount Isa as the largest city by area.



Fine, Sitka's the largest in north America.


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## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 15, 2006)

The Baltimore Colts won the first overtime championship game in NFL history.

The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Jets in the first Monday Night Football game.

Millard Fillmore was the last U.S. President not recognized as a Republican or Democrat (He was a Whig).

James Doohan (Scotty from Star Trek) was missing part of a finger.

Ernie Kovacs was driving a Chevrolet Corvair when he died.

Gary Burghoff (Radar from MASH) had a deformed left hand. He also played drums in a jazz trio.

Cap Anson was the first major league baseball player to reach 3,000 hits.

The Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Philles played in the first night game in major league history.

The first batting helmet was used in 1941.

Winston Churchill's last words were, "I'm bored with it all."

Humphrey Bogart's last words were, "I never should have switched from Scotch to Martinis."

Gavin Rossdale didn't say his first word until he was 4 years old. (It was "cookie")

Benito Mussolini's favorite drink was a strawberry sherbet frappe.

Adolph Hitler was not a vegetarian, despite a long believed myth to the contrary. Stuffed squab was one of his favorite foods. He also liked Bavarian Sausage.


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## no1tovote4 (Jun 15, 2006)

Jimmyeatworld said:
			
		

> Adolph Hitler was not a vegetarian, despite a long believed myth to the contrary. Stuffed squab was one of his favorite foods. He also liked Bavarian Sausage.



Adolph Hitler would say he was a vegetarian while eating sausage and squab...  He would say things like, "My one weakness!"

He also said he didn't drink, but loved beer...

The man was a whole grip of contradiction.  A short brown-haired brown-eyed guy who believed the perfect Aryan had blonde hair and blue eyes...  Silly mustachioed he would not allow his elite corp to grow any facial hair...

So forth...


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## Nienna (Jun 15, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> Adolph Hitler would say he was a vegetarian while eating sausage and squab...  He would say things like, "My one weakness!"
> 
> He also said he didn't drink, but loved beer...
> 
> ...


That's the kind of thing that makes me wonder how people could have followed him... couldn't they see the contradictions?


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## dilloduck (Jun 15, 2006)

mom4 said:
			
		

> That's the kind of thing that makes me wonder how people could have followed him... couldn't they see the contradictions?



Look how many Americans believe liberal "leaders". Not so different.


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## CSM (Jun 15, 2006)

Semper Fi said:
			
		

> Very good.
> 
> You can, however, see the light from the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, because of it's blue light atop the pyramid that shines straight up.


 Doesn't that mean you have to be looking straight (or nearly so) to see it from "near" space or be light years away and wait for a very long time!


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 15, 2006)

CSM said:
			
		

> Doesn't that mean you have to be looking straight (or nearly so) to see it from "near" space or be light years away and wait for a very long time!


In theory, it would probably be visible just outside Earth's orbit.
Light years away...That's a different story.


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## Joz (Jun 15, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> Adolph Hitler... also said he didn't drink, but loved beer...



You know why Hitler didn't drink vodka?


It made him mean. 
:rotflmao:


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## Joz (Jun 15, 2006)

Oak trees do not produce acorns until they're at least 50 years old.


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 15, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> You know why Hitler didn't drink vodka?
> 
> 
> It made him mean.
> :rotflmao:


He also only had one testicle


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## KarlMarx (Jun 15, 2006)

The physicist Max Born was the grandfather of singer Olivia Newton John.

Einstein never won a Nobel Prize for the Theory of Relativity.


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 15, 2006)

A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second!


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 15, 2006)

All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.


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## Joz (Jun 15, 2006)

A woman blinks almost 2 times that of a man.


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 15, 2006)

:blah2: 
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced 
enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. (Hardly seems worth it!) 

 
If you pass wind consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is
produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb. (Now that's more like it!) 

 
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 15, 2006)

Real names of celebrities 

A 
Alan Alda = Alphonso D'Abruzzo 
Woody Allen = Allen Konigsberg
Muhammad Ali = Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.
Julie Andrews = Julia Elizabeth Wells 
Fred Astaire = Frederick Austerlitz
Chet Atkins = Chester B. Atkins
Frankie Avalon = Francis Thomas Avalonne 

B 
Lauren Bacall = Betty Joan Perske 
Anne Bancroft = Anna Maria Italiano
Brigitte Bardot = Camille Javal 
Pat Benatar = Patricia Andrejewski 
Tony Bennett = Anthony Benedetto 
Jack Benny = Benjamin Kubelsky
Tom Berenger = Thomas Michael Moore
Chuck Berry = Charles Edward Anderson Berry
Billy The Kid = William H. Bonney 
Robert Blake = Michael Gubitosi
Jon Bon Jovi = John Francis Bongiovi 
Bono (U2) = Paul Hewson
Sonny Bono = Salvatore Phillip Bono 
David Bowie = David Robert Jones 
Boy George = George Alan O'Dowd 
Charles Bronson = Charles Buchinski 
Albert Brooks = Albert Einstein 
Mel Brooks = Melvin Kaminsky 
George Burns = Nathan Birnbaum 
Ellen Burstyn = Edna Gilhooley 
Richard Burton = Richard Jenkins 

C
Nicholas Cage = Nicholas Coppola 
Michael Cain = Maurice Micklewhite 
Maria Callas = Maria Kalogeropoulos
Eric Carr (Kiss) - Paul Charles Caravello 
Vikki Carr = Florencia Casillas 
Ray Charles = Ray Charles Robinson 
Chubby Checker = Ernest Evans 
Cher = Cherilyn Sarkisian
Eric Clapton - Eric Patrick Clapp 
Patsy Cline = Virginia Patterson Hensley 
Claudette Colbert = Lily Chauchoin
Nat King Cole = Nathaniel Adams Coles
Chuck Connors = Kevin Joseph Connors 
Robert Conrad = Conrad Robert Falk
Alice Cooper = Vincent Furnier
Gary Cooper = Frank James Cooper 
David Copperfield = David Kotkin 
Howard Cosell = Howard Cohen 
Elvis Costello = Declan Patrick McManus 
Lou Costello = Louis Cristillo 
Joan Crawford = Lucille Le Sueur 
Michael Crawford = Michael Dumble-Smith
Bing Crosby = Harry Lillis Crosby 
Tom Cruise = Thomas Cruise Mapother IV 
Tony Curtis = Bernard Schwartz 

D 
Rodney Dangerfield = Jacob Cohen
Bobby Darin = Walden Waldo Robert Cassotto
John Denver = John Henry Deutschendorf
Donovan = Donovan Phillip Leitch 
Doris Day = Doris von Kappelhoff 
James Dean = James Byron 
John Denver = Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. 
Bo Derek = Mary Cathleen Collins 
Danny DeVito = Daniel Michaeli 
Angie Dickinson = Angeline Brown 
Bo Diddley = Otha Elias Bates McDaniel
Vin Diesel = Mark Vincent 
Phyllis Diller = Phyllis Driver
Fats Domino = Antoine Domino 
Kirk Douglas = Issur Danielovitch 
Bob Dylan = Robert Zimmerman 

E 
Sheena Easton = Sheena Shirley Orr 
The Edge (U2) = David Howell Evans
Elvira = Cassandra Paterson 
Eminem - Marshall Bruce Mathers III
Enya = Eithne Ni Bhraonain
David Essex = David Albert Cook 

F 
Morgan Fairchild = Patsy McClenny
Adam Faith = Terence Nelhams
Fatboy Slim = Quentin Cook (aka Norman Cook)
Sally Field = Sally Mahoney 
W.C. Fields = William Claude Dukenfield 
Jodie Foster = Alicia Christian Foster
Michael J. Fox = Michael Andrew Fox
Connie Francis = Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero
Billy Fury = Ronald Wycherley 

G 
Greta Garbo = Greta Gustafsson 
Judy Garland = Frances Gumm 
James Garner = James Bumgarner 
Crystal Gayle = Brenda Gayle Webb
Bobbie Gentry = Roberta Streeter 
Kathie Lee Gifford = Kathie Epstein 
Whoopie Goldberg = Caryn Johnson 
Cary Grant = Archibald Leach 

H 
Hammer = Stanley Kirk Burrell
Laurence Harvey = Laruschka Skikne 
Rita Hayworth = Margarita Cansino
Jimi Hendrix = Johnny Allen Hendrix 
Pee-Wee Herman = Paul Reubenfeld 
Barbara Hershey = Barbara Herzstine
Hulk Hogan = Terry Gene Bollea
Billie Holliday = Eleanora Fagan
Buddy Holly = Charles Hardin Holley
Bob Hope = Leslie Townes Hope 
Harry Houdini = Ehrich Weiss 
Rock Hudson = Roy Scherer Jr.
Engelbert Humperdinck = Arnold George Dorsey 

I 
Janis Ian = Janis Eddy Fink
Ice Cube = Oshea Jackson
Ice-T = Tracy Morrow 
Billy Idol = William Broad
Iggy Pop = James Jewell Osterberg, Jr.
Burl Ives = Burle Icle Ivanhoe 

J 
David Janssen = David Meyer
Elton John = Reginald Dwight 
Don Johnson = Donald Wayne 
Al Jolson = Asa Yoelson
Brian Jones (Rolling Stones) = Lewis Brian Hopkins-Jones
Jenny Jones = Janina Stranski 
Tom Jones = Thomas Woodward 
Wynonna Judd = Christina Ciminella 

K 
Boris Karloff = William Henry Pratt 
Danny Kaye = David Kaminsky 
Diane Keaton = Diane Hall 
Michael Keaton = Michael Douglas 
Chaka Khan = Carole Yvette Marie Stevens
Carole King = Carole Klein 
Larry King = Larry Zeigler 
Ben Kingsley = Krishna Banji 
Nastassja Kinski = Nastassja Naksyznyski
Billy J Kramer (The Dakotas) = William H Ashton
Kris Kristofferson = Kris Carson 

L 
Cheryl Ladd = Cheryl Stoppelmoor 
Veronica Lake = Constance Ockleman 
Dorothy Lamour = Mary Kaumeyer 
Michael Landon = Eugene Orowitz
Mario Lanza = Alfredo Arnold Cocozza 
Queen Latifah = Dana Owens 
Stan Laurel = Arthur Jefferson 
Steve Lawrence = Sidney Leibowitz
Brenda Lee = Brenda Mae Tarpley 
Bruce Lee = Lee Yuen Kam
Spike Lee = Shelton Jackson Lee
Jay Leno = James Douglas Muir Leno 
Huey Lewis = Hugh Cregg 
Jerry Lewis = Joseph Levitch
Liberace = Wladziu Lee Valentino
Jack Lord = John Joseph Ryan 
Sophia Loren = Sophia Scicoloni 
Peter Lorre = Laszio Lowenstein
Courtney Love = Michelle Harrison 
Bela Lugosi = Bela Ferenc Blasko 
Lulu = Marie Lawrie 

M 
Shirley MacLaine = Shirley Beaty 
Elle MacPherson = Eleanor Gow 
Madonna = Madonna Louise Ciccone 
Lee Majors = Harvey Lee Yeary II 
Karl Malden = Mladen Sekulovich
Mama Cass Elliot (Mamas & Papas) = Ellen Naomi Cohen
Manfred Mann = Manfred Lubowitz 
Barry Manilow = Barry Alan Pincus 
Jayne Mansfield = Vera Jane Palmer
Marilyn Manson = Brian Warner 
Walter Matthau = Walter Matuschanskayasky
Dean Martin = Dino Crocetti 
Groucho Marx = Julius Henry Marx
Meat Loaf = Marvin Lee Aday
Freddie Mercury (Queen) = Frederick Farookh Bulsara 
Ethel Merman = Ethel Zimmerman 
George Michael = Georgios Panayiotou
Joni Mitchell = Roberta Joan Anderson
Moby = Richard Melville Hall 
Marilyn Monroe = Norma Jean Mortenson (later Baker) 
Demi Moore = Demetria Guynes 
Rita Moreno = Rosita Alverio 
Harry Morgan = Harry Bratsburg 

N 
Chuck Norris = Carlos Ray 
Andre Norton = Mary Alice Norton 
Notorious B.I.G. = Christopher Wallace 

O
Ozzy Osbourne = John Michael Osbourne 

P 
Jack Palance = Walter Palanuik 
Bernadette Peters = Bernadette Lazzaro
Edith Piaf = Edith Giovanna Gassion 
Slim Pickens = Louis Lindley 
Mary Pickford = Gladys Smith 
Stephanie Powers = Stefania Federkiewicz 
Prince = Prince Rogers Nelson 

R 
Tony Randall = Leonard Rosenberg 
Johnnie Ray = John Alvin 
Donna Reed = Donna Belle Mullenger 
Della Reese = Delloreese Patricia Early
Cliff Richard = Harry Rodger Webb
Joan Rivers = Joan Sandra Molinsky 
Edward G. Robinson = Emmanuel Goldenberg
Sugar Ray Robinson = Walker Smith, Jr.
Ginger Rogers = Virginia McMath
Mickey Rooney = Joe Yule Jr.
Axl Rose (Guns N Roses) = William Bruce Rose 
Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols) = John Lydon 
Winona Ryder = Winona Horowitz 

S 
Susan Sarandon = Susan Tomaling 
Telly Savalas = Aristotle Savalas
Jane Seymour = Joyce Frankenberg
Del Shannon = Charles Weedon Westover 
Omar Sharif = Michael Shalhoub 
Charlie Sheen = Carlos Irwin Estevez 
Martin Sheen = Ramon Estevez 
Talia Shire = Talia Coppola 
Sinbad = David Atkins
Eric Singer (Kiss) = Eric Mensinger 
Slash = Saul Hudson
Slim Dusty = David Gordon Kirkpatrick
Dusty Springfield = Mary Isobel Catherine O'Brien 
Suzanne Somers = Suzanne Mahoney 
Robert Stack = Robert Modini 
Barbara Stanwyck = Ruby Stevens
Sylvester Stallone = Michael Sylvester Enzio Stallone 
Ringo Starr = Richard Starkey
Cat Stevens = Yusef Islam 
Connie Stevens = Concetta Ingolia 
Sting = Gordon Sumner 
Donna Summer = La Donna Gaines 

T 
Mr. T = Lawrence Tero
Robert Taylor = Spangler Arlington Brugh 
Danny Thomas = Muzyad Yakhoob 
Tiny Tim = Herbert Khaury
Rip Torn = Elmore Rual Torn Jr. 
Randy Travis = Randy Traywick 
Sophie Tucker = Sophia Kalish 
Tina Turner = Annie Mae Bullock
Mark Twain = Samuel Langhorne Clemens 
Twiggy = Leslie Hornby 

U
The Undertaker = Mark Calloway 

V 
Rudolph Valentino = Rudolpho D'Antonguolla 
Frankie Valli (Four Seasons) = Frank Castelluccio 
Sid Vicious = John Simon Ritchie 

W 
John Wayne = Marion Morrison
Sigourney Weaver = Susan Alexandra Weaver 
Raquel Welch = Raquel Tejada 
Gene Wilder = Jerome Silberman 
Shelley Winters = Shirley Schrift 
Stevie Wonder = Stevland Morris 
Natalie Wood = Natasha Gurdin
Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones) = William Perks
Tammy Wynette = Wynette Pugh


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 15, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> Adolph Hitler would say he was a vegetarian while eating sausage and squab...  He would say things like, "My one weakness!"
> 
> He also said he didn't drink, but loved beer...
> 
> ...



Not to mention he was an Austrian ruling Germany. He was also a highly decorated soldier during World War I, but was never promoted past Corporal because of his attitude.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 15, 2006)

JOKER96BRAVO said:
			
		

> Real names of celebrities
> 
> ...


I can add one to that:

Jesse Ventura=Dumbass
j/k...actually, his real name is James Janos


----------



## Joz (Jun 16, 2006)

Howdy Doody had 48 freckles.


----------



## Abbey Normal (Jun 16, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Howdy Doody had 48 freckles.



Folks, I think we have winner! :teeth:


----------



## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 16, 2006)

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued six driver's licenses to
six different people named Jesus Christ.


----------



## GotZoom (Jun 16, 2006)

The players who are representing Serbia-Montenegro in this year's World Cup Soccer Championships are actually playing for a country that does not exist.

(Montenegro split from Serbia and formed it's own country in May)


----------



## The ClayTaurus (Jun 16, 2006)

Michigan has the most golf courses per capita of any state.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 16, 2006)

Lyndon Johnson died one mile from the house he was born in.


----------



## Joz (Jun 16, 2006)

A can of Spam is opened every 4 seconds.


----------



## remie (Jun 16, 2006)

In Kentucky its against the law to carry an ice cream cone in your pocket.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 16, 2006)

Grover Cleveland is the only person who served as president in two nonconsective terms(1885-1889 and 1893-1897). He was 22nd  and the 24th president of the United States.

President John Quincy Adams had a pet alligator


----------



## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 16, 2006)

I have a snake


----------



## The ClayTaurus (Jun 16, 2006)

Space is a vaccuum.


----------



## Joz (Jun 16, 2006)

JOKER96BRAVO said:
			
		

> I have a snake


Snakes don't blink.
:rotflmao: 


A regulation golf ball has 336 dimples.


----------



## dilloduck (Jun 16, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Snakes don't blink.
> :rotflmao:
> 
> 
> A regulation golf ball has 336 dimples.



Botox fixes dimples


----------



## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 16, 2006)

I'm fixing to change my avatar


----------



## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 16, 2006)

Baaaam!!!!


----------



## Semper Fi (Jun 16, 2006)

The NATO headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 16, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> A can of Spam is opened every 4 seconds.



I didn't know that many people lived in Hawaii...


----------



## Mr.Conley (Jun 17, 2006)

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the PRC.

Tibet is actually an "Autonomous Region."


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 17, 2006)

The northern lights are known as the Aurora Borealis
In the southern hemisphere, they are known as the Aurora Australis

Compasses do not point to true north, they point to magnetic north, which is off from true north by a few degrees (the amount varies on where you are). The difference is known as "magnetic variation".

Polaris, the North Star, is not exactly at the celestial north pole, but slightly off.

The original capital of the United States was New York City.

Washington is the only president that never lived in the White House.

The original name of the current ruling house of England was  "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" . King George V replaced the German-sounding title with that of Windsor during the First World War.

Queen Victoria was known as the "Grandmother of Eurpoe" because many European monarchs were descended from her. Among her descendants were the Czar of Russia and the Kaiser of Germany.

The logo of the Roman Empire is "SPQR" is an abbreviation for  "Senatus Populusque Romanus" (the Senate and the people of Rome)

Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, was a poultry farmer before joining the Nazi party.


----------



## Joz (Jun 17, 2006)

If you stretch out a Slinky straight, it measures 87 ft.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 17, 2006)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at the age of 35. During this time, he wrote over 600 works including, 41 symphonies, 20 Operas,  over 60 concertos for various instuments, over 60 pieces for single or multiple voice, 8 oratorios, 25 masses (pieces to be played during religious services), among many others....


----------



## Joz (Jun 17, 2006)

All dogs, no matter the size, scratch at the same speed.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 17, 2006)

The character Ed Norton of _The Honeymooners_ served in the Navy

Herman Munster had a twin brother, Charlie

In real life, Richard Belzer, the actor who plays the character "Munch" on_ Law & Order, SVU_ is cousin to Henry Winkler (i.e., "The Fonz")

Mariska Hargitay, the actress who plays "Olivia" on the same TV series is the daughter of Jane Mansfield

Jerry Orbach, who played Detective Briscoe, was once Mae West's chauffeur

The names of characters on _Gilligan's Island_...

The Skipper: Jonas Grumby
The Professor: Roy Hinkley
Mr. Howell: Thurston Howell III
Mrs. Howell: Eunice Howell
Ginger: Ginger Grant
Mary Ann: Mary Ann Summers
Gilligan: Willie

The  cartoon, _The Flintstones_ was originally based on _The Honeymooners_

Captain Kirk is from Iowa

Gomez Addams of _The Addams Family _was an attorney

Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch in _The Wizard of Oz_, was very fond of children in real life and once worked as a school teacher

The Clampetts  of _The Beverly Hillbillies_ are orginally from Oklahoma. Jethro had a twin sister, Jethrine. Granny's name was Daisy Moses. The mansion in Beverly Hills where the Clampetts lived was actually the Kirkeby mansion in Bel Air. Jed Clampett's late wife's name was Rose Ellen. Jethro's father's name was Fred Bodine.


----------



## jillian (Jun 17, 2006)

Paul McCartney is a southpaw and the left-handed guitar was developed for him.


----------



## Joz (Jun 17, 2006)

It takes a snail 33 hours to travel 1 mile.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 17, 2006)

Jimi Hendrix was from Seattle, Washington

Johnny Depp started out as a rock musician

In a twist of fate, former singer for Jefferson Airplane Grace Slick's maiden name was Grace Wing

The potato chip was accidentally invented when an irate chef deliberately served an over demanding customer wafer thin french fries. They were originally called "Saratoga Chips" from the town they originated from, Saratoga Springs, New York.

The name "Idaho" has no meaning. The word was entirely an invention of mining lobbyist George M. Willing, who claimed it was a Shoshone word for "Gem of the Mountains".

Buffalo wings are named after the city of Buffalo, New York


----------



## Semper Fi (Jun 17, 2006)

Jimi Hendrix was a paratrooper in the Army, and was discharged after he broke his back.


----------



## Mr.Conley (Jun 17, 2006)

Karl Marx said:
			
		

> The Skipper: Jonas Grumby
> The Professor: Roy Hinkley
> Mr. Howell: Thurston Howell III
> Mrs. Howell: Eunice Howell
> ...


NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is some information best left unknown, like the Professor's real name. Oh it burns.


----------



## Joz (Jun 17, 2006)

The lifespan of a tastebud is 10 days.


----------



## jillian (Jun 17, 2006)

A three-toed sloth only defecates once a week.

Lions can have sex every few minutes for up to a full day.

Owls can't move their eyes, so have to move their heads to shift their line of vision.

An Asian Rhino's penis weighs up to 45 lbs. and can be up to 4 feet long.

Sharks have no bones, only cartilage and don't get either tooth decay or cancer.

A hummingbird is the only bird which can fly backwards.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 18, 2006)

The platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs

The banjo is the only instrument that originated in this country

Beethoven was completely deaf when he wrote his last symphony

The movie studio, United Artists, was founded by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith


----------



## Joz (Jun 18, 2006)

A lion's muzzle is like a human's fingerprints.  No two patterns of whiskers are alike.

Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button.  It was eliminated after a surgery.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 18, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button.  It was eliminated after a surgery.


Alfred Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance in every one of this movies. Examples....
_The Birds_ - seen leaving a pet store

_Vertigo_ - walks past a gate

_North By Northwest_ - misses a bus

_Rear Window_ - winding a clock

_To Catch a Thief _- a passenger on a bus

_Notorious_ - a party guest
_
Spellbound_ - coming out of an elevator

_Rebbecca _- waiting outside a phone booth


----------



## Joz (Jun 18, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> Alfred Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance in every one of this movies.....


And I look for him, too.  Sometimes I have to go back and look at the movie specifically for that purpose.

The # sign is called an octothorpe.

(sorry, I had two ans in there)


----------



## jillian (Jun 18, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> And I look for him, too.  Sometimes I have to go back and look at the movie specifically for that purpose.
> 
> The # sign is called an anoctothorpe.



Cool. And the & sign is called an ampersand


----------



## Joz (Jun 18, 2006)

jillian said:
			
		

> Cool. And the & sign is called an ampersand


Who names these things???   

Ralph Kramden made $62 a week.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 18, 2006)

The little plastic ends on your shoelace are called "aglets"...


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 18, 2006)

Over 1,200 varieties of watermelon are grown worldwide in 96 countries.


----------



## Joz (Jun 18, 2006)

A rat can tread water for 3 days.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 18, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Ralph Kramden made $62 a week.


Alice Kramden's maiden name was Gibson

Trixie Norton was a dancer before she met Ed Norton

The Honeymooners live at 328 Chauncey Street in Brooklyn, New York

Trixie Norton's real name was Thelma.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 18, 2006)

jillian said:
			
		

> A three-toed sloth only defecates once a week.


he must have gotten a call that included the phrase: "Too many poo's, we all lose" :happy2:


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 18, 2006)

The common Betta fish (aka Japanese fighting fish) takes in it's oxygen from the surface of water, not from water itself like regular fish.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 18, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> A can of Spam is opened every 4 seconds.


SPAM stands for Stuff Posing As Meat








no, not really, but it's funny anyway.


----------



## jillian (Jun 18, 2006)

fuzzykitten99 said:
			
		

> he must have gotten a call that included the phrase: "Too many poo's, we all lose" :happy2:



 

Bruce Springsteen's middle name is Frederick, he was born September 23, 1949, and his parents are Douglas and Adele Springsteen.


----------



## Joz (Jun 18, 2006)

A whale's penis is called a dork.


----------



## jillian (Jun 18, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> A lion's muzzle is like a human's fingerprints.  No two patterns of whiskers are alike.



Cool. That's true of a tiger's facial patterns and a gorilla's nose, as well. 

Koala Bears have fingerprints almost exactly like humans.

Elephants are not born with the enzymes and acids needed to break down food at eat their mothers' droppings until they are a few weeks old and start to manufacture the chemicals themselves.


----------



## Semper Fi (Jun 18, 2006)

jillian said:
			
		

> Cool. That's true of a tiger's facial patterns and a gorilla's nose, as well.
> 
> Koala Bears have fingerprints almost exactly like humans.
> 
> Elephants are not born with the enzymes and acids needed to break down food at eat their mothers' droppings until they are a few weeks old and start to manufacture the chemicals themselves.



Koalas are not bears!


----------



## Joz (Jun 18, 2006)

There are 255 squares on a Scrabble game board.


----------



## jillian (Jun 18, 2006)

Semper Fi said:
			
		

> Koalas are not bears!



True. They're in the racoon family! 

And red pandas (also called "lesser pandas") are also in the racoon family.


----------



## Joz (Jun 18, 2006)

The right lung takes in more air than the left.


----------



## Semper Fi (Jun 18, 2006)

The first condoms were pig intestines and were re-used.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 19, 2006)

- ever heard Denis Leary's CD "Lock & Load"? There's a part where he's complaining about coffee shops or something (can't remember what part) but he says www-dot-whatthefuck-dot-com. Well, there is actually a website by that domain www.whatthefuck.com ...and it is run/owned by a former high school classmate of mine named Nick Melnick...he was friends with a guy I dated back in HS.

- I was an extra in Mighty Ducks 2 & 3. I got to meet Joshua Jackson and Emilio Estevez.


----------



## Semper Fi (Jun 19, 2006)

Oh yeah? Well Darin was an extra in Wargames!


----------



## Mr.Conley (Jun 19, 2006)

Although many people believe otherwise, Canada is actually a country.


----------



## Semper Fi (Jun 19, 2006)

Mr.Conley said:
			
		

> Although many people believe otherwise, Canada is actually a country.



Bullshit!


----------



## Mr.Conley (Jun 19, 2006)

Semper Fi said:
			
		

> Bullshit!


I was suprised when I found out too. They even have their own government and everything. However, they don't have a military.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 19, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Who names these things???



That would be Marvin at the National Bureau of Standards.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 19, 2006)

jillian said:
			
		

> Cool. And the & sign is called an ampersand



The ~ is called a "tilde"


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 19, 2006)

fuzzykitten99 said:
			
		

> SPAM stands for Stuff Posing As Meat
> 
> 
> 
> ...


SPAM's original name was "Hormel Spiced Ham". The current name was chosen from multiple entries in a naming contest.

SPAM was introduced in 1937

In America, the residents of Guam and Hawaii consume the most SPAM, per capita. They are also the only two parts of America whose McDonalds feature SPAM on their menus

The two countries, after the United States, that consume the most SPAM are the United Kingdom and South Korea.

In Muslim countries, SPAM is made with turkey to conform with Muslim dietary restrictions

Austin, Minnesota is known as "SPAM Town, USA" and has a SPAM museum


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 19, 2006)

Endicott, New York celebrates its 100th anniversary this year

Endicott is named after Henry B. Endicott. Mr Endicott provided financing for Endicott-Johnson Corporation

Endicott is known as the birthplace of IBM and had a large IBM plant at one time.

Endicott was also home to  Endicott-Johnson Corporation, one of the largest shoe manufacturers in the country. The company was responsible for nearly all of the shoe and footwear for the United States Army during both World Wars.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 19, 2006)

Only a few of the plants that we eat originated in North America. These are blueberries, sunflowers, cranberries and Jerusalem artichokes.

P.S. I've also heard that the pecan originated in North America, but some sources claim it's actually from Central America


----------



## jillian (Jun 19, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> Endicott, New York celebrates its 100th anniversary this year
> 
> Endicott is named after Henry B. Endicott. Mr Endicott provided financing for Endicott-Johnson Corporation
> 
> ...



Endicott is also home to Pat Mitchell's Ice Cream....the most amazing ice cream ever.


----------



## JOKER96BRAVO (Jun 19, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> The platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs


It's also the only venomous mammal.


----------



## Joz (Jun 19, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> ..... cranberries.....


Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them.  A fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 19, 2006)

Bill Gates' first business was Traff-O-Data, a company that created machines which recorded the number of cars passing a given point on a road.


----------



## Joz (Jun 19, 2006)

Maine is the toothpick capitol of the world.


----------



## Hobbit (Jun 19, 2006)

The following useless "facts" are false, and that's my useless fact.



> Coca-Cola originally cost 5 cents, was green, and intended to cure hangovers and morphine addictions by being mixed with water.
> 
> There never was cocaine added to Coca-Cola, there were, however, trace amounts from the Coca leaf, from which the drink was made.



While the rest may be true, Coca-Cola was never green, was always meant as a non-pharmaceutical beverage, and did, in fact, containe cocain.  It was required to by the copyright office to retain rights to the 'Coca' part of the name.



> Until the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China, the Great Wall of China was the only man made object visible from the moon



The Great Wall of China is not visible from the moon.  In fact, it's barely visible from space, and is harder to spot than even major highways, due to the fact that it's not that wide and is similar in color to its surrounding environment.  If you don't believe me, try to find the Great Wall in an orbital photo sometime.  You'd have an easier time finding the Hoover Dam, the NYC landfill, or Route 66.  In fact, the Great Wall is very hard to find, even in low orbit (180 miles) and is harder to spot than the runways at Dulles or the components of the Kennedy Space Center.



> It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.



Granted it's very hard, as your body reflexively closes your eyes to protect them from flying spittle and anything your head may bump into during the lurch, but with enough willpower, some people have been able to sneeze with their eyes open, and no, their eyes didn't pop out.



> The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.



This was on an episode of "Mail Call" once, and the History Channel would know.  The name 'jeep' actually came from a character in the Popeye cartoons, though how it came to be the name of the vehicle is something I can't recall.



> If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds recieved in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.



This one is actually a very well carried false rumor.  Of the 'horse' statues in Washington D.C. only about half of them follow this trend.



> A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second!



This one is mostly true, but there are actually 3 units of time referred to as a 'jiffy.'  This is the current, common standard used by physicists, although I seem to recall Great Britain and the U.S. using different measurements for a jiffy in the past (I think one of them was 1/60 seconds).  It is also a unit of time to measure one clock cycle of a computer, significantly smaller than 1/100 seconds.



> The platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs



The spiny anteater, also of Australia, is the only other mammal that lays eggs.



> Only a few of the plants that we eat originated in North America. These are blueberries, sunflowers, cranberries and Jerusalem artichokes.



Corn is also exclusively North American.

And here's a few more.

Homer J. Simpson's middle name is 'Jay.'

Elephants are the only mammals that cannot jump.

All pandas, not just the racoon-like red panda, are more closely related to racoons than bears.

All new words in the Chinese language created since the founding of the unified Chinese alphabet are compound words, as no new characters have been created.  The words for 'camera' and 'computer' literally translate to 'light slicer' and 'electric brain.'

The young Jedi killed fighting clone troopers in front of Senator Organa in "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" is George Lucas' son.

The original model used for the Death Star surface was made from scratch out of thousands of model kits for cars, planes, and ships.  High velocity shots, such as those of Red Leader pulling out of the trench after a missed shot, were filmed by putting a camera in the bed of a pickup truck and driving past.

James Earl Jones stutters.

Chinese is actually 55 seperate languages, including Cantonese and Mandarin, the most common ones.  Though some are similar, not unlike Portuguese and Spanish, they are distinct languages that were not unified until the standardization of the non-phonetic Chinese written language, which is univeral across the country and is even used by Korea, Japan, and many other east Asian countries.  The Chinese language has approximately 56,000 characters, with only about 3,000 still in common use.


----------



## Joz (Jun 19, 2006)

Most dust particles in your home are dead skin.


----------



## dilloduck (Jun 19, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Most dust particles in your home are dead skin.



I TOLD my kid to dump the bodies somewhere else !!!!!


----------



## Joz (Jun 19, 2006)

Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.


----------



## Semper Fi (Jun 19, 2006)

Hobbit said:
			
		

> While the rest may be true, Coca-Cola was never green, was always meant as a non-pharmaceutical beverage, and did, in fact, containe cocain.  It was required to by the copyright office to retain rights to the 'Coca' part of the name.



It did have cocain _in_ it, but it was never _added_ to it. Right?


----------



## Semper Fi (Jun 19, 2006)

The twelve-ounce pop-can we use today was developed by Pepsi Cola for convenience for the military.

Coca-Cola was the first private enterprise in the Soviet Union.


----------



## Joz (Jun 19, 2006)

Pinocchio was made of pine.


----------



## jillian (Jun 20, 2006)

All mules are female.

Some frogs can change their gender.

Hyenas can chew through concrete...which is why very few zoos have hyenas.

Peregrin falcons are the fastest animal on earth and one was clocked flying at 120 mph.


----------



## dilloduck (Jun 20, 2006)

jillian said:
			
		

> All mules are female.
> 
> 
> Some frogs can change their gender.
> ...


*Mule Colt or Mule Filly: The young male or female mule under the age of three. When show classes are listed they are frequently listed as "Mare Mule under One year of age" etc. This is of course correct but more difficult to use in speech.*


----------



## Joz (Jun 20, 2006)

Bulletproof vests
Fire escapes
Windshield wipers
Laser printers
were invented by women


----------



## dilloduck (Jun 20, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Bulletproof vests
> Fire escapes
> Windshield wipers
> Laser printers
> were invented by women



Woweeee !!!!:cof:


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

The average 4 yr. old asks 437 questions per day.


----------



## Shattered (Jun 21, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> The average 4 yr. old asks 437 questions per day.



And 397 of them are "Why?"


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 21, 2006)

Shattered said:
			
		

> And 397 of them are "Why?"



Mine was "What if?"


----------



## Shattered (Jun 21, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> Mine was "What if?"



Greeeat..  **wanders off singing "What If" by Creed to self**


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

Chalet Cheese Factory in Monroe, Wisconsin is the only factory in the country that manufactures Limburger cheese....

thank goodness....


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

Charlie Brown's father is a barber.


----------



## Shattered (Jun 21, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> Chalet Cheese Factory in Monroe, Wisconsin is the only factory in the country that manufactures Limburger cheese....
> 
> thank goodness....



Points for finding a rather polite way to say Wisconsin stinks.


----------



## CSM (Jun 21, 2006)

Shattered said:
			
		

> Points for finding a rather polite way to say Wisconsin stinks.


"aromatically challenged" seems appropriate


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 21, 2006)

CSM said:
			
		

> "aromatically challenged" seems appropriate


the slogan for the state is unofficially "Come smell our Dairy-erre"


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

Contrary to claims, the comedians Abbot and Costello are NOT members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York

http://www.snopes.com/sports/baseball/whosonfirst.asp


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

A "googol" is an actual thing....

it is a number represented by a 1 followed by 100 zeroes


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 21, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> A "googol" is an actual thing....
> 
> it is a number represented by a 1 followed by 100 zeroes


The Brits and the Americans have different numbering systems when referring to numbers larger than 1,000,000...


The american system:

million 6 10^6 
billion 9 10^9 
trillion 12 10^12 
quadrillion 15 10^15 
quintillion 18 10^18 
sextillion 21 10^21 
septillion 24 10^24 
octillion 27 10^27 
nonillion 30 10^30 
decillion 33 10^33 
undecillion 36 10^36 
duodecillion 39 10^39 
tredecillion 42 10^42 
quattuordecillion 45 10^45 
quindecillion 48 10^48 
sexdecillion 51 10^51 
septendecillion 54 10^54 
octodecillion 57 10^57 
novemdecillion 60 10^60 
vigintillion 63 10^63 
googol 100 10^100 
quintoquadagintillion 138 10^138 
centillion 303 10^303 
googolplex googol 10^googol 

The brit system:

million 6 10^6 
1,000 millions (or milliard) 9 10^9 
billion 12 10^12 
1,000 billions 15 10^15 
trillion 18 10^18 
1,000 trillions 21 10^21 
quadrillion 24 10^24 
quintillion 30 10^30 
sextillion 36 10^36 
septillion 42 10^42 
octillion 48 10^48 
nonillion 54 10^54 
decillion 60 10^60 
undecillion 66 10^66 
duodecillion 72 10^72 
tredecillion 78 10^78 
quattuordecillion 84 10^84 
quindecillion 90 10^90 
sexdecillion 96 10^96 
septendecillion 102 10^102 
octodecillion 108 10^108 
novemdecillion 114 10^114 
vigintillion 120 10^120 
centillion 600 10^600


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

The ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate cats

A white cat with blue eyes is almost always deaf

A calico (i.e. three color) cat is almost always female. Male calico cats are rare and are always sterile.

An orange tabby cat is almost always male


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 21, 2006)

I can wiggle my ears-without touching them.


----------



## Hobbit (Jun 21, 2006)

No character in any episode of the original Star Trek series or any of the subsequent movies ever said, "Beam me up, Scotty."


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

The an average day a typist's fingers travels 12.6 miles.


----------



## jillian (Jun 21, 2006)

Hobbit said:
			
		

> No character in any episode of the original Star Trek series or any of the subsequent movies ever said, "Beam me up, Scotty."



The first inter-racial kiss on television was between Kirk and Uhuru.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

jillian said:
			
		

> The first inter-racial kiss on television was between Kirk and Uhuru.


The gadget that Dr. McCoy waved over his patients to make a diagnosis was, in reality, a salt shaker painted silver

Uhuru and Mr. Sulu were the only two characters on the TV series that did not have a first name. Later, however, Mr. Sulu acquired a first name in one of the Star Trek movies.

On at least two occasions ("Miri" & "City on the Edge of Forever") the exterior Mayberry set from "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960) was used. In "City," as Kirk walks Edith home, they pass by the easily recognizable courthouse, Floyd's barbershop, Emmett's repair shop, and the grocery


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

A human being breathes almost 10 million times a year.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> A human being breathes almost 10 million times a year.


A healthy adult human produces between 1/2 to 1.5 liters of flatus (fart gas) daily


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> A healthy adult human produces between 1/2 to 1.5 liters of flatus (fart gas) daily


Thank you Karl, for pointing that out to us.  :happy2: 

Popeye was 5'6" tall.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Thank you Karl, for pointing that out to us.  :happy2:
> 
> Popeye was 5'6" tall.


Olive Oyl's boyfriend originally was a character named "Ham Gravy"

Robin Williams movie debut was in "Popeye (1980)"

Spinach farmers in Crystal City, Texas erected a statue of Popeye in the town and credited him for saving the then-dying spinach industry.


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

Three of the 6 men who played "The Three Stooges" were brothers.
Curly, Moe & Shemp.


----------



## dilloduck (Jun 21, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Three of the 6 men who played "The Three Stooges" were brothers.
> Curly, Moe & Shemp.



I didn't know you had brothers.:teeth:


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

Bonobos (Pygmy Chimpanzee) and armadillos are the only mammals other than humans that engage in intercourse in the missionary position (face-to-face). 

Armadilos are one of a small number of animals other than humans that can get leprosy. 

In Maine, it is illegal to own an armadillo.


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

dilloduck said:
			
		

> I didn't know you had brothers.:teeth:


You just crack yourself up, don't ya?


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

The Ten Commandments contain 297 words.
The Bill of Rights, 463.


----------



## jillian (Jun 21, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> Bonobos (Pygmy Chimpanzee) and armadillos are the only mammals other than humans that engage in intercourse in the missionary position (face-to-face).



My expert on these matters (my former large mammal keeper) tells me that he saw gorillas having sex in the missionary position, too.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 21, 2006)

The largest known animal on Earth is the blue whale. Mature blue whales can measure anywhere from 75 feet (23 m) to 100 feet (30.5 m) from head to tail, and can weigh as much as 150 tons (136 metric tons).


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

Apotemnophilia is the desire to become an amputee.


----------



## Shattered (Jun 21, 2006)

Howdy Doody had 48 freckles.


----------



## William Joyce (Jun 21, 2006)

The bound end of a shoelace is called the aglet.


----------



## dilloduck (Jun 21, 2006)

Anthony Quinns' father died fighting along side Pancho Villa.


----------



## Joz (Jun 21, 2006)

Shirley Temple's hairdo contained 56 curls.


----------



## Hobbit (Jun 22, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> The Ten Commandments contain 297 words.
> The Bill of Rights, 463.



The income tax code, on the other hand, has more VOLUMES than those two combined have words.

Oh, and back to the stupid Star Trek stuff.  In the original concept of Star Trek:  The Next Generation, William Riker was intended to be the star.  After the first season or so, he was intended to replace Jean Luc Picard as captain and take a larger role in the show.  However, due to the likable characters of Data and Picard, along with the talented acting of Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, the cast remained largely unchanged throughout the years.  Jonathan Frakes (Riker) got equal screentime with all the other main characters in what shaped up to be a very successful structure that featured nearly a dozen equally elevated protagonists.

The two most commonly improvised pieces of equipment on any starfleet vessel are main deflector dish and the warp engines, in that order.

The model used for the U.S.S. Enterprise - D was held upside down, since most shots were of the bottom of the ship.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 22, 2006)

HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol
LSD - Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid
MPEG - Moving Pictures Experts Group
GIF - Graphics Interchange Format
PDF - Portable Data Format
JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group
HUMVEE - a corruption of the acronymn HMMWV - High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language
ICBM - Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
MIRV - Multiple Independently Targeted Re-entry Vehicle
FM - Frequency Modulation
AM - Amplitude Modulation


----------



## Joz (Jun 22, 2006)

Cell phone antennae serve no purpose.  They are connected to no circuitry.


----------



## Hobbit (Jun 22, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol
> LSD - Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
> DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid
> MPEG - Moving Pictures Experts Group
> ...



Modem - Modulator/Demodulator
SCUBA - Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
RADAR - Radio Detection and Ranging
SONAR - Sonic Detection and Ranging
LASER - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

In the year 2000, scientists successfully accelerated the photons of a laser beam faster than the speed of light, using oscillating gasses in a similar fashion as used to slow down a laser beam to sub-sonic speeds.  The data is hard to read, though, as the photons exited the far side of the chamber before they entered.


----------



## Joz (Jun 22, 2006)

In 1996, 315 words found in Webster's dictionary were mispelled.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 22, 2006)

William Joyce said:
			
		

> The bound end of a shoelace is called the aglet.



Hey!  I already posted this tidbit!


----------



## Joz (Jun 23, 2006)

There is a company who will (for $14,000) will compress your ashes into a synthetic diamond for a loved-one to wear.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 24, 2006)

Carrying a mercury thermometer on board any commercial aircraft is usually forbidden

(why? Because Mercury corrodes Aluminum, the metal that commercial aircraft are made of)


----------



## Joz (Jun 24, 2006)

The largest manufacturer of women's clothes?  Mattel.  Barbie has to wear _something._


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 24, 2006)

Contrary to popular belief, the Mattel Toy Company did NOT manufacture the stock, or any other part, of the M-16 rifle used by our soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, of the "Little Rascals" died as a result of a gunshot wound during an argument over $50


----------



## Joz (Jun 24, 2006)

A coat hanger stretched out will measure 44".


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 24, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> From 1937-45, the Heinz Company produced a version of Alphabet Spaghetti for the German market.  It consisted solely of little pasta swastikas.


http://www.snopes.com/business/alliance/swastika.asp


----------



## Joz (Jun 24, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> http://www.snopes.com/business/alliance/swastika.asp


Sorry.

One hundred people die yearly from ballpoint pens.
One person a year is killed while painting highway lines. (I tho't this was a high)


----------



## Hobbit (Jun 24, 2006)

More people die each year choking on shark meat than from being attacked by a shark.


----------



## Joz (Jun 25, 2006)

John Dillinger (the bank robber) played professional baseball.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 25, 2006)

Robert Redford was teammates with Dodger great Don Drysdale on their high school baseball team.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 25, 2006)

> An Austrian hotelier has sawn off part of his roof because it was hanging over the border into the Czech Republic....



http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1889215.html?menu=



> An album of Stalin-era prison songs mixed with Hawaiian-style surf music is proving an unlikely hit in eastern Europe.



http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1878042.html?menu=news.quirkies.badtaste


----------



## Joz (Jun 25, 2006)

Table tennis balls (ping pong) have been known to travel off the paddle at speeds up to 105.6 mph.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 25, 2006)

Gold and silver mixed together as an alloy is known as "electrum"

The "talent", the unit of measure often mentioned in the Bible and other ancient texts, was about 33 kg or 75 pounds. When you read of a person being given several talents of gold, the amount is equal to several million dollars at today's prices. 

The Biblical parable of the unfaithful servant mentions his debt, 10,000 talents, which at today's prices would translate into roughly $5 Billion.

King Tutankamun was (and still is) interred in a coffin of solid gold. Estimated weight is 3,300 pounds. His death mask, also of solid gold, weighs 220 pounds.

Contrary to popular belief, Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba, never tried out for, nor played for, any professional baseball team.

On the other hand, Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York, did play briefly in the minor leagues.


----------



## Joz (Jun 25, 2006)

The oldest continually held sport is the Kentucky Derby (1875); the second Westminister Kennel Club (1876).


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 26, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> The oldest continually held sport is the Kentucky Derby (1875); the second Westminister Kennel Club (1876).


The original Olympics were held as part of a religious festival. They were open only to men (participants and audience both), and athletes performed their events entirely in the nude.

The Greeks invented dramatic theater, also. These were performed solely during an annual religious festival to the god Dionysus. During the festival, four plays, three tragedies and a single comedy, were performed over a four day period. A different playwright was selected each year. Only a few of these plays survive to this day, e.g., Oedipus the King.


----------



## Joz (Jun 26, 2006)

A person burns 26 calories in a 1 minute kiss.
There are 26 calories in a Hershey kiss.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 26, 2006)

The record for the biggest heart-shaped chocolate box is 15ft tall, 15ft wide and weighed over 1,300lbs.


----------



## Joz (Jun 26, 2006)

Jimmyeatworld said:
			
		

> The record for the biggest heart-shaped chocolate box is 15ft tall, 15ft wide and weighed over 1,300lbs.


And when you're done eating it, you'll weigh twice that.  :happy2: 

The little hole in a sink that keeps it from overflowing is called a porcelator.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

Until 1979, hurricanes were assigned women's names. The practice now gives hurricanes names from both sexes, in alternating order.

Six lists of names are prepared in advance, and each list is used once every six years. Five letters  "Q," "U," "X," "Y" and "Z"  are omitted in the Atlantic; only "Q" and "U" are omitted in the Eastern Pacific, so the format accommodates 21 or 24 named storms in a hurricane season. Names of storms may be retired by request of affected countries if they have caused extensive damage. The affected countries then decide on a replacement name of the same gender, and if possible, the same ethnicity, as the name being retired.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs were written in both directions, i.e., left to right or right to left.

Because their alphabet contained few vowels, (the vowels being implied to the ancient reader), we don't know how ancient Egyptian words were pronounced, only how they were spelled. Egyptologists assume that ancient Egyptian shared many words with modern day Egyptian Coptic and base the pronunciations on Coptic words.


----------



## Joz (Jun 27, 2006)

Glad to see you back, Karl.  

A standard grave measures, 7'8" x 3'2" x 6'.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

Contrary to myth, the acronym "CRT" stands for "Cathode Ray Tube", not "Computer Readout Terminal"

The colors of Campbell's Soup cans (Red and White) were taken from Cornell University's school colors


----------



## Joz (Jun 27, 2006)

A wedding ring is generally exempt by law from inclusion among the assets in a bankruptcy estate. That means that a wedding ring can't be seized by creditors, no matter how much the bankrupt person owes. Source: "2201 Fascinating Facts"


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

The lowest point in the continental United States (i.e. lower 48 states) and in the New World is Death Valley (282 feet below sea level)

The highest point in the continental United States is Mount Whitney (14,505 feet)

The two are separated by 76 miles.

The highest point in the United States (and in North America) is Mount McKinley (aka Denali) in Alaska (20,320 feet)

The lowest point on the Earth's surface is the Challenger Deep at the bottom of the Mariana Trench (35,797 feet below sea level)

The lowest point on any land surface in the world is the Dead Sea (417 meters, or about 1,370 feet below sea level)

The highest point in the New World is Chimborazo, located in Ecuador (20,560 feet)

Of course, everyone knows the highest point on Earth, Mt. Everest (29,028 feet)


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

The Romans used geese as watchdogs, instead of, well, dogs! The reason being that geese saved the Romans with their warning cries when the Gauls attacked the citadel of the Capitol.



The word "slave" is derived from the word "Slav". from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14042a.htm...




> During the long period of war between the Germans and Slavs, which lasted until the tenth century, the Slavonic territories in the north and southeast furnished the Germans large numbers of slaves. The Venetian and other Italian cities on the coast took numerous Slavonic captives from the opposite side of the Adriatic whom they resold to other places. The Slavs frequently shared in the seizure and export of their countrymen as slaves. The Naretani, a piratical Slavonic tribe living in the present district of Southern Dalmatia, were especially notorious for their slave-trade. Russian princes exported large numbers of slaves from their country. The result is that the name Slav has given the word slave to the peoples of Western Europe.


----------



## Joz (Jun 27, 2006)

The face of a penny can hold about 30 drops of water.
Nine pennies = 1 ounce.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> The face of a penny can hold about 30 drops of water.
> Nine pennies = 1 ounce.


Contrary to popular belief, the United States penny is not made of copper. It's current composition is  97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper (copper-plated zinc).  

The composition was pure copper from 1793 to 1837.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

The Fahrenheit temperature scale gets its name from Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736), a German physicist who invented the alcohol thermometer in 1709, and the mercury thermometer in 1714. In 1724, he introduced the temperature scale that bears his name.

ok... I'm done for a while!!!!


----------



## Joz (Jun 27, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> ...ok... I'm done for a while!!!!



Party Pooper.
According to the American Numismatic Association, the 1943 copper-alloy cent is one of the most idealized and potentially one of the most sought-after items in American numismatics.  Nearly all circulating pennies at that time were struck in zinc-coated steel because copper and nickel were needed for the Allied war effort.

A 1943 copper cent was first offered for sale in 1958, bringing more than $40,000.  A subsequent piece sold for $10,000 at an ANA convention in 1981.  The highest amount paid for a 1943 copper cent was $82,500 in 1996.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Party Pooper.


I was doing the Heinz maneuver..... I was waiting for you to ketchup!


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

The unit of measure, the "meter" was originally defined to be

1 / 10 000 000 of the distance from the pole to the equator. (in 1793)

as of 1983, it was redefined to be

Length traveled by light in vacuum during 1 / 299 792 458 of a second. 

It happens, coincidentally, to be exactly the same length as the 1793 definition!


----------



## Joz (Jun 27, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> I was doing the Heinz maneuver..... I was waiting for you to ketchup!


   Oh, brother.

On a dewy morning, if you look at your shadow in the grass, the dewdrops shine back into your eyes creating a halo called a heilgenoschein.

Sunbeams that shine down through the clouds are called crespucular rays.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Party Pooper.
> According to the American Numismatic Association, the 1943 copper-alloy cent is one of the most idealized and potentially one of the most sought-after items in American numismatics.  Nearly all circulating pennies at that time were struck in zinc-coated steel because copper and nickel were needed for the Allied war effort.
> 
> A 1943 copper cent was first offered for sale in 1958, bringing more than $40,000.  A subsequent piece sold for $10,000 at an ANA convention in 1981.  The highest amount paid for a 1943 copper cent was $82,500 in 1996.


Pennies were also once made of bronze, an alloy of tin and copper.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Oh, brother.
> 
> On a dewy morning, if you look at your shadow in the grass, the dewdrops shine back into your eyes creating a halo called a heilgenoschein.
> 
> Sunbeams that shine down through the clouds are called crespucular rays.


The circular, spectral patterns that you sometimes see on glass, films and what not, are known as "Newtonian Rings"


----------



## CSM (Jun 27, 2006)

The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 27, 2006)

CSM said:
			
		

> The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.


BTW... the Vatican has a post office, I know this because I once mailed a letter from St. Peter's Bascillica and it arrived at my home in the US with a Vatican City postmark.


----------



## Joz (Jun 27, 2006)

The little lump of flesh near the ear canal is called a tragus.
Hyroid, a bone in the throat, is the only bone not connected to another bone.
One-third of the people can wiggle their ears one at a time.
A person blinks 6,205,000 times a year.  (since women blink almost 2 times that of a man, I wonder which this is referring to)
A person produces a quart of saliva each day; 10,000 gallons in a lifetime.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 28, 2006)

For humans the normal pulse is 70 heartbeats per minute. Elephants have a slower pulse of 27 and for a canary it is 1000.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 28, 2006)

The ancient name for Turkey was "Anatolia"

The word "lesbian" comes from an island in the Aegean named "Lesbos". The inhabitants of the island were known as "Lesbians" (both male and females).

Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt, was not an Egyptian, but a Macedonian. She was of the house of Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Great's generals.

The first known monotheist (outside of the Bible) was the pharaoh Amenhotep IV aka "Ankhenaton". He tried to establish a monotheistic religion based on the worship of the solar disk, known as the "Aten". He was also the husband of Queen Nefertiti and the (possible) father of King Tutankhamen.

King Tutankhamen's original name was "Tutankhaton". He changed his name after he became pharaoh (at the age of 9). The reason was that the worship of the Aten had become considered heretical and the worship of the old Egyptian gods, e.g. Amun, was restored.

probably more Egyptian history that you wanted to know.....


----------



## Joz (Jun 28, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> .....probably more Egyptian history that you wanted to know.....


Nah, I thought it was pretty cool.

The inventor of Vaseline ate a spoonful everyday.
Craven Walker invented the Lava lamp; made with wax & water.
Games Slater, a Purdue Grad, invented fiberglass.
Einstein never wore socks.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 29, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Nah, I thought it was pretty cool.
> 
> The inventor of Vaseline ate a spoonful everyday.
> Craven Walker invented the Lava lamp; made with wax & water.
> ...


Cinnamon comes from the bark of the cinnamon tree

Cashews do not have shells, each grows out of the end of an "apple" instead

Art Clokey is the creator of Gumby and Pokey

The first modern comic strip was _Katzenjammer Kids_ in 1897. Familiar comic-strip iconography such as stars for pain, speech and thought balloons, and sawing logs for snoring originated in this strip.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jun 29, 2006)

A dog was the first animal in space, and a sheep, a duck and a rooster the first to fly in a hot air balloon.


----------



## Joz (Jun 29, 2006)

Six percent of men propose over the telephone.
(I'm really curious what percent is accepted & what kind of woman would do so)

The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 29, 2006)

Jimmyeatworld said:
			
		

> A dog was the first animal in space...



and its name was "Laika"

speaking of dogs.... the "dog days of summer" get their name from the fact that the sun is in the same position in the sky as the Dog Star, Sirius (which happens to be the BRIGHTEST star in the sky, too)

The character, "Gromit", who is the dog in the series "Wallace and Gromit" celebrates his birthday on February 12th


----------



## Joz (Jun 29, 2006)

7.5 tons of gold are used annually to make class rings.
In one week, 800 people will be injured by their jewelry.


----------



## Adam's Apple (Jun 29, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> The brightest star in the sky is Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major
> 
> The nearest star to our sun is Proxima Centauri at 4.2 light years (a light year is the distance light travels in a year, approximately 6 trillion miles)
> 
> ...



While we're on the subject of planets, if you want to remember the order of the planets in our solar systems rotating out from the sun, memorize the following sentence:

My very earnest mother just served us nine pickles. (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)  Personally, I can never remember what planet comes after Mars.

Apologies to anyone who may have already posted this.  I haven't made my way entirely through this post yet.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 29, 2006)

Adam's Apple said:
			
		

> While we're on the subject of planets, if you want to remember the order of the planets in our solar systems rotating out from the sun, memorize the following sentence:
> 
> My very earnest mother just served us nine pickles. (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)  Personally, I can never remember what planet comes after Mars.
> 
> Apologies to anyone who may have already posted this.  I haven't made my way entirely through this post yet.



The last two planets, Neptune and Pluto and particularly Pluto, have such a wide variety in their orbits that they actually change places in the orbit order...  Occassionally your Earnest Mother would need to serve Pickles Nine....


----------



## Joz (Jun 29, 2006)

17% of Americans think Joan of Ark was Mrs. Noah.
40% of women have hurled footwear at men.
7% of Ireland's entire barley crop goes for Guinness beer.


----------



## Adam's Apple (Jun 29, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> The last two planets, Neptune and Pluto and particularly Pluto, have such a wide variety in their orbits that they actually change places in the orbit order...  Occassionally your Earnest Mother would need to serve Pickles Nine....



That's an interesting fact, even if it might be useless to most of us.


----------



## Adam's Apple (Jun 29, 2006)

HOMES is an acronym for the names of the five Great Lakes (*H*uron, *O*ntario, *M*ichigan, *E*rie, *S*uperior)

(Probably everyone living in the Great Lakes states already knows that.  We learned it in school.)


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 29, 2006)

Garrison Keillor wrote a short story using as a basis, an event that actually took place at my home when I was about 8 or 9, and read it on his radio show. My aunt is good friends with him, and I have met him on several occasions---he's an arrogant prick.


----------



## Joz (Jun 29, 2006)

For the sake of Art, Chris Burden arranged to be shot by a friend and have the event photographed.  Burden sold the series to an Art dealer, and made $1,750.
His hospital bill was $84,000.


----------



## Mr.Conley (Jun 30, 2006)

Coke is better than Pepsi.


----------



## Joz (Jun 30, 2006)

The Nike Swoosh was desgined by University of Oregon, Carylon Davidson, in 1964.  She was paid $35 for her design.

Don Featherston, father of the Pink Flamingo lawn ornaments sell 250,000-500,000 per year.

Shampoo was first marketed in the US in 1930 by John Breck, a volunteer fire dept. captain.

Band-aids were invented in 1921.  The little red string didn't appear until 1940.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 30, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Band-aids were invented in 1921.  The little red string didn't appear until 1940.


And didn't disappear until the 90s...  Some of the kids on this site probably don't know what you mean by "little red string"...

:teeth:


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 30, 2006)

Mr.Conley said:
			
		

> Coke is better than Pepsi.



For throwing?  I would definitely agree....


----------



## Joz (Jun 30, 2006)

A male gypsy moth can smell a virgin gypsy moth 1.8 miles away.
Mosquitos are attracted most, to the color blue.
A giraffe can go longer without water than a camel.
A donkey will sink in quicksand, a mule will not.
A possum doesn't_ play possum_.  It passes out from sheer terror.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 30, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> A male gypsy moth can smell a virgin gypsy moth 1.8 miles away.
> Mosquitos are attracted most, to the color blue.
> A giraffe can go longer without water than a camel.
> A donkey will sink in quicksand, a mule will not.
> A possum doesn't_ play possum_.  It passes out from sheer terror.


The opposum is the only North American marsupial (i.e. has a pouch like a kangaroo)


----------



## Joz (Jun 30, 2006)

Ballroom Dancing is a major at Brigham Young University.
The ball at the top of a flagpole is called a trunk.
The blue field behind the stars on a flag is called a canton.


----------



## Hobbit (Jun 30, 2006)

Not in any one of the 94 episodes of the television show, "The A-Team" did B.A. Baracus, played by Mr. T, ever utter the line "I pity da foo!"  This line came from Clubber Lang, Mr. T's character in Rocky III, when asked by a reporter if he hated Rocky Balboa.  Even then, it was calm and well-enunciated.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 30, 2006)

It is illegal to have a rat as a pet in the province of Alberta, Canada (a great idea IMO, I wish they'd make them illegal everywhere!)

<a href="http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/prm2579" target="new">link</a>


----------



## KarlMarx (Jun 30, 2006)

The Black Death, which occured in Europe between 1348 and 1350, is estimated to have killed one third of Europe's population. Some estimates put the number of fatalities in the tens of millions. If true, this is greater than all the fatalities in Europe during World War II almost 600 years later.

(Now do you wonder why I hate rats?)

The scientific name of the organism that causes Bubonic Plague is _Yersinia pestis_

The worst pandemic in history caused over 25 million deaths in a single year. That was the Spanish flu pandemic of 1917.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jun 30, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> The Black Death, which occured in Europe between 1348 and 1350, is estimated to have killed one third of Europe's population. Some estimates put the number of fatalities in the tens of millions. If true, this is greater than all the fatalities in Europe during World War II almost 600 years later.
> 
> (Now do you wonder why I hate rats?)
> 
> ...


you're just a ray of sunshine, aren't ya?


----------



## Joz (Jun 30, 2006)

Barbie debuted in 1959. She is from Willows, Wisconsin and went to Willows High School.  During the first year, 351,000 Barbie dolls were sold.

Barbie has five sisters, Skipper, introduced in 1964, Tutti, a twin introduced in 1966, Stacie in 1992, Kelly in 1995 and Krissy in 1999.

Barbie's boyfriend, Ken made his debut two years after Barbie, in 1961. Ken was named after the son of Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot Handler.
Barbie was named after her daughter, Barbara.

Barbie was introduced in Europe in 1961

Every second, two Barbie dolls are sold somewhere in the world.

Close to 1 billion fashions have been produced since 1959 for Barbie and her friends.

Barbie doll is currently a $1.5 billion dollar-per-year industry.

An original 1959 Barbie doll in mint condition has sold for up to $10,000.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jun 30, 2006)

Hobbit said:
			
		

> Not in any one of the 94 episodes of the television show, "The A-Team" did B.A. Baracus, played by Mr. T, ever utter the line "I pity da foo!"  This line came from Clubber Lang, Mr. T's character in Rocky III, when asked by a reporter if he hated Rocky Balboa.  Even then, it was calm and well-enunciated.



Not true..

A quote from the TV Series I am unsure which episode but it comes from IMDb..

B.A. Baracus: I pity the fool who goes out tryin' a' take over da world, then runs home cryin' to his momma! 

For more memorable quotes:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084967/quotes


----------



## Joz (Jul 1, 2006)

There are 63,360 inches in a mile.
There are 6,272,640 square inches in an acre,
Americans consume 18 acres of pizza, daily.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 2, 2006)

The first Little Caesars Pizza restaurant opened on May 8, 1959 in Garden City, Michigan.


----------



## Joz (Jul 2, 2006)

The heat of a pepper is tested on a Scoville scale.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 3, 2006)

George W. Bush is not the first president whose father was also a president.

The first president whose father was also a president was John Quincy Adams (sixth president), son of John Adams (second president).

Another similarity that John Quincy Adams and George W Bush share is that both of their fathers were vice presidents who later became president.

John Quincy Adams was also one of the designers of the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine is American policy to this day.


----------



## Joz (Jul 3, 2006)

All Presidents that have donned a beard have been Republican.  (I think that's 3)


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 4, 2006)

Hans Langseth of Norway had the longest beard at a record length of 17 1/2 feet long. When he died, his beard was given to the Smithsonian Institute.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 4, 2006)

Three presidents died on July 4th, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day.

Calvin Coolidge is the only president born on July 4th.

The original Declaration of Independence is enshrined at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Because of poor preservation techniques, the original has faded. It is stored in a helium filled glass case to prevent further damage.

The Liberty Bell was made by bellmakers Pass and Stow and originally weighed 2088 pounds.


----------



## Adam's Apple (Jul 4, 2006)

The country of Brazil was named after a tree that produces red dye.


----------



## jillian (Jul 4, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> Three presidents died on July 4th, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day.
> 
> Calvin Coolidge is the only president born on July 4th.
> 
> ...





> The Bell achieved an iconic status when abolitionists adopted the Bell as a symbol for the movement. It was first used in this association as a frontispiece to an 1837 edition of Liberty, published by the New York Anti-Slavery Society. . William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery publication The Liberator reprinted a Boston abolitionist pamphlet containing a poem about the Bell, entitled, The Liberty Bell, which represents the first documented use of the name, "Liberty Bell."



http://www.virtualtourist.com/trave...ngs_To_Do-Philadelphia-Liberty_Bell-BR-1.html


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 4, 2006)

If you look closely at the back of a penny, you'll notice that the statue of Lincoln shown in the Lincoln Memorial


----------



## Joz (Jul 4, 2006)

The only non-Presidents to adorn US currency are: $1 coin, Susan B. Anthony; $10 bill, Alexander Hamilton; $100 bill, Benjamin Franklin; $10,000 bill, Salmon P. Chase.

Grover Cleveland's real first name is Stephen, Grover is his middle name.

William Howard Taft was the first President to own a car.

The first President to be a Navy veteran was John F. Kennedy. Since JFK, all Presidents have been Navy veterans except Reagan (Army) and Clinton, who didn't serve.

Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Davis appeared opposite each other in the movie "Hellcats of the Navy."

When Harry Truman left office in 1952 he got in his own car and drove himself back to Missouri.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 4, 2006)

The various colors in fireworks are the result of the oxidation of metal based salts... some examples....

Sodium Chloride (common table salt) - Yellow

Calcium Chloride - Orange

Strontium Chloride (and Strontium Hyrdoxide, which is not a salt) - Red

Green - Barium Chloride

Blue - Copper Chloride 


Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese, as were the use of paper money, the compass, the printing press, pasta, the use of coal for fuel.... but NOT fortune cookies!


----------



## Joz (Jul 4, 2006)

Tickets for Frank Sinatra's first solo performance at the Paramount Theatre in New York City in 1942, sold for 35 cents each.

Bill Haley and the Comets, one of rock and roll's pioneer groups actually began their career's as Bill Haley's Saddle Pals - a country music act.

The song with the longest title is 'Im a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues' written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1943. He later claimed the song title ended with "Yank" and the rest was a joke.

In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played for the Royal Family at Versailles in France. He was even given the honor of standing behind the Queen at dinner - Mozart was only eight years old.

Brian Setzer, of the Brian Setzer Orchestra, started out in a garage band called Merengue.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 4, 2006)

Mozart's full name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart

Because Beethoven was totally deaf by the time his 9th symphony was composed (its fourth movement is "Ode To Joy"), he actually heard his last symphony.


----------



## Joz (Jul 4, 2006)

The Beatles played the Las Vegas Convention Center in 1964. Some 8,500 fans paid just $4 each for tickets.

Paul McCartney's younger brother, Michael, formed a group of his own, known as "The Scaffold" and goes by the name "Mike McGear". He is mentioned in the lyric of "Let 'Em In" as "Brother Michael" (available on McCartney's "Wings At The Speed Of Sound" album).

The Beatles held the Top Five spots on the April 4th, 1964 Billboard singles chart. They're the only band that has ever done that.

The most recorded song of all time - with more than 2,000 versions - is 'Yesterday'. Included on the 'Help!' soundtrack, it was number one for four weeks in 1965.


----------



## Hobbit (Jul 4, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese, as were the use of paper money, the compass, the printing press, pasta, the use of coal for fuel.... but *NOT fortune cookies!*



Not entirely true.  The fortune cookie was invented by the Chinese, but it was invented by a Chinese immigrant who ran a restaurant, so, technically, it was invented by the Chinese.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 4, 2006)

Hobbit said:
			
		

> Not entirely true.  The fortune cookie was invented by the Chinese, but it was invented by a Chinese immigrant who ran a restaurant, so, technically, it was invented by the Chinese.


picky picky picky

true, but the restaurant was in San Francisco (I believe)


The "cookies" your browser uses are small files that store state information, e.g. your user name and password (USMB uses cookies). I believe they got their name from fortune cookies, which are small and hold a small amount of information. NOTE: That's speculation on my part, I don't actually know that is actually the case.

Gosh... I suddenly have a craving for Chicken Chow Mein!


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 4, 2006)

The earliest cookie-style cakes are thought to date back to 7th century Persia (Iran), one of the first countries to cultivate sugar.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 4, 2006)

Right before this post, if you clicked on my name and went to "Find all posts by JimmyEatWorld", then clicked on "Last" at the bottom of the screen, it would take you back to October 22, 2005.



			
				Jimmyeatworld said:
			
		

> What Clay said... especially that last part.
> 
> Good credit is becoming more and more important, and if you have no credit or bad credit it can help you get back on the right road.


----------



## Joz (Jul 4, 2006)

The reason for the bat symbol on Bacardi is for the sugar cane used grows fertile from the excessive guano (bat droppings)

Cats don't have tastebuds for "sweet" taste

1 kg (2.2 pounds) of lemons contain more sugar than 1 kg of strawberries.

Only food that does not spoil: honey.

As much as 50 gallons of Maple Sap are used to make a single gallon of Maple Sugar.


----------



## jillian (Jul 4, 2006)

In Nebraska, it is illegal to picnic in the same place twice within a 30-day period.


----------



## Adam's Apple (Jul 5, 2006)

Here are some mind-boggling facts about the human body that are useless information for most of us.

The human body has 100 trillion cells, 100,000 genes, and 3 billion pairs of chemical code letters responsible for making proteins, the basic building blocks of life.  

How difficult is it for scientists to find a gene that might be responsible for a terminal or disabling disease?  Locating such a gene is like trying to find a burned out light bulb in a closet in a basement of a house located somewhere between the East and West Coasts without knowing the street or town it is located in, much less the state it is in. (from _An Incomplete Education_)


----------



## Adam's Apple (Jul 5, 2006)

The donkey became the symbol of the Democrat Party when Andrew Jackson's opponents called him a jackass.

The elephant became the symbol of the Republican Party because of its size, intelligence and strength.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jul 5, 2006)

Adam's Apple said:
			
		

> The donkey became the symbol of the Democrat Party when Andrew Jackson's opponents called him a jackass.


Or, they could also be called 'dumb-asses'


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jul 5, 2006)

No "witches" were ever burned in Salem.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 5, 2006)

Motorists traveling outside Salem, Oregon will see one of the "litter cleanup" signs crediting the American Nazi party. Marion County officials had no choice but to let that group into the adopt-a-road program.


----------



## Joz (Jul 5, 2006)

The raised reflective dot on a highway are called Botts dots.
There are 123,000,000 cars being driven on highways in the U.S.
Ninety percent of NYC cabdrivers are recently arrived immigrants.
The orange vest that highway workers ( & crossing guards) wear are called Retro-reflective or International orange.

Interstate numbers:
Odd numbers run north & south
Even numbers, east & west
Three digit numbers beginning with an even number are beltways
Three beginning with odd numbers are bypasses or spurs.


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 5, 2006)

New Yorker Harry N. Allen was the first person to import petrol powered taxis to the United States. Allen is also the first to coin the term "taxicab" and the first to paint his cabs yellow.

Taxis of Hong Kong have three colors based on service area. Taxis working urban areas are red, New Territories taxis are green, and taxis on Lantau Island are blue.

Tony Danza is driving the taxi across the bridge during the opening credits of the TV show "Taxi".


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 5, 2006)

the most abundent element in the universe is Hydrogen


----------



## deaddude (Jul 5, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> Until the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China, the Great Wall of China was the only man made object visible from the moon



This is false the great wall of china is not visible from the moon.

http://www.snopes.com/science/greatwal.htm


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 6, 2006)

The Great Wall of China is about 4,000 miles long.

In China tree hugging is forbidden.

China has only about 200 different family names.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 6, 2006)

Jimmyeatworld said:
			
		

> The Great Wall of China is about 4,000 miles long.
> 
> In China tree hugging is forbidden.
> 
> China has only about 200 different family names.


Chinese family names are usually, if not always, monosyllabic (one syllable)


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jul 6, 2006)

Jimmyeatworld said:
			
		

> In China tree hugging is forbidden.


Sorry, Greenpeace!!


----------



## Joz (Jul 7, 2006)

Jedi is an official religion with over 70,000 followers in Austrailia.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jul 7, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Jedi is an official religion with over 70,000 followers in Austrailia.



I wonder what they use in place of Mitichlorians....


----------



## Nienna (Jul 7, 2006)

At any given time, one-third of your hair follicles are turned "off." These hairs, then fall out. So at any given time you are losing one-third of your hair.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 7, 2006)

Crucifixion (i.e., the form of execution by which Christ died) was not begun by the Romans (although they probably perfected it!), the first recorded crucifixion was by order of the Persian king, Darius I, in 519 BC.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 7, 2006)

The longest military campaign of World War II was "The second battle of the Atlantic" which ran almost the entire length of the war - September 3, 1939 to May 7, 1945.


----------



## Joz (Jul 7, 2006)

Turtles can breathe through their butts.
A shrimp's heart is in it's head.
A starfish has no brain. (so can they feel?)


----------



## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 7, 2006)

The Swastika is a very old sacred symbol from near-prehistoric times and referred to in Germany as the Hakenkreuz. Traditionally a sign of good fortune and well-being, it is well-known in Hindu and Buddhist cultures and was used by the Aryan nomads of India.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jul 7, 2006)

Nienna said:
			
		

> At any given time, one-third of your hair follicles are turned "off." These hairs, then fall out. So at any given time you are losing one-third of your hair.


tell that to Tim...he's a fur bearing mammal!


----------



## Adam's Apple (Jul 8, 2006)

The worlds largest dam, currently being built in China, will be more than one mile wide and 600 feet high when it becomes operational in 2009.  The reservoir created by this dam will be approximately the size of the state of Arizona.  Unbelievable but true--the site of this massive dam is built over a seismic fault.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 8, 2006)

The company name Lego comes from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning "play well". Officially, the name is always spelled in capital letters, i.e. LEGO


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 8, 2006)

Mel Blanc, aka "The Man of a thousand voices", did most of the voices of the Looney Toons characters. In addition, he provided the voices of Barney Rubble, Secret Squirrel, Speed Buggy, Captain Caveman and the voice of the raven in the TV series "The Munsters".

Contrary to his popular cartoon character Bugs Bunny, Mel Blanc hated to eat raw carrots, because he was allergic to them. He would spit them into a wastebasket immediately after recording the line, then continue with the script.

It should be noted that Mel Blanc told fans of the cartoon characters that he didn't voice them, he managed them. At first Mel Blanc said these things so the kids would still watch the show; he was afraid they wouldn't if they knew the cartoons weren't real. That set a trend that almost every actor who has voiced a cartoon character has followed.

Mel Blanc provided the voice of Private Snafu, a character created by Frank Capra (director of "It's a Wonderful Life") in a series of training films during WWII. The scripts of which were written, by none other than Theodore Geissel (aka Dr. Seuss)


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 8, 2006)

If you spent $1 million a day, it would take almost 22,000 years to spend the amount equal to the national debt (which is over $8 Trillion)


----------



## Joz (Jul 8, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> If you spent $1 million a day,........


Let me have a shot at it.




			
				KarlMarx said:
			
		

> The company name Lego comes from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning "play well". Officially, the name is always spelled in capital letters, i.e. LEGO


Since 1949, the LEGO company, based in Denmark, has produced more than 200,000,000,000 of the plastic elements that make up the Lego System.
There are 102,981,500 ways to combine six of the 8-studed bricks of one color.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jul 10, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Since 1949, the LEGO company, based in Denmark, has produced more than 200,000,000,000 of the plastic elements that make up the Lego System.



half of those are in 2 big rubbermaid tubs at my house...Tim and I love to build stuff with legos when we have no money or a sitter to go out. It usually ends up being both of us building forts and war vehicles and using random household stuff (like sponges and soap bars) to launch & demolish each other's with. I know...we're weird.


----------



## USViking (Jul 10, 2006)

Adam's Apple said:
			
		

> The worlds largest dam, currently being built in China, will be more than one mile wide and 600 feet high when it becomes operational in 2009.  The reservoir created by this dam will be approximately the size of the state of Arizona.  Unbelievable but true--the site of this massive dam is built over a seismic fault.


Yike!- I did not know an area the size of Arizona was to be innundated.

The Yangtze, right?- the Huang Ho has hopefully been tamed.

Excuse the archaicisms.

I do not see how information like this could be considered useless.


----------



## Adam's Apple (Jul 11, 2006)

USViking said:
			
		

> I do not see how information like this could be considered useless.



Well, it's very interesting information, that's true; but what use are you going to make of it?  :tng:

The Discovery Channel recently had a program on about the building of the Three Gorges Dam.  It's a fascinating program to watch.  The best I can remember it was a couple hours in length.  If you didn't see it, catch it the next time they run it.  Well worth the time to watch.


----------



## Joz (Jul 11, 2006)

Seven million cars are junked yearly.
Two hundred three million dollars are spent yearly on barbed wire in the U.S.


----------



## fuzzykitten99 (Jul 11, 2006)

Adam's Apple said:
			
		

> The worlds largest dam, currently being built in China, will be more than one mile wide and 600 feet high when it becomes operational in 2009.  The reservoir created by this dam will be approximately the size of the state of Arizona.  Unbelievable but true--the site of this massive dam is built over a seismic fault.


lemme guess...when it cracks in half from an earthquake and millions drown, it will be Bush's fault for not signing Kyoto...then we will be guilted into sending millions in aid, and then criticized for not acting sooner.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 11, 2006)

Many units of measure were named after people

Watt (unit of power) - James Watt
Ohm (unit of electrical resistance) - Georg Ohm
Volts (unit of electrical potential) - Alessandro Volta 
Amps (unit of rate of electrical flow) - André-Marie Ampère
Kelvin (unit of temperature) - William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
Fahrenheit (unit of temperature) - Gabriel Fahrenheit
Celsius (unit of temperature) - Anders Celsius
Hertz (unit of vibration) - Heinrich Rudolf Hertz


----------



## Fmr jarhead (Jul 11, 2006)

SAn Diego means "whale's vagina."


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 11, 2006)

Arizona and Hawaii do not observe Daylight Savings Time


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 11, 2006)

According to the Gregorian Calendar, leap years occur every 4 years, except during century years not divisible by 400


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jul 11, 2006)

Fmr jarhead said:
			
		

> SAn Diego means "whale's vagina."



??? In what language?  San Diego means St. John in Spanish.


----------



## Fmr jarhead (Jul 11, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> ??? In what language?  San Diego means St. John in Spanish.



Not according to Ron Burgandy...he has leather bound books, and is evidently, a big deal.


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jul 11, 2006)

Fmr jarhead said:
			
		

> Not according to Ron Burgandy...he has leather bound books, and is evidently, a big deal.



Regardless,  Diego is a common name in Spanish and is translated as James or John...  I actually think I was wrong and it is James.  San is a male Saint.  Such as San Domingo or Santa Maria (Santa being female saint...)  Domingo is John I believe...  I'll have to look into it.  Maybe there is another language that San Diego translates to whale vagina...


----------



## no1tovote4 (Jul 11, 2006)

Oh...  It's German...  German for Whale's vagina.  At least according to Ron Burgundy it is.


----------



## Fmr jarhead (Jul 11, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> Oh...  It's German...  German for Whale's vagina.  At least according to Ron Burgundy it is.



Ah, yes, it is German, for whale's vagina.....now I remember....


----------



## Mr. P (Jul 11, 2006)

Guys, they dont have vaginas in California, just a lot of pussies.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 12, 2006)

Native to Peru and Ecuador, a plant which produced yellow or red fruit (later called tomatoes) was introduced to Europe in the early 1500s. Brought back by Conquistadors to Spain, the tomato was thought to be poisonous and was viewed with suspicion. It wasn't until the late 1600s that Europeans began to eat the tomato.


----------



## Joz (Jul 12, 2006)

Mr. P said:
			
		

> Guys, they dont have vaginas in California, just a lot of pussies.


Shame on you.
:rotflmao:


----------



## Joz (Jul 12, 2006)

Boys with odd first names have more mental problems than boys with more common names.
Girls don't seem to have this problem.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 12, 2006)

The names of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were taken from names of artists of the Renaissance.


----------



## Joz (Jul 12, 2006)

KarlMarx said:
			
		

> The names of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were taken from names of artists of the Renaissance.


# Leonardo - The de facto leader of the Turtles, Leonardo is courageous, decisive, and a disciplined student of martial arts. As a strict adherent to Bushido, he has a very strong sense of honor and justice. He wears a blue mask and wields a pair of katana. He is named after Leonardo da Vinci.
# Raphael - The team "anti-hero", Raphael has an aggressive nature and seldom hesitates to throw the first punch. His personality can be alternately fierce, sarcastic, and full of angst. He wears a red mask and wields a pair of sai. He is named after Raphael Sanzio.
# Michelangelo - The easy-going and free-spirited Michelangelo provides much of the comic relief. While he loves to read comics and eat pizza, this Turtle also has an adventurous side. He wears an orange mask and wields the nunchaku. He is named after Michelangelo Buonarroti.
# Donatello - The brilliant scientist, inventor, and technology geek, Donatello has a reputation as something of a wiseacre. He is perhaps the most non-violent Turtle, preferring to use his intellect to solve conflicts. He wears a purple mask and wields the bo. He is named after Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi.


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 12, 2006)

The character of Oscar the Grouch from the show, "Sesame Street" was inspired by two people. His attitude comes from a nasty waiter that served Jim Henson and former director Jon Stone at a restaurant called Oscar's Tavern in Manhattan. The voice was inspired by a cab-driver that used to drive Carroll Spinney to the set every day during the first season.

In 2004, Cookie Monster revealed that, before trying cookies for the first time, his name was Sid.

Oscar the Grouch's fur was orange in the first season. In the second season, it was changed to green.

The Count was born on 9 October 1,830,653 B.C.

Big Bird is 8'2" tall.

Bert and Ernie are *not* named for the characters in It's a Wonderful Life (1946); it's a coincidence.

"Sing a Song" (later released as a single by The Carpenters) was originally slated to be the show's opening theme song.

The shoe size of Snuffy Snuffleupagus was 65 GGG


----------



## KarlMarx (Jul 12, 2006)

The most expensive private home in United States History just went on the market for $135 million

http://aspentimes.com/article/20060712/NEWS/107120046


----------



## Joz (Jul 12, 2006)

730 N. Bedford Drive Beverly Hills. It was in this house that Lana Turner's daughter Cheryl Crane, stabbed & killed Lana's then boyfriend Johnny Stompanato on 5th. April 1958 in the right upstairs bedroom. Ruled a justifiable homicide questions have always been asked about how a fourteen year old girl could overpower a 175 pound man. It was widely believed that Lana killed him herself and Cheryl took the blame to save her mother.

625 Beach Road. PCH Santa Monica. Peter Lawford's beach home in which Monroe Monroe & President John F Kennedy carried on their secret affair in the early 60's.  

810 Linden Drive Beverly Hills.  It was here shortly before midnight on 20th June1947 that Bugsy Siegel was shot and killed by a hail of bullets. Siegel is widely acclaimed as the man who built Las Vegas. His hotel The Flamingo was the first super hotel to be built on the  now famous strip, then just a dirt track outside Las Vegas. Built with Mob money Bugsy was reportedly killed for skimming money from the Mob. Subject of the 1991 Film Bugsy starring Warren Beatty, Benny Siegal was perhaps the most famous mobster of his era.

1270 Tower Grove Rd. Beverly Hills. The house in which Heidi Fleiss ran a brothel which was frequented by the Rich & Famous. Heidi's story was told in the film Madam of Beverly Hills.

360 N. Rockingham Ave. Brentwood. O.J.Simpson's home at the time of his arrest for the murder of his wife Nicole & Ron Goldman. The new owners have since demolished this house and built a new one.


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## musicman (Jul 13, 2006)

The majority of Senate Republicans actually possess scrotal sacs, in which reside something eerily reminiscent of testicles. These odd little objects have shrunk to almost nothing from disuse, however. They are little more than useless totems - affectations of a bygone age; kind of like Al Gore's brain.


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## Joz (Jul 13, 2006)

musicman said:
			
		

> The majority of *Senate Republicans actually possess scrotal sacs, in which reside something eerily reminiscent of testicles. *These odd little objects have shrunk to almost nothing from disuse, however....


# The testicles are oval organs! 
# Your testes are about 4 to 4.5 cm long and 2 to 2.5 cm round. And that is like one of those gum balls that cost a quarter in a Wal-Mart entrance... Not quite as big as the fifty cent gum balls, or one of those plastic eggs with a friendship bracelet in it.
# It is normal for one testicle to hang lower than the other in the scrotum. It considered more attractive to have the right one lower than the left. (The opposite applies to European tastes.)
# Your testicles produce and store sperm. That's like a factory also being a closet.
# Your testicles are the body's main source of male hormones. These hormones control the development of the reproductive organs and other male characteristics, such as body and facial hair, low voice, wide shoulders, and size of lap.
# A man with one testicle can still have a normal erection and produce sperm for all who require it. He also will have the good fortune of garnering a nickname like "Lefty" or "Mr. Right".
# Each testis contains tightly coiled tubes (smart-scientist-men call them: seminiferous tubules) within which the germ cells (reproductive cells) divide and mature to form sperm. This all happens by unknown, magical means and will baffle smart-scientist-men for many years to come.
# Your puberty is actually a celebration of your testicles producing sperm. Secondary sex characteristics are your body's way of decorating for that party.
# The delicacy known as Rocky Mountain Oysters are in actuality USDA approved *bull testicles.* People eat these. I'm serious, they put them in their mouth and eat them. 


Testicle Festivals

If you've a mind to get together and have a ball with some fun folk....visit a testicle festival!!
You'll get a chance to taste and test some quality food and maybe play cow-patty bingo, have a bull-chip flinging contest or exhibit your hairy chest!
In Clinton, Montana (home to one of the most famous Testicle Festivals) they feed over 2 1/2 tons of bull balls to over 15,000 visitors!


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## fuzzykitten99 (Jul 13, 2006)

no1tovote4 said:
			
		

> Regardless,  Diego is a common name in Spanish and is translated as James or John...  I actually think I was wrong and it is James.  San is a male Saint.  Such as San Domingo or Santa Maria (Santa being female saint...)  Domingo is John I believe...  I'll have to look into it.  Maybe there is another language that San Diego translates to whale vagina...


Domingo is "Sunday" in Spanish...


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## Fmr jarhead (Jul 13, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Testicle Festivals
> 
> If you've a mind to get together and have a ball with some fun folk....visit a testicle festival!!
> You'll get a chance to taste and test some quality food and maybe play cow-patty bingo, have a bull-chip flinging contest or exhibit your hairy chest!
> In Clinton, Montana (home to one of the most famous Testicle Festivals) they feed over 2 1/2 tons of bull balls to over 15,000 visitors!



Big one!


TesyFesty outside of Missoula


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## deaddude (Jul 14, 2006)

the largest penis in the animal kingdom belongs to the right whale: 10ft long with half ton testicles.


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## musicman (Jul 15, 2006)

deaddude said:
			
		

> the largest penis in the animal kingdom belongs to the right whale: 10ft long with *half ton testicles*.



With all that to spare, you'd think they might throw a little help the Republican Senate's way.


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## Mr.Conley (Jul 15, 2006)

The average American will over the course of their life spend 6 months waiting at red lights.


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## Joz (Jul 15, 2006)

10% of human dry weight comes from bacteria

25% of a human's bones are in its feet.

40% of all people who come to a party snoop in your medicine cabinet.

A human head remains conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it is been decapitated.

56,000,000 people go to Major League baseball games each year


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## Adam's Apple (Jul 17, 2006)

Idaho is called the Gem State because Idaho means Gem of the Mountains.

Our smallest state, Rhode Island, has the shortest state motto:  Hope.

Only 80 miles separates Californias highest (Mt. Whitney) and lowest (Death Valley) points.

The state sport of Alaska is mushing.

When the state of Alabama voted to secede from the Union in 1861, the citizens of the town of Haleyville voted to secede from Alabama.

There is no home delivery of mail in Bisbee, Arizona because the streets are too steep for mail carriers.

Home on the Range is the state song of Kansas.

Lake Ontario is the only Great Lake that does not touch Michigan.

John Winthrop was the first elected official in America (elected governor of the Massachusetts Colony in 1631).

The State of Delaware has only three counties.

Lake Compounce Festival Park in Connecticut is the nations oldest continuously operating amusement park.

In terms of land area covered, Jacksonville, Florida is Americas largest city.  

Hawaii is the only U.S. state where white residents are not the majority.

Boulder City is the only town in Nevada where gambling *is not *legal.  

Nebraska is the only U. S. state having a unicamerial  (one house) legislature.

The roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico (beep! beep!).  

Mountain passes in New Hampshire are called notches.

The electric chair was first used as an implement of execution at Auburn Prison in New York in 1890.


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## fuzzykitten99 (Jul 17, 2006)

The Hoover Dam does NOT power any part of Las Vegas.

The door that Chevy Chase walked out of while on the tour in Vegas Vacation, does not exist.


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## Joz (Jul 17, 2006)

Adam's Apple said:
			
		

> The electric chair was first used as an implement of execution at Auburn Prison in New York in 1890.


1881 - Dr. Albert Southwick, a dentist and former steamboat engineer, sees elderly drunkard touch terminals of electrical generator in Buffalo, New York. He is amazed at how quickly and apparently painlessly the man is killed and describes episode to friend State Senator David McMillan.


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## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 21, 2006)

If you put a raisin in a glass of champagne, it will keep floating to the top and then sinking to the bottom.

The average human will drink about 72,737 liters of water in a lifetime.

In medieval England, beer was often served with breakfast.

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


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## Joz (Jul 25, 2006)

Pigs can't look skyward.


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## JOKER96BRAVO (Jul 25, 2006)

Joz said:
			
		

> Pigs can't look skyward.


Not even if they're on their backs???


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## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 28, 2006)

James Polk survived gall bladder surgery at the age of 17. He was sedated only by brandy.

Andrew Johnson only wore suits that he custom tailored himself.

James Garfield was ambidextrous and multilingual. He could write Greek with one hand while writing Latin with the other.

Warren Harding once gambled away an entire set of White House china in a poker game.

Dwight Eisenhower developed a recipe for vegetable soup that is 894 words long and includes the stems of nasturtium flowers as one of the ingredients.


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## KarlMarx (Jul 28, 2006)

Leonardo Da Vinci was an illegitimate child and a vegetarian


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## Annie (Jul 28, 2006)

http://www.eyeontheun.org/facts.asp?1=1&p=40

Top ten countries subject to UN human rights criticism in 2005

First place: 	Israel
Second place: 	Sudan
Third place: 	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Fourth place: 	Nepal
Fifth place: 	Myanmar
Tied for sixth place: 	Burundi and Colombia
Seventh place: 	Côte d'Ivoire
Tied for eighth place: 	Afghanistan and the United States of America


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## KarlMarx (Jul 29, 2006)

The 10 largest asteroids and their sizes in kilometers
Ceres - 457 
Pallas - 262 
Vesta - 251 
Hygiea - 215 
Davida - 169 
Interamnia - 167 
Europa - 156 (which, coincidentally shares a name with one of Jupiter's moons)
Eunomia - 136 
Sylvia - 135 
Psyche - 132


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## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 29, 2006)

According to "they", and we know how "they" are...

9% of Americans skip breakfast daily.
16% of Americans have forgotten their own wedding anniversary.
20% of American women consider their parents to be their best friends.
29% of Americans ignore RSVP.
35% of Americans give to charity at least once a month.
45% of Americans believe in ghosts.
58% of Americans have called into work sick when they weren't at least once.
59% of Americans consider themselves average looking.
62% of Americans pop their zits.
71% of Americans can drive a stick shift.
72% of Americans eavesdrop.
82% of Americans believe in an afterlife.
85% of American men don't use the slit in their underwear.
90% of Americans use an alarm clock.

And just for good measure:

Snickers is America's most popular candy bar.


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## KarlMarx (Jul 29, 2006)

Jimmyeatworld said:
			
		

> According to "they", and we know how "they" are...
> 
> 29% of Americans ignore RSVP.


And most of them are my relatives and friends


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## KarlMarx (Jul 29, 2006)

The Great Pyramid in Egypt is the only surving wonder of the "7 wonders of the world"

Built about 2570 BC
Height 481 feet
Approximately 2,300,000 blocks

Blocks vary in weight from 2 to 70 tons, the majority of which are about 30 tons


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## Joz (Jul 29, 2006)

At age 47, the Rolling Stones' bassist, Bill Wyman, began a relationship with 13-year old Mandy Smith, with her mother's blessing. Six years later, they were married, but the marriage only lasted a year. Not long after, Bill's 30-year-old son Stephen married Mandy's mother, age 46. That made Stephen a stepfather to his former stepmother. If Bill and Mandy had remained married, Stephen would have been his father's father-in-law and his own grandpa.

At the tender age of 7, the multi-award-winning composer and pianist Marvin Hamlisch ("The Way We Were," "The Sting") was one of the youngest students ever admitted to the renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York City.

Bill Haley and the Comets, one of rock and roll's pioneer groups actually began their career's as Bill Haley's Saddle Pals - a country music act.

Brian Setzer, of the Brian Setzer Orchestra, started out in a garage band called Merengue.

Beethoven's Fifth, was the first symphony to include trombones.


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## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 29, 2006)

Julia Roberts first movie role was the uncredited part of Babs in the sex farce "Firehouse".

Brad Pitt's first appearance in a movie was as a waiter in "No Man's Land".

Cuba Gooding Jr's first movie credit was Boy Getting Haircut in "Coming to America".

Kevin Costner's first movie role was as Ed in "Chasing Dreams". That same year, he played Frat Boy #1 in Ron Howard's "Night Shift".

Pro wrestlers Kevin and Kerry Von Erich both auditioned for the role of Ivan Drago in "Rocky 4", the part that eventually went to Dolph Lundgren.

Selma Blair auditioned for the part of Buffy in the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Sarah Michelle Gellar auditioned for the part of Buffy, was offered the role of Cordelia, but was eventually given the part of Buffy.

Sylvester Stallone was originally cast in the lead role for "Beverly Hills Cop". When Stallone insisted on making changes to the script, he was dropped and the role was given to Eddie Murphy. Stallone took his version of the BHC script and made the movie "Cobra".


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## Adam's Apple (Jul 30, 2006)

Jesus was nailed to the cross; the two thieves were tied to their crosses with rope.

Napoleon's horse was named Marengo.

Sleeping Beauty slept for 100 years.

Paul Revere was a silversmith and made George Washington's false teeth.

All Chinese brides wear red.

Betty Davis turned down the role of Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind"; Robert Redford turned down Dustin Hoffman's role in "The Graduate".

The CA license plate of Jack LaLanne reads "REDUCE"; the CA license plate of Lawrence Welk read "A1ANA2".

The U.S. has had five sets of Presidents with the same last name:  John and John Quincy Adams; William H. and Benjamin Harrison; Andrew and Lyndon Baines Johnson; Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt; George H.W. and George W. Bush.  Of this group, only the Johnsons were not related.

The sole inscription on the tablet held by the Statue of Liberty reads:  July 4, 1776.

The Secret Service code name for JFK was Lancer; for Jackie, Lace; for Caroline, Lyric, and for John John, Lark.


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## Adam's Apple (Jul 30, 2006)

Forgot a couple.  

The nicknames of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were "Little Boy" and "Fat Man".

The number of Americans killed as a result of the Pearl Harbor attack was 2,388.


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## KarlMarx (Jul 30, 2006)

In the movie "Star Wars", the planet that Luke Skywalker comes from, "Tatooine" sounds very similar to the name of the Tunisian city of "Tataouine". One of the filming locations for Episodes I, II, III and IV, especially the "Tatooine" sequences, was Tunisia.

Later in his life, Alec Guinness (the original Obi Wan Kenobi) always recalled the experience of making the movie as a bad one and consistently claimed that it was his idea to have his character killed in the first film, so he "wouldn't have to carry on saying these rubbish lines". 

James Caan, Al Pacino and Burt Reynolds turned down the role of Han Solo.

George Lucas based the character of Han Solo on his friend, director Francis Ford Coppola.

Mel Blanc auditioned for the voice of C-3PO.

George Lucas originally wanted Orson Welles to do Darth Vader's voice, but decided against it, feeling that Welles' voice would be too recognisable.

James Earl Jones supplied the voice of Darth Vader, but specifically requested that he not be credited. At the time, the reason he cited was that he felt he had not done enough work to get the billing, but he later admitted that he didn't want his name associated with the film because he was still an up-and-coming actor, and didn't want to be typecast

20th Century Fox was so sure Star Wars was going to be a disaster that they came within a matter of days of selling off their stake in the film as a tax shelter. Positive feedback from an advanced screening made them change their minds, and the profits from the film ended up saving the studio from bankruptcy.

The Millennium Falcon was originally modeled after a hamburger with an olive next to it.

The word "Jedi" is derived from the Japanese words "Jidai Geki" which translate as "period drama."

George Lucas waived the normal writer/director fee and asked for a mere $175,000 plus 40% of the merchandising rights. Studio executives, seeing little if any profit from such merchandise, agreed.


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## KarlMarx (Jul 30, 2006)

The ancient Egyptians invented the first disposable tampons made from softened papyrus. The ancient Greeks invented tampons made from lint wrapped around a small piece of wood, recorded in writing by Hippocrates in the fifth century B.C. Other materials used for the first tampons have included: wool, paper, vegetable fibers, sponges, grass, and later cotton.

In 1929, the modern tampon (with applicator) was first invented and patented by Doctor Earle Haas who wanted to invent a tampon that could be effectively mass produced. Earle Haas filed for his first tampon patent on November 19, 1931. His patent description was for a "catamenial device," derived from the Greek word for monthly. He later trademarked Tampax as the brandname for his tampon product. 

Gertrude Tendrich founded the Tampax company for the mass production of tampons after buying the patent and trademark rights from Earle Haas.


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## Jimmyeatworld (Jul 30, 2006)

Another Star Wars tidbit:

Harrison Ford had essentially given up on an acting career and was working as a carpenter. He had a job that happened to put him near George Lucas' office when Lucas was auditioning an actor for the part of Han Solo. When the other actor was done, Lucas asked Ford if he would be interested in coming in for an audition. The actor that had come in for the audition: Richard Dreyfuss.


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## American Horse (Jul 25, 2009)

The Zip Code 12345 is assigned to General Electric in Schenectady, New York.
The area code 321 is assigned to the part of Florida containing the Kennedy Space Center.


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## American Horse (Jul 25, 2009)

Prior to the age of _Political Correctness_ the term _gender_ was generally used in social or cultural contexts, and as a faculty of grammar for noun and pronoun endings, as distinguished from biological contexts.  Beginning in the 1960s and 70s it began to be used as a euphemism for the sex of a human being, with that now being by far the most common usage in conversational context.


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