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OT: Share useless Trivia!
- Thread starter Mal Malenkirk
- Start date
s/LaSH
First Post
Stalin means Steel, and Molotov means Hammer. (Molotov was one of Josef Stalin's Soviet contemporaries.)
If my calculations are correct, the Earth travels its own diameter in distance around the Sun once every minute. (Almost precisely. But I did it in my head one day and can't be bothered checking the figures right now.)
Genghis Khan had green eyes and red hair.
The original concept known as Superman was bald, evil, and a powerful psychic. (Luckily, the creators changed it a little as they went along.)
Hollywood was founded at the ends of the Earth because Thomas Edison had a habit of sending thugs after rival movie-makers in New York... those rivals got as far away from him as possible.
And there might be a little more trivia at my site, but mostly it deals with Norsemen getting high on tainted mead. There's a history section attached to the comic.
If my calculations are correct, the Earth travels its own diameter in distance around the Sun once every minute. (Almost precisely. But I did it in my head one day and can't be bothered checking the figures right now.)
Genghis Khan had green eyes and red hair.
The original concept known as Superman was bald, evil, and a powerful psychic. (Luckily, the creators changed it a little as they went along.)
Hollywood was founded at the ends of the Earth because Thomas Edison had a habit of sending thugs after rival movie-makers in New York... those rivals got as far away from him as possible.
And there might be a little more trivia at my site, but mostly it deals with Norsemen getting high on tainted mead. There's a history section attached to the comic.
NiTessine
Explorer
And continuing in the vein of useless stuff about Stalin... His real, original name was Dshugashvili, and he was a Georgian (known back then as Grusia, or something to that effect), son of a shoemaker. He was studying to be a priest, but was kicked out of the seminary.
Lenin's real name wasn't Lenin, either. It was Ulyanov.
Molotov's cocktail had very little to do with Molotov. It is a Finnish invention.
The verb 'chat' (as in Instant Relay...) comes from military slang of WW1. Back then, lice were known as 'chats', and removing lice from one's clothing became a daily routine.
Lenin's real name wasn't Lenin, either. It was Ulyanov.
Molotov's cocktail had very little to do with Molotov. It is a Finnish invention.
The verb 'chat' (as in Instant Relay...) comes from military slang of WW1. Back then, lice were known as 'chats', and removing lice from one's clothing became a daily routine.
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WayneLigon
Adventurer
The Birdman of Alcatraz actually kept no birds while at the famous prison. All his original work on bird diseases (the scientific value of which is still debated) was done while he was incarcerated at Levenworth. It had been determined that Stroud was abusing his privledges (such as using requested lab equipment to in fact build a small still) and so he disallowed from continuing any research during his 17 years at Alcatraz.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Share useless Trivia!
eat eight spiders per night? Are they classified as confectionary?
Ok here's some
St. John was the only one of the 12 Apostles to die a natural death.
Many sailors used to wear gold earrings so that they could afford a proper burial when they died.
The Nobel Prize resulted form a late change in the will of Alfred Nobel, who did not want to be remembered after his death as a propagator of violence - he was the inventor of dynamite
On 7 January 1904 the distress call 'CQD' was introduced. 'CQ' stood for 'Seek You' and 'D' for 'Danger'. This lasted only until 1906 when it was replaced with 'SOS'
Some Eskimos have been known to use refrigerators to keep their food from freezing.
John Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, had a payphone in his mansion
More money is spent each year on alcohol and cigarettes than on Life insurance
A ten-gallon hat holds three-quarters of a gallon.
G.
MeepoTheMighty said:
eat eight spiders per night? Are they classified as confectionary?
Ok here's some
St. John was the only one of the 12 Apostles to die a natural death.
Many sailors used to wear gold earrings so that they could afford a proper burial when they died.
The Nobel Prize resulted form a late change in the will of Alfred Nobel, who did not want to be remembered after his death as a propagator of violence - he was the inventor of dynamite
On 7 January 1904 the distress call 'CQD' was introduced. 'CQ' stood for 'Seek You' and 'D' for 'Danger'. This lasted only until 1906 when it was replaced with 'SOS'
Some Eskimos have been known to use refrigerators to keep their food from freezing.
John Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, had a payphone in his mansion
More money is spent each year on alcohol and cigarettes than on Life insurance
A ten-gallon hat holds three-quarters of a gallon.
G.
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Drew
Explorer
As far as the eight spiders a year thing, here's what
http://www.snopes.com/index.htm had to say about it.
Claim: The average person swallows eight spiders per year.
Status: False.
Origins: Oh, yuk! It's hard enough to avoid those horrible wriggly things while we're awake, and now we have to worry that they're crawling into our mouths while we sleep? Little Miss Muffett was a piker.
Fear not. This "statistic" was not only made up out of whole cloth, it was invented as an example of the absurd things people will believe simply because they come across them on the Internet.
In a 1993 PC Professional article, columnist Lisa Holst wrote about the ubiquitous lists of "facts" that were circulating via e-mail and how readily they were accepted as truthful by gullible recipients. To demonstrate her point, Holst offered her own made-up list of equally ridiculous "facts," among which was the statistic cited above about the average person's swallowing eight spiders per year, which she took from a collection of common misbeliefs printed in a 1954 book on insect folklore. In a delicious irony, Holst's propagation of this false "fact" has spurred it into becoming one of the most widely-circulated bits of misinformation to be found on the Internet.
Last updated: 23 April 2001
http://www.snopes.com/index.htm had to say about it.
Claim: The average person swallows eight spiders per year.
Status: False.
Origins: Oh, yuk! It's hard enough to avoid those horrible wriggly things while we're awake, and now we have to worry that they're crawling into our mouths while we sleep? Little Miss Muffett was a piker.
Fear not. This "statistic" was not only made up out of whole cloth, it was invented as an example of the absurd things people will believe simply because they come across them on the Internet.
In a 1993 PC Professional article, columnist Lisa Holst wrote about the ubiquitous lists of "facts" that were circulating via e-mail and how readily they were accepted as truthful by gullible recipients. To demonstrate her point, Holst offered her own made-up list of equally ridiculous "facts," among which was the statistic cited above about the average person's swallowing eight spiders per year, which she took from a collection of common misbeliefs printed in a 1954 book on insect folklore. In a delicious irony, Holst's propagation of this false "fact" has spurred it into becoming one of the most widely-circulated bits of misinformation to be found on the Internet.
Last updated: 23 April 2001
Last edited:
Wicht
Hero
The Canary islands are, in fact, so named because of islands' dogs not because of any birds. The romans (IIRC) gave them their name.
Panama hats were originally made in Venezuela. They were just distributed through Panama.
Ten gallon hats are actually named for the number of braids on the hat, not for the size of the hat.
Panama hats were originally made in Venezuela. They were just distributed through Panama.
Ten gallon hats are actually named for the number of braids on the hat, not for the size of the hat.
Numion
First Post
Hitler was born a bastard son to one Schickelgrüber. By sheer luck his uncle happened to be in the town at the time of the birth and gave him the name Hitler. Or bad luck, since would've the nazi regime worked with "Heil Schickelgrüber!"?
There are no verified studies that negative feedback increases one's work performance. Studies to the contrary, however, exist.
Statistically you're more likely to die from an asteroid collision than in a plane accident.
This one was on a WWII site. Sounds kinda unbelievable: Some of the defenders in Normandia in op. Overlord were Korean. They'd been pressed into service by Japanese attackers, then been captured by the Russian. They used them in the eastfront, where they were captured by the Germans. Who in turn pressed them in to service in the west. Probably untrue
There are no verified studies that negative feedback increases one's work performance. Studies to the contrary, however, exist.
Statistically you're more likely to die from an asteroid collision than in a plane accident.
This one was on a WWII site. Sounds kinda unbelievable: Some of the defenders in Normandia in op. Overlord were Korean. They'd been pressed into service by Japanese attackers, then been captured by the Russian. They used them in the eastfront, where they were captured by the Germans. Who in turn pressed them in to service in the west. Probably untrue
Ravellion
serves Gnome Master
"Americans, for nearly two centuries, lived as the world's tallest human beings. Averaging 172 centimeters in the year 1750, American men towered over English and Norwegians by seven centimeters, Austrians by six, and Swedes by five.
But, somehow, things changed. Young Dutchmen, once among the shortest in Europe, today lead the pack at 183 centimeters, or just over six feet tall, while Americans, who gained just four centimeters in the last 250 years, are shorter than all of them. "
Source: http://www.oberlin.edu/~alummag/oamcurrent/oam_may99/tall.html
I knew the Dutch were the tallest in the world, but I had to back it up with my 174 cm (5'9") now didn't I?
Rav
But, somehow, things changed. Young Dutchmen, once among the shortest in Europe, today lead the pack at 183 centimeters, or just over six feet tall, while Americans, who gained just four centimeters in the last 250 years, are shorter than all of them. "
Source: http://www.oberlin.edu/~alummag/oamcurrent/oam_may99/tall.html
I knew the Dutch were the tallest in the world, but I had to back it up with my 174 cm (5'9") now didn't I?
Rav
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