This topic is to write any kind of useless/interesting fact you hear about. The reason is I like to read them, so I hope you would write many. I'll post the first 3 I remembered...
Mageiricophobia is the intense fear of having to cook. (I bet someone here has it) ;)
In the movie "Toy Story", the carpet designs in Sid's hallway is the same as the carpet designs in "The Shining."
The only insect that can turn its head 360 degrees is the praying mantis.
La primera comida preservada en lata fue inventada en 1810, pero el abrelatas no surgió hasta 1858.
Tribute to Töff, useless facts about sex of animals ;D:
Dolphins and chimps are the only animals having sex only for joy.
Male lions are able to have sex 50 times a day.
Pigs have 30 minutes long orgasm.
Male praying mantis can't have sex before the female removes his head.
And some really-really useless facts from other fields:
If you poop fluently for 7 years and then burn the gas, it can produce as much energy as an average nuclear bomb.
Mucophagia: scientific name for eating the snot coming from your nose.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words. (LOL)
It's forbidden to give the name 'Napoleon' to pigs in France.
If you are hunting for funny facts, just have a look at strange old laws in different American states... :D
Quote from: AbuRaf70 on November 24, 2008, 11:46:56 PM
La primera comida preservada en lata fue inventada en 1810, pero el abrelatas no surgió hasta 1858.
I wonder how did they open the can/tin...
Me pregunto como abririan la lata...Another one
A cockroach can live 9 days without its head until it dies... from starvation!
Una cucaracha puede vivir 9 dias sin la cabeza hasta que muere... de hambre!
Muchas veces que fuí de caza o pesca, para abrir alguna de esas latas, lo hacíamos con el cuchillo grande... y para apoyarlo, le poníamos otro cruzado encima de la tapa... de esa forma, íbamos cortando la tapa...
Puedo asegurar que nunca nos quedamos con hambre por no tener un abrelatas...
If you go up a bridge and puts 5ta gear you jump to 245 mph..... it's a fact!
Quote from: Rotoi on November 26, 2008, 06:29:27 AM
If you go up a bridge and puts 5ta gear you jump to 245 mph..... it's a fact!
But it's not useless. :D
It's not true, though :) Your rpm has to be over 7000
Quote from: Rotoi on November 26, 2008, 06:29:27 AM
If you go up a bridge and puts 5ta gear you jump to 245 mph..... it's a fact!
Quote from: BonzaiJoe on November 26, 2008, 05:05:59 PM
It's not true, though :) Your rpm has to be over 7000
But it becomes true in a loop.
Another one: Buenos Aires has the highest psychologist/people ratio in the world.
Triskaidekaphobia es el miedo al número 13.
Clinophobia is the fear of beds.
Clinophobia es el miedo a las camas.
??? ??? ??? ???
loopophobia is the fear of up/down lopps.
skidophobia is the intense fear of skidding out in corners.
;D
Quote from: zaqrack on November 27, 2008, 03:37:55 PM
loopophobia is the fear of up/down lopps.
skidophobia is the intense fear of skidding out in corners.
;D
I've experienced those two in late FTT races. (Specially the 2nd one with bloody Countach)
Yo sufri las dos en las ultimas carreras de FTT. (Especialmente la segunda con el maldito Countach)
Schizofrenia - A Sepultura album
Fear of the dark - An Iron Maiden album
Youthanasia - A Megadeth album
Sorry chulk I don't have interesting things to say but useless I have a lot :D
for example I bought (my mother actually) a magazine called "Muy Interesante" of "Very Interesting" in 1985. The main article speaks about a possible USA-USSR expedition to Mars in 1992 :) I'm still waiting.... BTW USSR desapeared in 1993 so...
Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."
The expression "OK" comes from the US Army. At the end of the day, they wrote down the number of casualties (or "kills") in a bilboard. If there had been 2 kills, then they wrote 2K, if nobody had died, then it read 0K, so the "o" in OK is actually a "0".
MAFIA is an acronym for "Morte Alla Francia Italia Anela", or "Death to the French is Italy's Cry"
edit: One more for Zacky my brother just told me...
The phrase "jet lag" was once called "boat lag", back before airplanes existed
Quote from: alanrotoi
Fear of the dark - An Iron Maiden album
Talking of Iron Maiden, let me tell you that 666 is NOT the former number of the Beast. 616 is.
The Roman Emperor, hunting the 1st Christians, was considered the human representation of the "Beast", the Evil, on Earth by the early Christians.
To hide the real name of the person concerned, it has been coded using gematria ("trick" where numbers are based on the numerical values of letters in people's names).
Caligula (reigning from 37 to 41 A.D.) was designed as "616", and it's confirmed in the earliest known manuscript of the Book of Revelation (Papyrus 115 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_115)).
The final version of the Book of Revelation, the one used in the Bible, has been written when Nero was Roman Emperor (from 54 to 68 A.D.). Nero Claudius' number was 666, so it was the one written in the final version of the Bible, and therefore kept along until now.
Quote from: Chulk on December 10, 2008, 01:34:35 AM
Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."
It happened in a small Hungarian village 20-25 years ago - they wanted to avoid gipsies moving there. Nobody died, only the house was burned. Since that gipsies don't dare to enter that village. :D
When you mean "for example", e.g. is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase "exempli gratia". This could be translated as "for the sake of example"
The word "snorkel" comes from the German word "schnoerkel", which was a tube used by German submarine crews in WW2. The subs used an electric battery when traveling underwater, which had to be recharged using diesel engines, which needed air to run. To avoid surfacing to start the engines, the Germans used the schnoerkel to feed air from the surface into the engines.
Quote from: Chulk on December 10, 2008, 04:47:13 PM
When you mean "for example", e.g. is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase "exempli gratia". This could be translated as "for the sake of example"
Same thing for "that is", also written "i.e.", for "id est" in Latin.
The symbol for pounds (you know, that strange "L" I can't find it right now, will edit later) comes from the zodiacal Libra which symbol is a balance.
Casuality or Causality, Spanish word for pound is "Libra"
Quote from: Chulk on December 11, 2008, 12:40:52 AM
The symbol for pounds (you know, that strange "L" I can't find it right now, will edit later) comes from the zodiacal Libra which symbol is a balance.
Casuality or Causality, Spanish word for pound is "Libra"
I think I (literally) just realized the connection. The word for the Imperial System mass worth about 0.45kg unit is "pound" in English and "libra" in Portuguese (and Spanish too I suppose) as well. Weighing goods when buying => find how much it will be charged. Weight measurement instrument <=> balance => Zodiac's Libra... (note that even though £ is not used as symbol for pound, the weigh unit, lb is - even in English).
Speaking of Imperial Units, a spin-off from the Stunts Physics thread - have at look on how "easy" is to convert length units if you live in the USA:
12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
8 yards = 1 furlong
220 furlongs = 1 mile
Very convenient, except that no two conversion factors have any relation to each other... ::)
Quote from: Duplode
Speaking of Imperial Units, a spin-off from the Stunts Physics thread - have at look on how "easy" is to convert length units if you live in the USA:
12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
8 yards = 1 furlong
220 furlongs = 1 mile
Very convenient, except that no two conversion factors have any relation to each other... ::)
Decimal metric system is much easier to use : 1000m = 1km, 1t = 1000kg. Length, mass and volumes are defined in convertible units (1l=1kg of pure water). Simple, efficient, French (created after the French Revolution of 1789). ;D
Below there's a picture about the use of metric system around the world (green = older use, red = mewer use). Even English use it now, I wonder why USA still don't understand that this system is way much better to use than original English system they still use in the USA... ::)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/SI-metrication-world.png)
Official creation of metric system was done between 1793 and 1795, officially adpoted in France in 1799 (1kg was called 1 "grave" at this time). After the brief come-back of monarchy in France, the system is aborted in France in 1812. But it is officially approved in Kingdom of Netherlands (equivalent to nowadays "BeNeLux" = Belgium+Netherlands+Luxemburg) in 1816. With the 2nd Revolution in France (and the final end of monarchy, about time !) in France in 1830, the metric system is adopted, 1 "grave" is renamed 1kg. The system was never aborted since then and conquered the entire world, except a few countries (but it's just a matter of time ;)).
Quote from: Chulk on December 10, 2008, 04:47:13 PM
The word "snorkel" comes from the German word "schnoerkel", which was a tube used by German submarine crews in WW2. The subs used an electric battery when traveling underwater, which had to be recharged using diesel engines, which needed air to run. To avoid surfacing to start the engines, the Germans used the schnoerkel to feed air from the surface into the engines.
Sorry, the correct fact is: The word "snorkel" comes from the German word "
Schnorchel" (...).
Quote from: JTK on December 11, 2008, 03:16:27 PM
Quote from: Chulk on December 10, 2008, 04:47:13 PM
The word "snorkel" comes from the German word "schnoerkel", which was a tube used by German submarine crews in WW2. The subs used an electric battery when traveling underwater, which had to be recharged using diesel engines, which needed air to run. To avoid surfacing to start the engines, the Germans used the schnoerkel to feed air from the surface into the engines.
Sorry, the correct fact is: The word "snorkel" comes from the German word "Schnorchel" (...).
Don't be sorry, it's great to have it corrected.
The only nation whose name begins with an "A", but doesn't end in an "A" is Afghanistan.
La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia is the highest capital in the world. Ski resorts there operate only on weekends during the South American summer (November to March). At an elevation of over 17,000 feet, it is too cold to operate during the South American winter.
In Calama, a town in the Atacama Desert of Chile, it has never rained. :o
Golf was banned in England in 1457 because it was considered a distraction from the serious pursuit of archery.
Is that stupid or what!
Quote from: Chulk on December 16, 2008, 06:18:20 PM
Golf was banned in England in 1457 because it was considered a distraction from the serious pursuit of archery.
Is that stupid or what!
GOLF means "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden". Machist game. ;D
Or gay game? :D
Nice one Chulk :D
So, when women think they are playing golf, they are actually playing logf?
Quote from: BonzaiJoe on December 17, 2008, 02:51:16 AM
So, when women think they are playing golf, they are actually playing logf?
Obviously. :D
I have a cousin who was born on the exact same day as Zak. 17-12-1981.
Incan soldiers invented the process of freeze-drying food. The process was primitive but effective — potatoes would be left outside to freeze overnight, then thawed and stomped on to remove excess water.
When airplanes were still a novel invention, seat belts for pilots were installed only after the consequence of their absence was observed to be fatal - several pilots fell to their deaths while flying upside down. :D
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades - King David; Clubs - Alexander the Great; Hearts - Charlemagne; and Diamonds - Julius Caesar.
Quote from: BonzaiJoe on December 17, 2008, 01:50:01 PM
I have a cousin who was born on the exact same day as Zak. 17-12-1981.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACKY!!!
Music genres and their connections can be visualized graphically without any problems.
Last.fm users will find this especially interesting, as the website can show -based on your last.fm profile - where your preferences are. Others may also check some of their favourite bands:
http://sixdegrees.hu/last.fm/interactive_map.html (http://sixdegrees.hu/last.fm/interactive_map.html)
you may also find the non-interactive version interesting with artist names shown:
http://sixdegrees.hu/last.fm/images/lastfm_4096_graph_white_labels.png (http://sixdegrees.hu/last.fm/images/lastfm_4096_graph_white_labels.png)
Quote from: zaqrack on January 13, 2009, 09:37:49 AM
Music genres and their connections can be visualized graphically without any problems.
Last.fm users will find this especially interesting, as the website can show -based on your last.fm profile - where your preferences are. Others may also check some of their favourite bands:
http://sixdegrees.hu/last.fm/interactive_map.html (http://sixdegrees.hu/last.fm/interactive_map.html)
you may also find the non-interactive version interesting with artist names shown:
http://sixdegrees.hu/last.fm/images/lastfm_4096_graph_white_labels.png (http://sixdegrees.hu/last.fm/images/lastfm_4096_graph_white_labels.png)
Those are cool... if you liked the non-interactive version, you may find this hyperlinked version of the connection map even more interesting: http://pattie.fe.up.pt/i_know_that_artist/ (http://pattie.fe.up.pt/i_know_that_artist/)
Quote from: zaqrack on January 13, 2009, 09:37:49 AM
So, what does it mean for me? Very rocky, some jazz/folk parts and sometimes very heavy. But never mainstream, as it seems...? Very interesting graphic. :)
Quote from: JTK on January 14, 2009, 10:07:09 AM
Quote from: zaqrack on January 13, 2009, 09:37:49 AM
So, what does it mean for me? Very rocky, some jazz/folk parts and sometimes very heavy.
and Mambo Kurt. I love Mambo Kurt. Unfortunately lost all the mp3's from him, but once attended a concert - awesome :)
Mambo Kurt, of course! I've seen him 4 times, he's such a great performer! ..."Hammond sound, motherfucker"...
He performs every year at Wacken Open Air and is a great celebrate there! :)
Some music for download is to be found here: http://www.mambo-kurt.de (http://www.mambo-kurt.de)
I had forgotten about this topic.
There is only one animated movie ever nominated for "Best movie" in all of Oscars history. Without searching or asking... can you guess which one it was? It's a Disney movie Lise probably loves...
There was once a chicken that lived without its head for 18 months... I had to search for it after I heard it because I couldn't believe it... See the story here (http://www.amusingfacts.com/facts/Detail/headless-chicken.html)
Quote from: Chulk on February 13, 2009, 01:45:25 PM
I had forgotten about this topic.
There is only one animated movie ever nominated for "Best movie" in all of Oscars history. Without searching or asking... can you guess which one it was? It's a Disney movie Lise probably loves...
There was once a chicken that lived without its head for 18 months... I had to search for it after I heard it because I couldn't believe it... See the story here (http://www.amusingfacts.com/facts/Detail/headless-chicken.html)
It's beauty and the beast, after that they created a new category for best animated movie. (Shit, why do I know this?)
And as for that music map, it has it's shortcommings. For instance: look for artists that sing in the same language (not English) or are from the same country (and not really world famous), they'll be positioned closely together, even when their styles are completely different.
Quote from: Overdrijf on February 22, 2009, 06:13:48 PM
And as for that music map, it has it's shortcommings. For instance: look for artists that sing in the same language (not English) or are from the same country (and not really world famous), they'll be positioned closely together, even when their styles are completely different.
Yes, the user-generated content at last.fm is wonderful because no single entity has a say on how music should be classified, but it has a few shortcomings. Like the endless and useless shoutbox complaints that go like: "WTF, how the hell rubbish like X can be listed as a similar artist to Y?!". Because many people
do listen to both X and Y, of course!
Quote from: Overdrijf on February 22, 2009, 06:13:48 PM
Quote from: Chulk on February 13, 2009, 01:45:25 PM
I had forgotten about this topic.
There is only one animated movie ever nominated for "Best movie" in all of Oscars history. Without searching or asking... can you guess which one it was? It's a Disney movie Lise probably loves...
It's beauty and the beast, after that they created a new category for best animated movie. (Shit, why do I know this?)
Correct! I'm surprised Lise didn't said anything about it...
Quote from: Chulk on February 22, 2009, 11:41:37 PM
Quote from: Overdrijf on February 22, 2009, 06:13:48 PM
Quote from: Chulk on February 13, 2009, 01:45:25 PM
I had forgotten about this topic.
There is only one animated movie ever nominated for "Best movie" in all of Oscars history. Without searching or asking... can you guess which one it was? It's a Disney movie Lise probably loves...
It's beauty and the beast, after that they created a new category for best animated movie. (Shit, why do I know this?)
Correct! I'm surprised Lise didn't said anything about it...
I would have said "Aladdin"...I thought I was a Disney expert :-[ I DO love Disney movies...Aladdin is my favourite (Jago is my hero), but there are so many good. Beauty and the Beast IS really fantastic! I have always wanted to be Belle - to walk around reading books...being beautiful...alone :)
Quote from: lised on February 24, 2009, 10:05:39 PM
I have always wanted to be Belle - to walk around reading books...being beautiful...alone :)
Oh... ("Insert big dissapointment smiley here")
Quote from: CTG on February 25, 2009, 03:41:41 PM
Quote from: lised on February 24, 2009, 10:05:39 PM
being beautiful
You ARE beautiful! ;)
Yeah, you are alone. It's the reading books part I'm not certain about. ;)
As an attempt to stay on topic: it's an interesting but useless fact that the jackdaws in our garden have learned to acces food on a string by pulling up the string with their beak, placing their foot on it and repeating that process a few times. Let's see what I can come up with to make it just a little harder on them...
Did you now that Marcha de San Lorenzo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plMl8urkjIc#noexternalembed&feature=related), an Argentinian Military March about San Lorenzo Battle where 140 Cavalry men commanded by Lt. Colonel San Martin (you know, "El libertador") defeated 250 Spanish troups without firing a single shot is really famous around the world and is considered one of the best 5 military partitures.
It was/is used in many important situations, see below:
* The Brittish government asked for permission and they played it when King George V was crowned (22-June-1911)
* Same thing with Queen Elizabeth II (2-June-1953)
* They play it at Buckingham Palace with Guards shift change, only stopped playing it during Malvinas War (at least they had some respect after all...)
* It was incorporated in Uruguayian, Brazilian and Polish military band's répertoire, amongst others.
* It was used in some war movies (Saving Private Ryan).
* Argentinian Army (before the Nazism) gifted "Marcha de San Lorenzo" to the German Army as a sign of friendship and in exchange German army gave "Alten Kameraden" (old Comrades).
* During WWII "Marcha de San Lorenzo" was played by the German when they invaded Paris and passed right by the 'Arc de Triomphe'
* General Dwight Einsenhower played it as well when Allied Army freed Paris, as relief.
Kamehameha wasn't invented by Toriyama Akira (creator of Dragonball)...
Quote from: wikipedia
Kamehameha I (Hawaiian pronunciation: [k?meh??m?h?]; c. 1758 – May 8, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawai?i in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawai?i's independence under his rule. Kamehameha is remembered for the K?n?wai M?malahoe, the "Law of the Splintered Paddle", which protects human rights of non-combatants in times of battle. Kamehameha's full Hawaiian name is Kalani Pai?ea Wohi o Kaleikini Keali?ikui Kamehameha o ?Iolani i Kaiwikapu kau?i Ka Liholiho K?nui?kea.
:o
An important advantage of living in Northern Europe:
http://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/fun-maps-2-50.jpg
:P
Some of you might be also interested in the number of metal bands per 100.000 people:
http://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-maps/?image_id=fun-maps-2-34.jpg
For the case if there are any girls around here:
http://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-maps/?image_id=fun-maps-2-53.jpg - look at Hungary!
Must be Akoss Poo raising the average length.
Interesting to see Denmark is a clear winner on this one:
http://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-maps/?image_id=fun-maps-2-9.jpg
I moved away when I was 20. Didn't think of that as early at all.
Quote from: BonzaiJoe on May 09, 2014, 12:51:27 PM
Interesting to see Denmark is a clear winner on this one:
http://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-maps/?image_id=fun-maps-2-9.jpg
I moved away when I was 20. Didn't think of that as early at all.
In Hungary it was throughout many years very hard to buy a flat/house, the rental flats are also quite expensive. (Now it is easier to some extent.) Many guys and girls are learning on the university or college, since there is a very high rate of admittance (which leads to the fact the quality of the courses are much lower). It is party time during the university years, the student thinks. It is also very difficult to find a job for a man or woman who just finished school.
I moved away when I was 27, and it wasn't easy at all.
Maybe there is a correlation between the penis map and this map:
http://www.boredpanda.com/interesting-maps/?image_id=fun-maps-2-42.jpg
Did you know about the connection of Uruguay and Hungary? ;)
Quote from: "Wikipedia
Francisco José Debali (July 26, 1791 – January 13, 1859) was a Hungarian-born composer who emigrated to Uruguay in 1838. He authored the national anthem of Uruguay and, possibly, the tune to Paraguayos, República o Muerte, which became the Paraguayan anthem.
Long ago, it was mentioned by a Hungarian TV commentator (maybe Jenö Knézy).
UP