This is intended as our own Ripley's Believe It Or Not thread.
Post really obscure and funny information (one item per post only)!
Did you know that in Argentine it is illegal to wash the national flag because the blood of the heroes of the fatherland could be washed out?
Did you know (http://www.information-britain.co.uk/countydidyouknow.php?county=23) - Under an old law it is perfectly legal to shoot a Welshman on a Sunday in Hereford, provided it's with a longbow and within Cathedral Close?
I have already warned Black Bart about this.
Did you know that for a half a century (1896-1948) Auld Lang Syne served as the tune for the Korean national anthem?
Did you know that Ragnarr Loðbrók (Ragnar Hairy-Trousers) had a son called Ivar inn beinlausi (Ivar the Boneless)?
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on July 12, 2010, 01:02:45 PM
Did you know that Ragnarr Loðbrók (Ragnar Hairy-Trousers) had a son called Ivar inn beinlausi (Ivar the Boneless)?
I know both characters but had forgotten that they were father and son. The latter iirc is said to have founded London using a similar trick as Dido (Carthage).
Was he related to sharks btw, since those also have cartilage not bones? :mrgreen:
Most authorities guess at some birth defect or illness (he had to be carried around), but some think it referred to impotence. However he married and had sons.
ǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁǁ
Did you know the last words of Gen. "Uncle John" Sedgwick at the battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse were: "I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way - they couldn't hit an elephant at this distan-".
I took it for an urban legend. At least that he was shot mid-sentence.
Did you know that many French soldiers became indirect victims of a dye subsidy in WW1?
Artificial madder (alizarin red) drove the Southern French natural madder industry into bankruptcy. The state bought their dye to prevent that.
The stuff was used to dye army uniform trousers. As a result French soldiers went to war with bright red clothes making them prime targets.
Note: Britain had solved that problem already because of similar experiences at the North West Frontier. The result was khaki (originally red plus mud).
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliaphobia is the fear of long words.
Did you know that Anthony Perkins was NOT in the shower scene in Psycho but in New York rehearsing for a stage play?
Hitchcock feared that someone could recognize his silhouette giving the whole plot away and therefore used a different actor.
Did you know that in 1046 Sweyn Godwinson, elder brother of Harold (later briefly king) kidnapped the abbess of Leominster Priory and kept her as a sex slave for a year?
Did you know that in Caesar's time there were more Jews in Alexandria than in Jerusalem?
Topless saleswomen are legal in Liverpool - but only in tropical fish stores.
Did you know that we once considered enforcing an ancient law and closing Oxford High Street on a Sunday for archery practice? We didn't push it because someone reckoned they could fine grown men for shooting at under 200 yards, which our target bows wouldn't carry.
Did you know barnacles have the largest penis lenght to body size ratio of the animal kingdom?
It's tough to make a connection when you're sessile. ;)
Did you know that the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague bears a striking resemblance to the Mighty Mekon from the old Dan Dare stories?
(http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu198/RamblingSyd/pg-2-hague-sandison_232748s.jpg) (http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu198/RamblingSyd/The2520Mekon25202.jpg)
Did you know that Mongols have no axillary sweat glands?
Did you know that a term for a part of dinosaur anatomy (the thagomizer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thagomizer)) originated from a Gary Larson Fars Side cartoon?
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable"!
Did you know that Austria still has hammer and sickle in the coat of arms displayed on the flag? Actually they had it long before the Soviets.
Did you know that Diana Dors' real surname was 'Fluck'? When she was famous she went back to her home town of Swindon to open a church fête. The vicar was desperately nervous about mispronouncing the name - so much so that when the time came he said ...
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you our star guest. We all love her, especially as she is our local girl. I therefore feel it right to introduce her by her real name; Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the very lovely Miss Diana Clunt."
Did you know that the floating test (so popular in witch trials) was already part of the Codex Hammurabi (about 1790 BC)?
But in the original it was drowned=guilty.
Edit: And that was a copy from the even older Codex Ur-Nammu (ca. 2100-2050 BC)
In Conneticut, in order for a pickle to officially be considered a pickle, it must bounce.
Did you know that lobster and salmon were once so abundant and therefore cheap in Germany that employers had to put clauses in the work contracts that they would not put them on the servant menu more than once a week? Otherwise they would have been considered misers and only desperate people would have sought employment with them.
Did you know (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10708737) that from now on Durex condoms will be produced by the same firm that makes Cillit Bang and Finish tablets?
Did you know that in Baltimore, Maryland (USA) it is illegal to take a lion to the movies?
Quote from: Opsanus tau on July 22, 2010, 09:35:43 PM
Did you know that in Baltimore, Maryland (USA) it is illegal to take a lion to the movies?
And in Alaska to throw moose out of aeroplanes
But in the UK there is no specific law against detonating nuclear weapons.
So they say. I bet they'd get you under some other law, though.
§310b StGB (obsolete version): Fahrlässiges Auslösen von Atomexplosionen (causing of nuclear explosions through negligence)
also interesting
Quote§ 307
Herbeiführen einer Explosion durch Kernenergie
(1) Wer es unternimmt, durch Freisetzen von Kernenergie eine Explosion herbeizuführen und dadurch Leib oder Leben eines anderen Menschen oder fremde Sachen von bedeutendem Wert zu gefährden, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter fünf Jahren bestraft.
(2) Wer durch Freisetzen von Kernenergie eine Explosion herbeiführt und dadurch Leib oder Leben eines anderen Menschen oder fremde Sachen von bedeutendem Wert fahrlässig gefährdet, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe von einem Jahr bis zu zehn Jahren bestraft.
(3) Verursacht der Täter durch die Tat wenigstens leichtfertig den Tod eines anderen Menschen, so ist die Strafe
1. in den Fällen des Absatzes 1 lebenslange Freiheitsstrafe oder Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter zehn Jahren,
2. in den Fällen des Absatzes 2 Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter fünf Jahren.
(4) Wer in den Fällen des Absatzes 2 fahrlässig handelt und die Gefahr fahrlässig verursacht, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu drei Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe bestraft.
and
Quote§ 309
Mißbrauch ionisierender Strahlen
(1) Wer in der Absicht, die Gesundheit eines anderen Menschen zu schädigen, es unternimmt, ihn einer ionisierenden Strahlung auszusetzen, die dessen Gesundheit zu schädigen geeignet ist, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe von einem Jahr bis zu zehn Jahren bestraft.
(2) Unternimmt es der Täter, eine unübersehbare Zahl von Menschen einer solchen Strahlung auszusetzen, so ist die Strafe Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter fünf Jahren.
(3) Verursacht der Täter in den Fällen des Absatzes 1 durch die Tat eine schwere Gesundheitsschädigung eines anderen Menschen oder eine Gesundheitsschädigung einer großen Zahl von Menschen, so ist auf Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter zwei Jahren zu erkennen.
(4) Verursacht der Täter durch die Tat wenigstens leichtfertig den Tod eines anderen Menschen, so ist die Strafe lebenslange Freiheitsstrafe oder Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter zehn Jahren.
(5) In minder schweren Fällen des Absatzes 1 ist auf Freiheitsstrafe von sechs Monaten bis zu fünf Jahren, in minder schweren Fällen des Absatzes 3 auf Freiheitsstrafe von einem Jahr bis zu zehn Jahren zu erkennen.
(6) Wer in der Absicht,
1. die Brauchbarkeit einer fremden Sache von bedeutendem Wert zu beeinträchtigen,
2. nachhaltig ein Gewässer, die Luft oder den Boden nachteilig zu verändern oder
3. ihm nicht gehörende Tiere oder Pflanzen von bedeutendem Wert zu schädigen,
die Sache, das Gewässer, die Luft, den Boden, die Tiere oder Pflanzen einer ionisierenden Strahlung aussetzt, die geeignet ist, solche Beeinträchtigungen, Veränderungen oder Schäden hervorzurufen, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe bestraft. Der Versuch ist strafbar.
It's of course difficult to appreciate these literary gems without deep knowledge of the German language.
In other words the wording is simply :ROFL:
That is very amusing indeed. It's the deadpan style that gets me -
Quote(2) Wer durch Freisetzen von Kernenergie eine Explosion herbeiführt und dadurch Leib oder Leben eines anderen Menschen oder fremde Sachen von bedeutendem Wert fahrlässig gefährdet, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe von einem Jahr bis zu zehn Jahren bestraft.
(2) Any person causing an explosion through the release of nuclear energy and thereby endangering
the life or wellbeing of another person or property of significant value
(deep breath) shall be subject to a period of imprisonment of between one and ten years.
:ROFL:
Did you know that next Sunday is International Bog Day (http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=events:summer:bogday)?
In 1926, a waiter in Budapest committed suicide. He left his suicide note in the form of a crossword and the police had to get help from the public to solve it.
Did you know that suicide was once a crime punishable by death?
Did you know that at the old railway station of my home village, the ticket office was for some time built into a hollow oak tree called Eve (http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks/walk_b/2601/)?
Did you know that in Spain women whose name is Maria are not allowed to work as prostitutes?
Quote from: Swatopluk on July 27, 2010, 08:12:12 AM
Did you know that suicide was once a crime punishable by death?
This was more sensible than it sounds as failed suicides would be put to death! Nowadays if you fail you have to live, however damaged by the attempt. :mrgreen:
Quote from: GriffinThis was more sensible than it sounds as failed suicides would be put to death!
So in the long run you couldn't fail. :mrgreen:
Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
So the world has only one giant eggplant, 30% bigger than New Jersey? Which other state(s) does it spread across into?
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Did you know that duelling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors?
EDIT: or is that 50%? I never could do sums.
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on July 29, 2010, 05:41:33 PM
Did you know that duelling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors?
I actually do (although I forgot that it was Paraguay).
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Did you know that Eisberg is a common name for girls in Brazil (as is Hitler for boys, no indicator of political views, people just like the sound)?
Did you know that Adolf Hitler's nephew, William Patrick Hitler, lived in Liverpool?
Did you know that the Bavarian government has to deal with alleged descendants of Hitler on a regular base, although there is no proof that Hitler ever sired offspring (unless he impregnated a French girl in WW1 but claimants are usually German)?
Those sons (and these days probably grandchildren) likely hope to profit from the copyright to Mein Kampf that is now held by Bavaria (Hitler's last official place of residence).
Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants.
Did you know that some town councils in Britain boasted that they had banned The Life of Brian despite not having a single cinema within their jurisdiction.
In Natoma, Kansas, it's illegal to throw knives at men wearing striped suits
The largest organism on earth is a giant fungus of the species Armillaria ostoyae (honey mushrooms) in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon, spanning 8.9 km2 (2,200 acres).
Who knew that a mushroom would be bigger than everything else?
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on August 01, 2010, 06:10:21 AM
The largest organism on earth is a giant fungus of the species Armillaria ostoyae (honey mushrooms) in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon, spanning 8.9 km2 (2,200 acres).
Who knew that a mushroom would be bigger than everything else?
I'll bet you could make a one kilometer bowl of soup with that. :mrgreen:
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on August 01, 2010, 06:10:21 AM
The largest organism on earth is a giant fungus of the species Armillaria ostoyae (honey mushrooms) in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon, spanning 8.9 km2 (2,200 acres).
Who knew that a mushroom would be bigger than everything else?
I learned that the largest organism was a fungus stretching over (or to be precise: under) major parts of Southen France.
I thought there were only viral networks ;)
Did you know that the first ship powered by a Diesel engine was the Fram which is also the wooden ship to hold both the Northern and Southern record of reached latidude? She was also so well insulated that she fulfilled the criteria for modern zero-energy buildings.
Did you know that the so-called Good King Wenceslas was only a duke during his lifetime? After he was murdered, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I promoted him to king and he was soon also made a saint.
Did you know that Hitler's chief bodyguard had the name of Rattenhuber (Rats-hider*)?
*hide not as in skin but as in acre
The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book
most often stolen from public libraries.
Did you know that the Statue of Liberty was at first an unwanted gift and that at the time of Dubya's Iraq war anti-French sentiment led some conservatives to demand that the statue should be sent back?
Some want her replaced by Ronald Reagan.
Alleged French answer: Of course we would take it back anytime (but don't expect to get it back should you change your mind about it).
Did you know that Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb, and that as a young lad his local doctor (GP) was Mrs H's mum?
Did you know that the S in Harry S Truman does not stand for a middle name?
Did you know that the same is true of U.S. Grant? He was born Hiram Ulysses; when Congressman Thomas L Hamer nominated him for West Point, Hamer got the name wrong on the form and put him down as 'Ulysses S. Grant of Ohio'. Grant decided to stick with it but never allocated a name to the spurious 'S'.
Did you know that the automatic telephone exchange was invented by an undertaker who had noticed that one lady in the exchange offcice channeled all calls to him to a rival instead (who she was married to) thus harming his business?
Did you know that the first French nuclear test was named "Gerboise Bleue" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-a30Yjc9Ys)?
Did you know that in France there was for a long time a list of allowed given names parents had to chose from?
In Vermont, it is against the law for a man to knit during the fishing season.
Did you know that in Iceland there is a public official that has to check whether infrastructure projects interfere with resident mythological entities (like elves)?
Did you know that there were serious attempts to legislate the value of pi (not pie!)?
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/805/did-a-state-legislature-once-pass-a-law-saying-pi-equals-3
Did you know that the first stuntman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel (Bobby Leach, an Englishman) later died when he slipped on a piece of orange peel?
Did you know that the decimal point was introduced by the watchmaker Jost Bürgi (friend of Kepler) who also could claim to be a co-dicoverer of logarithms.
The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
Did you know that hymen and hymn are both derived from a Greek deity, (Hymen(aios))?
He also had pirate connections.
DYK that the chirping sound that a male hummingbird makes at the bottom of his courtship dive is actually made by his tail feathers.
Did you know that St.Ctristopherus was kicked out of the saint list for not existing by Paul VI?
Did you know that King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng (http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/peibiceg.html) threw his daughter Efrddyl into the river Wye when she was found to be illegitimately pregnant, that she didn't drown and the child turned out to be St Dyfrig (Dubricius)?
You ought to know this if you live in Herefordshire or are called Devereux.
I guess on o the towers in the Tower Of London wa snamed after him?
---
Did you know that the first cinema precursor (zoetrope) dates back to China about AD180?
Quote from: WikiThe Devereux Tower is named after Robert Devereux (1566-1601) who was a prisoner in the Tower and was executed.
And Devereux is the Norman-French version of 'Dubricius'
-----------------------------------
Did you know that the word
tadpole is from Old English
tād pol , meaning "toad head" and that therefore it should not logically apply to frogs at all?
How many people do you know that could give an easy explanation what the difference is betwen frogs and toads?
Did you know that if you write stuff in blue letters people will usually think it's a link and click on it for hours?
How many people do you know that could give an easy explanation what the difference is betwen frogs and toads?
Actually, quite a few. Some in far greater detail than you would wish.
Some famous people, and their real names...
Alan Alda = Alphonso D'Abruzzo
Alice Cooper = Vincent Furnier
Tony Curtis = Bernard Schwartz
Elvis Costello = Declan Patrick McManus
Bo Diddley = Otha Elias Bates McDaniel
and
Albert Brooks = Albert Einstein
I was asking for an easy explanation ;)
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Did you know that Richard Wagner was likely not the son of Mr.Wagner sen. but of a Mr. Geyer, the chap his mother married after Mr. Wagner sen.'s death?
This is also the 'hidden' meaning behind Nietzsche's (in)famous comment on Wagner: Ein Geyer ist fast schon ein Adler (A vulture/Geyer is almost an eagle).
Did you know that Freddie Mercury's given name was Farrokh Bulsar?
Did you know that there is a region in East Anglia where no driving licences can be issued beause there is not a single hill where hill-starting can be practiced or tested in the exam?
For similar reasons (rather: To avoid similar problems), quite a few small municipialities here in Sweden have one light-signalled crossing in the local village, whether it is needed for traffic purposes or not. ;D
Did you know that Kellogg's cornflakes were originally intended as an antiaphrodisiac to control the dangerous sexual drive of the lower classes?
It failed because the brother of Dr.Kellogg insisted on adding sugar.
DYKT the works of Aristotle were translated Greek -> Arabic -> Latin -> English
If they used Babel fish goodness knows what he actually wrote.
There is actually a step missing: Aristotle talking - Student writing it down. Anything that Aristotle wrote himself seems to have been lost.
Did you know that the Roman historian Livy reports that he witnessed an ox falling from the fourth floor of an apartment block in ancient Rome and that we know from a letter found that those buildings must have had 8 storeys or more?
Quote from: Swatopluk on August 21, 2010, 08:30:05 AM
Did you know that the Roman historian Livy reports that he witnessed an ox falling from the fourth floor of an apartment block in ancient Rome and that we know from a letter found that those buildings must have had 8 storeys or more?
Sounds like a tall story to me :giggle:
It's possible, aren't cows the ones that can go upstairs but not downstairs?
Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on August 23, 2010, 03:58:05 AM
It's possible, aren't cows the ones that can go upstairs but not downstairs?
I thought that was donkeys.
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Did you know that there is a variant of the Mandelbrot set known as Buddhabrot]/url]?
In some areas of Germany that would be bread and butter ;) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhabrot)
DYTK I am spending tonight doing bat surveys and poking around in the roofspace of a haunted, disused stately home?
We have a castle quite near for that
http://www.berlin-motive.de/Spandau/fotos/Zitadelle_NEU_Plan/Haus4_Fledermaus/zitadelle.htm
Did you know that German colleagues honoured Einstein stealthily by use of a visual pun during the Nazi era?
At the Einsteinturm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_Tower) in Potsdam staffers removed and hid the Einstein bust in order to save it from destruction by the Nazis in 1933. they replaced it with a single stone (German: ein Stein). The tradition is kept up (although the bust is again at its proper place) but the stone is regularly stolen and has to be replaced.
Did you know that Schindler's Lift really exists and that I have been in it?
(http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu198/RamblingSyd/Lift.jpg)
(Ibis Aero Hotel, Budapest. Sorry about the bad photo - I kept getting disturbed by these silly people who for some reason wanted to go up and down in it.)
:o
Did you know that there is an actual 3D disease?
Pellagra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellagra) is classically described by "the three D's": diarrhea, dermatitis and dementia.
No, this is not about trying to stop smoking.
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on September 05, 2010, 06:44:37 PM
Did you know that Schindler's Lift really exists and that I have been in it?
(Ibis Aero Hotel, Budapest. Sorry about the bad photo - I kept getting disturbed by these silly people who for some reason wanted to go up and down in it.)
Though the elevator-and-escalator Schindlers are not related to the Subject-of-Spielberg-Movie Schindlers!
The elevator guys are a Swiss-based company, started in Luzern in 1874 as Schindler & Villiger. The Schindler's List Schindlers were germans, owned a company manufacturing farm equipment that went bust during the great depression, and the enamelled goods factory that Oskar Schindler owned and operated was a new aquisition, gotten through the "arisation" of the german economy during the 1930'ies. Oskar Schindler was in a position to buy the formerly jewish-owned factory largely through his excellent political connections from his work for the Abwehr, the german military intelligence department.
Did you know that an archer stuntman got so angry at Cecil B. DeMille at the set of "The Crusades" for shouting at them with a megaphone that he sent an arrow right through it, mere inches from DeMille's face? DeMille is reported to have never shouted at the stuntmen again (at least not during this production).
Did you know that Teddy Roosevelt once delivered a 90-minute speech after being shot in the chest (the bullet went through his notes for the speech) prior to being taken to the hospital. He began the speech by saying, "Some of you may not be aware that I have just been shot..." ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFkeKKszXTw
:P
:ROFL: :ROFL: :ROFL:
:ROFL:
Did you know that on occasion of a visit by Her Majesty the Queen in Germany the Duisburg main railway station temporarily renumbered track 13 as track 12a because Elizabeth II. is superstitious? (would it not have been simpler for her to arrive on track 10 instead?)
Used condoms were recycled into hair bands in Southern China. They sold quite well, although several physicians voiced concerns about potential hygiene problems.
Did you know that, when contraceptives could not be legally imported to Ireland except for personal use, a man managed to get past customs with 10000+ condoms using said loophole? (shelf life of unused condoms at the time: about 3 years).
Did you know that if you shaved and dressed up a neanderthal they would be indistinguishable from homo sapiens on a bus?
Did you know if you sold all parts of the human body (incl. skin, meat etc) you'd make just over £400,000.
Interesting evaluation of the human body, especially considering that I have seen some risk analysis work where a single human life was valued below that.
Well, according to the Pentagon the life of an Afghan civilian is worth 400$ [/sarcasm]
Did you know that Iceland follows the same policy for horses that Japan did for people before the forced opening?
(i.e. once out never again in and none in in general)
Did you know that the last Confederate Civil War widow died in 2004, the result of a rather extreme May December marriage. The last Union widow died just the year before.
Did you know that the first important battle (arguably) and the very last battle of our civil war were both fought just down the road from me, at Worcester?
(Powick Bridge, 23 September 1642 and Worcester, 3 September 1651.)
Did you know that during the Cold War there were serious proposals to physically move West Berlin to the Lüneburg Heath?
Less pleasant were (repeated) Bavarian demands to sell West Berlin to the Soviets for a profit because West Germany subsidized West Berlin with money gained from a 2-penny surcharge on postage stamps (10%). Well, Bavaria is our GOPland.
I've long doubted that Bavaria is part of the Bundesrepublik at all. If one could learn their language, it might be possible to find out.
----------------------------------------
Did you know that the last words Abraham Lincoln heard were "you sockdologising old man-trap"?
Did you know that the term 'buggery' for homosexual acts is derived from 'Bulgaria' and is also the oldest legal term for this activity in the English written law?
I can still remember the outcry in the late eighties when a beer-hall on the Zugspitze (the highest montain in Bayern) dropped Löwenbrau beer in favour of the decidedly northern beer Becks. Angry editorials, interviews with stunned men-in-the-streets, concerned mothers wanting to know if anyone thought of the children -the works and then some.
My general impression of the freistaat is that I only venture south of the Weisswurst-equator very, very cautiously. Preferrably by train or aircraft on the way to Bohemia or Pannonia! ;)
Bavaria became a member state of the FRG (West Germany) despite a majority vote against the Grundgesetz (The still alive 'provisional' constitution) because every other state had voted yes. For the Bavarians there was not enough 'states rights' in it (they were GOPland from the beginning). They are also the only German member state with a strong separatist movement (Bayernpartei). When this party endangered the eternal majority of the ruling CSU, the CSU leadership went all Karl Rove and managed to get the Bayernpartei leadership convicted in court for numerous 'crimes' before the critical election. The conviction rested almost completely on perjuries by CSU members and the conviction was rapidly overturned. But the smear had worked, the election went to the CSU again and the Bayernpartei never fully recovered.
Bavaria was also for decades a net receiver of federal money (Länderfinanzausgleich). The moment that changed Bavaria became the leader of those that lamented that their federal tax money was used to subsidize the parasite poor states (mainly in the liberal North).
As I said, Bavaria is the German Texas. But admittedly Bavarian schools are considered to be among the best in the country which makes it slightly different from certain states in the Southern US.
Quote from: Swato
Did you know that the term 'buggery' for homosexual acts is derived from 'Bulgaria' and is also the oldest legal term for this activity in the English written law?
And there was me thinking it was a corruption of the word 'Bavarian'. :mrgreen:
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Did you know that Alemannic German is spoken not only in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein but also in France, Italy and - believe it or not - Venezuela.
Did you know there are towns in Germany by the name of Heuchelheim (hypocrisy home) and Katzenelnbogen (cat's elbow)?
Not to forget Linsengericht (dish of lentils) and Oberkotzau (Upper puke meadow).
And ones from the States:
Hopeulikit, Georgia
Cut and Shoot, Texas
Toad Suck, Arkansas
and not to forget
Hobo Station, Mississippi
I always took a shine to Spuzzum, BC and Dildo, Newfoundland.
Here in Alberta, I get a smile out of Westward Ho.
Did you know that there actually isn't a place named Power Cable (Nebraska) despite being proverbial.
Same goes for the legendary Kyritz an der Knatter* (there is a town by the name of Kyritz and there is a river referred to as the Knatter (rattle) but they are too far apart to justify the combination).
*same connotation as provincial town in the middle of nowhere
Did you know that Moreton-on-Lugg is a very sensible name for a village and people shouldn't be always taking the pee out of it?
'Lugg', the name of the river, means 'bright' in the original old Celtic and is cognate with 'light', Lat. 'lux' and Gk. λευκὸς.
'Moreton' just meant 'homestead in marshy area' when the village was started, some time in the 8th century. It's a very common name, and when bureaucracy got going an add-on was needed to distinguish it from all the others nearby (2 other Moretons in modern Herefordshire).
[/etymology_lecture]
Have you ever heard of Hillbury How? :mrgreen:
No. It would appear to be one of those tautologous names like Chetwood - Fort-Hill Hill.
Did you know that the Vatican is officially the state with the lowest birth rate?
I'm sure that fatherhood isn't but all babies are born in Italian hospitals ;) :P
Did you know that the Prussian state semaphore system was used to synchronize watches over a distance of 550 km by sending the time signal forward and back in less than two minutes?
Knock off 0.0366666666666667 seconds for the light to travel, and that's quite a fast time. :mrgreen:
Umm, actually that would be closer to 0.00183 seconds...
[/pedant mode]
Quote from: Swatopluk on October 20, 2010, 08:32:09 AM
Did you know that there actually isn't a place named Power Cable (Nebraska) despite being proverbial.
Same goes for the legendary Kyritz an der Knatter* (there is a town by the name of Kyritz and there is a river referred to as the Knatter (rattle) but they are too far apart to justify the combination).
*same connotation as provincial town in the middle of nowhere
Interesting - the colloquialism most often used here is 'Buttf*ck' e.g. 'Buttf*ck, Alberta', although I'm pretty sure that one does not exist.
'Moose Jaw' might be held up as an example, but it's actually a large city, by SK standards (3rd largest, similar in stature to Red Deer, AB, I think).
Well my place of choice in these situations is Upper Kumbucta West, but probably the most common Aussie such place is The Black Stump which is some plaace very remote and very far away. It is usually referred to in a construct like "the biggest/best/worst/smallest whatever this side of The Black Stump" which means that even if there is one bigger (etc) beyond The Black Stump, it is so remote that it is not worthy of consideration.
Another Aussieism is "back o' Bourke". Bourke is a real place in far north western NSW, very remote. Consequently anywhere "back o' Bourke" is really beyond the pale.
Quote from: BluenoseUmm, actually that would be closer to 0.00183 seconds.../pedant mode]
Yeah, that was my figure until I noted:
Quote from: Swatosending the time signal forward and back
so I doubled it. (2*your figure = mine).
Nyah, nyah nyah! ;D
Yeah, but the signal had to be hand-cranked.
So obviously the light travels slower than if it were hit by a motorised paddle. :brainbleech:
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on October 21, 2010, 05:33:06 PM
Quote from: BluenoseUmm, actually that would be closer to 0.00183 seconds.../pedant mode]
Yeah, that was my figure until I noted:
Quote from: Swatosending the time signal forward and back
so I doubled it. (2*your figure = mine).
Nyah, nyah nyah! ;D
Well... actually, no. I don't think so. The synchronisation signal would be a one way process, from the source to the recipient. Acknowledgement, whilst important happens
after the synch signal has been sent.
So Nyah,nyah, nyah right back at you! :P
i love these important,
mature, intellectual discussions....
But by measuring the lag between the sent out signal and the received answer the synchronisation can be refined.
Did you know it is illegal to be buried on a mountain?
Quote from: Griffin NoName on October 31, 2010, 06:52:51 PM
Did you know it is illegal to be buried on a mountain?
Where?
Quote from: Swatopluk on November 01, 2010, 07:53:48 AM
Quote from: Griffin NoName on October 31, 2010, 06:52:51 PM
Did you know it is illegal to be buried on a mountain?
Where?
What do you mean, where?
Like whereabouts on the mountain? Summit? Foothills? <deliberately obtuse because I don't know the answer>
The Zoroastrian sky burial may be a reaction to that ban ;)
Did you know that Irish monks probably reached America shortly before the Vikings (but definitely Greenland and Iceland)? In leather boats!
So they were all fetishists?
They tended to be professional masochists at the time. Maybe the travellers were expelled for having different predilections.
Did you know that Leonardo da Vinci was subjected to an early form of Don't-ask-don't-tell?
(essentially: we know you are gay but while you work for the church keep it to yourself!)
Did you know that in the 17th Century there was an English puritan called Nicholas If-Jesus-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebone? His father was known as Praise-God Barebone, but is said to have been christened If-Jesus-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebone (which would account for his son's name).
It was also popular to name children after the 10 commandments. Read Pratchett's (and Gaiman's) Good Omens for further details.
Hi, I am Thou-shall-not-commit-adultery Knox and this is my brother Honour-your-parents (the lucky one in the family).
Did you know that the (male) grasshopper has the largest balls compared to body size in the known natural world (14% of body weight)?
Now imagine that kind of enhancement in humans :o
In Natoma, Kansas, it's illegal to throw knives at men wearing striped suits
Did you know that in Alaska you may shoot moose from airplanes but not throw them out of them?
DYKT in Virginia, the Code of 1930 has a statute which prohibits corrupt practices or bribery by any person other than political candidates?
:ROFL: that explains everything then.
Did you know that one of the recently rescued Chilean miners successfully took part in the marathon after having trained on the about 700 m of mine tunnels available during their involuntary confinement underground?
Yes, actually, I did know that ;)
Did you know that the Nazis withdrew all copies of the film Frau im Mond from circulation during WW2 because the moon rocket shown in it (including blueprints) was so advanced that it was feared the enemy could use it for his own military programs?
Btw, that was not just paranoia. The German rocket program was born in connection with this movie.
DYKT Wernher von Braun was a real aristocrat? His full name was Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun, a Freiherr being something close to a Baron. He was also a NSDAP member and a comissioned SS officer. Makes you wonder why he was made so welcome in the USA. :mrgreen:
Must have been the blue eyes and the knowledge where the boxes with the data were buried.
Did you know that the idea for the snorkel in connection with submarines dates back at least to the Middle Ages (e.g. in this epic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_and_Marcolf))?
Did you know that I am down in Göteborg at the moment, and supposed to work a rain back to Stockholm in a couple of hours? Did you know that a loco has managed to tear down the catenary in the nearby huge goods yard of Sävenäs, and for the catenary breakdown gang to be able to start working, they have to turn off the power to the catenary to a large area of Göteborg -including the loco stabling shed where I am supposed to pick up the loco for my train later this evening. I wonder if I will ever get home... ???
I can sympathize - got partway home and was hauled back to shut down and winterize a Multi-Phase* Vapour Extraction (MPVE) system. Did you know that my rent, pro-rated for the time I was actually home in the last month, is approximately $75 per hour? :P
*something suspicious about it being MP and V simultaneously - I like MPE better, which is more appropriate IMHO.
So much for the superiority of electric over diesel engines in the railways :mrgreen:
Did you know that the first electric railway (near Berlin) caused some trouble because the juice came in through one rail and left through the other? What do you think happened when a horse-drawn carriage crossed the line and the horse stepped on both rails at once? ::)
Did you know that a foot powder once won the election for mayor of a town?
Quote from: wikipedia
A bizarre incident involving a fictitious write-in candidacy occurred in the small town of Picoazá, Ecuador in 1967. A company ran a series of campaign-themed advertisements for a foot powder called Pulvapies. Some of the slogans used included "Vote for any candidate, but if you want well-being and hygiene, vote for Pulvapies", and "For Mayor: Honorable Pulvapies." The foot powder Pulvapies ended up receiving the most votes in the election.
DYKT Dylan Thomas's last words were:
I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record. ;D
Back home, we call that warming up....
DYKT the first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.
Quote from: Pachyderm on November 22, 2010, 09:26:12 PM
DYKT the first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.
Used how? Did they roll in it? :mrgreen:
No idea. But I would imagine smearing yourself in reptile faeces would work.
"How about it, O Flower of the Nile, for I am feeling frisky. What's that you say, crocodile dung? So you smell of shit and are covered in fish bones? Never mind....."
Did you know that Eisberg/Iceberg is a popular name for girls in Brasil?
Goes to prove that cold hearts can live in hot places. ;)
(in truth all Brazilian women I've meet have been on the warmer side).
maybe it's referring to the salad ;)
Did you know I'm a member of SAVED? That's the Society for the Abolition of Vegetables from the English Diet. Admittedly, I'm the only member since the other one died.
Do you object to the abominations those vegetables are subjected to before consumption, are you inimical to vegetables or do you actually worship them and have therefore doctrinal objections to consume them since they are worthier than thou?
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on November 23, 2010, 07:40:59 PM
Did you know I'm a member of SAVED? That's the Society for the Abolition of Vegetables from the English Diet. Admittedly, I'm the only member since the other one died.
Go to any kindergarten and I'm certain you'll recruit more members than you'll ever need.
I'm sure there'd be more vegetarians if all meat was routinely boiled until nearly mush and consumed practically unseasoned.
Veggies are delicious if not treated as second-class foodstuffs. I heartily support the Vegetable Equal Rights to Yumminess! (VERY)
It's treated largely as a terrorist group by natives in England, who lean heavily on the MATV taste-suppresion method. ;) ;) ;)
Vegetables can be tasty, the problem is the craving for animal protein.
Yes, but that's no reason to abolish veggies - the tastiest foods (IMHO) combine the two of them. It's hard, although not impossible, to get umami without some animal protein.
It's veggies as a standalone necessary evil that makes them unpopular.
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on November 23, 2010, 07:40:59 PM
Did you know I'm a member of SAVED? That's the Society for the Abolition of Vegetables from the English Diet. Admittedly, I'm the only member since the other one died.
Did they die of vegetables?
Did you know that Saudi Arabia imports sand from Scotland?
Yes, I did - saw it on telly. ;D
DYKT Saudi Arabia has recently imposed a strict export ban on sand (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3243623.stm), because they're afraid they'll run out?
Did you know that South Africa allows gay marriage but voted to keep LGBT people on the groups-not-excluded-from-genocide-and-related-treatment list at the UN?
No, but I'm not surprised.
Did you know that an Iron-Age sheep gave only 14% of the weight of meat on an Iron-Age cow?
A.S. Esmonde Cleary, The Ending Of Roman Britain p.103
Was that why Roman Britain ended? The British High Street aint wot it used ter be. (Been watching it on TV).
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on December 01, 2010, 11:47:47 AM
Did you know that an Iron-Age sheep gave only 14% of the weight of meat on an Iron-Age cow?
Has that changed with modern breeds? There are bulls around so big that images look like photoshopped but your standard sheep still ranges between knee and hip high.
Quote from: GriffinWas that why Roman Britain ended? The British High Street aint wot it used ter be. (Been watching it on TV).
It seems it ended because they went into a huge economic decline, nobody can entirely agree why. Maybe they had a Labour government. (Dig, dig, only joking. :mrgreen:)
Quote from: SwatoHas that changed with modern breeds?
No idea! I only threw it in because it's such a quintessentialy silly bit of trivia!
I think think they realized that they were damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't about the chariot taxation. Either they hay* wagons blocked the roads or the battle chariots rolled over you.
*if you were lucky
DYKT bees have five eyes?
Did you know that enough Disney employees at the theme parks are so disgusted that their workplace became informally known as Mouseschwitz?
Btw, there is a town named Mauschwitz in Germany.
Did you know that Mozart wrote two canons in 1782, Leck mich im Arsch and Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber? Did you also know that these titles are very rude and NSFW?
:ROFL: :ROFL: :ROFL: :ROFL:
And as canons! It really sounds like him.
:mrgreen:
The Bona Nox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_nox) canon contains the line 'scheiß ins Bett daß' kracht'.
But it is pure calumny that he wrote original music for '2 Girls 1 Cup'
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on December 08, 2010, 02:55:48 PM
Did you know that Mozart wrote two canons in 1782, Leck mich im Arsch and Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber? Did you also know that these titles are very rude and NSFW?
Quote from: wikipediaThe rediscovered, probably original text reads:
Leck mire den A... recht schön,
fein sauber lecke ihn,
fein sauber lecke, leck mire den A...
Das ist ein fettigs Begehren,
nur gut mit Butter geschmiert,
den das Lecken der Braten mein tagliches Thun.
Drei lecken mehr als Zweie,
nur her, machet die Prob'
und leckt, leckt, leckt.
Jeder leckt sein A... fur sich.
Lick my ass nicely,
lick it nice and clean,
nice and clean, lick my ass.
That's a greasy desire,
nicely buttered,
like the licking of roast meat, my daily activity.
Three will lick more than two,
come on, just try it,
and lick, lick, lick.
Everybody lick his own ass himself.
:mrgreen:
He was a rock star in his day. :mrgreen: Love that movie Amadeus!
Did you know that the Kieler Brandtaucher was
a) the first German submersible
b) the first iron ship build in Germany
c) the first ship built by Howaldt, a company that before that produced steam boilers and since then and up to this very day is in the submarine business (and among the most successful)
d) possibly the first sub that got a full engineering treatment instead of mere trial-and-error fiddling
e) saw the first successful escape of a crew from a sunken sub (using a technique still practiced today)
f) got salvaged and is still on display (after surviving WW2 and some close bomb misses)?
Did you know that the celebrated Composer Peter Warlock was an alcoholic and composed the beautiful carol Bethlehem Down (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem_Down) in 1927 with the sole intention of financing a Christmas booze-up for him and his friend Bruce Blunt, who wrote the words?
Did you know that there was once the job of coffee smeller?
That had nothing to do with quality control but with sniffing out people who made coffee without licence (under King Freidrich II of Prussia)
Quote from: Swatopluk on December 24, 2010, 11:45:21 AM
Did you know that there was once the job of coffee smeller?
That had nothing to do with quality control but with sniffing out people who made coffee without licence (under King Freidrich II of Prussia)
See the drugs thread !! Coffee is the demon drink.
And we evil Colombians are inundating the market with the stuff! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Did you know that Carl Benz changed his name several times during his life?
^ Is that the bloke who use to be called Jim Scrint?
----------------------------------------------
Did you know that the pope was on BBC Radio 4 on Friday morning? There's a slot called 'Thought For The Day' around 7:50; it's usually live but Ratbag recorded his contribution.
He didn't say anything unusual or interesting.
Did you know that the legend goes that every time the Horses of San Marco are moved an empire dies?
Who moved them the last time?
The Soviets borrowed them for an exhibition iirc. Before that it was Mussolini.
DYKT the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal publishes an experiment (http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6812) to test the Danish belief that one can get drunk by submerging one's feet in alcohol?
SPOILER ALERT - you can't.
Did you know that Madame Curie's notes have to be stored in lead containers and can only be displayed behind lead glass?
Or that they can allegedly be read in the dark because they are faintly glowing?
I wonder if Marie Curie's bones glow in the dark?
Did You Know That her bones were ground up for luminous paint many years ago?
Did you know that in the early 60ies a certain type of dime novel known as Stalag was produced and very popular in Israel (up to 80000 sold per issue)?
The content always followed the line of nymphomaniac female SS officers getting their hands on male allied POWs abusing them to their hearts content until the heroic victim can turn the table.
NSFW (fürchterliche Naziweiber):
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/09/06/world/06stalag-600.jpg
http://sites.google.com/site/stalags/stalag-woman.jpg
Hmmm ....
Did You Know that there are some naughty people around? ::)
Not before I got a chance to peak on Santa's lists (which got ME on the naughty one)
Did you know that once, in an interview, Shirley Temple mentioned she was fond of playing with a slingshot? One of her victims was apparently Eleanor Roosevelt.
Did you know that in Florence in 1498 a church bell got torn from its tower, dragged through the streets, whipped by the city executioner, and then was banned from the city for 11 years?
It had been accused of and condemned for ringing without authority to warn Savonarola that his enemies were on the way.
What about the person who rang it?
As far as I understand it, the bell rang itself (or some angel or demon depending on the point of view).
So we have either a very convenient gale or a very astute bell ringer.
And a very daft administration.
Well at the time trials against animals were not uncommon.
And closer to the present day I hear a chess computer was investigated for murder after it electrified the board and killed its human opponent (allegedly because the machine was losing and could not bear the thought)
Did you know that there is a species of fungi Spongiforma squarepantsii (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spongiforma_squarepantsii)?
Did you know that Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table in Corfu?
And then dropped? ;)
Even Kings own kitchen tables.
But they are more often connected to kitsch tabloids
Quote from: SwatoAnd then dropped? ;)
No. He was smuggled off the island in an orange crate and a British destroyer.
Did you know that only about 16% of Germans aged 14-28 have any idea who Frederick II (the Great) was?
('any idea' defined as e.g. 'he was a king of Prussia', no dates, events etc. required).
But I hear a vast majority of youngsters in Israel have no idea who Hitler was either.
Did you know that if der alte Fritz was alive today, he'd be turning in his grave?
It's the same here. A friend of mine had to explain to an A-Level English student that a certain poem was not about the First World War, since it spoke of arrows and knights in armour.
DYKT a co-worker was framing a composite image from Gone With the Wind; she had no idea what the image was about, nor had she ever heard of either the book or the movie. Moreover, she's more savvy than many of her peers.
(http://www.cool-smileys.com/images/p10.png)
Doesn't surprise me too much. For myself even, there are many, many, many of the classics that I've never read nor seen, although I may be aware of them. At certain times in my life, I've consciously tried to catch up on certain classic books, but I can't say I've gone out of my way to see many classic films (I'll occasionally watch one if it happens to be on TV - I saw Citizen Kane this way - but I very rarely watch TV in the first place).
With the amount of new content available to (and the lack of attention span of) the next few generations, most of these works will be known to only the most dedicated aficionados within the next 50 years. The one thing I'm sure will be in the public's consciousness a century after its creation is Beatles music. I hope to live long enough to play it for some young'un at that time.
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on October 16, 2011, 01:51:38 PM
A friend of mine had to explain to an A-Level English student that a certain poem was not about the First World War, since it spoke of arrows and knights in armour.
The how do you explain this? ;)
http://www.battle-bowler.co.uk/images/L%20tank%20masklarge.gif
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3592/3306381912_a04af3fc3f.jpg
DYKT the names of Beachcomber's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beachcomber_(pen_name)) red-bearded dwarfs, who constantly appeared before Mr Justice Cocklecarrot, "appear to be" Scorpion de Rooftrouser, Cleveland Zackhouse, Frums Gillygottle, Edeledel Edel, Churm Rincewind, Sophus Barkayo-Tong, Amaninter Axling, Guttergorm Guttergormpton, Badly Oronparser, Listenis Youghaupt, Molonay Tubilderborst and Farjole Merrybody.
Yes, I did know that. It is the origin of Rincwind from Terry Partchett's Discworld books.
^ Why am I not surprised?
Did you know that today, 26th November, is the official day of the following saints:
St. John Berchmans, St. Conrad Siricius, St. Alypius, St. Amator, St. Basolus, St. Bellinus, St. Dominic Doan Xuyen, St. Faustus, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Martin of Arades, St. Nicon the Metanoeite and St. Phileas?
Did You Know That it's St David's Day?
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus!
Did you know that the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (the one prominently assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914 ) was such an excessive hunter that at the time of his death he had officially shot 277769 pieces of game? (yes that is more than a quarter million, not a typo)
Did you know that Aussies are secret cannibals? ;)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8627335.stm
Quote...one recipe listed "salt and freshly ground black people" instead of black pepper.
---
"We're mortified that this has become an issue of any kind, and why anyone would be offended, we don't know,"
Why indeed? Is not like grounding black people sounds racist or insensitive anywhere in the world...
^ I remember that. Penguin should just have apologised and left it at that. Still, it was a misprint, and as such was not meant to cause offence. It's a case of overreaction from some members of the public. If it had said "white people" instead of "black people", how many would find that offensive? I found it amusing, and definitely wouldn't have taken offence if it had been "white people" instead. I wonder how many copies exist now, and how much they'll be worth in the future?
Did you know I was awoken 2 hours after falling asleep by an attention-hungry cat? :catroll:
The misprint is and accident, the comment by the editor after is politically incorrect (and racially insensitive). He should've apologized without further comment and leave it at that.
---
Besides, I'm sure that if the typo "grounded white people" were found by some of the US right-wing hacks they would make a stir (and a stink) about it (you can set them off quite easily actually).
And they may well invent such a thing, if they can't find it (erfinden statt finden)
Did you know that the small intestine of an ostrich is up to 46 feet long?
(We took Cap'n B to the zoo yesterday.)
Did you know that the combined weight of all the ants in the world is 9 billion tons, more than 40 times the total wieght of all humans?
Not specifically but I knew that insects combined outweigh all other multicellular lifefoms combined.
No competition for single cell organisms though.
Actually, I doubt whether this is a totally accurate figure ;)
I doubt that anyone actually went out to count the ants (and returned to tell the story)
No, those Fire Ants can be tricky. And we know nothing about the metabolic rate of ants.
But what about uncles?
:giggle:
You contact those by ēam (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eam)-mail.
:bwa:
:D
Nice. And you made me learn something I didn't already know, too. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Did you know animals live in the zoo? True story. ;D
There's a picture of a 10 year old me stroking a sheep in a petting zoo somewhere in the family photos. The wallaby wouldn't let me get near it though, so I didn't get a picture with that one. :(
Well, there are animals that have adapted to life in the zoo despite not being zoo animals. I.e. they are not on any official list (except maybe of pests to get rid of). And the famous Hagenbeck Zoo (the first public in Euope iirc) had a certain species of lagomorphs running around freely (not sure whether they kept the tradition).
In some cases? I suspect the actual zoo part is for the people to be seen and studied by the wiser and more intelligent animals...
:)
I always think of this bit from The Goon Show:
SEAGOON:
A big crowd of people here today.
ZOO KEEPER:
Yes, I know. We let 'em in for the animals to look at, you see. Trouble is, we have to lock the boa constrictors up so the kids don't get at them, you know. Lost four boa constrictors last year, kids taking them home all the time...
My son: Where do penguins live?
My Grandaughter: in the zoo
Lesson Number One on Antartica: Failed.
....True story
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on April 26, 2012, 06:27:30 PM
I always think of this bit from The Goon Show:
SEAGOON:
A big crowd of people here today.
ZOO KEEPER:
Yes, I know. We let 'em in for the animals to look at, you see. Trouble is, we have to lock the boa constrictors up so the kids don't get at them, you know. Lost four boa constrictors last year, kids taking them home all the time...
You can't get the wood, you know...
DYKT there's an exhibition about pirates (http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Corporate/Press-media/Press-releases/Pirates+The+Captain+Kidd+Story.htm) on in Museum of London (Docklands) next month?
Griffin and Bart NB
Love the Museum of London. Haven't been there for years though.
Over here we get flooded this year with exhibitions about a guy who possibly has never set foot on a ship* in his whole life.
*real ships, not river ferries or pleasure boats for small bodies of water.
Did you know that....................
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISJ/is_n3-4_v35/ai_18891267
Table 2 Human energy expenditures for selected
activities (derived from Reference above)
Activity Kilocal/hr Watts
Sleeping 70 81
Lying quietly 80 93
Sitting 100 116
Standing at ease 110 128
Conversation 110 128
Eating a meal 110 128
Strolling 140 163
Driving a car 140 163
Playing violin or piano 140 163
Housekeeping 150 175
Carpentry 230 268
Hiking, 4 mph 350 407
Swimming 500 582
Mountain climbing 600 698
Long-distance running 900 1048
and brain burns approx. 20% of total body expenditure per day.
Wow.. two things that amaze me: how much energy in terms of calories* is available in food, and how little energy we actually use (in terms of wattage) compared to our appliances. :)
*one kcal (food calorie) is the amount of energy to warm a kilogram (one litre) of water by one degree. Now think of one of those little 100-cal snack packets: They contain enough food energy to more-or-less boil a litre of water. :o
How about prolonged energetic sex with three ladies?
Quote from: Aggie on May 02, 2012, 07:07:25 AM
*one kcal (food calorie) is the amount of energy to warm a kilogram (one litre) of water by one degree. Now think of one of those little 100-cal snack packets: They contain enough food energy to more-or-less boil a litre of water. :o
Don't confuse heating and boiling. To get stuff to the boiling point is cheap and easy. But to get the liquid to turn into steam takes a wee bit more effort.
To get one mol of water (18g) from 0°C to 100°C takes just about 7.5 kJ but it takes about 44 kJ to turn the same amount from liquid to gas.
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on May 02, 2012, 11:00:29 AM
How about prolonged energetic sex with three ladies?
Apparently half hour of energetic sex burns ~150 calories but the refractory period can last from 10 minutes to hours depending on the individual, so unless you are one of the few individuals that can keep it upright after one, or a very short refractory period the other two ladies may become seriously displeased.
Quote from: Swatopluk on May 02, 2012, 11:26:55 AM
To get one mol of water (18g) from 0°C to 100°C takes just about 7.5 kJ but it takes about 44 kJ to turn the same amount from liquid to gas.
Hence the waffle-word 'more-or-less'. Incidentally, I was meaning to look up the ΔH
vap for water, to see how many frigories I can get per litre of evaporation (see the Water Cooled Air thread). As I will be working with greater than a beaker's worth, the number is 2257 kJ/L or 2381 BTU/L in air conditioning terms.
Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on May 02, 2012, 04:18:06 PM
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on May 02, 2012, 11:00:29 AM
How about prolonged energetic sex with three ladies?
Apparently half hour of energetic sex burns ~150 calories but the refractory period can last from 10 minutes to hours depending on the individual, so unless you are one of the few individuals that can keep it upright after one, or a very short refractory period the other two ladies may become seriously displeased.
There are three solutions to this problem: One is to make sure the three ladies are of the inclination to continue the erobic activities without male assistance (which seems to be a necessity regardless of refractory periods; I cannot fathom how to simultaneously seal three bottles with a single cork). The other 'solution' is to eliminate the refractory period by lasting for more than a half-hour - YMMV on this one. ;) The third is to not make the phallocentric error of assuming that sex is a physiological monologue carried out only by one body part. :mrgreen:
I have never really understood the very common heterosexual male's multiple-partner fantasy in terms of the logistics (barring the solutions above, with emphasis on the first). ::)
In this case it is assumed that the minority rules :mrgreen:
An oligosome (excluding gang rapes) with one female and several males is seen as female controlled.
From a practical point of view a male caracole on the female would look most efficient with just enough males to cover the reloading period. ::)
How did a conversation about calories get onto simultaneous multiple sexual partners? Not that i'm complaining, though. It is an interesting experience though, and one that needs both stamina and ingenuity, not to mention the skills of a cunning linguist (and maybe Vitamin V as you get older). :mrgreen:
A caracole would be sequential :)
Quote from: Roland Deschain on May 06, 2012, 12:40:38 PM
How did a conversation about calories get onto simultaneous multiple sexual partners?
It's the squidlings fault. They encourage off-topic.
All I can say is that I definitely need more.... calories that is. ;)
Did you know that Amazon sell a great Pirate Bookmark (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachel-Ellen-Shaped-Pirate-Bookmark/dp/B007M0LHV2/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1336510127&sr=1-1-catcorr)
Did you know that today (May 12) is World Fish Sandwich/burger Day?
http://www.weltfischbroetchentag.de/
Quote from: Swatopluk on May 12, 2012, 01:03:39 PM
Did you know that today (May 12) is World Fish Sandwich/burger Day?
http://www.weltfischbroetchentag.de/
What's next? World "my left foot" day? Is this sponsored by McDonald's?
(looking at the pictures, I know it's real fish sandwich day, and not "reconstituted pretend fish" day ;D )Jokes aside, I like the look of that day. That website looked tasty.
They
(http://www.borsighallen.de/images/shops/15_front.jpg)
may be behind it
http://www.borsighallen.de/images/shops/15_front.jpg
Corporations behind the branding of a day?!?!? What's next, choosing the presidents and prime ministers of nations?
:( This:
(http://crooksandliars.com/files/vfs/2011/07/corporate_us_flag1.gif)
I want a T-shirt like that!
Did you know that an honest politician is one who, when they're bought, stays bought? :mrgreen:
Honest to his/her buyer? That is rare! ::)
Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on May 15, 2012, 01:12:30 AM
Honest to his/her buyer? That is rare! ::)
:giggle:
Did you know i'm posting in this thread?
I do now.
DYK that there are 41 million scouts worldwide.
DYK that 55% of people find praying has no effect on mouth ulcers?
http://www.mouthulcers.org/treatments.php
45% find that praying has a significant effect on mouth ulcers? Prayer seems like the best course of treatment.... there are prescription drugs for many conditions that don't work that effectively. ;)
Bring on the controlled double-blind trials, says I.
I believe someone did that with terminal patients and found that it is worse than placebo (apparently when the patient was informed that people was praying for him (s)he assumed the worst).
Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.
Quote from: Pachyderm on June 15, 2012, 03:13:10 PM
Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.
Yes, I did know that. He signs with his full name when joining the army in WW2.
Did you know that Crepitus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus_(mythology)) was the Roman god of flatulence? (Allegedly.)
Did you know that explosion was originally the opposite of applause in Roman theatres?
Explosion or expulsion? ;)
The raspberry is still a way of expressing displeasure, although not a particularly popular one.
explodere = to hiss (somebody) out
expulsare = to drive somebody out by beating him
I didn't know that about the Latin origins of the word. One would assume that the word "expel" or "expulsion" have similar origins.
expel come from expellere, which is essentially the same as expulsare (just more complicated inflexion)
I was unfortunate enough not to have taken either Latin or Ancient Greek at school, much to my disappointment, so have not the benefit of a classical education in that respect. I wish i'd taken them both, and from an early age.
I think both but especially Latin are good examples of a connection between character of the language and that of the people that spoke it.
Although I do not regret my 9 years of Latin at school, I see it as a tongue grown from a culture I have little sympathy for. It's easy to be a Nazi in Latin, leftist thought is far more complicated to express in it. On the other hand it is difficult to get primitive in classical Greek. The language forces a certain degree of complexity on the speaker. It's easy to see why the Greeks invented philosophy in the Western sense. Latin is far more 'practical'. Latin: Gimme your stuff! You don't, I kill! Greek: Let me, dear fellow, explain to you why you should part with your valued possessions in the favour of my person. I see great disadvantages in your near future, should my rhetorical persuasion fail to make a favorable impression on you.
Quote from: SwatoIt's easy to be a Nazi in Latin, leftist thought is far more complicated to express in it.
Yes, there's a lot to be said for Latin. :mrgreen:
Also, it's easier to borrow large quantities of money in Greek, less easy to pay it back.
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on June 27, 2012, 02:08:23 PM
Also, it's easier to borrow large quantities of money in Greek, less easy to pay it back.
Ba-dum-tish! ;D
I didn't know that about Latin and Greek. It sure explains an awful lot about the two cultures in their prime. I wonder what would have happened if the Romans hadn't achieved dominance? How very different the world would have been. One can dream. (Look upon that as a "So that's what would have happened if i'd invented the Finglonger" scenario).
I do not say that the Greeks were by and large more pleasant. But they usually quarrelled among each other and only united (short-term) against external enemies. One might also say that the Greeks were of the opinion that the world was not worth Greek rule or even attention while the Romans thought that everything of worth natiurally belonged to them (cf. 'our oil under their sand' for a modern equivalent).
Romans were ruthlessly efficient in part because they eschewed complexity, the Greeks were so oversophisticated to become rather inefficient.
The one thing the Spartans* had that made them likable was that they essentially had equality of men and women. Athens on the other hand had some Taliban tendencies in that field.
*otherwise a fascist wet dream
QuoteThe one thing the Spartans* had that made them likable was that they essentially had equality of men and women. Athens on the other hand had some Taliban tendencies in that field.
Aristotle (Ars Poetica) on suitable characters for a tragedy:
"In respect of Character there are four things to be aimed at. First, and most important, it must be good. Now any speech or action that manifests moral purpose of any kind will be expressive of character: the character will be good if the purpose is good. This rule is relative to each class. Even a woman may be good, and also a slave; though the woman may be said to be an inferior being, and the slave quite worthless. The second thing to aim at is propriety. There is a type of manly valor; but valor in a woman, or unscrupulous cleverness is inappropriate."
Did you know that I used to work with this guy?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00v5h0z/The_Imran_Yusuf_Show/
*sorry if you 'Murkins can't access it. :(
Hmm. That must have been a laugh.
What did you do? Prop up his ego?
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on July 03, 2012, 01:32:50 PM
Hmm. That must have been a laugh.
He left not long after I started there, but what I do remember is laughing a lot.
Quote from: Griffin NoName on July 03, 2012, 03:04:57 PM
What did you do? Prop up his ego?
He was a few desks away from me in a different sub-department. I found his show funny, as I do his stand-up.
Did you know that in 1854 the 16t Cornish fishing boat Mystery set sail from Newlyn (Cornwall) for Australia with a crew of 7 and arrived in Melbourne after 115 days (including a one week stay at the Cape of Good Hope)?
The hundred billionth crayon made by Crayola was Periwinkle Blue.
DYKT Hitler really did have only one testicle, after the other one was shot off in the battle of the Somme in 1916?
The only source for that is the Russian autopsy report that is unfortunately rather biased, e.g. it tried at first to deny that Hitler shot himself because poison seemed more 'appropriate' than the 'honourable' bullet (Hitler used both as far as we can tell).
Btw DYKT the (in)famous text for the Colonel Bogey march existed before said report became known in the West?
Shame some other parts weren't shot off too.....
Heloo Patchy, nice to see you.
Well, then Germany might have had just 'normal' fascism (it does not look as if there were other options in the 30ies except, with low probability, Stalinism). It was a mistake to end the war in 1918. It should have been either in late 1914 (with a status quo ante solution) or in summer 1919 (with a 1945 without the Russians). Both would have been better in the long term.
The 1/2 life of the radio-active content of a banana is 1.25 billion years?
Quote from: Griffin NoName on September 09, 2012, 01:43:21 AM
The 1/2 life of the radio-active content of a banana is 1.25 billion years?
That is the most incandescently useless piece of information that I have ever encountered! :TYfg-a.com: :yo:
Well done, sweet Sibling! Bloody well done!
Quote from: MeroThat is the most incandescently useless piece of information that I have ever encountered!
No, it's not. Now we know how long to leave bananas until they're totally safe to eat.
Somewhere in the distant future...
"Captain Zarquon, we have the results back from the banana, and it's safe to eat."
"At last, after us guardians spent 10 billion years protecting and nurturing this dangerous fruit, it is time to awaken the God David."
"Awaken the God David. Long may he sleep."
*sound of gears and locks well-oiled for eons builds to a crescendo, followed by a loud BANG!*
"YOU HAVE AWOKEN ME! IS IT TIME?"
"Yes my lord, it is time. The shields held, but the ten outer shells have been changed many times from the gamma ray damage."
"THIS IS GOOD. YOU HAVE DONE WELL, MY YOUNG APPRENTICE. BRING ME THE BANANA!"
---------------------------------------------
Did you know i'm wearing odd socks today?
Is that a matching pair of strange socks, or two unmatched normal socks, or two unmatched strange socks?
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on September 10, 2012, 12:58:23 PM
Is that a matching pair of strange socks, or two unmatched normal socks, or two unmatched strange socks?
They're from the same packet, so the pattern matches, but the tip of one is orange, and the tip of the other is light green.
Shame you haven't got another foot for red.
Quote from: Griffin NoName on September 10, 2012, 06:53:12 PM
Shame you haven't got another foot for red.
No comment. :giggle:
Quote from: Roland Deschain on September 10, 2012, 04:27:27 PM
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on September 10, 2012, 12:58:23 PM
Is that a matching pair of strange socks, or two unmatched normal socks, or two unmatched strange socks?
They're from the same packet, so the pattern matches, but the tip of one is orange, and the tip of the other is light green.
Either:
1) that's so you'll know which sock to put on which foot (the choice of green=right or green=left is up to you)
or
2) you have accidentally inversed the orange-tip sock, and the thread is colored orange as a flag to let you know to reverse the sock in question.
:D
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on September 13, 2012, 12:58:26 AM
1) that's so you'll know which sock to put on which foot (the choice of green=right or green=left is up to you)
No, no, no, no, no... Green is for starboard (right), red is for port (left).
The designers of the red/white convention for audio connectors were blasphemers...
Quote from: Bluenose on September 13, 2012, 02:49:21 AM
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on September 13, 2012, 12:58:26 AM
1) that's so you'll know which sock to put on which foot (the choice of green=right or green=left is up to you)
No, no, no, no, no... Green is for starboard (right), red is for port (left).
The designers of the red/white convention for audio connectors were blasphemers...
Is it still starboard if you are facing the stern? ::)
I was going for traffic lights but I think Rolly got the wrong end of the stick ;)
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on September 13, 2012, 04:04:17 AM
Quote from: Bluenose on September 13, 2012, 02:49:21 AM
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on September 13, 2012, 12:58:26 AM
1) that's so you'll know which sock to put on which foot (the choice of green=right or green=left is up to you)
No, no, no, no, no... Green is for starboard (right), red is for port (left).
The designers of the red/white convention for audio connectors were blasphemers...
Is it still starboard if you are facing the stern? ::)
Yes, but you have to swap socks... ;)
I don't have a sock large enough to fit comfortably over my head is all. I don't know what everyone else is talking about. 8)
DYKT I recently saw on the pack of a children's game: Unsuitable for children under three years due to small balls and parts.
:ROFL:
Politicians should probably stay clear of that game, too.
Depends on the party, the more reactionary tent to be quite ballsy...
Did you know that there are several animated film versions of the Titanic disaster including one where the ship is saved by a giant octopus?
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTheTitanic?from=Main.TheLegendOfTheTitanic
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TitanicTheLegendGoesOn
Saved? That's a new twist. ;D
DYKT 1.6 million children are homeless in the USA.
(you may well know, but I was shocked0
Did you know that a research group at Cambridge recently published a study in neural cell regeneration that had some amazing results? By transplanting cells from the nose of a dog to the spine, they managed to stimulate neural regeneration in old spinal injuries. While none of the dogs involved got back full use of their hindquarters, quite a few of them actually regained some movement in their previously paralysed rear halves, and soma where even able to walk and wag their tails again.
Fascinating, at least to me.
Yes, that was amazing. If they can just transfer it to humans, previously paralysed patients will be able to pee on lamp posts and sniff people's bottoms. :mrgreen:
Quote from: Griffin NoName on November 20, 2012, 06:30:54 AM
DYKT 1.6 million children are homeless in the USA.
(you may well know, but I was shocked0
Call me cynic but I would have expected even higher numbers.
With poverty between 15% - 20% depending how you count, and four years straight of foreclosures it isn't surprising at all.
Did you know that within the last 20 years 95% of all buildings in Mekka and Medina have been torn down to make room for new ones?
This includes the house Mohammed was born in (replaced by a library) and the house of his beloved first wife (replaced by public toilets).
Officially it is to make the holy cities ready for the future (neither is able to cope with the rapidly growing pilgrimage) but behind it is also a desire similar to that of the Taliban and the fanatics in Timbuktu to get rid of anything that is or could become a focal point of worship outside the extremly narrow window of tolerance of the regime. Currently on the target list are the tombs of the first caliphs (to be replaced by an extension of the Great Mosque).
Main profiteer is (what a surprise*) the bin Laden family, owner of the largest and best connected construction company in the region.
*not to me actually
Did you know that in Afrikaans there is a word opscheplooper, meaning a person who always turns up just as food is being served?
EDIT: corrected spelling of opscheplooper
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on November 24, 2012, 05:48:50 PM
Did you know that in Afrikaans there is a word opschleplooper, meaning a person who always turns up just as food is being served?
Now that's a word I can get behind.
With a knife and fork.
DYKT that in 1991, a Bedouin tribe delayed its annual migration across the Sahara because its elders were not prepared to miss the last episode of Dallas?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9700764/Larry-Hagman-the-superstar-who-made-history.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9700764/Larry-Hagman-the-superstar-who-made-history.html)
That is an amazing fact.
Did you know that urban birds increasingly integrate cigarette stubs into the construction of their nests? A study by Mexican scientists observed that the effect is a benevolent one because the nicotine is a good defense against parasites. The more stubs were used in the nest building the less was the parasite infestation.
Did you know that today, 12/12/12 is the last repeating date we will ever see?
(Unless we make it to 01/01/2013.)
Don't worry, we'll get more if we move to Mars where the year lasts 686 days so we'll need at least ten more months. :P
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on December 12, 2012, 04:42:57 PM
(Unless we make it to 01/01/2013.)
That's not repeating ? ? ?
Oops, I meant 01/01/(21)01, of course. Just a small slip of the brain. ::)
mmmmm brainslip = senior moment at any age - good
20.12.2012 is also an option (at least for Europeans)
Quote from: Swatopluk on December 12, 2012, 09:53:16 PM
20.12.2012 is also an option (at least for Europeans)
...and Orstralyans. ;D
I can't fall asleep again.
Well, the world's bound to end for somebody on 12.12.12*.... wait. That was yesterday, and we're still here... Oh well. Carry on!
_____________
* Why? Because the Creator of Everything just loves Big Round Numbers. Right? I mean, the creator of the whole universe has to love Big Round Numbers, right? Right? No? Oh well... ::)
( with apologies to Scott Adams, for stealing his joke...)
12/12/12 was the world ended for Ravi Shankar. Already the info pages for him say "was" instead of "is" - google.
Quote from: Griffin NoName on December 13, 2012, 07:17:54 PM
12/12/12 was the world ended for Ravi Shankar. Already the info pages for him say "was" instead of "is" - google.
And yet? The rest of us (life) goes on, stumbling through the coming abyss as best as we are able.
For is not the future an abyss--one we cannot pierce, apart from stepping forward one tiny increment at a time?
;D
Or as Star Trek quipped:
The Undiscovered Country.
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on December 13, 2012, 07:52:12 PM
Quote from: Griffin NoName on December 13, 2012, 07:17:54 PM
12/12/12 was the world ended for Ravi Shankar. Already the info pages for him say "was" instead of "is" - google.
And yet? The rest of us (life) goes on, stumbling through the coming abyss as best as we are able.
But does that count, if he can't witness that it does?
Maybe our sole purpose is to hear trees fall?
Could be-- your typical tree having a much longer viewpoint than your average human.
Ayuh, maybe they are here to see humans fall.
S'why, when they die, they become tripping hazards. ;)
Did you know that the Muskox isn't an ox or cow at all?
It is a goat! albeit it has it's own sub family with in the Caprinae, Ovibos (Latin: "sheep-ox").
(http://www.myskoxe.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/moskus-0912-je25.jpg)
I had no idea and I pride myself, with having a rather good knowledge about our wildlife.
I knew but also had forgotten some of the details.
Similar to the gnu (wildebeast, smoking or not)
Cool! Nature all to often is contemptuous of our humble efforts to curtail her with fixed categories. :D
I don't recall knowing that and am very likely to forget very soon .
Did you know that on this day 2oo years ago the first edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales was published (and flopped)?
Quote from: Swatopluk on December 20, 2012, 09:58:56 AM
Did you know that on this day 2oo years ago the first edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales was published (and flopped)?
So just remember- take heart, true genius takes a long time to be recognized.
Fascinating about the musk ox.
DYKT Jakob Grimm was never seen to work? He swanned around the university all day, socialising, and nobody could find when he did his masses of ground-breaking work on Indo-European and Germanic philology. Plus collecting the folk-legends.
His brother did most of the tale collection.
The key to success for the fairy tales was threefold
1. Dropping the scholarly annotations etc.
2. Adding illustrations
3. Reducing the number of tales by half (keeping the rest for the sequel)
Btw, with each edition the tales got rewritten including escalating bowdlerisation. To give just one example: The original Little Red Riding Hood contained explicit cannibalism, an invitation to lesbian incest and strong hints at sexual intercourse with animals. There was no happy ending (except for the wolf).
Oh! Was he a lesbian cannibal?
No, he ate only parts of granny and (disguised as granny) served the rest to LRRH. Then he invited her to bed with words that in the original French are rather unambiguous. As punishment for her eating granny's flesh and drinking her blood and then following the dirty invitation to bed, the wolf eats LRRH. End of story. It's not told whether he ate her after or instead of sex.
Before would be a good trick.
That would have to be a mixture of oral and aural sex.
---
Did you know that in a facility near Melbourne 40000 hand-knitted pullovers are stored...for penguins?
I did not. Where's the proof?
I got the number from today's German newspapers but there are quite a few English links on the topic itself (without specifying the number).
e.g.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wear/6367787.stm
http://www.hic-et-nunc-society.de/english/projects/pullover-for-penguins/
Here is one also stating the number
http://voxxnova.com/news/40000-jackets-for-the-penguins-tied-the-women-of-europe/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSr4hdVGCu8 (German)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pqsxjgBjCQ (English)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2012/12/100_things_we_didnt_know_last_7.shtml
Did you know that today is 31/1/13 - at least for us Brits, who note dates logically. 1/31/13 is not so neat for Murkins. :D
Whotta rip off! We Murkins plan to sue! ;)
Quote from: Sibling DavidH on January 31, 2013, 01:35:27 PM
Did you know that today is 31/1/13 - at least for us Brits, who note dates logically. 1/31/13 is not so neat for Murkins. :D
God bless the Queen on our quarters, I'm Canadian and can choose to use either system. ;D Typical usage here is Amrikan, but I've always gotten away with the British usage.
D'oh, we'd sue the Canadians too, but they are our only land access to good beer. Them and the Mexicans.
Heck, everybody does better beer than we do. We shall sue for beer!
Canadians could have had the culture of England, the cuisine of France and the know-how of the United States.
Instead, they ended up with the culture of the United States, the cuisine of England and the know-how of France.
(apologies to all Canadians)
Hey, I resemble that remark...! ;)
Quote from: Opsa on January 31, 2013, 07:05:24 PM
Heck, everybody does better beer than we do. We shall sue for beer!
Not the Koreans... they based it on American beer! ;)
(y'all have some amazing microbrews down there; like most Canadians, most Americans choose not to drink the good stuff)
I never understood how this stuff from rotten grain could ever get so popular.
Another thing to blame the Egyptians for
Harr, you've never had a pint of Best Bitter.
Bitterness would be the only excuse. Thinking that some brands add sugar...
No thanks
Quote from: Aphos on January 31, 2013, 09:08:25 PM
Canadians could have had the culture of England, the cuisine of France and the know-how of the United States.
Instead, they ended up with the culture of the United States, the cuisine of England and the know-how of France.
(apologies to all Canadians)
:ROFL:
As with many things, it takes time to appreciate the bitter.
Did you know that in 1971 a cartoon short by the title of Kama Sutra Rides Again was nominated for an Oscar and only barely lost to A Christmas Carol?
Did you know that some sea slugs loses their penis after sex but grow another the next day?
http://www.nature.com/news/sea-slug-loses-penis-after-sex-but-grows-another-the-next-day-1.12421
Seems a bit pointless.
Could be nice STD prevention on the male part.
But humans would be unable to regrow the part that fast
Did you know that the lord of the manor of Addington, Surrey, held the manor from the king; his sole feudal obligation was to serve the king a mess of dilligrout at his coronation? This from the first granting of the tenure by William the Conqueror until at least the 19th century?
Good gravy! Now I've heard it all! Or have I? ;)
Did you know that in the currently highest buidling in the world, The Burdj Khalifa in Dubai, the breaking of the fast in Ramadan officially occurs at different times depending on the storey you're in because the sun sets several minutes later at the top than at the bottom?
You'll be telling us sets at a different time on the moon next ;)
Quote from: Griffin NoName on June 28, 2013, 02:27:12 AM
You'll be telling us sets at a different time on the moon next ;)
An astronaut orbiting in space will experience sunrise and sunset many times in one orbit. Some of the lower orbits took but 90 minutes to complete (if my memory serves), making their "day" only 90 minutes long...
... :D
At least they won't suffer from S.A.D. :D
Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on June 28, 2013, 02:39:24 AM
Quote from: Griffin NoName on June 28, 2013, 02:27:12 AM
You'll be telling us sets at a different time on the moon next ;)
An astronaut orbiting in space will experience sunrise and sunset many times in one orbit. Some of the lower orbits took but 90 minutes to complete (if my memory serves), making their "day" only 90 minutes long...
... :D
But would they get their birthdays sooner, since they had all ready lived more days than the rest of us on Earth?
I thought astronauts aged more slowly, returning younger than their contempories.
That's it. Sign me up for the space program! ;D
Did you know that the term 'strike' for work stoppage got coined when sailors 'struck sails' to protest wage cutting in 18th century England?
Did you also know that said sailors (all from slave ships) in Liverpool used ship artillery to bombard the slave merchants' headquarters after the latter tried stalling tactics?
The "scuttle butt" was a barrel of fresh water placed on the deck of a sailing ship. The sailors would take a short break, get a drink of water from the scuttle butt, and pass along gossip.
Y'arrrrggghhhh! Interesting and piratey at the same time!
Apologies for a little intra-thread necromancy...
Quote from: Swatopluk on December 21, 2012, 10:22:09 AM
Did you know that in a facility near Melbourne 40000 hand-knitted pullovers are stored...for penguins?
Yes I did, and Mrs Blue has knitted some of them.
Carry on...
Did you know that Mrs. Blue is astounding?
Well, what can I say? She had the good* sense to choose me! ::)
Did you know that Nova the lyrebird at Healesville Sanctuary can not only do a very good imitation a large number of other bird calls (generally better than the original) but can also imitate a car alarm and a camera shutter?
---
* As in "not very" good...
I saw this bird (or his cousin) in a David Attenborough docu. 'Chainsaw' was also in the repertoire.
I saw that one, too. It was fascinating.
So, what else ya got? ;D
Quote from: Bluenose on August 29, 2013, 02:57:07 AM
Did you know that Nova the lyrebird at Healesville Sanctuary can not only do a very good imitation a large number of other bird calls (generally better than the original) but can also imitate a car alarm and a camera shutter?
We had a pet starling that could talk (mimic simple phrases) but preferred to imitate more annoying sounds, like the squeaky bearing in the clothes dryer. I've little doubt that had he been kept in an office rather than the laundry room, fax machine would have been the preferred thing to mimic.
Did you know that near where I used to live in the UK there was a shop that had an Indian Mynor named Bill that used to wolf-whistle at any attractive young ladies that walked by the shop. If such a young lady entered the shop accompanied by her boyfriend, Bill would say in a loud, oily voice "you dirty old man!" The owner of the shop would then yell "Bill!" and Bill would hang his head and say in a pitiful voice "Bill sorry..."
Birds can be amazing! 8)
Wonder where Bill learnt these phrases.
The sorry part reminds me Alex the parrot, who apologized in what Mrs. Pepperberg calls an almost manipulative way.
Did you know that there was a parrot in the pet shop in my home town who kept a lookout for gullible visitors? When a likely looking mark passed by, he would pitch forward on his perch, hang upside down from it by one foot, and squawk, HELP! HELP! HELP!
When the distraught patron rushed to the counter to get help, he would pull himself back upright with his beak, and laugh while the staff shook their heads and tried to calm down the customer. I've always wondered who first saw him playing on the perches and taught him that word; also what went through his rather smart mind when choosing to say it.
Love the smart talking bird stories!
Did you know that there is a website dedicated to Tim Burton inspired cakes?
http://www.cakenweenie.com/
I do now! ;D
Did you know that in 1906 a steam-powered car reached a speed of 205 km/h, a record not broken until 2009?
I didn't know that! Makes me wanna drive round in a steam car wearing pince-nez.
Did you know that in Turkey it is illegal to use the letters Q, X and W since 1928?
Abolishing that is currently under discussion but by no means assured.
('justification' for this law: these letters occur in the Kurdish but not the Turkish alphabet)
I bet they are dragging their feet to do so.
Hm, what about Greenlanders in Turkey? They seem to have the highest density of Q's in their written language of all people.
Somehow I don't think they fear the Greenlanders.
They may fear The Greens though.
Which greens ? Those with the green headdresses (Islamic fundies*) or those with the environmental fetish? ;)
*Iran currently excepted where the moderates 'usurped' the colour
Heck, for what I know they may fear eating their greens. ;) :P
Then why are there so many Turkish greengrocers (I mean apart from the theory that they are the secret avant-garde of the Turkish takeover)?
Do Turkish greengrocers actually sell greens? It doesn't seem very Turkish. In the UK "greens" as in vegetable are very specific - the term is assumed to mean a particular vegetable leaf rather than being a generic term for several different types - or stages of development. At least, as far as I have ever shopped, cooked and eaten.
Here it is possibly more general, depending on how it is used.
"Eat your greens" means to make sure to eat plenty of vegetables, but there are also specific greens which are identified, such as mustard greens or collard greens.
Concerning Turkish grocers
Often they occur in small groups of shops, e.g. one selling fruit, the second bread,cheese, pickled stuff and the third the 'raw' green stuff, i.e. all kinds of vegetables. A Döner is also often close nearby. The Döner variety invented in Berlin (where I live) has started a world conquest and is in some countries (e.g. China) considered a quintessential German food (same as chop suey is seen as typical American)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab#Germany.
I hear it has also started to make inroads in Turkey itself.
Quote from: Griffin NoName on September 30, 2013, 08:08:44 PM
Do Turkish greengrocers actually sell greens? It doesn't seem very Turkish. In the UK "greens" as in vegetable are very specific - the term is assumed to mean a particular vegetable leaf rather than being a generic term for several different types - or stages of development. At least, as far as I have ever shopped, cooked and eaten.
Ain't you never heard of Greengrocers, girl? Used to be one in nearly every block of local shops in England...
^ we still have them............ but if you specify "greens" as a food it means the specific leaf. An interesting observation- I have never eaten greens or seen greens on the menu at a restaurant. I guess greens aint posh which may be why they are specific.
Turkish Grocers are presumably distinct from Turkish Greengrocers? Or not?
It seems at least peculiar that Turkish shops for edible things tend to sell either fruit or veggies but not both at the same time around here and are often door to door. German shops usually combine both.
Unless the manager of your friendly neighborhood Aldi is Turkish...
Not the manager (to my knowledge) but one of the guys that works there is a Turk.
And the Turkish shops as described above lie directly next to the Aldi
I'm sure it must be a delight, unless they don't sell those.
Is Turkish dellight even Turkish?
I don't like the orange coloured ones.
For years I thought Turkish delight was something that only occured in Narnia. We have a Turkish delight based chocolate bar here (sort of), but it's otherwise a rare confection.
Quote from: Griffin NoName on October 01, 2013, 02:52:34 AM
^ we still have them............ but if you specify "greens" as a food it means the specific leaf. An interesting observation- I have never eaten greens or seen greens on the menu at a restaurant. I guess greens aint posh which may be why they are specific.
Ok, so what are greens by that definition? What kind of plant?
Turnip greens, Dandelion greens, Parsnip greens, and such. Generally the leafy, above-ground parts of root vegetables.
Humbly disagree with Mero. Those would be called eg. parsnip tops.
Greens is dark leaf of cabbage - full term is spring greens - but in my house just truncated to "greens".
http://www.thinkvegetables.co.uk/vegetable.asp?VegetableID=21
http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Ocado-Spring-Greens/56302011?from=search&tags=%7C20000¶m=greens&parentContainer=SEARCHgreens_SHELFVIEW
I humbly accept correction. :P
^ :chef:
Did you know that each of the Three Musketeers (that were actually four*) is based on a real historical person?
*not actually news ;)
Next you'll be telling us that Richelieu and the man in the iron mask were real...
...wait, they actually were... ;)
Apart from the iron part, of course.
On the other hand, since the nobility was used to wear closed helmets, it would not have been that abnormal ;)
Full on battle armor was in disuse at that time (plus very expensive).
Infantry had dropped most but not all of it at the time (we are still during the 30 Years War in the first novel). Heavy cavalry still kept the breastplate (even thicker then than earlier*) and some units still used helmets with visors. And for parades even full medieval type armor was still en vogue. Cuirassiers had front armor as part of their parade uniform up to WW1.
*they had to get tested against pistol shot under controlled conditions to get certified (and had to show the dent proving it)
I have never understood how they moved about dressed in such weight.
The trick is to not have it rest on just the shoulders but also the hips. Armor had to get fitted to the person or it became nigh impossible to use.
Rather ask how the horse managed it. Disappearence of heavy armor, esp. horse armor had almost as much to do with the lack of suitable affordable horses as with improvements in firepower. A first class warhorse can be likened in price to a main battle tank of today. When Shakespeare writes 'they sell the pasture now to buy the horse' it was not an exaggeration.
Quote from: Swatopluk on October 10, 2013, 07:47:52 PM
The trick is to not have it rest on just the shoulders but also the hips. Armor had to get fitted to the person or it became nigh impossible to use.
Rather ask how the horse managed it. Disappearence of heavy armor, esp. horse armor had almost as much to do with the lack of suitable affordable horses as with improvements in firepower. A first class warhorse can be likened in price to a main battle tank of today. When Shakespeare writes 'they sell the pasture now to buy the horse' it was not an exaggeration.
Yes, I have read that a fully trained knight's horse was worth as much as a small castle, and certainly worth more than any random group of peasants (to the elite).
As you say, a horse capable of carrying a fully armored knight, plus gear, and moving at a reasonable fighting pace? Armoring the horse in all but a token way was next to impossible.
Not to say it wasn't done, though. Someone once told me the Budweiser Clydesdale breed is descended from such animals-- I've never bothered to confirm or refute the claim. But I would not be surprised, if it was true.
Like a modern tank, horses got armored primarily at the front. They remained extremly vulnerable to steep angle shots (like the first salvos at Agincourt) and attacks form the side or behind. And the infantry acquired special tools to go for the legs. No surprise that the English found men-at-arms tactics (most of the knights dismounted) to be more suitable than the charge (as on the continent).
That makes perfect sense, Swato.
I have also read that the mounted knights typically had a group of men who's function was to shield the knight's horse, and with training, would part just in time for the charge. Shield bearers.
Quote from: Swatopluk on October 13, 2013, 09:30:06 AM
Like a modern tank, horses got armored primarily at the front.
Yeah, like a modern tank, I am armoured at the front. Though I do have a small amount of fat at the sides too. ::)
Crossbowmen and early musketeers also often had a servant carrying a large shield, a Pavise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavise), for them, so they could reload while being protected. Attempts were made in WW1 to revive that (Grabenschild) but the idea had to be abndoned because it turned out to be impossible to produce portable versions that could withstand bullets from heavy sniper rifles (hey, anti tank rifles were still in use in WW2 and imo the Russians still have them).
Did you know that the venerable "Ma Duce", the M2, the .50 cal Browning machine gun was first created as an anti-tank weapon?
It's true-- it was made with sufficient penetration power to go after the earliest of tanks, which had (by modern standards) pretty much no armor; barely sufficient to stop the light rounds as fired by infantry of that day.
But Browning was a genius at firearms design, and the M2 was just one of those designs that worked "right out of the box", without needing extensive reworking to make it a lasting design.
Of course, the earliest designs of fully automatic guns included a water jacket for cooling-- an idea that permitted one famous British squad to keep theirs firing for days? I forget the details--but certainly continuous fire for many-many hours.
However, the Germans hammered home that portability was far more important, and so those heavy water jackets were discarded in favor of easy-to-change air-cooled barrels.
Alas, an unfortunate side-effect was that, during extreme situations*, the barrel changing didn't happen, but the need to keep shooting did-- and sometimes, a fatal failure happened instead, as the barrel literally heated up enough to fly apart under the stress--often killing the men who were depending on it.
Other unpleasant side-effects of over-heated barrels: "cooking off" of the ammunition, even though nobody was pressing the trigger, the gun kept firing anyway due to heat.
And of course, the most common one of all: severe (sometimes debilitating) burns to the crew who were servicing these things. Yes, there were supposed to be gloves... who has the gloves, again? What? Nevermind-- here... ***ooooowwwww****...
... meh.
* when, in war, is there not extreme situations?
A good way to spot camouflaged MG positions in WW1 was too look for clouds of steam. The content of the water jackets began to boil within a very short time when the MG fired.
As for the cooking off, that was one reason to look into open bolt designs despite the known disadvantages.
Quote from: Swatopluk on October 14, 2013, 09:15:15 PM
A good way to spot camouflaged MG positions in WW1 was too look for clouds of steam. The content of the water jackets began to boil within a very short time when the MG fired.
As for the cooking off, that was one reason to look into open bolt designs despite the known disadvantages.
I did not know that-- but it makes perfect sense-- the boiling water is what is taking the heat away, after all.
At least the German models came with jerrycans, hoses and handpumps in order to circulate the water and to suppress the steam exhaust.
I wonder whether they used the hot water for coffee or tea too ;)
Btw, artillery used time-coordinated firing to fool sound triangulation. At the end of WW1 the system was already semiautomatic, no longer just guys with stopwatches and headphones connected to different microphones installed a long distance apart but with synchronized sonogram plotters*. From the surviving sonogram plots it is possible to spot the moment of Ceasefire by the second. The wild zigzag abruptly stops and there are only very few visible violations afterwards that stick out like sore thumbs from the baseline.
*precise enough to identify different models of artillery pieces
Cool.
Did you know the first large computer project was commissioned by the US Navy, in order to calculate large-bore gun firing solutions? Their first attempt was made using vacuum tubes and mechanical relays. It's reliability was somewhat questionable, so it was always run at least 3 times, with the majority being considered correct.
Moreover, it was slower than simply looking up the solution in a book of solution tables-- these books were created by large groups of mathematicians using traditional methods (slide rules, pencil and paper). Since most of the men were otherwise occupied, most of the mathematicians were women.
In spite of that, the Navy continued to pour money into the calculating machine project, and eventually, the modern computer came from it's fundamental work. One of the more notable personalities was Grace Hopper, a woman in a mostly all-male field. She remained involved in computer development over most of her illustrious career.
Ever heard of Ada Byron who wrote the code for the humungous proto computers of Chalres Babbage?
And female calculators were a standard even before that. How do you think astronomers acquired wifes otherwise ;) (not a joke actually, there are numerous examples of that)
It's usually females that have crystal balls. :)
and buoys have glass balls (according to Agnes Nitt from Discworld)
Did you know that non-human animals also know the concept of prostitution?
Capuchin monkeys even learned to use currency in these transactions (coins that can be used to 'buy' food from the researchers)
http://www.zmescience.com/research/how-scientists-tught-monkeys-the-concept-of-money-not-long-after-the-first-prostitute-monkey-appeared/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_among_animals
How long before she held out for the worth of two grapes? ;)
The book on animal intelligence I'm reading mentioned it in passing although I wasn't aware of the penguins doing it as well.
Well, penguins have been long known for being depraved (including openly gay specimens)
It's their poncy outfits.
:)
Plus, they have to find some way to stand out in that crowd.
^ That could be difficult.
(http://www.glasbergen.com/wp-content/gallery/penguin-cartoons/toon751.gif)
The last Monday in January is Bubble Wrap Awareness Day.
Did you know that Paul Cambon, the French ambassador in London from 1898 to 1920, refused to learn or speak a single word of English and insisted on the translation of even simple words like 'yes'?
Btw, British foreign secretary (1905-1916) Sir Edward Grey was one of the few top politicians/diplomats of the time not speaking any French.
Incroyable!
Did you know there was an emperor who became known as Heinrich der Klammersiebte (Henry the Seventh in Parentheses)?
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_der_Klammersiebte
Or, in English here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_%28VII%29_of_Germany).
Thanks Swato, that gave me something to read as I freeze my rear end off in the middle of the night. Looks like Henry (VII) of Germany was an elected King, no less. Kinda tragic life, but I guess a lot of them are.
Did you know that a twist in canonic law allowed/forced a divorce in case a parent did an emergency baptism on his/her child?
Explanation: Baptism at birth was considered so crucial that even laypeople and sometimes even women were allowed to do it with most fluids available (beer excepted. Yes that was a papal decision. Spit was acceptable though). But taking part in a baptism as either godparent or baptizer created a 'spiritual kinship' that made any marriage up to the 7th degree of relation (Roman count) illegitimate. So by a parent baptizing his/her child the spouse suddenly became a relative of the second degree and therefore the marriage automatically incestual so it had to be annulled/divorced. A dispense was only possible in the gray are of 5-7th degree.
No, this is not an absurd construction by modern church critics but a real problem in the Middle Ages. In the end the actual law had to be changed to avoid it. I assume the change only considered relations existing before the wedding or there could have been chain reactions leading to the annullment of most marriages in a given region due to one inconiderate baptism.
Did you know that the (currently) strongest beer available has 65% alcohol?
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/brewmeister-armageddon/188747/
The consumer comments are not very good though
Whoa! And they can still call it a beer? I guess alcohol content is not part of the definition.
Did you know that the Danish cabinet in 1864 was popularly known as 'The Million'?
Well, it was a Prime Minister and six Zeroes. It proved impossible to get even one volunteer for a cabinet post, so the king was forced to appoint lowly public servants for those vacancies. The previous cabinet had managed to stumble into a war with Prussia and Austria while at the same time isolating the country from those that had saved it a few years ago (over the same question). The king got the guys ousted with a vote of no confidence but it was too late and no one was eager to clean up the mess that had been created while taking the blame for the inevitable failure.
Quote from: Swatopluk on September 26, 2014, 02:10:49 PM
Did you know that the Danish cabinet in 1864 was popularly known as 'The Million'?
Well, it was a Prime Minister and six Zeroes. It proved impossible to get even one volunteer for a cabinet post, so the king was forced to appoint lowly public servants for those vacancies. The previous cabinet had managed to stumble into a war with Prussia and Austria while at the same time isolating the country from those that had saved it a few years ago (over the same question). The king got the guys ousted with a vote of no confidence but it was too late and no one was eager to clean up the mess that had been created while taking the blame for the inevitable failure.
LOL. A bit like our American House of Representatives currently under the control of the Republicans. Rachel Maddow points out that it has passed less legislation than any Congress...EVER. Their goal seems to be to obstruct all legislation so the Obama administration can not get credit for anything, all at the expense of letting the nation founder on important issues.
Quote from: Aphos on October 06, 2014, 02:18:37 PM
Quote from: Swatopluk on September 26, 2014, 02:10:49 PM
Did you know that the Danish cabinet in 1864 was popularly known as 'The Million'?
Well, it was a Prime Minister and six Zeroes. It proved impossible to get even one volunteer for a cabinet post, so the king was forced to appoint lowly public servants for those vacancies. The previous cabinet had managed to stumble into a war with Prussia and Austria while at the same time isolating the country from those that had saved it a few years ago (over the same question). The king got the guys ousted with a vote of no confidence but it was too late and no one was eager to clean up the mess that had been created while taking the blame for the inevitable failure.
LOL. A bit like our American House of Representatives currently under the control of the Republicans. Rachel Maddow points out that it has passed less legislation than any Congress...EVER. Their goal seems to be to obstruct all legislation so the Obama administration can not get credit for anything, all at the expense of letting the nation founder on important issues.
And claim to be a democracy !
Actually, rightwingers in the US insist that the US are a republic NOT a democracy.
Who is their Napoleon then?
Didn't he get shot in Some Like It Hot?
Quote from: Griffin NoName on October 06, 2014, 07:08:25 PM
Who is their Napoleon then?
(http://i500.listal.com/image/4284229/500full.jpg)
Longer snout and bigger ears, though. ;)
After reading a bit about the new Tory manifesto I wonder if the Scots are having some buyers remorse right now...
Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on October 06, 2014, 09:58:15 PM
After reading a bit about the new Tory manifesto I wonder if the Scots are having some buyers remorse right now...
It's a terrifying prospect. Cameron should get his rich friends to pay off the deficit and leave the poor alone.
Did you know that that in the silent movie era the Russians so disliked happy endings in films that additional scenes had to be added to imported non-tragic movies to have them end in tears and bloodshed?
I almost wonder, whether this practice would be popular in Korea these days too since they seem to looooove overextended tragic endings.
All endings should be tragic, if everybody has a bad ending why wouldn't the movie characters get on with the program?
There aren't many happy endings in real life.
The most you can aspire to is a relief in your ending (and you could argue that all endings are indeed a relief).
Did you know that a Lutheran youth group distributed condoms this year for the Reformation jubilee with famous (although not always authentic) Martin Luther quotes on them like "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise"?
PS: when the church officials got wind of that they immediately ordered and end to it and even demanded recollecting the already distributed items (no idea how the latter is possible).
Which btw reminds me of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXzubuENjHk
One of those real life cases that would be rejected as a movie script for being too contrived, I presume.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kurt-eichenwald-case-texas-grand-jury-says-gif-deadly-weapon-n736316
Last those warnings on DVDs and video games seem less ridiculous after this Post
Wow, I don't know if it classifies as deadly but definitely harmful.
As for the Lutherans... at least contraception is not a sin (remember I have the pleasure of working for the Catholic Church) [rolleyes]
Where can I get one? Might come in handy.
A Lutheran? Ask Swato.
:-D ^__^
Some links on the topic
https://www.jesus.de/evangelische-jugendvertreter-kritisieren-stopp-von-luther-kondomen/
https://www.christiantoday.com/article/no.you.arent.distributing.luther.condoms.germanys.evangelical.church.tells.youth.group/105908.htm
That Xtian site had this in the adverts (see attached).
DYKT when a male bee climaxes, their testicles explode then they die.
Auch!
Yes, that is true.
The male army ant is huge. When it is ready to mate, it flies near a column of army ants. The workers and soldiers surround the male, cut its wings off and carry it back to the nest where the queen is. If the queen refuses to mate with him, he is torn apart and eaten by the ants. If he does mate with the queen he is eaten after the act.
Better to be a male deep-sea anglerfish. It might be tough finding a mate, you can't be picky about looks, and you might not be her only attachment, but at least you get a free ride:
https://www.wired.com/2013/11/absurd-creature-of-the-week-anglerfish/
And then there is the male praying mantis, who can literally lose his head over a female.
DYKT France was still executing people by guillotine when the first Star Wars movie came out.
Where did the phrase "raining cats and dogs" come from?
Well, back when thatched roofs were popular, cats and dogs would often stay in the rafters where warm air rose to. But when it rained heavily, and some of that rain seeped through the roof, the cats and dogs would abandon the rafters, leaping down to the floor. Thus, raining cats and dogs.
The longest bout of hiccups lasted nearly 69 years.
Quote from: Pachyderm on February 27, 2018, 03:12:27 PM
DYKT France was still executing people by guillotine when the first Star Wars movie came out.
Blimey! That first Star Wars was a long time ago then?
They switched to lightsaber soon after.
Did you know that women did not get the right to vote in Liechtenstein until more than a year after Return of the Jedi was released?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein_women%27s_suffrage_referendum,_1984
I believe one Swiss Kanton waited even longer.
Millicent Fawcett ... now has statue in Parliament Square. I can never remember if she was a hero at mending taps or better at something more cerebral.
I think Emily Davis probably won the case as she was destined to fall under a horse whic is more dramatic.
Until TMay goes, any changes in Britain (except for disabled people, Winbuish, dead people, et al) which might save the Country will keeping splitting open, making it obvious we are a puny tiny country with no endless firearms.
Ultimatly we all go back to whence we came. I may meet you there if cyber-cloud-Z3 survives. Keep up the good work.
Did you know that guinea pigs produce two types of shit and eat the one type instantly after deposition?
It serves the same purpose as rumination.
Yes, my mother (until recently) was a guinea pig owner. They don't really deposit their "soft serves" but take them straight from the source as they come out.
The Rodent Coprovoros ;-)