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shredder
16-06-2005, 20:54
if you do post them! probably sounding really stupid now :dunce: ....but is this true?
A ducks quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why?

__________________

i just felt like confusing myself more than usual today!

JohnHorb
16-06-2005, 21:00
"Eskimos use Bauxite as snuff"

Don't even know if it is true, but we had it made into a poster on the living roon wall when I was a student.

MetaWraith
16-06-2005, 21:24
if you do post them! probably sounding really stupid now :dunce: ....but is this true?
A ducks quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why?

__________________

i just felt like confusing myself more than usual today!


The duck's quack not echoing is one of those internet myths / urban legends.
See these links amongst others.
http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/acoustics_world/duck/duck.htm

http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae482.cfm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3086890.stm

Angua
16-06-2005, 21:43
Hemerocallis (day Lily's) are edible (taste like lettuce).:scratch:

Also you could always check here to see if facts presented are really true or not http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax

Macca371
16-06-2005, 21:44
If you swallow chewing gum it takes 6 months to digest :erm:

shredder
16-06-2005, 22:43
http://www.justtoiletpaper.com/

not really a fact....but it is random!

leef78
16-06-2005, 22:55
if you do post them! probably sounding really stupid now :dunce: ....but is this true?
A ducks quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why?

__________________

i just felt like confusing myself more than usual today!

Haha! :) thats what I used to thinl/heard but when watching sky's brainiac science abuse, they made some guy take a duck to a cathedral to prove it does echo.... :)
__________________

Dolphins sleep with one eye open!!!

Ramrod
16-06-2005, 22:57
The 'click' you sometimes get from joints is caused by a bubble of nitrogen imploding...............

danielf
16-06-2005, 23:00
The 'click' you sometimes get from joints is caused by a bubble of nitrogen imploding...............

I think you may have been smoking just a few too many of them :p: :D

robtufts
16-06-2005, 23:01
Japan nearly ran out of 200 yen coins when space invaders was released.

homealone
16-06-2005, 23:21
mole rats use the earths magnetic field to help navigate over longer distances, while underground - apparently the only mammal with this ability.

Mal
16-06-2005, 23:36
Japan nearly ran out of 200 yen coins when space invaders was released.Didn't they empty the machines then? ;) :D

Tuftus
16-06-2005, 23:36
97.8% of statistics are made up on the fly.... :D

homealone
16-06-2005, 23:46
97.8% of statistics are made up on the fly.... :D

100% of flys deny their role in 'made up' statistics :D

Angua
16-06-2005, 23:51
100% of flys deny their role in 'made up' statistics :D
Have you tried writing on flies?:D "not zips"!!!

AndrewJ
16-06-2005, 23:59
Masturbating makes you blind.


Although I am not blind but would explain why the majority of old people in 4x4's and BMWs dont indicate or notice you on the road.

danielf
17-06-2005, 00:03
Masturbating makes you blind.


Although I am not blind but would explain why the majority of old people in 4x4's and BMWs dont indicate or notice you on the road.

<insert witty comment about saxodrivers here>

Seti
17-06-2005, 07:48
The tardis was real. It was stolen from Croyden high street by BBC props department in March 1968.

The 'illusion' that the inside was much larger than the outside was created by a BBC set designer 'Archie Tubbs'. Archie claimed that it wasn't an illusion and he had in fact created a temporal distortion in the space time fabric. In a bizarre accident Archie's plans and calculations perished along with him in Harpenden when a faulty pack of 'Walls' sausages caused his bed-sit to explode.


bizarre but true :)


Sian

Paul
17-06-2005, 08:09
Someone's been eating mushrooms again :erm:

liamboyle06
17-06-2005, 09:27
The frisbee †“ the flying dish that people throw to each other †“ travels at over 70 miles per hour †“ TRUE

Some perfumes are made from secretions from animalsââ‚à ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ bottoms - True

bmxbandit
17-06-2005, 09:31
a skateboard wheel often spins at a faster angular velocity than a Formula 1 car wheel ever will.

cats have a non-fatal terminal velocity.

danielf
17-06-2005, 10:17
cats have a non-fatal terminal velocity.

Doesn't that depend on starting velocity? Surely they can reach a fatal terminal velocity when used as a feline canon-ball?

Mr_love_monkey
17-06-2005, 10:31
The 'click' you sometimes get from joints is caused by a bubble of nitrogen imploding...............

That's what I've always been told - bubbles in the synovial fluid... but given the amount of clicking various bits of my body do (no jokes please) - I'd have to have a lot of bubbles...

Nemesis
17-06-2005, 10:31
When you have a head cold, you can expel nearly your own body weight through your nose.

Well it feels like that anyway :D

Nugget
17-06-2005, 10:34
The frisbee †“ the flying dish that people throw to each other †“ travels at over 70 miles per hour †“ TRUE

Surely that depends on how hard it's thrown in the first place?

Salu
17-06-2005, 10:37
The queen has an Ipod.....:)

danielf
17-06-2005, 10:40
When you have a head cold, you can expel nearly your own body weight through your nose.

Well it feels like that anyway :D


http://www.allergycapital.com.au/Pages/Sneeze.html

Unusual facts about sneezing
The material spread by sneezing can travel 2-3 metres, at a speed of around 150 km/hour, so it's a very efficient way of spreading germs. Some people sneeze when they pluck their eyebrows, get cold or go out into the sun. "Sun sneezing (Photic sneezing)" often runs in families, and occurs in around one in four people. The world record for sneezing (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/) is held by Donna Griffiths from Worstershire in the UK, who sneezed for 978 days in a row, stopping on 16 September 1983 (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com ). For those with hay fever, it's also very hard to avoid exposure to allergic triggers. Allergen has been found in underwater submarines, in scuba tanks, the Antarctic and even in space! (In space, no one can hear you sneeze?) Some even credit the development of movies to Thomas Edison's serial photos (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr018.html) of someone sneezing in 1894.

Fascinating stuff :)

Angua
17-06-2005, 11:35
Masturbating makes you blind.


Although I am not blind but would explain why the majority of old people in 4x4's and BMWs dont indicate or notice you on the road.
I thought the majority of old people were Saxo drivers:scratch:

Nugget
17-06-2005, 12:03
I thought the majority of old people were Saxo drivers:scratch:

Well, the majority of Saxo drivers are definitely blind :D

Halcyon
17-06-2005, 12:09
The tardis was real. It was stolen from Croyden high street by BBC props department in March 1968.

Sian



I actually saw the Tardis on Saturday.
It is in Earls Court. When you come out of Earls court station you will see there is one on that main road.

Another random fact......

"Most car horns honk in the key of 'F'."

More random facts HERE (http://www.hookedonfacts.com/index.htm)

AndrewJ
17-06-2005, 17:40
BMW's have indicators?

punky
17-06-2005, 17:42
Weird fact: The manhole cover in my garage has a patent number.

Jules
17-06-2005, 17:47
The polar bear is the only living animal that can not be picked up with heat sensors, its coat is too thick

Stuart
17-06-2005, 17:52
Not sure if this is fact or rumour, but apparently Nicola Bryant (Peri from Dr Who) tried out for Captain Janeway in ST:Voyager. Could have been interesting.

homealone
17-06-2005, 17:56
The polar bear is the only living animal that can not be picked up with heat sensors, its coat is too thick

the hairs are hollow & their skin is black, as well :)

yesman
17-06-2005, 18:05
It is said, (don't ask me by whom), that you're never more than 100 yard's from a rat. :disturbd:

Raistlin
17-06-2005, 18:08
It is said, (don't ask me by whom), that you're never more than 100 yard's from a rat. :disturbd:

Probably said by the Team on this forum :)
__________________

Next time you watch Star Trek loook out for piping labelled "GNDN".

GNDN stands for "Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing"

dilli-theclaw
17-06-2005, 18:09
Next time you watch Star Trek loook out for piping labelled "GNDN".

GNDN stands for "Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing"

Another star trek one (next generation) on the deck plan of the enterprise (in the background) there is only one toilet!!!

Raistlin
17-06-2005, 18:15
Yet another Star Trek TNG one:

The medical displays in sick bay have a patient status indicator that measures "Medical Insurance Remaining".
__________________

The commissioning plaque on the Main Bridge actually lists the production crew from TNG

dilli-theclaw
17-06-2005, 18:16
Yet another Star Trek TNG one:

The medical displays in sick bay have a patient status indicator that measures "Medical Insurance Remaining".
__________________

The commissioning plaque on the Main Bridge actually lists the production crew from TNG

You going for the geek awarf there m8 ;):D

Raistlin
17-06-2005, 18:16
:D Maybe.....

Scarlett
17-06-2005, 18:28
BMW's have indicators?

Yep but BMW have been saving thousands for years by not putting bulbs in them, No BMW driver has complained yet... :D

and some facts...

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

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them use to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."

Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village".

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

The word "samba" means "to rub navels together."

The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.

Until 1965, driving was done on the left-hand side on roads in Sweden. The conversion to right-hand was done on a weekday at 5pm. All traffic stopped as people switched sides. This time and day were chosen to prevent accidents where drivers would have gotten up in the morning and been too sleepy to realize that *this* was the day of the changeover.

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

Dr. Seuss pronounced "Seuss" such that it rhymed with "rejoice."

In Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart never said "Play it again, Sam."

Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson."

More people are killed annually by donkeys than die in air crashes.

The term, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging." Everything else was allowed, but the only way to be disqualified was to poke someone's eye out.

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

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.

Money isn't made out of paper, it's made out of cotton.

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from and old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

An ostrich's eye is bigger that it's brain.

The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds

Graham M
17-06-2005, 18:30
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.


Purple = Turtle
Silver = Pilfer

maybe?

Hom3r
17-06-2005, 19:26
if you do post them! probably sounding really stupid now :dunce: ....but is this true?
A ducks quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why?

__________________

i just felt like confusing myself more than usual today!

If you have seen in an episode of "Mythbusters" they tried this and it does, but it very close to the original sound and sound like the original.

Ramrod
17-06-2005, 19:28
the hairs are hollow & their skin is black, as well :).........and due to the high iron content of there liver it is toxic if eaten.

LemonyBrainAid
17-06-2005, 19:33
Purple = Turtle
Silver = Pilfer

maybe?

Unfortunately, AFAIK, they are only half-rhymes.

Hom3r
17-06-2005, 19:48
A large percentage of U.S. paper currency is contaminated with traces of cocaine

The correct answer is true. You thought this was just an urban legend, didn't you? In fact, a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health found that 79 percent of the currency tested bore minute traces of cocaine.
This does not imply that the majority of our currency has been directly handled by drug dealers or users, however. Cocaine is a very fine powder that is easily transferred from one bill to another, and can spread through ATMs and money-counting machines
__________________

Chocolate is poisoniuos to dogs
Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine (a compound related to caffeine), which can sicken and kill family pets. Three factors determine how toxic the sweet stuff will be to a particular animal: the type of chocolate, the size of the animal and the amount of chocolate ingested. The most dangerous confections are unsweetened baker's chocolate and powdered cocoa, the least, white chocolate.
Symptoms of theobromine poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle tremors, restlessness and increased urination. In severe cases, cardiac arrhythmia and seizures can result. The possibility that an animal will kill itself with chocolate is very low. More likely it will get a nasty tummy ache. In any case, it is still prudent to keep all chocolate far away from pets.
__________________

A farmer thought he was just putting dinner on the table when he picked up an axe and beheaded one of his chickens. Turned out he had a legend on his hands after the now headless rooster bobbed and weaved back to the henhouse and lived for 18 more months †” without a head
Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colo., did indeed own the world's only surviving headless chicken, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He wielded the infamous axe in September 1945, unaware that he and his rooster would go down in history.
The animal, now dubbed Mike and celebrated with a festival, Web sites and various magazine articles, apparently survived because the blade missed his jugular vein and a clot prevented him from bleeding to death. The axe blow landed high enough that most of the chicken's brain stem and one ear remained intact. Olsen kept the animal fed and watered by inserting an eyedropper directly into his gullet. Eighteen months after the chicken lost his head he choked to death in a motel room. Residents of Fruita remember Mike as "a big fat chicken who didn't know he didn't have a head."
__________________

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/quiz/quiz.html

Graham
17-06-2005, 21:12
and some facts...

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

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

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.

The last one is false:

As revealed on QI: http://www.qi.com/

Purple, contrary to assertions on innumerable websites, has two English words that rhyme with it. These are 'hirple' and 'curple'. Hirple means to hobble along with one leg dragging behind the other, half way between a walk and a crawl. Curples are the leather straps passed under the tails of horses.

http://b3ta.com/questions/uselessinformation/page9/

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

That's one *possible* explanation see:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/nineyards.htm

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

The word originates in the 18th century, it was subsequently applied to one "tick" of the system timer interrupt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiffy

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from and old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

False, there was never any such law.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-rul1.htm

Hom3r
17-06-2005, 21:57
Spike Milligan has engraved on his tombstone "I told you I was ill"

yesman
18-06-2005, 00:40
Tea Bags were invented by an American named Thomas Sullivan in 1908

AndrewJ
18-06-2005, 00:46
Lada's are able to do 100mph.

yesman
18-06-2005, 00:51
False: http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.htm


We had that before in the "Did you know (http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=12147)" thread Graham, and I think the thought was it applied in the UK, but not over the pond in the USA, it would be interesting to know the actual facts about this, but maybe you are correct.

AndrewJ
18-06-2005, 02:37
4x4's driven by mothers are seen off road.








All be it in town on the pavement.

Sipowicz
18-06-2005, 02:41
Spike Milligan has engraved on his tombstone "I told you I was ill"

But not in English! The Gaelic translation is in my sig ;) .

Theodoric
19-06-2005, 13:22
Tea Bags were invented by an American named Thomas Sullivan in 1908
Benny Hill once defined a Hebrew as a male teabag.

makikomi
19-06-2005, 15:11
Ant have five noses.

An octopus has three hearts.

The skin of a soap bubble is 10,000 times thinner than the breadth of a human hair.

The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees (as in all legs bending like our knees.)

I find that my mind soaks up all sorts of trivia.....

I'd post more but it's boiling hot and my brain isn't coping well with the heat.

Halcyon
19-06-2005, 16:38
The weekend of 18th - 19th June 2005 was one of the hottest of the year.

AndrewJ
19-06-2005, 18:33
it is sunny in the UK. :eek:

Halcyon
19-06-2005, 19:01
It is physically impossible
for pigs to look up into the sky.


(Though I guess if you took it and sat it upright then it could).

daz300
19-06-2005, 19:27
seven sausage facts ..

(1) the word sausage is derived from the latin word salus, which means something salted .

(2) dick turpin worked as a butcher.

(3) sausages are eaten at 71% of all uk BBQs .

(4) Queen victoria liked sausages but insisted that the meat in them had to be hand chopped rather then minced .

(5) sausages were called bangers during the world war 2 because they exploded when fried, due to the water content.

(6) 90% of british households buy sauasges and 50% buy them once a month .

(7) sausages are mentioned in the homer's odyssey : "these goat sausages sizzing here in the fire"

Halcyon
19-06-2005, 20:01
A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.

AndrewJ
19-06-2005, 20:22
Daffy Duck's middle name is "Dumas"



Betty Boop is a red head. She appeared in her only colour cartoon, Cinderella, with red hair

In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer's name is "Yensid" (Disney backwards.)

In the Wizard of Oz Dorothy's last name is Gail. It is shown on the mail box.

The stop-motion puppet for King Kong was covered with rabbit fur

Red Dawn was the first movie to have a PG13 rating

In E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, there was a matte painting which showed all the fast food restaurant chains in the world along one street, and a drive in movie theater showing Star Wars

In Star Wars the aliens playing in the band are played by members of the ILM creature shop, including Phil Tippett, and the executive producer

"Jaws" is the first movie ever to make over 100 million dollars

In The Empire Strikes Back there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field

In Return of the Jedi there is a tennis shoe hidden among the rebel fleet

There are Star Wars ships hidden in Star Trek: First Contact, Space Balls, and Independence Day among others

In Raiders of the Lost Ark there is a wall carving of R2-D2 and C-3P0 behind the ark

Walt Disney holds the world record for the most Academy Awards won by one person, he has won twenty statuettes, and twelve other plaques and certificates

There is a statuette of R2-D2 attached to the model of the mother-ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and on the Borg ship on Star Trek: The Next Generation

The eye pieces on the Borg in Star Trek: First Contact, flash in Morse code, spelling out the names of several members of the production team

James Bond's car had three different license plates in Goldfinger

Gary Cooper was the first Academy Award winner for best actor to make his acceptance speech on television

101 Dalmatians, Peter Pan, Hercules and Mulan are the only Disney movies where both parents are present and don't die by the end of the movie

Paul McCartney purchased the rights to the Happy Birthday song we all know, so if you want to use it in a production, you have to pay him royalty fees

Cheech and Chong were awarded the first Bronze Taco, on July 24 1984

Humphery Bogart never said "Play it again, Sam" in Casablanca

Captain Kirk never said "Beam me up, Scotty"

Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson."

Gone With the Wind had the working titles Tote the Weary Load and Ba! Ba! Black Sheep

The Brothers Grimm wrote 211 fairy tales

It used to be illegal to swim by daylight

Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head."

The original story from Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights begins, "Aladdin was a little Chinese boy."

William Shakespeare claimed that honorificabilitudinitatibus was the longest word used in any of his plays

The words "Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotri mmatossilphioparaomelitoatakechymenokichlepikossyp hophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleio latoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon", "Taumatawhakatangihangihangakoauotamateaturipukakap iikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu" and "Nordosterjokustartilleriflygspaningssimulatoranlag gningmaerielunderhallsuppfoljknintssystemdiskussio nsinlaggsforberedelsearbeten" are all in the spell checker, but not in any dictionary, yet the words ""Pnemonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" and "Floccipaucinihilipilification" are in the English Dictionary, but not in the spell checker!

The two longest one-syllable words in the English language are "screeched" and "strengths."

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.

"I" is the most spoken word in the English language

"You" is the second most spoken English word

"O" is considered to be the oldest vowel in the English language

The letter W is the only letter in the alphabet that doesn't have 1 syllable... it has three.

Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village"

Canada makes up 6.67 percent of the Earth's land area

Alberta is home to Canada's largest Ukrainian Easter egg

The fastest broadcaster in history is Canadian Gerry Wilmont, from Victoria B.C. He was a hockey commentator

A Canadian invented the paint roller

A Canadian was the creator of "Superman"

Canada is home to the International Federation of Bodybuilders

Nova Scotia boasts Sober Island, 30 miles from Wine Harbor

New Brunswick is the lobster capital of the world

15 percent of Americans secretly bite their toenails

Deborah Ann Fountain, the 1981 Miss New York State, was disqualified from the Miss U.S.A pageant for padding her bathing suit

The only two bald Presidents were Martin Van Buren and Dwight D. Eisenhower

In a speech made in 1961, John F. Kennedy was recorded as speaking at 327 words per minute, the fastest in public history

John F. Kennedy could read four newspapers in twenty minutes

David Rice Atchinson was President of the United States for only one day

The full name for Los Angeles is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula

The bikini bathing suit was so named because it was created the same year the atomic bomb was tested on Bikini Isalnd

Benjamin Franklin was considered to be America's first cartoonist, he was also the first to suggest that clocks may be moved forward or backward to extend the daylight hours

South Dakota is the only U.S state which shares no letters with the name of it's capital, Pierre

Maine produces more toothpicks than any other U.S state

The only city whose name can be spelled completely with vowels is Aiea, Hawaii, located approximately twelve miles west of Honolulu

The Florida Citrus Bowl football game was previously named for the tangerine

The full name for Bangkok is Krungthep Mahanakhon Bovorn Ratanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok pop Noparatratchathani Burirom Udomratchanivetmahasathan Avatarnsathit Sakkathattiyavisnukarmprast

You have to pay a tax in Denmark to use the back seat of your car for passengers

Dublin is home to the Fairy Investigation Society

There is a law in France against selling dolls without human faces

The KGB is headquartered at No. 2 Felix Dzerzhinsky Square, Moscow

Walloons speak French

The Vatican city registered 0 births in 1983

Spain leads the world in cork production

There are 1,792 steps in the Eiffel Tower

here are 269 steps to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

160 cars can drive side by side on the Monumental Axis in Brazil, the worlds widest road

There is a city in Norway called "Hell"

The Anglo-Saxons called May Thrimilice because cows at that point could be milked three times a day

The Roman emperor Caligula made his horse a senator.

In the first century AD, Roman doctors endorsed the brushing of teeth with urine

Ancient Romans ate flamingo tongues and considered them a delicacy

The only animal which was allowed into an ancient Roman temple was a cat

In ancient Egypt, you could be put to death for killing a cat

An Egyptian has to say "I divorce thee" three times to be legally divorced

Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten, was married to Nefertiti, and was king Tutankhamen's father, he also decreed that the sun god Aten was the only god to be worshipped by Egyptians during his reign

Cleopatra's last name was Ptolemy, she was Greek, not Egyptian

The plant centaury is so named because it's medicinal properties were said to have been discovered by Chiron, the mythical centaur doctor and teacher.

In ancient Greece, "idiot" meant private citizen or layman

Vincent Van Goh sold only one painting in his lifetime, Red Vineyard at Arles

Vincent Van Goh committed suicide while painting Wheat Field with Crows

Salvador Dali once arrived at an exhibition with flies glued to his face

Salvador Dali was expelled from art school for refusing to allow professors to critique his work

Michelangelo's sculpture Pieta is the only work of his to bear his signature, it is on Mary's mantle strap

Leonardo da Vinci invented the scissors.

Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand while drawing with the other

Leonardo wrote backwards, so that the only way to properly read his writing was to hold it up to a mirror

After studying it for 47 days, the New York Museum of Modern Art discovered that the Matisse painting Le Bateau was hanging upside down

If an equestrian statue has two legs the air, the person on the horses back died in battle, if the horse has only one leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle, if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes

Ionic columns have 23 flutes

Botticelli illustrated Dante's Inferno

most peoples hair stops growing at 3 ft 91 cm

One human hair can support 3kg

Blondes have more hair than dark haired people

The human brain uses the same amount of energy as a 10-watt lightbulb

The human brain is 85% water

Children grow faster in the springtime

yesman
19-06-2005, 22:10
Not a fact, but a question.............

Does anyone know why Wales is not represented on the Union Jack ?

Graham
19-06-2005, 23:24
Not a fact, but a question.............

Does anyone know why Wales is not represented on the Union Jack ?

Because it is a Principality, not a Kingdom.

PS It is actually correctly called the "Union Flag", the "Union Jack" is only flown from the Jack Staff on a ship.

carlingman
20-06-2005, 02:30
The correct spelling of wierd is actually weird.

:D

Theodoric
20-06-2005, 14:21
Because it is a Principality, not a Kingdom.

PS It is actually correctly called the "Union Flag", the "Union Jack" is only flown from the Jack Staff on a ship.
Plus Wales was administratively incorporated into England by Henry VIII in 1535 (or possibly 1536, I forget), so it was officially part of England during the period that the Union flag was being designed and modified.

EDIT I suppose that there's now no reason why the Welsh should not start a campaign to change the flag. Or is such a campaign already in existence? Or do they feel that it wouldn't fit in with independence? Or does anyone really care?
__________________

<Snip>
Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head."
<Snip>
Pine seed, or possibly pine cone, actually.
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<Snip>
Cleopatra's last name was Ptolemy, she was Greek, not Egyptian
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Macedonian.

Stuart
20-06-2005, 14:41
Stanley Kubrick worked on James Bond!

Seriously. He did not direct, but he did design the lighting for the scenes in the hangar deck of the Stromberg ship in "The Spy Who Loved Me". This was apparently a massive problem as, due to the reflective nature of most of the set, they could not use conventional studio lighting (it would have shown up), yet they needed bright lighting..

ikthius
20-06-2005, 15:08
Daffy Duck's middle name is "Dumas"
Betty Boop is a red head. She appeared in her only colour cartoon, Cinderella, with red hair
In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer's name is "Yensid" (Disney backwards.)
In the Wizard of Oz Dorothy's last name is Gail. It is shown on the mail box.
The stop-motion puppet for King Kong was covered with rabbit fur
Red Dawn was the first movie to have a PG13 rating
In E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, there was a matte painting which showed all the fast food restaurant chains in the world along one street, and a drive in movie theater showing Star Wars
In Star Wars the aliens playing in the band are played by members of the ILM creature shop, including Phil Tippett, and the executive producer
"Jaws" is the first movie ever to make over 100 million dollars
In The Empire Strikes Back there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field
In Return of the Jedi there is a tennis shoe hidden among the rebel fleet
There are Star Wars ships hidden in Star Trek: First Contact, Space Balls, and Independence Day among others
In Raiders of the Lost Ark there is a wall carving of R2-D2 and C-3P0 behind the ark
Walt Disney holds the world record for the most Academy Awards won by one person, he has won twenty statuettes, and twelve other plaques and certificates
There is a statuette of R2-D2 attached to the model of the mother-ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and on the Borg ship on Star Trek: The Next Generatio<snip>


where did you find these, and can you prove the star wars ones?

ik

Jules
20-06-2005, 16:15
In The Empire Strikes Back there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field
In Return of the Jedi there is a tennis shoe hidden among the rebel fleet




Why? lol

Graham
20-06-2005, 16:22
In 2001 A Space Odyssey there was a small picture of a surfer on the main Antenna of the Discovery space craft!

Stuart
20-06-2005, 16:32
In The Empire Strikes Back there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field
In Return of the Jedi there is a tennis shoe hidden among the rebel fleet




Why? lol

I don't know, but in the Lucasfilm game, Rebel Assault 2, you could enter a cheat code and the whole game would suddenly be about where to buy the best shoes in the Universe... It was a good laugh, in a bizarre sort of way..

Theodoric
20-06-2005, 19:54
In The Empire Strikes Back there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field
In Return of the Jedi there is a tennis shoe hidden among the rebel fleet

Why? lol
Never mind why. Where? :)

Presumably there is a source for these claims.

PS This potato. Was it a plug for Spuds 'R' Us? And the tennis shoe, not Nike, I hope.

dilli-theclaw
20-06-2005, 20:43
Never mind why. Where? :)

Presumably there is a source for these claims.

PS This potato. Was it a plug for Spuds 'R' Us? And the tennis shoe, not Nike, I hope.

With regards to the potato thing.... This was mentioned by the special effects people on the extras DVD with the original trilogy DVD set.

As for the shoe one - I've heard about this too. But I'm not sure where.

TheBlueRaja
20-06-2005, 21:53
It is possible to travel faster than the speed of light - but only if you are dealing with quantum entanglement.

High brow or WHAT! :D

Kaz61
21-06-2005, 20:55
Winnie The Pooh's middle name is "the"

Ok it may be obvious but try asking someone what Winnie the Pooh's middle name is.....tee hee everyone says "don't know"

Look!! that's all I've got everything else seems to be covered :(

budwieser
21-06-2005, 21:26
Masturbating makes you blind.


Although I am not blind but would explain why the majority of old people in 4x4's and BMWs dont indicate or notice you on the road.

Is it true that saxo drivers have braille keyboards!:D

Theodoric
21-06-2005, 22:08
Winnie The Pooh's middle name is "the"

Ok it may be obvious but try asking someone what Winnie the Pooh's middle name is.....tee hee everyone says "don't know"

Look!! that's all I've got everything else seems to be covered :(
1) The Latin translation is entitled Winnie ille Pooh. As Latin doesn't have a definite article, they were forced to use ille.

2) What does the J stand for in Homer J Simpson?

Stephen
22-06-2005, 00:08
In The Empire Strikes Back there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field
In Return of the Jedi there is a tennis shoe hidden among the rebel fleet




Why? lol

In Revenge of the Sith there is apparently a Kitchen sink in one of the space scenes and in Attack of the Clones one of those space cows on Naboo is in the Asteroid field when Jango is chasing Obi Wan:)

TheBlueRaja
22-06-2005, 11:31
2) What does the J stand for in Homer J Simpson?

Everybody knows that....

Jay!

Halcyon
22-06-2005, 12:16
A new planet has been discovered with the most identicle conditions to earth. The only slight problem differing from earths conditions...... its 200 degrees C on the surface.

zoombini
22-06-2005, 13:55
So it's a future Earth? Where we will be in 100 years perhaps.. :D

altis
22-06-2005, 17:54
Many think the Bee Gees were born in Australia. In fact they originate from 51 Keppel Road, Chorlton-***-Hardy, Manchester, M21 0BP (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=381674&y=394203&z=0&sv=M21+0BP&st=2&pc=M21+0BP&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf).

Edit
:D at profanity filter.

Theodoric
22-06-2005, 20:56
A new planet has been discovered with the most identicle conditions to earth. The only slight problem differing from earths conditions...... its 200 degrees C on the surface.
Not quite. It's about 5 times the mass of the earth, it has a "year" of a few days and it orbits a dwarf star.
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In Revenge of the Sith there is apparently a Kitchen sink in one of the space scenes<Snip>
I see, the SF version of Look Back In Anger :)

Jules
23-06-2005, 14:33
When an anti-homosexuality bill was brought before her to sign, Queen Victoria refused to believe in the existence of such a thing as lesbianism. She struck out all references to sex between women in the bill, and to this day female homosexuality cannot be prosecuted

Stephen
23-06-2005, 16:22
When an anti-homosexuality bill was brought before her to sign, Queen Victoria refused to believe in the existence of such a thing as lesbianism. She struck out all references to sex between women in the bill, and to this day female homosexuality cannot be prosecuted
I am sure I saw/heard this on the TV/radio in the last few days.

Millay
23-06-2005, 16:30
Yo did, as so did I, but Icannot rember on what...

Ramrod
23-06-2005, 16:55
If you have one of those bottled water dispensers (like you get in offices) and you are finding that it's growing algae in the water bottle then simply cover the (next) bottle so that it's not exposed to light......end of algae problem.

Jules
23-06-2005, 18:35
I am sure I saw/heard this on the TV/radio in the last few days.

No idea got it out of a book on royal trivia

TheShadow
23-06-2005, 18:48
If you swallow chewing gum it takes 6 months to digest :erm:

Uh oh...:(

altis
23-06-2005, 19:03
Uh oh...:(It's not the chewing gum but the table that's stuck to it that's the problem.

:D

TheBlueRaja
23-06-2005, 21:17
An asteroid is going to pass so close to Earth in 2029 that it will be closer to us than many communication satellites are. Depending on how our own Gravity affects it will depend on whether it hits us on its next pass. Possible strike dates are 2034-37 (a stirke is possible in any of those years depending on gravity), 2046, 2048, 2054 and 2055.

The asteroid is estimated to be 300m in diameter and capable of wiping out a large city or worse, causing a large tsunami.

Dont belive it - look up 2004 MN4 Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_MN4) on it, pay attention to the bit which mentions what happens AFTER it passes us the first time.

Annnd just in case you think this is some sort of internet wind up - next time you pass the news shelves in the next week - have a look for New Scientist - its the cover story.

Jules
23-06-2005, 21:25
Tell me more I want to know how much of my pension I will collect before some thing happens to me :)

makikomi
25-06-2005, 12:52
Tell me more I want to know how much of my pension I will collect before some thing happens to me :)

Also, we need to fix our wedding before that - you promised me, remember! :)

Jules
25-06-2005, 12:56
Yes dear :erm:

makikomi
25-06-2005, 13:15
I'll be able to wed a year before I colect me retirement pension then! :) Yippee!

Oh, hang on... the government keeps talking about us having to work longer in future before getting the pension...

Bugger.
__________________

There are six types of quark.

(No, I don't mean the cheese.)

WhyMe38 and I have memorised the names of all six types.

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