Random Trivia Just For Fun

[Mr. Somalia]

Courtesy of a good buddy of mine, here are some random facts I thought I'd share:

- Sharks are immune to cancer.

 

- An elephant can smell water three miles away.

 

- Crushed-up fish scales gives a lot of metallic nail polishes their sheen.

 

- The lethal dose of caffeine is ten grams (consumed in a single sitting), which translates into fifty to two hundred cups of coffee, depending on preparation.

 

- The United States of America's national anthem, the "Star-Spangled Banner," was written to the tune of a drinking song.

 

- In 2006, there were 73 accidents caused by toothpaste tubes and 823 accidents caused by letters and envelopes.

 

- Humans share a third of their DNA with lettuce.

 

- The original name for the butterfly was "flutterby".

 

- One gallon of used motor oil can ruin approximately one million gallons of fresh water.

 

- Men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women.

 

- Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel, Gadsby, which contains over 50,000 words -- none of them with the letter E.

 

- The human body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second.

 

- During the Civil War, when soldiers returned from battle they would post the number of casualties. If there were none, they would write 0.K. meaning zero kills which later was adopted to mean all was well.

 

- Statistically, more people are afraid of spiders then they are of death.

 

- Statues of a soldier on a horse in parks have specific meanings. If the horse has 2 feet in the air, it means the soldier died in combat. If the horse has 1 foot in the air, it means the soldier died of injuries sustained in combat, and if the horse has all 4 feet on the ground, the soldier died of natural causes.

 

- Each king on playing cards represents a real historical leader. Spade: King David; Heart: Charlemagne; Club: Alexander the Great; Diamond: Julius Caesar.

 

- In ancient Rome, a piece of toasted bread was dropped into wine to wish one good health -- which is how we obtained our term for a "toast".

 

- In Memphis, TN, a woman is not to drive a car unless a man warns approaching motorists or pedestrians by walking in front of the car that is being driven.

(You can find other funny and stup1d laws in a state-by-state list here: http://www.dumblaws.com/)

 

- The muscles in your heart have the strength to shoot your blood 10 meters in the air.

 

 

So.. Does anyone else here have random or interesting trivia facts to share?

[Faheema.]

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

 

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% ( now get this...) The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

 

The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910

 

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

 

AND FINALLY At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

[Mr. Somalia]

Originally posted by Blisss:

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

^^

LOL -- I know for a fact that that must be true, because when I was a little boy my mother always told me that if I could kiss my own elbow, I would not be forced to take the mandatory siesta that was customary in our household, like my older siblings. Being relentless by nature, I tried it many times but never succeeded.

 

 

Anyhow, here are some more, for fun...

 

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

 

-According to suicide statistics, Monday is the favored day for self-destruction.

 

-The Eisenhower interstate system in America requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

 

-Rhode Island is the smallest state with the longest name. The official name, used on all state documents, is "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."

 

-Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal category.

 

-Each of the suits on a deck of cards represents the four major pillars of the economy in the middle ages: heart represented the Church, spades represented the military, clubs represented agriculture, and diamonds represented the merchant class.

 

-A skunk's smell can be detected by a human a mile away.

 

-The word "lethologica" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.

 

-The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache.

 

-Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump.

 

-The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees.

 

-The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.

 

-When snakes are born with two heads, they fight each other for food.

 

-A lion's roar can be heard from five miles away.

 

-The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69. From 1725-1765, a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets.

 

-The word "nerd" was first coined by Dr. Seuss in "If I Ran the Zoo."

 

-Revolvers cannot be silenced because of all the noisy gasses which escape the cylinder gap at the rear of the barrel.

 

-A car that shifts manually gets 2 miles more per gallon of gas than a car with automatic shift.

 

-Cats can hear ultrasound.

 

-Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

 

-Children grow faster in the springtime.

 

-The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

 

-"Goodbye" came from "God bye" which came from "God be with you."

[Nin-Yaaban]

LoL I'll pay attention to the Horse statue thing next time I drive around those things in DC. Never knew it signified anything.

[SeeKer]

Originally posted by Mr. Somalia:

-Revolvers cannot be silenced because of all the noisy gasses which escape the cylinder gap at the rear of the barrel.

 

Not entirely true. Watch this silenced

. I think this is the only one and its not a very good revolver