interesting tidbits

[ralphm]

Tisha, it looks like you have too much spare time. The f-word one seems a little bogus. The most interesting tidbit that i somewhat remember is that the first worldwide satalite broadcast was of the beatles singing all you need is love.

[Anonymous]

Actually, in England, the word "bonk" isn't considered a profanity (but the word "bloody" is).

[Squeek]

I knew some,
I didn't know alot...

But those were possibly the coolest facts I've ever read []

Here's one on Alaska, from Alaskans.

Alaska has 4 seasons... June, July, August, and Winter.

Another, just a state fact...

In Alaska, the ratio is just about 1:1 for a person to 1 square mile.

~Squeek

[Rob]

Lol. Yeah the bonk one does seem very suspect, if that law did ever exist, I strongly suspect it was totally ignored - would've cost the King a lot of placards otherwise! Mind you, we have some odd laws hidden away......

quote:Actually, in England, the word "bonk" isn't considered a profanity (but the word "bloody" is).

Naaa man!! Its most definitely the other way round!!!!!

[Nick]

The former-Soviet Ukraine has more Internet Service Providers than any other non-English speaking country.

China's labor force stands at 706 million people, almost three times that of Europe and twice that of North and South America combined

Indians go out to the movies 3 trillion times a year.

The USA has more personal computers than the next 7 countries combined.

Americans and Icelanders go to the pictures on average 5 times a year, while Japanese go only once.

Sick of crowds? Try Greenland where there's 38 sq km per person.

You're 66 times more likely to be prosecuted in the USA as in France.

Mexico has the most Jehovah's Witnesses per capita in the OECD.

American women have the most powerful jobs.

Swedes and Norweigans rank top 5 for both providing aid and exporting weapons.


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Usage implies agreement with terms.
http://www.nationmaster.com/facts.php

[dino333]

I'm reading this and suddenly feeling incredibly stupid... I'm going to walk slowly away now...

[dino333]

And are you sure about the F-word one?

[WalkerInTheWoods]

The F-word does sound made up. Here is what Webster has to say:

Main Entry: f*ck
Pronunciation: 'f&k
Function: verb
Etymology: akin to Dutch fokken to breed (cattle), Swedish dialect fokka to copulate
Date: 1503

Though I have heard it was an Anglo-Sexton (or however you spell it) word, so who knows.

[cainam_nazier]

I always thought that the F-word came from

"For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge"

The offenders often called F-er's.  Which we now call rapists.  It was a charge the church thought up.  

Your chances of winning the Power Ball Jackpot, an American Lottery for all you "non's", is 120,526,770 to 1.  You chances of getting hit by lighting twice is only 40,000,000 to 1.  The odds are better for you getting hit by lightning.

[ralphm]

I have remembered other such facts as the day progressed-a dead ringer refers to the middle ages in england when they may have bureid people too soon so they put a string attached to a bell in their coffin and if they woke up they rang the bell. a loose cannon goes back to the days of ships with cannons, just think of the damage a cannon not tied down could do at sea. And sort of a side note if you put the word mother in front of the f-word it becomes a curse on the goddess, the goddess equivalent of god**mn. Don't know if this goes back to the time when they were trying to reduce the power of the goddess but I wonder...

[Squeek]

...

You all know WAAAY too much about our curse words mmkay? [] []

~Squeek

[Tisha]

Interesting tidbits!
1.   The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
2.   Coca-Cola was originally green.
3.   Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.
4.   Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
5.   The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
6.   The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
7.   The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
8.   The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400
9.   The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000
10.   Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
11.   The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.
12.   The youngest pope was 11 years old.
13.   The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
14.   Those San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
15.   Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades - King David, Hearts - Charlemagne, Clubs -Alexander, the Great Diamonds - Julius Caesar
16.   111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
17.   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.
18.   Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed onAugust 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
19.   "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
20.   Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that make them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
21.   No NFL team which plays its home games in a domed stadium has ever won a Super bowl.
22.   The only two days of the year in which there are no professional sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL) are the day before and the day after the Major League all-stars Game.
Q. What occurs more often in December than any other month?
A. Conception.
Q. What separates "60 Minutes," on CBS from every other TV show?
A. No theme song
Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace.
Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laserprinters all have in common?
A. All invented by women.
Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey
Q. There are more collect calls on this day than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day
Q. What trivia fact about Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny) is the most ironic?
A. He was allergic to carrots.
Q. What is an activity performed by 40% of all people at a party?
A. Snoop in your medicine cabinet.
1.   In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase "goodnight, sleep tight".
2.   It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month or what we know today as the honeymoon.
3.   In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"
4.   Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
5.   In ancient England a person could not have sex unless you had consent of the King (unless you were in the Royal Family). When anyone wanted to have a baby, they got consent of the King, the King gave them a placard that they hung on their door while they were having sex. The placard had F.*.*.*. (Fornication Under Consent of the King) on it. Now you know where that came from.
6.   In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden ... and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.