# Useless Knowledge



## woodsac (Jan 10, 2006)

Come on...we all have some 

PlasticSpanner's post on 'Flashlights' made me think about this. So what totally useless facts do you have stored in your brain? Most of mine are about insects and animals. But I know so many, that it's hard to remember them all at once :mrgreen:

Over the last couple of years I've compiled a massive list. No...I don't why? I just like useless knowledge. I'll just post a few to start with.



A camel's milk doesn't curdle.

Chewing gum has rubber as an ingredient. 

A cockroach can live up to a  month, without its head.

Elephants can't jump.

When bats exit a cave they _always _turn left.

 		A chameleon's tongue is twice as long as it's body.


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## Unimaxium (Jan 10, 2006)

A duck's quack supposedly doesn't echo, and nobody knows why.

Penguins are the only birds that can swim but not fly.

Analog clocks and watches are most often set to 10:10 when photographed because it looks the best (for studio / marketing shots and similar, that is)

It is impossible to kiss the tip of your elbow, or to stick your elbow in your ear.

I'm sure I know plenty more, I just have to remember them.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 10, 2006)

Unimaxium said:
			
		

> A duck's quack supposedly doesn't echo, and nobody knows why.
> 
> 
> It is impossible to kiss the tip of your elbow


 
Have to disagree with these two! 

Both were done on "Brainiacs" (Oddball science show in UK) although it was supposed to be impossible to _lick_ your own elbow!  

Jon Tickle (UK Big Brother fame) actually took a duck into a London underpass to prove you can hear a ducks echo!


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## Unimaxium (Jan 10, 2006)

ooook then...


I also just found out... the dot over the letter i is called a tittle. I'm so going to have to drop that into a conversation now 

And that one reminded me: the little plastic thingies on the ends of shoelaces are called aglets.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 10, 2006)

A human body is supposed to accelerate in free fall at 50 feet/second every second until it reaches it's terminal velocity just under Mach 1.

I haven't tried it though!


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 10, 2006)

The moon was created from debris hurled into space after a large meteorite hit the earth.  

It also used to be 3 times larger than it is now but some of it's surface has also been lost into space after similar meteorite collisions.


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## MommyOf4Boys (Jan 10, 2006)

More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.

The oldest person to live was Jeanne Louise Calment, she lived for a whopping 122 years until she died of smoking related complications. _Don't Smoke!_

Marilyn Monroe had 6 toes on one foot.

You can't fold of piece of paper in half more than 7 times. Don't believe me? Try it.

The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start. ... Ok a lot of people have been bustin on me with this one since North America and South America obviously don't start with the same letter as they end with. I duno how to rephrase it but just assume i am referring to "America."


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## MommyOf4Boys (Jan 10, 2006)

Unimaxium said:
			
		

> I also just found out... the dot over the letter i is called a tittle. I'm so going to have to drop that into a conversation now
> And that one reminded me: the little plastic thingies on the ends of shoelaces are called aglets.


 
The little lump of flesh just forward of your ear canal, right next to your temple, is called a tragus.:lmao:


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 10, 2006)

There are no deserts in Europe.


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## surfingfireman (Jan 10, 2006)

I am full of uselss knowledge but I wouldn't know where to start in just posting some of it...


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 10, 2006)

Over 300 people a year are killed by being hit on the head by coconuts.

In the UK more people are injured falling downstairs than die in car accidents.

There is no name, medical or otherwise, for the patch of skin at the back of the knee.

The only difference between a common Shrew and a Pygmy Shrew is the length of the tail.

There are many things that have gone up and not come down, including a hot air balloonist who was knocked into space by a meteor collision.

Earwigs have two penises.

I have many more.


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## markc (Jan 10, 2006)

Heh. Hate to be a party pooper, but a few of those are urban legends.

Ducks, bats, Marilyn...
Donkeys/planes is unlikey. Unjured maybe.

Terminal velocity for a skydiver normally is 50m/s (125mph) and the record is something like 321mph trying in atmosphere. Mach 1 is 761mph.
g, acceleration due to gravity, is just under 10m/s/s instead of 50.

Impact theory is widely accepted now for the moon, but I haven't heard the 1/3 original size thing before. It's all still conjecture.

Everyone hates me now, right?  I can't resist, though. Of course I got my info from sources and not direct measurement, so some element of trust has to be involved.

Useless info?
I still remember my zip code from my childhood home of over 20 years ago (14873).
Phillip Brown and Shelagh Fraser played Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in the original Star Wars. Jeremy Bulloch played Boba Fett.
A Chrysler big block usually takes a Champion RJ12YC spark plug, and a Chevy small block often takes an AC Delco R45TS.
There's no "I" in team, but there is a "me".


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## Verbal (Jan 10, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> Phillip Brown and Shelagh Fraser played Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in the original Star Wars. Jeremy Bulloch played Boba Fett.



You are my hero. :hail:


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

Verbal said:
			
		

> You are my hero. :hail:


Oh man, I've forgotten more about Star Wars than I care to remember.
Err...
Oh, just fill in something witty.

Luke was Red Five in the film, but Blue Five in the book and comic, as they were based on an earlier script. I have a bunch of issues from that comic run around here somewhere...

Dan O'Bannon, who wrote Alien, did _Dark Star_ with John Carpenter as a college project. They both decided to try horror after that because they figured it was easier to scare people than make them laugh.
"...and they didn't get it!"


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## puzzle (Jan 11, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> Earwigs have two penises.
> 
> I have many more.


 
 :shock:  Do you know the medical term for that??


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## Rob (Jan 11, 2006)

34% of interesting facts on the internet were made up by someone smarter than the person who forwarded them to you.


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## Becky (Jan 11, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> Earwigs have two penises.
> 
> I have many more.



What?! How many have you got? :lmao:


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

chocolate spelled backwards is etalocohc which is a chemical used to kill rats.  This is because chocolate does the reverse and increases rat fertility.


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## hobbes28 (Jan 11, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> Heh. Hate to be a party pooper, but a few of those are urban legends.
> 
> Ducks, bats, Marilyn...
> Donkeys/planes is unlikey. Unjured maybe.
> ...




Spoil sport... 

Actually, the record speed for a skydive was by USAF captain Joe Kittinger when he jumped from a balloon at 100,000 feet (almost in space, through 90% of the earth's atmosphere) and reached a speed of 619mph.  Not the speed of sound but pretty close.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

hobbes28 said:
			
		

> Spoil sport...
> 
> Actually, the record speed for a skydive was by USAF captain Joe Kittinger when he jumped from a balloon at 100,000 feet (almost in space, through 90% of the earth's atmosphere) and reached a speed of 619mph. Not the speed of sound but pretty close.


 
Mach 1 is 670 mph at sea level!


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

they did say 50feet/sec not metres, still not 10m/s but not ridiculous.  

and it's 9.80665m/s^2 not 10!!    :mrgreen: 

Also did you know that a dog in the antarctic can smell half as far as one in the desert.  Due to the Langsenheimer hypothesis being proved we now nknow that this is true also for cats.


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

hobbes28 said:
			
		

> Spoil sport...
> 
> Actually, the record speed for a skydive was by USAF captain Joe Kittinger when he jumped from a balloon at 100,000 feet (almost in space, through 90% of the earth's atmosphere) and reached a speed of 619mph.  Not the speed of sound but pretty close.


Well, I did say through atmosphere. That 10% allowed him to pick up a heck of a lot of speed.


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## hobbes28 (Jan 11, 2006)

98% of statistics are made up on the spot.

In size ratio, a fly flies at the speed of 600mph.

The sun is 330,330 times larger than the earth.

It takes 8 seconds for light from the sun to reach the earth.

A slug has 4 noses.

I could go for days


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> Mach 1 is 670 mph at sea level!


Multiple sources tell me 761 mph


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## hobbes28 (Jan 11, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> Well, I did say through atmosphere. That 10% allowed him to pick up a heck of a lot of speed.



Enough for him to have to use a stabilizing chute .  I read that story years ago and have always been amazed at reading him describe all of the stages of ascent and the freefall.  [/nerd]


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> Multiple sources tell me 761 mph


 
I think that's at 10,000 feet? (or possibly higher.  Must check later! )


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

Daniel said:
			
		

> they did say 50feet/sec not metres, still not 10m/s but not ridiculous.
> 
> and it's 9.80665m/s^2 not 10!!    :mrgreen:


Okay, it was late.  Damn metric vs. English. 50f/s/s is about 15m/s/s.

But I did say "almost" 10, not 10.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

hobbes28 said:
			
		

> Enough for him to have to use a stabilizing chute . I read that story years ago and have always been amazed at reading him describe all of the stages of ascent and the freefall. [/nerd]


 
I liked the video footage of him stepping off the platform..................! :thumbup:


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> I think that's at 10,000 feet? (or possibly higher.  Must check later! )


It drops the higher you go.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/sound.html


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## hobbes28 (Jan 11, 2006)

Okay, I had to look it up but Mach 1 is 761mph at sea level whereas the speed of sound is variable based on temperature and resistance.  @-30F, (about average for 30,000 ft) it is around 690mph.


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts.

  take with a pinch of salt.

Kilts don't originate in Scotland but France

Bagpipes don't either but Pesia now Iran

Haggis originated no in Scotland but Greece

Scotland didn't really ever do anything.


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## hobbes28 (Jan 11, 2006)

This is what happens when we get a bunch of nerds together with internet connections..


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

Yeah, that was pretty crazy. Can you imagine a free-fall starting from where the sky is black and you can see the curve of the earth?


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## hobbes28 (Jan 11, 2006)

It gives me an adrenline rush just seeing it.


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

Is there any footage of this on the internet?  Sounds interesting.

Also - 

Basketball and Football are very unfair becase : 

If you toss a penny 10,000 times, it will not be heads 5,000 times, but more like 4,950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.


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## hobbes28 (Jan 11, 2006)

Video


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

Buttered toast always lands butter down due to the butter side having less air resistance and so "overtaking" the non buttered side.

(But I think this was disproved under 2 meters! )


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

It also depends on the orientation.  If its exactly on it's side or the unbuttered face is parrallel wit the ground then it doesn't happen.  Also butter is nasty.

Hobbes that was amazing, can' even comprehend what it must have been like.

Edit Forgot this:

The chances of you dying on the way to get your lottery tickets is greater than your chances of winning.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> It drops the higher you go.
> http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/sound.html


 
Wonder why I had it the other way round?  


The internet is one big community of nerds!


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

And we don't have to worry about being beat up!

Heh. Though I don't think you have to worry about that anyway judging from your avatar.


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## LittleMan (Jan 11, 2006)

A lot of my knowledge is top secret... so I can't tell y'all.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> Heh. Though I don't think you have to worry about that anyway judging from your avatar.


 
Why do people keep saying that? 

I'm a nice guy!


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

The speed of sound decreases when you go higher up?  That woul dmake sense if thats whats being said.

A cubic mile of ordinary fog contains less than a gallon of water.


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> Why do people keep saying that?
> 
> I'm a nice guy!


I'm sure you are. Please don't hit me.

No, seriously, it wasn't that. You have a body-builder's neck, so you look pretty tough. But in that pic you also have a *****cat smile, so it balances out.


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## bace (Jan 11, 2006)

The human head weighs ten pounds.


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

Good grief. I wasn't swearing. I was saying you look like a nice guy. Ah well.


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

bace said:
			
		

> The human head weighs ten pounds.


Hmm... Too light for bowling.


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## jcharcalla (Jan 11, 2006)

Unimaxium said:
			
		

> A duck's quack supposedly doesn't echo, and nobody knows why.


Wait a minute I just saw this on TV yesterday and they said it did echo. Rember kids you can belive everything your see on TV but don't trust the internet. Or is that the other way around.


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

ALL COFFEE DRINKERS READ HERE:

There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats.

edit - I need to stop posting these but oh well:
Most cell phone antennas have no purpose other than to make people believe that flipping up a 2 inch antenna just gave them better reception. They are not connected to any circuitry.
Only 55% of Americans know that the sun is a star.
The best recorded distance for projectile vomiting is 27 feet.
Not sure "best" is the right word for that.


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 11, 2006)

Becky said:
			
		

> What?! How many have you got? :lmao:


Let's get a room and you can find out for yourself :lmao: 



Margaret Mitchell, the writer of Gone With The Wind, wanted the part of Rhett Butler to be played in the film by Groucho Marx.
'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn' takes on a whole new dimension if you imagine Groucho delivering it.


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## anicole (Jan 11, 2006)

A couple of hundred years ago, ladies were taught how to use a fan, among other things, in their daily lessons.  They weren't used for cooling oneself as you might suspect.  They were used for ladies to have something to do with their hands if they felt a need to fidget.  They were also used for flirting and to smack a gentleman's hand if he became too bold.


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## markc (Jan 11, 2006)

anicole said:
			
		

> They were also used for flirting and to smack a gentleman's hand if he became too bold.


Or in the case of _shanzi_ or _tessen_, incapacitate him.


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## jocose (Jan 11, 2006)

Sorry I'm late on this one...I, like most of you, have tons of useless knowledge, but it only presents itself in context, and I can't command it to come to the front of my brain.

As far as the captain who parachuted.  I got a call from a Congressional Staffer about 3 months ago.  She had a constituent who wanted to break Kittinger's record.  The constituent wanted to know if there was any way that NASA could help him out (I think he was looking for a lift up actually).

As far as my specific useless knowledge, it revolves around 19th century vaudevillians who made a living on the stage lifiting incredibly heavy objects and flexing their muscles...


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## clarinetJWD (Jan 11, 2006)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> Buttered toast always lands butter down due to the butter side having less air resistance and so "overtaking" the non buttered side.
> 
> (But I think this was disproved under 2 meters! )


http://reagle.org/joseph/blog/technology/mythbusters-toast
Butter side where?


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## clarinetJWD (Jan 11, 2006)

Daniel said:
			
		

> [*]Most cell phone antennas have no purpose other than to make people believe that flipping up a 2 inch antenna just gave them better reception. They are not connected to any circuitry.
> [*]Only 55% of Americans know that the sun is a star.


The non-pullable antennas do have an effect.  I took mine off, and reception dropped 3 bars.

I can't believe the second one...I just can't, and won't.


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## jocose (Jan 11, 2006)

clarinetJWD said:
			
		

> The non-pullable antennas do have an effect. I took mine off, and reception dropped 3 bars.
> 
> I can't believe the second one...I just can't, and won't.


 
what?  That people don't know that the sun is a star?  I saw that question on some game show the other other (jeopardy maybe) "what is the closest star to the earth?"  No one got it...I'm sorry to tell you, Joe, but we love among some of the planet's dumbest people!


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

jocose said:
			
		

> what? That people don't know that the sun is a star? I saw that question on some game show the other other (jeopardy maybe) "what is the closest star to the earth?" No one got it...I'm sorry to tell you, Joe, but we love among some of the planet's dumbest people!


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 11, 2006)

A useless fact - and one of the most ironic - is about William Huskisson. He was an MP and supported the Act allowing the building of the first passenger railway line in the 1830's.
In gratitude the Directors invited him to attend the opening - at which event he was knocked down and killed by Stephenson's Rocket.
He thus became the first victim of a passenger train accident.


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 11, 2006)

There are only 8 planets in our Solar system.


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

There are 23 doctors in the U.S. called Dr. Doctor, and one called Dr. Surgeon!


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## GerryDavid (Jan 11, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> There are only 8 planets in our Solar system.



Just 8?

1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
5. Jupiter
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Neptune
9. Pluto

Unless you consider pluto an asteroid or something, I think some do.  But an asteroid that has a moon? hehe.


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## GerryDavid (Jan 11, 2006)

Im going from my faulty memory here, but heres some random facts that I can remember.

The male seahorse is the one that carries the babies.

Star trek loves to recycle actors.  The guy that plays tuvoc in voyager was also in one of the movies, back in kirks era.  Thats the only one I can remember, but theres many of these.

Some sharks have 2 penises.

Ill try to remember more.


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 11, 2006)

90% of people survive shark attacks.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

GerryDavid said:
			
		

> Just 8?
> 
> 1. Mercury
> 2. Venus
> ...


 
Pluto is on the very edge of being de-classified as a planet! 

There are much bigger asteroids in a similar orbit to Pluto!


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## Unimaxium (Jan 11, 2006)

But I believe Pluto is not officially declassified as a planet. Yet. So technically it still is one. Plus astronomers recently discovered what is believed to be another planet in our solar system. So I believe there actually are at least 9 planets in our solar system.


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 11, 2006)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> Pluto is on the very edge of being de-classified as a planet!
> 
> There are much bigger asteroids in a similar orbit to Pluto!


Last I heard - 2004 - Pluto _had_ been declassified. Although it is still called a planet it's technical status is a Kuiper Belt object. As they discover more objects out there that are bigger then Pluto it's claim to being a planet has become untenable.
I guess it depends on which bunch of Astronomers you ask 

Uranus was discovered in 1781.
It's mean distance from the Sun is 1780 million miles.
Coincidence?
I think not.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

No not declassified........ _yet_!  Although I'm not sure which authority will have the powers to do it anyway!?  

I'm going to have to find the thread in the SPA forum with the link to the article.............Maybe tomorrow!


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## Jeff Canes (Jan 11, 2006)

Nothing Rhymes With Orange but it is a band
should work now I hope


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## Corry (Jan 11, 2006)

Jeff, that took me to a microsoft.com.


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 11, 2006)

Making bread gets your hands really clean!


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 11, 2006)

If you have been chopping onions, rubbing your hands with stainless steel will instantly remove the smell from them.


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## Ajax (Jan 11, 2006)

Lee Merryweather played Catwoman in the sixties movie

TARDIS ..Time And Relative Dimensions In Space

The serial no of Kirks Enterprise is NCC 1701 

Apparently Christopher Lee did not get paid for his performance in The Wickerman


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## JohnMF (Jan 11, 2006)

Jeff Canes said:
			
		

> Nothing Rhymes With Orange but it is a band



nothing ryhmes with 'Film' either

you should all know this being photogs! :mrgreen:


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## Unimaxium (Jan 11, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> If you have been chopping onions, rubbing your hands with stainless steel will instantly remove the smell from them.


 Works for garlic as well I've heard.


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## Verbal (Jan 12, 2006)

jocose said:
			
		

> what?  That people don't know that the sun is a star?  I saw that question on some game show the other other (jeopardy maybe) "what is the closest star to the earth?"  No one got it...I'm sorry to tell you, Joe, but we love among some of the planet's dumbest people!




Hahaha!  Ironic post of the century :mrgreen:


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## Rob (Jan 12, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> If you have been chopping onions, rubbing your hands with stainless steel will instantly remove the smell from them.



Funny you should say that, cos I got a stainless steel egg type thing for Xmas and needed it explained to me! It seems to really work - goodness only knows how.


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## Becky (Jan 12, 2006)

PlasticSpanner said:
			
		

> Making bread gets your hands really clean!



Eww, does that mean all the dirt from your hands gets stuck to the bread dough or summat!?! :lmao:


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 12, 2006)

Bruce Lee appeared in two episodes of the Batman TV series.


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## Rob (Jan 12, 2006)

Jean-Claude Van Damme was the man in the Predator suit in some scenes in the movie Predator.

Rob


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 12, 2006)

I'm the only person to have photographed Spitting Image working in the studio :mrgreen:

(Chris Barrie - Rimmer in Red Dwarf - was one of the puppeteers)


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## Verbal (Jan 12, 2006)

Rob said:
			
		

> Jean-Claude Van Damme was the man in the Predator suit in some scenes in the movie Predator.
> 
> Rob



Really?  I love that movie, and you just ruined it for me


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 12, 2006)

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.

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

like that one^^


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## woodsac (Jan 12, 2006)

This is the longest word:
PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS It has 45 letters. It's a lung disease caused by breathing in particles of siliceous volcanic dust. 
I had to learn how to spell it in 5th grade and I have never forgot it


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## Corry (Jan 12, 2006)

woodsac said:
			
		

> This is the longest word:
> PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS It has 45 letters. It's a lung disease caused by breathing in particles of siliceous volcanic dust.
> I had to learn how to spell it in 5th grade and I have never forgot it




Hahah...I had a friend in high school that learned that (she was one of those brainy types) and learned how to spell and prounounce it...she went around telling everyone.  Haha...this whoe thread has reminded me of her, and I was trying to remember that exact word so I could look it up and put it on here...thanks Woody!


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## PlasticSpanner (Jan 12, 2006)

Becky said:
			
		

> Eww, does that mean all the dirt from your hands gets stuck to the bread dough or summat!?! :lmao:


 
:thumbup:


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## JTHphoto (Jan 12, 2006)

core_17 said:
			
		

> Hahah...I had a friend in high school that learned that (she was one of those brainy types) and learned how to spell and prounounce it...she went around telling everyone. Haha...this whoe thread has reminded me of her, and I was trying to remember that exact word so I could look it up and put it on here...thanks Woody!


 
i had a friend in HS that memorized Pi out to like 30 digits... what a nerd, all i can remember is 3.14159... i feel dorky just knowing it to 5 decimals...


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## omeletteman (Jan 12, 2006)

Daniel's post about surviving shark attacks reminded me of this,
Every year, more people are killed by cows then by sharks.

And, on a completely different note, the maximum number of times you can fold any peice of paper in half is 7 (at least I think it was seven)

63% of all statistics are made up


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 12, 2006)

omeletteman said:
			
		

> Every year, more people are killed by cows then by sharks.


Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the pasture....



			
				omeletteman said:
			
		

> 63% of all statistics are made up


Including that one - I'm almost 99% certain.


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## wolfepakt (Jan 12, 2006)

JTHphoto said:
			
		

> i had a friend in HS that memorized Pi out to like 30 digits... what a nerd, all i can remember is 3.14159... i feel dorky just knowing it to 5 decimals...



I remember:
3.14159265 (the next decimal I think is 4


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## markc (Jan 12, 2006)

Hehe... http://www.joyofpi.com/pi.html


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## jocose (Jan 12, 2006)

The Mr. Olympia trophy is a statuette of a nineteenth century strongman named Eugen Sandow


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## JohnMF (Jan 12, 2006)

Rob said:
			
		

> Funny you should say that, cos I got a stainless steel egg type thing for Xmas and needed it explained to me! It seems to really work - goodness only knows how.



Are you sure that's what it was for Rob?

this egg thing wasn't bought from anna summers was it?  :mrgreen:


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## Rob (Jan 13, 2006)

JohnMF said:
			
		

> Are you sure that's what it was for Rob?
> 
> this egg thing wasn't bought from anna summers was it?  :mrgreen:



You'd never be able to get it out again... no handle or string


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## Rob (Jan 13, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> Last I heard - 2004 - Pluto _had_ been declassified. Although it is still called a planet it's technical status is a Kuiper Belt object. As they discover more objects out there that are bigger then Pluto it's claim to being a planet has become untenable.
> I guess it depends on which bunch of Astronomers you ask
> 
> Uranus was discovered in 1781.
> ...



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4596246.stm


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## MommyOf4Boys (Jan 14, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> Earwigs have two penises.
> 
> I have many more.


 

:hertz:  Many more penis'??


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## MommyOf4Boys (Jan 14, 2006)

Farts are flamable


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## markc (Jan 14, 2006)

Both penises and penes are plural forms of penis.


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## MommyOf4Boys (Jan 14, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> Both penises and penes are plural forms of penis.


 

You need a hobby


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## markc (Jan 14, 2006)

MommyOf4Boys said:
			
		

> You need a hobby


So true. The first purely electonic musical instrument made was the Teleharmonium in 1897. It weighed seven tons and was the size of a boxcar. A leter version weighed 200 tons. Maybe I should take that up.


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## GerryDavid (Jan 16, 2006)

I dont know how true this is, but according to my one photoshop teacher, the only cyan that occurs in nature can be seen from a plane looking down at the ocean along the coast in the equator.  Or something like that.  :0)


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## PachelbelsCanon350D (Jan 16, 2006)

GerryDavid said:
			
		

> Some sharks have 2 penises.



It's true. I saw the sharks at the aquarium. They can pick up and hold stuff with them too.  *barfs*


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 16, 2006)

You've never met a man that can do that?


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 16, 2006)

There is no 'Indigo' in the rainbow - it only has six colours. Isaac Newton made the colour up - and he made the name up too.


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## JTHphoto (Jan 16, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> There is no 'Indigo' in the rainbow - it only has six colours. Isaac Newton made the colour up - and he made the name up too.


 
He also invented Calculus to help explain the movements of planets and other celestial objects...


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## GerryDavid (Jan 16, 2006)

I got an email a few years ago about random stuff.  I dont know how acurate they are, especially since im going from memory here.

The saying "mind your p's and q's" comes from "mind your pints and quints", something to do with beer.

Honeymoon comes from an ancient culture, when a couple would get married, the father of the bride would supply them with honey beer for a "moon"th.

The f word supposedly comes from fornicating under consent of king.  Back in those days you had to get the kings consent, or you would be in big trouble.  Ive heard that this isnt actually true, but who knows.

The tie has evolved into what it is today from a bib.

Men would shake hands with thier right hand to show that they are not holding a gun or a knife/sword.  I think the scouts shaking hands with thier left hands has something to do with this as well but im not sure.


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## Rob (Jan 16, 2006)

MommyOf4Boys said:
			
		

> You need a hobby



Sounds like he's got one. :mrgreen:


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## markc (Jan 16, 2006)

Rob said:
			
		

> Sounds like he's got one. :mrgreen:



There are worse ways to spend your time.


Wait... what are we talking about again?


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## Unimaxium (Jan 16, 2006)

GerryDavid said:
			
		

> The saying "mind your p's and q's" comes from "mind your *pints and quints*", something to do with beer.


I have heard that one too. But I think you mean pints and *quarts*, which are measures of volume that beer often comes in.


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## GerryDavid (Jan 16, 2006)

Unimaxium said:
			
		

> I have heard that one too. But I think you mean pints and *quarts*, which are measures of volume that beer often comes in.



Hehe, but I was close.  Not bad for someone that has been metric for the last 20 years, and didnt really use the other system since he was to young at that point.  :0)


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 16, 2006)

GerryDavid said:
			
		

> The f word supposedly comes from fornicating under consent of king.  Back in those days you had to get the kings consent, or you would be in big trouble.  Ive heard that this isnt actually true, but who knows.


The 'f' word is actually Anglo-Saxon in origin and was their word for having sex. When the Normans took over they supressed a lot of Saxon words and the like for a number of reasons (snobbery and oppression mainly). Hence the 'f' word became coarse language and the mark of an ill-bred person.
A lot of Saxon place names were bastardised too. Merdegrave meant a clearing in a forrest. The monks doing the Domesday book didn't like the use of 'merde' (French for sh*t) so they changed it to 'belle' meaning 'beautiful'. We now have lots of places in England called Belgrave.


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## markc (Jan 17, 2006)

Heh. "Beautiful forest" does come across a lot better than "sh*t-hole".


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## JTHphoto (Jan 17, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> Heh. "Beautiful forest" does come across a lot better than "sh*t-hole".


 

:lmao:


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## 'Daniel' (Jan 17, 2006)

> - What do you think about the missing of the spot meterign option in 350D? Any experiences?
> 
> - What does the A-DOF mode brings in 350D? Are you missing it in D70s?
> 
> - What are you missing in each cameras?



Errm there are an infinite number of colours in the rainbow.  So it is there you just can't see it.  he made it up becasue 7 was/is called a religious (christian) number.


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## mrsid99 (Jan 17, 2006)

GerryDavid said:
			
		

> The tie has evolved into what it is today from a bib.


 
 Speaking as someone who chooses his tie to match his lunch that makes perfect sense!


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 17, 2006)

Daniel said:
			
		

> he made it up becasue 7 was/is called a religious (christian) number.


He made it up because he was a bit of a Mystic and thought numbers to be magical. He also liked harmony - seven notes in a scale, seven planets (known at the time), and similar things - so he thought there should be seven colours.
And there are, in fact, no colours at all in a rainbow. Colours only exist in our visual cortex.


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 30, 2006)

Just a thought to put life and everything else into a little perspective:

There are so many stars in our galaxy (the Milky Way) that if they were grains of salt there would be enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool.

Makes you think, doesn't it?


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## photo gal (Jan 30, 2006)

Hertz van Rental said:
			
		

> Just a thought to put life and everything else into a little perspective:
> 
> There are so many stars in our galaxy (the Milky Way) that if they were grains of salt there would be enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool.
> 
> Makes you think, doesn't it?


 
sure does.............................makes me feel small....well hey I guess that's good!  small is good.....good things come in small packages....etc.


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## NYY (Jan 30, 2006)

thomas jefferson and alexander hamilton both died on the same day, july 4 (forgot what year)


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## Hertz van Rental (Jan 30, 2006)

photo gal said:
			
		

> good things come in small packages....etc.


There's a very rude joke available here.... but I'm going to walk away from it :lmao:


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