Monday, April 28, 2008

Trivia

I love trivia. It's just so very interesting! Trivial, yes; but entertaining nevertheless. So here is some trivia that got forwarded to me by a friend. (And no, I didn't research each fact to make sure it's true, so if you know that one of these is false, feel free to let me know.) :)

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb."

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Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

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Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.

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Men can read smaller print than women can;
women can hear better.

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Coca-Cola was originally green.

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It is impossible to lick your elbow.

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The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:

Alaska

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The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%

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The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

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The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400

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The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:

61,000

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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

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The first novel ever written on a typewriter:

Tom Sawyer.

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The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

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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

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

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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.

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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.

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Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?

Their birthplace

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Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?

Obsession

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If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?

One thousand

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What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?

All were invented by women.

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What is the only food that doesn't spoil?

Honey

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Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?

Father's Day

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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."

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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, which we know today as the honeymoon.

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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 your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."

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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.

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

Did you? ;)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I didn't lick my elbow--but then again, I've tried before and failed. :)

Bonnie said...

Aha! For some reason your comment box has finked out on me the last few weeks, but now I finally got it.
Anyway, I've heard most of these before, and I thought I would mention: I have successfully licked my elbow. It was just last week in fact, though I wouldn't reccomend it, it hurt my tounge.
Hows David feeling, and were you anywhere near the tornadoes?

Davene said...

Mrs. Bonnie, I've always known you are a talented woman...but now it's clearer than ever since you can lick your elbow! :)

David is feeling better this morning and is slowly munching on a little food. One good thing about this sickness is that all the throwing-up occurred during daylight hours, which is a blessing because I can think better then! :)

We were not close to the tornadoes. All the storm brought us was a nice, gentle rain, which we really needed, so we were grateful for that. But our hearts go out to those affected by the storm.

Anonymous said...

I've just published a book on the history of British pub names and, whilst researching it, I discovered that “Mind your Ps and Qs” might also be another kind of warning.

When landlords chalked pints and quarts up “on the slate” they weren’t averse to adding a few extra marks. It’s therefore a warning to customers to watch the bill.

Instead of chalking up on the slate, London Market porters had their drinks marked on a strip of leather or tab, hence “running a tab”. It’s also said to give us the expression “strapped for cash”

I see you love trivia - there's so much surrounding pubs and pub names and it's been a real treat discovering it all during the writing process.

Elaine Saunders
Author: A Book About Pub Names
www.completetext.com

Bek said...

that was fun
i must admit, i tried and failed.
:)

bullet proof vests does sound like a woman's idea. glad to know.

Crystal said...

Fascinating!

I didn't even try to lick my elbow....I thought about it but had visions of hurting myself. ;-)

Christin said...

I love random facts too. and know for a fact, that at least some of those were true.

:)

Anonymous said...

I didn't think I liked trivia. Thanks to you I find that I do.

Thanks for sharing!

pyrotechny said...

I didn't actually try it, but I thought about it, and planned to post a Q 2 U to see if you had tried it, and burst out laughing when I read the last one!