Did You Know? – Another Random Fact Feast!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Random fact feast it is.

Another selection of hopefully interesting facts that you didn’t know you didn’t know.

Enjoy.

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did you know5

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In Raiders of the Lost Ark there is a

wall carving of R2-D2 and C-3P0 behind the ark

Raiders of the lost ark r2d2 3cpo

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Chinese Checkers is not Chinese.

It was created in America to circumvent the

patent for a popular boardgame called Halma,

invented by a Boston surgeon named George Howard Monks.

chinese-checkers-hexagonal

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In the 17th century,

the value of pi was known to 35 decimal places.

Today, to 1.2411 trillion.

pi

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Technically speaking, Alaska is the northernmost,

westernmost, and easternmost state of the United States.

Parts of the Aleutian Islands cross over the 180th meridian.

Aleutian_Islands_map

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The original story from “Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights” begins,

“Aladdin was a little Chinese boy.”

1001 Arabian Nights

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There is a hotel in Sweden built entirely out of ice;

it is rebuilt every year.

unique-ice-hotel-in-sweden-4

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In 1959, the USSR launched a craft called the Mechta towards the Moon.

It missed, and instead became (inadvertently) the first

man-made satellite to go into orbit around the Sun.

Mechta Lunar Orbiter that missed

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It has been calculated that in the last 3,500 years,

there have only been 230 years of peace throughout the civilized world.

war graves

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In the 1987 movie ‘Predator’, the character of the Predator

was originally set up for Jean-Claude Van Damme

to play a martial-arts fighting Predator.

However the producers realized much of the cast

were bodybuilders over 6 feet tall (and Van Damme was clearly smaller)

so they cast the enormous 7’ 21/2” Kevin Peter Hall

so that the Predator could realistically physically dominate

the film’s human characters.

Interestingly Hall also appears in the movie

as the helicopter pilot at the end.

kevin-peter-hall Predator

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Gatorade’s inventor later created an alcoholic variation,

Hop ’n Gator

— essentially, lemon lime Gatorade mixed with beer.

Hop ’n Gator

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At the Great Gettysburg Reunion of 1913,

two men purchased a hatchet,

walked to the site where their regiments had fought,

and buried it.

Great Gettysburg Reunion of 1913

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Though it’s rarely used,

the word referring to half a computer byte

is a “nibble.”

byte nibble

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Because of the angle at which its esophagus enters its stomach,

the horse is physically unable to vomit.

happy-cartoon-horse

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The reason why hair turns gray as we age

is because the pigment cells in the hair follicle start to die,

which is responsible for producing “melanin”

which gives the hair colour

George Clooney gray-hair

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Hydrogen gas is the least dense substance in the world,

at 0.08988g/cc

hydrogen-gas

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The purpose of gasoline rationing during the Second World War

was not to conserve gas, but to conserve TIRES.

The primary source for natural rubber at the time was Southeast Asia,

much of which was under Japanese control.

WWII gasoline rationing book

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The concept of Boxing Day, which is on December 26th,

was to give boxes of food and clothing to the poor.

It is now viewed in some countries as a time

to get merchandise from stores at reduced prices

Boxing Day bargains

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Jewelers Tiffany & Co., based in New York, are responsible

for making the Super Bowl trophy

Tiffany super bowl trophy

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The world’s most expensive cigarettes.

In 2009, Josh Muszynski used his Visa to buy cigarettes.

Due to a Visa “glitch,” he was charged over 23 quadrillion dollars.

To be exact: $23,148,855,308,184,500

credit card statement

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The popular hip-shaking dance, the merengue,

got its name from the whisking motion required to make meringue.

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They Give Answers To Questions, It’s Just That They Aren’t The Answers To The Questions They’ve Been Asked!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Monday again and that means another selection of the answers given by those members of the public who imagine themselves good enough to win prizes on television and radio quiz shows.

Howard?  Oh boy!

Enjoy.

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Q: In the traditional version of The Lord’s Prayer, what “H,” meaning sanctified, goes before “thy name”

A: Howard        

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Q: What island nation was the book Hiroshima written about?     

A: Iwo Jima

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Q: What October holiday celebrates the discovery of America?  

A: Thanksgiving

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Q: Who played Austin Powers in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me?     

A: Austin Powers

Q: On TV’s “The Simpsons”, Homer’s neighbor, Ned, had what last name?          

A: Barfbag

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Q: According to legend, who rode naked through the streets of Coventry to protest high taxes?  

A: Benjamin Franklin

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Q: The Sea-Tac airport in Washington is named after the city of Seattle and what other city?        

A: Washington

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Q: What “F” are ice crystals formed by condensation on surfaces below freezing?          

A: Icicles         

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Q: The Nuremberg war crime trials were held in what country?     

A: Warsaw

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Q: What surname was shared by a historical outlaw named “Butch” and a fictional cowboy named “Hopalong?”    

A: Lesbian        

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Q: In science, which William discovered that blood circulates around the body?  

A: Shatner

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Q: What “T” are people who live in a house paying rent to a landlord?     

A: Terrorists

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Q: What was the last state to join the USA?       

A: Canada

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Q: What insect is normally found hovering above lakes?

A: Crocodiles    

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Q: In his 1961 number one UK single “Wooden Heart,” Elvis sings in English and which other European language?           

A: English

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Q: Which letter of the alphabet sounds exactly the same as the term for a female sheep?

A: Baa 

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Q: In human development, what “B” is the usual 4-letter word for a newborn infant?         

A: Wasp

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Q: In superstition, people salute which black and white bird when it is seen alone?          

A: Penguin

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Q: In human anatomy, the umbilicus is a scar in the center of the abdomen that is more commonly known by what five-letter name? 

A: Button

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Q: The term ‘Rubenesque’ derives from which 17th Century artist?           

A: Aretha Franklin

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