Facts From Guppies To Genghis Khan. What More Could You Ask?

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Another random selection of facts.

Guppies and Genghis Khan are here, but so are lots of others.

Hope you find something you like.

Enjoy.

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There are 12 imaginary languages

in the Lord of the Rings

 

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Under medieval law, animals could

be tried and sentenced for crimes,

as if they were people.

There are records of farm animals being

tried for injuring or killing people.

 

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Although John Mahoney played Kelsey Grammer’s

father in the great TV series ‘Frasier’,

he is only 15 years older than Kelsey.

 

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The Aztec capital city was called ‘Tenochtitlan’

and it was located in the middle of a lake.

At the time of its discovery by Europeans,

it was bigger than most European cities,

had its own garbage collection and

was said to be very clean.

Today the same place is known as Mexico City

and the lake is mostly drained.

 

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Disney’s ‘Main Street’ and ‘Tomorrowland’

are set in two very special astronomical years.

Main Street is set in 1910 and

Tomorrowland is set in 1986,

these years coincide with

Haley’s Comet appearance.

 

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Probably one of the world’s most widely

distributed and popular freshwater

aquarium fish species is the ‘guppy’,

sometimes also known as the

‘million fish’ or ‘rainbow fish’.

It was named in honor of

Robert John Lechmere Guppy,

a British naturalist who sent specimens

of the species from Trinidad to the

Natural History Museum in London.

 

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Some scholars believe that Genghis Khan

was responsible for up to 40 million deaths.

Some of his campaigns involved killing all

members of a society – men, women, and children,

 

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Up until the early 1930s,

if you were ‘cool’ you were feeling chilly.

However during the jazz era the word ‘cool’

became slang for fashionable in jazz circles,

tenor saxophonist Lester Young is largely

said to have popularized it.

How cool is that?

 

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Those who suffer from type 2 diabetes

are often symptom-free,

meaning they don’t even know that they’ve got it.

This type of diabetes is normally picked up

during eye exams as it could be seen as small

haemorrhages from leaking blood vessels

at the back of the eye.

 

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Edgar Allen Poe once wrote a book called

“The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.”

It was about four shipwreck survivors

who were adrift on a raft for several days

before deciding to eat the cabin boy

whose name was Richard Parker.

Not long after, in 1884, a ship called the Mignonette

ended up sinking and leaving only four survivors.

They decided to eat the cabin boy. 

His name was Richard Parker.

 

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If you were a

Flatulence Smell Reduction Underwear Maker

your job would be engineering underwear

that reduces the typically unpleasant post-fart odor.

 

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According to an interview with George Lucas,

R2-D2 and C-3PO were originally called A-2 and C-3.

R2-D2 was designed by Ralph McQuarrie

and co-developed by John Stears

but actually built by Tony Dyson,

who ran his own studio called

The White Horse Toy Company in the UK.

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Would You Take The Bubble Baba Challenge?

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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We’ll find out later whether or not you would take the Bubble Baba Challenge.

In the meantime have a look at this week’s selection of facts.

Enjoy.

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Harry Potter shares the same birth day

as his creator J K Rowling,

his is July 31, 1980 and

Rowling’s July 31, 1966.

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A Yew tree located in the churchyard of

the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland,

is estimated to be 3,000 – 5,000 years old

which many believe makes it Europe´s oldest tree.

With its massive trunk of 52 feet (16 meters) in diameter,

the yew is still in good health and may last for many more centuries.

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Thames Town is a little town situated in the heart of China

that is an imitation of a classic British city

with traditional English architecture, cuisine,

and even those classic red phone booths

we all identify with London.

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Still in China, “The Great Wall of China”

did not get that official name

until the end of the 19th Century.

Previously it had been known by names

such as “barrier”, “rampart”, “fortress”,  

“Purple Frontier” or “Earth Dragon”.

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The United States has had some remarkable successes

in the field of space flight and exploration.

However it wasn’t always that way.

The very first time they tried to launch a satellite into orbit,

on December 6, 1957 (Vanguard TV3),

the rocket lost thrust only 4 feet (1.2 m) above the launch pad

and fell back to the ground, its fuel tanks

rupturing and creating a massive fireball,

damaging the launch pad and destroying the rocket.

Due to limited data measurement methods in these early days,

though, the cause was never fully determined.

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If you like Vodka then look out for a bottle of

“The Billionare Vodka“,

the world´s most expensive vodka.

It is first ice-filtered, then filtered through

Nordic birch charcoal and lastly passed

through sand made from crushed diamonds and gems.

It is sold in a platinum and rhodium encased,

diamond encrusted crystal bottle and

will set you back only $3.75 million dollars.

Cheers!

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No more time in the joint for smoking a joint,

at least not in the U.S. state of Washington,

the first state to officially legalize cannabis

in a state law in December 2012,

with the state of Colorado following close behind.

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Ant queens can live for up to 30 years,

about 100 times longer than solitary insects of a similar size.

Workers live from 1 to 3 years.

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Eight US Presidents were born British subjects:

Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison,

Monroe, J. Q. Adams, Jackson, and W. Harrison.

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Jim the horse, a former milk wagon horse,

was responsible for curing diphtheria.

He was infected with diphtheria

but unlike other animals he didn’t die.

Doctors found that Jim’s immune system

was able to create antibodies to fight the disease

and this allowed doctors to make a serum for humans,

with great success, helping to save the lives

of millions of humans and animals around the world.

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Al ‘Wallpaper’ Wolff is best remembered

as having been the last surviving member

of the group of eleven federal law-enforcement agents,

led by Eliot Ness, known as the Untouchables.

Wolff was the fearless agent and a ferocious

persecutor of those who obtained illegal alcohol.

Strangely, once he retired from law enforcement

and alcohol was legal he got involved in

the cocktail lounge business in Chicago.

He died in March 1998 at the age of 95.

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In 1827, world famous author Edgar Allan Poe

enlisted in the United States Army

using the false name “Edgar A. Perry”.

He claimed to be 22 years old

even though he was just 18.

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James Dean’s silver Porsche 550 Spyder,

the car he died in following an accident in 1955,

was known as the “Little Bastard”

and said to be cursed.

After it was sold for parts,

the car fell and crushed a mechanic’s legs;

later, a doctor who bought the car’s engine

was killed in a car accident;

another victim who bought the transmission

was severely injured in a crash;

the tires sold from Little Bastard

blew out simultaneously,

sending their buyer to the hospital;

and lastly a truck carrying the car’s shell crashed,

killing the driver.

Hmmmm….

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The Bird´s Nest Restaurant, located in

the Soneva Kiri Eco Resort in Thailand,

gives the customers privacy,

as well as the unique opportunity to

admire spectacular views while dining.

Tree nests hang 16 feet above the ground

and are served by waiters who use a zip line

to deliver the food and drinks.

A typical dinner for two costs about $450.

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Finally, time for those of a nervous disposition to look away.

Officially known as the “Bubble Baba Challenge”,

this is an unusual (to say the least) sporting event

where participants float down a river

embracing a rubber woman.

The idea was apparently dreamt up

by a Russian, Dmitry Bulawinov,

initially as a joke at a party

where the men got drunk! 

(It could have been worse!)

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Dogs, Dickens And Drink! – It’s Fact Day.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Hi and thanks for stopping by my blog.

Today’s post is another assortment of random facts, at least some of which I hope you find interesting.

And they do include dogs, Dickens and drink!

Enjoy.

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Research indicates that 42% of Americans

have tried marijuana at least once.

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The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland

is considered to be the birth place of modern golf;

it has been played there since the 15th century.

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At the time ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ was filmed,

the actress who played Hogwarts student ‘Moaning Myrtle’

was 37 years old.

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At any given time approximately 0.7%

of the world population is drunk,

in other words about 50 million people

are drunk right now.

Cheers!

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The town of Gibsonton, Florida is

a favorite retirement spot and official home of

people who have worked (or still do) in the circus industry.

The town is also famous for its many exceptional museums

on the carnival and circus lifestyle.

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It has been estimated that

as many as 800,000 people

were involved in the construction

of the Great Wall of China.

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Orlando Serrell is what is known as an “acquired savant”.

He began to exhibit enhanced mental skills

after being hit on the side of the head by a baseball

when he was ten years old.

Since the accident he has been able to

remember the weather of every single day.

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There are more than 12,000 known species of ants,

ranging in shape and color and size

from just 0.03 to 2 inches in length

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Pluto’s surface is one of the coldest places in the solar system

at roughly minus 375 degrees F (minus 225 degrees C).

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 ‘Sergeant Stubby’ is the most decorated war dog of World War I

and the only dog in US history that was promoted to sergeant

because of his time in combat.

Stubby served for eighteen months and participated

in seventeen battles on the Western Front

during the course of which he saved his regiment

from many unexpected mustard gas attacks

and found and comforted several wounded soldiers.

It is also said that he once caught

a German spy by the seat of his pants,

holding him there until American soldiers

found and captured him.  

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Fear on an empty glass

is called Cenosillicaphobia.

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Every year in Finland, since 1992, there is a

‘Wife Carrying World Championship’

in which male competitors race through a

special obstacle course in the fastest time

while each carrying a female teammate.

Most competitors use the piggyback or fireman’s carry

technique, though a few prefer to go Estonian-style

where the wife hangs upside-down with her

legs around the husband’s shoulders,

holding onto his waist.

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In Tribeca, New York,

there is a Japanese Ninja Restaurant

where your meal will include Kung fu fire tricks,

sword-carrying waiters and exploding food.

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Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe were pen friends

and even met once in Philadelphia

when Poe was 34-year-old and Dickens was 31.

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On July 16, 1959, the Juno II rocket which was

meant to take the Explorer S1 satellite into orbit

was launched but after a few seconds the rocket

performed a near 180 degree flip

and hurtled back towards the launch pad.

The safety officer exploded the rocket

to protect those at the site.

From December 1958 to May 1961, five out of ten

Juno II rockets malfunctioned during launch.

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Let’s Not Have A Barney About These Facts.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Hi, and welcome to the fasab blog.

Today is fact day with another random selection of hopefully interesting things to learn.

Enjoy

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In gangster slang, a boxing match

that is fixed is called a ‘barney’.

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In 2009, one of the twelve surviving copies of

Edgar Allen Poe’s first book ‘Tamerlane and Other Poems’

was sold at Christie’s Auction House for $662,500,

a record price paid for a work of American literature.

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Isaac Smith was a commissioned officer in

the Royal Navy and the cousin of Captain Cook,

with whom he explored the then-New World.

Smith also became the first European to arrive in eastern Australia

and the first man to create survey maps of various Pacific islands and coastlines,

including Tierra del Fuego in South America.

Despite all his pioneering in the world of exploration

he is best remembered as the last survivor

of James Cook’s first voyage in the South Pacific Ocean

aboard the HMS Endeavour, from 1768 to 1771.

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Research suggests that dark chocolate boosts memory,

attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving skills

by increasing blood flow to the brain.

Dark chocolate can also improve the ability

to see in low-contrast situations (such as poor weather)

and promote lower blood pressure.

Yum!

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On average, 35 meters of hair fiber

is produced on the adult scalp.

Really???

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Ant colonies range greatly in size from

a few dozen individuals to many millions of ants.

The largest ant colonies are called ‘supercolonies’ that create

giant ant hills sometimes thousands of miles long.

The largest supercolony covers over 3,700 miles,

and has over 1 billion ants.

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Most toilets flush in E flat.

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The largest building in the world by volume

is The Boeing Everett Factory, in Everett, Washington,

which was originally built for the construction of the Boeing 747.

It has a volume of 472,370,319 cubic feet (1.7495e+7yd³)

and an area of almost 100 acres (40 ha 4685.6m2).

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Oak trees can live 200 years or more.

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Astronaut John Glenn is a decorated World War II veteran,

one of the first American astronauts in history,

and one of the epic Mercury Seven.

Glenn was also the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth

and the fifth astronaut in history to go into space.

At the age of 93 he’s the last remaining astronaut of the Mercury Seven

and one of the very few surviving astronauts (American or Soviet)

of the Space Age that began in the late 1950s.

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A less successful astronaut was a Chinese man called Wan Hu,

a sixteenth-century local government official during the Ming Dynasty,

who had ambitions to travel to the Moon by means of a

special chair he designed with 47 attached rockets.

After lighting the rockets,

instead of shooting the ambitious government official into the air,

the rockets exploded, killing him.

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When Pluto was first located by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930

it was just given the generic name Planet X.

It was named ‘Pluto’ by an 11-year-old girl,

Venetia Burney of Oxford, England.

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Want somewhere quiet to eat?

Then try Nicholas Nauman’s restaurant called ‘Eat’

in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York,

which features nothing special except for the fact

that you cannot speak while dining there.

Apparently it was inspired by his life-changing stay

at a Buddhist monastery in India,

which made him want to create a place

where people could enjoy silence.

The silent dinners became so popular that nowadays,

people have to book their tables in advance.

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The first toilet stall in a public washroom is the least likely to be used

and therefore also likely to be the cleanest.

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The character of Michael Myers

was named after the European distributor of

John Carpenter’s previous film,

Assault on Precinct 13,

and apparently this was the director’s way of

saying a kind of weird “thank you” for the

film’s incredible success throughout most of Europe.

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Did You Know? – It’s Fact Finding Day.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes, another fact finding day here at the fasab blog.

Hope you find something of interest in this random selection.

Enjoy.

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There are two credit cards for

every person in the United States.

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There are more confirmed deaths from

drowning in molasses than from coyote attacks.

(21 people died in the 1919 Boston Molasses Disaster.

Only 2 fatal coyote-on-human attacks have been confirmed)

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A full head of human hair is

strong enough to support 12 tons.

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The deepest natural cave is the Krubera Cave, in Georgia;

it is the only known cave on Earth that is deeper than 2,000 meters.

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The deepest man made point is the TauTona Mine in Southern Africa

which at its deepest point is nearly 4,000 meters

beneath the surface of the Earth.

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Emus cannot walk backwards.

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Herbert Hoover’s son had two pet alligators,

which were occasionally permitted to

run loose throughout the White House.

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Stalin hated his son Yakov so much

that when he failed to commit suicide by shooting himself

Stalin’s only comment was that

“He can’t even shoot straight.”

During the war Yakov was captured by the Nazis and

Stalin refused to trade any soldiers to bring him back.

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Both writer Edgar Allen Poe and LSD advocate

Timothy Leary were kicked out of West Point.

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When a coffee seed is planted,

it takes five years to yield it’s first consumable fruit.

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If you had a long enough straw,

you could only suction water upwards the length of 10 meters.

After that water spontaneously boils

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There are only three animals with blue tongues,

the Black Bear, the Chow Chow dog

and the blue-tongued lizard.

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In 1973 the world’s most isolated tree

 – in the middle of the Sahara Desert –

was struck and killed by a drunk driver.

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Naugahyde, plastic “leather”

was created in Naugatuck, Connecticut.

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In every show that Tom Jones and

Harvey Schmidt (The Fantasticks) wrote,

there is at least one song about rain.

(Couldn’t find a decent link for that. This is better.)

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