Disappearing Beaches And Dead Fish – It’s Fact Day.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Two of the facts today do indeed relate to disappearing beaches and dead fish.

Rather surprisingly though, the two facts are not related.

Find out for yourself below.

And enjoy.

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did you know1

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The optic nerve,

which connects the eyes to the brain,

is too sensitive to successfully reconstruct.

 optic nerve

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The most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) weapon

in the world is the

Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power (ATBIP),

nicknamed “Father of All Bombs” or “FOAB’,

a Russian-made air-delivered/land-activated

thermobaric weapon whose destructive power,

according to Russian deputy chief of the general staff

Alexander Rukshin was such that,

“all that is alive merely evaporates.”

The bomb is reportedly four times as powerful as the

US military’s Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb or “MOAB”

mentioned in last week’s fasab facts.

 Father of All Bombs

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South Africa has eleven official languages,

the highest number of any country in the world.

 South Africa has eleven official languages

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Swansea Jack was a black retriever dog from Wales

with a big heart and lots of courage that became

famous in the 1930s for rescuing people from the sea.

He saved twenty-seven people and won many

awards for his heroic acts.

Swansea Jack is the only dog to have been

awarded two bronze medals

(‘the canine Victoria Cross’)

by the National Canine Defence League

(now known as Dogs Trust).

 Swansea Jack

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Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant in the body

and supports the immune system in

fighting off bacteria and viruses.

Almonds, as well as other nuts like peanuts

and hazelnuts are high sources of vitamin E.

One ounce of dry roasted almonds

contains 6.8 mg of vitamin A,

which is 34% of the daily recommended value.

 dry roasted almonds

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The first book bought on Amazon was called

‘Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies:

Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought.’

 first book bought on Amazon

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Charles Cunningham Boycott was a British

land agent living in 19th century Ireland,

who was ostracized by his local community after

he refused his tenants´ demands for reduction in rates.

His name lives on  and is synonymous with acts of

political or social protest by voluntarily abstaining from

using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country.

 Charles Cunningham Boycott

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At Porthleven in Cornwall (UK) the entire sand

volume mysteriously disappeared due to a freak tide,

but after a second high tide a few hours later,

the entire sand volume was re-deposited on the beach,

returning it to its original state.

A case of now you don’t see it, now you do!

(David Copperfield was not around at the time.)

 map Porthleven in Cornwall

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The Chevrolet Silverado is a mega-selling full-size

and heavy-duty pickup truck manufactured

by General Motors and introduced in 1999

as the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K line.

In 2014 Cheverolet sold 529,755 Silverados,

or almost 1 every minute.

 Chevrolet Silverado

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During the medieval period, London and Paris

each had no more than forty thousand residents.

In contrast cities, such as Constantinople and Baghdad,

had about a million people each.

 Medieval London

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The voices of Mickey & Minnie Mouse,

Wayne Allwine & Russi Taylor,

married each other in real life, too.

 Wayne Allwine & Russi Taylor wedding

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Vending machines kill more people per year

than sharks and snakes combined.

According to the available police reports

the deaths usually happen when the vending machine

steals somebody’s snack, drink, or money,

and they decide to hit it a bit too hard causing

the vending machine to fall on them.

 Vending machine

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In the German city of Hamburg in 1842,

about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed

and an estimated twenty thousand lost their property.

Surprisingly only fifty-one people lost their lives.

 Hamburg in 1842

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In Lyme Regis, a little coastal town

in West Dorset, England,

slapping people with a dead eel is prohibited.

There had been a tradition known as

“the conger-cuddling”, in which people swung

dead eels at each other but in 2006,

the game was banned by local bureaucrats not

because it might have injured the people taking

part in this activity but because

– wait for it –

an animal rights group claimed

it was disrespectful to the dead fish.

 conger_cuddling

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Wallilabou Anchorage, situated at Wallilabou Bay

on the west or leeward coast of the main island

of St Vincent on the Caribbean Sea,

was the principal Caribbean location for

Disney’s 2003 blockbuster ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.

It is still home to many of the props,

including replicas of cannons.

Many fans visit it annually.

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Avoirdupois! – It Must Be Quiz Day.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Sorry about the language, but it is quiz day again. Don’t the weeks fly in.

Another random selection, some easy, some difficult and maybe a tricky one in there somewhere too.

And remember, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

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quiz 09

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Q.  1:  Which colorless, odorless light gas is used to lift airships?

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Q.  2:  What gas, produced by rotting vegetation, causes the phenomenon known as ‘will o’ the wisp’?

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Q.  3:  In avoirdupois weight what is equivalent to 1016.5 kilograms?

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Q.  4:  There are 3 major food groups (excluding vitamins and minerals). Protein is one. What are the other two? (A point for each correct answer.)

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Q.  5:  What animal has ‘Indian’, ‘African’, ‘Black’ and ‘Broad Lipped’ varieties?

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Q.  6:  Who was the first to suggest using contact lenses to improve vision?

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Q.  7:  Which metallic element has the chemical symbol ‘Pb’ and atomic number 82?

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Q.  8:  What does a somnambulist do?

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Q.  9:  The native Indians of South America used a bitter poison to tip their arrows, what was it called?

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Q. 10:  What is the green pigment found in most plants that is responsible for absorbing light energy?

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Q. 11:  If you were an ‘Ungulate’ what would you have?

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Q. 12:  What is the most northern county of the Republic of Ireland?

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Q. 13:  In chemistry, which chart shows elements arranged in groups having similar properties?

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Q. 14:  What is the name of the biggest airline company in the United Kingdom?

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Q. 15:  In which country are the mysterious ‘Nazca lines’ to be found?

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Q. 16:  What is the only known substance that naturally exists on Earth in all three chemical states?

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Q. 17:  Which athletics discipline was revolutionized by Dick Fosbury?

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Q. 18:  Who developed the most-used projection for maps of the world in 1569?

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Q. 19:  Who was The Terminator trying to kill in the first movie of that name and who was he trying to save in the second?

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Q. 20:  Which country pop singer was born ‘Eilleen Regina Edwards’?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Which colorless, odorless light gas is used to lift airships?

A.  1:  Helium.

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Q.  2:  What gas, produced by rotting vegetation, causes the phenomenon known as ‘will o’ the wisp’?

A.  2:  Methane.

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Q.  3:  In avoirdupois weight what is equivalent to 1016.5 kilograms?

A.  3:  A Ton.

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Q.  4:  There are 3 major food groups (excluding vitamins and minerals). Protein is one. What are the other two? (A point for each correct answer.)

A.  4:  Carbohydrate and fat.

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Q.  5:  What animal has ‘Indian’, ‘African’, ‘Black’ and ‘Broad Lipped’ varieties?

A.  5:  The Rhinoceros.

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Q.  6:  Who was the first to suggest using contact lenses to improve vision?

A.  6:  Leonardo da Vinci. (If it isn’t someone else it’s usually him. 🙂 )

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Q.  7:  Which metallic element has the chemical symbol ‘Pb’ and atomic number 82?

A.  7:  Lead.

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Q.  8:  What does a somnambulist do?

A.  8:  Sleep walks.

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Q.  9:  The native Indians of South America used a bitter poison to tip their arrows, what was it called?

A.  9:  Curare.

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Q. 10:  What is the green pigment found in most plants that is responsible for absorbing light energy?

A. 10:  Chlorophyll. (No point deducted if you got the spelling slightly wrong.)

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Q. 11:  If you were an ‘Ungulate’ what would you have?

A. 11:  Hooves.

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Q. 12:  What is the most northern county of the Republic of Ireland?

A. 12:  Donegal.

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Q. 13:  In chemistry, which chart shows elements arranged in groups having similar properties?

A. 13:  The periodic table.

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Q. 14:  What is the name of the biggest airline company in the United Kingdom?

A. 14:  British Airways.

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Q. 15:  In which country are the mysterious ‘Nazca lines’ to be found?

A. 15:  Peru.

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Q. 16:  What is the only known substance that naturally exists on Earth in all three chemical states?

A. 16:  Water.

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Q. 17:  Which athletics discipline was revolutionized by Dick Fosbury?

A. 17:  The high jump.

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Q. 18:  Who developed the most-used projection for maps of the world in 1569?

A. 18:  Gerard Mercator. (You get the point for the surname only.)

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Q. 19:  Who was The Terminator trying to kill in the first movie of that name and who was he trying to save in the second?

A. 19:  Sarah Connor in both the movies.

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Q. 20:  Which country pop singer was born Eilleen Regina Edwards?

A. 20:  Shania Twain.  (Here she is …. )

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Cottontails, Cats And Caribbean Islands Feature In Today’s Quiz.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Hi and welcome to another fasab quiz.

Today’s selection features those things mentioned in the title plus a lot more to test your general knowledge.

As usual, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

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quiz 06

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Q.  1:  What type of animal is a ‘cottontail’?

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Q.  2:  What is a group of cats called?

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Q.  3:  What do your platelets do?

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Q.  4:  Which is the only vertebrate capable of sustained flight?

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Q.  5:  Dulles International Airport serves which American city?

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Q.  6:  What is the chemical symbol for Potassium?

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Q.  7:  What is ‘Vermicide’ used to kill?

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Q.  8:  On which Caribbean island can you find the Blue Mountains?

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Q.  9:  What are the three forms of heat transference? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can correctly name all three.)

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Q. 10:  Steel is an alloy of which 2 substances?

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Q. 11:  And a related question, what is added to steel to make it ‘stainless’?

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Q. 12:  What term is given to the activity of researching one’s family tree?

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Q. 13:  In tenpin bowling, what is a ‘Turkey’?

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Q. 14:  What flavor is a traditional satay sauce?

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Q. 15:  Which famous motor car rally was first held in January 1911 and won by Henri Rougier?

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Q. 16:  What name is given to the art of pruning hedges and trees into shapes?

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Q. 17:  What was the name for the multi-stranded knotted rope used for flogging in days gone by?

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Q. 18:  Who holds the record for the highest scoring average per game in NBA basketball?

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Q. 19:  Which future President was defeated by John F Kennedy in the 1960 election?

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Q. 20:  Which singer sang the song ‘Hanky Panky’ form the ‘I’m Breathless’ album?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  What type of animal is a ‘cottontail’?

A.  1:  It’s a Rabbit.

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Q.  2:  What is a group of cats called?

A.  2:  They are called a ‘Clowder’.

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Q.  3:  What do your platelets do?

A.  3:  They assist in blood clotting.

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Q.  4:  Which is the only vertebrate capable of sustained flight?

A.  4:  The Bat.

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Q.  5:  Dulles International Airport serves which American city?

A.  5:  Washington.

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Q.  6:  What is the chemical symbol for Potassium?

A.  6:  The chemical symbol for Potassium is ‘K’.

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Q.  7:  What is ‘Vermicide’ used to kill?

A.  7:  Vy ‘verms’ of course… sorry, the correct answer is ‘Worms’.

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Q.  8:  On which Caribbean island can you find the Blue Mountains?

A.  8:  Jamaica.

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Q.  9:  What are the three forms of heat transference? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can correctly name all three.)

A.  9:  There are three forms of heat transference a) conduction, b) convection, and c) radiation.

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Q. 10:  Steel is an alloy of which 2 substances?

A. 10:  Carbon and Iron.

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Q. 11:  And a related question, what is added to steel to make it ‘stainless’?

A. 11:  Chrome.

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Q. 12:  What term is given to the activity of researching one’s family tree?

A. 12:  Genealogy.

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Q. 13:  In tenpin bowling, what is a ‘Turkey’?

A. 13:  Three strikes.

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Q. 14:  What flavor is a traditional satay sauce?

A. 14:  Peanut.

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Q. 15:  Which famous motor car rally was first held in January 1911 and won by Henri Rougier?

A. 15:  The Monte Carlo rally.

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Q. 16:  What name is given to the art of pruning hedges and trees into shapes?

A. 16:  It is called ‘Tiopary’.

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Q. 17:  What was the name for the multi-stranded knotted rope used for flogging in days gone by?

A. 17:  It was the famous, or infamous, ‘Cat o’ Nine Tails’.

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Q. 18:  Who holds the record for the highest scoring average per game in NBA basketball?

A. 18:  Michael Jordan.

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Q. 19:  Which future President was defeated by John F Kennedy in the 1960 election?

A. 19:  Richard Nixon.

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Q. 20:  Which singer sang the song ‘Hanky Panky’ form the ‘I’m Breathless’ album?

A. 20:  Madonna.

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Did You Know – The August Fact File Is Open.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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In truth nothing much to do with August, except that’s the months we are now in and you have to call these posts something.

But don’t let that deter you from finding out a few more interesting facts.

Here they are.

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fact 01

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You have over 100,000 km of blood vessels in your brain.

That’s enough to wrap around the world 4 times.

The arteries of the brain

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Poinsettias are not lethal.

If your pet is silly enough to eat one,

it may upset its stomach but it won’t kill anything.

christmas-poinsettia-flowers

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Allan Pinkerton,

famous for creating the Pinkerton detective agency

died of an infection after biting his tongue

when he slipped on a sidewalk.

Allan Pinkerton

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Your ears secrete more earwax when

you are afraid than when you aren’t.

afraid more earwax

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Chewing gum doesn’t take 7 years to digest.

It actually can’t be digested at all

and will pass right through you as is.

guy_chewing_gum

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It takes a photon, on average, 170,000 years

to travel from the core of the sun to the surface.

Then it takes just 8 minutes

from the sun’s surface to your eyes.

a photon

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The radiation leak from the Chenobyl nuclear reactor accident

caused the nearby forest to turn a bright ginger color,

thus the forest was named the “Red Forest”.

 

red forest

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The Tinkerbelle that flies across the sky during the

Disney fireworks show is sometimes a man.

Tinkerbell fireworks display Disney

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According to researchers,

who have not been there and don’t know what they are talking about,

the center of our galaxy tastes like raspberries and smells like rum.

raspberry and rum galaxy

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According to astronauts,

who have been there and do know what they are talking about,

space smells like seared steak, hot metal, and welding fumes.

astronaut space-smell

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On Sept. 2, 1944, George H W Bush was flying over Japan

when his aircraft was shot down in the Pacific.

Bush and another crewman were able to bail out,

but the other man’s parachute malfunctioned,

and he went down with the plane.

Bush was eventually rescued by a

submarine off the coast of Chichi-jima.

George H W Bush WWII

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There are roughly 7,000 languages

estimated to still be spoken on Earth.

About 2,400 of them are in danger of going extinct.

In fact, one goes extinct every 14 days.

7,000 languages

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War comes from a Germanic root

that meant “to confuse”

war

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For a long time people speculated over the identity

of the secret informant behind the Watergate Scandal,

codenamed “Deep Throat”.

Recently he was revealed to be

former FBI associate director Mark Felt.

FBI associate director Mark Felt

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Michael Holmes, the youngest man

to have ever received a skydiving instructor certification,

saw his young career almost come to an end

when on December 2006 a skydive jump went horribly wrong.

Due to faulty ropes, Holmes’ main and reserve parachutes

failed to deploy sending him spiraling out of control

towards certain death.

However, thanks to a blackberry bush,

Holmes was able to survive the fall

with only a punctured lung and a shattered ankle.

This horrifying experience was all captured on camera.

Here it is….

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Did You Know? – Americans, Chinese, French, Greeks, There’s Facts About All Of Them In Here!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes, today is a bit of a multi-cultural fact feast.

Hope you enjoy.

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did you know2

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Brown eyes are actually blue,

under a layer of melanin.

blue eyes

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Billionaire Chuck Feeney donated most of his fortune

anonymously and with no recognition,

while flying coach, owning a $15 watch,

and having no cars or homes.

Billionaire Chuck Feeney

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George Washington was surprised to discover

that the Chinese were not white.

(I wonder how surprised they were to find out he was?)

chinese drawing

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When it first opened in 1955 Disneyland had

a lingerie store on Main Street called The Wizard Of Bras

The Wizard Of Bras

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In the mid 1800s France gave a crucial patent

in photography as a free gift to the world…

except for Britain who had to pay for it!

photographing the eiffel tower

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Disaster comes from the Greek

“dis” meaning bad,

and “aster”, meaning star.

The ancient Greeks used to blame calamities

on unfavorable planetary positions.

disaster-sign

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If you are in a room with 23 people,

there’s more than a 50% chance that

two of the people have the same birthday.

Birthday_Paradox.svg

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There are more tigers living in Texas

than in the rest of the world.

tiger

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While serving as sheriff of Erie County, N.Y.,

Grover Cleveland had to spring the trap

at a hanging on two occassions.

This earned him the unflattering nickname

“Buffalo Hangman.”

Grover Cleveland

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Workers at Amazon’s distribution centers

can be expected to walk up to 11 miles per shift,

picking an order every 33 seconds.

Amazon's distribution centers

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The shortest French word with all

five vowels is “oiseau” meaning bird.

oiseau

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Des Moines has the highest per capita0

Jello consumption in the U.S

Des Moines jello capital

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In 1770 the British parliament passed a law

condemning lipstick, stating that

” women found guilty of seducing men

into matrimony by a cosmetic means”

could be tried for witchcraft.

law condemning lipstick

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Mr Feng, a Chinese father, hired a bunch of assassins

to kill his son’s online World of Warcraft character.

Apparently his son was wasting too much time after being laid off.

Mr Feng, World of Warcraft

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Spencer Eldon was the name of the naked baby

on the cover of Nirvana’s album

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Did You Know? – More Interesting Facts.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

More interesting facts today.

Hats definitely off to James Harrison, but my favorite is Bill Morgan.

Enjoy.

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did you know4

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We’ll start with one in honor of the recently passed St Patrick’s Day.

St Patrick’s given name was Maewyn Succat.

After becoming a priest, he changed his name to Patricius,

from the Latin term meaning “father figure.”

st patrick

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Esperanto is an artificial language,

but is spoken by about 500,000 to 2,000,000 people,

and 2 feature films have been done in the language.

basic_esperanto_words_by_moosader

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After the bible,

the most translated book in the world is

Pinocchio.

pinocchio book cover

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Hall of fame boxer Sugar Ray Robinson backed out of a fight

because he had a dream that he was going to kill his opponent in the ring.

After a priest and minister convinced him to fight, Robinson went into the ring

and killed his opponent Jimmy Doyle.

Sugar Ray Robinson and Jimmy Doyle

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The German word for birth control pill is ‘antibabypille’

and in Switzerland they have pregnancy tests

called ‘MaybeBaby’ in vending machines.

birth control

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After 9/11, 1600 people died in automobile accidents

after they switched travel plans from flying to driving.

automobile-accident

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If officials awarded Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France title

to the next fastest finisher who has never been linked to doping,

they would have to give it to the person who finished 23rd.

tour de france

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When US Army officer Braxton Bragg held both the job of

the company commander and the post’s quartermaster,

he made a request to the quartermaster (that is, himself)

and when he received the request as quartermaster he denied it.

He continued to argue back and forth with himself through letters.

braxton_bragg_2_400_pxlw

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In 2010 workers at Ground Zero found an 18th century wooden ship

underneath the World Trade Center rubble.

ship-hull-found-in-ground-zero-rubble

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When child actor Jackie Coogan turned 18,

he found out all his money, $68 million,

had been spent by his mother, who argued

“No promises were ever made to give Jackie anything.

Every dollar a kid earns before he is 21 belongs to his parents.” 

Coogan’s Bill was then passed to protect child actors.

Jackie_Coogan,_The_Kid_(1921)

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In Samoa, it’s a crime to forget your own wife’s birthday.

(Isn’t that true for most places?)

wife's birthday

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Ryan Gosling was cast as Noah in The Notebook

because the director wanted someone “not handsome.”

ryan gosling noah

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After needing 13 liters of blood for a surgery at the age of 13,

a man named James Harrison, aka “The Man With The Golden Arm”,

pledged to donate blood once he turned 18.

It was discovered that his blood contained a rare antigen

which cured Rhesus disease.

He has donated blood a record 1000 times

and saved 2,000,000 lives.

james-harrison donating blood

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In 1942 in Mississippi there was a man known as the Phantom Barber

who would break into peoples’ houses at night and cut their hair.

The Phantom Barber Of Mississippi

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In 1999 an Australian man, named Bill Morgan

was declared dead for 14 minutes after an allergic reaction to drugs

given to him in hospital after a car accident.

To celebrate his survival he bought a scratch card

and won a $27,000 car.

A news team covering the story asked him to re-enact

the scratch card moment for their story,

so he went into the shop, bought another scratch card,

and won  $250,000 jackpot.

Here he is….

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Fact Filled February Continues.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

It’s the last fact filled Tuesday in February, but not the last of the facts!

Another random mixture, surely there will be a few good ones in here for you.

Enjoy.

.

did you know2

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The Earth weighs around

6,600,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons

(5,940 billion billion metric tonnes)!

earth-moon-mass

.

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Over 10,000 birds a year die

from smashing into windows!

bird seeing stars

.

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A mole can dig a tunnel 300 feet long

in just one night!

mole

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In Natoma, Kansas, it’s illegal to throw

knives at men wearing striped suits.

men wearing striped suits

.

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About 3000 years ago, most Egyptians

died by the time they were 30!

ancient pharaoh_preview

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There wasn’t a single pony in

the Pony Express, just horses!

ponyexpresslogo

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The penguin is the only bird

that can swim, but not fly!

penguin

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There are approximately fifty Bibles

sold each minute across the world!

bibles

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Rice paper does not have any rice in it!

Rice_paper

.

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The most used letter in the English alphabet

is ‘E’, and ‘Q’ is the least used!

EQ

.

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The opposite sides of a dice cube

always add up to seven!

dice-game-cube-die-gambling-gaming-img

.

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Apples are more efficient than caffeine

in keeping people awake in the mornings!

apples in a bowl, spoon and coffee beans isolated on white

.

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The poison-arrow frog has enough poison

to kill about 2,200 people!

poison arrow frog

.

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Smelling bananas and/or green apples

(that’s ‘smelling’, not ‘eating’)

can help you lose weight!

banana and green apple

.

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A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can

be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court!

gold_2Dbar

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Cheers! It’s The End For Cliff Clavin!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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I know Cliff Clavin, the Cheers character played by John Ratzenberger for many years, was only a pretend mailman but if Jeff Bezos gets his way – and he usually does – then mailmen will have a lot less to do.

Cliff_Clavin_in_Cheers

Cliff used to drone on in Cheers and bore everyone in the bar, but in the future jobs like his are to be taken over by drones.

The military applications are well known, but instead of delivering a few pounds of high explosives to an unsuspecting terrorist, drone technology, which was legalized for commercial use last year (2012), is being developed by Bezos and his team to deliver Amazon products by air right to your front door in about 30 minutes.

We’re entering the realms of science fiction here. And if it were anyone else but Bezos you might be forgiven for dismissing the idea. But he thinks big, and thanks to the success of Amazon he has the big bucks to make it happen.

Amazon Prime Air drone

If it is real and it does happen, personally I think its great! An application for this technology other than the usual powers-that-be crap of using it to kill and spy on us.

Amazon says that, “From a technology point of view, we’ll be ready to enter commercial operations as soon as the necessary regulations are in place.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working on rules for unmanned aerial vehicles. They’ll take their time as always, but eventually it will happen.

So in a few years time seeing Amazon drones in the air may well be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today.

Here’s a taste of the future for you.                                           

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More Facts – And That’s A Fact!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Welcome to another selection of random facts and the chance to prepare yourself for questions that you may never be asked.

Enjoy.

.

did you know4

.

While in Alcatraz, Al Capone was inmate 85.

Alcatraz

.

.

The airport scene at the end of classic movie “Casablanca”

was produced using a cardboard model of a plane

and little people actors in the background!!

casablanca5

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Donkeys kill more people than plane crashes.

donkey-kick

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The White House has 32 bathrooms,

and 6 levels to accommodate all the people

who live in, work in, and visit the White House.

There are also 412 doors, 147 windows,

28 fireplaces, 7 staircases, and 3 elevators.

white house

.

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Hummingbirds are the only animals that can fly backwards.

hummingbird

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In the great fire of London in 1666 half of London was burnt down

but only 6 people were injured.

Great Fire Of London

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Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

woman eye

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Each year there is one ton of cement poured

for each man woman and child in the world.

pouring concrete

.

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The most common name in Italy is Mario Rossi.

Mario Rossi

.

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Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!

fingernails

.

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Rugby, North Dakota is the geographical center of North America.

Rugby, North Dakota

.

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Butte County, South Dakota is the geographical center of the U.S.

Geographic-Center-of-the-US-Speafish-SD

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No matter where you stand in Michigan,

you are never more than 85 miles from a Great Lake.

michigan map

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The number “four” is considered unlucky in Japan

because it is pronounced the same as “death”.

4

.

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Sylvia Miles had the shortest performance

ever nominated for an Oscar with “Midnight Cowboy.”

Her entire role lasted only six minutes.

Sylvia-Miles

.

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You’re more likely to get stung by a bee

on a windy day than in any other weather.

CARTOON_Bee-full

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The world’s deepest hole is the Sakhali I oil well in Russia

(part owned by Exxon Mobil) which is 12.345 Km. deep (7.67 miles).

Previously to this the Al Shaheen oil well (12.29km or 7.64 miles)

dug in Qatar was the deepest oil well.

kola2

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Spain leads the world in cork production

wine-cork

.

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A jail in Brazil allows its inmates to pedal exercise bikes

to power lights in a nearby town in exchange for reduced sentences.

bike charger

.

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The Boston University Bridge

(on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts)

is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train

driving under a car driving under an airplane.

Boston University Bridge

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Donkey Hokey

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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No, I’m not tilting at windmills, not just yet anyhow. And despite the play on words in the title, nor am I referring to Cervantes character Don Quixote. This post actually does concern a donkey, though. In fact animals in general.

It is a little known fact that donkeys kill more people than plane crashes. And at the end of August I read about a small town Texas mayor who was killed in an attack by his own donkey. He was Bill Bohlke and he was Mayor of Hollywood Park in Atascosa County, Texas.

That unfortunate event set me thinking of a number of things.

First I asked myself how the heck you pronounced his surname.

Then I wondered if Mayor Bohlke was a Republican or Democrat and how macabre it would have been if the donkey had done away with his elephant man rival.

And then I thought about the amazing and different ways people find to leave the mortal coil. I bet, like most of us, the last thing Mayor Bohlke thought was that some day he would meet his end from an attack from a randy donkey!

And then I marveled at how so many people, for no logical reason, have a romantic fantasy notion that animals are not inherently dangerous. They are.

And this is true for people who work with them every day and should know better.

For example, when I was growing up I would spend time at my uncle’s farm. He had a herd of one hundred or more dairy cows and every evening when I was there my cousin and myself would be sent out to the fields to bring the cows in for milking.

We had a couple of great little collie dogs to help us, not that much help was needed because the cows had a routine and once they heard us calling for them they made their way to the field gate and up the lane to the milking parlor, glad no doubt that they were about to be relieved of their burden once more.

With them came the bull. A huge brute of an animal and unbelievably strong. But he was docile enough, walked up with his herd of ‘wives’ and while they made their way into the queue for the milking machines he would usually lie down in the hayshed and munch on some of the hay.

As innocent (dumb) kids we would sometimes sit down beside him, even using him as a prop to lean against. He didn’t seem to mind a bit, we thought he was glad of the company perhaps.

Then one day as the herd was being ushered back out to the fields Mr Bull totally out of the blue decided he would like to kill my uncle.

Luckily us kids had our chore done in bringing the herd in to get milked. When the time came to take them back out again we were engaged on other vital business, I can’t remember exactly what but I’m sure it involved football, playing cowboys and Indians, fending off some galactic foe who was attacking earth that day, or some such vital stuff. But we could hear the commotion in the distance.

Furious about something, only he knew what, the bull roared angrily and ran towards my uncle who had been leading the way. With his head lowered he hit my uncle between his lower back and his knees and threw him up into the air like a rag doll – and my uncle was a BIG man. Very fortunately the bull tossed him into the air with such force that he went clean over the raised fence and hedge on the right hand side of the lane and ended up in one of the fields. 

The crazy bull then tried to go after him but couldn’t get up the steep embankment on which the fence had been constructed. Another cousin, quite a bit older than us, saw the attack. He was in a tractor and he immediately had the presence of mind to use that to take the bull’s attention away from my uncle. The distraction seemed to work, because as suddenly as it had started it was over and things were back to normal.

But my uncle had learned a valuable lesson. Animals can be dangerous.

So had I, even though I wasn’t there at the time, but from then on I haven’t been a fan of bulls – not in Chicago or Wall Street either come to think of it.

Unfortunately Mayor Bohlke wasn’t so lucky with his donkey.

I wonder if it happened something like this???

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