Fasab’s Fact Feast Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Hello and welcome to another fact feast day on the fasab blog.

The usual selection of random facts, but with a few extras thrown in as a tribute to the late, great, and apparently much troubled Robin Williams.

Enjoy.

.

did you know2

.

In spite of the larger-than-life legends,

the Pony Express only lasted 19 months

(April 1860 to October 1861)

Pony Express

.

.

According to a published Star Wars encyclopedia,

the real name of the Star Wars robot known to us as ‘R2-D2’,

is actually ‘Second Generation Robotic Droid Series-2’.

Star Wars robots R2D2 and 3CP0

.

.

Robin Williams was awarded a star

on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

in Hollywood, California

on December 12, 1990.

Robin Williams Hollywood Walk of Fame

.

.

The first chocolate bar

suitable enough for widespread consumption

was produced by the Fry’s chocolate factory,

located in Bristol, England in 1847.

Fry's chocolate factory Bristol

.

.

Of the ten deadliest wars every fought,

seven were fought in China

More people died in each of the two largest

than in WWI

war in China

.

.

Up until the 1800s dentures were often

made from the teeth of dead soldiers.

dentures

.

.

Robin Williams devoted much of his time and energy to charities.

For example,

he supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

and helped to rebuild the city of Christchurch

after the 2010 earthquake in New Zealand.

Robin Williams; Whoopi Goldberg; Billy Crystal

.

.

In Archi,

a language spoken around the Caspian Sea,

each verb can have up to 1.5 million different conjugations

Archi_pic

.

.

During medieval times animals were put on trial

and sometimes sentenced to death

Medieval animal trials

.

.

Robin Williams co-owned the Rubicon restaurant in San Francisco

with his friend Robert De Niro and

fellow Bay area resident Francis Ford Coppola.

Rubicon restaurant in San Francisco

.

.

You have roughly 70,000 thoughts

every day!

thoughts

.

.

Dung beetles can use the Milky Way to navigate.

(My stars!)

Dung beetles can use the Milky Way to navigate

.

.

The title, “World’s luckiest unluckiest man”

belongs to Frane Selak, a Croatian music teacher,

who has literally escaped the jaws of death seven times.

On January 1962, a train he was on flipped off the tracks

killing 17 passengers. He survived.

In 1963, he was sucked out of a malfunctioning plane door

and landed in a haystack; the plane crashed killing 19 people.

In 1966, a bus Selak was on skidded off the road and into a river

where four passengers drowned.

1970 and 1973 his car caught on fire;

1995 he was struck by a bus

and in 1996 he drove into a gorge.

Frane Selak

.

.

In 1911, French tailor Franz Reichelt

decided to test his invention,

a combination overcoat and parachute,

by jumping off the Eiffel Tower.

It didn’t work.

Franz Reichelt Eiffel Tower

.

.

Robin WIlliams is also the author of many

both humorous and serious quotes such as:

“Reality is just a crutch for people

who can’t cope with drugs.“

Or

“No matter what people tell you,

words and ideas can change the world.“

.

.

=====================================================

.

Featuring Fasab’s Fun Fact File

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

.

Today we are featuring Fasab’s Fun Fact File.

Another selection of random and interesting facts that may well come in handier than you think! 

And you are about to read, or try to, some of the longest words ever presented in the history of blog!!!

Enjoy.

.

.

Honeybees use the sun as a compass which helps them navigate

nature's compass

.

. 

An average driver spends approximately 2 hours and 14 minutes

kissing in their car in a lifetime

kiss car

.

The highest recorded speed of a sneeze is 165 km per hour

sneeze-cartoon

.

. 

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis invented a special diaper for babies that has a pocket

jamie-lee-curtis-diaper-patent

.

. 

On an American one-dollar bill,

there is an owl in the upper right-hand corner of the “1” encased in the “shield”

and a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner

United_States_one_dollar_bill,_obverse,upper_right

.

A dog by the name of Laika was launched into space

aboard the Russian spacecraft Sputnik 2 in 1957

laikalogo

.

.

On average, an American home has 3-10 gallons of hazardous materials

hazmat

.

People whose mouth has a narrow roof are more likely to snore.

This is because they have less oxygen going through their nose

snoreCartoon

.

In one day, a human sheds 10 billion skin flakes.

This amounts to approximately two kilograms in a year

skinflakes

.

.

The Arctic Ocean covers an area of about 14,056,000 sq miles

arctic_ocean

.

Over 50% of lottery players go back to work after winning the jackpot

lottery winners

.

. 

The phrase

“Often a bridesmaid, but never a bride,”

actually originates from an advertisement

for Listerine mouthwash from 1924

often-a-bridesmaid-but-never-a-bride-i5

.

A cesium atom in an atomic clock beats over nine billion times a second.

Cesium fountain atomic clock

.

. 

Pluto was discovered on February 10, 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh

pluto

.

. 

America’s longest place-name is really Massachusetts’

“Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamauugg”

Native American for

“you fish on your side, I fish on my side, nobody fish in the middle,”

It is also known as Lake Webster.

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamauugg

.

The longest town name in the United Kingdom (and Europe) is in Wales

“Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch”

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

.

. 

In New Zealand there is

“Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukakapiki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­kitanatahu”,

which translates roughly as

“The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains,

the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one”.

At 85 letters, it has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest place name in the entire world.

Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukakapiki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­kitanatahu

.

But that doesn’t include the formal name or Bangkok, Thailand which is over 150 letters long

“Krungthepmahanakonbowornratanakosinmahintarayudyayamahadiloponoparatanarajthan

iburiromudomrajniwesmahasatarnamornpimarnavatarsatitsakattiyavisanukamphrasit”

The translation here is pretty much the unabridged history of the city rather than a word. 

krungthep mahanakhon

The land of angels, the great city of

amorn rattanakosin

immortality, various of devine gems,

mahintara yudthaya mahadilok pohp

the great angelic land unconquerable,

noparat rajathanee bureerom

land of nine noble gems, the royal city, the pleasant capital,

udomrajniwes mahasatarn

place of the grand royal palace,

amorn pimarn avaltarnsatit

forever land of angels and reincarnated spirits,

sakatattiya visanukram prasit

predestined and created by the highest devas.

Bangkok

.

.

==========================================

.