Fasab’s Fact Feast Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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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.

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did you know2

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In spite of the larger-than-life legends,

the Pony Express only lasted 19 months

(April 1860 to October 1861)

Pony Express

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Up until the 1800s dentures were often

made from the teeth of dead soldiers.

dentures

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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

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In Archi,

a language spoken around the Caspian Sea,

each verb can have up to 1.5 million different conjugations

Archi_pic

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During medieval times animals were put on trial

and sometimes sentenced to death

Medieval animal trials

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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

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You have roughly 70,000 thoughts

every day!

thoughts

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Dung beetles can use the Milky Way to navigate.

(My stars!)

Dung beetles can use the Milky Way to navigate

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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

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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

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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.“

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Fact Filled February Continues.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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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.

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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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Are You Up For A Challenge? – It’s The Monday Quiz.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Quite a mixture of questions today.

Some are easy, some are difficult, and some should be easy but I have a feeling they may turn out to be quite difficult too!

As usual the answers are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please, NO cheating.

Enjoy and good luck.

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Quiz 6

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Q.  1:  You’ve seen it hundreds if not thousands of times, so how many milk bottles are standing on the porch when Fred Flintstone puts out the cat?

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Q.  2:  Who was assassinated in Dallas on 24 November 1963?

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Q.  3:  Who was known as ‘The Serpent of the Nile’?

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Q.  4:  How many amendments have their been to the US Constitution?

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Q.  5:  For which event of 1872 is the name of Captain Briggs remembered?

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Q.  6:  What was abolished by France in 1981, The Netherlands in 1982, Australia in 1985 and New Zealand in 1989?

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Q.  7:  How many colored squares are on a Rubik cube?

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Q.  8:  A famous Irish novelist and poet, he was born in 1882 and died in 1941, who was he?

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Q.  9:  Who directed the movie ‘Jurassic Park’?

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Q. 10:  What famous IT company launched a clothing line in 1986?

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Q. 11:  Which great Carthegian general crossed the Alps in 218?

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Q. 12:  For how many years did the famous ‘Pony Express’ operate in America?

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Q. 13:  On what date in 1883 did France officially present the Statue of Liberty to the US?

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Q. 14:  Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock had one of the most celebrated and successful collaborations of any actor/director pair in history. Name as many of their movies as you can (and you get a point for each correct answer).

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Q. 15:  Who had 7 members of a rival gang killed on St Valentines day 1929?

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Q. 16:  Who or what is the Presidential retreat ‘Camp David’ named after?

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Q. 17:  Who said “Read my lips, no new taxes”?

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Q. 18:  What was the name of the domestic videocassette tape recorder system introduced by Sony in 1975?

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Q. 19:  Which famous Arab / Israeli war took place in 1973?

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Q. 20:  In the long running hit television series ‘Magnum P.I.’, what was the character name of the ex-British Army Officer who looked after the estate in which Magnum lives?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  You’ve seen it hundreds if not thousands of times, so how many milk bottles are standing on the porch when Fred Flintstone puts out the cat?

A.  1:  One. (You should have known that!)

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Q.  2:  Who was assassinated in Dallas on 24 November 1963?

A.  2:  Lee Harvey Oswald.

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Q.  3:  Who was known as ‘The Serpent of the Nile’?

A.  3:  Cleopatra.

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Q.  4:  How many amendments have their been to the US Constitution?

A.  4:  27.

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Q.  5:  For which event of 1872 is the name of Captain Briggs remembered?

A.  5:  He Was The Captain Of The Marie Celeste.

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Q.  6:  What was abolished by France in 1981, The Netherlands in 1982, Australia in 1985 and New Zealand in 1989?

A.  6:  The Death Penalty.

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Q.  7:  How many colored squares are on a Rubik cube?

A.  7:  54 (A cube has 6 sides and there are 9 colored squares per side.)

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Q.  8:  A famous Irish novelist and poet, he was born in 1882 and died in 1941, who was he?

A.  8:  James Joyce.

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Q.  9:  Who directed the movie ‘Jurassic Park’?

A.  9:  Steven Spielberg.

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Q. 10:  What famous IT company launched a clothing line in 1986?

A. 10:  Apple.

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Q. 11:  Which great Carthegian general crossed the Alps in 218?

A. 11:  Hannibal.

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Q. 12:  For how many years did the famous ‘Pony Express’ operate in America?

A. 12:  The ‘Pony Express’ only lasted a single year before the transcontinental telegraph made the route obsolete.

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Q. 13:  On what date in 1883 did France officially present the Statue of Liberty to the US?

A. 13:  4th July.

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Q. 14:  Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock had one of the most celebrated and successful collaborations of any actor/director pair in history. Name as many of their movies as you can (and you get a point for each correct answer).

A. 14:  Cary Grant appeared in 4 Hitchcock movies, ‘Suspicion’ in 1941; ‘Notorious’ in 1946; ‘To Catch A Thief’ in 1955; and ‘North By North-West’ in 1959.

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Q. 15:  Who had 7 members of a rival gang killed on St Valentines day 1929?

A. 15:  Al Capone.

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Q. 16:  Who or what is the Presidential retreat ‘Camp David’ named after?

A. 16:  Presidential retreat Camp David is named after Dwight Eisenhower’s grandson.

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Q. 17:  Who said “Read my lips, no new taxes”?

A. 17:  George Bush.

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Q. 18:  What was the name of the domestic videocassette tape recorder system introduced by Sony in 1975?

A. 18:  Betamax.

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Q. 19:  Which famous Arab / Israeli war took place in 1973?

A. 19:  The Yom Kippur war.

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Q. 20:  In the long running hit television series ‘Magnum P.I.’, what was the character name of the ex-British Army Officer who looked after the estate in which Magnum lived?

A. 20:  Jonathan Quayle Higgins III, but ‘Higgins’ will get you a point.

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Did You Know? The Facts Are Here!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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The facts are certainly here.

It’s up to you to choose how valuable and interesting they are.

Apart from anything else I hope you enjoy reading them.

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did you know1

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To save money when you shop, don’t touch anything.

Touching an item makes you more likely to buy it, and willing to pay more.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1889081,00.html

did you know touching

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The famous US Pony Express only lasted a single year

before the transcontinental telegraph made the route obsolete.

did you know pony express

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In a 2008 survey,

58% of British teens thought Sherlock Holmes was a real guy,

while 20% thought Winston Churchill was not.

did you know churchill-holmes

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Before his writing career took off, Dan Brown was a singer/songwriter.

His second album was titled Angels & Demons.

did you know angelsdemons

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During a 1956 speech for his campaign of de-Stalinization,

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was asked by an unseen audience member why,

as an advisor to the dictator, he had never stopped Stalin from committing his atrocities.

Khrushchev immediately lashed out, “Who said that?”

The room grew quiet.

Khrushchev repeated his query to more silence, waited a beat,

and then said, “Well, now you understand why.”

did you know Khrushchev

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The first US President to earn a PhD was Woodrow Wilson.

did you know Woodrow Wilson

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The U.K.’s police headquarters, Scotland Yard,

is not (and never was) located in Scotland.

Scotland Yard was originally a palace

where Scottish royalty stayed when visiting London.

did you know New_Scotland_Yard_sign

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Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas,

used to work for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

did you know Dave Thomas Wendy's

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The first VCR, developed by the Ampex Corporation in 1956,

weighed nearly 1,500 lbs.

It took another 15 years before a commercially viable product hit the scene.

did you know ampex-commercial-vtr-1956

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The Vatican Bank is the world’s only bank

that allows ATM users to perform transactions in Latin.

did you know ATM-Latin

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The municipal government of Paris passed a resolution

to prohibit Tom Cruise from becoming an honorary citizen of the city.

For them it was ‘une mission impossible!’

did you know Tom Cruise Mission_Impossible_II_(MI2)

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Only one U.S. coin

— the zinc-coated steel penny produced during World War II —

can be picked up by a magnet.

did you know WWII steel penny

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During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong hid IEDs in empty soda cans

because they observed that US Soldiers enjoyed kicking empty cans

while marching down the road.

Warning to the politicians perhaps who recently

have done little else but kick the can down the road.

did you know kicking-the-can-down-the-road

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Simon Bolivar is the only person in the world

to have two sovereign nations named after him:

Bolivia

and

Venezuela

(the country’s full name is Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela).

did you know bolivar

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At the 1960 Winter Olympic Games,

Walt Disney was Chairman of the Pageantry Committee

that was responsible for producing both

the opening and closing ceremonies.

did you know walt_olympics

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Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches.

did you know butterfly

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After racking up a $40 late fee on a VHS copy of Apollo 13,

Reed Hastings was inspired to start Netflix

did you know Netflix-CEO-Reed-Hastings

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Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

did you know bang-head-here

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The most Academy Awards (Oscars) won by a woman was eight,

by Edith Head, all for Costume Design

did you know the-much-honored-costume-designer-edith-head-1954

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Black-eyed peas aren’t peas, but beans,

and also a famous American hip hop group.

And coffee beans aren’t beans, but seeds.

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