Sweaty Palms And Underarms – I Smell Fact Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes, today’s selection of facts includes sweaty palms and underarms.

You may be surprised by these and some of the other offerings below.

Enjoy.

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did you know5

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A person can only remember

four things at a time.

remember four things at a time

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And speaking of four,

of the four smokestacks on the Titanic,

only three were real working chimneys,

the fourth was totally for decoration only.

four smokestacks on the Titanic

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Palm sweat can be triggered by two separate things,

your body trying to control its temperature

or trying to cope with emotional stress,

both of which are closely linked.

Palm sweat

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In July of 1518 a woman began to

dance in the street in Stasbourg.

She was eventually joined by about 400 dancers.

It’s not clear exactly how many people died

due to this ‘dancing plague’, but some

definitely died from heart attack,

stroke or exhaustion.

Dancing-Plague-1518

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The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest of

the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

and the last one still in existence.

Great Pyramid of Giza

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In his entire career (so far) James Bond

has been shot at 4,662 times.

james_bond

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The blue whale has the largest heart

weighing over 1,500 pounds.

blue whale has the largest heart

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Although polar bears are usually born on land,

they spend most of their time at sea.

Their scientific name Ursus Maritimus

means ‘maritime bear’.

polar-bear-ursus-maritimus-underwater--19238

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When a person gets right to the precise point

or says something that is verified as correct it is

often said that they have ‘hit the nail on the head’.

The exact origin of the phrase is not known,

but it appeared for the first time in print in

1438 in The Book of Margery Kempe.

hit the nail on the head

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7,000 deaths occur each year because

of doctors’ sloppy handwriting.

doctors' sloppy handwriting

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According to the Australian census,

Melbourne has the largest Greek population

outside Greece with over 150,000 people

being of Greek origin, which technically

makes Melbourne the sixth biggest city

in terms of Greek population.

Melbourne largest Greek population

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The sweat from a man’s underarm

can help women relax,

boost their mood and

help regulate their menstrual cycle,

if applied to her lips.

There you are ladies, now you know.

sweat from a man's underarm

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Mongol fleets tried to conquer Japan

twice in 7 years, but both times

they were stopped by a typhoon.

These events were described as

Kamikaze or ‘Divine Wind’.

Kamikaze or ‘Divine Wind’

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Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

both died on July 4th

on the 50th Anniversary of

the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

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Psy’s “Gangnam Style” is

the most watched YouTube video ever

with nearly 2.2 billion views and counting.

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

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It’s July 4th, You Know What Day That Is?

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes, you got it, it’s Pun Day.

And because Pun Day this year happens to fall on July 4th, here’s a special Independence word play edition.

Enjoy this festive edition!

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What happened as a result of the Stamp Act?

The Americans licked the British!

stamp-act-cartoon

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Why did the British cross the Atlantic?

To get to the other tide!

Valcour bay

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What would you get if you crossed a patriot with a small curly-haired dog?

A Yankee Poodle Dandy!

Yankee Poodle Dandy

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Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell?

Yeah, it cracked me up!

Liberty_Bell_2008
The Liberty Bell

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What would Americans get if they crossed George Washington with cattle feed?

The fodder of their Country!

fodder-cow

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Where did George Washington buy his hatchet?

At the chopping mall!

chopping_mall

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What was General Washington’s favorite tree?

The infantry!

Washington  Infrantry color seal d

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What kind of tea did the American colonists thirst for?

Liber-Tea!

LIBERTEA-2a

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Which colonists told the most jokes?

Punsylvanians!

Pennsylvania-SC

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What did a patriot put on his dry skin?

Revo-lotion!

revolutionary war scene

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What dance was very popular in 1776?

Indepen-dance!

Patriotic Dance

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Which one of Washington’s officers had the best sense of humor?

Laughayette!

lafayette
Marquis de La Fayette served as a major-general in the Continental Army under George Washington and was a leader of the Garde nationale during the French Revolution.

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What was Thomas Jefferson’s favourite dessert?

Monti jello!

Thomas_Jefferson's_Monticello_Estate
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Estate

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What did King George think of the American colonists?

He thought they were revolting!

King George

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Why were the early American settlers like ants?

Because they lived in colonies.

Colonial America
Colonial America

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What has feathers, webbed feet, and certain inalienable rights?

The Ducklaration of Independence!

It's no longer about governing. It's about controlling.

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What would you get if you crossed the American national bird with Snoopy?

A bald beagle!

BaldBeagle

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What was the craziest battle of the Revolutionary War?

The Battle of Bonkers Hill.

Battle of Bunker Hill

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Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?

On the bottom!

Declaration of Independence signatures

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Did you hear about the cartoonist in the Continental Army?

He was a Yankee doodler!

Yankee Doodle

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What protest by a group of dogs occurred in 1773?

The Boston Flea Party!

flea party

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What would you get if you crossed Washington’s home with nasty insects?

Mt. Vermin!

Mount Vernon
Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate

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Which son of old Virginia wrote the Declaration of Independence?

I think it was Thomas Jeffer’s son.

Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson’s words and hopes. How far have the present leaders of America strayed from those lofty and laudable goals?

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Did You Know? More Random Fact File Fun

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Facts don’t more random than these selections.

A little something for everyone seems to be the goal, so I hope you find at least one fact in here of interest.

Enjoy.

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did you know5

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People say “bless you” when you sneeze

because your heart stops for a millisecond.

achoo

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US gold coins used to say

“In Gold We Trust”.

in gold we trust

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Kuwait is about 60% male

(highest in the world).

Kuwaiti men

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Latvia is about 54% female

(highest in the world).

latvian women

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The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters.

Hawaiian Alphabet

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Julius Caesar’s autograph is worth about $2,000,000.

Caesar

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The surface of the Earth is about 60% water and 10% ice,

but the volume of fresh water compared to

the volume of the earth is a lot smaller.

global-water-volume-fresh

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For every 230 cars that are made, 1 will be stolen.

car-theft

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Lightning strikes the earth about 8 million times a day.

Lightning Strikes

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John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe died on July 4th.

Presidential funeral procession

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In 1386, a pig in France was executed

by public hanging for the murder of a child

pig hanged

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Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

thigh bone

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Present population of 7 billion plus people of the world

is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.

world_popluation_1

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A man named Charles Osborne

had the hiccups for 69 years!

Charles Osborne

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A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue!

(That takes some lickin’)

giraffe tongue

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The average person laughs 10 times a day!

(But obviously readers of the Fasab blog are well above average!)

laughing-men

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Someone paid $14,000 for the bra worn by

Marilyn Monroe in the film ‘Some Like It Hot’.

slih-bra

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More than 1,000 different languages

are spoken on the continent of Africa.

africa_languages

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The White House has 132 rooms and

a total floor area of around 55,000 ft²

(5,100 square metres).

white-house

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Buckingham Palace in England has 775 rooms and

the total floor area of the Palace, from basement to roof,

covers over 828,000 square feet (77,000 square metres).

Buckingham Palace

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Significant Number Factoid Friday – Today Number One Hundred 100

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Today the number is 100, very popular, much used by almost everyone.  Here are some things about 100 that you may know and some you probably don’t.

Enjoy.

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100 One Hundred

100

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In Religion

  • Shem was an hundred years old when he became a father (Genesis 11:10);
  • Abraham was also one hundred years of age when his son Isaac was born (Gen. 21:5);
  • Obadiah saved one hundred prophets by hiding them in a cave and feeding them. (I Kings 18.4);
  • Jesus’ parable of the 100th lost sheep (Matthew 18.12);
  • Nicodemus brought one hundred pounds of myrrh & aloes to embalm Jesus after his crucifixion (John 19.39);
  • Paul’s 14 Epistles in the New Testament total one hundred chapters;
  • There are 100 blasts of the Shofar heard in the service of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year;
  • A religious Jew is expected to utter at least one hundred blessings daily.

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In politics

  • The United States Senate has 100 Senators, two from each of the 50 States;
  • “The First Hundred Days” is an arbitrary benchmark of a President of the United States’ performance at the beginning of his or her term.

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In mathematics

  • A Centillion 10303 has 100 groups of three zeros after 1000;
  • A Googol is the figure 1 followed by 100 zeroes, written 10100. It was invented by Milton Sirotta, the 9-year nephew of mathematician Edward Kasner;
  • A 10×10 Magic Square has 100 squares with numbers 1-100, each row, column & diagonal adding to 505 with the total sum being 5050;
  • There are exactly 100 prime numbers whose digits are in strictly ascending order. (e.g. 239, 2357 etc.);
  • Pythagoreans considered 100 as divinely divine because it is the square (10 x 10) of the divine decad;
  • The standard SI prefix for a hundred is “hecto-“;
  • 100 is the basis of percentages (per cent meaning “per hundred” in Latin), with 100% being a full amount and representing wholeness, purity, or perfection.

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In science

  • One hundred is the Atomic Number of Fermium, a radioactive rare earth metal;
  • One hundred is the molecular weight of Calcium Carbonate;
  • The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius.

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In space

  • Messier 100 is a perfect example of a grand design spiral galaxy, a type of galaxy with prominent and very well-defined spiral arms.
  • These dusty structures swirl around the galaxy’s nucleus, and are marked by a flurry of star formation activity that dots Messier 100 with bright blue, high-mass stars.
  • This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope

Messier 100.

In Finance

  • Most of the world’s currencies are divided into 100 sub-units; for example, one dollar or one euro is made up of one hundred cents, and one pound sterling is one hundred pence;
  • The U.S. hundred-dollar bill (the largest US bill in print) has Benjamin Franklin’s portrait;

100 dollar bill showing Benjamin Franklin's portrait

  • American savings bonds of $100 have Thomas Jefferson’s portrait;
  • American $100 treasury bonds have Andrew Jackson’s portrait;
  • The FTSE 100, NASDAQ 100, etc., are financial tables of the top companies on the various stock exchanges.

logo nasdaq 100

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In sport

  • 100 is the number of yards in an American football field (not including the end zones);
  • 100 is the minimum distance in yards for a Par 3 on a golf course;
  • The 100 meters sprint is the race that brings with it the title of the fastest man in the world. Current holder is Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt;

Usain Bolt 100 Meter Champion and the fastest man in the world

  • 100 points scored by Wilt Chamberlain is the record number of points scored in one NBA game by a single player in basketball game, achieved when Philadelphia Warrior defeated New York Knicks 169-147 on March 2, 1962 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The 316 points by both teams surpassed the record of 312 when Boston defeated Minneapolis 173-139 on Feb. 27, 1959 in Boston.

Wilt Chamberlain

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In militaria

  • The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between France & England lasted 116 years.

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  • Ultimax 100
  • The Ultimax 100 is a squad automatic weapon / light machine gun. It was created by the small arms design team at Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS; now Singapore Technologies Kinetics) Inc, that included American small arms designer James Sullivan, who previously worked for Armalite and participated in design of the AR-18 assault rifle. In 1982 it was adopted by the Singaporean army. The current production version is Ultimax 100 Mark 3.

Ultimax 100 mk3 3

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..

  • Type 100 Submachine Gun
  • Designed and built by the Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company in Japan, the Type 100 Submachine gun was used during World War II, and the only submachine gun produced by Japan in any quantity. It was modeled on the famous Bergmann MP18 submachine gun.  First samples were delivered to the Imperial Army in 1942 and in total some 30,000 were manufactured.

Type100 Japanese WWII Submachine Gun

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  • F-100
  • The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979.
  • The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight.
  • The F-100 was originally designed by North American Aviation as a higher performance follow-on to the F-86 Sabre air superiority fighter.
  • Adapted as a fighter bomber, the F-100 would be supplanted by the Mach 2 class F-105 Thunderchief for strike missions over North Vietnam. The F-100 flew extensively over South Vietnam as the Air Force’s primary close air support jet until replaced by the more efficient subsonic LTV A-7 Corsair II.
  • The F-100 also served in other NATO air forces and with other U.S. allies. In its later life, it was often referred to as “the Hun,” a shortened version of “one hundred.
  • This aircraft is now on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

F-100C in formation 

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  • JF-100
  • NASA’s JF-100 Variable Stability Aircraft is a research aircraft about which very little information is readily available. Only scattered references of it remain in bits of documents and reports.
  • The JF-100 was built from an Air Force F-100C by NASA’s Ames Research Center, and transferred to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in 1960. The “J” designation refers to it being modified for special test missions, but not so extensively that it could not be returned to being a standard F-100. The aircraft obviously was acquired from the Air Force and carried the registration number 53-1709, but no information about its earlier career was available.
  • The JF-100 was removed from service as a variable stability aircraft at NASA Dryden in 1964, but its final disposition could not be determined. The information is most likely buried in various reports somewhere, waiting to be rediscovered by a future researcher.

JF-100 Variable Stability Aircraft

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  • F100 class frigates
  • The Álvaro de Bazán class (also known as the F100 class of frigates) are a new class of Aegis combat system-equipped air defence frigates entering service with the Spanish Navy. They are being built in the Spanish factory of Navantia in Ferrol and are named after Admiral Álvaro de Bazán.
  • The ships are fitted with American Aegis weapons technology allowing them to track hundreds of airborne targets simultaneously as part of its air defence network. The F100 Alvaro de Bazan class multi-role frigate is one of the few non-US warships to carry the Aegis Combat System and its associated AN/SPY-1 radar. Japan’s Kongo class, South Korea’s King Sejong the Great class, the F100-derived Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen class of frigates also use the Aegis system. Lockheed Martin, Navantia and the U.S. Navy are conducting final systems integration.
Spanish Navy F 100 Class Frigate, Almirante Juan de Borbon
Spanish Navy F 100 Class Frigate, Almirante Juan de Borbon

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  • SU-100
  • Designed on the chasis of the T-34-85 tank, the tank hunter SU-100 was produced until March 1946 with a total number of 3037 units made.
  • It was one of the most effective anti-tank units up to 1948. In 1960, the SU-100 was upgraded with the installation of a new enhanced B2-34M engine, fuel pump NK-10, air cleaners VTI-3, commander observation equipment TPKU-2B and driver’s night sight BVN, as well as radio sets 10RT-26E and TPU-47.
  • The SU-100 was produced in Czechoslovakia and was in the inventory of several African and Middle East countries. The Arabs actively used it in military conflicts with Israel.

SU 100 Tank Hunter

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  • Other stuff
  • Cities located at 100 degree longitude: Penang, Malaysia; Bangkok, Thailand; Monterrey, Mexico;
  • Hecatonchires were giants with 100 arms and 50 heads each. They were born of Gaia & Uranus, and were stronger than even the Cyclopes. Their names were Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges;
  • Gene McDaniels’ song A Hundred Pounds of Clay had highest hit #3 in 1961 Pop Charts;
  • Joseph Haydn’s Symphony #100 in G Major is called “Military” (composed 1793-94);
  • Room 100 is a 4-member male melodic rock band formed in 1982;
  • Gathering of the 100 Gods occurs on the 19th day of the first lunar month;
  • The first Chinese dictionary was written in 100 A.D.;
  • The 100th day of the year (non-leap year) is April 10;
  • On April 10, 1912, the Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, and hit the iceberg on 4-15-1912;
  • The Century Plant is a Mexican agave (Agave americana) that blooms only once every “100 years” (folklore). In reality, it takes 10 years to bloom in warm regions and up to 60 years in colder climates;
  • Centipedes are insects with “100 legs”;
  • A Centenarian is someone over 100 years old. The number of Centenarians in the US  increased from 37,306 (1990) to 50,454 (2000) according to the U.S. Census;  the 180,000 centenarians worldwide (2000) is projected to reach 3.2 million by 2050;
  • Polish Draughts is a 100-square board game played with 40 pieces. It is similar to the 64-square board game of Checkers;
  • Roman numeral for 100 is C; 
  • Centennial is a 100th anniversary or its celebration;
  • A Century is a period of 100 years;
  • When a TV series reaches 100 episodes, it is generally considered viable for syndication; 
  • There are100 tiles in a standard Scrabble set;
  • In Greece, India, Israel and Nepal, 100 is the police telephone number;
  • In Belgium, 100 is the ambulance and firefighter telephone number;
  • In United Kingdom, 100 is the operator telephone number;
  • There are 100 pounds in an American short hundredweight.

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What An Eventful Week… Okay, Maybe Not. But Never Mind, Here’s Another Anagram Sunday!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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What an eventful week… well that’s what I had planned to say if Romney had won the election. As it turns out, he didn’t, Obama’s back in and things are much the same as they were.

Oh, except for one minor detail, Obama won’t ever have to fight another Presidential election so he can get on with whatever he wants to do and not be too bothered who it upsets. So cut costs at the bottom and increase taxes at the top and squeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeee!

Meantime here are some more of those word puzzles called anagrams.

Enjoy.  

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‘Many a true word is spoken in jest’

Men joke, and so win trusty praise

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‘meal for one’

for me alone

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‘my ideal time’ 

immediately

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‘New York Times’

monkeys write

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‘Patrick Stewart’

a crap trek twist

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‘Punishment’

nine thumps

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‘Rome was not built in a day’

any labour I do wants time

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‘school student’

tends to slouch

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‘shower time’

where moist

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‘Statue of Liberty’

built to stay free

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‘television ads’

enslave idiots

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‘The centenarians’

I can hear ten “tens”

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‘The ears’

hear set

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‘The end of the World is nigh!’

Frightened? Down this hole!

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‘Thomas Jefferson’

O, short name’s Jeff

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‘timetable’

bet I’m late

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And finally a contribution from Adam T.

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‘Barack Hussein Obama’

a man broke his abacus

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‘Willard Mitt Romney’

Wait! Drill it on my term.

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A Tribute To Peanut Butter, Yum! – Oh, And A Lot Of Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Peanuts

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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I must admit to not having much time for nuts with allergies, er… to nuts. But I’ve always liked the edible variety, particularly peanuts and peanut butter. Liked it when I was a kid, still like it today. One of the best culinary inventions ever, in my opinion.

Mr Peanut - Planters logo
Mr Peanut – Planters logo

 

Peanut butter has been invented and reinvented many times during history. Peanuts were known as early as 950 B.C. and originated in South America. The ancient Incas used peanuts and were known to have made it into a paste-like substance.

As a crop, peanuts emigrated from South America to Africa thanks to early explorers and from there traveled by trade into Spain which then traded the product to the American colonies. A rather roundabout way to get to the US, but there you are, or rather, here it is.

The first commercial peanut crop was grown in Virginia in the early to mid 1840’s and in North Carolina beginning around 1818.

According to the Corn Products Company, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis patented a peanut butter-making machine in 1903 and some unknown doctor invented peanut butter in 1890.

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented a “Process of Preparing Nut Meal” in 1895 and used peanuts. Kellogg served the patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium peanut butter. Joseph Lambert worked for Dr. Kellogg and began selling his own hand-operated peanut butter grinder in 1896. Almeeta Lambert published the first nut cookbook, “The Complete Guide to Nut Cookery” in 1899.

By 1914, many companies were making peanut butter.

Joseph L. Rosenfield invented a churning process that made peanut butter smooth and in 1928, licensed his invention to the Pond Company, the makers of “Peter Pan” peanut butter.

Peter Pan peanut butter

In 1932, he began making his own brand of peanut butter called “Skippy” which included a crunchy style peanut butter.

Skippy Peanut Butter

But it is possibly agricultural chemist, George Washington Carver who has the best claim to the peanut butter gold medal position. In the course of his research he discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes.

Carver wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life.

He started popularizing uses for peanut products including peanut butter, paper, ink, and oils beginning in 1880, the most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts.

However, Carver did not patent peanut butter as he believed food products were all gifts from God. The 1880 date precedes all the above inventors except of course for the Incas, who were first. It was Carver who made peanuts a significant crop in the American South in the early 1900’s. Today half of all edible peanuts produced in the United States are used to make peanut butter and peanut spreads.

Thanks Mr G W Carver.

George Washington Carver - One Of America's Great Sscientists
George Washington Carver – One Of America’s Great Scientists

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And here are a lot of other things you probably didn’t know about peanuts….

 

  • Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite;
  • The peanut is not a nut, it is actually a legume;
  • It takes more than 500 peanuts to make one 12 ounce jar of peanut butter;
  • The Planters Peanut Company mascot, Mr. Peanut, was created during a contest for schoolchildren in 1916;
  • Throughout the South, peanuts were known as “Monkey Nuts,” and “Goober peas,” before the civil war;
  • The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth is called Arachibutyrophobia;
  • People living on the east coast prefer creamy peanut butter, while people living on the west coast prefer chunky peanut butter;
  • Skippy Peanut Butter is sold more in the world than any other peanut butter;
  • The average American kid will eat approximately 1.500 peanut butter sandwiches by high school graduation;
  • The #1 peanut producing state is Georgia;
  • On average, the American household consumes six pounds of peanut butter annually;
  • 96% of people put the peanut butter on first when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich;
  • Americans consume the most peanut butter in the world;
  • Approximately three jars of peanut butter are sold every second;
  • In a year, about 90 million jars of Skippy Peanut Butter are sold. (This works out to three jars sold every second);
  • In the U.S. peanuts account for 66% of all snack nuts;
  • Both Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter, U.S. presidents, were peanut farmers at one time;
  • Peanut butter is an effective way to remove chewing gum from hair or clothes;
  • Incas used to create pots in the shape of peanuts that were highly prized;
  • In Greene, New York, you are not allowed to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalk during a concert.

 

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