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50 Interesting Facts

post #1 of 70
Thread Starter 
Quote:
A compilation of 50 interesting facts.
Some (Many in fact) may be an already known fact. But the list is worth a look..

1. If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on your right side. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side.

2. If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. For when a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.

3. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

4. Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink. If it is white there is a thin film of bacteria on it.

5. The Mercedes-Benz motto is “Das Beste oder Nichts” meaning “the best or nothing”.

6. The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.

7. The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45 percent when a person looks at something pleasing.

8. The average person who stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night.

9. Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

10. The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.

11. Dalmatians are born without spots.

12. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

13. The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’, but for ‘and’ (in civil proceedings) or ‘against’ (in criminal proceedings).

14. Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, but women’s shirts have the buttons on the left.

15. The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise their lower eyelids.

16. The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it’s already been digested by a bee.

17. Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks.

18. The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones.

19. Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die.

20. Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.

21. The verb “cleave” is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.

22. When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.

23. When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red.

24. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.

25. The lion that roars in the MGM logo is named Volney.

26. Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.

27. Switching letters is called spoonerism. For example, saying jag of Flapan, instead of flag of Japan.

28. It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it.

29. The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.

30. There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

31. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.

32. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

33. It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.

34. The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

35. Most soccer players run 7 miles in a game.

36. The only part of the body that has no blood supply is the cornea in the eye. It takes in oxygen directly from the air.

37. Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die.

38. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch (and make it look like it
is smiling).

39. Colgate faced big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command “go hang yourself.”

40. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.

41. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

42. The average person laughs 13 times a day.

43. Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are:Mizaru(See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru(Speak no evil)

44. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

45. German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.

46. Large kangaroos cover more than 30 feet with each jump.

47. Whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.

48. Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death.

49. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural cause.

50. The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet!!
Interesting stuff.... some of them seem true as far as I can say...
post #2 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Fun "facts" to play with.

But #26 is wrong. The actual term is googol. (Which is on Google's web site.)

And I'm pretty sure I read that #32 is wrong. Hair and fingernails appear to grow afer death because the surrounding tissue contracts.
post #3 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

And 9 and 42 are inconsistent. If people laugh between 15 and 100 times a day than the average must be above 13...
post #4 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

What's the source of this list?

Quote:
13. The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’, but for ‘and’ (in civil proceedings) or ‘against’ (in criminal proceedings).
Not only wrong, but self-evidently wrong. "Versus" means "against", and the "v" doesn't have a different meaning in criminal and civil proceedings.
post #5 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Maybe it's the same people who write those Snapple bottlecap things which I've heard are sometimes incorrect...

Jay
post #6 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
10. The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
Really???

Quote:
21. The verb “cleave” is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
Nope. I am pretty sure there is another one (and probably a few others), I am this close to recalling it. Aaaaaaaargh! I was struggling to write somethign and it occured to me that this stupid word could meant the exact opposite depending on the context. Looked it up and sho'nuff, there it was.

EDIT: Never mind, I misunderstood the claim made in #21. I was rather thinking of words that mean opposite things depending on the context. Maaaa baaaaad.

EDIT: Now if any of the words I am thinking of (and desperatly failing to remember) had synonyms for both their meanings, then I guess they would qualify for the original claim. So I wasn't completely wrong

--
H
post #7 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

TO SANCTION!

Man, that was driving me nuts.

--
H
post #8 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

isn't the sound in a shell to your ear the air flowing in and out of the shell.
post #9 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
isn't the sound in a shell to your ear the air flowing in and out of the shell.

No, that one is true. There are others which are definitely wrong and some which are dubious at best.

And one -

48. Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death.

- that's nothing more than a news item (or an anectdote).
post #10 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

The Titanic one seems to be untrue:

SOS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quote:
The first ship to transmit an SOS distress call appears to have been the Cunard liner Slavonia on June 10, 1909, according to "Notable Achievements of Wireless" in the September, 1910 Modern Electrics.

- and -

snopes.com: Titanic First Ship to Use an SOS

Cites 6 uses of SOS before Titanic.
post #11 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

3. Is just wrong.

24. The first Harley-Davidson engine was built in 1901 (you attached it to your own bicycle). The first factory assembled H-D motorcycle wasn't sold until 1904. (By contrast you could buy a Hildebrand & Wolfmuller motorcycle in 1894)

32. No, the skin retracts

40. Not including some 10,000+ varieties of fish and 1,000,000+ varieties of insect.

49. Just an urban legend that won't die.


But I do have a pretty good fact myself.

51. Restaurant's around the world sell Mahi-Mahi, This unusual hawaiian name is used because people wouldn't order 'Dolphin Fish' because it is often confused with 'Dolphin' (the adorable sea-mammal)
post #12 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
3. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

The best way I've found in all the years of working in professional kitchens is to refrigerate the onions before cutting them.
post #13 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
21. The verb “cleave” is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
Are you sure?
Clip - fasten; detach
Fast - quick; unmoving
Garnish - enhance; curtail
Sanction - approve; boycott (Thanks, H!)
Transparent - invisible; obvious
Left - remaining; departed
Strike - hit; miss
Screen - show; hide

There are more.

Quote:
26. Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.
As Al pointed out, it's "Googol", and it's only 100 zeros, not a million zeros.

Quote:
32. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.
What Al said. If we're talking about zombies, however, all bets are off.

Quote:
40. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.
Do insects count? Nothing can see behind itself better than a dragonfly.

Quote:
14. Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, but women’s shirts have the buttons on the left.
That's so we can undress eath other!
post #14 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

I think the only "Fact" seen here is that silly internet lists of "Facts" are probably not "facts" at all.
post #15 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

To paraphrase Disraelli - "The parts that are interesting are not facts, and the parts that are factual are not interesting."
post #16 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
The best way I've found in all the years of working in professional kitchens is to refrigerate the onions before cutting them.

You can also cut it in a bowl of water, but yours is probably more practical.
post #17 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Or you can just suck it up like a man. Good grief.

--
H
post #18 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Dear God, we should just rename the thread "Fifty things we can all pick apart"
post #19 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Reuben
What's the source of this list?
Quote:
13. The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’, but for ‘and’ (in civil proceedings) or ‘against’ (in criminal proceedings).
Not only wrong, but self-evidently wrong. "Versus" means "against", and the "v" doesn't have a different meaning in criminal and civil proceedings.

If it were British in origin, then it would be correct: assuming we (in Singapore) inherited the convention from the Brits, together with their common law and most of our legal system, we do indeed refer to civil and criminal cases differently, as stated, so the "v" does notionally mean different things. And we don't actually use the word "versus" in referring to case names.
post #20 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yee-Ming
If it were British in origin, then it would be correct: assuming we (in Singapore) inherited the convention from the Brits, together with their common law and most of our legal system, we do indeed refer to civil and criminal cases differently, as stated, so the "v" does notionally mean different things. And we don't actually use the word "versus" in referring to case names.
I defer to your knowledge of the British system, although I'd be curious to learn the distinction between criminal and civil case names.

I was speaking of the American legal system, which, despite descending from the British system, differs from it in ways both great (e.g., the American rule on attorneys' fees) and small (we do use the word "versus" in case names).
post #21 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Please someone debunk the sneezing one because I have a sinus problem and blow my nose 24-7...and I wanna live another 365.
post #22 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
16. The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it’s already been digested by a bee.

Here's how they do it:

"In the hive the bees use their "honey stomachs" to ingest and regurgitate the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested. The bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion until the product reaches a desired quality."
post #23 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Originally Posted by Holadem
Or you can just suck it up like a man. Good grief.
H
My mom used to light a wooden match, blow it out, then hold it in her mouth then start cutting the onions. She said the smoldering wood sucked up all the onion fumes. I never tested this but I guess it makes sense.
post #24 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob McLaughlin
My mom used to light a wooden match, blow it out, then hold it in her mouth then start cutting the onions. She said the smoldering wood sucked up all the onion fumes. I never tested this but I guess it makes sense.
I doubt that putting it in the mouth actually did anything.
the same theory works, um in the bathroom.
post #25 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
I doubt that putting it in the mouth actually did anything.

I think the idea is that holding by holding the unburnt end of the match between the teeth you place the burnt end below the eyes and above the offending onion. This would allow the match to do "intercept" the sulfur compounds wafting up from the onion and somehow neutralize them. Color me skeptical. An unlit match is obviously not "burning" anything.

OTOH, a burnt wooden match is basically a tiny piece of charcoal, and charcoal does, indeed, absorb all sorts of fumes and noxious odors. But I doubt the quantity of carbon in a burnt match would make a difference. Goggles and a mask with an activated charcoal filter would be a much better choice.

Quote:
the same theory works, um in the bathroom.

Actually I think the theory here is that the pleasant odor of wood smoke or even burning paper will "mask" other less pleasant odors, not the the match "burns them off."

Regards,

Joe
post #26 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
I defer to your knowledge of the British system, although I'd be curious to learn the distinction between criminal and civil case names.

I don't see how the letter "v" can be said to denote two English words that each begin with the letter "a". Whatever the custom in saying the name of a case out loud it is clear that in all British-derived systems, the "v" still stands for the good old Latin, "versus". (BTW, in American usage it is increasingly common to hear cases spoken of as "Smith vee Jones", rather than "Smith versus Jones." Inevitable, I suppose, in an era when "of" is commonly written in place of "have" an "u" is rapidly supplanting "you.")

I suspect the habit of using "against" for criminal and "and" for civil cases (while leaving "v" in the court documents) arose from a miguided attempt to a) Anglicize the forms and b) draw a distinction between the necessarily adversarial criminal law and the more "civil" arena of civil torts. (I think that distinction is a species of wishful thinking, but I've heard some Americans, including some lawyers, talk about the civil system as primarily one where deals are struck by dispassionate attorneys seeking to protect their clients but also to reach a reasonable compromise. I've also heard other lawyers describe the civil system in terms more appropriate to an especially brutal form of combat, maybe something out of the Roman arena. You pays your money and you takes your choice. Anyway, that's one possible explanation for the split in usage.)

Regards,

Joe

Regards,

Joe
post #27 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joseph DeMartino
the habit of using "against" for criminal and "and" for civil cases (while leaving "v" in the court documents) arose from a miguided attempt
That was my point, Joe. I've never encountered such a "habit". Maybe the use of "and" in civil cases has been adopted in some locales, but AFAIK the prevailing usage is still that of an adversary system. And "v" and "versus" are used interchangeably in spoken parlance, often by the same person.

There's a good reason not to use "and" in place of "versus", and it's that many cases have multiple parties on both sides. If you say, "Smith and Jones and Miller", which "and" is supposed to be a "versus" as opposed to a genuine indication of a common interest?

(I'm reminded of the oft-told story, probably apocryphal, of the lawyer who stood up before the bench and worked himself to heights of rhetorical frenzy on behalf of his client, only to be interrupted by the judge after ten minutes with this simple question: "Counselor, do you represent the plaintiff or the defendant?")
post #28 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Please someone debunk the sneezing one because I have a sinus problem and blow my nose 24-7...and I wanna live another 365.
Good news and bad news: The good news is that no study exists showing this to be a fact. The bad news is that you are continually losing neurons as unused connections in the brain are pruned and new brain connections are formed.
post #29 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
BTW, in American usage it is increasingly common to hear cases spoken of as "Smith vee Jones", rather than "Smith versus Jones."

My poli-sci professor in college was pretty adamant that we say it that way.
post #30 of 70

Re: 50 Interesting Facts

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Hewell
My poli-sci professor in college was pretty adamant that we say it that way.
Where was he (or she) admitted to law practice?
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