Unofficial "Interesting but true trivia" thread (1 Viewer)

[Tom Rags]

Hello all-
Like most people, I am full of absolutely useless but interesting information. I figured it would be neat to have a thread where people can post an interesting but true piece of trivia that most others may not be aware of.
Let me kick off the thread with a few trivial pieces off the top of my head:
-Ben Franklin's first book, published right before The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, was entitled Fart Proudly. ... and it meant exactly as it sounds. The book was intended to extoll the virtues of being yourself.
-The Carrier Dome, displayed proudly in my sig and home of the Syracuse Orangemen, is named after Carrier Corp, the largest manufacturer of Air Conditioners in the world. The Carrier Dome does not have air conditioning.
-The NY Yankees were previously the NY Highlanders in the early 20th Century for a couple of years. Previous to being the Highlanders, the team was located in Baltimore, MD where they played as the Baltimore Orioles , winners of 3 consecutive championships in 1894-1896.

 

[TreyP]

I have 2 cats.

My hometown has the longest man-made beach in the world.

 

[Chuck C]

The term "Ms." (for example Ms. Smith or Ms. Hoover) was coined in 1972 following Gloria Steinem's debut of Ms. Magazine.
There were about 85,000,000 TVs in households in 1960 compared to only 17,000 in 1950.

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

The words "Coca-Cola" mean, in most of the world, a soft drink. In China, the words roughly translate as "bite the wax tadpole." Needless to day, they don't call it "Coca-Cola" in China.

The only US President to fulfil every single campaign promise was our 11th, James K Polk. He also died weeks after leaving office from sicknesses incurred by working too hard.

 

[Greg_Y]

The term "Ms." (for example Ms. Smith or Ms. Hoover) was coined in 1972 following Gloria Steinem's debut of Ms. Magazine.

Can you cite a source on this? My Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary doesn't say much on the etymology but it does trace its origin to 1949.

Most of the "Interesting But True Trivia" e-mails I receive contain facts that are neither. Many of the "facts" are easily debunked by snopes.com or by doing a simple search on the Internet.

 

[Greg_Y]

The words "Coca-Cola" mean, in most of the world, a soft drink. In China, the words roughly translate as "bite the wax tadpole." Needless to day, they don't call it "Coca-Cola" in China.

And this is a perfect example of what I said above. It's not really true.
http://www.snopes2.com/cokelore/tadpole.htm

 

[Chuck C]

Greg....what I should have said was Ms. didn't become a household name until Ms. Magazine was published.

My source is Alan Winkler, Ph.D for Yale, book-writer, distiguished head of the History dept. at Miami University, and my history teacher.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

In Spanish No-Va means roughly "It doesn't go" imagine GM's headache when they introduced the Chevy Nova into Mexico.(I could be wrong about this though)

 

[Greg_Y]

Bhagi,
http://www.snopes2.com/autos/business/business.htm#nova

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

If you look at the details (when you click the "NOVA" on the web page) it does say that NO VA means doesn't go in Spanish. But it adds that it didn't affect sales of the car.

 

[ken thompson]

There are more human beings alive today than all of the people who have ever lived and died prior to today.

 

[Brian Perry]

There are more human beings alive today than all of the people who have ever lived and died prior to today

I'm fairly sure that is incorrect. I believe the current estimate is that 75 billion people have lived and died.

 

[ken thompson]

Not if the population doubles every thirty years like they say.

 

[Evan Case]

Isabel Sanford (Weezy Jefferson) was born in 1917(!), thus 21 years older than her sitcom husband, Sherman Helmsley (George Jefferson), who was born in 1938.

That means Sanford was 58 when the show began and nearly 70 at the conclusion. Helmsley was only 37, ending the run before even reaching 50.

Evan

 

[MickeS]

Maybe we should call this thread "Debunking false internet trivia" instead.
/Mike

 

[Zen Butler]

Amen is the same in more languages than any other word. Taxi is second. Compliments of the Bathroom Reader

 

[Bill Catherall]

A "spermologer" is a collector of trivial or unusual data.
Describe anyone here?

 

[Jon_Are]

This stuff is right up my alley, Tom; I got a million of 'em. I'll start with this one:
If our whole galaxy were the size of a quarter, our solar system would be less than the size of a molecule. Other galaxies would be from a foot to 1,000 feet away.
Jon
appreciating the Weezy info

 

[Kirk Gunn]

If the world was the size of a basketball, the shuttle would orbit a 1/4 inch over the surface.

(source unknown - but at an orbital height of ~ 240 miles, it seems accurate)

 

[Gui A]

You can move your adam's apple from side to side.