Skykat Posted June 12, 2007 Report Posted June 12, 2007 My mum is obsessed with random facts. I have no idea where she gets most of them from but she has a really good memory for retaining them so these are from her. History The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin in World War 2 killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo. 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 causes. In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed Firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase "goodnight, sleep tight". It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month or what we know today as the honeymoon. In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice. In ancient England a person could not have sex unless you had consent of the King (unless you were in the Royal Family). When anyone wanted to have a baby, they got consent of the King, the King gave them a placard that they hung on their door while they were having sex. The placard had F.*.*.*. (Fornication Under Consent of the King) on it. In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.... so the Scottish are responsible for inventing GOLF. The Roman Catholic Church did not acknowledge that the earth revolves around the sun until the mid 1990's. President Kennedy was the fastest random speaker in the world with upwards of 350 words per minute. Until the 1960's men with long hair were not allowed to enter Disneyland. The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the round, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards." Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance. The saying "it's so cold out there it could freeze the balls off a brass monkey" came from when they had old cannons like ones used in the Civil War. The cannonballs were stacked in a pyramid formation, called a brass monkey. When it got extremely cold outside they would crack and break off... Thus the saying. Male v Women / Right v Left Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do. Women blink nearly twice as much as men. Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better. 2,500 left handers die each year using products designed for right handers. Male hospital patients fall out of bed twice as often as female hospital patients. Language There is a seven letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, here, ere, therein, herein. "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. Animals If one places a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit. If you feed a seagull Alka-Seltzer, its stomach will explode. Every year more people are killed by donkeys, than in aircraft crashes Geographical The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start. The number of births in India each year is greater than the entire population of Australia. Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants. Human The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. If you sleep in a cold room, you are more likely to have a bad dream. After eating too much food, your hearing becomes less sharp. On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year General If you toss a penny 10000 times, it will not be heads 5000 times, but more like 4950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom. Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
flutterby Posted June 12, 2007 Report Posted June 12, 2007 Wow Kat that's quite a list! Took a while to read them all but well worth it thanks
Skykat Posted June 12, 2007 Report Posted June 12, 2007 In ancient England a person could not have sex unless you had consent of the King (unless you were in the Royal Family). When anyone wanted to have a baby, they got consent of the King, the King gave them a placard that they hung on their door while they were having sex. The placard had F.*.*.*. (Fornication Under Consent of the King) on it. That's my favourite one. I can't believe she never told me that before! Apparently most of them are from a book, she just has a really good memory for stuff.
Mez83 Posted June 12, 2007 Report Posted June 12, 2007 I like your Mum's random facts! They're funny and interesting.
sevenpuddings Posted June 12, 2007 Report Posted June 12, 2007 In ancient England a person could not have sex unless you had consent of the King (unless you were in the Royal Family). When anyone wanted to have a baby, they got consent of the King, the King gave them a placard that they hung on their door while they were having sex. The placard had F.*.*.*. (Fornication Under Consent of the King) on it. That's my favourite one. I can't believe she never told me that before! Apparently most of them are from a book, she just has a really good memory for stuff. LoL. We got told that in our Society & Culture class. I now love telling people that! If you can curl your tongue, its because one [or both] of your parents can. If you can't, neither of your parents can. Its genetic!
ilovekateritchie Posted June 12, 2007 Report Posted June 12, 2007 If you can curl your tongue, its because one [or both] of your parents can. If you can't, neither of your parents can. Its genetic! My mum can but I can't... I knew it! I'm actually the child of a rich king who will now take me home. A hyena is the animal with the strongest teeth - it can bite anything from a bone to a can in two in only one bite.
rising-flame Posted April 25, 2008 Report Posted April 25, 2008 Polar bears cover their nose with their hand so they can't be seen in the snow! Actually we're not to sure on that one, someone told my mate before she went to the arctic for 6 months in an attempt to freak her out.
rising-flame Posted April 25, 2008 Report Posted April 25, 2008 It's illegal for a woman to eat confectionary on public transport in the UK. The law has never been repealed
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