Useless Trivia: Tell us something we wouldn't know.

[MTL_4runner]

My wife is constantly telling me I am full of useless trivia (she calls it discovery channel trivia :laugh: ), but for some reason I just can't ever seem to get enough and I love finding out something new I didn't know about or hadn't heard of, etc. I figured why not start a thread because maybe I'm not the only one like this and we can all learn some new stuff in the process (always a dangerous thing!). Anyway the rule would be it should be some fact that can be backed up by proof from sources. It can be about almost anything, but it should have some sort of "AHA, that's where that came from!" or "WOW, I never would have thought of that!" or "COOL, so that how that was done!" factor to it. The subjects are almost limitless and could be from Medicine, Weapons, Battles, Biology, Astronomy, Art, Culture, whatever you think others might find interesting too.....I'll just leave it up to the imagination.

I'll start us off.....

The first absorbable sutures were actually insects. As far back as ancient India and Egypt ants were used to hold wounds closed long enough for the body to heal them naturally. The technique involved holding the ant (commonly used species include: Carpenter ants, Leaf-cutting ants, Army ants) over a wound and its body squeezed so that its jaws instinctively shut, clamping the flesh together. The body was then pinched off. This process was later used by the Roman legions as a primitive, but effective medical technique during battle for injured soldiers and would often dress the wound with raw honey (which is actually an actibacterial) for a speedier recovery and to prevent infection.

Let's hear some more!

[Ric]

Robert E. Lee, of the Confederate Army, remains the only person, to date, to have graduated from the West Point military academy without a single demerit.

[Cebby]

The Caesar Salad originated in Tijuana Mexico.

[Erich_870]

Figuring out this trivia question won me a 40oz beer on a flight during college. :smokin:

"Where is the only American flag that is NEVER, EVER, taken down? Not even once...

I'll post up the answer after a couple guesses. :tongueout:

Erich

[saulgoode]

The word Golf is actually an acronym for Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.

[Cebby]

Figuring out this trivia question won me a 40oz beer on a flight during college. :smokin:

"Where is the only American flag that is NEVER, EVER, taken down? Not even once...

I'll post up the answer after a couple guesses. :tongueout:

Erich


The one on the moon?

[Erich_870]

D'oh :spit: Good thing you weren't on my flight :flipoff:

Yeah, that's the one, nice going :thumbup:

Erich

[Cebby]

Lucky guess.... :D

Who is the most famous person from Myrtle Beach, SC?

Answer: Vanna White

[garrett]

The word Golf is actually an acronym for Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.


http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/golf.asp

[saulgoode]

The word Golf is actually an acronym for Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.


http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/golf.asp


I guess i can't argue with that? :headscratch:

[MTL_4runner]

I guess i can't argue with that? :headscratch:


I had always thought the same thing myself so it's good to clear that up.
No worries, just give us another one!

Here's another....Early American colony furniture was often made of common woods found nearby where the pieces were built (like maple, pine or oak). Mahogany became very popular initially because it was cheap. So why was it so cheap? Many of the goods imported to the colonies from the tropics came in crates and the crates were made of, you guessed it, mahogany.

[Seanz0rz]

a dutch guy, Jacobus Spyker, in 1902 invented 4 wheel drive as we know it today.

[Paul H.]

The highest wind speed ever recorded by doppler radar was 301mph during the Oklahoma City tornado of 1999.

[Cebby]

I guess i can't argue with that? :headscratch:


I had always thought the same thing myself so it's good to clear that up.
No worries, just give us another one!

Here's another....Early American colony furniture was often made of common woods found nearby where the pieces were built (like maple, pine or oak). Mahogany became very popular initially because it was cheap. So why was it so cheap? Many of the goods imported to the colonies from the tropics came in crates and the crates were made of, you guessed it, mahogany.


Not so rare these days either. I worked for a global office furniture manufacturer 12 years or so ago - we regularly got furniture out of Brazil packed in crates and on skids made of mahogany and other woods we'd consider exotic.

[neliconcept]

Who is Vanna White?

lol

another

bugs dont actually splat on your window, due to the downforce of wind they explode before impact.

[Seanz0rz]

vanna white is the chick on wheel of fortune.

[MTL_4runner]

bugs dont actually splat on your window, due to the downforce of wind they explode before impact.


I've heard that before, but never saw any proof that's what actually happens.

I found this but that was all:
"[Hostetler] even had an e-mail argument with physicists about whether insects explode when they hit the windshield or the moment before they hit it (when the acceleration up the windshield might be great enough to rip them apart). No conclusion was reached."
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4136/is_200405/ai_n9450269/pg_2

[Cebby]

bugs dont actually splat on your window, due to the downforce of wind they explode before impact.


I've heard that before, but never saw any proof that's what actually happens.

I found this but that was all:
"[Hostetler] even had an e-mail argument with physicists about whether insects explode when they hit the windshield or the moment before they hit it (when the acceleration up the windshield might be great enough to rip them apart). No conclusion was reached."
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4136/is_200405/ai_n9450269/pg_2



Sounds like good fodder for a Mythbusters episode.

[mastacox]

bugs dont actually splat on your window, due to the downforce of wind they explode before impact.


I'd put money on "busted" if they did this in Mythbusters... You can physically hear the "splat" when the bug hits the glass. It would take some very serious acceleration to liquefy a bug before it hits a surface, and cars just don't travel fast enough IMO.

[Osiris]

where did the word "okay" or "OK" come from?

I'll let you percolate on that one.

Osiris

Taking a while to get this one to bounce out of the brain, eh?

[surf4runner]

I'd put money on "busted" if they did this in Mythbusters... You can physically hear the "splat" when the bug hits the glass. It would take some very serious acceleration to liquefy a bug before it hits a surface, and cars just don't travel fast enough IMO.

i agree. :popcorn:
on a M/C, insects, etc hit you intact(even off a fairing) 2" away on a face shield is a great close up :yikes:

[surf4runner]

-if the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

-bats always turn left when exiting a cave!

-it takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.

-a duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

[Seanz0rz]

duck quacks do echo, we put one in the stairwell one day, and heres a site that proved that it does echo.

http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/acoustics_info/duck/

as for the orgin of ok, wasnt it a political slogan in the mid 1800s? it was some abbreviation for something, and it made it into being that OK meant good or all right.

[surf4runner]

"Ducks don't quack near reflecting surfaces. You need a large reflecting surface, a mountain or building for the sound to reflect off. Maybe ducks don't hang around reflecting surfaces." - BUSTED :D

OK was used in March 1839 as an abbreviation for all correct, the joke being that neither the O nor the K was correct. Originally spelled with periods, this term outlived most similar abbreviations owing to its use in President Martin Van Buren's 1840 campaign for reelection.

[Seanz0rz]

w00t, i know em, i just cant think of any of mine to post up.

[Osiris]

OK! you guys are right on! children would use abbreviations for phrases & lingo (much like today's texting) and OK stood for Oll Korrect (all correct). The abbreviations were largely misspellings when determined. OK became popular mainstream when a Chicago newspaper used it in their editorial in the 1920's.

from discovery channel!

[96 Runner]

If the family name remained in place, "Toyota" would actually be "Toyoda."

The terms "upper case" and "lower case" actually refer to the type cases used for letterpress printing or typesetting and the location of the blocks on the desk.

The world's fastest animal is a Peregrine Falcon.

[Seanz0rz]

president Harrison has the shortest presidency to date, 31 days in office until he died from pneumonia

[MTL_4runner]

While vitamin A is important to the development of eyesight, you only need a little bit. The idea that the more carrots you eat the better your vision gets is actually a relic of a World War II-era military disinformation campaign. According to the online World Carrot Museum, British intelligence began spreading the myth during the blitz as a plausible explanation for why their fighter pilots were suddenly able to spot Nazi planes at night. In reality, the British had simply developed a better radar system and didn’t want the enemy to find out about it. :laugh:

[Osiris]

How can you get 6 hits for one team in one inning (3 outs) and NOT score a run?

[mastacox]

How can you get 6 hits for one team in one inning (3 outs) and NOT score a run?



Foul balls.

[Cebby]

How can you get 6 hits for one team in one inning (3 outs) and NOT score a run?



Foul balls.


Nah, foul balls don't count as hits.

That's a tough one...

[Osiris]

How can you get 6 hits for one team in one inning (3 outs) and NOT score a run?



Foul balls.


Nah, foul balls don't count as hits.

That's a tough one...


Correct. fouls are not hits. another hint: force outs do not count as hits also.

I get you two hits to start you off.
first batter singles.
0 outs, man on first, no runs, second batter up
second batter...you guessed it, singles
0 outs, man on first and second, no runs
Third batter up...

[slosurfer]

Three of the hits are singles with the outs coming by a runner trying to advance. (i.e. Man on first and second, single to right field with runner being thrown out at the plate. Counts as a hit for the batter.)

[MTL_4runner]

Let's not turn the thread into a 21 questions game, the idea was to throw up the answer to something cool that people might have never though of, wondered about, etc. If someone calls BS, then we can either back it up, call it bunk or send it in for a future Mythbusters episode for them to test. I don't want to be harsh, but let's have the answer on the baseball trivia and move on. Sounds like you got a few more so let's hear the answers off the bat.

If you want to start a seperate "guess my answer" thread, go for it. :thumbup:

[Osiris]

okey dokey, eh.

first batter singles
second batter singles
third batter singles
guy at third picked off
fourth batter singles
guy at third picked off
fifth batter singles

2 outs, bases loaded, 5 hits, no runs
(getting 5 hits, no runs and 2 outs can be done several ways)

the crown jewel is the sixth batter hits the ball and the ball hits the man running from third to home in fair territory! An out is called by runner being hit by a live ball hit from batter and batter is awarded a hit.

This is why all third base runners lead off in foul territory.


Oh yeah. something you didn't know. My cat's breath smells like tuna!!

[Texas Jim]

The state of Michigan has the most continuous water front property, TJ

[bamachem]

at the facility that i'm currently overseeing a project at, one 20-hour string of production from one production/canning line is so much that if you laid the cans end-to-end, they would stretch for approx 103 miles. that's a lot of cans!

also, the process is so automated that when you buy a can of the product, there will be only 1 set of fingerprints on the can - the stock boy who put it on the shelf. at nowhere in the process of making the cans, filling with product, sealing, thermal processing, labeling, packaging, stacking them on a pallet, storing them in the warehouse, distributing the pallets to the clients, and then delivering them to each individual stores are they ever (normally) touched by human hands.

[MTL_4runner]

I heard this on the radio the other day....

The US has the highest percentage of their population incarcerated than any other country in the world.
Given that, it's no surprise it didn't do well on this poll: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18942815/

[fustercluck]

Elvis had a twin brother named Garon, who died at birth, which is why Elvis' middle name was spelled Aron; in honor of his brother.

[fustercluck]

More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.








well, the Democrat National mascot IS a donkey....:D

[Markduce]

An Apple G5 PowerPc was used as the prototype to the Xbox360.

[MTL_4runner]

Chewing or making a tea from the bark of a willow tree is a natural substitute for aspirin and has been used by many cultures since antiquity including the ancient Chinese, Greeks, Romans, Native American Indians and American settlers. It's effects although more harsh on the stomach are actually longer lasting and safer than aspirin.

The German company Bayer was forced to relinquish its aspirin patent as part of the Treaty of Versailles following World War I. This action was demanded by the Allies as part of the war reparations. Ouch! :spank:

[Texas Jim]

He's a goodie that I learned as a realestate appraiser.

Map companies like Rand Menially, when they print their Atlas, or Maps they purposely print mistakes into their map. This protects their trade marks of their maps. If you ever come across them as an appraiser you are required by the Fed Government to report it to the map making company and give the company your word that you will report all error's you find in their maps, so that they will give you permission to photo copy, their maps for your appraisal report...

Now here you are,[some unsepcting guy], driving down the road depending on this map to help you get some where and you come across one of these trade mark protector's... Isn't that just a big kick in the crotch!!! :tongueout: TJ

[Erich_870]

He's a goodie that I learned as a realestate appraiser.

Map companies like Rand Menially, when they print their Atlas, or Maps they purposely print mistakes into their map. This protects their trade marks of their maps. If you ever come across them as an appraiser you are required by the Fed Government to report it to the map making company and give the company your word that you will report all error's you find in their maps, so that they will give you permission to photo copy, their maps for your appraisal report...

Now here you are,[some unsepcting guy], driving down the road depending on this map to help you get some where and you come across one of these trade mark protector's... Isn't that just a big kick in the crotch!!! :tongueout: TJ


I don't get it :headscratch: How do intentional inaccuracies protect their trademark? And how would the Fed Gov. prove that an appraiser found a mistake but didn't care to inform the map company?

Erich

[bamachem]

here's one...

if an airplane were placed on a huge runway designed like a treadmill and as the plane's engines sped up, so did the treadmill,

YES, THE PLANE WOULD TAKE OFF! :D



What did George Washington and the other participants in the Constitutional Convention do after the covention came to a close?

They hung out at the bar.

[YotaGirl]

could you explain the plane on a treadmill to me....I always thought there needed to be airflow over the wing to generate lift.

[MTL_4runner]

could you explain the plane on a treadmill to me....I always thought there needed to be airflow over the wing to generate lift.


It does.

Here's the original problem:

Imagine a plane is sitting on a massive conveyor belt, as wide and as long as a runway. The conveyer belt is designed to exactly match the speed of the wheels, moving in the opposite direction. Can the plane take off?

Here's enough reading on that problem to thoroughly confuse you :D :
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/12/11/airplanetreadmill-pr.html

If you don't want to read them all this one is a pretty good analogy IMHO:

It's really amazing how many very intelligent people think about this question in the wrong manner. It's not a trick question, just a tricky question. The comment about friction of the ball bearings in the wheels is really negligible to understanding why the plane WILL take off. The key is this: Airplane wheels do not supply any forward motion for the airplane; they are the equivalent of putting roller skates on your feet. When touching the ground, the wheels spin at the exact speed of the airplane, but that is because the engines are pushing the airplane forward, not because the wheels are moving.

All of the forward motion of the plane comes from the planes engines, which are in no way affected by the treadmill. The engines are grabbing air that is standing still in front of them, and pushing it away from the plane, the wheels are only along for the ride. Imagine if you had roller skates on your feet and were standing on a treadmill holding a stationary rope that outstretches in front of you. As the treadmill tries to push you backwards, your grasp on the rope keeps you stationary and your wheels spin. Now, someone begins to reel that rope in. The treadmill can try and compensate, but it only means your wheels spin faster, you will move forward in relative space. The same is true for the plane, only instead of grabbing a rope, the plane grabs the still air in front of it. If you were a passenger on such plane, you wouldn't even notice anything different was happening.


Bottom line is the answer is yes, it will take off.

[YotaGirl]

hmmm that's interesting...thanks for the explaination! :D

[97t4rnr]

West Virginia has more people on disability from workmans comp than California. California's population is more than 10 times that of West Virginia.

[neliconcept]

prob been beatin to death, but a tigers spots and orange coloring is really its skin, not fur.

[Seanz0rz]

Waterman Ave. in San Bernardino, CA takes its name from a train that used to bring water from the Arrowhead Spring to the valley below.

San Bernardino is also the birthplace of McDonalds.