Nuggets of knowledge

UncleRuckus · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:08

Greetings GD,

If you are anything like me you like to learn new things. So, the proposal of this thread is to share anything which you may have learnt that you found interesting, be it from education, life experience or knowledge passed down.

I suppose I should lead be example and start!

The term 'robot' is attributed to the Czech Karel Čapek, who wrote a play in 1920 called RUR.

The word 'robot' comes from the Czech word robota, which means forced labour.

Hatter The Mad · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:10

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/

UncleRuckus · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:15

Hatter The Mad said:
http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/

This is for snippets of information not single threads for each thing learnt.

The Dread Pirate · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:18

Today I learned I can believe it's not Butter!

UncleRuckus · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:21

Hedgehogs are named as such because of the grunting noises they make. In Japanese they are called harinezumi which translates to spiked mouse.

StoutMeister · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:24

Don't eat yellow snow.

isonomicjedi · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:27

If you drop a piece of buttered toast.

It will land.

elmarko · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:31

isonomicjedi said:
If you drop a piece of buttered toast.

It will land.

Did you know, that if you drop two pieces of buttered toast, top-side down first.

You have parkinson's disease.

UncleRuckus · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:32

You lot are absolute *******s!

G-MAN2004 · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:35

Ferruccio Lamborghini, founder of Automobili Lamborghini in 1963, made tractors until he went to Enzo Ferrari to have a little moan about a Ferrari he purchased. Lamborghini felt snubbed by Ferrari and in a defiant stance decided to start producing high-end sports cars himself. Already a rich man due to his businesses, Ferruccio set up the best facilities to facilitate his idea and the end result as they say, is history.

PapaLazaru · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:41

I knew this. I have even seen a Lambo Tractor.

Anyway, I did actually learn the other day that the orange coloured carrot that we eat, was not originally orange. The Dutch bred them in the seventeenth century to honour William of Orange. They are a cross-breed between the more wild white carrot and cultivated purple carrot (of which you still get in places like Turkey). Purple ones taste better as well.

I want to see them back on our shelves.

MickeyFinns · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:44

Lichtenstein and Uzbekistan are the only two doubly landlocked countries on earth (landlocked by landlocked countries).

Spain shares a land border with Morocco bringing its total land borders to 5 countries.

UncleRuckus · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:53

You may spot these if you are taking a walk in the woods.They are called King Alfred cakes(Daldinia concentrica) typically found growing on Ash.They make great fire starters and if you collect enough of them you could even be used as a main fuel for a fire.

Curio · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:55

A blue whale has a heart rate of 9 beats per minute.

A hummingbird has a heart rate of 1200 beats per minute.

isonomicjedi · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:55

UncleRuckus said:
You may spot these if you are taking a walk in the woods.They are called King Alfred cakes(Daldinia concentrica) typically found growing on Ash.They make great fire starters and if you collect enough of them you could even be used as a main fuel for a fire.

Why aren't we farming these as a replacement to current fuels?

I sense a business opportunity.

UncleRuckus · 28 Jun 2013 at 14:58

isonomicjedi said:
Why aren't we farming these as a replacement to current fuels?

I sense a business opportunity.

While they are pretty awesome they don't burn for as long as coal and some require doing a bit of climbing to reach.

Saying that though I have seen them growing on old posts... hmmmmm you may be on to something.

isonomicjedi · 28 Jun 2013 at 15:01

UncleRuckus said:
While they are pretty awesome they don't burn for as long as coal and some require doing a bit of climbing to reach.

Saying that though I have seen them growing on old posts... hmmmmm you may be on to something.

Surely we can genetically modify them to burn in a better method.

Maccapacca · 28 Jun 2013 at 15:03

The whirring from a cash machine is just a speaker

Raumarik · 28 Jun 2013 at 15:05

The most common password in the world is "password"

I find it amusing that "letmein" is in the top 10 seeing as it was used as the local admin password in a council I once worked in.

Havana_UK · 28 Jun 2013 at 15:06

I learnt the thing about purple carrots from reading this post.

Nuggets of knowledge

Tea Drinker