Things you should have known about but until recently, you didn't.

jay0906 · 12 Mar 2017 at 10:54

Sliver said:
I'd be willing to do that on Sunday as well !

Your words not mine!

jay0906 · 12 Mar 2017 at 10:56

It is legal for a male to urinate in public, as long it is on the rear wheel of his motor vehicle and his right hand is on the vehicle.

bainbridge · 12 Mar 2017 at 11:28

I've been tying my laces the wrong way for 35 years.

Only recently found out that right over left gives a stronger bow and the laces sit straight.

Saw it on a Ted talk.

h4rm0ny · 12 Mar 2017 at 11:52

del_piero said:
Way older than I care to admit when I found out that Waterloo is in Belgium.

Related, I always the thought the line in the Abba song "Waterloo" went, 'I was defeated in Walthemstow'. I was confused for many, many years but never got around to actually looking up the lyrics until recently. Turns out it's "I was defeated. You won the war."

Angilion · 12 Mar 2017 at 23:20

jay0906 said:
Excluding Sundays, it is perfectly legal to shoot a Scotsman with a bow and arrow.

I thought this thread was for things that are true.

Dave M · 13 Mar 2017 at 00:14

October is so named because it was the eighth month at the time.

Hiijinx · 13 Mar 2017 at 00:54

The FedEx logo has an arrow hidden in it.

sHo0sH · 13 Mar 2017 at 06:56

I think i was about 25 when i realised that a raisin was infact just a dried grape

jay0906 · 13 Mar 2017 at 08:03

Angilion said:
I thought this thread was for things that are true.

It is true. It's still a law though I'm not sure why it hasn't been phased out yet.

Deleted member 77746 · 13 Mar 2017 at 08:09

Radiator is called a radiator because it emits heat lol!

I never knew this until now shocking I know but oh well!

garnett · 13 Mar 2017 at 08:22

Thekwango said:
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/medieval-weapons.18770918/page-6

read towards the end. a lot of very bold claims being made - I think we may have a ninja or 2 on the forums!!

Many thanks for the link. Most entertaining. Truly the stuff of vintage computer enthusiast chatrooms.

Angilion · 13 Mar 2017 at 10:56

jay0906 said:
It is true. It's still a law though I'm not sure why it hasn't been phased out yet.

I'm fairly sure the answer is no.

If it is still a law, please provide a reference.

If it was ever a law, please provide a reference.

England and Scotland weren't even at war most of the time and even countries at war didn't legalise random murders. It wasn't even legal in England to murder Frenchmen and those two countries were at war more often than not. The English/Scottish border region was quite unstable for quite a while, but I know of no evidence that any such law ever existed even locally.

Jono · 13 Mar 2017 at 11:21

robgmun said:

Ewww, chicken incest.

bulletv1 · 13 Mar 2017 at 11:23

The hole in the back of a spaghetti server spoon is the size of '1 portion'

bulletv1 · 13 Mar 2017 at 11:32

Dave M said:
October is so named because it was the eighth month at the time.

The order made sense before they added Jan and Feb to the start (did line up the seasons though). And changed Quintilis and Sextilis to honor Julius Ceasar and Augustus

Martius — in honor of Mars
Aprilis — in honor of Fortuna
Maius — in honor of Maia
Iunius — in honor of Juno
Quintilis — fifth month
Sextilis — sixth month
September — seventh month
October — eighth month
November — ninth month
December — 10th month

Xire · 13 Mar 2017 at 12:49

Burned_Alive said:
You're not supposed to rinse (with water) after you brush your teeth.

Thought that was just mouth wash.

antijoke · 13 Mar 2017 at 12:56

Tony Williams

Crowort · 13 Mar 2017 at 12:57

Xire said:
Thought that was just mouth wash.

My dentist told me about not rinsing after brushing. Seems the fluoride is better sitting about in your saliva to bond to the teeth. He also told me the rinsing bit is to stop kids swallowing too much of it. Anyway I've started doing it.

Dirk Diggler · 13 Mar 2017 at 13:08

Ikea is pronounced "Iky-ah"
Braun is pronounced "Brown"

Clav · 13 Mar 2017 at 14:46

bulletv1 said:
The order made sense before they added Jan and Feb to the start (did line up the seasons though). And changed Quintilis and Sextilis to honor Julius Ceasar and Augustus

Martius — in honor of Mars
Aprilis — in honor of Fortuna
Maius — in honor of Maia
Iunius — in honor of Juno
Quintilis — fifth month
Sextilis — sixth month
September — seventh month
October — eighth month
November — ninth month
December — 10th month

On a similar theme, the meanings of the days names, mostly from Norse or Roman gods.

Sunday - Literally Suns Day from a Roman feast day.
Monday - Moons day, to celebrate the moon goddess.
Tuesday - Named after the Norse god Tyr
Wednesday - Named after the Norse god Wodan (Odin)
Thursday - Named after the Norse god Thor.
Friday - Named after the Norse god Frigg.
Saturday - Named after the Roman god Saturn.

The origin and evolution of words is a fascinating subject!