useless facts

Soldato
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In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of Thumb".


Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.


The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone


Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.


Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.


Coca-Cola was originally green.


It is impossible to lick your elbow.


The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000


Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.


The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.


Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king in history: Spades - King David, Hearts - Charlemagne, Clubs -Alexander, the Great and Diamonds - Julius Caesar


111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321


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, which 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 your 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.


Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it :


I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheear at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
 
Norbert666 said:
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, which we know today as the honeymoon.

Not sure on a lot of the others but I know this one isn't true - sorry
 
Norbert666 said:
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheear at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Thats brilliant.

So how can people with dyslexia not read things?
 
Norbert666 said:
Coca-Cola was originally green.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/green.asp

Norbert666 said:
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.

Apparantly this is just a myth too (been watching too much QI!)
 
Defcon5 said:
Thats brilliant.

So how can people with dyslexia not read things?

People with dyslexia can read things. Just they read things diffrently and it usally takes more time for them to read them and understand the meaning of what they have read. Personally I usally miss out whole words while reading and end up haveing to re-read the words again because it made no sense the first time.

Or I read things very slowly so I don't miss out words, very annoying while playing Quiz machines in pubs, friends have usally awnsered the question before I've read the question and then i'm only helpful on hard questions...which I don't know the awnser anyway!

...And my spelling is terrible, would run in through word but i'll leave it as it is for you to see :p
 
Norbert666 said:
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheear at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
I saw this on TV once in a documentary, really amazing, I can actually read that almost as fast as normal text and English isn't even my native language :)
 
The Golf one "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden" is incorrect.

Like most modern words, the word "golf" derives from older languages and dialects. In this case, the languages in question are medieval Dutch and old Scots.
The medieval Dutch word "kolf" or "kolve" meant "club." It is believed that word passed to the Scots, whose old Scots dialect transformed the word into "golve," "gowl" or "gouf."

By the 16th Century, the word "golf" had emerged.
 
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