Stuff You Didn't Know You Didn't Know

mickeyd

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Stuff you didn't know you didn't know!

A collection of items that I have no further need for. Feel free to take what you need and discard the balance.


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Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
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Coca-Cola was originally green.
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It is impossible to lick your elbow.
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The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
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The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%
(now get this...)
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The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
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The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven:

$ 16,400
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The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:
61,000
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair..
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The first novel ever written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer.
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The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

Spades - King David

Hearts - Charlemagne

Clubs - Alexander, the Great

Diamonds - Julius Caesar
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111,111,111 x
111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321
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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 because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
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Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
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Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?

A. Their birthplace
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Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?

A. Obsession
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Q.. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?

A. One thousand
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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?

A. All were invented by women.
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Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?

A. Honey
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Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?

A. Father's Day
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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'
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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.
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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'
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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.
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At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!
 
I remember in elementary school, we had a substitute teacher put up on the blackboard a 6 figure number. She asked us all to stand and one at a time say the number to the class. If we got it right, we remained standing. If we got it wrong we sat. Only one person got it right. She then told us about the whole"and" part. I never forgot that. Funny how some teaching moments have an impact on the rest of your life.
 
Your high school English teacher would disagree and say: "One hundred one".

Just because we put in "and" on our checks, does not make it correct....

I remember in elementary school, we had a substitute teacher put up on the blackboard a 6 figure number. She asked us all to stand and one at a time say the number to the class. If we got it right, we remained standing. If we got it wrong we sat. Only one person got it right. She then told us about the whole"and" part. I never forgot that. Funny how some teaching moments have an impact on the rest of your life.
I also had a substituent teacher who was the actor Martin Landau's sister. At the time he was playing in the TV show Space 1999, we thought it was very cool and asked her questions about him.
 
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Your high school English teacher would disagree and say: "One hundred one".

Just because we put in "and" on our checks, does not make it correct....

That depends on what country you live in. In the US, the "and" is generally eliminated. In other English-speaking countries, the opposite is true.
 
Stuff you didn't know you didn't know!

A collection of items that I have no further need for. Feel free to take what you need and discard the balance.


Coca-Cola was originally green.

This needs to go under "Stuff you didn't know you didn't know you were wrong about"

Coca-Cola Originally Green?

In its place you could add:

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You Didn't Know You Didn't Know You Should Check Your Facts Before Reposting An Internet "Did you know" List.
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Lather, rinse and repeat for many of the other items on your list.

;-)
 
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Mountain Dew was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman as a mixer for moonshine (i.e., homemade whiskey).
 
And what is this thing called a collect call? Was this list made in 1960?:D
It is something you do to contact your bank or credit card company when you have trouble with their card and you are in Croatia or anyplace where the 800 number does not work. Make sure to take the direct dial number with you. It may be on the back of your card but what happens if your card is lost or stolen? You may have to call their 800 number before you go to get that number.
 
My 'favorite' albeit gruesome one: most people know the soviet union suffered the most deaths in WWII (military+civilian).

Not so many know the number two: China, 15m to 20m lives lost.

The united states doesn't even show up in the Top-10.
 
Wow. The number of Chinese casualties is staggering.

Here are some numbers from Wikipedia.

Soviet Union: 20M-27M
China: 15M-20M
Germany: 6.9M-7.4M
Poland: 5.9M-6.0M
Dutch East Indies: 3M-4M
Japan: 2.5M-3.1M
India: 1.6M-2.6M
French Indochina: 1M-2.2M
Yugoslavia: 1M-1.7M

US: 0.42M
 
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Another nitpick. I don't think the P's and Q's expression has anything to do with pints and quarts. Rather, it's simply a reference to Please and Thank-Q.
 
Another nitpick. I don't think the P's and Q's expression has anything to do with pints and quarts. Rather, it's simply a reference to Please and Thank-Q.

Or typesetting hot type--p and d, and q and b are actually different letters but could accidentally be substituted for the other by a careless typesetter.
 
It is something you do to contact your bank or credit card company when you have trouble with their card and you are in Croatia or anyplace where the 800 number does not work. Make sure to take the direct dial number with you. It may be on the back of your card but what happens if your card is lost or stolen? You may have to call their 800 number before you go to get that number.

Regarding Collect calls:
OK, but from the OP

"Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?

A. Father's Day
"

But next time I go to Croatia, I'll be sure to take your advice.
 
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