109 Random Facts You Should Know

[Gray]

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=45930


Some Highlights


47 The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

57 Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because Colgate translates into the command "go hang Yourself."

55 A psychology student in New York rented out her spare room to a Carpenter in order to nag him constantly and study his reactions. After Weeks of needling, he snapped and beat her repeatedly with an axe Leaving her mentally retarded

62 If the population of China walked past you in single line, the line Would never end because of the rate of reproduction

63 China has more English speakers than the United States.

[Midoriko87]

Got to Number 2 and felt the need to post. A duck's quack does echo, I was watching a MythBuster-y show on Animal Planet Wednesday Night. Actually, that was my first time hearing that one... Where do people get this stuff from?

[Hara!]

47 The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

lol no.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Medina

[Midoriko87]

lol no.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Medina

I thought they were talkin' like, "Mom AND Pop." A couple.

I'm pretty sure the domestication one is wrong. Honey, too. Continent one as well. Elephant thing.

[Old Ape Face]

49
You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV.

and I sleep more then i watch tv so... I'm pretty fit :P

[Holy Knight]

Many of these are factually incorrect. It sounds more like an amalgam of all those "did you know? ..." factoids that are prevalent on the internet simply because they sound good.

Case in point,

23
The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

10 to 20 minutes is closer to the average (It takes me 20 to 45 minutes. Great for thinking, but frustrating at times).

Also, you won't die without sleeping for 10 days. You can be severely impaired by the end of the week, but it takes longer than 10 days. I'm uncertain there is any limit given I've read an article detailing the case of a man living in, I think, Malaysia, where he suffers from chronic insomnia. Consequently, he hasn't slept in 33 years. I pity the poor man, though he stands as living proof sleep is not always necessary to live.

I won't correct every single one of these. Suffice it to say that these should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Sushikins]

My favorite was:
70
The longest place name still in use is: Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturi- Pukakpikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenua---anatahu - a New Zealand hill.

[Old Ape Face]

I can believe the fact that you burn more calories sleeping then watching TV, but that all depends on how you watch TV.

[superplough]

My favorite was:
70
The longest place name still in use is: Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturi- Pukakpikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenua---anatahu - a New Zealand hill.

I have the name of that hill written on a huge banner in my kitchen, and whenever I have visitors, I make the try to pronounce it.

[autsiticanime]

lol no.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Medina

That is just Fudged up. How she could've gotten pregnant is even more...EWWWWWWWWWWW.

11 Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.


Talk about a perfectionist.

52 The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.

No wonder it took him so long. He was so distracted wondering where the eyebrows were, he couldn't paint the lips...

72 Scientists in Australia's Parkes Observatory thought they had positive Proof of alien life, when they began picking up radio-waves from space. However, after investigation, the radio emissions were traced to a Microwave in the building.

Must...resist...urge...to...write...epic ...fail.

78 The name of all the continents ends with the same letter that they start with.

What, you forgot North America and South America?

83 It is impossible to lick your elbow
Actually, some people can. I remember seeing this on TV.

[ThePhillyFlash]

2- A duck's quack doesn't echo. No one knows why.
Adam and Jamie need to tackle that! :lol:

23- The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
Then I guess I'm not average. Most nights it takes me anywhere from ten to fifteen.

25- The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.
And it's on the outside in the Chinese Zodiac. No wonder Kyo from Fruits Basket is pissed off all the time! :P

33- Yo-Yos were once used as weapons in the Philippines.
Wow! And I thought only delinquent Japanese schoolgirls turned secret police agents in corny '80's circa movies used them that way! :P

36- Blue is the favorite color of 80 percent of Americans.
Once again, I'm the odd man out. My favorite color is purple.

83- It is impossible to lick your elbow.
I just tried that. Quite right.

My, those were certainly fun!

[Bisu]

2- A duck's quack doesn't echo. No one knows why.
Adam and Jamie need to tackle that! :lol: They already did. Eighth episode of the first season. I don't really remember how it went, as it's been years since I last saw the episode, but I know it was busted.

29: It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. Again, NO! Mythbusters, episode 15, season 5.


83: It is impossible to lick your elbow.
Nah. Just to show you how possible it is, I youtubed it and found a great (and hot) result (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPmGxwcYAJE&feature=channel_page). :P

[superplough]

She is cute. Nice elbow licking ability there.

"oh yeah and for all you foot fetish weirdos" What's so weird about foot fetish? :(

[Leader Desslock]

Some specific comments:

2- A duck's quack doesn't echo. No one knows why.

Whoever wrote this never grew up near ducks.


23- The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

Unless I've been awake for about four days, I'm not capable of falling asleep that fast. On a good night, it might only take me 30 minutes to an hour. On a bad night... I won't fall asleep at all. Or the next night, or the next...

33- Yo-Yos were once used as weapons in the Philippines.

Wow! And I thought only delinquent Japanese schoolgirls turned secret police agents in corny '80's circa movies used them that way! :P
I thought I was probably the only person who'd ever seen that flick. :lol:


50 - A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a Few weeks.

I think the kicker there is the word 'total'. Even chronic insomniacs enter the brainwave patterns of sleep in brief flashes, even if they never quite manage the 'lay down and snore' variety. If you apply the word total to "never enters the sleep brainwave patterns", then... maybe.

I think it more likely that someone made this up off the top of their head.


70
The longest place name still in use is: Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturi- Pukakpikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenua---anatahu - a New Zealand hill.

Eh, we've got Lake Chargogagogmanchaugagochaubunagungamaug. Either one's a mouthful.

[Old Ape Face]

I have the name of that hill written on a huge banner in my kitchen, and whenever I have visitors, I make the try to pronounce it.

Try saying a single word in a 19 syllable sentence.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

Try saying a single word in a 19 syllable sentence.

What are you talking about? Am I missing something here?

[Midoriko87]

What are you talking about? Am I missing something here?

Oh, Good, I'm not the only one...

[Old Ape Face]

What, you forgot North America and South America?

I think they are referring to the Americas in general.

They don't include the north or south part of the actual name.

What are you talking about? Am I missing something here?

The longest name in New Zealand. the first word is like 26 syllables

[Lacan]

12-Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to slow a film down so you could see his moves. That's the opposite of the norm.

Number 12 is epic win.

[Old Ape Face]

43
The average person presses the snooze button on their alarm clock three Times each
morning.

Wrong I press it like 20 times before I wake up, and then i just turn off the clock after that.

55
A psychology student in New York rented out her spare room to a Carpenter in order to nag him constantly and study his reactions. After Weeks of needling, he snapped and beat her repeatedly with an axe Leaving her mentally retarded

Am I Evil? Yes I Am...

[Midoriko87]

We understand what they tried to do with the Continents, that's cheating, though.

Also, a name isn't a sentence... That was some odd phrasing, son. ;)

[GreatNekoKoneko]

Nah. Just to show you how possible it is, I youtubed it and found a great (and hot) result (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPmGxwcYAJE&feature=channel_page). :P

... nice elbow licking ability. that tongue has talent. and potential.

[Midoriko87]

:angry: That girl is cheating! Her tongue is abnormally long! That...or she gots little baby arms, and I wasn't paying attention...

[Old Ape Face]

She talks too much, I didn't watch the whole thing. Still hot.

[Caster13]

lol no.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Medina

That is soooooooooooo wrong on an uncountable number of levels.:x

[Meggles]

57
Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because Colgate translates into the command "go hang Yourself."

The same thing with the Chevy Nova. No Va means no go in Spanish.

[Gibb]

A friend of mine can lick his elbow, and he's proven it numerous times when people have challenged him.

[Ken-Ohki]

100
In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

Bzzzt, wrong answer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tame_Silver_Fox

[Gray]

Bzzzt, wrong answer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tame_Silver_Fox


Except for the fact that isn't a new species of animal.

[Ken-Ohki]

While your reading of the sentence "no new animals have been domesticated" is technically correct I think what they meant is that we haven't domesticated any animals for 4000 years. New species of animals are rarely if ever found that didn't exist before and I can only think of one such case when scientists made a new species of rat.

[KatayokuのTenshi]

My favorite was:
70
The longest place name still in use is: Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturi- Pukakpikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenua---anatahu - a New Zealand hill.

And there was me thinking that it was Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlll lantysiliogogogoch. :(

No wait, what about:

Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinmahin tarayutthayamahadilokphopnopparatrajatha niburiromudomrajaniwesmahasatharnamornph imarnavatarnsathitsakkattiyavisanukampra sit?

AKA. Bangkok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok)

No wonder it took him so long. He was so distracted wondering where the eyebrows were, he couldn't paint the lips...

He died before he could finish it.

Actually, some people can. I remember seeing this on TV.

I think what they were saying is that "you cannot lick your elbow" knowing that most people can't and will immediately try it and agree.

33- Yo-Yos were once used as weapons in the Philippines.
Wow! And I thought only delinquent Japanese schoolgirls turned secret police agents in corny '80's circa movies used them that way! :P

And super robots:

Choudenji Yo-Yo! (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qcA1wA8xW6o)

Unless I've been awake for about four days, I'm not capable of falling asleep that fast. On a good night, it might only take me 30 minutes to an hour. On a bad night... I won't fall asleep at all. Or the next night, or the next...

Ditto but I'm usually asleep after the second night of no sleep...

...annoyingly I drifted off to sleep at about 8PM last night and people kept waking me up every half hour for different things. I should get a blog so that I don't keep looking for places where my rants will be on-topic.

[goddessofanime]

lol no.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Medina


What??? :huh:

[DeathlyMoonGoddess]

30] In Chinese, the KFC slogan "finger lickin' good" comes out as "eat your fingers off".
57] Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because Colgate translates into the command "go hang Yourself."

Those cracked me up :lol: They are winning quotes XD


But... 56 "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language
Isn't true. 'Go' is the shortest :D

I also noticed it didn't have the one that says 'You have over a billion of bacteria on your feet' and theres another..... ummmmm... Oh it's 'If you hold your eyes wide open for to long they'll pop out of your head'
and this has been Caitlyn's two cents, enjoy :D

[Gray]

But... Isn't true. 'Go' is the shortest :D


Go isn't a sentence.

[KatayokuのTenshi]

Go isn't a sentence.

Go! Is an exclamatory sentence.

[Gray]

Go! Is an exclamatory sentence.

However, a minor sentence is an irregular type of sentence. It does not contain a finite verb. For example, "Mary!" "Yes." "Coffee." etc.


The 'factoid' said shortest complete sentence.

[Haro!]

The same thing with the Chevy Nova. No Va means no go in Spanish.
Actually I heard that was a myth. I'll look it up to make sure though.

I don't necessarily agree with the Colgate one, or rather it is not completely accurate, as to "to hang yourself" would be "cuelgate" or "colgarse" (depending on how it is meant) in most Spanish speaking countries. The conjugation "colgate" would only be used in places like Argentina (possibly Uruguay as well) where they use less than typical conjugation sometimes. And even still an accent mark would be somewhere in there (above the a I think) making a very clear distinction.

[Meggles]

^^Well, I don't know if it actually hurt sales, but if my first language was Spanish and a car was called Nova, I'd think twice before buying it.

And I agree with you on colgate. Usually that means he/she/it hangs you. If you wanted to say hang yourself it would be colgaste (I believe).

Disclaimer: Don't trust me, I'm probably wrong. :)

[Caster13]

^^Well, I don't know if it actually hurt sales, but if my first language was Spanish and a car was called Nova, I'd think twice before buying it.

And I agree with you on colgate. Usually that means he/she/it hangs you. If you wanted to say hang yourself it would be colgaste (I believe).

Disclaimer: Don't trust me, I'm probably wrong. :)

Ask sailornyanko. If anyone here would know she would.

[Chidori Raikiri]

Hmm that was pretty neat. Well, all except for that bible reference anyways (The whole list seemed to be factual, then that part pops in).

[Haro!]

^^Well, I don't know if it actually hurt sales, but if my first language was Spanish and a car was called Nova, I'd think twice before buying it.

And I agree with you on colgate. Usually that means he/she/it hangs you. If you wanted to say hang yourself it would be colgaste (I believe).

Disclaimer: Don't trust me, I'm probably wrong. :)

"Colgaste" would be "you hung up". To "go hang yourself" would be "cuelgate". Considerably different. Again the "colgate" conjugation is almost strictly an Argentine thing.

As to the Nova, it was debunked by Snopes (http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp). Rather obiously. To a native Spanish speaker "Nova" would mean the exact same thing as in English (the cosmic phenomena is referred to as "nova" in Spanish as well).

Part of me also wants to bring into question that psychology student one as well. But I'd have to ask around my school's psych department for confirmation/falsification.