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Author
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Topic: Useless Fact's
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Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)
Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-03-2003 06:49 AM
Rated G ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Useless fact - Waterloo.
The battle was not fought at Waterloo. It was fought about four miles away at a point between the two villages of Pancenoit and Mont-St.-Jean.
However,Wellington stayed in Waterloo the night before the battle, and returned there afterward to write his victory dispatch,as his friend Alexander Gordon, one leg blown off,lay dying on Wellington's bed.
The turning point actually occurred when the Prussian troops arrived to reinforce Wellington's men.
The duke rallied his forces to make a great charge against Napoleon's army,fighting fiercely and hopelessly,with Napoleon's famous Imperial
Guard in the front lines.
As night fell, an English officer sent a message to the commander of the guard to surrender.History says that he replied,"The Guard dies but never surrenders." What he really said was "Shit" (in French, merde).
~source used: "The Dictionary of Misinformation" by Tom Burnam~
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Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)
Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-05-2003 02:06 PM
Rated G
Useless fact - Salt in prepared foods?
There is considerable evidence linking salt intake with high blood pressure. However,those who choose,or are advised,to reduce salt
intake may find some surprises;things aren't always what they seem.
According to Consumer Reports for March 1979,the sodium content of many prepared foods cannot be determined on the basis of taste, (Salt, or sodium chloride,is about 40 percent sodium.)
For example, a one-ounce serving of a popular brand of corn I flakes contains nearly twice as much sodium as an ounce of cocktail peanuts.
Two slices of a brand of white bread sold nationally contain more sodium than an ounce of potato chips - which is quite a few; commonly,
a full bag of potato chips will contain only four or five ounces.
Even those prepared foods that one associates with sugar rather than salt can be high in sodium.Half cup of one brand of instant chocolate-flavored pudding,for example,exceeds in sodium content three slices of bacon,and by a wide margin.A frozen chicken dinner may contain more than half of the daily sodium allotment for persons placed on a mild low-sodium diet,a hamburger from one of the large franchised chains about three quarters.
Although there is still some dispute about the exact role salt plays in high blood pressure, several studies have shown that in cultures where salt intake is high, so is the incidence of highblood pressure.
The medical term for high blood pressure is "hypertension."
As "Consumer Reports" points out,this term leads many to associate it only with tense, high-strung individuals. But this is a misconception;
easygoing,relaxed types are also susceptible.
Those who do associate hypertension with tenseness and "drive," and who may still tend to think,consciously or otherwise,of blacks as happy-go-lucky extroverts should know that hypertension is twice as common among blacks as whites;that in blacks it develops earlier in life and causes higher mortality at younger ages than in whites.
~source used "More Misinformation" by Tom Burnam~
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Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)
Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-08-2003 07:38 PM
Useless fact - Is it true that if you ate nothing but carrots you would turn orange?Sure is. If you really got carried away you might even die, and boy, would you make a strange-looking corpse. But death from carrot poisoning is pretty rare—probably about as rare as green
potato chip poisoning.Either way, we would definitely want to go to the wake.
Carrots contain an orange pigment,or coloring,called carotene.
Eat enough of them (try bushels), and you could get carotenosis, in which the skin turns orange.Don't let this talk of carrot overdoses scare you, though. Carotene in normal amounts is good for you. Some scientists believe it even helps prevent cancer. In addition to carrots, carotene can be found in cantaloupe, squash, and broccoli. Why isn't the good stuff ever in hot dogs or Chicken McNuggets?
That's a question even we can't answer.
~source used: "Know It All" by Ed Zotti~
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Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)
Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-14-2003 06:21 AM
Rated G
Today's useless fact - Why do fireflies light up?
Fireflies live most of their short lives as larvae,eating like fiends in order to build up energy for sex.Come summertime,the larvae transform into the blinking,winged beetles we know so well.But their days are numbered (to about seven,in fact),so they spend nearly every minute engaged in a frantic hunt for a mate.Which is where those little bursts of bioluminescence—caused by a complex chemical reaction involving an enzyme known as luciferase—come in. "It's the way male lightning bugs advertise their services,"explains University of Florida entomologist James E. Lloyd, noting that each species has its own signature style,composed of complicated variations of flickers and pulses.When the waiting female,hunkered safely in the grass or atop a branch,lays her tiny beetle eyes on a particularly
enticing sexual semaphore,she flashes a slow,seductive come-hither signal and mating begins—a feat that can take hours.Could there be a more compelling reason to free them from their mason jars?
~source used: "Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison" by Hampton Sides~
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Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)
Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-14-2003 12:02 PM
Rated G
Useless fact - Is it true you can only stand eggs on end one day out of the year?
According to legend,the one day a year you can stand eggs on end is March 21,the first day of spring, also known as the "vernal equinox".
On the vernal equinox,day and night are the same length,and the sun passes directly over the earth's equator. A few folks got the idea this meant the force of gravity was put in balance somehow, making it easier to balance eggs.
Well, here's a news flash:You can stand eggs on end any 'old time', not just on the vernal equinox.All you need are steady hands and a lot of patience.Also,it wouldn't hurt to have about a dozen eggs. (Some are flatter on the bottom than others.) Our method is to concentrate,try hard, and if at first you don't succeed, give up.
No sense killing yourself over a stupid egg.Besides,the next one in the box may be easier.It helps if you shake the egg up first,by the way.That breaks loose the yolk. Normally,the yolk hangs in the center of the egg from two bands called "chalazae" (they're the white stringy things you sometimes see attached to the yolk when you break the egg). Break the chalazae and the yolk sinks to the bottom.That
makes the egg bottom heavy and easier to stand up.It's also cheating. But if the audience is waiting and your reputation is on the line... well, let your conscience be your guide.
~source used: "Know It All" by Ed Zotti~
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Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)
Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-15-2003 12:56 PM
Rated G
Useless fact - Why are gasoline prices listed to three decimal places, such as $1.479 per gallon?
Many years ago gasoline taxes were less than a cent per gallon.The oil companies simply added the required tax to the current price per gallon.For example, if the tax was nine tenths of a cent,or $0.009 and the price of gasoline was $0.25 per gallon, then the two added together became $0.259. Over a period of time this practice became a custom.
The price of gasoline is determined by the price of crude oil,
refining costs,transportation and storage costs,and taxes.Taxes are often 40 percent of the cost per gallon.Because many people feel that "gasoline is gasoline," they wonder why some gasoline stations have lower prices than others. Actually, gasoline sold by different stations is different. Although each manufacturer must adhere to strict government regulations, many manufacturers add antioxidants, metal deactivators, corrosion inhibitors, and other elements to the
gasoline. Each manufacturer has its own "package of additives."
Higher-priced gasolines have many additives,cheaper gasolines have few if any. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
~source used: "Do Fish Drink Water" by Bill McLain~
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Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)
Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-17-2003 11:10 AM
Rated G
Useless fact - Can you die from a black widow spider bite?
It's possible, but most people don't.
Although a female blackwidow is not particularly aggressive, she is quite poisonous and will bite to defend herself (males are harmless). Her bite is painful and frightening, and there isn't much that can be done to reverse its effects.
However, the symptoms can be some what alleviated, and a medical professional can monitor the victim.
Symptoms start with a stinging pinprick at the location of the bite. Numbing pain soon follows, often accompanied by some swelling. Within 30 minutes, usually, severe stomach pains and clenching of the abdominal muscles begin, After a while, spasms and severe pain in the arms, legs, and often the feet set it.
The most frightening aspects are temporary paralysis, chest constriction, and difficulty swallowing. If you are bitten, it's a good idea to seek out a doctor. Those at risk of dying are the very young, the very old, and those with illnesses or allergies.
A black widow spider bite has about a 1% fatality rate.
~source used: "Just Curious Jeeves"by Jack Mingo & Erin Barrett~
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Bob Maar
(Maar stands for Maartini)
Posts: 28608
From: New York City & Newport, RI
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-20-2003 08:17 AM
Rated G
Useless fact - Why do cars in some countries drive on the left side of the road,and in others on the right?
The custom of driving on the left or right side of the road varies from country to country,and its origins predate the invention of the automobile.
During the 1700s,in England,horse-drawn coaches were the main mode of transportation for urban dwellers.British coachmen used to sit on a seat on the right side of the carriage. If the coach traveled down the right side of the road,the coachman's whip would have hit pedestrians strolling along the adjacent sidewalk. By keeping to the left,the coachman had room to use his whip and the pedestrians were
safe.The coach drivers could just as easily have sat on the left side and driven on the right,but that is not the way it turned out.
Cars in France,England's neighbor,drive on the right side of the road for reasons also related to the horse and buggy.Eighteenth-century French coachmen rode on the left side of the pair of pulling horses, and drove on the left side of the road.This caused the horses to pull to the left and up onto the sidewalk. They were subsequently ordered to stay to the right to protect pedestrians.It makes practically no difference today which side of the road is driven on,as long as everyone uses the same side!
~source used: "Thoughts for the Throne" by Don Voorhees
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