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Author Topic: Useless Fact's Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-27-2003 04:09 AM                        Rated G Usefull fact - Bathing: Bathing was intended not only to keep people clean but also was involved in religious and magic rituals.Bathing was an ablution to remove the invisible stains acquired by touching the deadcommitting crimes,or touching a diseased person. Although homes in the Indus valley of Pakistan were equipped with bathrooms as early as 3000 B.C., the use of baths as a means of keeping clean was introduced much later by the ancient Romans.Roman bath houses were public places that often included games,libraries, and stalls where goods were sold.The baths were warm,hot,and cold, and a Roman entered each one successively.The daily visit to the bath house was one of Rome's amusements. Over time, people discovered that bathing could prevent disease,and it became a very private affair.In fact the bathroom today is a personal sanctuary where one can escape from the hubbub of life,other people,and even do some reading. People in the United States consider a daily bath to be essential.However,they usually take a shower to get clean and use the bathtub mainly for relaxation, which is not too different from the rituals used thousands of years ago. Taking a shower can be invigorating and refreshing, but soaking in a bathtub full of warm water,surrounded by candles,can be a ritualistic event. Bathings facts: Not only King Louis XIV of France never bathe but he never washed his feet either. Queen Elizabeth I of England was thought to be overly meticulous,because she bathed as often as once a month. In 1917 H. L. Mencken wrote an article explaining that the very first American bathtub was installed in the White House by President Millard Fillmore, who faced substantial public,medical,and legal opposition because of it.Although Mencken later admitted the whole story was a fake, it survived for almost 40 years.In fact, President Truman used the story in a speech in 1952. Many states hold bathtub races.Contestants race in bathtubs equipped with outboard motors. ~source used: "What Makes Flamingos Pink?" by Bill McLain~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-28-2003 07:57 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why do the "Dutch" wear wooden shoes? The Netherlands is one of the Low Countries, so named because much of its land is below sea level or is comprised of wetlands. (They say the Netherlands is so flat,that if you stand on a chair,you can see clear across the whole country!)The Nederlanders have reclaimed much land from the sea through the construction of dikes and windmills.Their famous windmills have been used since the early sixteenth century to pump water out of the wet areas into canals and create more land for agriculture. Dikes were built to keep the sea at bay and prevent flooding. Since much of the Netherlands' coastal land was soggy, special shoes were needed to work the fields.Rubber boots weren't available,so the Dutch took to wearing "sabots" or wooden shoes. Such shoes,made from beech or chestnut wood,are water resistant and perfect for walking in the wetlands. While wooden shoes and windmills are not used much anymore,they will always be a symbol of the Netherlands'battle with the sea and are great tourist attractions. ~source used: "The Thoughts for the Throne" by Don Voorhees [ 05-04-2003, 07:58 PM: Message edited by: Bob Maar ]  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-29-2003 09:19 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why is it okay to kiss someone under mistletoe? For centuries many of our forebears believed that mistletoe had special powers, probably because mistletoe seemed to appear magically in the upper branches of trees. The Druids believed that the plant was sacred, and other ancient Britons thought it could cure sterility and act as an antidote for poisons. The Romans made mistletoe a part of their Saturnalia, an ancient feast in honor of the god Saturn held around December 17 to celebrate the winter solstice and the completion of the year's agricultural work. During this festival there was feasting, unrestrained revelry, and a temporary disregard for all rules of conduct. Enemies were treated as friends, slaves were served by their masters, and all lines of propriety were ignored. The attitude during the Saturnalia was "anything goes," and this came to be symbolized by the mistletoe. When the Christians began using mistletoe to decorate their churches during the Christmas season, some of its Saturnalian reputation caused problems. Among other things, it emboldened young men to steal kisses from young ladies when they were near mistletoe. Eventually it was banned from the sanctuary, but it then moved to the halls and chambers in other parts of the church where it continued to cast its charms. ~source used: "Ever Wonder Why?" by Douglas B. Smith~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-29-2003 04:43 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - How many gods did the ancient Egyptians have? More than 2,000.The greatest of these was the sun god,Ra. According to the Egyptians' creation story,the ocean was all that existed in the beginning.Then from the water came an egg (some versions say a flower).Ra emerged from it,eventually drying the lands-in Egypt's case,perhaps a little too well. ~source used: "Just Curious About History, Jeeves" by Erin Barrett & Jack Mingo  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-30-2003 02:50 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Are there any one-eyed animals? There are no mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians that naturally have only one eye. Flatfish like the flounder, commonly thought of as having only one eye, In fact have two; one migrates to join the other on the right or left side. However, there are several orders of one-eyed animals among the invertebrates. Among them are some "water fleas," which are actually crustaceans. Another one-eyed crustacean, appropriately named the cyclops, is a common inhabitant of pond scum in stagnant bodies of water. It has compound eyes like those of the fly, but only one per customer. ~source used: "The Book of Science Questions and Answers" by C. Claiborne Ray~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-02-2003 09:04 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - What is baker's yeast? Backer's yeast is a fungus,and when you buy it,it's still alive.Yes,vegetarians can eat it but be very careful.One gram of yeast contains about 10 billion cells,which,given a chance, will quickly multiply.Yeast manufacturers,using ideal conditions,can take that one gram of yeast and get it to grow into 15 tons in five days,enough to make about a million loaves of bread. How did people discover yeast for baking? In about 4000 B.C.,Egyptian bakers discovered that kneading the dough with their feet made the dough rise instead of staying flat and hard, because of the natural yeasts between their toes. (It's believed that the discovery of cheesemaking had a similar "foot" note in history.) Yeast cells eat the sugars in dough and release alcohol and carbon dioxide,making thousands and thousands of small bubbles that get trapped.As a result, yeast-risen dough is soft and fluffy instead of flat and hard. ~source used: "Just Curious About History, Jeeves" by Erin Barrett & Jack Mingo~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-03-2003 02:07 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why is something genuine called "the real McCoy"? The real McCoy was most probably Kid McCoy, the world welterweight boxing champion from 1890 to 1900.The Kid was such a popular fighter that other,less well-known fighters traveling the small-town boxing circuit claimed to be Kid McCoy to draw crowds and increase the size of the gate.The problem of imitators became so severe that McCoy began billing himself as Kid "The Real" McCoy,and from this came the expression we now apply to any genuine article. ~source used: "Ever Wonder Why?" by Douglas B. Smith~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-04-2003 03:33 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why are marathons 26 miles,385 yards long? Twenty-six miles,385 yards is a rather odd distance for a foot race. Most other running races are measured in lengths of even numbers.The marathon, however,has an ancient history,going back to the early Greek Olympics. The Greeks started the Olympics in 776 B.C. to honor the god Zeus.Held every four years,they brought together athletes from all the Greek cities.A nationwide truce was called for the five days of competition held in Olympia.The first day was devoted to ceremonies,banquets,and sacrifices.Early events included running,boxing,wrestling,pen-tathalon,and various horse and chariot races. After 490 B.C., a special long-distance race, the marathon,was added to commemorate the legendary feat of a Greek soldier.It was said that he ran from the Plain of Marathon to Athens, a distance of 22 miles, 1,470 yards, to bring the news of the Greek victory over the Persian army. Upon exclaiming "Rejoice! We have won!," he collapsed and died. The Greek Olympic marathon was a distance of about 25 miles,and was run by young men in the nude. The games were abolished in A.D.393 by Roman emperor Theodosius I after Greece lost its independence. The Olympic Games were revived in Athens in 1896 by a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin.The first few modern Olympiads had marathons of varying lengths. It wasn't until the 1908 games,in London, that today's distance wasfirst instituted.The British Olympic Committee decided to have the race start at the royal residence at Windsor Castle and end in front of the royal box in the stadium in London,a distance of 26 miles,385 yards.This distance was standardized at the 1924 Olympic Games and has been used ever since. Today,all marathons, ncluding non-Olympic races, re kept at this odd distance and all competitors are encouraged to wear clothing! ~source used: "The Thoughts for The Throne" by Don Voorhees~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-04-2003 07:55 PM                        Rated G Globe Magazine 5-6-03 From the Diary of Useless Information Hoagy Carmichael penned the song with the longest title: I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Cranky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with My Honolulu Mama Doin' Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat on My Seat-o, Hirohito Blues. He later claimed the title actually ended with the word "Yank" and the rest of the title was meant to be a joke.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-05-2003 08:33 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - How big can a hailstone get? Big.Disturbingly,outlandishly,lethally big.Hailstones—such as the"cricket ball"-size I ones that killed 250 people and some 1,600 sheep and goats in India in 1888—are born deep inside the gusty green turbulence of cumulonimbus thunderclouds.In such storms,powerful updrafts of more than one hundred miles per hour can suck raindrops as high as eleven miles into the sky, quickly turning them into ice crystals.These crystals collide into one another to form tiny pebbles of hail that can make numeroustrips down and back up again to the upper reaches of the storm cloud. As it accrues one onionlike layer of ice after another,the stone will eventually become so immense that the updrafts can nolonger support it, and it plummets to the ground. What's the most humongous hailstone found to date? There are several leading candidates.An icy rock weighing seven-and-a-half pounds fell on Hyderabad,India,on March 17,1939,but it was never officially authenticated and,in any case,it's believed to have been an amalgam of numerous stones frozen together.In March of 1982,a thirty-pound chunk of ice left a large divot in a hill near Tecumseh,Oklahoma,but in a rather unsettling denouement, investigators determined that it was probably "blue ice" from an airliner's leaky lavatory that had built up on the fuselage before shearing off and falling to the ground. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gives the official prize to the 1.75-pound basketball-size bomb that fell near the home of Dan White in Coffeyville,Kansas, in September 1970."I hope I never see anything like that again," says White,noting that NOAA meteorologists made a plaster cast of the spiky orb—now displayed at the Dalton Defenders Museum in downtown Coffeyville."I seen this green wall cloud coming,and I said,'We're going to get some hail out of that!'The boys went out with buckets to hunt for hailstones.It's a good thing they were wearing their football helmets— they would have been knocked lulu!" ~source used:"Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison" by Hampton Sides  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-06-2003 08:36 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why do all the armed forces start marching with the left foot? Is There Any Practical Reason? Is This Custom the Same All Over the World? Bottom line: We can only answer the third question with any confidence.As far as we can ascertain, soldiers all over the world step off on the left foot. The origins of left/right customs (e.g., why we drive on the right side of the road,why the hot water faucet is on the left, why military medals are worn on the left) usually stem from a technical advantage. What possible advantage could there be in starting a march with the left foot? Robert S. Robe, Jr., president of The Scipio Society of Naval and Military History,has this to say on the subject: When warfare was institutionalized in prebiblical times so that trained armies could fight one another on a battlefield,the evolution of infantry tactics,in close formation required regimented marching in order to effectively move bodies of heavy and light infantry into contact with an enemy. I am hypothesizing that some long forgotten martinet discovered by accident or otherwise that a soldier advancing at close quarters into an enemy sword or spear line could,by stepping off on his foot in unison with his fellows,maintain better balance and sword contact to his front,assuming always that the thrusting or cutting weapon was wielded from the "right" hand and the shield from the left.The shield would also protect the left leg forward in close-quarter fighting. Robe's explanation echoes the usual explanation of why we mount horses from the left.The horse itself couldn't care less from what side its rider mounts it.But in ancient times,when riders wore swords slung along the left side of the body (so that the swords could be unsheathed by the right hand),riders found it much easier to retain their groin if they mounted on the left. ~source used: "Do Penguins Have Knees?" by David Feldman  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-07-2003 10:31 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Who was Jack the Ripper? Nobody knows, but there are plenty of theories.In London,from August 31 to November 9, 1888,five prostitutes were killed and mutilated.Based on the precision with which "Jack" practiced his murders,some people believed that Jack the Ripper was a surgeon. One suspect was the royal physician,Sir William Gull.Another was Dr. Francis Tumblety,a reputed misogynist gynecologist whose personal effects included a collection of preserved uteruses. Tumblety was charged on suspicion for the murders of the four Whitechapel prostitutes in London,but fled to the U.S.In New York the police kept him under survellaince for some time but could not extradite him for the crime of suspicion.He died in St. Louis, a wealthy man, in 1903. Still another Jack the Ripper suspect was Dr. Thomas Neill Cream. He was convicted for murdering five London prostitutes (not the ones associated with Jack the Ripper) with strychnine and hanged for his crimes. On the scaffolding he blurted out "I am Jack the—" just before the scaffolding bolt was drawn. The London police received hundreds of letters from people claiming to be Jack. Only one was believed to be authentic. Part of a victim's kidney was enclosed,and the package's return address was "From Hell." ~source used: "Just Curious, Jeeves" by Erin Barret & Jack Mingo  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-08-2003 07:30 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What is that smell when it rains? It's not rain you're smelling;it's dirt.The piquant,musky odor that hangs in the air emanates from an odorous chemical buried in the soil called "geosmin" (literally, "earth smell").One way to detect that "rain" scent is to unearth the geosmin yourself by rooting around in your garden.But a good rain shower will do the trick as well.As a storm moves in,the atmospheric pressure drops and equalizes with the pressure in the ground,causing the earth to "outgas" geosmin."When the barometric pressure drops, the soil exhales,"explains Mary Firestone,a soil microbiologist at the University of California,Berkeley.Because odors transmit more efficiently in wet air,a mere hint of geosmin is enough to get our olfactories primed for a shower. ~source used: "Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison" by Hampton Sides  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-09-2003 12:08 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why does bride always stand on the groom's left? In the days when men often captured their brides from neighboring villages,a groom had to stay alert to the possibility of an attack by the bride's kinsmen or by jealous suitors. This made it necessary for the bridegroom to keep his right hand free during the ceremony to fend off any such attacks.This,of course,meant that the bride had to stand on his left. ~source used: "Ever Wonder Why?" by Douglas B. Smith  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 05-09-2003 12:16 PM                        quote: Who was Jack the Ripper? All of the suspects named above have been ruled out by experts who have analysed the case more carefully than the authors who try everything to assign a name and a face to the legend. I find the analysis very convincing which is found in the book "The Cases That Haunt Us" by former FBI profiling expert John Douglas. Douglas believes that Jack the Ripper was most likely a Polish immigrant, but nobody whom we know or a really spectacular suspect like the Prince of Wales.  |  IP: Logged

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