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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 04-08-2004 02:23 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Bigwig Had not sheep been abundant in England until modern times,you might not include in your vocabulary a term from British legal practices. Skins complete with wool were widely used in manufacture of wigs. A judge could be distinguished from ordinary folk at a glance;his enormous powdered wig identified his office.Court officials were not the only persons who donned this special regalia, but they were often seen by members of the public.A man who could decide the fate of another was clearly a person of great importance.Consequently, anyone in a position of authority came to be called a "bigwig". ~source used: "Why You Say It" by Webb Garrison~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-09-2004 11:19 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Is polar bear liver really the most poisonous substance on Earth? No,but if for some reason you're tempted by "pate arctique",be advised that as little as a mouthful can cause abdominal pain, headache,nausea,dizziness,and a torpor that lasts for days.A couple of ounces can make your skin peel off or even kill you. Westerners have known this since 1596, when the Dutch explorer Willem Barents and his party nearly perished after eating the stewed liver of an Alaskan "Ursus maritimus". The Eskimo have known even longer. For centuries they've buried polar bear liver to keep their dogs from getting into it. But it wasn't until the 1940s that two British biochemists identified the toxic ingredient: vitamin A. Polar bears live atop a food chain that's extremely high in vitamin A,and they can tolerate levels that would kill most animals.The excess is stored in their liver. Drinking alcohol,by the way,can intensify the effects of a vitamin A overdose.Keep this in mind:friends shouldn't let friends eat polar bear liver drunk. ~source: "Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison" by H. Sides~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-12-2004 04:32 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What is modern-day ink made out of? In the good old days,circa 2500 BC. Back then,ink was comprised of various colored juices and exotic extracts including alizarin,indigo, pokeberries, cochineal,and sepia.Much later,in 1772,the first patent was issued in England for making colored inks. In the 19th century, chemical drying agents appeared, giving rise to a wide variety of pigments. Then things got complicated At the beginning of the 20th century, ink-making became a complex chemical-industrial process. The manufacture of modern ink takes into account dozens of factors,including "color, opacity,transparency,brilliance,lightfastness,surface hardness,pliability,wettability,purity,and odourlessness." Goodbye,sepia!Hello,methyl alcohol! Inks for low-speed letterpress printing (the process usually used in book production) are made up of of carbon black,a heavy varnish,and a drier to reduce the drying time.Most pen inks incorporate those three main ingredients in different ratios. Intaglio (i.e. -- cartoon) inks are composed of petroleum naphthas,resins,and coal-tar solvents.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-14-2004 09:36 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Tycoon: If given five seconds to name a modern tycoon, would you pick Donald Trump? Or does the late Sam Walton of Wal-Mart seem a better choice for the title? Or perhaps you would think of Ann Cox Chambers of Cox Communications, one of America's wealthiest women. Regardless of the financial or industrial tycoon who tops your personal list, that man or woman has only one attribute of the tycoon of old. That quality is power - raw and undiluted. For the title we use so casually today was formed from Chinese words meaning "great prince." But the ancient Chinese never applied it to one of their own rulers. Instead, rivals located on a nearby island employed it when the Shogun of Japan was being described to foreigners. All of which means that the modem tycoon, no matter how powerful his or her bankroll may be, doesn't quite sit on the throne occupied by a tycoon of old. ~source used: "Why You Say It" by Web Garrison ~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-14-2004 09:44 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - What are the best indoor plants to help remove toxins from the air? In the excellent article on office air quality, journalist Tony Jaros lists five plants noted for their ability to flush out harmful air toxins: florists' mum, kimberley queen, English ivy, dracaena, and golden pothos. If you work in an office building, Jaros suggests you keep a plant on your desk to avoid sick building syndrome -- a variety of unpleasant symptoms caused by trapped chemicals. Another article on home indoor air quality from the EcoLiving Center, a directory of articles on all things healthy and organic, gives the clean lungs stamp of approval to: "bamboo, aloe vera, chrysanthemums, dracaena palms, English ivy, golden pothos, Janet Craig, philodendrons, scheffleras, and spider plants." Besides plants, you can help maintain a healthy living environment in your home by keeping it well ventilated. It's also important to keep potentially harmful materials like cleaning detergents and pesticides in a secure place away from your primary activity rooms.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-14-2004 02:35 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why is it called the Dead Sea? The Water in the Dead Sea has no outflow, so anything that comes in can't leave. As water evaporates, minerals are left behind, forming a salinity rate of 25% and rising. Nothing can survive salt levels that high; therefore "Dead" Sea is a pretty good name for it. Despite it's name, Dead Sea is known for its healing properties and with high levels of salt content, the Dead Sea is one of the most unique places on earth. Praised for centuries for its medicinal properties, people flock to the Dead Sea each year. Even the heaviest of heavies can float on this highly salted sea. At 400 meters below sea level, stirred by the awesome Mountains of Moab to the East, and the Judean Mountains to the West, one can find tranquillity, health, and peace of mind in a landscape like no other on earth. In short, a visit to the Dead Sea is an unforgettable exhilarating adventure that rejuvenates mind, body and spirit. ~source: "Just Curious About History, Jeeves" by E. Barrett & J. Mingo~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-14-2004 02:37 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - What was in the briefcase from Pulp Fiction? Needless to say, there's been a lot of conjecture about the strange, glowing contents of the briefcase in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Opinions vary widely: a portable television, gold bricks, heroin, a pack of Chiclets, the aliens from the trunk of Repo Man's car, pure evil, the Ark of the Covenant, Marsellus Wallace's soul. The Pulp Fiction creator Tarantino stated that he had no intention of making actual contents for the case. But the issue refuses to die: a giant Royale with cheese? an Oscar statue? the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs? Samuel Jackson told Playboy in 1995 interview, "When I looked inside, between scenes, I saw two lights and some batteries. What I would have wanted to see are the next ten films I'm going to do and hope that they're all as good as Pulp Fiction." What's the final verdict? It doesn't matter. Alfred Hitchcock coined the term "McGuffin" to refer to a diversionary plot device -- the bone thrown by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind. Like the statue in "The Maltese Falcon", or the stolen money in "Psycho", the briefcase in "Pulp Fiction" serves to set the characters in motion and throw some added intrigue into the mix. It's a great trick and, obviously, it worked.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-15-2004 11:46 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Why is a dartboard laid out the way it is? To be perfectly honest, no one knows for sure why a dartboard is designed the way it is and not that many people even have opinions about it. It is known that a form of darts was a training game for English archers in the Middle Ages and that the indoor dart game became popular in English inns and taverns in the nineteenth century. It is also known how the "bull's-eye" originated. When darts were first played they were thrown at the end of a keg. There was a cork in the keg's center where it was tapped. This cork center eventually became the "bull's-eye." Around 30 years ago there were many regional dartboards, each with a different design. One example is the "Log-End" board, which is nothing more than the sawed-off log from the bottom end of an elm tree. Although some regional boards are still used today, one board has become the standard and is used in all major competitions. This board is called by such names as Clock, Treble, Standard, London, or Number One. The main feature is the treble ring that permits many different types of games to be played. There are 20 numbers around the outer edge of the board and each number is at the large side of a "wedge." The wedge is divided into four parts: two large scoring areas, a doubles area (the outer ring), and the triples area (the inner ring). Although no one knows how the numbering sequence originated, it is the same on virtually every board. The 20 is flanked by the two low numbers 5 and 1, 19 is flanked by 3 and 7, 18 by 1 and 4, and 17 by 2 and 3. The four odd numbers (17, 3, 19, and 7) are clustered near the bottom and three pairs of even numbers fall together (18 and 4, 6 and 10, and 16 and 8). ~source used: "Do Fish Drink Water?" by B. McLain~  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-16-2004 09:17 AM                        Rated G How did the Easter bunny become part of a religious holiday? As it turns out, the Easter bunny has a long history as a pagan symbol that predates the Christian holiday. In fact, our sources suggest that early Christians purposefully co-opted the pagan hare to popularize their own holiday. Quite a few pagan cultures hold celebrations in the spring. It's the time of year when plants return to life after being dormant all winter and when animals mate and procreate. These festivities celebrate the renewal of life and promote the fertility of crops, animals, and even people, which was important in these agrarian communities. The Saxons believed in a maiden goddess of fertility named Eastre or Eostre (Oestre in Latin) and honored her with a spring festival. Hares and rabbits were considered sacred to Eastre because they are notoriously fertile animals. In the second century A.D., Christian missionaries tried to convert northern European tribes. To help make Christianity attractive, the missionaries turned pagan festivals into Christian holidays. The pagan Eastre festival occurred around the same time as the Christian celebration marking Christ's resurrection so the two celebrations blended into one, rabbit and all. Over time, Eastre became Easter, and the symbolism changed as well. Instead of the Easter rabbit symbolizing fertility, the rabbit may symbolize an innocent, vulnerable creature that can be sacrificed, similar to the lamb. To Christians, these innocents are tokens of Christ and the sacrifice he made. The Easter bunny we know today was influenced by German traditions dating back to the 1500s. German children believed that the Oschter Haws (a magical rabbit) would leave them a nest of colored eggs at Eastertime if they were good. Pennsylvania Dutch settlers brought this tradition to America in the 1700s. On a related note, eggs have long been a symbol of rebirth and thus associated with spring celebrations. In the 600s, Pope Gregory the Great forbade the eating of eggs during Lent (the 40 days proceeding Easter), and this helped make eggs a special treat at Easter. Many European cultures also have old customs of decorating eggs and giving them as gifts.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-16-2004 09:24 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - What causes headaches? With the exception of migraine headaches, which are a different type of headache, headaches are simply painful symptoms of an underlying systemic problem or cause. No specific cause can be fingered as the culprit responsible for the end result of a painful headache. A multitude of causes exist for a headache, each of which has a different trigger mechanism, but the resulting headache in all cases is a red flag signaling a disorder somewhere in the body or in the nervous system. In most cases, the anatomy of a headache can be dissected and understood, once it is traced back to its physical or neurological origin. The actual pain we experience does not stem from the actual brain matter contained in the skull, but from the pain felt by the sensitive coverings of the brain, and of the large veins and arteries which drain fluid from the brain. Sinus, tooth, ear, and muscle pain produce headaches by radiating the pain to these sensitive coverings when they tense, and when the muscles spanning the neck and the base of the skull contract. Complaints of headaches commonly fall under the heading of vascular headaches, and result when the arteries in the skull dilate, often because of triggers that include hunger, caffeine deprivation, and hangovers. Other cases simple to diagnose include cases where people experience the effects of sudden physical and emotional trauma from an automobile accident. The violent jolts their bodies sustain, or the effects of their necks twisting, often result in headaches, because the trauma from pulled or tensed muscles triggers pain in the sensitive brain structures. Further, severe emotional trauma causes muscles over the back and at the lower part of the head and the neck to contract, resulting in an instantaneous headache. The important thing to remember, when one experiences a headache, is that it is a symptom of underlying disorders, with multiple causes, that should command respect, and that merit diagnosis.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-18-2004 09:38 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - What's the difference between a caucus and a primary? A caucus is: "a private meeting of members of a political party to plan action or to select delegates for a nominating convention." Whereas, a primary is: "[an] election held to nominate a candidate for a particular party at a forthcoming election for public office." During a primary,voters simply cast their ballot for a particular candidate.A caucus,on the other hand,is more of a party affair, sort of like a town hall meeting.Members gather and hear speeches and engage in discussion before voting for a candidate.The majority of candidates today are selected in primaries.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-19-2004 11:33 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - What is rubber? It is a sticky, elastic solid produced from a milky liquid called "latex," which has different properties than the sap found in trees. Although latex is found in the bark, roots, and stems, branches, leaves, and fruit of over 400 different plants and trees, the bulk is found, and extracted, from the inner bark of the branches, and from the trunk, of the rubber tree. Quite simply, it would not be cost- effective to extract the latex from rubber producing plants, such as the dandelion, the milkweed, and the sagebrush. Just visualize some poor soul laboring over one of these with a syringe! Rubber, derived from the gum of a tree, has existed since prehistoric times. For example, fossils of rubber-producing plants date back almost 3,000,000 years. Crude rubber balls, discovered in ruins of ancient Incan and Mayan civilizations in Central and in South America, are, at very least, 900 years old. Natives of Southeastern Asia used rubber, prepared from the "juice" of trees to waterproof their baskets and jars. Even Columbus, on his second voyage to the New World, observed Haitian natives playing with balls made from "the gum of a tree." Latex consists of tiny particles of liquid, solid, or semi-fluid material, that appears in the form of a watery liquor, not to be drunk! The breakdown on this watery liquid is only about 33% rubber, with the remainder being, not surprisingly, water! When the rubber particles in the latex join together, they form a ball of rubber. Rubber producing plants grow best within 10 degrees of the Equator, where the climate is hot and moist, and the soil is deep and rich. For this reason, the area of about 700 miles on each side of the Equator is known as the "Rubber Belt." Brazil, from whence the best, and top-producing rubber tree hails, is firmly planted within the Rubber Belt. This Latino tree with a Latin name, Hevea brasiliensis, produces approximately 96% of the world's supply of natural rubber, and now is cultivated in other Rubber Belt countries. Most likely, the French, prior to the 1800s, were the first white men to take advantage of rubbers' elasticity. They manufactured "rubber bands" for use with their garters and their suspenders, to help to keep their pants up. Rubber belts did not exist at that time.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-19-2004 09:37 PM                        Rated G Useless fact - If animals are often colored to blend in with their surroundings,why are cows white and black or brown? It's important to note that the cows you see today are the results of thousands of years of domesticated breeding. Cattle were first domesticated in southeastern Europe about 8,500 years ago. Wild cattle were suitable for domestication for a number of reasons: They are herd animals, they are well-developed at birth, and they don't form strong breeding pair bonds. Western cattle are thought to be descended mainly from the aurochs, a large European wild ox that was domesticated during the Stone Age. Gaurs, early ancestors of cows, still run wild through various parts of south Asia. These very large and dangerous animals have dark brown coats with white legs. While the spotty coloration of the cow has its origins in animal camouflage, cows haven't had natural predators in thousands of years. The 50-odd breeds of cattle reared in the United States today look the way they do because they've been selectively bred.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-21-2004 10:05 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - What is marsh gas? You rarely see it. You can't smell it. So what is it? Marsh gas is another term for methane, produced by plants decomposing under water. Methane is highly combustible and has caused several coal mine explosions, but in marshy areas it's not as dangerous since it's diluted with air. Methane is a chief component of natural gas, which is an effective, biodegradable form of energy. Some communities use marsh gas to heat their homes and provide energy for gas-fueled lamps. Marsh gas is lighter than air, and floats in a pale, eerie haze until blown away by a strong wind. It also burns with a mysterious blue flame when ignited. This may explain the high incidence of UFOs, apparitions, and unexplained lights that tend to occur in swampy areas. It may also be responsible for ghost stories like the Scottish legend about the haunting of Mary King's Close.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 05-05-2004 04:50 AM                        Rated G Useless fact - Do ostriches really bury their heads in the sand to avoid being attacked? Crocodiles don't really cry. Hyenas don't laugh. And no, the world's biggest birds do not plunge their heads below ground when confronted with a difficult situation. In fact,ostriches,a species native to the semiarid grasslands of eastern Africa,are extremely jealous and scrappy micromanagers of their turf.Where,then,did this misconception come from? Ostriches do eat sand (it's grist for their gizzards),so their beaks are often caked with the stuff.And when they're resting, they tend to droop their three-foot-long necks and lay their heads on the ground.Optical illusion may also play a role:If you spot a clump of lounging ostriches from a distance,their prostrate noggins appear to be "buried" in the swimming waves of the heat shimmer.They're not avoiding you,however.As soon as the hypervigilant birds detect your presence,they'll pop their heads up and,if provoked,charge you with their muscular legs and menacing,two-toed feet. You've become their reality;they're dealing with it.  |  IP: Logged

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