useless info

[RyuShiKan]

The "s" shaped opening in a violin is called the "f-hole."

Eighty-two percent of the workers on the Panama Canal suffered from malaria.

Before American football players go onto the field, they put on about 13 pounds of protective clothing.

Every 10 to 13 seconds someone gets divorced.

"Parthenophobia" is the fear of virgins.

Edward III passed a law stopping people from eating more than two meals a day.

Armadillos can be housebroken.

Victoria Woodhall was the first woman to run for President of the U.S.—in 1872.

During World War II, twice as many fighter pilots were killed during training than combat.

Ninety percent of Irish women claim they have had sex outdoors. (The global average is 58 percent.)


A barnacle has the largest penis of any other animal in the world in relation to its size.


A recent study revealed that one-third of cats enjoy watching television.

A barnacle has the largest penis of any other animal in the world in relation to its size.

Dustin Hoffman's fake breasts in Tootsie weighed four pounds.

Ninety percent of Americans describe themselves as shy.

Every year in France there is a "Thieves Fair" where people are encouraged to try to steal things from the stalls.

The average piano has 230 strings.

One out of five pieces of the world's garbage is generated in the United States.

In circus parlance, a "Joey" is a clown with at least five years of experience.

Lee Harvey Oswald's cadaver tag was sold at an auction for $6,600.

Alec Guinness' name was incorrectly spelled as "Guiness" in the opening credits of the award-winning film The Bridge on the River Kwai.

 

[jfarnsworth]

Very interesting

 

[Jill666]

Originally posted by RyuShiKan
Ninety percent of Irish women claim they have had sex outdoors. (The global average is 58 percent.)

Interesting. Maybe we just like nature.

(And yes, I have.)

 

[Cthulhu]

Of the approx. 618,000 soldiers killed during the American Civil War, nearly 400,000 were Union soldiers.

The Union forces had slightly more battle deaths and many more deaths due to disease than the Confederate forces.

Not really useless (in my opinion) if you're a citizen of the U.S. I just thought it interesting that the side with the most casualties won the war.

Cthulhu

 

[Bob Hubbard]

In addition, the South had the 'best' generals and strategists.

(Longstreet had the concept of the Blitzkrieg over 50 yrs b4 the Germans did)

So, the side with the worst generals, worst strategy and most losses won. Hmmm...

 

[andurilking2]

my favorite food is artichoke
(i thaught that was pretty useless unless any of you gals wanna cook for a lonely sad sad sick man please)+

 

[yilisifu]

Hmm! I'm almost half Irish! Sadly, most of the ladies in these parts are of Germanic descent.

Or Amish.

 

[tonbo]

Hey!! You forgot to include the fact that a duck's quack doesn't echo!! (Supposedly, anyway......I have never been able to verify that, myself!)

Peace--

 

[D.Cobb]

What about the fact that,

The correct title for a collector of trivia is,

you're gonna love this,

a SPERMOLOGIST !

--Dave

 

[theletch1]

So, the side with the worst generals, worst strategy and most losses won. Hmmm...

It was a war of attrition... both in personnel and economics. Technology, industrialization and plenty of money took the day.... sounds kinda familiar.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Originally posted by theletch1
It was a war of attrition... both in personnel and economics. Technology, industrialization and plenty of money took the day.... sounds kinda familiar.

The North had the industrial base, the economic base, as well as the majority of the population.

The south was much more rural, and at the start of the war I believe had no munitions plants, and a trade based economy.

I believe one of the main Confederate generals was heard to say after a victory "one more victory like this will cost us the war". I think it was Lee, but I'm not certain.

The union could afford to throw bodies into the grinder and use massive amounts of firepower. For the south, every round wasted was irreplacable, and every man lost was sorely missed.

http://www.civilwarhome.com/casualties.htm has some -very- interesting info on casulties.

Today, when each day brings a report of another US or British soldier killed or wounded in Iraq, we can not dream of facing the numbers from the wars of old. Many units in the US Civil war lost over 70% strength in a sigle battle.
1st Minnesota, US Gettysburg 262 82% lost
20th Massachusetts, US Fredericksburg 238 68.4% lost
1st Texas, CSA Antietam 226 82.3% lost.

Sadly, the lessons weren't learned then, and had to be bought again a generation later in the trenches of France.

 

[theletch1]

Kaith, When I look at the numbers lost in a battle like Manassass I cringe. Having been in the military myself I can't imagine losing that many comrades in a single battle. And to think of the poor or non-existent quality of medical care at the time (even up through WW1) is enough to scare the hell out of you. I've often sat and watched a movie or something on the history channel (god, I love that channel) about a battle from the Roman era or even up until the civil war and think about the hell fighting like that would have been.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

My mind cant fanthom it, and, to be honest, I dont want to.

Another challenger is the 26th North Carolina, which lost 714, of its 800 men at Gettysburg-in numbers and percentage the war's greatest losses. On the first day this regiment lost 584 dead and wounded, and when roll was called the next morning for G Company, one man answered, and he had been knocked unconscious by a shell burst the day before. This roll was called by a sergeant who lay on a stretcher with a severe leg wound.

War has been glamorized too often. The reality is much worse. The closest I've come is paintball. The difference is, I get hit, I wipe it and come back next round...war, you get hit...you may have no more rounds. Big difference.

I think movies like Gladiator and Black Hawk Down can give us a small taste, but still are miles away from the true chaos and insanity.

 

[purplekenposkunk]

Scientists have proven that it is impossible for a bumblebee to fly.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Originally posted by purplekenposkunk
Scientists have proven that it is impossible for a bumblebee to fly.

Good thing bubblebees cant read.

 

[old_sempai]

For many decades it was the consensus of aviation engineers that according to known aviation science a bumble bee's wing structure and aspect ratio should not be provide the insect with the ability to fly. Even though they also knew that the wing does not flap like that of a butterfly. However, recently they recognized that its rotating action creates a negative pressure above and ahead of the leading edge of the wing thereby creating lift and resulted in "The Flight of the bumble bee." [pardon my "trumpheting" that pun - twice no less]

Yet, to date all of man's acquired knowledge acquired would not even begin to fill a thimble compared to the infinite knowledge held by the Architect of the Universe.

 

[purplekenposkunk]

:asian: Thank you, sir.

 

[D.Cobb]

Originally posted by old_sempai
For many decades it was the consensus of aviation engineers that according to known aviation science a bumble bee's wing structure and aspect ratio should not be provide the insect with the ability to fly. Even though they also knew that the wing does not flap like that of a butterfly. However, recently they recognized that its rotating action creates a negative pressure above and ahead of the leading edge of the wing thereby creating lift and resulted in "The Flight of the bumble bee." [pardon my "trumpheting" that pun - twice no less]

Yet, to date all of man's acquired knowledge acquired would not even begin to fill a thimble compared to the infinite knowledge held by the Architect of the Universe.

Another thing that engineers have done, is to prove that the Wright brothers machine was incapable of flight. They used modern technology to rebuild the thing from scratch, and no matter what conditions they tried under, they couldn't get that damn thing off the ground.

I was told this about a week ago, I don't know where my friend got the story from, and I can't attest to it's truth, so I hope it's right.

--Dave

 

[old_sempai]

The Wright Brothers used a cataput to launch their flying machine, and at the time launched it into a 40 MPH wind.....

 

[Cthulhu]

Some fella did make an exact replica of the Wright flier in the 70's or 80's and flew it. He was on one of those 'Junkyard Wars' shows.

Useless info: a goldfish can kill a gorilla. The goldfish just needs the element of surprise!

Cthulhu