Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Fun Facts

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed
to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we
have 'the rule of thumb'

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was called 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden' and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)

The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400

The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

The first novel ever written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

Spades - King David

Hearts - Charlemagne

Clubs -Alexander, the Great

Diamonds - Julius Caesar


111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace.

Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat
name requested? Obsession.

If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go
until you would find the letter 'A'? One Thousand.

What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common? All were invented by women.

Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.

Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year? Father's Day.

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase...'Goodnight, sleep tight'

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell atthem 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.'It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service.'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.

3 comments:

KJW said...

What are your sources?

and

About the Monopoly money... is that in number of bills, or "amount" of money? Because, you know, there are probably way more $100 Monopoly bills than real $100 bills.

One of the top 3 hardest laughs I ever had was watching Erin trying to lick frosting off her elbow.

I bet North America is so wildernessy because of that big, icy Canada.

That 111,111,111 thing is true. I just tried it... IN MY HEAD. Just kidding. On my calculator.

Anonymous said...

I was quite flabbergasted to read that A does not appear in numbers until One Thousand. I had to say a few numbers to test it.

Sad that collect calls are mostly made on Father's Day. "Love you dad! P.S. Foot the bill."

I just thought of another good Erin moment, looking into the practice room to see if anyone was there, seeing a guy, not responding until he says, "Um, Hello?" Erin, "Oh, I thought you were my reflection."

Nicole Kristine said...

Have you ever read Imponderables books by David Feldman? They're my favorite. Maybe you would like them. This list reminded me of them.