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Pete
09-16-2005, 11:19 AM
Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"

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

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US 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: $6,400

The average number of people airborne over the US 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 as a result 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 4th, John Han**** and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?


A. Their birthplace

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

A. Obsession

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

A. One thousand

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?

A. All invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?

A. Honey

Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?

A. 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 at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down."

It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" I>

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~



At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow

maps
09-16-2005, 03:31 PM
Excellent :tti: !!!

Fezzik
09-16-2005, 03:56 PM
Interesting but several entries are just not true...

Golf is not an acronym for gentlemen only...ladies forbidden
http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/golf.htm

Rule of thumb did not come from wife beaters
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000512.html

Coca-cola was never green
http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/green.asp

"wet your whistle" did not come from a beer mug
http://www.word-detective.com/050404.html (scroll down )

Those are just a few. I don't have time to check them all. www.snopes.com is a great resource for these kinds of things. I am so tired of this kind of stuff going around. So many people just automatically believe anything they see on the Internet. We are creating a generation of ignorance with these things.

Sorry about the rant.

The math tidbit is correct though. Cool.

Fezz

maps
09-17-2005, 12:31 PM
FEZZIK, go stuff it. They're jokes. Get a life! :mad:

Fezzik
09-17-2005, 03:15 PM
FEZZIK, go stuff it. They're jokes. Get a life! :mad:
Actually, they are not jokes. They are put forth as facts. No one likes a good joke more than me. It's the perpetuation of misinformation that bothers me. I didn't mean to offend anyone, I just wanted to set the record straight.

Sorry,
Fezz

Hurk
09-18-2005, 04:01 AM
I appreciate it Fezzik. I also hate wrong information going around the internet. Many people have actually quoted those to me, and I just laugh.

Pete
09-19-2005, 10:35 AM
Fezzik, are you the new Compz n Cars?
The stuff was for a laugh not once stated as "fact". The title is "just plain old useless stuff". I can understand the issue of false information being distributed on the Internet but really, when Nations crumble, when War is imminent or when people are in danger, the facts are important and relevent, but surely an acronym for golf or the colour of Coca Cola , false or otherwise, is not life threating. Please fogive me for adding to the "generation of ignorance".
As an aside, I commend you for your research, I did not know about straightdope.com or word-detective.com. When will you have the time to research and debunk all the others?

Fezzik
09-19-2005, 12:44 PM
Pete,
The only way those items would be funny is if they were actually true. When the truth is revealed, they are no longer funny. That is why they are put forth as the truth. Anyone can make up stuff like that but for them to have any impact they must be true.

I realize in the grand scheme of things, no one really cares about the colour of Coca-Cola but I do care about the propagation of false information in any form. If someone automatically believes lists like these that circulate in the internet, they probably will believe anything that CNN tells them. I'm only asking that people question what they are told, especially on the internet. Of course, the sites that I linked to in my original post may also have things wrong but they at least appear to have done the research and they provide links to that information.

Since this whole thing seems to have gotten a bit more serious than I intended, I think I'll just let it drop. As for debunking the other facts, Head over to www.Snopes.com and do a little searching. Fun place to hang out!

P.S. I don't know what you mean by your first statement, but I can tell you that I am just plain old Fezz.

Fezz

Jackthemeangiant
09-19-2005, 10:15 PM
Um, I am on Fezzik's side on this one. Those are presented as facts, while most of them aren't. As I was reading them, I was thinking "I bet alot of these are false". And it appears they are.

squab
09-20-2005, 12:05 AM
you are absolutely correct Fezzik,they are Hoaxes,not jokes.

Swordfish
09-20-2005, 06:08 AM
Its a joke GET OVER IT! Who freaking cares if its a hoax or not! :mad: the point being is you had a good time laughing about it :rolleyes:

Hurk
09-25-2005, 05:06 AM
Its a joke GET OVER IT! Who freaking cares if its a hoax or not! :mad: the point being is you had a good time laughing about it :rolleyes:

I would have laughed if it were true, but since it's not true... I'm not laughing.

Swordfish
09-25-2005, 07:18 AM
I would have laughed if it were true, but since it's not true... I'm not laughing.


Guess what??? Topic Closed :)

I dont see the need to drag this through the mud any longer.