Some useless information

[IndyCision]

I love useless information.

 

"Put my two cents in" originates from the older "put my two bits in" and has its origin in the game of poker.  When playing poker you have to make a small bet before the cards are dealt called an "ante" to begin play in that hand. 

This phrase draws an analogy to the poker ante (two bits) and gains your entry into the conversation.

 

"For the love of Pete" and "for Pete's sake" are euphemisms for the phrases "for the love of God/Christ" or "for God's/ Christ's sake" and hail from a time when those phases were considered blasphemous.  Nowadays phrases like "for the love of god" are commonly used, but the euphemisms are still used. 

Why Pete?  Most likely it is a reference to the catholic Saint Peter.  Other phrases with similar origins are: "Zounds!" (archaic British slang), is a contraction of "christ's wounds".

Zounds -  who knew?

 

"Let the cat out of the bag"

At medieval markets, unscrupulous traders would display a pig for sale.  However, the pig was always given to the customer in a bag, with strict instructions not to open the bag until they were some way away.  The trader would hand the customer a bag containing something that wriggled, and it was only later that the buyer would find he'd been conned when he opened the bag to reveal that it contained a cat, not a pig.  Therefore, "letting the cat out of the bag" revealed the secret of the con trick. 

Visitors to London may be interested to know that they can still get fleeced like this on Oxford Street every day of the week at the "auctions" that take place there.  It's an opportunity to see a true Medieval craft still in use today - do not, however, be tempted to buy the cameras, video recorders or obscure items offered. 

 

Don't know if any of these are true,  but the're interesting

 

[Plan 9]

Zebras are black with white stripes.

People look up when thinking.

The right hand page of a book is always odd-numbered.

Wintergreen Lifesavers sparkle in the dark when you bite into them.

Most white wines are made from dark-colored grapes.

 

[Forgiven48]

In the course of average lifetime, while you are sleeping you will eat 70 assorted insects and 10 spiders! 

 

 

[Forgiven48]

Originally posted by Plan 9


Wintergreen Lifesavers sparkle in the dark when you bite into them.

I've done that, they really do spark.

 

[Forgiven48]

Originally posted by altya

In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.

  LOL

 

[Forgiven48]

Visit:

http://www.snopes.com/

for fun facts

 

[Brimshack]

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence includes notations indicating the pauses and intonation patterns that the speaker is supposed to use when reading it aloud.

We are all familiar with 'prefixes' and 'suffixes', but can anyone give me an example of an English 'infix'? (Hint, if you type it on this board it will read 'Wash My Mouth OUt".

When you read, you're eyes jerk across the page several words at a time rather than sliding smoothly across. These jerking movements are called 'blicks'.

When we listen to someone speak, we perceive gaps between the words, but when someone speaks the sound is actually continuous.

In all likelyhood the first domesticated animal, the dog, was probably the one that took the initiative. By hanging around campfires it could get humans to feed it scraps, and eventually trained them to do that on a more regular basis.

In the famous Scopes Monkey trial of 1925, William Jennings Bryan (the main prosecutor) offered to pay the fine for John Scopes if he was found guity. The trial itself was largely a publicity stunt to revive the local economy, and far from being dragged out of the classroom and put into jail, Scopes (who was only a substitute biology teacher) was asked if he wanted to be the test case, and when he said 'yes' they filed all the paperwork fast and efficient; he played a nice game of tennis that day.

Hellen Keller was a radical Socialist.

Colonol Custer, always portrayed with long flowing hair at the battle of Little Bighorn, had actually cut his hair short before that campaign.

Puritans actually produced and drank a lot of alcohol. In fact one of the most comon forms of witchcraft accusations was the claim that sa supposed witch had caused a keg of ale to spoil.

The 'real' Minnisota Fats was actually a second-rate pool hustler who had his name changed legally to match that of a character in the movie 'The Hustler.' He's the one pool player most people recognize, and most people assume that he must have been the greatest of his day, but in reality he wasn't even close. the best pool player in the world at the time was Willie Masconnie (Sp?).

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon (where you could swear you know the word, but you just can't say it) occurs most often with proper names.

One of my favorite professor's favorite stories, taken from somewhere in the jesuit relations: There was a missionary that stayed with the Montagnais, Algonkian-speaking group of Indians that hunted in the area of the Canadian shield. he stayed with them for a whole summer, but out of concern for his health he went back to a major settlement for the winter. When he rejoined them the following Spring, the first thing they did was to present him with a great big ball of snot. They were so proud of the gift, and clearly regarded this as a great honor. he couldn't understand; he couldn't remember any references to the custom in any of the writings of his brethren. he hadn't seen anything like it when he travelled with them the previous summer. So, finally he asked them to explain this exotic custom. They said, well we watched you all last summer, and when ever you had to blow your nose, you took out your best piece of cloth, blew into it, and then stuffed it back into your pocket to save it. We thought YOU really liked that stuff.

 

[Gerry]

Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat!

 

[coastie]

In all likelyhood the first domesticated animal, the dog, was probably the one that took the initiative. By hanging around campfires it could get humans to feed it scraps, and eventually trained them to do that on a more regular basis.

Isn't that the truth!

You all should find a book about sailor traditions and origins of certain words. It's fascinating!

When I was a seaman my Captain used to come up to the bridge when I was on the helm and ask all kind of trivial questions.

Here's one for you. I hope it isn't found derogatory. It's a true story.

Back in the day of Portugese exploration, every ship carried cannons as protection and as tools to overcome other vessels smuggling goods. With cannons, you need cannon balls. But the problem was that while these ships were some of the fastest in the world, they were small and were tossed around like footballs while in the open ocean. So the canon balls would roll all over the decks which caused some nasty damage and was quite hazard to the crewman.

A first Lt. came up with a solution. He took one of the layers of brass plates that were placed on the bow to protect the hull from any Ice they may encounter. The plate was shaped like a heart with a rounded bottom (somewhat resembling a monkey). He straightened the brass plate and hammered nine round dipples into it. The dipples were to place the bottom nine cannon balls in so that they could be stacked and held firmly in choppy seas. He called his creation a macaco .

The only problem with brass is that when it gets cold it restricts which resulted (in extreme cases) in the dipples popping out sending the balls rolling about the decks once again. Thus the term was coined It was cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass macaco.

This is one of the most memrable stories, but there are SO many more.

 

[Gerry]

Where I live it has finally cooled to 88 and a heat index of 95! Gee! Think I'll get a sweater on right away!

 

[altya]

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube
and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
"Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left
hand.

 

[Susan]

Some more useless information on one of my favorite subjects:

Chihuahuas are not loud barkers, contrary to popular belief. Purebred shorthair Chihuahuas are actually quiet and very sweet, and a yapping Chihuahua is usually part something else (like Pomeranian or Papillon)

 

[Susan]

 

[Blackwing]

Polar bears will be completely black if you take out their fur(their skin is black to retain and absorb heat)

The leader in a lion pride is a female.

 

[Susan]

Oh, I never knew that lol

 

[MizDoulos]

The mayfly lives only 24 hours. (I think that's correct)

 

[Plan 9]

MizDoulos: Have you seen the movie, "A Bug's Life?"

Two houseflies are bored by the circus act they're watching. One says to the other, "We have twenty-four hours to live. Why are we wasting it in THIS joint?"

 

[Plan 9]

 I can't delete for some reason.

 

[Gerry]

Originally posted by altya
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube
and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
"Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left
hand.

Mr. Rogers is an ordained Presbyterian Minister!

 

[Gerry]

It's 8:12 PM. The temperature is 91 and the heat index is 101.