Learn something everday

[Ford 1996]

Okay, so basically the point of this thread is just to share random facts of knowledge that others might not know. That's really it. I'll start.

 

During the Ionian Revolt, the then King of Sparta, Cleamenes I, predecessor of King Leonidas, was nearly convinced by the rebelling Tyrant of Miletus to come to their aid by means of invading Persia. He however changed his mind when he realized how far away Persia was.

 

and 

 

A bug, entomologically speaking, is an insect with impaling/sucking mouth parts. Ants, beatles, etc are not bugs.

[cmack1028 549]

drugs are bad

 

...unless they're free

[Tom_Whiteman 949]

Well- I've known this random fact for a while. But today I told my teacher and she flipped out because she thought it was the coolest thing.

 

India has a 0 Rupee note. It's to protest bribery and corruption. Thousands are produced every month.

 

 

It's designed to look like the 50 Rupee note.

[Crowbill 493]

A colleague of mine talks about this random which legitimacy I can't bother to confirm fact quite often, so I'll share it here!

 

The actual weight of the Internet (the actual internet, not the servers and other stuff) is about 50 grams.

[Man of Respect 5471]

Sandk1ng creates quality memes everyday

[Moochael 730]

90% of all people cringe when this occurs

[_Jandy_ 3519]

Dora isn't an explorer because her destinations are already on her map.

[Reeg_ 75]

Random facts:

 

-Musical notes are measured by the number of sound waves per (sec). If two notes' ratios of sound waves to (sec) can be simplified to the same ratio, they're harmonious.  

 

-Abraham Lincoln grew a beard because of a letter he recieved from an 11-year old girl; here it is. 

http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gracebedell.htm

 

-Hot dogs are in fact only 50% actual dog. 

[OldeTymer 323]

Karoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.

[Tom_Whiteman 949]

In 1913 Hitler, Trotsky, Tito, Freud and Stalin all lived within a few blocks of each other in Vienna. A few of them actually went to the same coffee shop...

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21859771

[jamesb 218]

Typing /cc clears your emotes already entered with chat continuity(- + = ')

 

This is just to help all the poor souls like me who've been re-logging.

 

[iris1612 1780]

I've got loads of these:

Canadian 100 dollar notes smell like maple syrup

 

Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, or the Gay Kingdom of the Coral Sea, is an independent micronation formed by LGBT people in 
Australia in 2004.

 

When a male bee orgasms, his testicles explode and he dies. Fun, right?

 

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which
stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

 

Charlie Chaplain once entered a Charlie Chaplain look-alike contest... and won third place.

 

Graffiti is plural; the singular form is Graffito.

 

If you were to call somebody a "*****", you would not be referring to any part of the female anatomy--rather, it is short for pusillanimous, which means "timid" or "cowardly", and came to be associated with women because sexism.

 

When rubber was scarce due to inability to create it synthetically, bread used to be used instead of rubber for erasers on pencils.

[LaCabra (Soda) 1519]

the guy who sings the chorus in africa by toto (I BLESS THE RAINS DOWN IN AFRICAAAAA) is john williams' son!

[AGP 3169]

5 hours ago, MaxGemini said:

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which
stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

No real historical evidence has ever been found of this law, and even if the law did exist, it wasn't called the "rule of thumb". The phrase has been in use since the 1600s, the earliest written use being this passage, written in 1685, "many profest Christians are like to foolish builders, who build by guess, and by rule of thumb, (as we use to speak) and not by Square and Rule." Seems the phrase has meant what it still means since its inception, and the supposed law the phrase came from was actually a rumored court ruling made in 1782, not a proper law. The only printed record of this court ruling is a single political cartoon. The first time we see the phrase "rule of thumb" being associated with domestic violence is in the 1970s, an attribution that was primarily propagated by feminist groups.

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

The car brand Alfa Romeo was essentially commandeered by Mussolini and became the face of his regime for the duration of his rule as a highly recognizable italian product.