Post by Rhonda on Apr 28, 2008 4:24:43 GMT -5
How many people can fit in Notre Dame?
Notre Dame de Paris ranks as one of the greatest achievements of Gothic architecture. The famous cathedral was begun in 1163 and completed around 1345; the massive interior can accommodate over 6,000 worshippers. Its famous gargoyles were added much later.
What are a cat's whiskers for?
A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through. The whiskers act as feelers or antennae, helping the animal to judge the precise width of any passage.
Are there actual things as cooties?
There really are such thing as "cooties." Though most people believe that "cooties" is just a nonsense word used by children to describe unpleasant insects, cooties are in fact a kind of body lice.
How tough are igloo walls?
The walls of an igloo, made entirely of natural material -- stand up better to modern artillery than a concrete barricade, according to tests conducted by a Swedish army. The walls absorb an artillery blast, are almost invisible from the air, and can't be spotted by the infrared sensors that guide today's missiles.
Was there a real Dr. Pepper?
Charles Alderton, a Texan pharmacist, created a soft drink and named it after his prospective father-in-law, Dr. Charles Kenneth Pepper. The doctor was unimpressed, so Alderton dropped the period after the abbreviation for doctor and made his fortune with "Dr Pepper."
What was Valentino's real name?
Rudolph Valentino, great matinee idol of the silent film era, was born Rodolfo Alfonzo Raffaele Pierre Philibert Guglielmi.
How large of lady bug colonies?
Some lady beetle, or lady bug, colonies have been reported to contain as many as 500 gallons of beetles. A gallon of beetles contains from 72,000 to 80,000 adults.
When do green turtles breed?
Green turtles may breed for the first time when they are between 25 to 50 years old. This figure varies, depending upon the creature's range and the diet of the maturing turtle.
Why do flamingoes get left alone?
Because the natural habitat of flamingoes is of little use to man -- the alkaline African lake waters support few fish and cannot be used for human consumption or irrigation -- and also because their resting areas are typically inaccessible, the birds are rarely disturbed, unlike other African wild birds.
When are people at their most irritable?
Based on research with the human body's internal clock, the period between the hours of 4 and 6 in the afternoon is when people are the most irritable. Evidence has shown that more human bites are treated in hospitals at this time of the day than any other.
Largest Animals to Have Ever Lived
April 2nd 2008 12:58
The dinosaurs were massive, especially some of the large herbivores such as Brachiosaurus. However, did you know that the biggest creature to ever live is still alive today? At up to 30m in length and weighing over 180 tonnes, the Blue Whale is the largest creature of all time.
This picture is a to-scale size comparison of the Blue Whale to other famous large dinosaurs, the Elephant (largest land animal alive today) and to show just how small we are - a human.
Handy Hint #1:
After working on your car you can clean your hands with a
Mixture of dishwashing liquid and sugar.
Handy Hint #2:
Rub a candle on the runners of a sticky desk drawer, it's
Amazing how much of a difference it will make.
TODAY'S TRIVIA:
1827 - Lead pencils are made for first time
1877 - 1st Easter egg roll on White House lawn
1884 - London prison for debtors closed
1902 - 1st motion picture theater opens (LA)
1956 - "As The World Turns" premiere on TV
1978 - Velcro was 1st put on the market
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:
0742 - Charlemagne, 1st Holy Roman emperor (800-14)
1725 - Casanova, writer
1805 - Hans Christian Andersen, author of 150 fairy tales
1908 - Buddy Ebsen, (Beverly Hillbillies)
1914 - Alec Guinness, actor (Bridge on River Kwai)
Trivia...
A normal cow's stomach has four compartments: the rumen, the recticulum (storage area), the omasum (where water is absorbed), and the abomasum ( the only compartment with digestive juices).
A polecat is not a cat. It is a nocturnal European weasel.
A quarter of the horses in the US died of a vast virus epidemic in 1872.
A rat can last longer without water than a camel can.
A single little brown bat can catch 1,200 mosquitoes-sized insects in just one hour.
Benjamin Franklin invented the rocking chair. (Was he holding a kite at the same time?)
Scientists have been measuring the speed of light for three centuries, and they have it down to an accuracy of half a foot per second. The speed of light is 186, 282.3959 miles per second.( I knew that light switch was fast !!)
Thanks to the electric light, the average American today sleeps 1.5 hours less each day than Americans of 60 years ago. (Thanks Edison - *%$#$@ )
BUT - It takes 8.5 minutes for light to get from the sun to earth.
Detroit policeman William L. Potts is credited with inventing the modern street traffic light in 1920. He worked out an electric light system that allowed him to control three street intersections from one tower He picked the red, yellow and green because railroads used them. (It figures that a policeman would invent it)
Close to two million people who go to hospitals in the United States for one ailment wind up catching another. (Cough - Cough)
The electric automobile self-starter was invented to make it possible for women to drive without a companion, who was previously needed to crank the engine. (Probably invented by a woman - dammm)
Pedals were added to the bicycle in 1839. (Before that, downhill was probably the only option).
Pearls melt in vinegar. (Guess you can keep them in your cookie jar
Then )
Minus forty degrees Celsius is exactly the same temperature as minus forty degrees Fahrenheit. (But it's still too cold)
In July, 1950, a patent was issued for an automatic spaghetti-spinning fork. (Damm, and I never bought one.)
It is estimated that a plastic container can resist decomposition for as
Long as 50,000 years. (Does that mean we have to recycle it or burn it ??)
Lee De Forest, the inventor of the radio tube, was tried for fraud in 1913. He was accused of tricking the public into buying stocks in his company, the Radio Telephone Company, by making "absurd and deliberately misleading" claims about the possibility of transmitting the human voice across the Atlantic Ocean. (Hope they didn't hang him from a "Pole")
It's physically impossible for you to lick your elbow. (Ya, go ahead and
Try to do it..)
No word in the English language rhymes with "MONTH". (I wonder how many more ??)
Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches. (Think about it, - Foul balls, Home Runs, and scratches on the cover !!)
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing. - ( SCARY!!! )
TODAY'S RANDOM FACT...
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected
Intravenously.
RANDOM TIDBITS
There were 70 executions of U.S. Troops by firing squad
During WWII. Most were for rape or murder, but one, that
Of Private Eddie Slovik was for desertion. He was the last
U.S. Soldier ever executed for desertion.
***
Gerald Ford was the only US president not to have been
Elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency.
***
Only one foreign country--Liberia in Africa--has a capital
City named after an American president. The capital is
Monrovia, named after James Monroe.
??
RANDOM TIDBITS
Beaver teeth are so sharp that Native Americans once used
Them as knife blades.
***
Cocaine was the first local anesthetic; being used as such
From about 1884 onwards.
***
An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes
While cruising at 25 mph.
Notre Dame de Paris ranks as one of the greatest achievements of Gothic architecture. The famous cathedral was begun in 1163 and completed around 1345; the massive interior can accommodate over 6,000 worshippers. Its famous gargoyles were added much later.
What are a cat's whiskers for?
A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through. The whiskers act as feelers or antennae, helping the animal to judge the precise width of any passage.
Are there actual things as cooties?
There really are such thing as "cooties." Though most people believe that "cooties" is just a nonsense word used by children to describe unpleasant insects, cooties are in fact a kind of body lice.
How tough are igloo walls?
The walls of an igloo, made entirely of natural material -- stand up better to modern artillery than a concrete barricade, according to tests conducted by a Swedish army. The walls absorb an artillery blast, are almost invisible from the air, and can't be spotted by the infrared sensors that guide today's missiles.
Was there a real Dr. Pepper?
Charles Alderton, a Texan pharmacist, created a soft drink and named it after his prospective father-in-law, Dr. Charles Kenneth Pepper. The doctor was unimpressed, so Alderton dropped the period after the abbreviation for doctor and made his fortune with "Dr Pepper."
What was Valentino's real name?
Rudolph Valentino, great matinee idol of the silent film era, was born Rodolfo Alfonzo Raffaele Pierre Philibert Guglielmi.
How large of lady bug colonies?
Some lady beetle, or lady bug, colonies have been reported to contain as many as 500 gallons of beetles. A gallon of beetles contains from 72,000 to 80,000 adults.
When do green turtles breed?
Green turtles may breed for the first time when they are between 25 to 50 years old. This figure varies, depending upon the creature's range and the diet of the maturing turtle.
Why do flamingoes get left alone?
Because the natural habitat of flamingoes is of little use to man -- the alkaline African lake waters support few fish and cannot be used for human consumption or irrigation -- and also because their resting areas are typically inaccessible, the birds are rarely disturbed, unlike other African wild birds.
When are people at their most irritable?
Based on research with the human body's internal clock, the period between the hours of 4 and 6 in the afternoon is when people are the most irritable. Evidence has shown that more human bites are treated in hospitals at this time of the day than any other.
Largest Animals to Have Ever Lived
April 2nd 2008 12:58
The dinosaurs were massive, especially some of the large herbivores such as Brachiosaurus. However, did you know that the biggest creature to ever live is still alive today? At up to 30m in length and weighing over 180 tonnes, the Blue Whale is the largest creature of all time.
This picture is a to-scale size comparison of the Blue Whale to other famous large dinosaurs, the Elephant (largest land animal alive today) and to show just how small we are - a human.
Handy Hint #1:
After working on your car you can clean your hands with a
Mixture of dishwashing liquid and sugar.
Handy Hint #2:
Rub a candle on the runners of a sticky desk drawer, it's
Amazing how much of a difference it will make.
TODAY'S TRIVIA:
1827 - Lead pencils are made for first time
1877 - 1st Easter egg roll on White House lawn
1884 - London prison for debtors closed
1902 - 1st motion picture theater opens (LA)
1956 - "As The World Turns" premiere on TV
1978 - Velcro was 1st put on the market
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:
0742 - Charlemagne, 1st Holy Roman emperor (800-14)
1725 - Casanova, writer
1805 - Hans Christian Andersen, author of 150 fairy tales
1908 - Buddy Ebsen, (Beverly Hillbillies)
1914 - Alec Guinness, actor (Bridge on River Kwai)
Trivia...
A normal cow's stomach has four compartments: the rumen, the recticulum (storage area), the omasum (where water is absorbed), and the abomasum ( the only compartment with digestive juices).
A polecat is not a cat. It is a nocturnal European weasel.
A quarter of the horses in the US died of a vast virus epidemic in 1872.
A rat can last longer without water than a camel can.
A single little brown bat can catch 1,200 mosquitoes-sized insects in just one hour.
Benjamin Franklin invented the rocking chair. (Was he holding a kite at the same time?)
Scientists have been measuring the speed of light for three centuries, and they have it down to an accuracy of half a foot per second. The speed of light is 186, 282.3959 miles per second.( I knew that light switch was fast !!)
Thanks to the electric light, the average American today sleeps 1.5 hours less each day than Americans of 60 years ago. (Thanks Edison - *%$#$@ )
BUT - It takes 8.5 minutes for light to get from the sun to earth.
Detroit policeman William L. Potts is credited with inventing the modern street traffic light in 1920. He worked out an electric light system that allowed him to control three street intersections from one tower He picked the red, yellow and green because railroads used them. (It figures that a policeman would invent it)
Close to two million people who go to hospitals in the United States for one ailment wind up catching another. (Cough - Cough)
The electric automobile self-starter was invented to make it possible for women to drive without a companion, who was previously needed to crank the engine. (Probably invented by a woman - dammm)
Pedals were added to the bicycle in 1839. (Before that, downhill was probably the only option).
Pearls melt in vinegar. (Guess you can keep them in your cookie jar
Then )
Minus forty degrees Celsius is exactly the same temperature as minus forty degrees Fahrenheit. (But it's still too cold)
In July, 1950, a patent was issued for an automatic spaghetti-spinning fork. (Damm, and I never bought one.)
It is estimated that a plastic container can resist decomposition for as
Long as 50,000 years. (Does that mean we have to recycle it or burn it ??)
Lee De Forest, the inventor of the radio tube, was tried for fraud in 1913. He was accused of tricking the public into buying stocks in his company, the Radio Telephone Company, by making "absurd and deliberately misleading" claims about the possibility of transmitting the human voice across the Atlantic Ocean. (Hope they didn't hang him from a "Pole")
It's physically impossible for you to lick your elbow. (Ya, go ahead and
Try to do it..)
No word in the English language rhymes with "MONTH". (I wonder how many more ??)
Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches. (Think about it, - Foul balls, Home Runs, and scratches on the cover !!)
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing. - ( SCARY!!! )
TODAY'S RANDOM FACT...
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected
Intravenously.
RANDOM TIDBITS
There were 70 executions of U.S. Troops by firing squad
During WWII. Most were for rape or murder, but one, that
Of Private Eddie Slovik was for desertion. He was the last
U.S. Soldier ever executed for desertion.
***
Gerald Ford was the only US president not to have been
Elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency.
***
Only one foreign country--Liberia in Africa--has a capital
City named after an American president. The capital is
Monrovia, named after James Monroe.
??RANDOM TIDBITS
Beaver teeth are so sharp that Native Americans once used
Them as knife blades.
***
Cocaine was the first local anesthetic; being used as such
From about 1884 onwards.
***
An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes
While cruising at 25 mph.
;D