The Random Fact thread

[Zhono Veranhaut]

The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It to Beaver." 

[Lava]

If you piled all the Wiis in the world on top of each other, they would reach the moon!

[McMajik]

The song Kickstart my heart by motley crue was written about nikki sixx's heroin overdose, in which he was declared dead. However, the paramedic at the scene was a motley crue fan, and revived him with 2 adrenaline shots to the heart. Why don't they do that with other people who OD?

[Zhono Veranhaut]

A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

[NeoFur]

Martha Stewart has been struck by lightning three times.

[Fiver]

You are statistically more likely to be executed than struck by lightning. 
I wonder if Martha Stewart will be executed at some point.

[baracudaboy]

Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.

[redyoshi49q]

Water is capable of flowing upward through thin tubes without the assistance of artificial devices or other outside assistance.  The phenomenon is known as capillary action, and this is the reason why plants are able to get water from the soil.

[Avan]

Unlike most other species, both genders of wolves produce substantial quantities of the hormone prolactin which stimulates their extreme love and patience and fascination with puppies and raising them (not to mention the puppy is simply cute!).

[KayVixen]

hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the phobia of long words!

[Slylin]

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the phobia of long words and is terribly IRONIC

[KayVixen]

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word in the English language as well as the name of a volcanic lung disease

[Slylin]

Electronic Bunnies will take over the world in 10 hours.

[KayVixen]

The word with the most letters is a name of protein, as a name, it technically does not qualify as a word, but at 1913 characters, we just had to include it. Theoretically these names can contain an infinite amount of characters, but this one qualifies as it has actually been used in a medical journal.

methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucyl phenylalanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyl lysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenyl alanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisol eucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartyl threonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartyl alanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenyl alanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolyl threonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucyl arginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonyl prolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamyl methionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysyl histidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucyl leucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenyl alanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenyl alanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalyl glycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalyl prolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanyl arginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginyl valylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinyl prolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucyl leucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosylglycyl arginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginyl alanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginyl arginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidyl leucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginyl alanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanyl glycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysyl alanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylalanylglycyl alanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisol eucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucyl glutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyl lysylvalylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysyl alanylalanylthreonylarginylserine


>.< omg

[Kwan]

The new world's first mule skinner (breeder of mules) was George Washington. 
He is often depicted on a white horse, but President Washington far preferred his brown riding mule.

[Kobuk]

The new world's first mule skinner (breeder of mules) was George Washington.
He is often depicted on a white horse, but President Washington far preferred his brown riding mule.

(Seriously? I never heard of that in history class.) 

[KayVixen]

In Washington state the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) is so bad that half the teachers couldn't pass it

(this is true, all my teachers even agree ^^)

[Fawlkes]

 Things not invented in Scotland but long assumed to have been:

 Whisky (proper spelling), Bagpipes, Haggis, Black Pudding, The kilt, tartan, the television (but to be fair John Logie Baird made the first working one)

 And things that are:

 Tarmac, Penicillin, The Decimal Point, The U.S. Navy, Golf, Microwaves, fax machines, radar and the Telephone.

[Kobuk]

Tarmac, Penicillin, The Decimal Point, The U.S. Navy, Golf, Microwaves, fax machines, radar and the Telephone.

(The telephone was invented in the US.

US Navy?  Care to explain that one?)

[Kwan]

The new world's first mule skinner (breeder of mules) was George Washington.
He is often depicted on a white horse, but President Washington far preferred his brown riding mule.

(Seriously? I never heard of that in history class.) 

(Ya, srsly.) 

(The King of Spain sent some mammoth donkeys (donkeys that are horse-sized) to George Washington as a gift to the newly-formed USA's president.  Only the jack, named "Royal Gift," survived the trip over the ocean.  Washington bred Royal Gift with his riding mares, and was very pleased with the result.)

[Fawlkes]

Tarmac, Penicillin, The Decimal Point, The U.S. Navy, Golf, Microwaves, fax machines, radar and the Telephone.

(The telephone was invented in the US.

US Navy?   Care to explain that one?)

 Telephone- Alexander Graham Bell- Scottish.

 U.S. Navy- A Scot called John Paul Jones.

 Sorry guys but we get made to learn these things in School, with a population of only 5m people in the country we blow things out of proportion when we invent, win or do something interesting.

 

[guilleum2]

A smoot is a unit of measurement. It is 5 feet and 7 inches. I AM A SMOOT TALL. 

[rabbit_miko]

A dog was once the King of Norway for 3 years during the 11th century AD

Given a choice between a 10% ethyl alcohol solution and water, a hamster will choose to drink the alcohol solution about 90% of the time.

Tetrodotoxin (puffer fish poison) is one of the main ingredients in zombie voodoo spells.

[Avan]

Water is theorized to have a metallic form which is possibly present in the planets Neptune and Uranus.

[Landrav]

Inuit natives have over 100 words for 'ice' but no words for 'Hello'

*sees an Inuit* "Hey there."
*no response*

I'm sorry to dredge up a post from so long ago, but I figured I should say this is not true.  Here is one example on a website I Googled: http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/research/eskimo.html


For my own contribution:

Light reflects off water at a 42 degree angle to create a rainbow
Jerusalem covers 42 square miles.
There were 42 generations from Abraham to Christ
Each column of The Torah contains exactly 42 lines
The Statue of Liberty's right arm is 42 feet long
Elvis died at age 42
The Next Generation's Enterprise has 42 decks
Two dice have 42 dots
There are exactly 42 Oreo cookies in a one-pound package

I guess 42 really is the answer to life, the universe, and everything!