Unusual Facts

[macb]

Did you know

There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia, a nation of 17 million people.

New Zealand is home to 4 million people and 70 million sheep.

[kayo]

kayo is actually a figment of your collective imagination.

did you take the red pill or the blue pill?

[LaoPo]

Did you know that:

In 1961, Matisse's Le Bateau (The Boat) hung upside-down for 2 months in the Museum of Modern Art, New York -none of the 116,000 visitors had noticed.

LaoPo

[Smilodon]

Eiffel tower is made of wrought iron, not steel.

Statue of Liberty is made of steel frame, stainless steel bars bent to follow contour of outer copper skin. Flame of torch has been restored to original solid (not with windows for internal lighting) and is gold leaf covered, and lit externally. Renovation was privately funded.

Oklahoma City federal building had several more bombs discovered inside that had not detonated. (Saw the local news clips)

Bees see ultraviolet light only

Pit vipers sense heat (infrared) via their heat-sensing pits in their face

The duck-billed platypus is the world's only egg-laying mammal

Wild boar tusks are circular/helical in their shape. They can be pulled from an old skull, and several centimeters of tusk will slide right back into the jaw, in a circular/helical path.

Tungsten is only marginally less dense than gold, and both are close to twice as dense as lead.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say there were three wise men that visited Jesus.

Jesus was a young child, not a baby, when they showed up. When Herod ascertained when His star had shown up in the heavens, he killed all children two years old and younger in Jerusalem. And Jesus, the young child, was in a house. Not a manger when the wise men arrived. Sorry, nativity scene brokers.

The Bible never says that money is the root of all evil. It also doesn't say "God helps those who help themselves" which is evidently The Thieves' Credo.

Adam named his wife Eve AFTER the fall. And it was not listed as being an apple that they shared.

Almost all horses have more than one horsepower.

A rhinoceros' horn is made of densely packed hair

Pronghorn antelopes are unique among animals in that they shed their horns every year. Also, no other animal has forked horns.

The Kangaroo rat manufactures its own water when necessary from dietary carbohydrates.

Spiders and scorpions are arachnids, crabs and lobsters are crustaceans.

Earthworms don't surface during rainstorms so they won't drown. They don't have lungs. They surface to mate. I have seen them on a lake shore, underwater, alive, with one end buried in the sand, incidentally.

The longest tusk of any animal belongs to the narwhal. It is straight, and of a spiral design.

A spiral is different than a helix in that a helix is of constant diameter. So most "spiral" staircases are actually helical staircases. One can also have a flat spiral drawn on paper, but an end view of a helix that has at least 360 degrees of rotation would merely be a circle.

All parabola are actually just segments oif exactly the same shape, in different sizes. No matter how wide, narrow, long, or short, If mathematically continued, they will have a back that is parallel to their axis, and a focal point that is bracketed on both sides by the portions of the parabola that are at exactly 45 degrees to the axis.

[Old Croc]

The duck-billed platypus is the world's only egg-laying mammal

Did you know that the four species of echidna are also egg laying mammals?

[suegha]

Nowhere in the Bible does it say there were three wise men that visited Jesus.

This is true, the three is an assumption made by the three gifts. All we know is that there were two or more.

Jesus was a young child, not a baby, when they showed up. When Herod ascertained when His star had shown up in the heavens, he killed all children two years old and younger in Jerusalem. And Jesus, the young child, was in a house. Not a manger when the wise men arrived. Sorry, nativity scene brokers.

Yes, the nativity scene always shows the shepherds and the wise men there together, not so, according to the bible.

The Bible never says that money is the root of all evil.

Also true, however, it does say "For the love of money is the root of all evil:" Subtil difference

Adam named his wife Eve AFTER the fall. And it was not listed as being an apple that they shared.

Also true, up to this she is referred to as 'the woman'. Eve is a Hebrew word meaning 'Life giver' or 'life'. Once again the fruit is only referred to as the 'fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil'.

Edited February 27, 2007 by suegha

[coldcrush]

Two fishermen bled to death in separate incidents in June of 2001 along the Sepik river in north-western Papua New Guinea after having their penises bitten off by pacu fish. The fish are related to piranha and follow urine strams in the water, swimming to its source and then biting it off with razor sharp teeth. Some believe the killer may be a fish introduced from Brazil in 1994 as a protein substitute, but marine biologist Ian Middleton blamed another pacu species, introduced from Indonesia. "The killer fish have the most human-like teeth on the bottom jaw I have ever seen and quite possibly feed on insects," he said. The Brazilian pacu grow to 44 lb (20 kg) and have no teeth (Melbourne Herald Sun -July 6th, 2001).

Ouch

[LaoPo]

Two fishermen bled to death in separate incidents in June of 2001 along the Sepik river in north-western Papua New Guinea after having their penises bitten off by pacu fish. The fish are related to piranha and follow urine strams in the water, swimming to its source and then biting it off with razor sharp teeth. Some believe the killer may be a fish introduced from Brazil in 1994 as a protein substitute, but marine biologist Ian Middleton blamed another pacu species, introduced from Indonesia. "The killer fish have the most human-like teeth on the bottom jaw I have ever seen and quite possibly feed on insects," he said. The Brazilian pacu grow to 44 lb (20 kg) and have no teeth (Melbourne Herald Sun -July 6th, 2001).

Ouch

they didn't have swimmingpants on...?.....

Nasty looking creatures.....

I will never swim nud_e again.....

LaoPo

[Smilodon]

God, that is a mean, nasty Alien (in the Sigourney Weaver sense) looking little beast.

And, yes, that is one more great reason to leave something on the ol' Main Event area when swimming.

I don't whiz in the water here in Hawaii because I don't want sharks to follow it to me or whoever may be in the water if I get out.

[chiliwasabi]

Apparently a cockroach will live for up to 9 days without its head before it starves to death.

[Jamie]

Rabbits are coprophages...they eat their waste to redigest any nutrients that were left behind.

[baabaabobo]

Many of us fondly recall the rhyming ditties we learned as children, such as "Jack Be Nimble" and "The Farmer in the Dell." But how many of us realize that several of our most fondly-recalled nursery rhymes (e.g., "A Tisket, A Tasket" and "Little Jack Horner") were not mere nonsense songs, but actually originated as coded references to such dark events as plagues and religious persecution? Such was the case with another childhood favorite, "Sing a Song of Sixpence."

For those unfamiliar with this ditty, let's start by offering its lyrics:

Sing a song of sixpence

A pocket full of rye

Four and twenty blackbirds

Baked in a pie

When the pie was opened

The birds began to sing

Was that not a tasty dish

To set before a king?

The King was in his counting house

Counting out his money

The Queen was in the parlor

Eating bread and honey

The Maid was in the garden

Hanging out the clothes

When down came a blackbird

And snapped off her nose!

The surprising truth is that this innocent little rhyme, which dates from the early 1700s, actually represents a coded message used to recruit crew members for pirate vessels!

Pirates (or corsairs, privateers whose activities were sanctioned by letters of marque from a sovereign) did not Shiver me timbers!

spend all their time at sea: they cruised the waters in areas such as the Mediterranean, the Spanish Main, or the Atlantic coast of North America, looking for prizes, and they returned to port when the need for supplies or repairs demanded it. Upon reaching port, the ship's captain paid off the crew (primarily by dividing the spoils of whatever they had captured), and the crew members then dispersed ashore (usually to spend all their pay on alcohol and prostitutes as quickly as possible). Some crewmen tended to stay in the vicinity, but others left for other regions, caught on with other ships, died, were killed, or simply disappeared. Thus, much like the captains of naval vessels and merchant traders, the captains of pirate ships needed to recruit new crew members whenever they embarked on yet another venture. Since piracy (as opposed to privateering) was against the law, pirates devised codes that could be used to advertise for crew members without openly revealing their illegal affiliations.

The nursery rhyme "Six a Song of Sixpence" was a coded message that evolved over several years' times and was used by confederates of the notorious pirate Blackbeard to recruit crew members for his prize-hunting expeditions. Like many other messages passed down to us over hundreds of years by oral tradition, there is no one "official" version, nor is there a "correct" interpretation for any particular variant. In general, however, the most common form of this rhyme bore these veiled meanings:

Sing a song of sixpence / A pocket full of rye

Blackbeard's standard payment of sixpence a day was considered good money in the 1700s, especially since most pirate vessels did not pay a salary: the crew only received a share of the spoils if they were successful in capturing prizes (and many a pirate ship had to return to port empty-handed after spending several fruitless months at sea). As well, his crew was promised a pocket (a leather bag somewhat like an early canteen which held about a liter) full of rye (whiskey) per day. Not bad, considering that alcohol was the average sailor's raison d'etre.

Four and twenty blackbirds / Baked in a pie

As Henry Betts points out in his book on the origins and history of nursery rhymes, "It was a favourite trick in the sixteenth century to conceal all sorts of surprises in a pie." Buccaneers, too, were fond of surprises, and one of Blackbeard's favorite ruses to lure a ship within boarding range was to make his own vessel (or crew) appear to be in distress, typically by pretending to have been dismasted in a storm or to have sprung a leak below the waterline. Passing ships — both honest sailors wanting to help and other pirates looking for an easy catch — would sail in close to offer assistance, whereupon a crew of two dozen heavily-armed seamen dressed in black would board the other vessel (via a boat in darkness or fog, or by simply jumping into the other ship when it came alongside if no other means of surprise attack was possible) to quickly kill or disable as many crew members as possible. Thus the four and twenty "blackbirds" (i.e., Blackbeard's crewmen) "baked in a pie" (i.e., concealed in anticipation of springing a trap).

When the pie was opened / The birds began to sing

This follows from the previous line. Once the victim's ship was lured in for the kill, the "blackbirds" came out of hiding and attacked with a fearsome din.

Was that not a tasty dish / To set before a king?

This line is commonly misinterpreted. The King is not a reference to any real king, but rather to Blackbeard himself, the king of pirates. And the tasty dish is the plundered ship that was so easily captured.

The King was in his counting house / Counting out his money

Again, the King is Blackbeard (no real king would take on such a mean task as counting money). This line of the message signals that Blackbeard had the cash on hand to pay a crew on salary rather than strictly on divided spoils.

The Queen was in the parlor / Eating bread and honey

Blackbeard's main vessel was a French merchant ship named "Le Concorde de Nantes" that was jointly captured by Blackbeard and Captain Hornigold in the Grenadines in November of 1717. Upon his retirement from pirating, Hornigold presented the ship to Blackbeard, who renamed it "The Queen Anne's Revenge". Thus the "Queen" referred to here is Blackbeard's ship, and "eating bread and honey" meant that it was in port taking on supplies in preparation for a cruise.

The Maid was in the garden / Hanging out the clothes

The use of the word "maid" indicated that the location/route of one or more prize ships was known, and they were going to be specific targets of the upcoming cruise (this greatly enhancing the probability of the crew's collecting prize money). The waters around the Carolinas down to the Caribbean were referred to as the garden, as this was an area where pirates would often cruise for easy pickings. "Hanging out the clothes" meant the targeted ship was already at sea or just about to leave port (thus its sails — or "clothes" — have been hung).

When down came a blackbird / And snapped off her nose!

There is some scholarly debate in literary and maritime circles as to whether the last part was originally "and snapped off her nose" or "and snapped off a rose." Either way, the passage is taken to be a Blackbeard's bragging about his plans to swoop in and have his way with the targeted ship.

So, next time you hear this innocent children's song, remember that it was originally recited in taverns by drunken, bloodthirsty buccaneers as a code to recruit other pirates for their next murderous voyage!

[coldcrush]

A dwarf nicknamed Od has died in a circus accident in northern Thailand. According to the Pattaya Mail, he "bounced sideways from a trampoline and was swallowed by a yawning hippopotamus which was waiting to appear in the next act. Vets on the scene said Hilda the Hippo had a gag reflex that automatically caused her to swallow." The vet said it was the first time the hefty vegetarian had ever eaten a circus performer. "Unfortunately, the 1,000-plus spectators continued to applaud widely until common-sense dictated that there had been a tragic mistake". (Melbourne Herald Sun - July 16th, 1999)

[Smilodon]

Interesting! (the blackbeard thing)

My response to the hippo: gut the hippo immediately once they knew what was up. Or down.

Edited February 28, 2007 by Smilodon

[coldcrush]

You just cannot do this in Thailand...

Piste

[mumbojumbo]

A dwarf nicknamed Od has died in a circus accident in northern Thailand. According to the Pattaya Mail, he "bounced sideways from a trampoline and was swallowed by a yawning hippopotamus which was waiting to appear in the next act. Vets on the scene said Hilda the Hippo had a gag reflex that automatically caused her to swallow." The vet said it was the first time the hefty vegetarian had ever eaten a circus performer. "Unfortunately, the 1,000-plus spectators continued to applaud widely until common-sense dictated that there had been a tragic mistake". (Melbourne Herald Sun - July 16th, 1999)

False- http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/hippoeatsdwarf.asp

[Smilodon]

oops

Edited March 1, 2007 by Smilodon

[Crow Boy]

The duck-billed platypus is the world's only egg-laying mammal

Did you know that the four species of echidna are also egg laying mammals?

Did you know that neither ecidnas nor platupuses are mammals - they are monotremes.

[mrbojangles]

The duck-billed platypus is the world's only egg-laying mammal

Did you know that the four species of echidna are also egg laying mammals?

Did you know that neither ecidnas nor platupuses are mammals - they are monotremes.

Did you know.........................I'm staying well out of this one

[mumbojumbo]

Eskimos use refrigerators to keep food from freezing.

Where did you get this fact-the days of the igloo are over. Most live

in modern, heated houses, and have atv's, snow mobiles, and 4-wheel

drives for transportation.

[Old Croc]

The duck-billed platypus is the world's only egg-laying mammal

Did you know that the four species of echidna are also egg laying mammals?

Did you know that neither ecidnas nor platupuses are mammals - they are monotremes.

Did you know that monotremes (platypus and echidnas) are mammals?

The word monotreme relates to mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.

Did you know that I had to slow to avoid an echidna on the road near Kalbarri, WA, on a trip away last week?

Edited March 1, 2007 by Old Croc

[suegha]

I love this thread!

[LaoPo]

I love this thread!

LaoPo

[macb]

DID YOU KNOW:

Traffic lights were used before the advent of the motorcar

The Wright Brother tested the first aeroplane in a wind tunnel before flying it.

[suegha]

"The Wright Brother tested the first aeroplane in a wind tunnel before flying it."

I'd like to know more about this one! Details please...

[Pink Mist]

The duck-billed platypus is the world's only egg-laying mammal

Did you know that the four species of echidna are also egg laying mammals?

Did you know that neither ecidnas nor platupuses are mammals - they are monotremes.

Did you know that monotremes (platypus and echidnas) are mammals?

The word monotreme relates to mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.

Did you know that I had to slow to avoid an echidna on the road near Kalbarri, WA, on a trip away last week?

did you know the male platapus is also capable of inflicting a nasty sting

[Pink Mist]

the girls in my avatar are topless

[suegha]

Really? Then we need a bigger image! Cos I can't see them...

[Pink Mist]

Really? Then we need a bigger image! Cos I can't see them...

There is an A4 size hanging in Falang connection, or there was

[baabaabobo]

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."