Fascinating Facts and Trivia

(24-02-2020 22:08 )billyboy1963 Wrote:  You consume 1/10th of a calorie every time You lick a stamp

Well you used to because now they are self-adhesive so a) it would take all the glue off and b) it would stick to your tongue so either way you're stuffed!

Ever wondered why it's called Shrove Tuesday, I know I have so I found this:

The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of Confession and doing penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday was named after the custom of Christians to be "shriven" before the start of Lent. Also known as Pancake Day here and in America, New Orleans to be precise it is called after the French phrase Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.

Mardi Gras in the US consists of various quarters of the town chucking beads and other worthless trinkets to mostly women and I don't know if it has changed but the more they bared their breasts(or in some cases lifted their skirts!!) the more beads, necklaces etc they got. Add to that a big parade usually with some kind of jazz being played and it is a mad carnival-like atmosphere. Here it is much more refined with the cooking and tossing in pans of pancakes. In some places they have races, the most famous is a House of Commons race and even choirs can take part whilst still wearing their cassocks!

Maine is the only state (in USA) whose name is just one syllable.

The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

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

A rat can last longer without water than a camel.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks or it will digest itself.

A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate.

A 2" X 4" is really 1-1/2" by 3-1/2".

On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.

The two tiny holes drilled in every BIC pen is to ensure that the air pressure is the same both inside and outside the pen, which helps the ink flow to the tip

The process by which bread toasts is called the ‘Maillard Reaction’.

In 2005, a fortune cookie company called Wonton Food Inc. correctly foretold lottery numbers, resulting in 110 winners and an investigation. No fraud was involved.

If you sneeze while traveling at 60 mph your eyes are closed for an average of 50 feet.

Some areas in Scotland and Japan switched to blue street lights at night, and saw a decrease in crime & suicide rates.

Samuel Jackson has a clause in his film contracts that allows him to play golf during film shoots whenever he wants.

Coupla remarks here guys.

Firstly GMach's one about a piece of 2'' x 4'' being in fact 1 1/2'' x 3 1/2''
A piece of 2 by 4 is those dimensions in name only so in the trade it's referred to as '2 by 4 nominal'.
I wouldn't say that the piece of wood in question would be exactly 1 1/2'' x 3 1/2'' either but it will be substantially less than 2'' x 4'' the difference being caused by the wastage due to the thickness of the saw blade used to separate the product in the saw mill and also wastage resulting from any preparation of the surface of the material (planing for example).
Say the circular saw blade creates a kerf (or slot) say 1/4'' wide and say that the planing removes 1/16'' from each of two sides. In total that's not a difference of 1/2''
A saw mill might say 1 1/2'' x 3 1/2'' to cover themselves.
The proportional loss applies to all sizes available and at B & Q say the exact size is quoted in millimetres, say 38 x 18 mm rather than incur complaints about it not being say 40 x 20mm.

Secondly billyboy's biro. I'm sure that the hole at the end of the BIC cap is so that if a child swallows it their airway can remain open in the event of choking. I remember perhaps twenty years ago when there was no hole.