The useless information thread!

[DarthWeevil]

Ok, 

 

Ben Affleck is a Lion,

Ronan Keating a Fish,                <--- Its all in the stars!

and Johnny Depp is a Twin.

 

Angelina Jolie is a Twin,

Jennifer Lopez a Lion,

and Brittany Murphy a Scorpion.

 

I am a Scorpion, how about you?

 

Useless? Oh, yes!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You lost me for a moment

 

I'm a 'goat'. I assume you're not using the names deliberately?

[Rosbjerg]

he's talking about zodiac signs .. you know the sign in which you are born? horoscopes that sort of thing!

 

I'm Cancer .. which is a lobster .. yay .. <_< so I'm both a deadly mutation and the nearest equivilant to Zoidberg!

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

he's talking about zodiac signs .. you know the sign in which you are born? horoscopes that sort of thing!

 

I'm Cancer .. which is a lobster .. yay ..  <_< so I'm both a deadly mutation and the nearest equivilant to Zoidberg!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Lobster or Crab..

[The Great Phantom]

The middle finger wasn't an insult until after the middle ages (or so I've heard...)

 

The archers used their middle fingers to pull back a bowstring, and when they were captured, their middle fingers were removed. But, when they captured somebody else, they would show them their middle fingers in taunt...

 

I'm not sure if that is AT ALL true...

[Rosbjerg]

last thing we need to know, in regard to 'fingersigns', is where the - - comes from! (the thumbsup part) .. anyone know?

 

my guess would be from Romans .. they used it in their gladitorial games, although we don't know if it meant kill or spare the defeated gladiator..

[kirottu]

the danish monarchy started with Gorm the old who died in 940 AD (we aren't 100% sure when he first became king)..

 

but it says that the Japanese Monarchy started in 660 BC with Jimmu ..

 

strange .. it seems Japanese is much much older .. so how come every website list us as oldest? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

660 bc is purely mythological date, folk lore. Japanese emperor created it when he was creating japanese history, because he wanted to have "stronger" history than daimyos. I

[The Great Phantom]

In modern 'pop' culture, the could mean 'up yours', but I'll ignore that and delve into ancient past to uncover its origins...

 

In most ancient cultures, a staff or thumb up meant that one was allowed priviledges (life, the ability to speak to the king, etc.). Maybe, we (ancestorally speaking) English twisted it like everything else to serve our own needs? :ph34r:

[Starbreeze]

he's talking about zodiac signs .. you know the sign in which you are born? horoscopes that sort of thing!

 

I'm Cancer .. which is a lobster .. yay ..  <_< so I'm both a deadly mutation and the nearest equivilant to Zoidberg!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yes, that

[Torpar]

Some random facts off the top of my head...

 

Did you know that the probability of getting a straight flush in a game of poker (5-card hand) is around 0.0014%?

 

Did you know that humans have already used up 2/3 of Earth's total natural resources?

 

Did you know that ants the size of elephants would crush under their own weight?

 

Did you know that at the height of the Great Depression in Germany, the exhange rate was 1 dollar to 4.2 trillion marks?

 

Did you know that Pyrrhus, a powerful Greek king, was killed by a simple village woman at Argos who chucked a roof tile at him?

 

Do you know that England has never been invaded successfully by a foreign power since the 1066 Norman invasion?

 

Did you know that world is actually an oblong ellipsoid (like a football) rather than a sphere?

(No, I'm just joking there!)

[DarthWeevil]

last thing we need to know, in regard to 'fingersigns', is where the -  - comes from! (the thumbsup part) .. anyone know?

 

my guess would be from Romans .. they used it in their gladitorial games, although we don't know if it meant kill or spare the defeated gladiator..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think the most common understanding nowadays is that, rather than live or die, it had another meaning. Basically if defeated, the loser was expected to be killed, and the thumbs up or down sign merely indicated whether the soul went to hades or up to heaven

[Rosbjerg]

last thing we need to know, in regard to 'fingersigns', is where the -  - comes from! (the thumbsup part) .. anyone know?

 

my guess would be from Romans .. they used it in their gladitorial games, although we don't know if it meant kill or spare the defeated gladiator..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think the most common understanding nowadays is that, rather than live or die, it had another meaning. Basically if defeated, the loser was expected to be killed, and the thumbs up or down sign merely indicated whether the soul went to hades or up to heaven

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hades was a Greek god ..

 

When you die ("you" being a good Roman of the Religio persuasion), you are escorted to the River Styx by spirits. There, you and the other recently life-challenged are met by Charon, the ferryman. A coin, an obolus, will have been placed in your former body's mouth to pay Charon (although an aurus gets you a better seat in the boat, some believed). This payment is not representative of money so much as of the relationship between god and man, acknowledging your debt to the gods and their protection and guidance to you.

 

On the other side of Styx, you will pass Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog belonging to Father Dis, god of the Underworld. Cerberus will be friendly

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Thumbs up is an invention. The Romans never used it.

 

Thumbs down was the sign to lay down your arms a thumb to the chest or throat was the sign to kill the defeated.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

The middle finger wasn't an insult until after the middle ages (or so I've heard...)

 

The archers used their middle fingers to pull back a bowstring, and when they were captured, their middle fingers were removed. But, when they captured somebody else, they would show them their middle fingers in taunt...

 

I'm not sure if that is AT ALL true...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It's not. The archers used the famous two finger salute. Which is why it's always fun when France play Wales (especially this year :D )

[Nitron]

An American quarter has 117 ridges on it's circumference. Dimes have 116.

 

Jupiter is larger than the eight other planets put together. Additionally, Pluto is the only Outer Planet that doesnt have rings.

 

If you've been watching coverage from the Vatican, you've seen the Swiss Guard. Those uniforms were designed by Michaelangelo. The Vatican is also the smallest country in the world, .2 square miles, .5 square kilometers.

[DarthWeevil]

The middle finger wasn't an insult until after the middle ages (or so I've heard...)

 

The archers used their middle fingers to pull back a bowstring, and when they were captured, their middle fingers were removed. But, when they captured somebody else, they would show them their middle fingers in taunt...

 

I'm not sure if that is AT ALL true...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It's not. The archers used the famous two finger salute. Which is why it's always fun when France play Wales (especially this year :D )

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's correct. (plus just trying to imagine drawing a long bow with the middle finger alone seems ludicrous to me.

 

I thought I'd check this though. and i can see both where the confusion may have come and the further explanation as to the true origins of the middle finger It seems the source may be reputable, and the phallic connotation makes much more sense

[Rosbjerg]

the expression 'OK' originates from WW1 .. and means 0 kills .. (from ones own side) ..

[DarthWeevil]

the expression 'OK' originates from WW1 .. and means 0 kills .. (from ones own side) ..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

(w00t) The ramifications of it being the opposite are quite amusing.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Sylvester Stallone has starred in a cheap porn movie, his nickname was "the Italian Stallion"

 

As with many other things, I have seen it. It is softcore by todays standards.. which brings us onto the real piece of trivia:

 

 

 

Marilyn Chambers is the only hardcore porn actress ever to star in a mainstream motion picture, David Cronenberg's "Rabid" from 1977.

 

 

..which has nothing to with:

 

 

The actor Tommy Berggren once went to see Ingemar Bergman in his office at the dramatic theatre in Stockholm. Bergman presented him with his latest script and gave him an hour to read it. But Berggren was so hungover that he fell asleep, and didnt wake up until Bergman came to hear what he thought about the script. Berggren panicked and stuttered the first word he saw on the script "Bach"(this referred to the score). To his surprise, Bergman jumped in delight and declared Berggren a genious because "noone else had understood that the play was in the form of a classic fugue". But Berggren excused himself and left in fear of being revealed, he did not take the part.

[draakh_kimera]

Uh, I can't think of anything better, so here goes: american coins don't have any indication of how much they're worth.

 

Gin and tonic was "invented" by englishmen in India. For some reason the human body needs kinin (dunno if that's correct in english..), which is an ingredient in tonic water, but since tonic water isn't that good, they mixed it with gin. Much better!

 

The official speed record for standup skateboarding is 100.66 km/h, though it has been broken unofficially. For streetluge I believe it's around 134 km/h.

[Lucius]

or that the urban legend "you swallow 8 spiders a year" is actually a myth started by a reporter?? (iirc she was trying to document how fast such "facts" spread)

 

You have no idea how happy I am to hear this, I freaking hate spiders...

 

Also, did you know that on a map not including Norway, Scandinavia looks like a male 'package'? Rather amusing really: http://www.sick-humor.com/content/3785.html

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Uh, I can't think of anything better, so here goes: american coins don't have any indication of how much they're worth.

 

Gin and tonic was "invented" by englishmen in India.  For some reason the human body needs kinin (dunno if that's correct in english..), which is an ingredient in tonic water, but since tonic water isn't that good, they mixed it with gin.  Much better!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Do you mean Quinine the anti malaria agent?

[draakh_kimera]

Do you mean Quinine the anti malaria agent?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's the one! It's also optically active, I think, or flourescent, so it glows in UV light.

 

More stupid stuff: May 15th, 2001, Jim Rippy of Slednecks made the first backflip on a snowscooter.

 

Some of you probably know this one: Dolphins are the only other living creatures than humans that have sex for other reasons than population increase.

 

Religious figures who've had visions of a higher power would in today's society most probably be clinically declared the subject of temporal lobe epilepsy.

 

The belief that harakiri means suicide in japanese is according to my friend (who's japanese) wrong. Harakiri means to cut your stomach, but suicide is something else.

 

Most metals (at least Al) are about 3 times as strong when milled compared to their cast counterparts.

[DarthWeevil]

I also read, dolphins also have highly complex social structures, and it is a belief of some scientists who research their behaviour and communication habits that they retain awareness of familial relationships even through to the grandparent level, and have a form of naming that relates to their extended family members. I.e. they would call them the dolphin equivalent of grandma/grandpa

[Darth_Radnor]

No spot in Great Britain is more than 60 miles away from the sea IIRC

[Nitron]

The belief that harakiri means suicide in japanese is according to my friend (who's japanese) wrong.  Harakiri means to cut your stomach, but suicide is something else.

 

 

Seppuku, I believe.

 

Shiitake means meshroom in Japanese, so Shiitake mushroom is redundant.

 

Silver has the highest conductivity of all metals. Pure gold is so soft, it can be molded with your bare hands.

 

Nitron is C20H16N4, but that is not the source of my name, merely a coincidence. Other names for Nitron are: 4-Diphenyl-endoanilino-dihydrotriazole; 1,4-diphenyl-3-anilino-1H-1,2,4-triazolium hydroxide; 3,5,6-triphenyl-2,3,5,6-tetraazabicyclo(2.1.1)hex-1-ene. Sweet. :D