Technocrat Posted October 9, 2013 #176 Share Posted October 9, 2013 (edited) There are lots of sites out here findable through Google. But also, some of us are just crammed full of useless facts! Not all that useless when you can amaze people with them! Here's a good one: This explains a lot of things.... Standard Gauge Rail Road tracks. The US standard rail road gauge, (distance between the rails), is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates designed the US rail roads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-rail road tramways, and that's the gauge they used. Why did they use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe, (including England), for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since. And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore, the United States' standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever. So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder, 'What horse's ass came up with this?' You might be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses, (two horses' asses)! Now, the twist to the story: When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds. So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass. And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important! Ancient horse's asses control almost everything....and CURRENT horse's asses are controlling almost everything else! Edited October 9, 2013 by Technocrat 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecowboy342 Posted October 9, 2013 #177 Share Posted October 9, 2013 There are lots of sites out here findable through Google. But also, some of us are just crammed full of useless facts! Yeah I'm a fountain of useless information but I slay at trivial pusuit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted October 10, 2013 Author #178 Share Posted October 10, 2013 That's bound to be good news for Jehovah's Witnesses! And they're already 'nuts' too! The dot over the letter 'i' is called 'a tittle'. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technocrat Posted October 10, 2013 #179 Share Posted October 10, 2013 And they're already 'nuts' too! The dot over the letter 'i' is called 'a tittle'. Agreed. That's interesting about the dot over the letter 'i', and after some slight Googling I see it applies to the letter 'j' as well! I think I might start a new thread here called, 'Na....You're Pulling My Leg!' 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabby Kitten Posted October 10, 2013 #180 Share Posted October 10, 2013 The Earth is the only planet in the solar system with tectonic plates. Beside our Moon, the Earth has many other orbiting satellites. Most of them are tiny quasi satellites, one of these is called 3753 Cruithne. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keel M. Posted October 10, 2013 #181 Share Posted October 10, 2013 The most polluted spot on earth is Lake Karachay, Russia. It was used for decades as a dumping site for nuclear waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technocrat Posted October 11, 2013 #182 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The most polluted spot on earth is Lake Karachay, Russia. It was used for decades as a dumping site for nuclear waste. They obviously haven't seen the field at the back of my house! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted October 11, 2013 Author #183 Share Posted October 11, 2013 In New Hampshire it's illegal to tap your feet, nod your head, or in any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted October 11, 2013 #184 Share Posted October 11, 2013 In New Hampshire it's illegal to tap your feet, nod your head, or in any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe. I'd like to see them arrest someone for having their heart beating in time with a rhythym. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud the mackem Posted October 11, 2013 #185 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Almonds are a member of the peach family. So is Jennifer Lawrence, ooooohhh !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud the mackem Posted October 11, 2013 #186 Share Posted October 11, 2013 U.S. chocolate manufacturers use about 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make milk chocolate. Belgian choc is far superior to any other Countries produce...definitely more-ish. Yummy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter B Posted October 12, 2013 #187 Share Posted October 12, 2013 You thought John Logie Baird invented the television in the 1920s? How about Australian Henry Sutton's "telephane" which he described in 1890: http://storify.com/dwhatson/henry-sutton-an-australian-genius And given the amount of time we Aussies spend in front of the television watching cricket, football or "Home and Away", I think that's appropriate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keel M. Posted October 14, 2013 #188 Share Posted October 14, 2013 "Samhainophobia" is the fear of Halloween. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted October 16, 2013 Author #189 Share Posted October 16, 2013 The first known contraceptive was crocodile poo, used by the Egyptians 2000BC. (Yup, makes sense - A pinch or two of that behind the ears and you've no chance of getting pregnant!) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keel M. Posted October 22, 2013 #190 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Antarctica is the cleanest place on Earth and is protected by strong antipollution laws. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libstaK Posted October 22, 2013 #191 Share Posted October 22, 2013 In 1859 24 rabbits were released in Australia, within 6 years there were 2 million of them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libstaK Posted October 22, 2013 #192 Share Posted October 22, 2013 (edited) A few more: The electric chair was invented by a dentist. Wearing headphones for just 1 hour will increase the amount of bacteria in your ears by about 700 times. Charlie Chaplin won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest. The February of 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon. An ant always falls over on it's right side when intoxicated. Edited October 22, 2013 by libstaK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted October 22, 2013 #193 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I wanna play! (applies to the US - not sure about "furrin" places) The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone. The first (Real) people to be shown in bed together were Samantha and Darrin Stephens ("Bewitched") (It was actually two seperate beds pushed together) The first toilet to be shown on (American) television was on "Leave It To Beaver" The first novel ever written on a typewriter: "Tom Sawyer." The only food that never spoils is Honey Bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers were all invented by women. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted October 22, 2013 Author #194 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I wanna play! If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes. ....And if the horse has all four legs in the air, somebody's shot the horse! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted October 22, 2013 #195 Share Posted October 22, 2013 (edited) which reminds me... When a famous horse (such as a race horse) dies, normally only the head is buried... The rest of the body is 'disposed of'... Edited October 22, 2013 by Taun 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted October 22, 2013 Author #196 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Hollywood has had a population of feral chickens living under a freeway since the 70s. Nobody knows how they got there and all efforts to remove them have failed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted October 22, 2013 #197 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Have you ever wondered where the term "Lobbyist" in politics came from?... US President Grant (1869 - 1877) made a habit of relaxing most evenings at the Willard Hotel near the White House. Grant would sit in the lobby of the hotel and enjoy an after-dinner cigar. Those wanting favors from the president found this to be an ideal opportunity. They waited for him in the lobby, and (not so creatively) earned the name "lobbyists." Several hundred years ago personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women (and men) had developed deep acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee’s wax over their facial skin to smooth out the complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman’s face she was told to “mind your own bee’s wax .” Should the woman smile, the wax would crack; hence the term “Crack a smile.” 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud the mackem Posted October 22, 2013 #198 Share Posted October 22, 2013 which reminds me... When a famous horse (such as a race horse) dies, normally only the head is buried... The rest of the body is 'disposed of'... Hamburghers ?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted October 22, 2013 #199 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Hamburghers ?? Dog food, most likely... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technocrat Posted October 22, 2013 #200 Share Posted October 22, 2013 In 1859 24 rabbits were released in Australia, within 6 years there were 2 million of them. Hence the expression, 'breeding like rabbits'! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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