the useless (but educational) trivia thread

[Anta 0]

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That is not entirely true. Water expands when frozen and so your experiment with the ice cube removed and leaving a "hole" in the water, will not be completely filled with the water from the melted ice cube. Water has a maximum density at 4 degrees C. It is one of a few substances that expand when frozen - most contract when they get colder!

And the ice-cubes in the glass would overflow the glass if you could completely fill the glass with the same volume of ice. A better test would be, to fill a container with water and freeze that. If the container cannot expand, it will break when the water freezes.

Not true as the cubes won't be submerged. Yes ice occupies a larger volume than the same weight of water - but that is what is above the water level...so if you melt the ice cube it would fit in the "hole".

In the glass analogy you're not supposed to fill the glass completely with ice. You fill it with water, add some ice cubes and see whether the level changes as the ice melts.

[Anta 0]

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Most (much? whatever) of the Antarctic ice is on land - atop the Antarctic continent - not already floating in (and thus already displacing) sea water. So over-land ice that melts and flows into the sea would add to the current volume of water in the sea (aside from other factors like evaporation).

A bit tired so can't find exactly how much is on land/in sea...according to wiki; "In East Antarctica, the ice sheet rests on a major land mass, but in West Antarctica the bed can extend to more than 2,500 m below sea level"

[kj126 0]

Impotence is grounds for divorce in 26 U.S. states

A human head remains conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it is been decapitated.

On May 9, 1999 approximately 600,000 gallons of whiskey flowed into the Kentucky River during a fire at Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg.

In 1998, Sony accidently sold 700,000 camcorders that had the technology to see through people's clothes.

The WD in WD-40 stands for Water Displacer.

I Am Sofa King We Todd Did!!

[ian3060 0]

Blue moons aren't that rare they happen at least once a year. We will experience a blue moon this month in fact. I believe the sedcond full moon is on the 30th or the 31st.

[jcd11235 0]

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The WD in WD-40 stands for Water Displacer.

IIRC, the 40 represents the fortieth formula attempted.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[popsjumper 2]

I first got laid in 1966.
No WD-40 was used.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[davjohns 1]

Lieutenant General George Smith Patton, Jr. was not named after his father. His father's name was not George. LTG Patton was named after his grandfather. LTG Patton named his son George S. Patton III. He also became a general in the Army.

LTG Patton competed in the Olympics as a young man in the Modern Pentathlon. Designed to simulate a Napoleonic era courier, the competition included pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horseback riding and running. Patton lost a medal because the judges declared that it was impossible for him to have put two bullets through one hole. He was later awarded the Bronze Medal when he proved it was possible by doing it again.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[LisaH 0]

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs, because a cow's knees cannot bend properly in order to walk down.

Be yourself!
MooOOooOoo

[Squeak 17]

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

Now that's a serious biological alarm clock. I bet a lot of male ferrets get lucky when they're least expecting it.

Of course, at the other end of the spectrum, you have the Praying Mantis species. After the male and female have completed their sex session, the female eats the male. Kinda gives a whole new meaning to "hi honey, I'm ho-what the fuck?!?"

Not the only invertebrate that does this, also she does not always wait until AFTER copulation, During is good for her too.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[NealFitz 0]

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A blue moon is when 2 full moons occur within a month- they are so rare that they are called blue moons hence the phrase "once in a blue moon"

We are in a blue moon month now then.

You are correct there. the first one happened on 2 Dec and the next one is due on the 31st Dec :)

Dudeist Skydiver #170
You do not need a parachute to skydive, you only need one to skydive again

[jcd11235 0]

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I first got laid in 1966.
No WD-40 was used.

Did you have to use vice grips or duct tape?

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[DavidB 0]

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A blue moon is when 2 full moons occur within a month- they are so rare that they are called blue moons hence the phrase "once in a blue moon"

We are in a blue moon month now then.

You are correct there. the first one happened on 2 Dec and the next one is due on the 31st Dec :)

And if I remember correctly, the next blue moon wont happen until later in 2012.

Seems kinda "rare" to me...

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

[kallend 1,621]

During the five thousand year period from 2000 BCE through 3000 CE, there are 7,718 eclipses of the Moon (partial and total). This averages out to about one and a half eclipses each year. Actually, the number of lunar eclipses in a single year can range from 0 to 3. The last time that 3 total lunar eclipses occurred in one calendar year was in 1982. Partial eclipses slightly outnumber total eclipses by 7 to 6.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kallend 1,621]

There are exactly 17 different ways that the symmetries of the patterns on wallpaper can be arranged.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[DavidB 0]

The story of the first "Pro-Street" car, a 1968 Dodge Dart convertible: http://www.bigblockdart.com/harlen/harlen.htm

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

[virgin-burner 1]

pigs cannot look up.

elephants cant jump.

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[wmw999 2,117]

Arthur Sullivan, also the composer for such classic operettas as "The Mikado" and "The Pirates of Penzance" also wrote the music for "Onward Christian Soldiers."

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[FreeflyChile 0]

On Illinois drivers license numbers, the last number of the second set of 4 numbers and the first number of the third set of 4 numbers are the last 2 digits of your year of birth.

for example, for some such as myself born in 1978... xxxx-xxx7-8xxx

[futuredivot 0]

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I first got laid in 1966.
No WD-40 was used.

but some animals were unfortunately injured.

You are only as strong as the prey you devour

[Sletzer 3]

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peanuts are actually NOT nuts; they're seeds legumes!

THANK YOU!!! I read this whole damn thing looking for someone to correct that!

For all you naysayers: A legume in botanical writing is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or a fruit of these specific plants. A 'legume' fruit is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces (opens along a seam) on two sides. A common name for this type of fruit is a pod, although "pod" is also applied to a few other fruit types, such as vanilla. Well-known legumes include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, soy, and peanuts.

I will be kissing hands and shaking babies all afternoon. Thanks for all your support! *bows*

SCS #8251

[Sletzer 3]

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The top album of the decade came from an act that's not even around anymore — 'N Sync.

Billboard magazine says the boy band led by Justin Timberlake had the decade's best-selling album with "No Strings Attached," which sold more than 10 million copies.

The most popular song of the decade was Mariah Carey's ballad "We Belong Together."

I will be kissing hands and shaking babies all afternoon. Thanks for all your support! *bows*

SCS #8251

[popsjumper 2]

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I first got laid in 1966.
No WD-40 was used.

Did you have to use vice grips or duct tape?

Handcuffs!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[PLFKING 3]

Ian Fleming, who created the James Bond character, also wrote "Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang : The Magical Car ".


Don

"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

[jcd11235 0]

Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon was on Billboard's Top 200 chart for at least 741 weeks (over 14 years).

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[jcd11235 0]

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I first got laid in 1966.
No WD-40 was used.

Did you have to use vice grips or duct tape?

Handcuffs!

But you at least made the handcuffs out of duct tape, right?

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!