Topic

Random facts (Renamed)

Since many of us love facts, thought it'd be interesting to see what people come up with.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid. (Well, minus a few trickles of water.)

--Ah. Not sure where I got the word factoids, but I was apparently wrong in using it. Thanks for pointing it out!

Posted 13 years ago by Zeezee Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

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  • Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Antarctica is the driest continent on Earth.
    Posted 13 years ago by KitkatCat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The highest mountain in the Solar System is Olympus Mons in Mars.
    Posted 13 years ago by Ximenez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Nice, KitkatCat and Ximenez! Didn't know either of those.

    Running a disposable razor backwards against your arm (or a pair of jeans) will help keep the blade from getting 'fuzzy' as fast. (How it was explained to me is that the end of a razor isn't solid; it's a bunch of little pointed ends that get knocked out of place when you're using them.)
    Posted 13 years ago by Zeezee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • More than 10 people per year die from vending machines.
    Posted 13 years ago by Cupcake Subscriber! | Permalink
  • rise of the machines
    Posted 13 years ago by Mr. Dawgg Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Horses can not regurgitate.
    Posted 13 years ago by marycontrary Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Pigs were tried as humans in the past for murdering infants- and sentenced to hanging. (To make it more humane, they apparently dressed them in human clothing during the trial?) This is from the year 1386.  Pdf file.
    Posted 13 years ago by Zeezee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The only way you can have a common-law marriage in New Hampshire is for one party to die.
    Posted 13 years ago by jasbo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Dogs can't sweat.
    Posted 13 years ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Dogs feet sweat, actually.

    Lima beans contain cyanide.
    Posted 13 years ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Peach pits contain arsenic.

    I'll have to look into the sweaty dog feet, but it's my understanding that the don't,,,

    ETA: I stand corrected. They do sweat on their feet, but it is not used to cool themselves. Thanks for educating me!
    Posted 13 years ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You are very welcome. I only learned this in the past few months. Got a puppy, and he gets very sweaty feet.  Makes it near impossible to keep clean floors. LOL
    Posted 13 years ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "natural flavoring" in some cases is worse for you than "artificial flavoring", due to some toxins that can become concentrated along with the flavor.
    Posted 13 years ago by Zeezee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Giraffes have no vocal chords.
    Posted 13 years ago by NutMeg Botwin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Really NutMeg? That is interesting!
    Posted 13 years ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Animals that lay eggs don't have belly buttons...I guess this is logical, if you think it through- but I never considered it! :)
    Posted 13 years ago by NutMeg Botwin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Snails have 4 noses.
    Posted 13 years ago by sugarj Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Last one for now, I promise: 

    A group of cats is called a clowder.
    Posted 13 years ago by NutMeg Botwin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I had a huge list of random facts but I've misplaced it.... somewhere... :(
    Posted 13 years ago by sugarj Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I hate to give up my sources, but this list is just too amazing not to share! ;) 

    www.snapple.com/retired-facts/

    Enjoy, sugarj and others!
    Posted 13 years ago by NutMeg Botwin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The echidna (spell check tried to make that Chicana) has a four pronged penis. Well just the male that is...maybe this fact should have gone in the raunchy thread :P
    Posted 13 years ago by Gabi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • ZeeZee, I dont eat anything with "natural flavoring" as an ingredient.  You guys should look up what the FDA allows under that label.  Just NASTY!
    Posted 13 years ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Hitler had one testicle.... apperently. :/
    Posted 13 years ago by sugarj Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Temple Grandin changed the cattle industry, making it more humane for the cattle. She's listed as one of the top 100 influencial people in the world- and she's autistic.
    Posted 13 years ago by Zeezee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There are herds of horses and gaggles of geese and a bunch of crows are murder, but a group of Baboon are called a congress.  Ha Ha
    Posted 13 years ago by xoxJulie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • When a Kiwi bird goes to lay her egg it is 1/3 of her body weight.
    Posted 13 years ago by xoxJulie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • sugarj I have a bunch of random facts randomly roaming in my head, haven't been able to lose the strange ones.
    Posted 13 years ago by xoxJulie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six (6) feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.
    Posted 13 years ago by oli kins Subscriber! | Permalink
  • EEEWWWWWW! Yuck!

    Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.
    Posted 13 years ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Gorillas can't swim.
    Posted 13 years ago by ~Scilly~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Is canny the same as can or cannot?

    Cats can swim and some even like water.
    Posted 13 years ago by Audaria Subscriber! | Permalink
  • hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the fear of long words.
    Posted 13 years ago by Zeezee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The Platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs.
    Posted 13 years ago by koolaroo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Several duck species have corkscrew-shaped genitalia to prevent unwanted mating.
    Posted 13 years ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Apparently the first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per person than any other community in the history of mankind.

    In 1954 Bob Hawke made it into the Guinness Record Book: he sculled 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Bob Hawke went on to become the Prime Minister of Australia.

    Australia has the world's largest population of wild camels with one hump.
    Posted 13 years ago by Jeff Buckley Subscriber! | Permalink
  • A 'factoid' is "a piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition." (Source)

    This thread is full of facts. Two more for you: Bobby Chuckles is a crushing pedant. And 'Crystal Palace' is the only professional football team in England whose name starts with 5 consonants.

    PS Some bonus pedantry for koolaroo: echidnas are also monotremes, ie egg-laying mammals.
    Posted 13 years ago by Bobby Chuckles Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's possible to scale the side of a building using a vacuum cleaner. (But not advisable).
    Part two of this one
    Posted 13 years ago by Zeezee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The human hand is larger than its face, in exceptionally intelligent individua--*WHAP!!* HAHA GOTCHA!! ;)
    Posted 13 years ago by FlirtyvonSexenhaven Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Velocipede is a term for any human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels.

    Happenstance means coincidence, but is much more fun to say.

    The venom of the Irukandji jellyfish, while not typically fatal, causes Irukandji syndrome. Symptoms include (among other things) excruciating pain and a sense of impending doom. Patients have been known to beg their doctors to kill them.
    Posted 13 years ago by Frederik Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If the entire population of China walked past you in 4 lines, those 4 lines will never end because of the rate of reproduction.
    Posted 13 years ago by KitkatCat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Making Glitch difficult to play would be 'Alektorophobia'.  Fear of chickens!
    Posted 13 years ago by Stormy Weather Subscriber! | Permalink
  • A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

    Also, I found my list! Bring it on!!
    Posted 13 years ago by sugarj Subscriber! | Permalink
  • the majority of a dragonfly's life is spent underwater.
    Posted 13 years ago by The Cat Face Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Not exactly a random fact so to speak...but there is such thing as a hairy frog!!
    Posted 13 years ago by Gabi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • A sesquicentennial is the 150th anniversary celebration.  This year marks the sesquicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's Presidency, statehood for Kansas, the beginning of the Civil War in the US, and the discovery of Thallium. 
    Posted 13 years ago by Varekai Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."
    Posted 13 years ago by sugarj Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The male Duck-Billed Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is poisonous  and can  put a human being into the emergency room and leave him writhing in muscle-impaired agony for months.....and their babies are called puggles.  LOL
    Posted 13 years ago by megan76 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The bill of a duck-billed platypus can sense electricity, which helps them in the hunt for shrimp.  Even a tiny electrical current from a shrimp flicking its tail will set off the platypus' sensor.  This was discovered pretty recently (1986) when scientists noticed that platypodes were attracted to batteries.
    Posted 13 years ago by Varekai Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Since the body of a cat and a rabbit look fairly identical when skinned, people would cut the head, paws and tail off a cat and sell it as rabbit meat.

    Quote from This site:   Once the paws, head and tail are removed, the only way to distinguish cat from rabbit or hare is by looking at the processus hamatus of the scapula.
    Posted 13 years ago by Zeezee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The common potato has 48 chromosomes. Humans have 46.

    Also: platypuses have a set of ten chromosomes that determine their sex.
    Posted 13 years ago by Skwid Subscriber! | Permalink
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