All kinds of spurious facts...and my comments thereon.

Apr 25, 2007

Thursday Thirteen 90::26 — Font of Useless Knowledge

Well, perhaps not 'useless'...but definitely not vital to the survival of the universe.

1. In Japan, 4 is considered an unlucky number.
   (The Japanese and Chinese consider 4 to be unlucky because the word for 'four' is almost the same as the word for 'death'. Same sound, same tone...only the characters differ.)
2. In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would swear on his testicles.
   (I'll bet they all had these on their chariots, too...)
3. The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle.
   (A jot is any decorative line on a letter — essentially, a serif.)
4. The “save” icon in Microsoft Office programs shows a floppy disk with the shutter on backwards.
   (It's Microsoft. Nuff said.)
5. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
   (This is deliberate. If people don't realize how much time has elapsed, they might not realize how long they've been gambling...or might not stop to add up their losses. The timelessness of a casino is part of its draw, and the hook that keeps people inside, emptying their pockets.)
6. If you put a drop of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
   (Who knew they were prohibitionists?)
7. The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”.
   (And if you are of a certain age, there's a greater than likely possibility that you owned Peter Gabriel's “So” in more than two formats: album, cassette, compact disc. Yes, I'm guilty...)
8. The mask used by Michael Myers in the original “Halloween” was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white, due to low budget.
   (He's even more terrifying when he actually has lines. Captain Kirk, not Michael Myers...)
9. In America, someone is diagnosed with AIDS every 10 minutes. In South Africa, someone dies due to HIV or AIDS every 10 minutes.
   (Education is one of the strongest weapons we have against any disease. Arm yourself, help arm others.)
10. The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries.
    (How's that for ironic?)
11. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
    (They make lousy getaway drivers.)
12. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
    (Somehow, I'm not surprised.)
13. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds; dogs only have about ten.
    (Coincidentally, over 60 of the cats' vocal sounds pertain to the procurement or eating of food. 3/4 of the remaining sounds deal with how foolish we are, and how they tolerate us. Now go open the can...)

Other Participants

• Whiskey Talking with important life questions. How many can you answer?
• Wylie's Words with facts about the island nation of Bermuda
• This Eclectic Life with signs of blogging addiction
• Families are like fudge... with family photos from their home in an isolated area of Cuba
• The Middling Monettes with embarrassing moments
• Books. Lists. Life. with questions about blog layouts
• J's Thoughts and Musings with facts about phlebotomy (blood-drawing)
• West of Mars with framing the house
• For Such a Time as Now with things they just had to have
• Writing Aspirations with facts about literacy
• Fond of Snape with favorite things beginning with the letter 'k'
• The Daily Cat Chase with her material weaknesses

Keywords: | Thursday | memes | luck |
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