Did you know? - Page 2

Xaccers · 21-10-2005, 10:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by me283

Many years ago, dried manure was shipped as a kind of commodity. The problem was that if the sea became choppy or the waves were high, sea water would often get into the hold. This salt water, when mixed with the dried, packed manure, would cause gas creation (methane I think?), which was highly flammable. To combat this, the manure had to be stored higher up in the hold, to avoid it from mixing in the water that sloshed around on the floor. The bales were thuse marked "Ship High In Transit", which was abbreviated to...

Even if Ship High In Transit was actually stamped on boxes (which isn't likely) it is not the origin of the word **** which for most of it's existance had an "e" on the end anyway.
Likewise, the story about Fornicate Under Concent of the King is a load of bo11icks which also has nothing to do with genitalia and actually refers to priests (see Virgin Records court case over the Sex Pistols album title "Never mind the bollicks")

TheBlueRaja · 21-10-2005, 10:37

I dont have a direct link, but it was on that QI program with Steven Fry. They were being rather mean to the contestants because in one series they asked how many moons does the Earth have - to which they all lost points for answering one - despite them complaining that it is called THE moon after all. In fact at the time they said - there were actually 4 moons in orbit round the earth - most too small to see with the naked eye but there all the same.
Then in the next series they asked the same question again - they all buzzed in and answered 4 becuase they had had the same question on the previous series, and they all lost points again much to the delight os Steven who proclaimed that there were now 5 moons as one had just recently been descovered.

There is an article on space.com about us having two moons but that was published in 1999 and is out of date.

me283 · 21-10-2005, 10:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Even if Ship High In Transit was actually stamped on boxes (which isn't likely) it is not the origin of the word **** which for most of it's existance had an "e" on the end anyway.
Likewise, the story about Fornicate Under Concent of the King is a load of bo11icks which also has nothing to do with genitalia and actually refers to priests (see Virgin Records court case over the Sex Pistols album title "Never mind the bollicks")

The version I heard is that they packed it in bales, and daubed S.H.... on the side of them. TBH I can't vouch for the truth of it, as I wasn't there!

Graham · 21-10-2005, 14:11

<#include std.links to snopes etc> for all those links debunking "facts" that are not at all factual

iadom · 21-10-2005, 14:26

An Elephant is the only animal with four knees.

basa · 21-10-2005, 15:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by handyman

The earth has 2 moons...

I has 'The moon' and 'Cruithne'

It did have J002E3 for a bit but it has buggered off now. (animation of J002E3)

Not strictly an earth moon, more a large asteroid that has temporarily been 'captured' by earths gravity. It actually divides its time between orbiting the sun and earth in a horseshoe orbit. See space.com.

There could at any time be many 'moons' orbiting earth temporaraily, but a lot depends on whether you call them moons or asteroids or dust particles.

Nugget · 21-10-2005, 15:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by basa

Not strictly an earth moon, more a large asteroid that has temporarily been 'captured' by earths gravity. It actually divides its time between orbiting the sun and earth in a horseshoe orbit. See space.com.

There could at any time be many 'moons' orbiting earth temporaraily, but a lot depends on whether you call them moons or asteroids or dust particles.

I call them 'Martin'

me283 · 21-10-2005, 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by iadom

An Elephant is the only animal with four knees.

An elephant is the only mammal that cannot jump.

gazzae · 21-10-2005, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by me283

An elephant is the only mammal that cannot jump.

Hippos can't either AFAIK

patrickp · 21-10-2005, 18:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by me283

Many years ago, dried manure was shipped as a kind of commodity. The problem was that if the sea became choppy or the waves were high, sea water would often get into the hold. This salt water, when mixed with the dried, packed manure, would cause gas creation (methane I think?), which was highly flammable. To combat this, the manure had to be stored higher up in the hold, to avoid it from mixing in the water that sloshed around on the floor. The bales were thuse marked "Ship High In Transit", which was abbreviated to...

Sorry, me283 - see next:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Even if Ship High In Transit was actually stamped on boxes (which isn't likely) it is not the origin of the word **** which for most of it's existance had an "e" on the end anyway.

Quite right, Xaccers - the word actually comes from Old English 'scitan' to defecate (Chambers).

Quote:

Originally Posted by david.ewles

The term the "Boogey Man will get you" comes from the Boogey people,who still inhabit an area of Indonesia. These people still act as pirates today and attack ships that pass. Thus the term spread "if you don't watch out the Boogey man will get you."

Another invention I'm afraid, David. The term is actually 'Bogey (or Bogy) Man,' not 'Boogey Man,' which seems to be an Americanism. I remember when I was a kid, the 'Boogey Man' spelling was never used in this country. It comes from an old word meaning 'goblin.'

Did you know that Columbus was wrong, very, very lucky and never discovered America?

The dispute in Columbus' time was not actually about whether the world was round (which was generally accepted then by educated people), but about its size. Two Greek philosophers had each calculated a different size for the world in classical times, and the dispute in the 15th century was over which one was right. Columbus believed that the smaller value was true, and hence that he could sail round the world 'the other way,' by going west, to reach India. You must remember that the eastern route to India was perilous then, involving sailing round the tip of South Africa.

So he tried it. He was wrong, however - the larger size was the correct value and if the American continents hadn't been there, he would have drowned in mid-ocean as a forgotten footnote in history. Lucky or what?

He landed in the West Indies, and that's why they have that name - he believed he had reached the easternmost islands of India. He finally died there, still convinced that he had discovered the western route to India, and never set foot on the American continent. So he really cannot be said to have discovered America - he never landed on it or even saw it, and believed he had reached India.

marky · 21-10-2005, 18:37

Posh was a class of ticket on a ship, meaning, port on starboard home, to make sure you was on the shaded side of the ship.

21-10-2005, 18:43

I love this forum ?

dilli-theclaw · 21-10-2005, 18:46

Computers were NOT used in the creation of the 'guide' in the bbc hitchhikers guide TV series.... It's surprising that a lot of people STILL don't believe me when I tell them that.

In season one of the Tripods the main characters only 'meet' the tripods 5 times!!!

The Tripod city was (at the time) the biggest ever miniature that the BBC had built being over 1000 square feet in size.

patrickp · 21-10-2005, 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilligaf1701

Computers were NOT used in the creation of the 'guide' in the bbc hitchhikers guide TV series.... It's surprising that a lot of people STILL don't believe me when I tell them that.

Yes, people forget that Star Wars, I think, was effectively the first film to use CGI.

The superb effects of 2001, for instance, were done entirely with models.

makikomi · 21-10-2005, 19:11

The skin of a soap bubble is 10,000 time thinner than the breadth of a human hair.

Ants have five noses.

Octupuses have three hearts.