Interesting things to know, also known as obscure table talk

[RLeVan]

I love coming across things that aren't common knowledge. For example, subjects that you probably wouldn't learn in school unless you had a professor that chose to delve into facts that aren't readily displayed as common knowledge. I'd be interested to hear about what everyone here has picked up in their travels. You know, those few odd facts that make for good conversation and make those who haven't heard go "Wow, I never knew that."

I'll start it out, although many might know this. Sir Issac Newton, among his other great contributions to society, as Master of the Royal Mint in 1704 found an ingenieous way for coinage of the day to retain it's legal value. A common problem of the day was to shave the edges of coins, since the coins were made of valuable metal. The theory stood that if you shaved enough from the edge of a coin, eventually you would have a large sum of the prescious metal. This became a problem, one that merchants couldn't deal with because although there was a standard for currency, there was no standard for the size and weight of currency that could easily be measured by merchants. Imagine going into your local 7-11 and having them pull out a scale to weigh your coinage.

Since people tended to shave the edges of coins, Newton devised a scheme, simple as it was, to oblitereate the possiblity of them doing it altogether. With a simple process of placing ridges into the edge of a coin known as reeding, a local merchant would be able to tell whether or not the coin had been shaved.

That is the foundation for why our coins that are valued a dime and greater have ridges/reeding. For those with newer dollar coins, instead of reeding it's marked with the "In God We Trust" script.

Hopefully this can turn into a pretty cool thread, because I know there are tons more crazy facts out there that are just fun to know about.

[Winslowalrob]

While the African continent has a large variety of nasty varmints, you would almost never guess which animal kills the most people. Not Lions. Not Gorillas. Not Snakes.

Hippos.

Those fat, hungry ****s are incredibly easy to anger and very territorial. They tip over all sorts of watercraft and drown their occupants (a lot of peeps in Africa cannot swim, though the Hippos themselves can also physically drown you). They can bite you with their big ol mouths and nasty teeth (I kid you not). And do not get between a mother and her calf.

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhippo.html

From "The Dangerous Hippo," Science Digest, LXXVI (November, 1974), 80-86, by George W. Frame and Lory Herbison Frame:

Nearly all of the famous African explorers and hunters--Livingstone, Stanley, Burton, Selous, Speke, DuChaillu--had boating mishaps with hippos. All considered the hippo to be a wantonly malicious beast. Not long ago Spencer Tyron, a white hunter, was killed while hunting near the shores of Lake Rukwa, Tanzania. A bull hippo turned over the dugout canoe from which Tyron was shooting, and bit off his head and shoulders.

In conclusion, stay the @#$% away from Hippos.

[RLeVan]

Did you know...?

Sharks attack some 50-75 people each year worldwide, with perhaps 8-12 fatalities, according to data compiled in the International Shark Attack File (ISAF). Although shark attacks get a lot of attention, this is far less than the number of people killed each year by elephants, bees, crocodiles, lightning or many other natural dangers. On the other side of the ledger, we kill somewhere between 20-100 million sharks every year through fishing activities. Of the 350 or so shark species, about 80% grow to less than 1.6 m and are unable to hurt people or rarely encounter people. Only 32 species have been documented in attacks on humans, and an additional 36 species are considered potentially dangerous.

Almost any shark 1.8 m or longer is a potential danger, but three species have been identified repeatedly in attacks: the Great white, Tiger, and Bull sharks. All three are found worldwide, reach large sizes and eat large prey such as marine mammals or sea turtles. More attacks on swimmers, free divers, scuba divers, surfers and boats have been reported for the great white shark than for any other species. However, some 80% of all shark attacks probably occur in the tropics and subtropics, where other shark species dominate and Great white sharks are relatively rare.

[borninblood]

I Bet You Didn't Know

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck yew").

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset. And began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew!

Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute!

It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird."

IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH TODAY!

And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing!

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In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression,"Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.."

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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term"big wig." Today we often use the term"here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

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In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The"head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we use the expression or title"Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."

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Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told,"mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term"crack a smile." In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . therefore, the expression"losing face."

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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the"Ace of Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't"playing with a full deck."

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At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in"quarts," hence the term"minding your"P's and Q's."

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One more: bet you didn't know this!

In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a"Monkey" with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make"Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally,"Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)

"If you can read this, thank a teacher."

"If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier."

[RLeVan]

Brilliant! thanks for the contributions Winslowrob and borninblood. Hopefully this thread will continue with more unique contributions.

[Guest sk1nzHEAD]

sorry I do not have anything to contribute but kudos on the thread, I love it!

[RLeVan]

As easy as it may be to Google an answer to this thread, please don't do that. There are so many topics that something is bound to pop up. If it's a Google response, that's okay. For those that are having a hard time searching for questions, here are a couple of starters.

Why do American racing events race counter clockwise?

Why are there only three Highways on the island of Oahu, and who is responsable for interstates in the US?

What's the actual weight of a haypenny? Why is there a haypenny in the first place?

In the US during the later years of WW2, what metal was used to plate the penny, and what was used to during wartime as standard electrical wiring?

What year did a quarter no longer contain solid silver?

George Mason wrote what? This is a mind blower to many people

If you wan't to Google the answer go ahead. But please keep it to yourself until someone else has answered close to the topic you are replying too.

[RLeVan]

This is a brain power thread. It's more of a you get the answer instead of having it handed to you. Hopefully, the questions themselves are interesting enough to do your own search. Obviously there are some questions and answers that are outside of this thread. If the only thing this thread got you to do is type in a search, than it succeded. Now give something back, and educate us. It can be something as silly as a scuttlebut, something you heard from your dad.

Case in point a scuttlebutt was essentially the watering hole/fountain where sailors gathered to shoot the breeze. It was kinda like a quad in highschool, that's where all the gossip went down.

[Xameil]

Ya know it's a little known fact...

cool thread I like it. More useless bar knowledge for me

[RLeVan]

Hey now, Cliff Claven doesn't count. hahaha

[RLeVan]

Who invented Calculus? You know that subject most college students abhor.

Here is the interesting question. Why was Calculus invented, and by whom? In addition, how long did it take for the inventor of Calculus to prove the question he was asked?

I'll do the easy work for you and let you know it was Sir Issac Newton. How he came about solving the problem is remarkable, hence not your every day joe. However, you don't need to implicitely understand the problem to recognize it's effects.

[Ghost of]

That "plucking yew" thing is inaccurate.

The F word has old roots in our language and its predecessors. Nothing to do with Agincourt.

Now, Agincourt IS linked to (not the middle finger, English dont do the middle finger) but to the two finger British equivalent.

[RLeVan]

Are you referring to the V fingers and the thumb trailing?

[RLeVan]

This could get pretty cool, as in where did that tradition come from. I suppose I could secede the thread to that.

[Ghost of]

Are you referring to the V fingers and the thumb trailing?

Yep.

[Xameil]

That "plucking yew" thing is inaccurate.

The F word has old roots in our language and its predecessors. Nothing to do with Agincourt.

Now, Agincourt IS linked to (not the middle finger, English dont do the middle finger) but to the two finger British equivalent.

I know one of the origins of the F word was when a King allowed a marriage.

Fornication Under Consent of King

[Ghost of]

I know one of the origins of the F word was when a King allowed a marriage.

Fornication Under Consent of King

:laugh: Yeah, I love all these origins that people essentially made up and then become 'little known facts.'

[borninblood]

I know one of the origins of the F word was when a King allowed a marriage.

Fornication Under Consent of King

i thought it was for unlawful carnal knowledge

[Sarge]

Ya know it's a little known fact...

cool thread I like it. More useless bar knowledge for me

Beat me to it :laugh:

[Ghost of]

i thought it was for unlawful carnal knowledge

Nope. It's a verb traced way back I think to Old English, perhaps another language from where it migrated.

It's also worthy to note that "futuo" was Latin for the same word.

[Xameil]

:laugh: Yeah, I love all these origins that people essentially made up and then become 'little known facts.'

:laugh: with the exception of that one being in the dictionary so I don't know how made up it really is.

edit...I looked it up on an online dictionary, and the fornication under consent of king wasn't in there. Maybe I was drunk off my effin butt when I looked it up in college, or maybe I was using an old dictionary. :whoknows:

[Winslowalrob]

Nope. It's a verb traced way back I think to Old English, perhaps another language from where it migrated.

It's also worthy to note that "futuo" was Latin for the same word.

Good save Ghost, we gots to show the peeps the light.

The F word has a lot of supposed histories, but trust me when I say that Agincourt and ANY acronym is not the root of the word. Apparently in the mid 1990s people were pumping out emails claiming to show the clever history behind the word, though Agincourt is actually a pretty intelligent hoax.

While many people hate genetic engineering, humans have been genetically improving plants for centuries. One of the luckiest improvements was in the almond, which in its natural form is poisonous. Filled with cyanide. And not little bits either, but enough to kill peeps (I dunno how many you have to eat exactly, but they are bitter as hell which is fair warning).

[rictus58]

Why do American racing events race counter clockwise?

I learned that americans began racing events counter clockwise in an attempt to distance themselves from the british who ran their races clockwise.

I don't know if thats true or not.

[Winslowalrob]

I learned that americans began racing events counter clockwise in an attempt to distance themselves from the british who ran their races clockwise.

I don't know if thats true or not.

Possible, maybe we alternated our driving lanes for the very same reason?

[Dan T.]

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, . . .

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. . . .

As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October)! . . .

In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. . . .

If a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told,"mind your own bee's wax." . . .

Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." . . .

In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . therefore, the expression"losing face. . .

Weren't "playing with a full deck". . .

She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in"quarts," hence the term"minding your"P's and Q's". . .

Thus, it was quite literally,"Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." . . .

Unfortunately for the spirit of this thread, borninblood's ENTIRE post is :bsflag: