Useless Facts

[01dragonslayer]

'OMG' was first used in a letter written in 1917​

This isn't a new way of texting. This acronym was first used during the First World War by an admiral named John Arbuthnot Fisher. In a letter to Winston Churchill dated 9/9/17, he wrote "I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis – O.M.G. (Oh! My God!) – Shower it on the Admiralty!" Churchill responded with a sarcastic 'LOL'. Maybe. Probably not, actually.

 

[01dragonslayer]

The longest boxing match lasted over 7 hours​

In 1893, Andy Bowen and Jack Burke had a boxing match in New Orleans, Louisiana and it felt like it would never end. The bout lasted 110 rounds and took seven hours and 19 minutes – it was declared a draw. What a waste of everyone's time!

 

[01dragonslayer]

The Bayeux Tapestry maybe wasn't made in France​

The Bayeux Tapestry is a 70-metre long piece which depicts how William the Conqueror's army emerged victorious at the Battle of Hastings. For a long time, it was thought to have been made in Bayeux, Normandy, France where it is currently on display, but historians suggest it could have been stitched in Canterbury.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Pigs have more teeth than humans​

Our porky pals have a whopping 44 teeth: incisors, canines, premolars and molars. Their canine teeth are big and pointy and have a powerful bite, like a large dog. Humans have 32 teeth. You win the teeth competition, pigs!

 

[01dragonslayer]

You fart at 7 miles per hour​

Some scientists have looked into how fast a fart can leave the human body. And after much research in stinky rooms, they've come to the conclusion that these hydrogen and methane guff-bombs travel at around 7 miles an hour. That means a fart could go from Newcastle to South Shields in 60 minutes, but only as the crow flies and not via the Great North Run route.

 

[01dragonslayer]

eorge Washington didn't have a clue that dinosaurs existed​

The first president of the United States didn't know that dinosaurs existed. That's because the first dinosaur fossil was found in 1824, 25 years after he died. We wonder what he'd had made of the Jurassic Park films? Probably would have found them really confusing and very frightening, to be fair. Especially as moving images would have been new to him as well.

 

[01dragonslayer]

The smell of sick is caused by a certain type of acid​

We all know vomit has a particular pongy aroma and that's down to butyric acid. It's also found in parmesan cheese, which might explain why it has a strong, recognisable smell.

 

[01dragonslayer]

You fart up to 15 times a day!​

Some people only pass wind a few times a day, but some people sound like absolute tractors and fart loads – sometimes over 20 times! It often has to do with your body trying to digest certain types of food or if you've gulped down some air if you were scoffing your meal too quickly. And some of them really stink, so try to leave the room if you're among lots of people. Or you could blame the dog if there is one.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Fish can cough​

They can also burp and yawn. We expect a fish uses their cough to catch someone's attention in a shop.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Venus spins clockwise​

We haven't been there to double-check this, but we trust scientists on this one. This planet spins clockwise while their spherical pals in the solar system turn counter clockwise. Oh, Uranus spins on its side. Just to be different, we suppose.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Crocodiles can't poke their tongue out​

If you're confronted by one of these reptiles and can't decide whether it's a crocodile or an alligator, see if they can stick their tongue out. If it can, then it's an alligator. Crocodiles can't do it! This is because of the way their tongues are held in place, so that they can't accidentally bite them off when attacking another animal. And we thought they were just polite – but it's nature doing its job!

 

[01dragonslayer]

The maths symbol ÷ has a name​

While everyone refers to this as a division sign, it's also called an obelus. The name was created by a maths whizz in Switzerland called Johann Rahn. The term appeared in his book Teutsche Algebra ages ago (1659).

 

[01dragonslayer]

Cats can't taste sweet things​

Scientists discovered that cats don't have tastebuds which enable them to detect whether things are sweet or not. Then, scientists, answer this: why do pet cats pester us for a bit of yoghurt at lunchtime? No-one can answer this, it seems.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Scotland has hundreds of names for snow​

According to BBC News, Scotland has 421 words for snow, which is about 371 more than Inuits' descriptions for those icy crystal gangs. A 'skelf' is a large snowflake, while a 'flindrikin' is a small snow shower. We'd love to list the lot, but it would take ages.

 

[krull]

penis is spelled sinep backwards.. FACT

 

[01dragonslayer]

The space between your eyebrows has a special name​

That area above your nose is called a glabella. While it also refers to the bone underneath, it comes from the Latin word glaber, meaning smooth or hairless. But as we all know, some people's eyebrows join in the middle, like Bert from Sesame Street.

 

[GetBig8586]

Interesting thread. Love the odd facts posted.

 

[01dragonslayer]

The hashtag symbol is technically called an octothorpe.

 

[01dragonslayer]

The 100 folds in a chef's hat represent 100 ways to cook an egg.