Uncommon knowledge

[geordi]

Marvin Gaye faked mental illness to get discharged from the Air Force

HFD and nelsonmuntz aren't faking

 

[Aluminny69]

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 killed more people than died in World War I!

World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history.

It is an oddity of history that the influenza epidemic of 1918 has been overlooked in the teaching of American history.

I learned much of this watching a PBS Special attempting to trace the origins of the Pandemic. I can't find the specifics right now, but according to this special, in a certain battle in a tunnel in France, US troops passed the virus to German troops, which eventually led to hastening the end of the War.

 

[Wonkster]

Marvin Gaye faked mental illness to get discharged from the Air Force

What you mean "faked," Kemo Sabe?

 

[Phil]

If a statue in a Park named after a War hero is on a horse, and both front legs are in the air, then the person died in battle. If the horse has one leg in the air, then the person died of wounds from battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, then the person died of other (natural) causes.

Not quite

 

[Phil]

Well, if we are debunking - the above is not true.

http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.asp

Sorry, didn't see your post when I responded.

 

[hoopingcrane]

I really enjoy knowing weird tidbits of information about things that not everyone would know.

Like did you guys know Hippo milk is pink? Or Snails can sleep up to 3 years at a time? OR that President Gerald Ford was offered contracts with Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions?

Anyone else have some interesting bits of knowledge to pass the time during this off-season?

The first municipal water treatment plant began operating in Scotland in 1832.

 

[katiecrum1992]

Since seahorses lay eggs, the female deposits her eggs in the male's pouch, and he fertilizes them and carries them around until they hatch. After the female lays the eggs, the male does all the work.

 

[katiecrum1992]

Giraffes have blue tongues.

And they're 18 inches long.

 

[ABachelor6CR]

I really enjoy knowing weird tidbits of information about things that not everyone would know.

Like did you guys know Hippo milk is pink? Or Snails can sleep up to 3 years at a time? OR that President Gerald Ford was offered contracts with Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions?

Anyone else have some interesting bits of knowledge to pass the time during this off-season?

Paul Revere never yelled "The British are coming!" what he yelled was "The Regulars are out!" and he never made it to Concord (Dr. Samuel Prescott did).

Also George Washington did not except any pay to be Commander in Chief of the American Army - instead he wanted to be reimbursed for his expenses (which he kept a concise and accurate recording).

Benedict Arnold ended the Siege at Fort Stanwix without firing a shot. He sent a man by the name of Hon Yost , who Native peoples considered a wise man, to tell the Indians that were with Barry St. Leger, that Dark Eagle (Arnold's Indian name) was coming "with more men than are leaves on trees". The Natives quietly deserted St. Leger there by ending the siege.

 

[Pete]

The shell oil of the Cashew nut is poisonous. They are in the same family as Poison Ivy and Sumac, That's why you never see Cashews sold shell on. Also roasting them destroys the toxic oils. Makes you wonder, I mean someone was really determined to make a Cashew safe to eat.

The fruit on the outside can be very sweet. I used to enjoy eating them when I was a kid. My grandmother would always roast the nuts for us, she didn't think we could do it correctly to get out all of the oil

 

[meyers7]

And they're 18 inches long.

hmmm, I always thought giraffes were bigger than that. That IS uncommon knowledge.

 

[Wonkster]

.
Strange as it may seem, foghorns are NOT made out of fog.

 

[Wonkster]

Paul Revere never yelled "The British are coming!" what he yelled was "The Regulars are out!" and he never made it to Concord.

It's a good thing Revere never made it to Concord - nobody would have understood why he was yelling "The Regulars are out!" since baseball hadn't been invented yet.

 

[Aluminny69]

.
Strange as it may seem, foghorns are NOT made out of fog.

And Sweetbread definitely is NOT bread.

 

[katiecrum1992]

hmmm, I always thought giraffes were bigger than that. That IS uncommon knowledge.

Their tongues are 18 inches long. Sorry for not clarifying.

 

[boontonbomber]

the word "trivia" comes from the Latin for " three ways". wherever 3 roads came together, the romans would post any information that they wanted to get out to the people.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Back to Giraffe Tongues for a sec - they (Giraffes) are quite fun to feed if you go to a zoo that permits it. The giraffes have decent control of their tongues in how they take the food, etc. And a cute photo op.

 

[Bestiarius]

the word "trivia" comes from...

The word 'politics' comes from the words 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning blood sucking parasites.

 

[Bestiarius]

Giraffes fear only one thing - a sore throat.

 

[huskyrob1]

1) Dinosaurs never ate grass. Grass did not enter the evolutionary record until 25 million years after Dinosaurs went extinct.

2) Hollywood sex bomb Hedy Lamar from the 1940's and 1950's was a closet inventor and math genius. She invented a torpedo guidance system for the US Navy during WW2 and laid the foundation for GPS and Wi-Fi used today.

 

[BooRadley]

Their tongues are 18 inches long. Sorry for not clarifying.

Hmmm... That's gotta help them get dates...


YOPB

 

[Fightin Choke]

Hmmm... That's gotta help them get dates...


YOPB

Not really. Their diet consists mostly of acacia leaves and the date palm is not endemic to regions of Africa where...

Oh. Nevermind.

 

[Bestiarius]

When the Baltimore Bullets NBA basketball team changed their name to the Washington Bullets in 1974 the owner decided he no longer wanted their teams name to be associated with crime. So, from then on, he decided the teams name would be known as The Bullets.