Interesting Facts

mikmik · #1 (**permalink**) 01-15-2004, 12:16 AM

1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

2. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt"

3. Almonds are members of the peach family.

4. The symbol on the "pound" key (#) is called an octothorpe.

5. The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.

6. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.

7. The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.

8. "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."

9. There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

10. The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

11. The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosesl.

12. The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki maungahoronukupokaiwe-nuakitnatahu, a New Zealand hill.

13. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, L.A.

14. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

15. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

16. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.

17. Telly Savalas and Louis Armstrong died on their birthdays.

18. Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

19. The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers.

21. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

23. There is a seven-letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the,there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.

24. Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

27. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

28. Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.

30. The letters KGB stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti.

31. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.

33. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

34. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

35. Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."

36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

37. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.

38. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."

39. The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

I got these in an e-mail from funnybox.com .

Now, you are smarter... ;o>

ronniethedodger · #2 (**permalink**) 01-15-2004, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mik the Walking Almanac

31. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.

...and only by somebody in their right mind can type it, since it controls the left side of our bodies.

Quote:

34. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

What if you made something uncopyrightable, would it be a 16-letter word -- uncopyrightabled? ;0)

Quote:

38. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."

Yea, and I bet the Queen had something to do with it too.

Quote:

36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

And here I thought it was odd that their birds don't fly. Upside down country if you ask me! ;0)

mikmik · #3 (**permalink**) 01-15-2004, 02:44 AM

from ronniethedodger:
"Quote:
38. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."

Yea, and I bet the Queen had something to do with it too."

Right after 'King' caught her with 'mate' and tried to tell her "That's an illegal move"

and another:
"Quote:
36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

And here I thought it was odd that their birds don't fly. Upside down country if you ask me! ;0)

What, they wait for a seal to come along when they want to retrace their steps?
That reminds me... :o>

A penguin is driving his car on a hot summer day, when he notices that
his oil light is on. He gets out of the car, and, sure enough, it's
leaking oil all over. He drives around the corner to a service station
ans asks the mechanic to take a look at it. The mechanic says that he
has a few other cars to look at first, but he should have a diagnosis
in an hour. The penguin agrees to come back and then goes for a walk.

He finds an ice cream shop and thinks, Ahhh, a big bowl of ice cream
will hit the spot. He sits down at the counter and orders the biggest
bowl of vanilla ice cream they have. After messily scarfing it all down,
the penguin returns to the garage to check on his car.

"Did you find out what's wrong with my car?" asks the penguin. "It looks
like you've blown a seal," replies the mechanic.

"No, no," the penguin insists, "it's just ice cream."

matauri · #4 (**permalink**) 01-15-2004, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mik

36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronnie

And here I thought it was odd that their birds don't fly.

And their bears aren't bears.
And their tigers aren't feline.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mik

27. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

OK...How many tried this ?? LOL

Cindy

Jurgen · #5 (**permalink**) 01-15-2004, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikmik

33. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

"I am sorry sir, I did not quiet understand your question, could you please repeat what you just have been asking?" ..... could be used for "huh???"

I always wondered, who on earth has time to come up with things like that..... :-) .... check #26 or #37

Jurgen

ronniethedodger · #6 (**permalink**) 01-15-2004, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matauri

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mik

36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronnie

And here I thought it was odd that their birds don't fly.

And their bears aren't bears.
And their tigers aren't feline.

And this odd little creature, the Platypus, which is an egg laying mammal.

The platypus is the only animal in the world to have a bill, webbed feet and fur. It is only located in Australia. That isn't unusual, they have a lot of onlys down under.

The feet of the platypus are designed for swimming and digging. The webbing between its claws enable it to swim. When the platypus is digging, the webbing tucks safely away so it can't be damaged and it can't interfere with the platypus' digging.

minstrel · #7 (**permalink**) 01-15-2004, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikmik

1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

..and it can also be one of the longest moments, for at least two meanings of the word.

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8. "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."

huh? what about "underw...". oh. never mind.

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14. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

I think I've met some humans like that...

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21. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

I think I've known some humans like that, too... (clarification: this isn't a slam at unwed mothers - I just think some humans should never be allowed to reproduce)

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26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

you know the drill by now...

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31. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.

I type ALL words with both hands...

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36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

awww... poor seal... that's a bit of a load to be saddled with...

wenwilder · #8 (**permalink**) 01-16-2004, 04:51 PM

People who drink coffee are less likely to commit suicide than people who don’t.

The largest toy distributor in the world is McDonald's.

The collecting of beer mats (coasters) is called tegestology.

The animal responsible for the most human deaths worldwide is the mosquito.

The Bible, the world's best-selling book, is also the world's most shoplifted book.

Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of the blue whale.

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds—more than any other animal.

A kangaroo can only jump if its tail is touching the ground.

A chameleon's tongue is twice the length of its body.

Armored knights in medieval times raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.

Violent crime constitutes only 4.6% of arrests in the US. Even within this “violent” category, the actual physical violence is often overstated. The vast majority of violent crimes are assaults where one person hits or slaps another or makes a verbal threat. Only about 20 percent of the victims of violent crime nationally went to a hospital emergency room.

Nearly 20% of all vehicles stolen had the keys in them.

Men get hiccups more often than women.

The city with the most Rolls Royce's per capita is Hong Kong.

No war has been fought where both countries had a McDonalds.

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows—shaved eyebrows were a fad at the time.

96% of candles that are purchased are by women.

There are 336 dimples in a regulation golf ball.

A moth has no stomach.

Mexico once had three presidents in one day.

George Washington and two other members of a secret committee of the Continental Congress asked Betsy Ross to sew the first American flag in late May or early June 1776. Betsy was about 24-years old when she completed the first flag with thirteen stars arranged in a circle.

Mr. Potatohead was the first toy advertised on TV.

The hundred billionth crayon made by Crayola was Periwinkle Blue.

A "femtosecond" is one quadrillionth of a second

Queen bees only sting other queen bees.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day.

Rulership by words is called logocracy.

There is no synonym for "thesaurus."

ronniethedodger · #9 (**permalink**) 01-16-2004, 05:31 PM

The one profession in the United States with the highest fatality rate is President.

That Kodak moment when Babe Ruth was pointing to the upper deck prior to hitting a home run in almost the exact same spot, was actually a response to the umpire behind the plate who was wondering where the restrooms were in the stadium. They were on the second deck where Ruth had pointed.

10.7% of Wen's last post deals with tongues. ;0)

mikmik · #10 (**permalink**) 01-16-2004, 06:49 PM

to recap wen:

Quote:

People who drink coffee are less likely to commit suicide than people who don’t.

So telling someone to quit drinking coffee is an insult?

Quote:

The largest toy distributor in the world is McDonald's.

Don't play with your food takes on new meaning

Quote:

The collecting of beer mats (coasters) is called tegestology.

The collection of side effects that developes from beer is well known in gastroenterology

Quote:

A "femtosecond" is one quadrillionth of a second

2420000000000000000 femtoseconds = 37 minutes, the average lifetime of Cl38, or more relevantly, the average lifetime of one beer(ale!)

Quote:

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds—more than any other animal.

The debate over "less filling/tastes great" is very important to catfish

Quote:

Men get hiccups more often than women.

Men drink beer more often...coincidence?

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Nearly 20% of all vehicles stolen had the keys in them.

Beer can affect memory

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There is no synonym for "thesaurus."

What does this have to do with beer? That does it this post is over!

wclew · #11 (**permalink**) 01-31-2004, 12:46 AM

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

(Hardly seems worth it.)

If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb

(Now that's more like it!)

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet. (O.M.G.!)

A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.

(In my next life, I want to be a pig.)

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death.

(Creepy.)

(I'm still not over the pig.)

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

(Do not try this at home...... maybe at work.)

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to It's body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off !

("Honey, I'm home. What the....?!")

The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field.

(30 minutes... lucky pig... can you imagine??)

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.

(What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?)

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.

(I still want to be a pig in my next life...quality over quantity)

Butterflies taste with their feet.

(Something I always wanted to know.)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

(Hmmmmmm........)

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people

EJRS.COM · #12 (**permalink**) 02-04-2004, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people

That's coz lefthanded people are told it's wrong and are forced to use their right hand. Life is more miserable. They die out earlier.

pete61uk · #13 (**permalink**) 02-05-2004, 03:32 AM

Born a 'leftie', forced a 'rightie'

Quote:
Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people

That's coz lefthanded people are told it's wrong and are forced to use their right hand. Life is more miserable. They die out earlier.

Just what I needed to know. Thanks (NOT)

trsiyengar · #14 (**permalink**) 02-05-2004, 09:49 AM

Quote:
Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people.

Wrong becomes right in their thought, as they are driven by their Right brain.

Human brain divider line is directly linked to the middle finger of both hands. Any friction in this finger causes disturbance and one gets confused, where the signal is coming from, the left or right brain.

Wclew to take a note:
And the fact is, neuron chips that are functional for sexual kindling is directly connected to the Thumps. Poor pigs, it doesn’t have a thump. A constant
friction in this finger can cause lots of emotional outburst to either sex. Know now why no ring is worn on this finger! (And astrologically too thumps are identified with planet Venus - The Goddess of Love).

Human breathe exhaled from Right and left nostrils alternately and the third cycle is from both nostril.

All the mammal, which delivers three or more issues at one delivery, is less populated than the one that delivers one issue per delivery. Compare the tiger
population and the cattle’s. Oh, not to forget about the human population.

Quote:
People drink coffee is less likely to commit suicide than people who don’t.
Hello Rocky1, where are you, come on, challenge this!

Whoooops.! Who has taken this statistics?

In every plant on the earth, there are two verieties. Oh, humans, where on the earth one will find this to compare.

There are 650,000,000,000,000 Rats are on the earth. Any dispute?

Cockroach is the only creature that can survive the nuclear assault.

Now about the 10.7% quote, here is another fact for you guys to ponder a while. The average men's hand length is 28 inches. And an average womens hip size is 28 inches!!!

One moment is 90 seconds. You can scold one, if they ask for a moment and make you wait for a long.

Namasthe Everyone,
TRS Iyengar,
http://www.trsiyengar.com
http://www.trsiyengar.com/religion

vfaulkner · #15 (**permalink**) 02-05-2004, 11:36 AM

quoted from above:
Quote:
Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people

That's coz lefthanded people are told it's wrong and are forced to use their right hand. Life is more miserable. They die out earlier.

Well, I was born righthanded, but to illness/CP, am now a leftie. I think I'm better off (I tend to use BOTH sides of my brain well.)
We'll have to see about the living/dying time...

wclew · #16 (**permalink**) 02-05-2004, 05:00 PM

Vicki,
Ambi-dexterous? Very impressive! You should out live us all! ;o)

vfaulkner · #17 (**permalink**) 02-05-2004, 06:17 PM

quoted
"Ambi-dexterous? Very impressive! You should out live us all! ;o)"

No, right arm is weaker and sometimes has trouble functioning.
Due to what doctors call 'brain plasticity'
(read- flexible NOT Barbie), my mind works it own wavelength to compensate for its damaged part(s).

Thanks!
I hope to live a very long time!!

and back to more interesting facts:
Did you know that it is physically impossible for humans to sneeze with eyes open??

spiderbait · #18 (**permalink**) 02-05-2004, 06:25 PM

Hmmmm...

I wonder... perhaps MikMik's original post about words starting and ending with "und" came from some academics that were disgruntled because their benefactors decided to "underfund" them.

wclew · #19 (**permalink**) 02-05-2004, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vfaulkner

my mind works it own wavelength to compensate for its damaged part(s).

Still very impressed! With a mind like that, nothing can stop you!