There is an elephant on the loo! - Page 29

[GrimJack]

It is now thought that the near and far sides of the moon differ because they are the result of a collision of 2 moons.

[GrimJack]

gross energy use for the U.S. is about 103 quadrillion BTUs per year. If we divide this by the U.S. population, then convert it into continuous average energy use, sure enough, we end up with about 11 kilowatts per person.

[woooee]

This guy has too much time on his hands, but what else are you going to do with a floppy drive these days. Two floppy drives play Star Wars' Imperial March www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4SCSGRVAQE

From http://news.yahoo.com/watch-two-floppy-drives-play-star-wars-imperial-154305699.html
"Silent has managed to program two floppy drives to clatter away at the exact pitches necessary to send fear into the hearts of a Jedi"

"The sound comes from a magnetic head moved by stepper motor. To make a specific sound, head must be moved with appropriate frequency…"

[MikeRiley]

The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

The African Owl is actually a pigeon.

In every episode of Seinfeld, there is a Superman somewhere.

Ants always fall over on their right side when intoxicated.

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.

Elephants are the only animal that can't jump.

[Netcode]

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned His wife or mother because they were both deaf.

Bamboo can grow up to 3 ft in 24 hours.

Longest officially recognized place name is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu, has 85 letters. It's the name for a hill, 305 metres (1,000 ft) high, close to Porangahau, New Zealand.

[GrimJack]

There is a new(ish) theory that it was the invasion of a parasite about a hundred million years ago that allowed mammals to carry their developing young within the womb.

[GrimJack]

The Igies are out - the prize for medicine:

for demonstrating that people make better decisions about some kinds of things - but worse decisions about other kinds of things‚ when they have a strong urge to urinate.
REFERENCE: "Inhibitory spillover: Increased Urination Urgency Facilitates Impulse Control in Unrelated Domains," Mirjam A. Tuk, Debra Trampe and Luk Warlop, Psychological Science, vol. 22, no. 5, May 2011, pp. 627-633.

[GrimJack]

Elephants are the only animal that can't jump.

For the sake of clarity, I would change animal to mammal because snakes can't jump.

[GrimJack]

In 1913 when Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was premièred in Paris, the music was so revolutionary that the audience rioted; the police arrived but could not restore calm. Punches were thrown, the seats were torn up and the crowd spilled out into the city - it was 3 days before the city calmed down. Twenty seven years later, it was the score for part of Disney's animated "Fantasia" that also had Mickey Mouse as the "Sorcerer's Apprentice".

[Netcode]

Every time you sneeze your heart stops a second.

1 x 8 + 1 = 9; 12 x 8 + 2 = 98; 123 x 8 + 3 = 987; 1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876; 12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765; 123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654; 1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543; 12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432; 123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

[cwarn23]

I couldn't help but notice that my poop looked like an Elephant. Perhaps this is the matrix.

[GrimJack]

Ravel (of Bolero fame) had a drinking group of like minded musician who were some of the best in the world. Along came WWI, the war to end all wars - most of the group became pilots; poor Maurice could not get into flight school and he ended up a truck driver. One of the old gang was shot down and lost his arm - he begged his friend Ravel to write something for him - he had been one of the best pianists in the world but with only one arm, he had no place for his talent.

Ravel a couple of pieces for a single left hand that are so complex and difficult that you can't tell by listening that the pianist is using only one hand. Modern pianists cheat by grabbing one side of the piano with their right hand to help then get across the keyboard.

[woooee]

PARIS (Reuters) - Boeuf bourgignon, veal blanquette, duck a l'orange and gratin dauphinois -- all mainstays of French cuisine, and a familiar sight on the menus of bistros and brasseries across the country.

Except these dishes aren't on offer in a quaint eatery with flavours that vary according to the chef's mood -- rather they've been mass produced, vacuum-sealed in congealed 2-kg packs and sold wholesale to restaurants from an icy warehouse, with microwave re-heating instructions stuck on the side.

But insiders in the catering industry say the phenomenon is more prevalent than customers would like to think.

Roland Heguy, chairman of the French syndicate for the hotel and restaurant industry (UMIH), estimates only 20,000 of France's 120,000 food establishments could actually claim to make all their produce from fresh ingredients.

[woooee]

What, more pumpkins?
Daniweb patch site due for release on the 30th of October http://www.daniweb.com/community-center/geeks-lounge/threads/388742

The first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips. The name (Jack of the Lantern) and the turnip come from a too-long-to-tell-here Irish story about a man named Jack, who tricks the devil and is ultimately forced to wander in the night with only a glowing coal in a turnip for light.

[woooee]

The popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" was actually written for Thanksgiving. The song was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and was originally called "One Horse Open Sleigh".

In 1941, Thanksgiving was declared by Congress to be a legal holiday, held on the fourth Thursday in November.

Come on, everyone thought it had been a holiday for hundreds of years.

[Ene Uran]

Nose prints are a means of identifying dogs.

[vegaseat]

A team led by an astronomer at the University of California at Berkeley discovered two gigantic black holes in clusters of galaxies 300 million light years away. The black holes are the largest ever discovered with the size of 10 billion times the size of our sun. Just don't get too close, or the thing will swallow you up and keep you inside!

[woooee]

Christmas marks the birth of Christ, and it is celebrated by Christians around the world. But this holiday has close ties to an older festival known as the "Unconquered Sun." The impact this Pagan tradition had on how Christmas was celebrated is one of the ways in which The Christian tradition changed as it developed through the ages.

December 25th was the date of the winter solstice in the calendar Julius Caesar devised for Rome in 46 BC. Today the winter solstice usually occurs on December 21st. Although Caesar used a 365 1/4 day year, a year is actually a little shorter, and this made the solstice occur a little earlier over the years. There was a discrepancy of 1 day in 128 years.

There is nothing in the Christian Bible to specify the day of Christmas. Prior to the fourth century, Christ’s birth had been associated with Three King’s Day on January 6. But the pagans and the newly converted were being a major problem to the church because they were still celebrating the Unconquered Sun. Nothing the church did or said made a difference; the winter solstice was just too important a festival.

What the Christians did in this dilemma, was execute a move seen over and over in history. If you can’t defeat them, and refuse to join them, at least make it appear that you defeated them. Sometime between AD 354 and 360 a few decades after Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, the celebration of Christmas was shifted to the day of the Unconquered Sun. But the tradition of the Sun god lived on a long time.

http://home.ccil.org/~kmiles/dln/12-95/decsol.html

[Netcode]

In space, astronauts cannot cry properly, because there is no gravity, so the tears can't flow down their faces

[dvdreplication]

Interesting thread thanks for sharing and posting.

[stultuske]

Interesting thread thanks for sharing and posting.

some people consider threads where other people state that there poo looks like an elephant as interesting :)

[stultuske]

Christmas marks the birth of Christ,

yet the bible states that Mary got pregnant in the 6th month. so, either Christ was premature and (with the poor medical care they had back then) had very little chance of actually living long enough to be crucified at the age of 33, or he wasn't really born on december 25th.

[vegaseat]

The actual Christmas gift givers are different in various countries:
US: Santa Claus (a white bearded fat man in a red outfit); England: Father Christmas; France: Pere Noel (Father Christmas); Germany: Christkind (angelic messenger from Jesus, a beautiful fair haired girl with a shining crown of candles); Holland: St Nicholas; Italy: La Befana (a kindly old witch); Spain and South America: The Three Kings; Russia: In some parts - Babouschka (a grandmotherly figure) in other parts it is Grandfather Frost; Scandinavia: a variety of Christmas gnomes, one is called Julenisse.

[woooee]

At Lunch Time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down

[DJSAN10]

Skepticisms is the longest word that alternates hands when typing!

[HiHe]

Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

This old Scotch tune, now a famous New Year's song, was written by Robert Burns in the 1700's. 'Auld Lang Syne' literally means 'old long ago,' or simply, 'the good old days.'

[GrimJack]

Have you ever taken a bite of fruit and thought "mmmm,. that is sweet" and the very next bite "ewwww, not sweet - what happened?" That is the difference between the blossom end and the stem end. The blossom end is the sweetest.

[woooee]

Bet you didn't know the US has a Beard Team.

Burke Kenny, a 26-year-old Olympia, Wash., man took first place in the 2011 World Beard and Mustache Championships "full beard with styled mustache" category, officials say. Kenny began growing his winning beard and mustache combo when he was about 20 while attending Evergreen State College; his biggest facial hair influence is his father. Kenny is one of six Beard Team USA members to take home gold medals from this year's championship, four of whom are from Washington state.

[sneekula]

The smarter you are, the more you dream.

[itzarun]

The smarter you are, the more you dream.

Is this a quote?