I remember you inviting me but i declined!
damn right.
hell yes!
Tecmo Super Bowl for the first Nintendo game. When me and my brother would play each other we had a rule that neither of us could be the Dolphins. I would be the Raiders just because Bo Jackson owned that game.
fuck yes!
I must have missed like every halftime show of my childhood because me and the other kids around would run off to the another TV in the house to see it.
man, its a shame that MTV blows entirely now.
Make with the info Bill, it’s been too long and I’m way too bored at work.
Please?
Damn, you’re the second person to ask me about this today. The people in my office are clamoring for an update as well.
Can’t promise anything for sure. I have a this afternoon to get prepared for, but I’ll try.
In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world’s nuclear weapons combined.
On average people fear spiders more than they do death.
Ninety percent of New York City cabbies are recently arrived immigrants.
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.”
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
The “pound” key on your keyboard (#) is called an octotroph.
Table tennis balls have been known to travel off the paddle at speeds up to 160 km/hr.
Pepsi originally contained pepsin, thus the name.
The original story from “Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights” begins, “Aladdin was a little Chinese boy.”
Honey is the only natural food that is made without destroying any kind of life. What about milk you say? A cow has to eat grass to produce milk and grass is living.
Michael Jordan makes more money from NIKE annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
The volume of the earth’s moon is the same as the volume of the Pacific Ocean.
Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.
Ham radio operators got the term “ham” coined from the expression “ham fisted operators,” a term used to describe early radio users who sent Morse code (i.e., pounded their fist).
The house fly hums in the middle octave key of F.
The giant red star Betelgeuse has a diameter larger than that of the Earth’s orbit around the sun.
The longest place name still in use is:
Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteat uripukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenua kitanatahu
– a New Zealand hill. (See if your spell check has this word)
Los Angeles’s full name is: “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de losAngeles de Poriuncula” and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, “LA.”
According to Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, it is possible to go slower than light and faster than light, but it is impossible to go the speed of light. Also, there is a particle called tackyon, which is supposed to go faster than light. This means if you fire a tackyon beam, it travels before you fire it.
If you passed gas consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
Elephants are the only animal that cannot jump. (OK, so that would be a good thing…)
Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
There are more chickens than people in the world.
On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.
All of the clocks in the movie “Pulp Fiction” are stuck on 4:20.
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks or it will digest itself.
A 2" X 4" is really 1-1/2" by 3-1/2".
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV’s or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs and bars who were told to “go sip some ale” and listen to people’s conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. “You go sip here” and “You go sip there.” The two words “go sip” were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and thus, we have the term “gossip.”
During the chariot scene in “Ben Hur,” a small red car can be seen in the distance.
The name Wendy was made up for the book “Peter Pan.” There was never a recorded Wendy before.
The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin in World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
If one places a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to slow film down while shooting so you could see his moves. That’s the opposite of the norm.
The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.”
The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.
By raising your legs slowly and laying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.
Celery has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.
The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from public libraries.
Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement during Colonial times. 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.” Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt, and therefore, the expression “losing face.”
Thanks Billiam!
Love these, thanks Fone!
some nice useless info right thar
i do enjoy reading useless b/s
i wish i could remember all these.
So you could whip them out?
…
At a party?
Is this true for the new bill to be issued this week?
The present ones have 26 states listed on the back (incl. “Hampshire” & “Carolina”) ???
I’m in my old office again this morning, so I figure I should be up to my old tricks…
The right lung takes in more air than the left.
It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.
One 75-watt light bulb gives off more light than three 25-watt light bulbs.
The pop you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually a bubble of gas burning.
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
Scientists have performed brain surgery on cockroaches.
Wet sand weighs less than dry sand.
Men can read smaller print than women.
The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
Did you know there was one U.S. state that no longer exists? In 1784 the U.S. had a state called Franklin, named after Benjamin Franklin. But four years later, it was incorporated into Tennessee.
Los Angeles full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Serona la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula.
The nation of Monaco on the French Riviera, is smaller than Central Park in New York. Monaco is 370 acres and Central Park is 840 acres.
When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the third largest city in the state.
China has more English speakers than the U.S.
In Vulcan, Alberta Canada, the tourist welcome sign is written in both English and Klingon (alien language from
God bless you Bill!!
It’s been way too long!!
p.s. If you compiled all of these into a book, you would create the Ultimate Bathroom Book!!!
I love these things, at the same time I am pretty sceptical about some of them.
^ I’ve found that one of the secrets to being happy is to get comformtable with feelings of skepticism and doubt since the rational mind is capable of understanding only tiny pieces of the total wonderment of life.
And on that note, doubt away on these…
Nine U.S. Presidents never went to college: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, and Harry Truman.
George Washington’s teeth were actually: carved from animal tusks, some of them were also somebody else’s teeth, and some of them were from animals like deer and cales.
Second and third Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on July 4, 1826.
The first woman to run for President was Victoria Woodhull, on the Equal Rights Party ballot in 1872.
George Washington named Washington D.C. “Federal City.” It was changed to “Washington D.C.” after his death.
The only President in office to weigh less than 100 pounds was James Madison.
Blueberry Jelly Belies were created especially for Ronald Regan.
No President was ever an only child.
The first-lady of the U.S. is considered a private citizen.
In 1832 Abraham Lincoln ran for the Illinois legislature, and lost.
The phone number of the white house is: (202) 456-1414.
Rutherford Hayes became U.S. President by one vote.
Only 3 mayors of U.S. cities went on to become president: Calvin Coolidge, Grover Cleveland, and Andrew Johnson.
The only U.S. president to be born on the fourth of July was Calvin Coolidge.
Ben Franklin invented crop insurance.
The first bath tub to be installed in the white house was during the time of Millard Fillmore.
There are six U.S. Presidents with the first name James: Madison, Monroe, Garfield, Buchanon, Carter, Polk.
Two U.S. Presidents with the initials “J.M.” followed each other as president.
The S in Harry S Truman stands for nothing.
A piano leg went through the floor of the white house in 1948 during President Truman’s term.
William Howard Taft had a bathtub that could hold four people installed in the white because he couldn’t fit into the present one.
William Taft is only man to become President and then chief justice.
A flock of sheep grazed during Woodrow Wilson’s term. Their wool was sold to raise money for the Red Cross during World War I.
Calvin Coolidge, was so famous for saying so little that a White House dinner guest made a bet that she could get him to say more than two words. She told the president of her wager. His reply: “You lose.”
Anyone could come to Andrew Jackson’s public parties at the White House. At his last one, a wheel of cheese weighing 1,400 lbs. was eaten in two hours. The White House smelled of cheese for weeks.
One ragweed plant can release as many as one billion grains of pollen.
The term ‘hay fever’ originated in England, where some people suffered allergic symptoms during hay pitching time when the symptoms became serve, workers often felt feverish.
A jumbo jet uses 4,000 gallons of fuel to take off.
The first Ford cars used Dodge engines.
The first CD pressed in the U.S. was Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA.’
Children spend more time learning about life through media than any other manner. The average child spends approximately 28 hours a week watching television, which is twice as much time as they spend in school.
The thumbnail grows the slowest; the middle nail grows the fastest.
The toes of mummies are wrapped individually.
Apples, not caffeine, are most efficient at waking up in the morning.
There is cyanide in apple pits.
When you sneeze, all your bodily functions stop, even your heart.
Our eyes never grow, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.
You blink about 25,000 times a day.
If you lock your knee while standing long enough, you will pass out.
The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
Brain damage occurs at an internal temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mark Twain was the first to have written a novel [Tom Sawyer] on a typewriter.
Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.
The Volkswagen was originally called the “Strength Through Joy Wagon”.
Just twenty seconds worth of fuel remained when Apollo 11’s lunar module landed on the moon.
If Texas were a country it’s GNP would be fifth largest of any country on earth.
Sterling silver contains 7.5% copper.
The active ingredient in smelling salts is ammonia.
The longest war between two nations in history, The Hundred Years War between England and France, really lasted for 115 years(1338-1453).
There are over 600,000 words in the English language.
“Lunula” is the tip of the finger and toenail that is white. It is called this this (referring to the moon) because the end of the nail is rounded like the moon.
The word “piano” is really an abbreviation for the word “pianoforte.”
Duffel bags are named after a town of Duffel, Belgium, where they were first made.
The words “volt” and “voltage” are named for a member of the Italian nobility in the 1700s named Count Voltman.
The ‘y’ in signs reading “ye olde…” is properly pronounced with a ‘th’ sound, not ‘y’. The “th” sound does not exist in Latin, so ancient Roman occupied (present day) England use the rune “thorn” to represent “th” sounds. With the advent of the printing press the character from the Roman alphabet which closest resembled thorn was the lower case “y”.
Some biblical scholars believe that Aramaic (the language of the ancient Bible) did not contain an easy way to say “many things” and used a term which has come down to us as 40. This means that when the bible - in many places - refers to “40 days,” they meant many days.
The term, “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye” is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, “No eye gouging,” eveything else was allowed.
The phrase “rule of thumb” is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
The term “the whole 9 yards” came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got “the whole 9 yards.”
The word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnazein which means to
exercise naked.
Las Vegas means “The Meadows” in Spanish.
There are only four words in the English language which end in dous: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
The longest one-syllable word in the English language is screeched.
Strength is the longest english word with only one vowel.
“Dreamt” is the only word in the English language to end in “mt.”
You speak about 4,800 words per day.
“Teh” means “cool” in Thai. (Pronounced “tay”).
Lice is the plural of louse.
The word ‘byte’ is a contraction of ‘by eight.’
The word ‘pixel’ is a contraction of either ‘picture cell’ or ‘picture
element’.
Alekthophilia is the love of chickens.
“No President was ever an only child.”
Does this mean that no one was the oldest? Or that every president had at least one sibling?
Great stuff Fone, thanks.
It’s been much too long…
“Lunula” is the crescent shaped bed of the finger and toenail that is white. It is called this this (referring to the moon) because the shape is rounded like the moon.
In 1964, Sandy Koufax, Elston Howard, Jimmy Brown, Oscar Robertson, and Cookie Gilchrist were all voted MVP from their respected (MLB, NFL, NBA) leagues. Each of them wore the number 32.
The word “piano” is really an abbreviation for the word “pianoforte.”
Cher’s last name was Sarkissian, she changed it because no one could pronounce it and it would not be accepted in show business.
Second and third Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on July 4, 1826.
Duffel bags are named after a town of Duffel, Belgium, where they were first made.
The ‘y’ in signs reading “ye olde…” is properly pronounced with a ‘th’ sound, not ‘y’. The “th” sound does not exist in Latin, so ancient Roman occupied (present day) England use the rune “thorn” to represent “th” sounds. With the advent of the printing press the character from the Roman alphabet which closest resembled thorn was the lower case “y”.
The first woman to run for President was Victoria Woodhull, on the Equal Rights Party ballot in 1872.
Sugar was first added to chewing gum in 1869 by a dentist (William Semple).
Some biblical scholars believe that Aramaic (the language of the ancient Bible) did not contain an easy way to say “many things” and used a term which has come down to us as 40. This means that when the bible - in many places - refers to “40 days,” they meant many days.
George Washington who commanded the Continental Army as a four-star general was promoted posthumously to the position of six-star “General of the Armies of Congress” by an order of Jimmy Carter, who felt America’s first President should also be America’s highest military official.
The term, “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye” is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, “No eye gouging,” eveything else was allowed.
Damascus, Syria has been the longest city to be continuously inhabited in the world today.
The phrase “rule of thumb” is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
The term “the whole 9 yards” came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got “the whole 9 yards.”
It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year’s supply of footballs.
Grover Cleveland’s real first name is Stephen, Grover is his middle name.
The word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnazein which means to exercise naked.
Las Vegas means “The Meadows” in Spanish.
Levi’s 501 jeans got its number from its original stock number in the first Levi’s store.
China has close to 25% of the world’s population, and has more English speakers than the U.S.
There are only four words in the English language which end in dous: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.
The longest one-syllable word in the English language is screeched. Strength is the longest english word with only one vowel. “Dreamt” is the only word in the English language to end in “mt.”
You speak about 4,800 words per day.
Harvard University’s original name was Cambridge. It only changed when John Harvard donated 400 books to the school.
Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them, burnt their houses down - hence the expression “to get fired.”
When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the third largest city in the state.
“Teh” means “cool” in Thai. (Pronounced “tay”).
The famous Revolutionary war general Lafayette had the same first name as his wife Mary.
The six most dangerous occupations in America are; football player, firefighter, race-car driver, astronaut, police officer, and fisherman.
Lice is the plural of louse.
Bill Clinton is the only President ever to be elected twice without ever receiving 50% of the popular vote. He had 43 percent in 1992 and 49 percent in 1996.
The word ‘byte’ is a contraction of ‘by eight.’
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of
the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
The word ‘pixel’ is a contraction of either ‘picture cell’ or ‘picture
element’.
George Washington named Washington D.C. “Federal City.” It was changed to “Washington D.C.” after his death.
Alekthophilia is the love of chickens.
But “olde” is still pronounced “old-ee” right?
We’ve chosen a game called “Fact or Crap” for our monthly family game night tomorrow night at our house, and in honor of that competition based on useless information, seems appropriate to have another installment of…
A rat can last longer without water than a camel.
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks or it will digest itself.
A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.
A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate.
A duck’s quack doesn’t echo. No one knows why.
During the chariot scene in “Ben Hur,” a small red car can be seen in the distance (and Heston’s wearing a watch).
On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily!
The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves per side in a game of chess is 318,979,564,000.
There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with month, orange, purple, and silver.
If one places a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death. (Who was the sadist who discovered this??)
Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to s-l-o-w film down so you could see his moves. That’s the opposite of the norm.
The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.”
The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.
By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.
Celery has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.
Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.
Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
The glue on Israeli postage is certified kosher.
The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from public libraries.
Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a spacesuit damages them.
Bats always turn left when exiting a cave!
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; a group of geese in the air is a skein.
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
Babies are born without kneecaps. They don’t appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.
“Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”.
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
If the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
Mr. Rogers was an ordained minister.
On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
The Bible does not say there were three wise men; it only says there were three gifts.
The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is “uncopyrightable”.
There are more chickens than people in the world.
There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: “abstemious” and “facetious.”
There’s no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewables.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.