Useless Facts about anything

[Iconic Ride]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution

[Bibs]

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost a child while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.

Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.

 

Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.

Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford."
Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by "Ford."

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the "kicker":

 

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland.
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

AND...................:

Lincoln was shot in a theater and the assassin ran to a warehouse...
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and the assassin ran to a theater...

[Kimbers]

Wooooooooo. Strange coincidences! Tres interesting mr Bibbo!

 

To "chork" is to make a noise like feet walking in waterlogged shoes.

 

In Bolivia the Quechua word for baby is "guagua" pronounced "wah wah".

 

"Mollynogging" is an old Lincolnshire word for hanging out with loose women!!..........and my favourite word EVER!!!!

[Günter]

allways thought 'hangin out with loose women' is your favourite ever ..

 

[Bibs]

During the French Revolution, two things were being wasted: human lives and human bodies. In terms of the latter, many of the bodies of people executed by guillotine would not be buried by family members or anyone else for that matter. They just lay somewhere in a pile, rotting away. Therefore, the Committee of Public Safety gave permission to use the castle of Muedon outside Paris as a tannery to process leather from the skin of those who were executed. Many men at the time wore breeches and boots made from the product.

 

In fact, human leather was considered much more supple and of better quality than animal leather. Men’s skins were preferred for fashion, while women’s skins were too soft to be useful.

[73JPS]

 

Evidently, then,  this guy should have started a business instead of dining on his raw mateials.

[Iconic Ride]

   "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti." 

[Bibs]

The word "comet" comes from the Greek word "kometes" meaning long hair and referring to the tail

[ramjet]

Chromophobia is the fear of colours.

 

I think it's much more fun to think of it as a fear of olden style bumper bars.

[Kimbers]

Diepnophobia, The fear of dinner party conversations.

 

Nomophobia, The fear of being out of mobile phone contact.

 

Metrophobia, The fear of Poetry.

 

Lachanophobia, Fear of vegetables.

 

[Bibs]

http://www.mapsonline.co.uk/app_assets/thirdpartymodules/zoomify/zoomifywatermarkviewer.swf?zoomifyImagePath=/Gallery/Zoomify/KALI-ATN-EUROPE

[Kimbers]

There are only 2 rhymes in the English language for Purple. "Curple", a strap passing under a horses tail and "hirple", to walk along dragging one leg behind the other!!

[red vtec]

-Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.

[Günter]

based on the impressions,  US (or even global) finance-politics are done just like a big Monopoly game anyway 

[Bibs]

33 random motoring facts you probably didn’t know

by Graham King on January 29, 2013 in Randomness

The title says it all, so in no particular order I’ll jump straight in.

1. In 2000, 353 baby girls were named Lexus in the USA. 24 were called Porsche.
2. The word Lexus is assumed to mean ‘luxury exports to the US’.
3. In 1911, Ford opened its first factory outside America at Trafford Park in Manchester.
4. In December 1989, the Mk3 Ford Escort (1980-’86) was the most common car on UK roads. There was 1.5 million of them.
5. The first car built by South Korean manufacturer Hyundai was a license-built Ford Cortina.
6. Nine Fiats have won European Car of the Year, more than any other make. The 124 was the first in 1967, the 500 was the latest in 2008.
7. Bridget Driscoll was the UK’s first car accident fatality. She was run over in Crystal Palace, London on 17 August 1896.
8. The infamous Zero fighter plane, flown by Japanese kamikazes during WWII, was built by Mitsubishi.
9. Porsche’s first factory in Gmund, Austria, was a former sawmill.
10. Legend has it that Ettore Bugatti couldn’t stand his works racing driver Pierre Veyron, after whom the Bugatti Veyron is named.
11. The 1961 Ford Mustang concept car was powered by a V4 engine, not a V8.
12. Carroll Shelby, father of the Cobra, was offered the chance to become Toyota’s American distributor. Loyal to Ford, he turned it down but pointed them towards one of his friends. That friend became a billionaire.
13. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad auctioned his 1977 Peugeot 504 for charity in 2011. It made $2.5 million.
14. Since 1948, Ford has sold 35 million of its F-Series pick-ups, making it the second most popular vehicle in history. Only the Toyota Corolla beats it.
15. In 2012, Argentina’s best-selling car was the Chevrolet Classic. The Classic is a saloon version of the 1993 Opel/Vauxhall Corsa.
16. The Volkswagen Gol – and no, I haven’t missed an ‘F’ – has been Brazil’s best-selling car for 25 of the last 26 years. It was only beaten by the Fiat Uno in 1994.
17. For a short period during the 90s, the American Chevrolet Cavalier could be bought in Japan as a Toyota.
18. Cars currently on sale in Japan include the Daihatsu Mira Cocoa, Honda Freed Spike, Mazda Scrum, Nissan Otti, Suzuki Every Wagon, and Toyotas Passo Sette, Pixis Epoch and Spade.
19. German boutique car builder Benarrow’s PB5 model is a re-bodied Audi S5 that uses Rover 75 headlights.
20. The rights to the Austin Maestro and Montego were bought by Chinese company Etsong in 1998. Etsong was originally a tobacco company.
21. When Peugeot was founded in 1810, it made coffee mills and bicycles. It still does.
22. Though the Ford Cortina was replaced by the Sierra in 1982, six were registered in 1987. The last unregistered car was uncovered at a dealer in 2005. The 1981 2.0 GL model was sold again in 2012, still unregistered and showing no mileage.
23. Hampshire Constabulary was the first police force in the UK to use foreign cars. They started using the Volvo Amazon on traffic patrols in 1965.
24. At some point, somewhere in the world, its been possible to buy limousines based on the Austin Montego, Renault 9, Peugeot 405 and Skoda Octavia.
25. According to www.HowManyLeft.co.uk there are two Alfa Romeo MiTo Sportivas on UK roads. There are three version to choose from.
26. Even though BMW has long-since sold off Rover and Land Rover, it still owns the rights to former British Leyland brands Austin, Morris, Riley, Triumph and Wolseley.
27. Including commerical vehicles, Toyota currently sells 71 separate model-lines in Japan alone.
28. The American version of the first generation Ford Focus had a longer wheelbase than the European model.
29. The Opel/Vauxhall Frontera could be bought in America as the Honda Passport.
30. During the original Mini’s 41 year life, 60 different special edition models were produced.
31. Henry Ford’s first car company became Cadillac after he left, while Walter Chrysler’s first job in the motor industry was as a works manager at Buick.
32. Fiat stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, while the ‘Alfa’ in Alfa Romeo stands for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili.
33. In 1967, Sweden switched driving on the left-hand side of the road, to driving on the right.

[andydclements]

A slug has a similar average speed to my Riley Elf (0.007mph)

Over the past 4 years, one and a half months the Elf has covered 246 miles.

[ramjet]

[Bibs]

'Eleven plus two' is an anagram of 'twelve plus one'.

[ramjet]

Clusecs suck.

[Bibs]

[basalte]

That`s a very enlightening chart and suggests that the numbers of "workshy" is not nearly as high as popular myth suggests . Housing benefit gets paid to landlords direct by the way

[molemot]

Housing benefit is a grey area...here's what the CAB say...

"How is Housing Benefit paid

Housing Benefit is paid by your local authority.

If you are a local authority tenant, you will not get your Housing Benefit paid to you directly. Instead it will be taken off your rent so that you either pay no rent or a reduced rent (also known as a rent rebate).

If you are a private or housing association tenant and you don't come under the Local Housing Allowance rules, you may get Housing Benefit paid directly to you or to your landlord, depending on your circumstances.

If you come under the Local Housing Allowance Rules, your local authority will normally pay Housing Benefit to you, rather than to your landlord. You will not be able to choose to have it paid direct to your landlord. However, there will still be some circumstances where your local authority can decide to pay Benefit direct to your landlord instead of you, for example, if you're unlikely to pay the rent or have difficulty managing money.

From 1 April 2011, if the landlord agrees to lower the rent to help you stay in the property, it may also be possible for the landlord to be paid direct from the local authority.

If Housing Benefit is paid directly to you, this will be by cheque, giro cheque cashable at the Post Office, or straight into your bank or building society account.

Housing benefit is usually paid in arrears. This means that it is paid after your rent is due. It can be paid weekly, fortnightly, every four weeks or every month, depending on how frequently you pay your rent. You have a right to be paid fortnightly if your housing benefit is £2 a week or more and it is not being paid to the landlord."

Under the new Universal Credit scheme it will not be paid directly to landlords.

[semi42]

all duracell batteries expire in march

walkers crisps expiry dates fall on the same day of the week

[slewthy]

The three wise Monkeys are named

Mizaru  - see no evil

Kikazaru - hear no evil

Iwazaru - speak no evil

 

There is also a 4th, Shizaru, do no evil. He has crossed arms

 

[basalte]

This needs updating. Where`s "Tweet No Evil ?"

Edited April 16, 2013 by basalte