Author Topic: Strange and Weird Facts  (Read 11068 times)

Offline David In Indy

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Strange and Weird Facts
« on: September 05, 2009, 02:29:45 pm »
I thought it would be fun to start a thread about strange and weird facts. Whenever we hear or read an interesting fact about something, we can post it in here!

I'll start! :D

I was just watching the History Channel. Did you know the Bible is the best selling book in the world? 50 copies of the Bible are sold every single minute!

It is also the most shoplifted book. :o


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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2009, 05:15:24 pm »
I thought it would be fun to start a thread about strange and weird facts. Whenever we hear or read an interesting fact about something, we can post it in here!

I'll start! :D

I was just watching the History Channel. Did you know the Bible is the best selling book in the world? 50 copies of the Bible are sold every single minute!

It is also the most shoplifted book. :o

Yes I did, but the fact doesn't mean much as you can tell from the shoplifting rate.  ;D

My strange and weird fact that makes me smirk whenever I hear about an earthquake somewhere.

Charles Richter of the Richter scale fame - was a vegetarian, a nudist and quite a ladies man.  ;D

From the book A crack in the edge of the world

Offline mariez

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2009, 10:37:26 pm »
Great idea, David!   :D   Someone told me a while back that they knew someone who was allergic to water - so I googled to find out more, and found this:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-520329/The-teenage-girl-allergic-WATER.html

The teenage girl who is allergic to WATER

Teenager Ashleigh Morris can't go swimming, soak in a hot bath or enjoy a shower after a stressful day's work - she's allergic to water.

Even sweating brings the 19-year-old out in a painful rash.

Ashleigh, from Melbourne, Australia, is allergic to water of any temperature, a condition she's lived with since she was 14.

She suffers from an extremely rare skin disorder called Aquagenic Urticaria - so unusual that only a handful of cases are documented worldwide.

(continued at the link ....)

The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis         ~~~~~~~~~Thurgood Marshall

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.    ~~~~~~~~~ Mark Twain

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2009, 02:16:17 pm »
Great idea, David!   :D   Someone told me a while back that they knew someone who was allergic to water - so I googled to find out more, and found this:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-520329/The-teenage-girl-allergic-WATER.html

The teenage girl who is allergic to WATER

Teenager Ashleigh Morris can't go swimming, soak in a hot bath or enjoy a shower after a stressful day's work - she's allergic to water.

Even sweating brings the 19-year-old out in a painful rash.

Ashleigh, from Melbourne, Australia, is allergic to water of any temperature, a condition she's lived with since she was 14.

She suffers from an extremely rare skin disorder called Aquagenic Urticaria - so unusual that only a handful of cases are documented worldwide.

(continued at the link ....)

Poor girl!  I think the doctors are on the wrong track.  If they think it's histamine related, then why don't topical or oral anti-histamines work?

Sadly, I don't think her boyfriend is going to stick around much longer.  She probably doesn't smell that good any more, can't exercise, can't wash as completely as she needs to after certain acts and bodily functions and they can't get all sweaty together nor even kiss skin.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2009, 02:56:21 pm »
From the book A crack in the edge of the world

Appropriate title since Richter was a nudist.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2009, 01:32:05 pm »

Strange and wonderfully weird fact - if raindrops are falling/being flung hard enough, they will spark when they hit - illuminate.

So says Erik Larson in his great book Isaac's Storm.  I haven't been able to confirm this, but I think I've seen this phenomenon myself, but thought it was just my imagination. 

Offline Kelda

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2009, 03:04:49 pm »

It is also the most shoplifted book. :o


 :o :o :o :o :o indeed!!!!!
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #7 on: September 22, 2009, 06:14:27 pm »
In 1893 Chicago held a World's Fair.  They wanted to out-do Paris' Eiffle Tower and thus the Fair's committee members accepted proposals from architects and engineers.

One young engineer supplied his plans for a massive structure that could actually move and was turned down.  He did not give up and spent $25,000 on drawings and additional specs and got investors interested.  But still the committee members turned him down.

He tried again, but this time with the head of the committee of the Midway.  He had the funds, the investors, and he was finally granted a concession to build his monstrosity.

Mr. George. W. G. Ferris got his wheel built.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2009, 08:04:50 pm by delalluvia »

Offline southendmd

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #8 on: September 22, 2009, 07:03:14 pm »


La Grande Roue, Paris

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #9 on: September 22, 2009, 08:11:06 pm »


Original wheel from Chicago's World Fair

Offline Kelda

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2009, 03:52:18 am »


La Grande Roue, Paris

Awww... lovely - reminds me of the Amazing Race - they featured this in the second ever episode and very few could work out what le grande roue was!

*amazing race geekdom over*
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #11 on: September 29, 2009, 01:20:07 pm »
Read this on IMDb about the movie Blackhawk Down.  Funny, being a superpower country and having one of the largest movie making industries in the world, we never worry about such things:

The production imported 100 Rangers, a dozen Humvees and 8 Black Hawks into Morocco for filming. This was considerably more firepower than anything else in the country and the Moroccan king was understandably uneasy about allowing such a large foreign military presence into his country. Ridley Scott joked that they could have taken over the country if they'd wanted to.


Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #12 on: September 29, 2009, 03:08:57 pm »
Read this on IMDb about the movie Blackhawk Down.  Funny, being a superpower country and having one of the largest movie making industries in the world, we never worry about such things:

The production imported 100 Rangers, a dozen Humvees and 8 Black Hawks into Morocco for filming. This was considerably more firepower than anything else in the country and the Moroccan king was understandably uneasy about allowing such a large foreign military presence into his country. Ridley Scott joked that they could have taken over the country if they'd wanted to.



I bet the king wouldn't have found Scott's joke very funny.  :-\
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #13 on: September 29, 2009, 10:57:04 pm »
I bet the king wouldn't have found Scott's joke very funny.  :-\

I bet he wouldn't have either.  I hope Scott & company were gracious to the king for letting them film there.  It took quite a bit of negotiations as I recall from the DVD.

Offline Monika

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #14 on: September 30, 2009, 04:53:48 am »


La Grande Roue, Paris
I love Paris! One of the most beautiful cities in the world, no doubt.

Offline Lynne

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #15 on: September 30, 2009, 09:02:25 am »
I love this thread!
"Laß sein. Laß sein."

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #16 on: October 02, 2009, 12:25:38 pm »
Did you know the Bible is the best selling book in the world?

And in light of this little nugget, do you know what the most banned book in the U.S. is?

In recent years, And Tango Makes Three - based on a true story and centering on gay penguins in New York's Central Park Zoo - has had the most ban requests.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8284509.stm

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #17 on: October 13, 2009, 12:28:46 am »
The painting of the Mona Lisa hanging at the Louvre isn't the real Mona Lisa

But how's this for an even greater controversy: The Mona Lisa painting we all know is not the real Mona Lisa.

Which is not to say that it's a forgery, though since the painting was notoriously stolen from the Louvre in 1911 there is always the slight possibility that the painting hanging there now is a forgery. But there is another Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo DaVinci with claims to being the real Mona Lisa.


http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/29546/the_real_mona_lisa_it_may_not_be_hanging.html?cat=38

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Strange and Weird Facts
« Reply #18 on: October 17, 2009, 02:24:16 am »
Weird story of the Chase Vaults - to this day, still unexplained  :o

Literally, people have investigated and re-investigated and still don't have an answer for what happened.

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Meteor/9175/

(FYI -  Geocities is about to go kaput, don't know how much longer the above link will be active.)

http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/stories/thechasevault.html


Offline delalluvia

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Where did the peace sign come from?
« Reply #19 on: September 30, 2010, 09:39:44 pm »