10 Things We Didn't Know This Time Last Week

[Scheherazade]

1. Roadside trees slow down cars.

2. School uniforms cost less than £5.

3. Only 10% of words in a text message are not written in full, on average.
More details

4. You can get six A grades at A-level and still not be offered a university place.

5. One in three adults takes a soft toy to bed, according to new research.

6. Dogs can walk upright.

7. Man was not responsible for the extinction of the woolly mammoth.

8. The average person spends around 15 hours 45 minutes every day awake.

9. Children with squints are less likely to be invited to birthday parties.

10. Urine could be a source of renewable energy.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_149.shtml

[Scheherazade]

1. The Tube carries more passengers than the whole of the national rail network.

2. The optimum time to book a flight is eight weeks before departure.

3. The Stig was originally going to be called The Gimp.

4. Milk used to be watered down, then coloured yellow with toxic lead chromate to make it look creamy.

5. It's possible to watch 28,000 films in a lifetime.

6. Sumo wrestlers can't use iPhones because their fingers are too fat.

7. The socks-with-sandals look came from the Romans.

8. Tornados can burn.

9. Putting a cat in a bin is not illegal.

10. Traffic jams can last nine days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_150.shtml


1. Apples originated in Kazakhstan.

2. Ray Winstone turned down the part of McNulty in The Wire.

3. It is illegal to dry clothes in various parks in Whitstable, Kent.

4. The UK's newest submarine will last 25 years without needing to be refuelled.

5. The Queen washes up.

6. Tony Blair was nervous meeting Des O'Connor.

7. Usain Bolt was called VJ as a child, because his mother thought he needed a nickname. It doesn't stand for anything.

8. Guinness can be deep-fried.

9. The biggest crisp factory in the world is in Leicester.

10. Britons drink less alcohol than the European average.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_151.shtml

[Scheherazade]

1. The salary with optimum happiness is £50,000.

2. Hull lost 85% of its buildings during the Blitz.

3. Geoff Capes was a champion budgerigar breeder.

4. Spiders eat birds. .

5. A hand dryer can increase germs.

6. Clint Eastwood turned down playing James Bond and Superman.

7. The trapped miners in Chile are recycling.

8. People who rise from their chair quickly are more likely to live longer.

9. Diners pay more for desserts when they on a trolley.

10. Happy people give more to charity.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_152.shtml

[Patrick_Bateman]

I thought the bird eating spider was just a name indicative of it's size and that it doesn't actually eat birds, but the size of the arachnid itself would suggest the ability to eat something that big.

I thought the bird eating spider was just a name indicative of it's size and that it doesn't actually eat birds, but the size of the arachnid itself would suggest the ability to eat something that big.

Quick google-age

Despite its name, the Goliath Birdeater does not normally eat birds. As with other species of spider (specifically tarantula), their diet consists primarily of insects and other invertebrates. However, because of its naturally large size, it is not uncommon for this species to kill and consume a variety of vertebrates. In the wild, larger species of tarantula have been seen feeding on rodents, lizards, bats and even deadly venomous snakes.

*crosses his legs while smoking a cigarette and smiling smugly

[Scheherazade]

I thought the bird eating spider was just a name indicative of it's size and that it doesn't actually eat birds, but the size of the arachnid itself would suggest the ability to eat something that big.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ear...on-camera.html

[Patrick_Bateman]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ear...on-camera.html

Well i can't argue with photographic evidence.

A good demonstration of the strength of spider's web too.

[Scheherazade]

*crosses his legs while smoking a cigarette and smiling smugly

Oh, and would you mind putting out your cigarette?

This is a "no smoking" area.

[Patrick_Bateman]

I don't smoke

[Scheherazade]

1. Cancer patients typically make 53 visits to hospital during treatment.

2. Bubbles lives in Florida.

3. DJ Paul Oakenfold made about £20,000 a year from the Big Brother theme tune.

4. Tony Blair has not watched The Queen, in which he features.

5. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, invented bifocal glasses.

6. When people fall in love they lose on average two close friends.

7. Subbuteo has a rugby version.

8. The Pope's aircraft is known as "Shepherd One".

9. Humans could not digest milk 10,000 years ago.

10. Oxford University doesn't care whether you can play the flute.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_153.shtml

[Virgil]

Yikes am I behind. I'm half asleep but let me give it a whirl.

1. Roadside trees slow down cars.

Yeah, from 65 mph to zero in five milleseconds. CRASH!

2. School uniforms cost less than £5.

Of their used and have stains in unsightly places.

3. Only 10% of words in a text message are not written in full, on average.

Y nt?

4. You can get six A grades at A-level and still not be offered a university place.

But get a few F's and you get a scholarship.

5. One in three adults takes a soft toy to bed, according to new research.

Hey when a man gets old, it's always a soft toy in bed.

6. Dogs can walk upright.

And with evolution they should be speaking and building houses in a few more million years.

7. Man was not responsible for the extinction of the woolly mammoth.

The first victum of global warming.

8. The average person spends around 15 hours 45 minutes every day awake.

Not me. I guess i'm not average.

9. Children with squints are less likely to be invited to birthday parties.

That's because they can't see the invitation.

10. Urine could be a source of renewable energy.

Sure, let's all pee on each other now. Isn't global warming fun.

2. The optimum time to book a flight is eight weeks before departure.

Half the time I don't even know I'm leaving eight weeks before.

3. The Stig was originally going to be called The Gimp.

I call it The Wimp.

4. Milk used to be watered down, then coloured yellow with toxic lead chromate to make it look creamy.

That was urine they added for that creamy texture.

5. It's possible to watch 28,000 films in a lifetime.

28,000 films x 3 hrs/film / 24 hrs/day = 3500 days which equals 9.5 years round the clock. What a stupid way to live a life.

6. Sumo wrestlers can't use iPhones because their fingers are too fat.

I guess they can't pick their nose either.

7. The socks-with-sandals look came from the Romans.

Oh sure, that what people were thinking at the beach last year - let's emulate the Romans.

8. Tornados can burn.

Global warming.

9. Putting a cat in a bin is not illegal.

But putting one in a bathtub full of water will send you to the hospital.

10. Traffic jams can last nine days.

God, it can be like that around here too. Seriously, that is insane.

1. Apples originated in Kazakhstan.

Hey I was just there and apples are big. I believe that.

3. It is illegal to dry clothes in various parks in Whitstable, Kent.

I guess everyone walks around in wet clothes. I guess looking at all the wet tee shirts on sexy girls is what generated the law. Not all politicians are stupid.

4. The UK's newest submarine will last 25 years without needing to be refuelled.

If you don't launch it it won't need any fuel. The British Navy isn't what it used to be.

5. The Queen washes up.

Only when she smells.

6. Tony Blair was nervous meeting Des O'Connor.

So what? Blair was nervous meeting Simon Cowell. Afraid of the review.

7. Usain Bolt was called VJ as a child, because his mother thought he needed a nickname. It doesn't stand for anything.

And that's why he runs so fast. Stupidity leads to speed.

8. Guinness can be deep-fried.

It's better than french fries.

10. Britons drink less alcohol than the European average.

Then they have a low tolerance for alcohol because there are way more British drunks around.

1. The salary with optimum happiness is £50,000.

Not to me. I'll take a couple of million.

3. Geoff Capes was a champion budgerigar breeder.

What the heck is that? And why would you breed it?

4. Spiders eat birds.

And they'll have a cat for desert.

5. A hand dryer can increase germs.

Not unless she's ugly.

6. Clint Eastwood turned down playing James Bond and Superman.

Oh thank God. That would have been horrible casting.

7. The trapped miners in Chile are recycling.

Yeah their urine. See above. Even there environmental whackos are imposing laws.

8. People who rise from their chair quickly are more likely to live longer.

I always thought life was a game of musical chairs. This proves it.

10. Happy people give more to charity.

Sounds true. Santa Claes does go ho ho ho.

1. Cancer patients typically make 53 visits to hospital during treatment.

Oh, that's too sad to joke on.

2. Bubbles lives in Florida.

The home of strip clubs.

4. Tony Blair has not watched The Queen, in which he features.

He didn't exactly serve as Prime minister either, in which he featured.

5. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, invented bifocal glasses.

So he could sign the Declaration of Indepedence while looking out for the redcoats. A most proactical man.

6. When people fall in love they lose on average two close friends.

And one of them is the person their in love with.

8. The Pope's aircraft is known as "Shepherd One".

That's funny and cute.

9. Humans could not digest milk 10,000 years ago.

Judging by the gas I get, humans still can't.

10. Oxford University doesn't care whether you can play the flute.
But they insist on you playing the bagpipes as a pre-requisite.

[Scheherazade]

1. Blowflies can help solve murders.

2. New Zealand's birds suffer from body odour.

3. Would-be hobbits should be no more than 158cm (5ft 2ins) tall if male or 153cm (5ft) if female.

4. Strong winds could have parted the Red Sea.

5. Children's waistlines have expanded by an average of 12.5cm (4.9ins) since the 1970s.

6. Ed Miliband can solve a Rubik's Cube in one minute 20 seconds.

7. Customers using cash machines of the Vatican bank are offered Latin as the preferred language.

8. The Facebook logo is blue because founder Mark Zuckerberg is red-green colour blind.

9. Northern Ireland has the lowest proportion of out gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the UK.

10. Denim jeans come from Italy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/

[Hurricane]

6. Ed Miliband can solve a Rubik's Cube in one minute 20 seconds.

I watched my roommate do a Rubik's Cube in one minute twelve seconds freshman year. One of the more bizarre and strangely impressive things I think I've witnessed personally.

[Scheherazade]

1. Elgar wrote world's first football chant.

2. The UN has an Office of Outer Space Affairs.

3. There's a market for mammoth ivory and it sells for £330 per kilogram.

4. Neanderthals were tech-savvy.

5. Engineers estimate that 12 to 15 tonnes of rock will need to be cleared by the trapped Chilean miners each day.

6. In French, the words for "inflation" and "fellatio" are very similar.

7. The first travelator in the UK was at Bank Tube station in London.

8. Former PM Edward Heath left his home to the nation as a museum when he died.

9. Intestinal worms can grow to more than 2m long.

10. Penguins have been around for 36m years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_155.shtml

[Virgil]

1. Blowflies can help solve murders.

If they don't get distracted by the dog sh*t, they can be pretty smart.

2. New Zealand's birds suffer from body odour.

Have you smelled any New Zealanders recently? They're not exactly perfumy.

3. Would-be hobbits should be no more than 158cm (5ft 2ins) tall if male or 153cm (5ft) if female.

Hey my next door neighbor must be a hobbit! And his wife too.

4. Strong winds could have parted the Red Sea.

That has as much credibility as the global warming models.

5. Children's waistlines have expanded by an average of 12.5cm (4.9ins) since the 1970s.

Parent's waistlines haven't exactly gone down either.

6. Ed Miliband can solve a Rubik's Cube in one minute 20 seconds.

But it takes him five minutes to tie his show laces.

7. Customers using cash machines of the Vatican bank are offered Latin as the preferred language.

As long as it's Euros that come out and not dinaris.

8. The Facebook logo is blue because founder Mark Zuckerberg is red-green colour blind.

Maybve theat's why I refuse to join. If only they had a red and green logo.

9. Northern Ireland has the lowest proportion of out gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the UK.

Now that is interesting. I wonder why.

10. Denim jeans come from Italy.

And I assume it's not those low rider types that expose your a$$ crack.

1. Elgar wrote world's first football chant.

It wasn't very good though: "Yay, yay, let's all play." It should have been snappier.

2. The UN has an Office of Outer Space Affairs.

I have to say that was the stupidest thing I ever heard, a person whose job it is to greet aliens. How do I get such a useless job? And how much money goes toward that person's staff and expenses? No wonder people want the UN to disolve.

3. There's a market for mammoth ivory and it sells for £330 per kilogram.

I guess there aren't any poachers out there on this one.

4. Neanderthals were tech-savvy.

Yeah, and a few of them are here on Lit Net.

5. Engineers estimate that 12 to 15 tonnes of rock will need to be cleared by the trapped Chilean miners each day.

And do you trust these engineers? Weren't they the ones responsible for getting those miners trapped in the first place.

6. In French, the words for "inflation" and "fellatio" are very similar.

Well, I guess a part of the anatomy does get inflated during the process.

7. The first travelator in the UK was at Bank Tube station in London.

But it had to be removed. It made bank robbery a little too easy.

8. Former PM Edward Heath left his home to the nation as a museum when he died.

Why? He must owe money on it.

9. Intestinal worms can grow to more than 2m long.

Wow. At some point the worm becomes the intestine.

10. Penguins have been around for 36m years.

Cute aren't they? They're secret is that male penguins never argue with their wives.

[Scheherazade]

1. The world's largest circulation newspaper is the Japanese title Yomiuri Shimbun, selling 15 million copies.

2. Squirrels can be black.

3. Chimpanzees can become addicted to smoking.

4. One in 10 babies born in Europe is conceived in an Ikea bed.

5. Tarantulas are edible.

6. People can begin apprenticeships in their 70s.

7. Adolf Hitler promised to give his foreign minister Cornwall.

8. Men sweat more efficiently than women.

9. Sewage can be used to heat homes.

10. Potatoes can be purple - inside and out.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinem...st_w_156.shtml