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100 Things We Didn't Know This Time Last Year
An anonymous reader wrote to mention a BBC list of 100 topical pieces of information that they've reported on over the course of 2005. While some of them are very Brit-specific ("16. The London borough of Westminster has an average of 20 pieces of chewing gum for every square metre of pavement."), there are some interesting, touching, and humorous stories in there. "20. The Queen has never been on a computer, she told Bill Gates as she awarded him an honorary knighthood. 32. 'Restaurant' is the most mis-spelled word in search engines. 65. Actor James Doohan, who played Scotty, had a hand in creating the Klingon language that was used in the movies, and which Shakespeare plays were subsequently translated into."
Uh, 65 is incorrect. I think we all remember Star Trek VI where Chancellor Gorkon mentions that Shakespeare was originally written in Klingon. I can't believe they let this one through.
It's been well known for a very long time that Jimmy Doohan helped create the Klingon language. He created the Klingon dialogue for Star Trek 1, which Marc Okrand developed into the tlhIngan'Hol we know today.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
19. The = sign was invented by 16th Century Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde, who was fed up with writing "is equal to" in his equations. He chose the two lines because "noe 2 thynges can be moare equalle".
16th Century? I'm pretty sure that guy posts on slashdot regularly. "oi got frist psot"
Clearly, you haven't been playing Japanese games like Final Fantasy. I spent years inbreeding my chokuegambos until I got the illustrious Golden Chokuegambo!
One in 10 Europeans is allegedly conceived in an Ikea bed.
That must be a pretty sturdy bed.
32. 'Restaurant' is the most mis-spelled word in search engines.
There is a lot of money to be made if you could get the top list of mispelled words in search engines.
Interesting list, but some of the stuff is either bogus or filler. For example:
"41. Tactically, the best Monopoly properties to buy are the orange ones: Vine Street, Marlborough Street and Bow Street."
I believe they're called New York, Tennessee Avenue and St. James Place. And this is just common sense - their relationship with jail, and the fact that they're on the end of a row (More bang for buck, house/hotel wise, and a 6,8, or 9 after jail yields a hit), makes them ideal.
"43. The spiciness of sauces is measured in Scoville Units."
What does this have to do with '05? I've known that for a long time.
"61. You can bet on your own death."
That's a safe bet - but what do I get once my win has been confirmed?
Meanwhile, others are just best LEFT OUT:
"67. Giant squid eat each other - especially during sex."
"11. One in 10 Europeans is allegedly conceived in an Ikea bed."
"78. One in 18 people has a third nipple."
Thanks for the list, BBC.
http://www.TheGamerNation.com/Forums
Umm no. Fruits contain seeds, vegetables are any other part of a plant.
Tomatoes are fruit, bananas are fruit, rhubarb is a vegetable. Bananas
are a staple in many parts of the world, though we don't normally think
of fruits as staples. More often it's tubers or grains...
66. The hotter it is, the more difficult it is for aeroplanes to take off. Air passengers in Nevada, where temperatures have reached 120F, have been told they can't fly.
Funny. I was sure my flight instructor told me this the first day of flight school. I guess this explains the success of the European aerospace industry.
No Stairway? Denied!
Actually, we have em to make money. Polling stations are usually setup at schools. The school gets a couple of parents to come down and organize a barbecue. You get a good couple of thousand people through even a small polling station, that's a pretty darn big market for the cost of gas and a few sausages.
For what it's worth, the one I go to sells lamingtons.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
Tomatoes are vegetables, according to the U.S. Supreme Court (Nix vs Hedden, 1893). Vegetables are served with dinner, fruits are eaten for dessert. (This also allowed schools to count hamburger ketchup as a vegetable serving in school lunches.)
"Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas. But in the common language of the people, whether sellers or consumers of provisions, all these are vegetables which are grown in kitchen gardens, and which, whether eaten cooked or raw, are, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, and lettuce, usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish, or meats which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not, like fruits generally, as dessert."
One Hundred & Ninety-Nine Barrels of Whiskey v. United States, 94 U.S. 86
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. ONE 1988 PREVOST LIBERTY MOTOR HOME, Measuring 40 Feet in Length, also known by Vehicle Identification Number 2P9M33403J, and Bearing Oregon License Plate H998173, Defendant
7 Fifths Old Grand-Dad Whiskey v. U.S., 158 F.2d 34
Pennsylvania v. $7,000 in U.S. Currency, 742 A.2d 711
Mayo v. Satan and His Staff 54 F.R.D. 282 This one is interesting because the judge threw out the case based on the fact that the plaintiff could not prove he served notice to the defendent (that being the aforenamed Mr. Satan and his staff in Hell).