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Postal Paranoiac
What's the difference? All American country music comes from Ireland. And all of the British Invasion music from the 60s was just rockabilly and blues-inspired stuff that came from America.
Trivia Today
- Thread starter historylover
- Start date
What's the difference? All American country music comes from Ireland. And all of the British Invasion music from the 60s was just rockabilly and blues-inspired stuff that came from America.
RANDOM TIDBITS
The now famous tutu was first worn by Italian dancer
Virginie Zucchi in 1885 at the Imperial Theatre in St.
Petersburg, Russia. The tutu was actually designed several
years earlier by French painter Eugene Lami, in the form of
a mid-calf skirt.
***
The waltz is named for the German word "waltzen," meaning
"revolve." This dance consists of rotating, flowing motions
performed in triple time with smooth and even steps. The
variations are the rapid Viennese waltz and the slower,
dipping Boston waltz.
***
The earliest known dance marathon took place in England in
1364. These marathons, known as "derbies," reached their
height in the Depression era of the 1930s, when dancers
went to great lenghts to compete for monetary prizes. The
longest recorded marathon lasted 22 weeks, three days.
***
The fox-trot, which alternates long and short steps in
quadruple time, was developed in the US in 1912. It was
named in New York City in 1914 for music writer Harry Fox
(1882-1959).
***
Break-dancing, usually performed to rap or hip-hop music,
originated in the south Bronx, New York, in the late 1970s.
Moves such as head-spinning or moon-walking could be
performed individually or in competition.
***
The Samba is Brazil's national dance. The Carnival in Rio
de Janeiro made Samba famous throughout the world.
The now famous tutu was first worn by Italian dancer
Virginie Zucchi in 1885 at the Imperial Theatre in St.
Petersburg, Russia. The tutu was actually designed several
years earlier by French painter Eugene Lami, in the form of
a mid-calf skirt.
***
The waltz is named for the German word "waltzen," meaning
"revolve." This dance consists of rotating, flowing motions
performed in triple time with smooth and even steps. The
variations are the rapid Viennese waltz and the slower,
dipping Boston waltz.
***
The earliest known dance marathon took place in England in
1364. These marathons, known as "derbies," reached their
height in the Depression era of the 1930s, when dancers
went to great lenghts to compete for monetary prizes. The
longest recorded marathon lasted 22 weeks, three days.
***
The fox-trot, which alternates long and short steps in
quadruple time, was developed in the US in 1912. It was
named in New York City in 1914 for music writer Harry Fox
(1882-1959).
***
Break-dancing, usually performed to rap or hip-hop music,
originated in the south Bronx, New York, in the late 1970s.
Moves such as head-spinning or moon-walking could be
performed individually or in competition.
***
The Samba is Brazil's national dance. The Carnival in Rio
de Janeiro made Samba famous throughout the world.
RANDOM TIDBITS
The human head contains 22 bones, consisting of the cranium
and the facial bones. The cranium is formed by 8 bones: the
frontal bone, two parietal bones, two temporal bones, the
occipital bone in the back, the ethmoid bone behind the
nose, and the sphenoid bone. The face consists of 14 bones
including the maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw).
***
The human brains consists of more than 100 billion neurons
(nerve cells) through which the brain's commands are sent
in the form of electric pulses. These pulses travel at more
than 250 mph, creating enough electricity to power a
lightbulb. The brain consumes more energy than any other
organ.
***
Humans actually do not see with our eyes - we see with our
brains. The eyes basically are the cameras of the brain.
One-quarter of the brain is used to control the eyes.
***
According to a 2001 survey by the Bristol-Myers Squibb
Company, accountants :thumbsup:get the most headaches. About 49% of
the accountants in the survey reported getting weekday
headaches. The accountants were followed by librarians
(43%), bus and truck drivers (42%) and construction workers
(38%).
***
If you go blind in one eye, you'll only lose about one-
fifth of your vision (but all of your depth perception.)
***
The average human body contains enough: iron to make a 3
inch nail, sulfur to kill all fleas on an average dog,
carbon to make 900 pencils, potassium to fire a toy cannon,
fat to make 7 bars of soap, phosphorous to make 2,200
match heads, and water to fill a ten-gallon tank.
The human head contains 22 bones, consisting of the cranium
and the facial bones. The cranium is formed by 8 bones: the
frontal bone, two parietal bones, two temporal bones, the
occipital bone in the back, the ethmoid bone behind the
nose, and the sphenoid bone. The face consists of 14 bones
including the maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw).
***
The human brains consists of more than 100 billion neurons
(nerve cells) through which the brain's commands are sent
in the form of electric pulses. These pulses travel at more
than 250 mph, creating enough electricity to power a
lightbulb. The brain consumes more energy than any other
organ.
***
Humans actually do not see with our eyes - we see with our
brains. The eyes basically are the cameras of the brain.
One-quarter of the brain is used to control the eyes.
***
According to a 2001 survey by the Bristol-Myers Squibb
Company, accountants :thumbsup:get the most headaches. About 49% of
the accountants in the survey reported getting weekday
headaches. The accountants were followed by librarians
(43%), bus and truck drivers (42%) and construction workers
(38%).
***
If you go blind in one eye, you'll only lose about one-
fifth of your vision (but all of your depth perception.)
***
The average human body contains enough: iron to make a 3
inch nail, sulfur to kill all fleas on an average dog,
carbon to make 900 pencils, potassium to fire a toy cannon,
fat to make 7 bars of soap, phosphorous to make 2,200
match heads, and water to fill a ten-gallon tank.
Where else can I get educated in trivia and still get my porn all in one place......Thanks, HistoryLover.
Keep the tidbits..."ahem" ....coming
Keep the tidbits..."ahem" ....coming
Shit, I probably have enough to start a soap factory! I should try that.
You know, there was a show I watched once. It was an episode of Tales from the Crypt or some other anthology series like that. Basically the wife killed her husband (who was some sort of soap mogul), then she made soap out of his flesh somehow. When she washed herself with it in the shower, all the acids that were supposedly in the flesh-soap caused her skin to dissolve and she died.
Just thought I would mention for anyone (gsb) thinking of producing soap from their body. Throwing that out there as a little warning perhaps, that it may not be quite so easy or safe.
RANDOM TIDBITS
Poet and novelist Jack Kerouac coined the term "Beat" in
the late 1940s, but was not until the 1950s that it would
become a slang term symbolizing a literary movement by
writers such as Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William
Burroughs. The "Beat" movement rejected the social
constraints of the 1950s and reflected a growing
disillusionment with the "establishment" and traditional
American values.
***
Ben Jonson was named the first poet laureate of England in
1616. The title, however, did not become an official royal
office until 1668, when John Dryden assumed the honored
post. Since that time, the office has been awarded for
life. The poet laureate is responsible for composing poems
for court and national occasions.
***
Maxwell Anderson, one of the most important American
playwrights of the early 20th century, wrote his plays in
verse in an attempt to return tragic poetry to the American
stage. He said that he was tired of "plays in prose that
never lifted from the ground."
***
The very first Nobel Prize in Literature (1901) was awarded
to the French poet and philosopher Sully Prudhomme, author
of Stances et Poemes (1865).
***
Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and James Weldon Johnson
were all poets of the Harlem Renaissance, an unprecedented
outburst of creative activity among African Americans in
all fields of art which occurred in New York City between
1920 and 1930.
***
Eugene O'Neill wrote three Pulitzer Prize-winning plays
during the 1920s: Beyond the Horizon (1920), Anna Christie
(1922), and Strange Interlude (1928).
Poet and novelist Jack Kerouac coined the term "Beat" in
the late 1940s, but was not until the 1950s that it would
become a slang term symbolizing a literary movement by
writers such as Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William
Burroughs. The "Beat" movement rejected the social
constraints of the 1950s and reflected a growing
disillusionment with the "establishment" and traditional
American values.
***
Ben Jonson was named the first poet laureate of England in
1616. The title, however, did not become an official royal
office until 1668, when John Dryden assumed the honored
post. Since that time, the office has been awarded for
life. The poet laureate is responsible for composing poems
for court and national occasions.
***
Maxwell Anderson, one of the most important American
playwrights of the early 20th century, wrote his plays in
verse in an attempt to return tragic poetry to the American
stage. He said that he was tired of "plays in prose that
never lifted from the ground."
***
The very first Nobel Prize in Literature (1901) was awarded
to the French poet and philosopher Sully Prudhomme, author
of Stances et Poemes (1865).
***
Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and James Weldon Johnson
were all poets of the Harlem Renaissance, an unprecedented
outburst of creative activity among African Americans in
all fields of art which occurred in New York City between
1920 and 1930.
***
Eugene O'Neill wrote three Pulitzer Prize-winning plays
during the 1920s: Beyond the Horizon (1920), Anna Christie
(1922), and Strange Interlude (1928).
Is that where the Beatniks came from?
:thumbsup:
RANDOM TIDBITS
The average age of which American presidents have taken
office is 54.
***
The size of your foot is approximately the size of your
forearm.
***
The skeleton of an average 160 lb body weighs about 29 lbs.
***
The sky is falling...
In 1962, a 21 lb fragment of Soviet Sputnik IV landed at
the intersection of Park and North 8th Streets in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
***
Watch where you're walking...
Dodging space junk is a dangerous occupation. A 0.5 milli-
meter metal chip could puncture a space suit and kill an
astronaut walking in space. A particle as small as ten
millimeters could damage and possibly even destroy an or-
biting space vehicle.
***
That's crazy...
Before it blew up in 1986, the space shuttle Challenger
was hit by a flake of paint measuring 0.2 millimeters,
which damaged a window durin one of its missions.
The average age of which American presidents have taken
office is 54.
***
The size of your foot is approximately the size of your
forearm.
***
The skeleton of an average 160 lb body weighs about 29 lbs.
***
The sky is falling...
In 1962, a 21 lb fragment of Soviet Sputnik IV landed at
the intersection of Park and North 8th Streets in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
***
Watch where you're walking...
Dodging space junk is a dangerous occupation. A 0.5 milli-
meter metal chip could puncture a space suit and kill an
astronaut walking in space. A particle as small as ten
millimeters could damage and possibly even destroy an or-
biting space vehicle.
***
That's crazy...
Before it blew up in 1986, the space shuttle Challenger
was hit by a flake of paint measuring 0.2 millimeters,
which damaged a window durin one of its missions.
Wow! I never knew that. Gotta tell Becks about that!
RANDOM TIDBITS
Most bottles and jars contain 25 percent recycled glass.
***
If you lined up all the polystyrene foam cups made in just
one day, they would circle the earth.
***
Every year we dispose of 24 million tons of leaves and grass
clippings, which could be composted to conserve landfill
space.
***
By recycling 1 ton of paper you save: 17 trees; 6,953 gallons
of water; 463 gallons of oil; 587 pounds of air pollution;
3.06 cubic yards of landfill space; and 4,077 Kilowatt hours
of energy.
***
Today, 62 million newspapers will be printed in the U.S.,
and 44 million will be thrown away. That means the equiva-
lent of about 500,000 trees will be dumped into landfills
this week.
***
Packaging from consumer goods comprises about one-third of
the nation's trash. Approximately 50 percent of the nation's
paper, eight percent of its steel, 75 percent of its glass,
40 percent of its aluminum, and 30 percent of its plastic are
used solely for packaging.
***
RANDOM TIDBITS
The average age of which American presidents have taken
office is 54.
***
The size of your foot is approximately the size of your
forearm.
***
The skeleton of an average 160 lb body weighs about 29 lbs.
***
The sky is falling...
In 1962, a 21 lb fragment of Soviet Sputnik IV landed at
the intersection of Park and North 8th Streets in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
***
Watch where you're walking...
Dodging space junk is a dangerous occupation. A 0.5 milli-
meter metal chip could puncture a space suit and kill an
astronaut walking in space. A particle as small as ten
millimeters could damage and possibly even destroy an or-
biting space vehicle.
***
That's crazy...
Before it blew up in 1986, the space shuttle Challenger
was hit by a flake of paint measuring 0.2 millimeters,
which damaged a window durin one of its missions.
Most bottles and jars contain 25 percent recycled glass.
***
If you lined up all the polystyrene foam cups made in just
one day, they would circle the earth.
***
Every year we dispose of 24 million tons of leaves and grass
clippings, which could be composted to conserve landfill
space.
***
By recycling 1 ton of paper you save: 17 trees; 6,953 gallons
of water; 463 gallons of oil; 587 pounds of air pollution;
3.06 cubic yards of landfill space; and 4,077 Kilowatt hours
of energy.
***
Today, 62 million newspapers will be printed in the U.S.,
and 44 million will be thrown away. That means the equiva-
lent of about 500,000 trees will be dumped into landfills
this week.
***
Packaging from consumer goods comprises about one-third of
the nation's trash. Approximately 50 percent of the nation's
paper, eight percent of its steel, 75 percent of its glass,
40 percent of its aluminum, and 30 percent of its plastic are
used solely for packaging.
***
RANDOM TIDBITS
The average age of which American presidents have taken
office is 54.
***
The size of your foot is approximately the size of your
forearm.
***
The skeleton of an average 160 lb body weighs about 29 lbs.
***
The sky is falling...
In 1962, a 21 lb fragment of Soviet Sputnik IV landed at
the intersection of Park and North 8th Streets in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
***
Watch where you're walking...
Dodging space junk is a dangerous occupation. A 0.5 milli-
meter metal chip could puncture a space suit and kill an
astronaut walking in space. A particle as small as ten
millimeters could damage and possibly even destroy an or-
biting space vehicle.
***
That's crazy...
Before it blew up in 1986, the space shuttle Challenger
was hit by a flake of paint measuring 0.2 millimeters,
which damaged a window durin one of its missions.
RANDOM TIDBITS
The first barbecuers may well have been prehistoric cavemen.
Anthropologists say they may have started roasting meat
some 1.4 million years ago.Language development didn't occur
until 200,000 B.C. or later.Other sources say this originated
in the Caribbean where the native Indians used wood gratings
over a slow fire to cook strips of meat.
***
Lexington, North Carolina is known as the Barbecue Capital
of the World. October is Barbecue Month there, with a month-
long Annual Barbecue Festival. The city's first barbecue
restaurant opened in 1919; there are currently over 20
barbecue restaurants.
***
People in the Northeast U.S. are the heaviest barbecuers in
the nation. The next most frequent barbecues are in the
North Central region of the U.S., followed by the South and
then the Western U.S.
***
The word "barbecue" may have come from the French phrase
"barbe a queue" (from whiskers to tail- The term refers to
the original method in which a whole animal was cooked on
a spit over an open fire), or the Taino Indian word for
their method of cooking fish over a pit of coals (barbacoa).
Another source says that roast mutton in Romanian
translates into "barbec."
***
Three out of four American households own a grill and they
use it on average of five times per month.
***
The word steak is derived from an old Saxon word, steik,
meaning meat on a stick. The Saxons and Jutes, who lived in
what is now Denmark, brought along their skills as cattlemen
when they conquered Great Britain. They favored beef cooked
on a pointed stick over a campfire.
The first barbecuers may well have been prehistoric cavemen.
Anthropologists say they may have started roasting meat
some 1.4 million years ago.Language development didn't occur
until 200,000 B.C. or later.Other sources say this originated
in the Caribbean where the native Indians used wood gratings
over a slow fire to cook strips of meat.
***
Lexington, North Carolina is known as the Barbecue Capital
of the World. October is Barbecue Month there, with a month-
long Annual Barbecue Festival. The city's first barbecue
restaurant opened in 1919; there are currently over 20
barbecue restaurants.
***
People in the Northeast U.S. are the heaviest barbecuers in
the nation. The next most frequent barbecues are in the
North Central region of the U.S., followed by the South and
then the Western U.S.
***
The word "barbecue" may have come from the French phrase
"barbe a queue" (from whiskers to tail- The term refers to
the original method in which a whole animal was cooked on
a spit over an open fire), or the Taino Indian word for
their method of cooking fish over a pit of coals (barbacoa).
Another source says that roast mutton in Romanian
translates into "barbec."
***
Three out of four American households own a grill and they
use it on average of five times per month.
***
The word steak is derived from an old Saxon word, steik,
meaning meat on a stick. The Saxons and Jutes, who lived in
what is now Denmark, brought along their skills as cattlemen
when they conquered Great Britain. They favored beef cooked
on a pointed stick over a campfire.
Some think that language evolved earlier...but BBQ still has it beat
Language May Have Evolved Earlier Than Supposed
Wonder what they talked about while waiting for dinner to be ready? :dunno:
RANDOM TIDBITS
The first vending machine was invented by Hero of Alexandria
around 215 BC. When a coin was dropped into a slot, its
weight would pull a cork out of a spigot and the machine
would dispense a trickle of water.
***
The very first projection of an image on a screen was made
by a German priest. In 1646, Athanasius Kircher used a
candle or oil lamp to project hand-painted images onto a
white screen.
***
Music was sent down a telephone line for the first time in
1876, the year the phone was invented.
***
One hour before Alexander Graham Bell registered his patent
for the telephone in 1876, Elisha Gray patented his design.
After years of litigation, the patent went to Bell.
***
During the 1860s, George Leclanche developed the dry-cell
battery, the basis for modern batteries.
***
The first electronic mail, or "email", was sent in 1972 by
Ray Tomlinson. It was also his idea to use the @ sign to
separate the name of the user from the name of the computer.
The first vending machine was invented by Hero of Alexandria
around 215 BC. When a coin was dropped into a slot, its
weight would pull a cork out of a spigot and the machine
would dispense a trickle of water.
***
The very first projection of an image on a screen was made
by a German priest. In 1646, Athanasius Kircher used a
candle or oil lamp to project hand-painted images onto a
white screen.
***
Music was sent down a telephone line for the first time in
1876, the year the phone was invented.
***
One hour before Alexander Graham Bell registered his patent
for the telephone in 1876, Elisha Gray patented his design.
After years of litigation, the patent went to Bell.
***
During the 1860s, George Leclanche developed the dry-cell
battery, the basis for modern batteries.
***
The first electronic mail, or "email", was sent in 1972 by
Ray Tomlinson. It was also his idea to use the @ sign to
separate the name of the user from the name of the computer.
RANDOM TIDBITS
Odor Tester - Some chemist has to make sure that all of
those deodorants and anti-perspirants are operating properly
to keep their users free of funk!
***
Citrus Fruit Dyer - There are commercial farmers out there
who dye citrus fruit a more vibrant color to hide the ripe-
ness of the fruit.
***
IMAX Screen Cleaner - Someone has to make sure that huge
screen is crystal clear for our viewing pleasure.
***
Light Bender - Making neon lights seems like it would be a
relatively easy job, but it requires a lot of precision and
electrical work. If the lights don't have the proper thick-
ness and shaping, they will amount to nothing more than
broken glass.
***
Weed Farmer - Weed farmers actually grow weeds rather than
trying to get rid of them. They sell them to horticulture
schools and labs so various people can do research and
studies on them.
***
Cow Hoof Trimmer - Just like horseshoes, cows need some
hoof maintenance too. Cows can have poor milk production,
lameness, and decreased fertility if not properly groomed.
Odor Tester - Some chemist has to make sure that all of
those deodorants and anti-perspirants are operating properly
to keep their users free of funk!
***
Citrus Fruit Dyer - There are commercial farmers out there
who dye citrus fruit a more vibrant color to hide the ripe-
ness of the fruit.
***
IMAX Screen Cleaner - Someone has to make sure that huge
screen is crystal clear for our viewing pleasure.
***
Light Bender - Making neon lights seems like it would be a
relatively easy job, but it requires a lot of precision and
electrical work. If the lights don't have the proper thick-
ness and shaping, they will amount to nothing more than
broken glass.
***
Weed Farmer - Weed farmers actually grow weeds rather than
trying to get rid of them. They sell them to horticulture
schools and labs so various people can do research and
studies on them.
***
Cow Hoof Trimmer - Just like horseshoes, cows need some
hoof maintenance too. Cows can have poor milk production,
lameness, and decreased fertility if not properly groomed.