Wednesday, March 12, 2008

25 Tid-bits

My brother often sends me tid-bit emails. Here's the latest, which may satisfy a curiosity you didn't know you had......
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1. In the 1400's a Law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have the term:"The Rule Of Thumb".
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2. Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"....and thus the word "GOLF" entered into the English language.
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3.The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime-time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
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4. Every day more money is printed for "Monopoly" than forthe U.S . Treasury
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5. Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
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6. Coca-Cola was originally green.
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7. It is impossible to lick your elbow.
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8. The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
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10. The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%
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11. The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
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12. The first novel ever written on a typewriter: "Tom Sawyer".
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13. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: A. Spades - King David, B. Hearts - Charlemagne, C. Clubs -Alexander the Great, and D. Diamonds - Julius Caesar
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14. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
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15. Q: Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A: Their birthplace
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16. Q: Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A: "Obsession
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17. Q: If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A: One thousand
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18. Q: What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and Laser Printers all have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
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19. Q: OnWhich day are there more collect calls made than any other day of the year?
A: Father's Day
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20. In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes, When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... "Goodnight, Sleep Tight."
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21. It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
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22. In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.." It's where we get the phrase "Mind your P's And Q's"
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23. Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
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24. At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!
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25. Please read: you can actuallyread and understandit:I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
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RING, RING, RING
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Hello?
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"kj, don't you research this stuff? It's all spam!"
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Whaaat?
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"They're urban myths, kj. The one about golf, and the rule of thumb...all of them...I looked them up....it's ridiculous."
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Oh jeez.
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"Are you going to pull the post, kj?" (accompanied by uncontainable smile)
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Oh jeez.
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"You're so gullible" (another uncontainable smile)
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Oh jeez.
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Disclaimer: The facts as stated herein are not facts.
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Sometimes you just have to bow to the intelligence of a know-it-all best friend, who is correct too damn often.

13 comments:

  1. The last one is pretty amazing and the only one I knew about already :) I'm in the 25% who didn't try to lick their elbow HAHA!!

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  2. I was really entertained by this post - I love trivia.

    I bet Sir H anything he wanted that he could not lick his elbow - boy did he struggle and fail! ;-D

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  3. I love #25. I knew a bunch of them already, which is part of the fun of being an historian, but number 25 was totally new and exciting!!!!

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  4. kj blushes and hides under her bed...

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  5. I was just going to comment that the golf thing was an urban myth when I saw that you'd already been informed. The Snopes site is a great one for checking that sort of thing out - acronymic words are rare, but people sure like to make them up after the fact. The phenomenon is called a "backronym."

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  6. I enjoyed reading all of these indisputable facts, and I am certain the elbow licking one is true. I won't say how I know.

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  7. oh jeez. lies, all lies....

    :)

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  8. Well, it's true. You can't lick your elbow. (couldn't resist) :D

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  9. I can lick my wife's elbow.

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  10. I CAN LICK MY ELBOW!!! *pffft*
    Nmuebr tewtny-fvie is ttolaly true!
    Mwheheheheh!

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  11. 5: Ha! Had lunch with my brother the other day. He could hardly hear me and my arms were almost not long enough to be able to read the menu! :)
    7: Maybe not, but I put my forehead on my ankle at the gym today (I was warmed up).

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  12. huh...wow...that last one totally made sense to me, as I'm a school psychologist. What a bummer that it isn't...but then...maybe it is. Do we really know???

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