Lesser Known Facts

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: RCN

Originally posted by: RBachman
Studies have found a correlation between testosterone and spatial intelligence. This may explain why women are such awful drivers.

Compared to their heterosexual counterparts, gay men tend to excel at English and be inferior at math (this may tie in to the testosterone factoid above; mathematic and spatial abilities are linked) (this definitely explains my HS English teachers).

Aren't homosexuals exposed to higher androgen levels in the womb and don't they have the same testosterone level as hetero men?


Link to "studies"? Afaik know homosexuals can technically by considered hypermasculine so the study results don't really add up. At least in the comparison you may or may not be making in your post............

exposure to estrogen in the womb is actually what makes a man, well...a man...oddly enough

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: loic2003
GHOTI can actually be pronounced 'fish':

enouGH
wOmen (plural)
emaginaTIon

imagination?

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: Strk
The male-platypus is the only venomous mammal.

There are 3 species of 'poisonous' bird. The Pitohui family, consisting of the Hooded, Variable, and Rusty Pitohui. They live in the Pacific islands somewhere...there name in the native tongue there means 'good for nothing worthless bird'. The oil they secrete (all birds do, for their feathers), is actually toxic to consumption. The Hooded Pitohui is the most 'venemous' followed by the variable, and then the rusty..

 

[loic2003]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22

Originally posted by: loic2003
GHOTI can actually be pronounced 'fish':

enouGH
wOmen (plural)
emaginaTIon

imagination?

lol yeah, sorry

 

[PlatinumGold]

in Korean culture, women to not take on the last names of their husbands.

i didn't know this growing up even tho i am korean because my mothers maiden name is the same as my dads last name.

 

[wirm]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22

Originally posted by: Strk
The male-platypus is the only venomous mammal.

There are 3 species of 'poisonous' bird. The Pitohui family, consisting of the Hooded, Variable, and Rusty Pitohui. They live in the Pacific islands somewhere...there name in the native tongue there means 'good for nothing worthless bird'. The oil they secrete (all birds do, for their feathers), is actually toxic to consumption. The Hooded Pitohui is the most 'venemous' followed by the variable, and then the rusty..

I hope you're not implying that birds are mammals.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: kirkaptain
Not many people know this, but the turtle is nature's suction cup.

UHF

 

[FirNaTine]

You can milk a cat.

 

[DigDug]

Originally posted by: scottish144
Antidisastablismaterianism (Not sure of spelling, the longest word in the English dictionary) means the movement for the disastablishment of the catholic church in England.

Wrong

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: LoKe

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
If you are average, the length between your wrist bone and your elbow is the same length as your foot!

The golden ratio. There are many, many more occurences of this.

Eh? This has nothing to do with the Golden Ratio.

Golden Ratio: a/b = b/(a-b) ~ 1.6

 

[DigDug]

There are several minerals that are found only in one location in the entire world, Franklin, New Jersey. I remember going as a child to dig in the mines for them - one of the most amazing experience for a young rock-collector like myself. A distinct property of these minerals was their ability to glow under ultraviolet light.


Franklinite

 

[Armitage]

The radius of the earth is about 21 Km longer measured at the equator vs. at the poles.

Because of this bulge, Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is actually the highest mountain in the world relative to the center of the earth, despite being only 6267 meters above sealevel (compared to 8850 meters for Everest).

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Rayden
Here are some more.

There are impurities/imperfections in the bottom of wine glasses to create the bubbles. Bubbles need something to form on.

Covered bridges are covered so that horses will not see the river below them and become scared. The entrances are often shaped like barns to make the horses more comfortable. I learned that today after visiting the covered bridge capitol of the world and seeing 10+ covered bridges.

Horses will walk right through a river... The water doesn't scare them. What kind of two-bit horses have you been around? Some crappy-ass tour guide needs a re-education.

Covered bridges are covered to protect the bridge itself and make them last longer. Lumber was un-treated back then and the bridge would degrade quickly if it wasn't protected from the elements somehow. Specifically, the covering protected the trusswork. An un-covered wooden bridge has about a 10 year lifesapn. Covered bridges last much, much longer.

ZV

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Rayden
Here are some more.

There are impurities/imperfections in the bottom of wine glasses to create the bubbles. Bubbles need something to form on.

Covered bridges are covered so that horses will not see the river below them and become scared. The entrances are often shaped like barns to make the horses more comfortable. I learned that today after visiting the covered bridge capitol of the world and seeing 10+ covered bridges.

Horses will walk right through a river... The water doesn't scare them.

No - but bridges often do in my experience.

What kind of two-bit horses have you been around? Some crappy-ass tour guide needs a re-education.

Covered bridges are covered to protect the bridge itself and make them last longer. Lumber was un-treated back then and the bridge would degrade quickly if it wasn't protected from the elements somehow. Specifically, the covering protected the trusswork. An un-covered wooden bridge has about a 10 year lifesapn. Covered bridges last much, much longer.

ZV

 

[Jeff7]

Can energy exist in a vacuum of space?

Nope. The sun sends its energy to us by billions of AA batteries that vaporize in the upper atmosphere, which creates the light that we think is sunlight.

 

[kogase]

Genghis Khan had many wives and daughters, and after a long day of slaughter came home to have sex with all of them.

 

[bluewall21]

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has an all-digital phone system.

 

[JohnCU]

stewardess is the longest word typed entirely with the left hand.

 

[Munkies123]

one fact that you might not know is that this thread just waisted like 10 minutes of my life.

 

[Eeezee]

Here are some rare ones. Most people here can agree

They're = They are
Their = possessive, belongs to them
There = "The house is over there"

Fact: You can not randomly switch these around. For example, it is unacceptable to say "Their is my house." If you say this, you should be smacked.

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: logic1485
When a human, or most animals (not sure, but maybe all) dies, they defecate and urinate. I learnt this when my dog passed away

I also learned that if a dead guy gets a boner this means that he is going to heaven and the boner is a sign of rejoice and enthusiasem.

I learned that at my grandfather's funeral 7 years ago, however he didn't go to heaven

 

[Eeezee]

When the first betatron was built in the 1940s, there was a departmental contest at the University of Illinois to see who could come up with the best name. The winning entry was "betatron" which the rest of the world came to accept.

A runnerup entry was the Ausserordentlichhochgeschwindigkeitelektronenentwickelndenschwerarbeitsbeigollitron

Source: University of Illinois Department of Physics runs a webpage dedicated to the first betatron, since it was built there. I also recall reading about this in an E&M textbook that I have, just not sure which one (since I have five).

 

[fitzov]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
When the first betatron was built in the 1940s, there was a departmental contest at the University of Illinois to see who could come up with the best name. The winning entry was "betatron" which the rest of the world came to accept.

A runnerup entry was the Ausserordentlichhochgeschwindigkeitelektronenentwickelndenschwerarbeitsbeigollitron

Source: University of Illinois Department of Physics runs a webpage dedicated to the first betatron, since it was built there. I also recall reading about this in an E&M textbook that I have, just not sure which one (since I have five).

:evil:nerd alert:evil:

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
Here are some rare ones. Most people here can agree

They're = They are
Their = possessive, belongs to them
There = "The house is over there"

Fact: You can not randomly switch these around. For example, it is unacceptable to say "Their is my house." If you say this, you should be smacked.

it is acceptable to say "Their is my house" because if you just SAY it no one will ever know.

it is however unacceptable to TYPE or WRITE it.

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: AnyMal

Originally posted by: Rayden

Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Spent energy never really leaves the earth, it just changes forms.

Technically energy is constantly leaving the "Earth." It radiates away. You would be correct saying that energy never leaves the universe.

Can energy exist in a vacuum of space?

In a "real vaccum", no (hypothetical and impossible to make with today's materials). In a "partial vaccum", yes. Either way, "space" as we call it is not a vaccum at all.


Now for my fact:

Mozambique's national flag depicts an AK-47 assault rifle, crossing a garden hoe.
The Flag