Useless facts

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It was the accepted practice in Babylon, 4,000 years ago, that for a month after the wedding, the bride'sfather 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" or what we know today as the "honeymoon."

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."

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.

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. That's where the phrase, "goodnight, sleep tight" came from.

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.

Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1.

On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year. BE CAREFUL!

Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.

The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life."

[one...two...tree 2,762]

some more...

George Washington was deathly afraid of being buried alive. After he died, he wanted to be laid out for three days just to make sure he was dead.

The only president to be head of a labor union was Ronald Reagan.

A theater manager in Seoul, Korea felt that The Sound of Music was too long, so he shortened it by cutting out all the songs.

Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

Malcolm Lowry had pnigophobia—the fear of choking on fish bones.

Augustus Caesar had achluophobia—the fear of sitting in the dark.

Androphobia is a fear of men.

Caligynephobia is a fear of beautiful women.

Pentheraphobia is a fear of a mother-in-law.

Scopophobia is a fear of being looked at.

Phobophobia is a fear of fearing.

Mageiricophobia is the intense fear of having to cook.

Papaphobia is the fear of Popes.

Taphephobia is the fear of being buried alive.

Clinophobia is the fear of beds.

[LuzyC 0]

some more...

Caligynephobia is a fear of beautiful women.

.. ..interesting to know that..thanks bro !

[one...two...tree 2,762]

some more...

Caligynephobia is a fear of beautiful women.

.. ..interesting to know that..thanks bro !

I'm not sure what the opposite is called, but I'm pretty sure I have that phobia.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

In Ancient Greece, men were so used to buggering other men, that when the men got married the bride had to wear a beard and essentially dress up as a man. Also once a woman lost her virginity, it had to announced to the world by hurling the bloody bedsheets out of the window.

[Reba 2]

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes

Yay! I'm not average!

[peejay 327]

In Ancient Greece, men were so used to buggering other men, that when the men got married the bride had to wear a beard and essentially dress up as a man.

And Greek sailors don't like to go back home...because they don't want to leave their buddys behind.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes

Yay! I'm not average!

Curiously, neither am I

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Outside the USA, Ireland is the largest software producing country in the world.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Outside the USA, Ireland is the largest software producing country in the world.

No coincidence that Microsoft has a huge setup there.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Bamboo can grow up to three feet in a 24 hour period.