Bet you didn't know

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Bored today...thought I'd make some people think and get the blood in the brain circulating

Things most people do not know"

1) London is in the "Western Hemisphere"...as is most of France, all of Spain, and a large portion of western Africa. The Prime Meridian line (that imaginary line from pole to pole, perpendicular to the equator), separates the Western Hemisphere from the Eastern Hemisphere

2) There are two contested Prime Meridian lines...one, the "international or Greenwich Meridian Line", the other the "Paris Meridian line", which is slightly east of the Greenwich line and goes through Paris. It is believed the people of France (at least Paris) want to be in the Western Hemisphere 

3) The International Date Line, cuts through the Pacific Ocean and varies (unlike the Prime Meridian line) in order to keep countries/providences/states, etc., on the same day of the year. For instance, it jags around the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in order for all of Alaska to be on the same date and the rest of the U.S.



5) Africa is the ONLY continent that resides in all four hemispheres (Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern). I think it's kind of confusing because most people don't realize the sheer size of the Pacific and how most of the land mass of earth is on the other side of the Pacific

6) The dwarf planet Pluto is considerably smaller than Earth's moon. It's as if a moon escaped from one of the big planets and is using the Sun's gravity to orbit rather than a planet

7) Jupiter's moon Ganymede is twice the size our Earth's moon and larger than the planet Mercury. It is the only moon with a magnetic field and has an atmosphere that contains oxygen

8) Venus is the only planet that spins backwards (counterclockwise)

9) You could fit approximately 1.3 million Earths inside the Sun (based on volume)


10) Earth's orbit around the sun varies from year to year. Jupiter and Saturn are so large that their sheer size and gravitational pull changes Earth's orbit. Of course, it takes many Earth years for those planets to be near Earth and alter its orbit (note: Jupiter takes approximately 12 Earth years to orbit the sun and in the last few years, both Jupiter and Saturn are in line and closer to Earth in 300 years)

11) A strange phenomenon that no scientists can explain, is when a country is at war, the percentage of babies born, are male

12) Human teeth are the only part of the body that cannot heal themselves

13) Lemons float in water, but limes sink

14) Penicillin used be called "mold juice"

15) Out of 32 NFL teams, 8 do not have cheerleaders 

16) NFL Super Bowl referees also get Super Bowl rings

17) When spelling out a number, one must get to 1,000 before the letter "A" is used (on a side note, most of you are spelling numbers in your head between zero and ten)

18) An avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable

19) Wearing a necktie could reduce blood flow to your brain by up to 7.5 percent (this explains a lot)

20) Nothing separates the Western Hemisphere from the Eastern Hemisphere than our favorite morning drink


21) Gravity is an energy, and can be defined, measured, predicted, etc., but scientists cannot explain the how, why, it exists - a scientific mystery classified as "dark energy"

22) Other things scientists cannot explain: why 90% of people born are right-handed; why identical twins have identical genetics, yet have personalities that completely differ; why objects (planets and stars) are almost perfectly spherical; where life started; dark matter; and a host of other things

[LennG]

Great stuff Ric. Lots I didn't know and now I do.      

Here are some more things I didn't know (well some I actually did).

There is no specific time zone at the South Pole.
This is because all the longitude lines on the planet meet up there (because the planet isn't flat, yo).
The stations on the South Pole use the time zone of the country that owns them, meaning two stations near each other could be using two different time zones.

Surfer slang "hang ten" means having all 10 toes over your board's edge when riding a wave.


There is a spacecraft graveyard in the South Pacific Ocean.
Known as "Point Nemo," it is the furthest place on the Earth from land.
It is home to over 300 spacecraft and associated space debris


Bowler Hats were originally invented as safety hats.
The hat was invented to keep horse riders' heads safe from branches and other obstacles.


Antarctica is the world's largest desert.
The Antarctic Polar Desert covers the Antarctica continent and covers roughly 5.5 million square miles.
The Sahara Desert covers roughly 3.6 million square miles.


An ant can't die from falling.
Because of their incredibly small weight and rock-hard exoskeleton, an ant's terminal velocity isn't enough to harm it upon impact.


Fortune cookies are an American invention.
They were invented by Makoto Hagiwara of San Francisco in the 1890s and sold at the Golden Gate Park's Japanese Tea Garden.

On statues, a horse's legs tell you how the statue figure died.
If a horse has both its front legs in the air, then the person died in battle
If the horse has one of its front legs in the air, they died of wounds received from a battle.
And if the horse has both its front legs on the ground, then the person died of natural causes.


NASA's internet speed is 91 GB per second!
This means on NASA's internet, you could download a high-quality 1080p movie in mere milliseconds!


The US has more millionaires than Sweden has people.
There are over 10 million millionaires in the US, whilst Sweden has a population of less than 10 million people.


Camels don't actually store water in their humps.
Their lovely camel humps are actually used to store fat.

Psycho (1960) was the first film to ever show a toilet flushing.
It was, for certain, a film of firsts, and one of those firsts just so happened to be the first time a toilet was seen flushing on the big screen!

[Sem]

8) Venus is the only planet that spins backwards (counterclockwise)

Another bit of trivia....One day on Venus is longer than one year on Venus. It takes Venus longer to rotate once on its axis than to complete one orbit of the Sun.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

On statues, a horse's legs tell you how the statue figure died.
If a horse has both its front legs in the air, then the person died in battle
If the horse has one of its front legs in the air, they died of wounds received from a battle.
And if the horse has both its front legs on the ground, then the person died of natural causes - Lenn

That is really interesting Lenn. I will never look at a statue with a horse and soldier the same...wow

One day on Venus is longer than one year on Venus. It takes Venus longer to rotate once on its axis than to complete one orbit of the Sun.  - Sem

That's wild Steve...I had no idea

[Ed Vette]

There's actually 22 million millionaires and that Fluctuates as of 2023, but I predict it will rise or has significantly due to real estate and stock market appreciation. I'm sure we have more than a few here.

[squibber]

Buddy Ebsen almost was the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz but he had an allergic reaction to the stuff they smeared on him.

Puffins can drink salt water.

Elephants can smell water up to two miles away.

That's all I got.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Crocodiles and alligators are surprisingly fast on land. Although they are quick, they are not agile, so if you ever find yourself being chased by one, run in a zigzag line. You'll lose it every time

There are only three types of snakes on the island of Tasmania and all three are deadly poisonous...so if you see a snake while visiting that area, avoid it like the plague

In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak

The largest ships pay a $300,000 toll for each trip through the Panama Canal. The canal generates a third of Panama's economy

All major league baseball umpires must wear black underwear while on the job in case their pants split

The average lifespan of a major league baseball: 7 pitches

According to the Bible (Genesis 1:20-22), the chicken came before the egg