Do you know... (The Trivia Thread)

[Geordie]

Hi all. Why not post some trivia you feel like sharing with others?

I shall start first.

Do you know that...

Singapore's $1 coin is designed to be a charm/bagua (octagon diagram) so as to ward of the bad luck associated with building of underground tunnels for our subway system?

 

[Laughingowl1975]

Do you know....
Agatha Christie was one of the first people in Britain to try stand-up surfing and jotted down her novels while munching on apples in the bath.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Do You Know.......that in the 19th Century the Victorians used to use heroin to "quiet" their coughs? AND this heroin was produced by the Bayer Aspirin Corporation.

 

[76054Pluto]

Do you know that Glasgow City Council is the largest owner of housing in Europe.

 

[Geordie]

Do you know that Glasgow City Council is the largest owner of housing in Europe.

Even larger than London? Wow.

Do you know that a computer software can distinguish between a smile and frustration? Hmm interesting

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/smile-detector-0525.html

 

[Laughingowl1975]

Do you know....Although a comet's tail can stretch nearly 100 million miles or more there is so little matter in it that you could pack it in a suitcase easily.

 

[Geordie]

Do you know that New York City is the second largest metropolitan area in terms of Jewish population, just after Tel Aviv?

 

[Flinty]

Do you know what 1+2+3+4.... all the way to infinity is?

For most of you, it's definitely not what you think.

 

[joshodude1308]

Did you know that chocolate contains Theobromine which is toxic to dogs? The reason as to why this is because dogs have the inability to metabolise Theobromine itself.

 

[Judge]

Did you know that quite a few of the cast of the film "The Great Escape" actually fought in World War Two and on both sides?

 

[joshodude1308]

Do you know....Although a comet's tail can stretch nearly 100 million miles or more there is so little matter in it that you could pack it in a suitcase easily.

Did you also know that the word comet comes from the Greek word for beard?

 

[76054Pluto]

Even larger than London? Wow.

Do you know that a computer software can distinguish between a smile and frustration? Hmm interesting

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/smile-detector-0525.html

Most housing in London is private whereas in Glasgow around half the housing is in public ownership (City Council). Glasgow is the third largest city in Britain after London and Birmingham and has the second largest passenger rail network in Britain outside London. It also has quite a dramatic skyline as it has the most high rise buildings in Britain apart from London.

 

[Vanilla]

In Queenslad Australia, it's illegal to introduce, or be in possession, of rabbits without a permit!

Persons caught can face a hefty fine for every rabbit in their possession. This is because they have been declared a pest, which threatens the states' ecological system.

Which is a shame, because I used to own rabbits before I moved to Queensland

 

[Sparticus]

Did you know the origin of WW2 started in 1919? The signing of the Versailles Treaty.

 

[Judge]

Did you know that the fifteen percent you may save in purchasing auto insurance is usually the result of dealing with a direct-writer?

An insurer that has its own agents to market their product. Otherwise you're dealing with an agency-writing insurance company who gives that fifteen percent to independent insurance agents.

The difference? One will protect their company as their employer. The other will protect you as their client. That fifteen percent can be a lot to gain in reduced premiums, or a lot to lose in a claim gone bad.

Everyone knows about GEICO...but not necessarily why.

 

[Brent]

Did you know that the fifteen percent you may save in purchasing auto insurance is usually the result of dealing with a direct-writer?

An insurer that has its own agents to market their product. Otherwise you're dealing with an agency-writing insurance company who gives that fifteen percent to independent insurance agents.

The difference? One will protect their company as their employer. The other will protect you as their client. That fifteen percent can be a lot to gain in reduced premiums, or a lot to lose in a claim gone bad.

Everyone knows about GEICO...but not necessarily why.

 

[CJinherPJs]

Did you know... that the collective noun for a group of peacocks is an "ostentation"?

 

[Manuheleku]

Did you know that guns don't work in dreams, the noise would wake you up, that's why when you are having zombie problems in a dream it's best to use a sword. You probably could use a gun if you remembered to attach a silencer. Also, silencers don't work on revolvers, so when you see the bad guys on Hawaii Five O with a silencer on a revolver, it's B.S.

 

[Turnip]

Do you know what 1+2+3+4.... all the way to infinity is?

For most of you, it's definitely not what you think.

No, the video is wrong... the sum of all positive integers is clearly not negative one twelfth, I'm no maths genius but I know enough that if my work showed something like that I'd look for the part where I messed up... through the magic of the Internet here's an explanation of where the video when wrong from someone presumably better qualified than I: Bad Math from the Bad Astronomer | Good Math, Bad Math

 

[Laughingowl1975]

The unofficial name for an Owl enthusiast is an Owlcaholic.