Human facts
Spiral staircases in old castles and towers, in most cases, wind up in a clockwise direction. There’s a very good reason for this… most people are right-handed. So if the castle was attacked, people in a defensive mode coming down the staircase will have their sword in their right hand and will have room to manoeuvre. Attackers coming up the stairs with their sword in their right hand will have the disadvantage of being obstructed by the central column of the staircase.
Of course, if you’re defending the castle and you’re left-handed… you’re in trouble… especially if the guy coming up the stairs is also left-handed. Then he has the advantage. Mind you, they probably thought about this and told the left-handed defenders to look after the boiling oil.
Pope John Paul II was an honourary Harlem Globetrotter. This unusual honour was bestowed upon him in November 2000. He was given 75 as a squad number, but to date hasn’t participated in a game. And now he never will.
It’s generally thought that the ancient language of biblical times, Aramaic, didn’t have a word that properly represented the modern word “many”. Instead, a term was used that over the years was translated into “40″. That’s why there’s so many references in the Bible to various people (such as Jesus and Noah) participating in events that lasted for 40 days or 40 nights.
Much was made of the fact that Sean Connery played Harrison Ford’s father in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’, despite the fact that Mr Ford was born in July 1942, a mere twelve years after Mr Connery (who was born in August 1930).
However, the Ford / Connery situation is a minor anomaly compared to the relationship between Dick Van Dyke and Lionel Jeffries in the 1968 movie ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. Mr Jeffries played Mr Van Dyke’s father, despite the fact that Mr Van Dyke (born in December 1925) is actually two weeks older than his screen father (born January 1926). Fascinating.
Cadburys (the well-known confectionary company) produce 1.25 billion Mini Eggs every year. That’s the equivalent in weight to 1,875 white rhinos.
The neighbouring states of Illinois and Missouri both have towns called Springfield. The neighbouring states of Florida and Georgia both have towns called Gainesville. The neighbouring states of Tennessee and Arkansas both have towns called Nashville. Interesting? Okay, how about this…?
There are at least seventeen states that have towns called Buffalo. Sixteen of them, stretching from Montana to Ohio, form a connected chain across the USA. The sixteen states are:
Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
There would be eighteen connected states if there was a Buffalo in Pennsylvania, because that would then link Ohio to New York state, which has the 17th Buffalo. Pennsylvania has towns called New Buffalo and Buffalo Mills, which don’t count.
Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall of China can’t be seen from the moon. Yes, it may be 3,000 miles long, but it also happens to be less than 20 feet wide on average. The length is immaterial because it’s so narrow – you’d be more likely to be able to see the M25*. The next lunar mission will verify this fact, and they’ll also check on claims that Rik Waller’s arse can be seen from space.
*When I say “see the M25″ I don’t actually mean “see the surface tarmac of the M25″ because it’s always covered with stationary vehicles. Mind you, I bet 2 million brake lights must be a highly visible sight from the moon.
Thanks to our good friend Chrissie Dade (again)… in 1987, American Airlines saved $40,000 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
If anyone wants to tell me how many olives you now get in an American Airlines first class salad, I’d be really interested… especially given that my chance of traveling first class on any airline is fairly slim. Personally I always stick the olives on the side of the plate… yuk.
This one may have a rather limited audience, but here goes anyway. The BBC used to broadcast an extremelyl ong-running live music show called ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’. How did the show get it’s odd name, I hear you ask…
Well, thanks for asking, because I happen to know the origin of the title. Ready…? Well, a number of years before the show started (and in the early days of the recording industry), legend has it that record company executives in London’s Denmark Street would test the acceptability of their new tunes by getting a rather old doorman (dressed in a grey uniform, or, as also stated, with grey hair) to whistle them. If he could whistle a tune back after hearing it just once, it would pass ‘the old grey whistle test’.
There is another slightly different version, stating that Broadway musical directors would do the same test on an ageing hotel doorman. Fascinating, huh…?
This fact was brought to my attention by a mystery woman who phoned me in the office, said she’d seen my web site, liked the facts, and proceeded to tell about why women can propose to men during leap years. And I thought it was rather a good fact (despite the fact the circumstances were a little scary). If she wants to mail me I’ll credit her with the following…
Why is it seen as okay for women to propose to men during a leap year, particularly on the extra day (29th February)? Legend says that St. Patrick started the tradition when St. Bridget complained that women were fed up with waiting for men to propose (and I’m going to stay well clear of speculating on how attractive 5th century Irish women were). He agreed to let women propose during a leap year (some say choosing the leap year because it was the longest giving the women an extra day, while others say it was restricted to 29th February).
Another theory is that 29th February was not recognised by English law and had no legal status. It was therefore assumed that certain laws and traditions could be ignored on that day – and this included the tradition that men should do the proposing.
What is known is that a law was passed in Scotland in 1288 to allow women to propose during the leap year. The law also included a clause stating that men who refused the proposal should pay a fine, either monetary or an item of fine clothing. This doesn’t seem terribly fair for the man… refuse and pay a fine, accept and cough up for an engagement ring.
The table-dancing clubs that go by the name of ‘Spearmint Rhino’… I’ve never been to one, and I don’t suppose I ever will (unless I have to go on a stag night where I’m in charge of making sure the groom doesn’t get into too much bother, and then I’d have to go in to ensure things conform to the required level of moral decency). Anyway, I have been ever-so-slightly fascinated by the name since I first saw the advertisement. Where the hell did they come up with a name like that? Thanks go to Cali Clarke who uncovered the reason (and has also never frequented one of their establishments).
The company was set up by John Gray who started a construction company in Las Vegas to fund his path through law school. His company built nightclubs, and after an initial lack of success he experimented with the inclusion of topless dancers. Business boomed and he bought a chain of childrens’ restaurants to convert into table-dancing clubs. Gray and his cohorts needed to name the new chain, and they didn’t want anything sleazy. So they merely evolved the name of the restaurant chain, from ‘Peppermint Elephant’ to ‘Spearmint Rhino’. So obvious it’s almost disappointing… but what did you expect?
I can’t remember where I read it recently, but the text described that the origin of the word ‘golf’ (as in the game played by men in strange trousers and nothing better to do with their spare time) was down the fact that originally men were allowed to play it, but women weren’t… in other words, “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden”.
However, like many theories about the origins of words, this is actually a load of old codswallop (ever wondered where that word comes from?). The origin of the word ‘golf’ is actually a mystery, but the most likely explanation is that it comes from the old Scottish dialect word ‘gowf’ meaning “to strike”.
And codswallop…? Well, nothing definite, but it’s possible that the word is associated with 19th century mineral water / soft drink merchant and bottle-designer Hiram Codd. Bearing in mind that ‘wallop’ at the time was slang for beer, Mr Codd’s beverages were seen as lacking any punch… so you could say that Codd’s Wallop was worthless. However, if that sounds feasible, bear in mind that Hiram Codd plied his trade in the 1870′s, but the term ‘codswallop’ was first seen in the 1960′s. So, this theory could be balderdash.
Balderdash? Now, there’s an interesting word… and I bet you’re interested in it’s origin. Yeah? So go look it up somewhere. Mind you, it’ll probably turn out to be a load of poppycock.
This fact was provided by Maria (also known as ‘the wife’)… it’s not often that she delivers a fact for your delectation, but when she does, it’s usually a beauty. And strangely for someone so slim, they’re always food-related. Drum roll please…
Sirloin steak was so named because the rather portly wife-collecting British monarch Henry VIII liked the loin cut of meat so much that he gave it a knighthood. ‘Sir Loin’, you see. Good, eh?
Correction… and I can’t blame the wife for this, as she was acting on the good authority of a chef on television (sorry, but being a t.v. chef is a terribly pointless thing to do with you life – I once went to an expensive restaurant owned by a famous British t.v. chef… it was sh*t and if he’d dared to show his chubby ginger face I would have told him so).
I digress – this explanation of the origin of the word sirloin actually turns out to be wide of the mark. Sirloin originates from the French word ‘surlonge’ which literally means “above the loin”. Which is a shame really, because it’s a fairly boring explanation compared to the daft Henry VIII theory.
Further update… bloody hell, we’re milking this one. My learned friend and colleague Emmae Lomax (a scholar of the French language) informed me that the names of many cuts of meat are derived from their French equivalents – the reason being that it was seen as the upper-class thing to do following William to Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings. Thus we get sirloin, fillet, pork (based on the French word for pig meat, ‘porc’), mutton, and of course, kebab. Probably.
This fact was provided by my good friend and colleague, Kieran O’Byrne…
As the clock ticks over from 8:01 PM on Wednesday February 20th 2002, time will (for sixty seconds only) read in perfect symmetry. To be more precise: 20:02, 20/02, 2002. It is an event which has only ever happened once before, and is something which will never be repeated. The last occasion that time read in such a symmetrical pattern was long before the days of the digital watch (or indeed the 24-hour clock) – at 10:01 AM, on January 10, 1001. Because the 24-hour clock only goes up to 23:59, it is something that will never happen again.
Hmmm… is this actually true? No… because at 9:12 PM on December 21st 2112, the date and time will read 21:12 21/12 2112. Honestly, you’d think after working with a bunch of smartarses for six years Kieran would know better than to send a fact to his colleagues without checking it out first. I know this from a recent experience when I insisted that the giant panda isn’t a type of bear.
Here’s a fact in honour of my recent trip to Berlin, and provided by our very lovely friend Chrissie Dade, who will no doubt be thrilled to see her name on this site. Yeah, sure. So, here we go…
Between 1937 and 1945, Heinz produced a version of Alphabetti Spaghetti especially for the German market that consisted solely of little pasta swastikas.
This one might embarrass some U.S. citizens (hey, sorry, but apparently this is true). In 1988, the US census bureau reported that 13% of the population actually believed that the moon is made of cheese.
Just for the record, 81% of those surveyed knew that the the moon was made of rock, and the remaining 23% believed that the census bureau weren’t very good with figures.
That film ‘Gladiator’ starring Russell Crowe… the bonkers Emperor Commodus played by Joaquin Phoenix actually existed, and he was the only Roman emporer to indulge in a bit of gladiatorial combat. However, unlike the film where he was stabbed in the throat by our gruff Kiwi friend, the real Commodus was strangled to death in his dressing room… which would have been a crap ending to the film.
Shaggy from ‘Scooby Doo’ has a real name… it’s Norville Rogers.
This fact was provided by my mother, a former resident of Bloomfield, Ontario, Canada. Take it away Mother… The CN Tower in Toronto weighs the approximately the same as 23,214 fully-grown adult elephants (African or Indian…? She didn’t say). And get this… they poured in concrete continually for over 8 months to ensure that there were no seams in the supporting shaft.
This fact was provided by the Lotus UK Technology Group’s favourite Irish lad, a man with a typically Irish name… Stefan Klincewicz.
The word ‘posh’ is supposedly an abbreviation of ‘Port Outward, Starboard Home’. This was a term using by the P&O Steam Line to describe the upper-class passengers who would swap cabins during an England to India voyage to ensure that their cabins always enjoyed cool shady conditions.
However, research actually shows that no tickets with ‘POSH’ have ever been issued, and P&O records have never revealed any sign of the phrase. Sorry Stef…
At the time of writing this the year was 2001… and time to tell the tale of a small quibble between Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII. The 13th Pontiff to be known as ‘Greg’ to his mates decided that the Julian Calendar was bobbins because it allowed too many Leap Years, and thus time had gone out of step with the seasonal cycle by ten days (and had also allowed drift in the dates of significant religious observations, primarily Easter). Britain, the USA and Canada didn’t adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752, some 170 years after continental Europe, and until that point we were ten (and then eleven) days behind the European date. These countries were not big on Papal authority, hence the delay. In that year (1752) eleven days were removed from September in Britain, the USA and Canada – before 1700 the two calendars were ten days out of step, but they then disagreed on whether or not 1700 was a Leap Year. The year length of the Gregorian Calendar (with an average length of 365.2422 days) gives an error of one day every 3,225 years… which isn’t bad really. However, despite the improved accuracy, astronomers still use the Julian Calendar, because they can’t deal with the ten / eleven day gap. And one final interesting point (yawn)… George Washington was born on 11th February 1732, but the Americans celebrate his birth on 22nd February (and now you know why).
The Chess term ‘Checkmate’ comes from the Persian phrase ‘Shah Met’ meaning “The king is dead”.
The first episode of the Happy Days spin-off “Joanie Loves Chachi” was the highest-rated American program in the history of Korean television. If you’re wondering why, consider the fact that ‘Chachi’ is Korean for penis. What would Mrs Cunningham have thought…?
This fantastic fact was provided by Maria (also known as ‘the wife’)…
In a single year, residents of the USA consume enough peanut butter to cover the floor of the Grand Canyon.
But then I thought, hang on – “to what depth?”… fair question – one millimeter or one inch? That would be a significantly different volume of peanut butter. The reaction was such that I decided not to move onto my second question, which was “smooth or crunchy…?”
Ninety percent of newly-opened nightclubs in the USA will have all of their toilets vomited in within the first two weeks.
(Source: MTV Europe) What I want to know is, who the hell would commission that sort of survey…?
Mike Nesmith of the Monkees… remember him? You know, ‘hey, hey we’re the Monkees’, the one with the wooly hat… his mother invented white-out (or Tippex as the Brits call it). Really, it’s true.
Finnish communications giant Nokia were founded in 1865… but their initial business was the manufacture of wood pulp and paper.
Until 1965, the good people of Sweden drove on the left-hand side of the road (the proper side of the road, I might add). The conversion to the right-hand was done on a weekday at 17:00. This time of day was chosen to prevent accidents being caused by drivers who may have got up that morning and didn’t realise that this was the day of the change-over.
Three percent (3%) of all photographs taken in the USA are taken at either Disney Land, Disney World or the Epcot Centre.
Clint Eastwood was not the original choice for ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan – believe it or not, Ol’ Blue Eyes himself Frank Sinatra was the first in line. Clint got the part after Frank, and then Paul Newman and John Wayne, turned down the chance to tote Harry’s magnum.
Duelling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn’t wear pants. Furthermore, his middle name is ‘Fauntleroy’.
Batman star Michael Keaton’s original name was Michael Douglas. But that name was already taken when he joined the Screen Actors Guild, so he changed it. Ironically, Michael Douglas is not Michael Douglas’ real name… it’s Michael Demsky. His father, the legendary Kirk Douglas, was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky.