In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented.
It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...) The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400

The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile
National Monuments.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a
great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

If a statue in the park of a per son on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.

If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence
on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey

Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day

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. Hence the phrase......... "goodnight, sleep tight."

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father 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 . which 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 "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down."
Hence, 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.

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At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow

Some good ones in there. I have a book full of useless facts somewhere.

However I disagree with this one:

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand

Depending on your english I guess.

Its one hundred And one

David

Couldn't lick mine .

thing is with those kinda lists, is that its pretty hard to check the facts..... you coul make up a lot of em and not be found out.

I could say that 75% of brummies dont go further north than Manchester in their lives, and you couldnt prove it ether way

Mark Twain was the first author with a typewriter, or the first one famous enough to be credited with one....

atb

steve

quote:

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Originally posted by steve_gus
I could say that 75% of brummies dont go further north than Manchester in their lives, and you couldnt prove it ether way

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it's not impossible to lick your elbow.

i know that for a fact, i've seen it done by my mate, and also on brainiac.

it's true that you can't touch your right elbow with your right hand though. it's amazing how any people have to try it to believe it though

tom

quote:

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Originally posted by marc n
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts...
So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down."
Hence, 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.

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Oh, and "golf" is believed to derive from an old Germanic word meaning club. Given that the game has a history back into the 12th century, an acronym that only works in relatively modern English seems a little unlikely.

And the origin given for "rule of thumb" doesn't seem to bear up under investigation - no-one ever seems to find any old statutes that actually set down such a law, despite there being preserved legal documents from many sources for the last many hundreds of years.

To quote WikiPedia (yes, I know, not infallible but usually pretty good):

quote:

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The term "rule of thumb" or similar exists in many languages and cultures. Its likely origin is that the thumb is often used for rough measurement by carpenters, seamstresses, artists and many others. In fact, the measurement of an inch is believed to have been derived from the distance between the tip of the thumb and the first joint.

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