I am a corporate training manager and I always try to find "interesting" ways to keep people alert in class. One thing I do before class and during breaks is run a slide show of trivia and other stupid facts.

I find people enjoy the break from what they are really there for. You can find these all over the place and I am constantly updating my list.

Post your own pointless facts - here are a few to get you started...


:The first cartoons with speech balloons were drawn by early aztecs.

:Sharks are the only fish that can blink

:The world's first known vending machine dispensed holy water (Egypt, 100 A.D.)

:The average airspeed of a butterfly is 12 MPH

: polar bears are left handed
: a catfish has over 15,000 taste buds
: a humming bird can flap its wings over 50 times per second.

:)

:Bornbad isn't really a baby with flaming eyes.

Alice in Wonderland syndrome is an actual medical condition.

I collect random facts, but have a feeling that a post hundreds of lines long wouldn't be very fun, so... have a few:

-On average, left handed people die seven year earlier than right handed people(Poor polar bears...)

-Floccinaucinihilipilification, the declaration of an item being useless,
is the longest non-medical term in the English language.

-Over 2500 left handed people are killed in a year from using products intended for right handed people.

-A 5-cent bill was once issued in the United States.

Polar bears aren't left-handed, this is a myth.

But Henry VIII only had two wives (the one that survived and the one that died). The other four marriages were annulled, so they never technically took place.

Some more wonderous facts:
>Barnacles have penises seven times the length of their body
>The name "Hotmail" derives from the name of the HTML code
>Bugs Bunny is not a bunny - the animal he is based on is a hare
>Hares and rabbits are lagomorphs, which mean they can close their nostrils

-

Niagra falls is turned off at night (no really, google it)

I believe that sharks are the only fish that can blink with BOTH EYES AT THE SAME TIME. I think...

The word "Gullible" is not in the Dictionary.

Lies!


Although I think one year it completley froze over... Free time can be fun.

Well, not completely turned off, but there is a BIG difference between daytime and nighttime, off-season. Nonetheless, there is trivia here!

- George Washington grew marijuana in his garden.

- The two highest IQ's ever recorded (on a standard test) both belong to women.

- People in Siberia often buy milk frozen on a stick.

- There are no clocks in Las Vegas casinos.

- It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on their testicles when taking an oath. The modern term 'testimony' is derived from this tradition.

- Theodor Herzi, the Zionist leader who was born on May 2 1860, once had the astonishing idea of converting Jews to Christianity as a way of combating anti-Semitism.

- The warriors tribes of Ethiopia used to hang the testicles of those they killed in battle on the ends of their spears.

- The initial S in the middle of Harry S Truman's name doesn't in fact mean anything. Both his grandfathers had names beginning with 'S', and so Truman's mother didn't want to disappoint either of them.

- Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover the onset of baldness.

Eh, while I'm at it . . . I Stumbled across these lil bits today . . .

Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

In 1982, Englishman William Hall committed suicide by drilling holes into his head with a power drill...it took 8 holes!

The glue on postage stamps in Israel is certified kosher.

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

some of these are superold and probably apocryphal

at least, the testimony one is apocryphal:

1382, "the Ten Commandments," from L.L. testimonium (Vulgate), along with Gk. to martyrion (Septuagint), translations of Heb. 'eduth "attestation, testimony" (of the Decalogue), from 'ed "witness." Meaning "evidence, statement of a witness" first recorded 1432, from O.Fr. testimonie (11c.), from L. testimonium "evidence, proof, testimony," from testis "witness" (see testament) + -monium, suffix signifying "action, state, condition."

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(Do not try this at home .. maybe at work)

Greek Words!

The word 'Arctic' comes from the Greek 'arktos' meaning bear (the Arctic is the one with polar bears), while 'anti-arktos' became 'Antarctic', meaning no bears.

The Ku Klux Klan got its name from the Greek 'kuklos' meaning 'circle' - a symbol of perfection.

blufr.com

Yaks give pink milk.

Strawberry milk?