Assorted Brain Candy

[Luddly Neddite]

I read that half of the world's people will never make or receive a telephone call.

And yet, we were watching some sort of documentary and noticed a young Masai man had a cell phone. And he spoke English as well as his native language.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Esmeralda -

Over the last 150 years the average height of people in industrialized nations has increased 10 cm (about 4 inches). In the 19th century, American men were the tallest in the world, averaging 1,71m (5'6"). Today, the average height for American men is 1,75m (5'7"), compared to 1, 77 (5'8") for Swedes, and 1, 78 (5'8.5") for the Dutch. The tallest nation in the world is the Watusis of Burundi.

When we went through the Titanic museum, we were told that, although the model was accurate to size, the grand stairway, had be be built much larger because we are so much bigger than we were then.

 

[IlarMeilyr]

PT barnum never said "there's one born every minute" or it's derivative there's a sucker born every minute.

Darwin never said "survival of the fittest".

The phrase is a tautology.

Because being the fittest guarantees survival?

No.

It is NOT a tautology.

 

[Ringel05]

PT barnum never said "there's one born every minute" or it's derivative there's a sucker born every minute.

Darwin never said "survival of the fittest".

The phrase is a tautology.

Yes he did, he borrowed it from Herbert Spencer in the fifth edition of On the Origin of Species.
Spencer coined the term after reading Darwin.

 

[Mr. H.]

Most people actually peel bananas the wrong way. We break the stem at the top of the fruit, then peel them, right? Sometimes, with a less ripe banana, this will lead to a frustration, as the tough stem doesn't snap, and we end up with a mangled end of the banana, when we finally get the tough stem to break. Next time you peel a banana, try turning it upside down and gently pinch the bottom end. It will easily split, and you can then peel it as usual. If you observe monkeys at the zoo eating bananas, this is how they do it!

Peel the banana.

 

[Esmeralda]

 If you eat a polar bear liver, you will die. Humans can’t handle that much vitamin A.
 The word “facetiously” contains all 5 vowels and “y” in alphabetical order.
 Honey does not spoil. You could feasibly eat 3000 year old honey.
 In 1845, President Andrew Jackson's pet parrot was removed from his funeral for swearing.
 Ancient Egyptians shaved off their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats.
 A dentist invented the Electric Chair.
 In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes.
 There are 18 different animal shapes in the Animal Crackers cookie zoo.
 Should there be a crash, Prince Charles and Prince William never travel on the same airplane as a precaution.
 Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second.
 A lightning bolt generates temperatures five times hotter than those found at the sun's surface.
 Almost half the newspapers in the world are published in the United States and Canada.

 

[daws101]

Cary Grant openly lived a homosexual life. One of his lovers was Orry-Kelly and he was with Randolph Scott for 11 years.

knowing that gives a whole new dimension to his films....

 

[daws101]

On an average American consumes sufficient amounts of caffeine in one whole year that can kill a horse.
Astronauts are banned from eating beans because passing wind in a spacesuit can damage it.
Read more at Buzzle: Strange Facts about Life
my home made chili would blow a hole in the spacecraft!