useless facts? post them here......

[John Marwood]

I always thought December 21st 2012 as a new beginning rather then the end

Maybe the poodles will inherit the earth

 

[Admin]

Poodle Clipping was once an Olympic Event

I was about to move this post to the "Useless fiction..." thread, but it would appear John Marwood is not pulling our leg, for once!

The ancient Incan and Mayan religions can accurately predict events to occur hundreds of years in the future....It tru it is we all gone die in 2012 !!11!!

And I can't move this one to "Useless fiction..." until 2012 rolls round, because if I did and then the prophecy comes true, boy will I have egg on my face!

 

[Withnail]

Avril Lafoule? But it's only March.

 

[Gramaisc]

Avril Lafoule? But it's only March.

Are we in Cambridgeshire already?..

 

[Wookie]

Poodle Clipping was once an Olympic Event

I was about to move this post to the "Useless fiction..." thread, but it would appear John Marwood is not pulling our leg, for once!

I think it was referenced in QI last night. On the iPlayer or repeated tonight 21:15. The gold medal winner apparently clipped 117 poodles in 2 hours.*

The ancient Incan and Mayan religions can accurately predict events to occur hundreds of years in the future....It tru it is we all gone die in 2012 !!11!!

And I can't move this one to "Useless fiction..." until 2012 rolls round, because if I did and then the prophecy comes true, boy will I have egg on my face!

If the prophecy comes true, surely nobody will be around to be able to check? And even if Admin *does* have egg on face it doesn't matter, because it's only a problem if someone else sees. Which they won't.
Hmm... do you carry egg on face into the afterlife?

*Stats may not be accurate.

 

[Gramaisc]

I think it was referenced in QI last night. On the iPlayer or repeated tonight 21:15. The gold medal winner apparently clipped 117 poodles in 2 hours.*

I looked for QI this morning, but it wasn't in its usually place in Entertainment and so I aborted the mission. But, now knowing that is was on, I have found that it is in BBC1 instead..

 

[John Marwood]

Smurfs are three apples tall

 

[John Marwood]

Massachussetts is home to Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

or Webster Lake if you are a local

 

[John Marwood]

Poodle Clipping was once an Olympic Event

I was about to move this post to the "Useless fiction..." thread, but it would appear John Marwood is not pulling our leg, for once!

The ancient Incan and Mayan religions can accurately predict events to occur hundreds of years in the future....It tru it is we all gone die in 2012 !!11!!

And I can't move this one to "Useless fiction..." until 2012 rolls round, because if I did and then the prophecy comes true, boy will I have egg on my face!

or pancakes

 

[John Marwood]

Poodle Clipping was once an Olympic Event

I think it is time for a return



Don't you

 

[stoofer34]

Taller people sleep longer in bed

S

 

[joshua]

When deprived of dreams, people will become irritable, disoriented and subject to hallucinations.

 

[Mikinton]

Maybe not a useless fact, but certainly one of my favourites ....

The Earth revolves about its axis approximately 366.25 times per year.

 

[Goldilox]

Maybe not a useless fact, but certainly one of my favourites ....

The Earth revolves about its axis approximately 366.25 times per year.

Surely that should be 365.25? Hence most years are 365 days, except one in every 4 which is 366....

 

[Goldilox]

Ok - my favourite useless fact: The cowbell that starts 'Soul Limbo' by Booker T & The MGs (best known as the Test Match Special theme) was played by Isaac Hayes.

 

[Gramaisc]

Surely that should be 365.25? Hence most years are 365 days, except one in every 4 which is 366....

Is it not to do with the fact that the Earth also completes one rotation of the Sun during that time? Thus one revolution of the Earth seems to be 'lost' as the Sun's apparent movement seems to counteract it - much as the Moon rotates once a month but also orbits the Earth once a month..

 

[Mikinton]

Well done, Gramaisc. It's all to do with the revolution that the Earth does around the Sun. It means that the apparent rotation of the Earth relative to the Sun (365.25 times a year) has to be adjusted by one rotation to work out how many times the Earth spins - so one more or one less. It's one more, so 366.25 approx. Look up 'Sidereal'.

It may be easier to imagine that the Earth did not go around the Sun, and just spun on its axis (at an angle of 23.5 degrees). If the Sun then apppeared to cross the sky 365.25 times a year, you could then be sure that the Earth spun 365.25 times a year.

 

[Goldilox]

Is it not to do with the fact that the Earth also completes one rotation of the Sun during that time? Thus one revolution of the Earth seems to be 'lost' as the Sun's apparent movement seems to counteract it - much as the Moon rotates once a month but also orbits the Earth once a month..

You're right - I've just looked it up and a 'sidereal day' is the earth's rotation measured against a fixed star & we have 366.25 of them a year. A solar day is measured against the sun & we have 365.25 of them, because of the orbital movement adding an extra 3 minutes 56 seconds to each.

edit: Mikinton posted the same thing while I was typing this!

 

[Gramaisc]

I didn't explain it very well, but I knew what I meant - if the Earth was to spin the other way, then it would add a day rather than subtract one..

 

[Gramaisc]

A not-exactly-useless fact is that the number of seconds in a year is very close to pi times 10 to the power of 7 = 31,415,926 - when 365*24*3600=31,536,000 - might come in handy some time..