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We have a game like this on another message board I visit, so I thought I would bring it over here.
It's simple. Post what my high school science teacher called a "gee whiz fact." Some people might call it "trivia". If you want to call it "totally useless information", that's okay too!
It can be about any subject, but the odder the better.
Spiral staircases in medieval castles run clockwise.
This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the invading army would climb the stairs, they would not be able to use their right hand (the one holding the sword) because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs.
Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except that left-handed people would never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.
Sew&Sew!
I absolutely love this new thread...I am a spermologist and my friends and family cannot understand my love of trivia. I love "gee whiz facts" and hope everyone else participates!On with the game:
The very first e-mail was sent in 1971 by Roy Tomlinson who worked at Bolt, Beranek, & Newman Computer Co. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (I don't know who it was sent to, though)
Love this!
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey's name was originally "Orpah"
Her aunt named her after a Biblical character from the Book of Ruth named "Orpah". Her name was written as "Orpah" on her birth certificate too. Unfortunately, the rest of her family had a tough time spelling and pronouncing her name, so she grew up as "Oprah" instead, and she's been going by the wrong name her whole life
Great "gee whiz facts" Little & Bunny!
In 1685, when King Charles II fell ill from kidney disease, doctors detrimentally let blood, unnecessarily cut off his hair, pointlessly applied blistering agents on his scalp, and foolishly put plasters of pitch and pigeon dung on the soles of his feet.. They inflicted further harm by blowing the herb 'hellebore' up his nose to make him sneeze nonexistent humours from his brain, and then had him drink antimony and sulfate of zinc to induce vomiting. The doctors then gave him purgatives to cleanse his bowels. They also administered a plethora of tonics, herbs, and drugs and finally let another twelve ounces of his blood. After five days, King Charles curiously died. (Ya' think?)
In 1845, Francis W. Pettygrove (from Maine) and Asa Lovejoy (from Massachusetts) co-owned a tract of land in Oregon. They were at a disagreement on what to call their growing town. Each wanted to honor his home state.
After a coin toss, the privilege went to Mr. Pettygrove who had called the toss correctly two out of three times.
His choice for a name: Portland.
Had he lost, Mr. Lovejoy would have called the town Boston.
Walt Disney did not create Mickey Mouse. His friend and business partner Ub Iwerks, did. The Disney family later pressured Ub to sell out his half of the business; he did as they wished. Disney retained ownership of Mickey completely. Ub gathered some fellow artists and for a while ran his own studio. Ub's studio paid his workers well but folded. Ub went back to work for Disney later in life, and won an Oscar for special effects for The Birds. Ub also invented the multi plane camera and other devices ahead of their time. He was a genius who could complete over 1000 drawings in one day. He also was a pioneer in setting animation to song. But he never really got his due. Finally, Disney studios recently cooperated on a documentary that told much of the real story of "The Man Behind the Mouse."
I am sure learning a lot I didn't know..I love this thread!
During the Gold Rush in San Francisco, a plot of land worth approximately $16.00 before the strike was then worth $45,000.00...and of the approx. 300,000 people who panned for gold; only 1 out of 100 struck it rich.
*from America: The Story of Us
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