Did You Know?

[Qboots]

The other day I heard that there are more people alive on earth right now, than the total number of dead people who ever lived on the planet since the beginning of time. Can anyone verify that? Because it just sounds incredible to me. And if it's true, the human race is way out of control.

You people need to stop breeding! :nono

[queenb]

You people need to stop breeding! :nono

I didn't make any more, honest!

The little lump of flesh just forward of your ear canal, right next to your temple, is called a tragus.

[Gutmutter]

I could make a pest of myself in this thread. Did you know the original Coca Cola actually had cocaine in it? Did you know there's a cat festival in Peru featuring food made from cat meat? Did you know women have 30-60% more connecting "wires" between the two halves of the brain making them better able to talk about their feelings and verbalize intuitions?

[stinkerbell]

did u know that pigs have orgasm that can last for 30mins?

In my next life, I want to be a pig!

[lildago]

A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.

[Newfherder]

A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

Sorry, but that's a myth.
http://ask.yahoo.com/20021002.html
http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/duckecho.htm

[FinallyHere]

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/duckecho.htm

Claim: A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
Status: False.

Origins: Anyone
who has been on the Internet more than a week has probably received at least one of those annoying lists of "facts": dozens and dozens of items of no real significance that somebody thought would be cool for you to know. It is indeed fortunate that the lists are usually composed of items of no real significance, because many of the entries are of dubious veracity. The purpose of these lists apparently is not to educate the masses (however trivially), but to induce readers into the information age equivalent of a scavenger hunt, sending them scurrying all over the Internet in an attempt to verify the truthfulness of the entries. Ours is one of the virtual doors that gets knocked on quite frequently by these scavengers, and while we're glad to help, our job is never done because anyone can make up lists like these — just invent four or five of the most far-fetched statements you can imagine, and follow them with the phrase "and no one knows why." To wit:

Ostrich eggs have no yolks, and no one knows why.

Julius Caesar was left-handed, and no one knows why.

Banging your head against a solid wall really hurts, and no one knows why.
The winner (so far) of the Most Ludicrous Entry contest is the claim that a duck's quack doesn't echo. Unfortunately, it's also the item we're most frequently asked about. The premise is just silly: a duck's quack (and presumably, of all the sounds known to man, only a duck's quack) has some special sonic property that causes it not to echo. We're not talking about a situation where a landform creates an acoustic shadow (a phenomenon under which even loud sounds can be inaudible to nearby listeners), but the claim that a duck's quack doesn't echo under any conditions.

[AJane]

This is a good one, and not up for a debate, just an astonishing fact:

Since Roe v. Wade, there have been 40 million abortions. That number is staggering to me considering if abortion was never discovered (?sorry for that word) or illegal, there would be 40 million more people in this world!

Actually, that's not true (that there would be 40 million more people in the world). Did you know...15 to 20 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage? Also, the infant mortality rate for Canada alone is 4.75 deaths per 1,000 live births. (Sorry, not debating, just couldn't resist. )

[Melitta]

Did you know that chewing on ice can put tiny cracks in the enamel of your teeth, and make you get cavities?

Your killing me!! As I am sitting here wandering through different forums on the Fort...chewing on a big cup of ice! I can't stand to drink water, so I chew at least 8 glasses of ice everyday. Guess I better go make a dentist appointment.

[stinkerbell]

Actually, that's not true (that there would be 40 million more people in the world). Did you know...15 to 20 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage? Also, the infant mortality rate for Canada alone is 4.75 deaths per 1,000 live births. (Sorry, not debating, just couldn't resist. )

No debate here, (only becuase I'm too lazy to actually find the research to support that number) but if there have been 40 million abortions, where would the babies be if they were not aborted? Even if you consider miscarriage and mortality rate- say 50%- that still leaves 20 million babies that would have been born. Still a staggering number.