New on LowEndTalk? Please Register and read our Community Rules.
All new Registrations are manually reviewed and approved, so a short delay after registration may occur before your account becomes active.
All new Registrations are manually reviewed and approved, so a short delay after registration may occur before your account becomes active.
Comments
Did you know... A chef's toque contains 100 folds.
Most diners are too busy looking at their food to look all that closely at what the preparer is wearing, but the toque—the traditional hat worn by chefs—actually contains exactly 100 folds. This is not just a nice, round number: it is said that these folds represent the number of ways to cook an egg, though an investigation by Bon Appetit failed to track down where that saying originated.
Did you know... Rabbits can't puke.
Unlike cats or other animals that can cough up hairballs when they digest too much fur and other indigestible materials, rabbits are incapable of spewing. Their digestive system only goes one way, so the furry critters swallow plenty of roughage, which keeps things moving in the right direction.
Hi Dustin,
Please double my bandwidth on order # 2490801276.
Thanks!
Did you know... The "M's" in M&Ms stand for "Mars" and "Murrie."
That would be Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, the two businessmen who created the candy-coated chocolates. The two actually had a very contentious relationship, as Mars leveraged Murrie out of his 20 percent share in the company in 1949—years before M&Ms would become the best-selling candy in the U.S., paying him just $1 million for a share of business that would quickly be worth billions.
Did you know... The human body literally glows.
It might be hard to see with your naked eye, but everyone you pass by every day is literally glowing. The human body emits a small quantity of visible light ("visible" in the technical sense—the illumination is about 1,000 times less intense than levels of light that we would actually be able to see). Researchers in Japan used a special camera to track this glow and found that it fluctuates throughout the day, with the body emitting its lowest levels of light around 10 a.m. and highest at around 4 p.m., a rhythm the scientists attribute to the changes in one's metabolism.
Did you know... Copper door knobs are self-disinfecting.
Copper and its alloys, such as brass, have long been popular materials for manufacturing door knobs. It turns out, this may not just because the metal's hue makes it look nice. In fact, the material has been found to kill bacteria. According to one study from the National College of Kathmandu in Nepal, "the metal ions denature protein of the target cells by binding to reactive groups resulting in their precipitation and inactivation. The high affinity of cellular proteins for the metallic ions results in the death of the cells due to cumulative effects of the ion within the cells." In other words, brass sterilizes the bacteria that can build up from all those (potentially unwashed) hands that grip it.
Did you know... Cotton candy was invented by a dentist.
It is not known whether William Morrison had an ulterior motive for inventing the soft confection, but the dentist no doubt helped ensure others in his profession continued drawing in plenty of customers. In 1897, he partnered with candy-maker John C. Wharton to develop the cotton candy machine (which at the time was known as "Fairy Floss"), and it's been bringing kids cavities ever since.
Looks like @dustinc hasn't shown up for a long while
Did you know... Marie Curie is the only person to earn a Nobel prize in two different sciences.
The pioneering researcher won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 (shared with her husband) for her study of spontaneous radiation, and then won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for her work in radioactivity. That makes her one of just six recipients to receive multiple Nobel prizes, and the only person to receive it in two different sciences. (Chemical engineer Linus Paulding earned a Nobel Chemistry Prize and Nobel Peace Prize, but all other multiple winners received theirs in the same category).
Did you know... Fingernails don't grow after you die.
Despite what you may have seen on other lists of random trivia, your fingernails and hair do not, in fact, continue to grow after you die. To grow, these must have a steady supply of glucose, which is cut off after the heart stops beating, preventing any further growth. In fact, the skin around the hair follicles and nails dehydrates after death and partly retracts, which can make them appear longer.
Did you know... The English word with the most definitions is "set."
According to Guinness World Records, "set" has the largest number of meanings of any word in the English language, with 430 different senses listed in the 1989 edition of Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. The word "sets" the record with an entry running 60,000 words, or 326,000 characters, and no other English word has come close since.
Did you know... Creedence Clearwater Revival has the most No. 2 Billboard hits—without ever hitting No. 1.
John Fogerty's swamp rock band has the odd distinction of having seen more of its singles hit No. 2 on the charts, without ever hitting No. 1, than any other musical act. Between March 1969 and Oct. 1970, the band scored five No. 2 singles on the Billboard Top 100—"Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Green River," "Travelin' Band," and "Lookin' Out My Back Door"—but never saw one of its songs get to the top spot. No other act has topped this dubious honor since.
Did you know... Pigeons can tell the difference between a painting by Monet and Picasso.
In a 1995 study published in the Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, researchers reported being able to train pigeons to discriminate between paintings by Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso when shown slides of their works that they had previously never seen before. When the Picasso images were inverted, the little art connoisseurs could still tell it was a Picasso.
Did you know... The dot over the lower case "i" or "j" is known as a "tittle."
That tiny dot above lower case "I" and "j" letters has an actual name: tittle. It is thought that the phrase "to a T" is actually derived from the phrase "to a tittle"—a phrase that was used in the same sense dating back to the early 17th century. (The first recording of the phrase is in the 1607 play Woman Hater by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, in which the line reads, "I'll quote him to a tittle.")
Did you know... Chewing gum boosts concentration.
Next time you are having trouble focusing, you might want to reach for a stick of gum. A 2013 study in the British Journal of Psychology found that those subjects who chewed gum while taking part in a memory challenge were able to stay focused for longer periods of time than those who did not chew gum.
Did you know... Superman didn't always fly.
The original comic book Superman could leap tall buildings in a single bound. But then he had to come right back down to Earth—because he didn't fly. It wasn't until the 1940s, when animators for a new animated series decided it would be too difficult to routinely draw him bending his knees, that it was decided that Superman could take off into the air. Readers got to see smooth animation, and a superhero gained a new power.
Did you know... The first computer was invented in the 1940s.
The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). Originally built at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering, in 1946, ENIAC weighed 60,000 pounds and took up a room larger than most studio apartments (1,500 square feet). Shortly after construction, ENIAC was sent off to the military, where it was used to calculate ballistic trajectories (translation: launch missiles) with frightening accuracy. Today, computer experts at Penn credit ENIAC with heralding in the "dawn of the information age."
Did you know... Space smells like seared steak.
When you see footage of astronauts floating peacefully in space, do you ever wonder, What do space smells like? Well, according to some former astronauts, space does have a distinct odor that hangs around post-spacewalk. They've described it as "hot metal" or "searing steak."
Did you know... The longest wedding veil was the same length as 63.5 football fields.
When Maria Paraskeva, a woman from Cyprus, got married in August 2018, her goal wasn't just to say "I do." She was also determined to set a record.
"My dream as a child has always been to break the Guinness World Record title for the longest wedding veil," she explained. She fulfilled her dream by wearing a lace veil that stretched 22,843 feet and 2.11 inches, or as long as 63.5 football fields.
Did you know... The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.
While Scotland proudly boasts the Loch Ness Monster, one of the world's most famous fabled creatures, the country opted to make another mythical beast its national animal: the unicorn. Although this might seem like an odd choice, Visit Scotland explains that unicorns played an integral role in the country's history. Back in the 12th century, William I used the "proud beast" in the Scottish royal coat of arms.
Did you know... Bees sometimes sting other bees.
Bees are notorious for their stings, but humans aren't the only ones who experience this pain in the neck (or the arm, or the leg…). In protecting their hives from outsiders, some "guard bees" will stay by the entrance and sniff the bees that come in, says Marianne Peso from the biology department of Macquarie University. If there's a rogue bee from another hive trying to steal some nectar, the guard bee will bite and even sting the intruder.
Did you know...The total weight of ants on earth once equaled the total weight of people.
Entomologists have estimated that there are at least one million trillion insects and only one percent of that number is ants, according to the BBC. And if you took all those ants (about ten thousand trillion) and put them on one side of a giant scale, you could almost put all of the people in the world onto the other and balance things out. Unfortunately, as humans have become heavier, this probably wouldn't hold up today—but it once did. Francis Ratnieks, professor of Apiculture at the University of Sussex, told the BBC this might have held true around 2,000 years ago.
Did you know... "E" is the most common letter and appears in 11 percent of all english words.
Try writing out a few sentences—anything at all. Now take a minute to look at how frequently each letter in the alphabet appears. Chances are you'll see a lot of the letter "e." That's because the commonly used vowel appears in around 11 percent of all words in the English language, according to Oxford Dictionaries. The next most popular letter was "a," which appears in around 8.5 percent of all words. The least common letter is "q," which appears in just 0.2 percent of words.
Did you know... A dozen bodies were once found in Benjamin Franklin's basement.
But were you aware of the fact that multiple skeletons were found in the basement of Benjamin Franklin's London home? The bones were discovered during a 1998 renovation of the house and were identified as being from nearly a dozen people, including six children. "The most plausible explanation is not mass murder, but an anatomy school run by Franklin's young friend and protege, William Hewson," wrote The Guardian.
That's not to say there wasn't any funny business going on. "The resurrection men could deliver bodies stolen from graveyards to the Thames wharf at the bottom of the street, while there was a weekly public execution at the gallows on the other side of the garden wall," the publication reported.
Did you know... The healthiest place in the world is in Panama.
A small valley near Volcán in Panama has garnered the distinction of being the world's healthiest place to live, according to a 2018 report by International Living. Called Shangri-La Valley, the area is home to beautiful scenery, a low cost of living, and a significantly longer life expectancy than the surrounding areas. All in all, the world's healthiest areas have some common factors, according to the ranking: a warm climate, an active social scene, healthy food, and a slower pace of life that makes for less daily stress.
Did you know... A pharaoh once lathered his slaves in honey to keep bugs away from him.
The pharaohs of ancient Egypt were believed to be literally divine. The word pharaoh itself means "great house," as in the house of God. In fact, King Pepi II, who supposedly ruled for 90 years, thought so highly of himself that when he was bothered by insects, he would command that one of his slaves be covered in honey to lure the flies away from himself.
Did you know... Some people have an extra bone in their knee (and it's getting more common).
If you were under the impression that the human body had finished evolving, think again. It turns out that some people have a bone in their knee called a fabella. And while this particular little bone with an unknown purpose was once fading away, over the last century and a half, it's gotten more common. Back in 1875, nearly 18 percent of people examined had a fabella. That number dropped to 11 percent by 1918. However, by 2018, 39 percent of individuals had this mysterious bone.
Did you know... Pringles aren't actually potato chips.
The next time you see a can of Pringles, take a closer look—you won't see the word "chip" anywhere on the packaging. That's because Pringles aren't made of thinly-sliced potatoes, but instead dehydrated potato flakes pressed into their signature parabolic shape. That's what makes them less greasy. But when other potato chip manufacturers complained, the Food and Drug Administration ruled that Pringles couldn't be marketed as chips. The company eventually settled on "potato crisp."
Did you know... There's a giant fish with a transparent head.
The deepest levels of our oceans are some of the least explored areas of the planet. Because of the extreme pressure, cold, and dark at these depths, only the very strangest of creatures can survive there. These include giant tube worms, vampire squids, goblin sharks, and viperfish with teeth so long that they can't close their mouths. Perhaps the strangest, though, is the barreleye, a large fish with a completely transparent head.
Did you know... There's a decorated war hero dog.
While in the trenches of World War I, the U.S. First Infantry Division found themselves unable to communicate with other troops because shellfire had damaged the telephone wires. A young private came up with a unique solution: Rags, a mixed breed terrier whom the soldiers had adopted in Paris, would carry the messages from one division to the next tucked into his collar. He saved many lives, and when Rags passed away—in Maryland, at the very advanced age of 20—he was buried with military honors.