A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.
And then we flip a coin, and on Tails, we try to squeeze in anyways.
A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.And then we flip a coin, and on Tails, we try to squeeze in anyways.
And 75% of the time, make it anyway.
I love being an Ooze.
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A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.And then we flip a coin, and on Tails, we try to squeeze in anyways.And 75% of the time, make it anyway.
I love being an Ooze.
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A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.
Kiddies, this is why you should never cut your kitty's whiskers, even if you think it is funny to give them a Hitler moustache.
[Touches his bottom, still tender all these years later from Mama Anklebiter's wrath]
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Such an awareness dates from Classical Greek, one of the geniuses of the period, I think it was Pythagoras used the difference in sun angles measured at two cities to calculate the Earth's circumference at 25,000 miles. (converted to modern measurement), a pretty good figure given the crudity of the tools available.-Contrary to popular belief, most Europeans were aware that the Earth was round during the Middle Ages (though estimations on the actual size varied tremendously).
Aye, though it was Eratosthenes. And considering the actual circumference of the Earth is 24,901 miles, I'd say is was an astoundingly good figure!
Crocodilopolis was one of the major cities of Ancient Egypt.
Great place name, or the greatest place name?
Polish is now the second most commonly spoken language in England and Wales.
-Welsh is recognized as an official language in parts of southern Argentina.
-About 60% of the entire population of Paraguay, and nearly 90% of its male population, got killed during the War of the Tripple Alliance in the mid XIX century, against Argentina, Brasil, and Uruguay.
-Even though Genghis Khan had the custom of letting most of his conquered subjects live (usually only killing their leaders, unless the population resisted or revolted), during the famous Siege of Ninshapur in the XI century, his son got hit by an arrow shot from the city and subsequently died. This caused such anger on the Mongol leader that he ordered the massacre of every single living thing in Ninshapur, down to the cats and dogs. An estimate of 1.7 million people were butchered in what amounts to a few days (the legend says Genghis Khan killed all of them in just one hour), along with uncounted numbers of animals. Since the number of corpses was so high, his generals feared some people might have survived by hiding among the bodies, and thus ordered every single one of them beheaded and their skulls be put into pyramids. It took 10 days to get this done.
-On the other hand, over 16 million people today have been identified as descendants of Genghis Khan.
-Even though Genghis Khan had the custom of letting most of his conquered subjects live (usually only killing their leaders, unless the population resisted or revolted), during the famous Siege of Ninshapur in the XI century, his son got hit by an arrow shot from the city and subsequently died. This caused such anger on the Mongol leader that he ordered the massacre of every single living thing in Ninshapur, down to the cats and dogs. An estimate of 1.7 million people were butchered in what amounts to a few days (the legend says Genghis Khan killed all of them in just one hour), along with uncounted numbers of animals. Since the number of corpses was so high, his generals feared some people might have survived by hiding among the bodies, and thus ordered every single one of them beheaded and their skulls be put into pyramids. It took 10 days to get this done.
This is interesting, and sounds like this tale may have been inspiration for the novel Tigana (excellent, if you've never read).
Although reports vary as to whether Genghis Khan was, many of his sons and greatest lieutenants were Nestorian Christians, and the Mongol invasion helped spread Christianity.
Did you know that Russia began as a series of Viking colonies (Rus being the old Finnish name for Sweden, meaning "those who row") and were conquered by and spent centuries paying homage to the great Mongol empire.
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Gary Numan was born March 8th, 1958.
Gary Oldman was born March 21st, 1958.
This makes Numan 2 weeks older than Oldman. {head a'splodes}
Gary Numan was born March 8th, 1958.
Gary Oldman was born March 21st, 1958.
This makes Numan 2 weeks older than Oldman. {head a'splodes}
GARYS RUUUUUUUULE!
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Gary Numa NumanGary Numan
*facepalm*
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Gary Numan was born March 8th, 1958.
Gary Oldman was born March 21st, 1958.
This makes Numan 2 weeks older than Oldman. {head a'splodes}
Even worse, if still alive today, Henny Youngman would be 105 on March 6... making Youngman older than both Numan and Oldman. {EevillTM Math does a flying dropkick on Amby's Brain}
Fatty Arbuckle was in fact not fat at all; he was a skinny, undernourished heroin addict, who had to wear a fat suit on camera.
Fatty Arbuckle was framed!
(Or so I've read.)
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A chameleon's tongue is around twice the length of its body.
So is mine, or I've been told it at least seems that way in certain circumstances. ;)
The word starboard has nothing to do with stars, but is in fact derived (via the Anglo-Saxon "steorboard") from the Norse word "styri," which meant rudder, and since the rudder was generally kept on the right side of the boat that side is called starboard.
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The word starboard has nothing to do with stars, but is in fact derived (via the Anglo-Saxon "steorboard") from the Norse word "styri," which meant rudder, and since the rudder was generally kept on the right side of the boat that side is called starboard.
Huh! I learned something new today!
-The Republic of Tanzania got it's name from the conjunction of Tan- and Zan-, in reference to Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the former nations that conformed the country.
-The Sahara desert is bigger than the entire continental territory of the US.
-Antartica is classified as a desert.
-Also, it is the continent with the highest average altitude.
-There are more cellphones (including smartphones) than humans.
-Contrary to popular belief, nails and hair do not continue to grow after death.
-Hemorrhoids are directly linked to the use of toilets. Sitting to take a dump causes the intestine to accomodate in a problematic manner, and thus muscles have to strain themselves further to get the stuff out. The higher the toilet, the worse. In toilet-less areas of the world, hemorrhoids are practically unheard of.
-The reason we cry when cutting onions is because the enzymes inside their cells mix and release acidic gases, which turn into sulfuric acid upon contact with the water in our eyes. Alternatively, it can also be caused by accidentally cutting your finger with the knife.
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Pakistan was named...well, see for yourself.
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Pakistan was named...well, see for yourself.
Well, the Balochistanis got the fuzzy end of that lollypop!
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-Originally from the french region of Bordeaux, the Carménère wine grape was thought exinct world-wide after the phylloxera plague in the mid-1800 wiped out the entire variety. That's it, until it was re-discovered by accident almost 150 years later in several plantations in Chile among Merlot grapes, where they survived thanks to the country's natural barriers that make most plagues unable to reach it. It is now Chile's primary wine variety.
-Andean natives in what later would become the Incan Empire discovered the wheel very early in their history. However, due to the ridiculously vertical nature of their territory, they never found a practical use for it and instead relied on animals for transportation.
-Speaking of Incas, they had a message system that relied on chaskis, extremely well-trained runners sporting trumpets that were set in posts all around the empire (a network spanning thousands of miles in all directions consisting of all manners of paths, rope-bridges and tunels). They were capable of taking messages and objects at a tremendous speed: At it's height, the Incan Empire was approximately 3,000 miles from north to south; it would take the chaski network about 2 weeks to relay a message from corner to corner (that's about 9 miles per hour, non-stop, across some of the most difficult territories in the world).
-Andean natives in what later would become the Incan Empire discovered the wheel very early in their history. However, due to the ridiculously vertical nature of their territory, they never found a practical use for it and instead relied on animals for transportation.
If I recall correctly, their primary use for it was as parts for toys.
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Well, the Balochistanis got the fuzzy end of that lollypop!
Just imagine: it could have been Pakistab!
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Whales can't swim backwards.
But... but... then why do they beep like they are going to back up? Shifty, tricksey whales! {shakes tentacle}
Richard III was the last English king to be killed in battle.
Which, as a Swede, can only lead me to the conclusion that most of the English kings that came after him were a bunch of sissies!* Except George III who was Basil Rathbone.
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Tongue firmly planted in cheek-post:
Today is 354th anniversary of the population in Copenhagen foolishly not throwing down their weapons in the face of a Swedish assault on the city with the result that Denmark remained an independent nation with a population that still has to suffer the faith of growing up speaking Danish.
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Richard III was the last English king to be killed in battle.
Which, as a Swede, can only lead me to the conclusion that most of the English kings that came after him were a bunch of sissies!* Except George III who was Basil Rathbone.
** spoiler omitted **
This was despite Victoria's many forrays into battle. She was once locked in hand-to-hand combat with Rasputin for 36 hours, but it ended when she ripped off his head with her bare hands and drank his blood.
True fact.
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Richard III was the last English king to be killed in battle.
Which, as a Swede, can only lead me to the conclusion that most of the English kings that came after him were a bunch of sissies!* Except George III who was Basil Rathbone.
** spoiler omitted **
This was despite Victoria's many forrays into battle. She was once locked in hand-to-hand combat with Rasputin for 36 hours, but it ended when she ripped off his head with her bare hands and drank his blood.
True fact.
The really remarkable thing about this is that Rasputin survived the experience and would regularly retell the tale over drinks.
Richard III was the last English king to be killed in battle.
Which, as a Swede, can only lead me to the conclusion that most of the English kings that came after him were a bunch of sissies!* Except George III who was Basil Rathbone.
** spoiler omitted **
This was despite Victoria's many forrays into battle. She was once locked in hand-to-hand combat with Rasputin for 36 hours, but it ended when she ripped off his head with her bare hands and drank his blood.
True fact.
I never said anything about the queens.
I hear Queen Anne once singlehandedly took on the whole citizenry of Connemara at hurling and won.
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Queen Anne is dead, so decency forbids me from commenting. Competitive vomiting is still a popular sport in those parts, though.
Queen Victoria, however, was two separate gorillas, which helps to put Celestial Healer's story in context, I think.
Competitive vomiting is still a popular sport in those parts, though.
You called?
-Romans built an estimated total of 250,000 miles of roads.
-It was possible for a free man to voluntarily become a slave as a mean to pay debts. A set amount of work was determined and the individual then spent the required time as a slave, after which he regained his status as free man. Note that Romans did not have a concept of "Person" in the same way we do today, so while as a slave they were considered essentially "self-moving objects" (though self-enslaved individuals had a slightly better situation, as they were understood to be there temporarily).
-It is thought Romans were responsible for the extinction of the European Lion, used for fighting games, although some survived as far as the 10th century. In fact, several species of animals were altoghether exterminated from their habitats specifically due to their use in roman arenas, such as the Nile Hippopotamus and the Auroch. Just in the inaugurational games in the Colisseum, almost 10,000 animals were killed (the source says "over 9,000", in truth).
-The main source of medical discoveries in Rome were injured gladiators. Since doctors had to do their very best to keep them alive but weren't particularly limited in terms of how much pain or suffering they could inflict, quite a few breakthroughs were made that way.
One of Michelle Fairley's (Catelyn Stark in Game of Thrones) earlier screen roles was as the character Kate, in the TV-series Children of the North.