| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Some World War Trivia. The first two with the answer in spoilers.
Initially, troops were only issued cloth caps in the early days of WW1. Numerous head injuries were recorded. As a result, metal helmets were distributed to the troops. This, however, led to a massive jump in head injuries. Why would that be? Some theories that were suggested included the troops getting foolhardy and thinking the helmets made them invincible, or some severe flaw in their design.
*****
Abraham Wald, a mathematician, noted a problem with WW2 Bomber redesign. The Allies were losing multiple, expensive bombers. Doing a study, the allies found the parts of the bombers that had suffered the heaviest damages on bombing runs, and armoured those areas. Wald immediately noticed the problem, however.
*****
Back in WW1, synchronization gear was the gear designed to allow a fixed forward firing gun on the old model propeller aircraft to shoot forward without shooting up the propeller. The story that this was developed AFTER the first few airplanes shot up their propellers is probably apocryphal.
It was a Canadian medical officer, who was also a chemist, who suggested in reaction to the various poison gasses being used in WW1 to urinate in a cloth and breathe through that to avoid poisoning.
A popular rumour is that parrots were posted at the top of the Eiffel Tower during WW1, as their acute hearing allowed them to detect aircraft well before a human could. There does not appear to be any evidence of this, however.
The Soviet army during WW2 had far more soldiers than they had gear for. It was common to issue one soldier a gun, and another soldier spare bullets, and order the unarmed soldiers to pick up the gun of a fallen soldier and use that.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sean Bean has been killed in a movie by cows, but never by wolves.
Well, of course. Wolves suck at getting enough financing to pay for stars of his pay-grade. Not to mention that they're really bad at giving direction.
Not long after Alan Rickman started to play Severus Snape in the first Harry Potter movie (released in 2001), J.K. Rowling told Rickman some character secrets about Snape that would not be otherwise revealed until the last book. Most significantly, for over seven years, Rickman was one of the very few people other than Rowling to know that Snape had been in love with Lily Evans (later Potter) when they were students at Hogwarts, and both Snape's protection of and antagonism toward Harry came from that. Rowling said that she shared this information with Rickman because "he needed to understand, I think, and does completely understand and did completely understand where this bitterness towards this boy, who's living proof of [Lily's] preference for another man, came from." When the directors of the films would ask him why he was playing a scene a certain way, or delivering a line in a particular manner, Rickman would simply reply that he knew something they didn't.
This is super-awesome, and I'm willing to accept it at face value, but do you have any sort of link or source that I could also share with some of my non-Paizonian buddies?
That cats don't have Owners, they have Staff.
The ridges on the sides of coins are called reeding or milling.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Not long after Alan Rickman started to play Severus Snape in the first Harry Potter movie (released in 2001), J.K. Rowling told Rickman some character secrets about Snape that would not be otherwise revealed until the last book. Most significantly, for over seven years, Rickman was one of the very few people other than Rowling to know that Snape had been in love with Lily Evans (later Potter) when they were students at Hogwarts, and both Snape's protection of and antagonism toward Harry came from that. Rowling said that she shared this information with Rickman because "he needed to understand, I think, and does completely understand and did completely understand where this bitterness towards this boy, who's living proof of [Lily's] preference for another man, came from." When the directors of the films would ask him why he was playing a scene a certain way, or delivering a line in a particular manner, Rickman would simply reply that he knew something they didn't.This is super-awesome, and I'm willing to accept it at face value, but do you have any sort of link or source that I could also share with some of my non-Paizonian buddies?
Its from the trivia about Alan Rickman on IMDB.com. Supposedly, they don't let things like that get posted until after they're verified.
Shortly before her death, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry completed voice-over work as the voice of the Enterprise's main computer for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek remake.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sean Bean has been killed in a movie by cows, but never by wolves.Well, of course. Wolves suck at getting enough financing to pay for stars of his pay-grade. Not to mention that they're really bad at giving direction.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Its from the trivia about Alan Rickman on IMDB.com. Supposedly, they don't let things like that get posted until after they're verified.Not long after Alan Rickman started to play Severus Snape in the first Harry Potter movie (released in 2001), J.K. Rowling told Rickman some character secrets about Snape that would not be otherwise revealed until the last book. Most significantly, for over seven years, Rickman was one of the very few people other than Rowling to know that Snape had been in love with Lily Evans (later Potter) when they were students at Hogwarts, and both Snape's protection of and antagonism toward Harry came from that. Rowling said that she shared this information with Rickman because "he needed to understand, I think, and does completely understand and did completely understand where this bitterness towards this boy, who's living proof of [Lily's] preference for another man, came from." When the directors of the films would ask him why he was playing a scene a certain way, or delivering a line in a particular manner, Rickman would simply reply that he knew something they didn't.This is super-awesome, and I'm willing to accept it at face value, but do you have any sort of link or source that I could also share with some of my non-Paizonian buddies?
Indeed! If we can't trust IMDB, then we might as well stick a fork in Western Civilization!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
When the Pogues recorded their cover of the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem's version of "Whiskey, You're The Devil," singer Shane McGowan had only learned the song phonetically, and consequently got some of the lyrics wrong. The fact that he was known for going into the studio (and on stage) falling-down drunk probably didn't help things. For example:
Clancy Bros. version:
Whiskey, you're the Devil, you're leadin' me astray
Over hills and mountains, into Americae
You're sweeter, stronger, decent-er, you're spunkier than tae
Oh, Whiskey, you're me darlin' drunk or sober
Pogues version:
Whiskey, you're the Devil, you're leadin' me astray
Over hills and mountains, into Americae
Your sweetness from the bleach in her, you're spunkier than tae
Oh, Whiskey, you're me darlin' drunk or sober
I'd get lyrics wrong too if I drank my whiskey with a side of bleach.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
With the way he looks, I'd not rule out the possibility MacGowan used to do just that.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
With the way he looks, I'd not rule out the possibility MacGowan used to do just that.
That would certainly explain how he lost all his teeth. He's gotten that fixed in recent years, though.
The next A Song of Ice and Fire calendar (for next year) will feature art by Magali Villeneuve.
With the way he looks, I'd not rule out the possibility MacGowan used to do just that.That would certainly explain how he lost all his teeth. He's gotten that fixed in recent years, though.
Crikey! It's like one of those uncanny valley things.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Limpet teeth are found to have the highest tensile strength among biomaterials, outperforming spider silk.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Before today, 34-year-old American cross-country skier Caitlin Gregg only had one top-30 finish at world level. Today she finished 3rd in the World Championship's 10-km race.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Limpet teeth are found to have the highest tensile strength among biomaterials, outperforming spider silk.
Huh. {adjusts Don Knotts' CR higher}
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Limpet teeth are found to have the highest tensile strength among biomaterials, outperforming spider silk.Huh. {adjusts Don Knotts' CR higher}
I know! For a seaslug, he does a great impression of a fish! No wonder the krauts never had a chance!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
On this day in 1836, American inventor and industrialist Samuel Colt received a patent for a "revolving gun", later known as a revolver.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
For the dinner scene in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, none of the cast wanted to actually eat the food served to them (which partially consisted of blue-colored squid). Nicholas Meyer then made an offer that anyone who took a bite of the food, he would pay them $20 for every shot of them eating. William Shatner, was the only one who actually took bites, and he did it for 17 shots, meaning Meyer had to pay Shatner $340 to do so. Shatner later goes on to say he did it to get revenge on Meyer who broke a promise to him concerning the "Let them die" scene earlier in the film.
Alexis Denisof was considered for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale.
As were Karl Urban, Henry Cavill, Sam Worthington, and Goran Višnjić.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
On this date in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act of the U.S. Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.
"That's one big freaking hole in the ground."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The Baldwin family...
I'm so conflicteeeeeeeeeeeeed!
thanks for helping me to resolve my conflict.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Neutronium is a proposed name for a substance composed purely of neutrons. The word was coined by scientist Andreas von Antropoff in 1926 (before the discovery of the neutron) for the conjectured "element of atomic number zero" that he placed at the head of the periodic table. However, the meaning of the term has changed over time, and from the last half of the 20th century onward it has been also used legitimately to refer to extremely dense substances resembling the neutron-degenerate matter theorized to exist in the cores of neutron stars. Science fiction and popular literature frequently use the term "neutronium" to refer to a highly dense phase of matter composed primarily of neutrons.
The David Bowie song Kooks was written for his son, movie director Duncan Jones, shortly after he was born.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Leonard Nimoy died this morning. Life is not as much fun as it was before I found this out.
Leonard Nimoy died this morning. Life is not as much fun as it was before I found this out.
:(
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Live for those who can't.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Unfortunate news. But he lived a full life, and provided joy to many people.
******
Alyson Court, the actress who provided the voice for Claire Redfield in most of her depictions throughout the Resident Evil series, is a Canadian children's show actress, with her most famous role being Loonette the Clown, the host of The Big Comfy Couch.
At the end of Portal, a metal hoop falls to the ground in front of you. The developers assumed this hoop would become a meme and expected the internet to make a big deal of "Hoopy the Hoop." This never really happened, with the Weighted Companion Cube and "The Cake is a Lie" catching on instead.
Portal 2 has Cave Johnson suffering from an affliction caused by moon rock dust. Real moon rock dust is actually very harmful if inhaled. Because of the lack of erosion on the moon, moon rock dust is razor sharp, and too small to expel through the normal methods used by your lungs. Inhaling it is similar to inhaling asbestos. (And would cause similar coughing problems like Cave had near the end of his life.)
Mega Man 6 almost didn't make it to US shores. The game was released near the end of the NES's life. Capcom figured it would be unprofitable to port the game, but Nintendo themselves paid to have the game localized and released over here.
During the age of the Atari's dominance of the console market, many companies got into game production, having new divisions established purely for making games, even companies that had no relation to the electronics industry at the time. Quaker Oats, for instance, had a games division for a while.
The Colecovision, one of the more powerful game console systems before the NES, got its name by its parent company, Coleco. Coleco is short for the COnnecticut LEather COmpany.
Alexis Denisof was considered for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale.He'd have been a better choice than Danny Craig.
nonsense. Craig is wonderful as bond, it's the storyline that needs help.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
nonsense. Craig is wonderful as bond, it's the storyline that needs help.Alexis Denisof was considered for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale.He'd have been a better choice than Danny Craig.
Honestly, I couldn't have cared who played Bond in that one. All I cared about was Eva Green.
|
|
During World War II, Theodor Geisel joined the US Army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries. Geisel recieved an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 1945 for his writing and production of the propaganda piece Hitler Lives (1945) (a/k/a Your Job in Germany (1945) and in 1947 for Best Documentary (Feature) for Design for Death (1947)).