Stuff you didn't know and probably don't care about

Charmonium

Diamond Member
May 15, 2015
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Useless info from all sources is welcome. I love wisegeek's one per day factoids. Here's today's

Despite the Great Depression crippling countries around the world, the 1932 Summer Olympic Games went on in Los Angeles as scheduled, even though many countries could not afford to send athletes. Fewer than half of those who competed in Amsterdam in 1928 returned, and those who did travel to Los Angeles had to go to great lengths to be able to afford it. For example, Brazil's Olympians were forced to load a ship full of coffee beans to sell at ports along the way, just to be able to pay the $1 per athlete disembarkation tax charged at the Port of Los Angeles.
http://www.wisegeek.com/how-poor-was-the-brazilian-olympic-team-in-1932.htm

More at link.
 
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GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
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Brazil's Olympians were forced to load a ship full of coffee beans to sell at ports along the way, just to be able to pay the $1 per athlete disembarkation tax charged at the Port of Los Angeles.

They should have sailed into Mexico and then jumped the border. They could have saved the $1 and gotten an education and free health care.
 

master_shake_

Diamond Member
May 22, 2012
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Babe Didrikson brought home two gold medals for the United States, winning the javelin and hurdles events. Poland's Stanislawa Walasiewicz won gold in the women's 100 meters race, but after her death in 1980, it was determined that "she" was a "he."
lol.

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you don't say.
 

Sonikku

Lifer
Jun 23, 2005
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Psh they had it easy! Crap they did to get a gold medal probably wouldn't get you the bronze today.
 

Charmonium

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May 15, 2015
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Catnip is 100 times more effective at repelling cockroaches than DEET

http://www.wisegeek.com/will-cockroaches-eat-catnip.htm

Cockroaches will not eat catnip, which is why it can be used as a nontoxic repellent against insects. Iowa State University researchers found that nepetalactone, the chemical in catnip that attracts cats, effectively repels cockroaches. In fact, nepetalactone from catnip was found to repel cockroaches 100 times better than DEET, the common commercial repellent for cockroaches, mosquitoes, and other insects.
Although scientists don't know exactly why cockroaches are repelled by the nepetalactone in catnip, this discovery could have a positive impact on pest control. Nepetalactone could be used to prevent infestations from reoccurring after an extermination, or it could serve as a preventative measure to reduce the need for more toxic chemicals.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
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Catnip is 100 times more effective at repelling cockroaches than DEET

http://www.wisegeek.com/will-cockroaches-eat-catnip.htm

Scientific programs have told me deet works by disrupting a mosquitoe's ability to sense a heat source, which they depend on to help find a warm-blooded host. So it doesn't even really "repel" mosquitoes, but it makes it difficult for them to find you.

I don't understand why deet would repel cockroaches at all. It's like saying catnip is 100x more effective at repelling cockroaches than roach food.
 
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May 11, 2008
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Penis head fish : :eek:

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http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d...-fish-with-genitals-on-its-chin/#.Vu7YH3ow2Uk

Phallostethus cuulong was swimming quietly in Vietnam’s Mekong River, minding its own business, when humans discovered the fish in 2009. And now that researchers have described P. cuulong [pdf], we can’t help violating its privacy by gazing unabashed at its most interesting feature. That feature sits on the throat in the form of a priapium, an organ with as many parts as a Swiss Army knife, most of which contribute to a single function: making as many babies as possible.

P. cuulong is the most recently discovered species of 22 known priapiumfish, a family whose males have replaced their penises with muscular priapia, formed from the modified bones of the pectoral and pelvic fins. In addition to an anal opening and a genital pore, the priapium includes a rod and a serrated hook for grabbing a female’s head to keep her throat, and its oviduct opening, close to the genital pore. A firm grip lets the priapium fertilize the female internally without losing too many sperm. Although it sounds uncomfortable, this mating method is actually very effective: Researchers have found female priapiumfish with full oviducts, ensuring that just about all of their eggs get fertilized. Gives a whole new meaning to the term “necking,” doesn’t it?
 
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shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
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My cat never liked catnip.

He was broken.

Born without a tail. Slept on his back. Only ate flowers, never grass. Sick little kitty.
 
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Charmonium

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Polar bears are invisible to infrared

Polar bears are native to the icy regions surrounding the Arctic Circle. They spend much of their time on sheets of drifting sea ice, but they can also go on land or swim in the Arctic Ocean. In order to survive such frigid temperatures, polar bears have a heavy fur coat that covers a thick layer of body fat. Polar bear fur traps heat in two ways -- through small pockets of air that can then warm the body, and though infrared radiation which occurs when their fur absorbs heat from sunlight. In fact, polar bear fur traps heat so well that infrared cameras, which rely on emissions of body heat to create images, often can’t spot them.
 

Vdubchaos

Lifer
Nov 11, 2009
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Of course I know about this and care about it. If more American's took time to learn and study the past, they wouldn't be as ignorant and naive about what's going on TODAY. History tends to repeat itself!

If one doesn't care or know the history, how can you live the future?

History is the best indicator of the future!
 

Charmonium

Diamond Member
May 15, 2015
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The dying wish of the inventor of frisbee golf

When it comes to dying wishes, some people have made fairly odd requests about what to do with their remains. Some people want to be buried in their favorite car. Others have items of personal significance buried with them, like a CD of favorite music. One strange request came from Ed Headrick, the inventor of Frisbee golf (also known as disc golf). According to his family, Headrick asked to be cremated and his ashes mixed with plastic and molded into a commemorative Frisbee.
When Headrick died in 2002, that dying wish became a reality, and a line of very special commemorative Frisbees was produced, incorporating Headrick's ashes into the plastic. The "Steady Ed Memorial Discs" are still available for sale from the Disc Golf Association's online store. All proceeds from the commemorative Frisbees go towards the Ed Headrick Memorial Museum, part of the PDGA International Disc Golf Center in Appling, Georgia.
Before he died, Headrick also made it clear that he didn't want a funeral. He said that if there was going to be a party, he wanted to attend, so his family threw "Steady" Ed Headrick a big party shortly before his death.
 

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
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Obligatory sick kitty pic.

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We have a Kittah the vet still calls the Miracle cat.

He had a really bad internal infection when he was young, he even was at the vets several months, they even asked if we wanted to put him down at that time.

The wife and I even spent a lot of time with him when he came out, he's went 10 years past that, he gets mobbed by everyone in the vets office whenever he goes in. He's almost a celebrity there.

Even had a new vet in the place thought he might have tumors one time, everyone told her about it just a scar tissue thing.

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