{ the knowledge base }

Switching letters is called spoonerism

2009-06-30T10:40:00.001-04:00

SPOONERISM. [From the name of the Reverend W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), Dean and Warden of New College, Oxford]. The transposition of the initial sounds of words, as in ket of seas (set of keys). The eponymous Spooner was reputed to make errors of this type, and a number of utterances are quoted as ‘original spoonerisms’: a well-boiled icicle (a well-oiled bicycle), a scoop of Boy Trouts (a troop of Boy Scouts), and You have hissed all my mystery lectures and tasted a whole worm. http://www.encyclopedia.com

Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, but women’s shirts have the buttons on the left.

2009-06-30T10:37:00.002-04:00

Around 90 per cent of the world's population is right-handed, and it is easier for right-handers to button shirts from the right. So why do women's garments button from the left?

This is an example in which history seems to matter. When buttons first appeared in the 17th century, they were seen only on garments of the wealthy. At that time it was the custom for rich men to dress themselves and for women to be dressed by servants.

Having women's shirts button from the left thus made things easier for the mostly right-handed servants who dressed them. Having men's shirts button from the right made sense not only because most men dressed themselves, but also because a sword drawn from the left hip with the right hand would be less likely to become caught in the shirt. Today, virtually no women are dressed by servants, so why is buttoning from the left still the norm for women?
In economics, a norm, once established, resists change.

2nd Explanation
"When a man sat astride a horse and rode on the left side of the road he was able to fight an approaching rider by using a sword in his right hand. To retrieve the sword from his left hip, he would pull back his coat with his left hand and grasp the sword with his right. This meant that the left side of his coat had to overlap the right side.
"Women in those days rode side-saddle with both legs on the left side of the horse. When riding into a wind, wearing a man's coat would have allowed a draft through any gaps under the left side between the buttons. By having the right side overlap the left, this problem was avoided." http://answers.yahoo.com/

The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’

2009-06-30T10:37:00.001-04:00

The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’, but for ‘and’ (in civil proceedings) or ‘against’ (in criminal proceedings).

Yankee Doodle originated as a pre-Revolutionary War song to mock the dishevelled, disorganized colonial "Yankees"

2009-05-22T10:24:00.002-04:00

"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known British song the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War (The French & Indian War). The song originally was sung by British military officers to mock the dishevelled, disorganized colonial "Yankees" with whom they served.

The word doodle means a fool or simpleton, and is thought to derive from the Low German dudel or dödel, meaning "fool" or "simpleton". The mention of 'Macaroni' is a reference to an over the top sense of fashion and the men who took part in it, who were often referred to as the "Macaroni Club".

However, it is now currently sung patriotically in the United States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_doodle

Dentists recommend that you keep your toothbrush at least 6 feet away from a toilet

2009-05-21T16:20:00.000-04:00

Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six (6) feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush. Being stored unprotected on countertops or in toothbrush holders, toothbrushes are vulnerable to contamination from airborne bacteria, such as from a flushing toilet. Scientists commonly find coliform bacteria (E. coli). (GROSS!) http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/

10 Household Products Facts

2009-05-21T16:10:00.002-04:00

21 Useless Facts about Your Household Products

Approximately 18 billion disposable diapers end up in landfills each year that takes as long as 500 years to finally decompose all of them

Early Romans used to use porcupine quills as toothpicks.

The first commercial microwave oven was the size of a refrigerator.

Mosquito repellents don’t repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito’s sensors so they don’t know your there.

It took engineers 22 years to design the zipper.

Non-dairy creamer is flammable

The end of a hammer, opposite the striking end, is called a peen

More than $1 billion is spent each year on neck ties in the United States

The first toilet being flushed in a motion picture was in the movie “Psycho”

Hummingbirds can't walk

2009-05-21T16:08:00.002-04:00

Hummingbirds' feet are too tiny to walk.

Mythical Creatures

2009-05-05T09:43:00.003-04:00

Chimera: fire-breathing female monster withbody of a lioness and a head of a goat on her spine, with a tail ending in a serpent's head
Basilisk: a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance
Cockatrice: monster hatched by a reptile from a cock's egg; able to kill with a glance
Grindylows: pale green water monsters who use their long, brittle fingers to grab little children who get too close to the edge of lakes, ponds, and streams
Gryphon: winged monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion
Harpy: vicious winged monster; often depicted as a bird with the head of a woman
Kraken: island-sized sea monsters said to roam the waters around Scandinavia
Manticore: a mythical monster having the head of man (with horns) and the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion
Sphinx: a mythical monster having the head of man (with horns) and the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion
Tomte: a tiny, bearded old man who resides with farms in Scandinavia. They are easily offended, and must be appeased with gifts, lest they cause mischief or misfortune around the farm
Unicorn: a mythical creature with the body of a horse, goat beards, lion tails, and a horn. Known for being solitary and gentle, but fierce when absolutely necessary.

e.g. vs. i.e.

2009-04-27T16:18:00.002-04:00

The Latin abbreviations e.g. and i.e. are used extensively in English. Not everyone, however, is aware of the difference in their usage. Some people use them interchangeably. Others even invert their meaning. If you are not completely sure when to use each of those abbreviations, keep reading!

e.g.
e.g. stands for the Latin phrase “exempli gratia,” which means “for the sake of example.” You should use it when presenting examples or more possibilities for the term in question. An easy way to remember this is to associate e.g. with “example given.” I like citrus fruits (e.g., oranges and lemons)

i.e.
i.e. Stands for the Latin phrase “id est,” which means “that is.” You should use it when explaining or rephrasing a sentence. Usually it has the same meaning as “in other words.” I like all fruits (i.e., I eat pretty much anything)
http://www.dailywritingtips.com

Suicides are more common in spring

2009-04-23T13:15:00.001-04:00

Suicides more commonly occur earlier in the day, at the beginning of the week and during springtime, new research has found. They found that visits to hospital following acts of self-harm fell temporarily during certain events such as Christmas and Easter holidays. However no association was found between the frequency of acts of self-harm and the menstrual cycle or Valentine's Day. http://www.irishhealth.com

The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets

2009-04-17T12:42:00.000-04:00

The word "aglet" (or "aiglet") comes from Old French "aguillette" (or "aiguillette"), which is the diminutive of "aguille" (or "aiguilee"), meaning "needle". This in turn comes from "acus", the original Latin word for needle. An aglet is thus like a small "needle" at the end of a cord. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aglet

A manual car gets better gas mileage than an automatic

2009-04-17T12:40:00.001-04:00

A car that shifts manually gets 2 miles more per gallon of gas than a car with automatic shift.

There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people.

2009-04-17T12:39:00.002-04:00

The kangaroo population is estimated at about 40 million.

The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69

2009-04-14T15:14:00.002-04:00

From 1725-1765, a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets.

Fears

2009-04-14T14:39:00.002-04:00

Odontophobia: Fear of teeth
Lachanophobia: Fear of vegetables
Dutchphobia: Fear of the Dutch
Chromophobia or Chromatophobia: Fear of colors
Zemmiphobia: Fear of the great mole rat
Metrophobia: Fear or hatred of poetry
Megalophobia: Fear of large things
Decidophobia: Fear of making decisions
Myctophobia: Fear of darkness
Anthrophobia: Fear of flowers
Peladophobia: Fear of bald people
Symbolophobia: Fear of symbolism

The first autofill answer when typing "is" in google is "is Santa real"

2009-04-03T13:40:00.002-04:00

When typing "is", the first 10 autofill answers in order are :

Is Santa real
Is Lil Wayne dead
Is Obama the anti-christ
Is Yours Jason Mraz lyrics
Is bronchitis contagious
Is pneumonia contagious
Is Obama muslim
Is Walmart open on Christmas
Is Obama a US Citizen
Is limewire illegal

Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music

2009-04-02T16:21:00.001-04:00

There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”

2009-04-02T16:15:00.000-04:00

tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. http://www.askoxford.com

A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time

2009-04-01T13:57:00.001-04:00

A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. An alternate meaning is also 33.3564 picoseconds. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictJ.html

Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married

2009-04-01T13:51:00.000-04:00

Catfish have 100,000 taste buds

2009-04-01T13:48:00.001-04:00

A catfish has approximately 100,000 taste buds...on the outside of its body. Humans have only 10,000 taste buds and only on their tongues

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

2009-03-30T12:41:00.001-04:00

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb

2009-03-30T12:37:00.002-04:00

This has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb. In 1782 Judge Sir Francis Buller is reported as having made this legal ruling.

It seems that Buller was hard done by. He was notoriously harsh in his punishments, but there's no evidence that he ever made the ruling that he is infamous for. Edward Foss, in his authoritative work The The Judges of England, 1870, wrote that, despite a searching investigation, "no substantial evidence has been found that he ever expressed so ungallant an opinion". http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rule-of-thumb.html

Venus is the only planet to rotate clockwise

2009-03-26T13:12:00.003-04:00

If viewed from above the Sun's north pole, all of the planets are orbiting in a counter-clockwise direction; but while most planets also rotate counter-clockwise, Venus rotates clockwise in retrograde rotation. The question of how Venus came to have a slow, retrograde rotation was a major puzzle for scientists when the planet's rotation period was first measured. One theory is when it formed from the solar nebula, Venus would have had a much faster, prograde rotation, but calculations show that over billions of years, tidal effects on its dense atmosphere could have slowed down its initial rotation to the value seen today. A more chaotic theory is that during our solar system's creation, a large object struck Venus forcing it to spin in a clockwise rotation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus

Before drummer Will Champion joined the band Coldplay he had no previous experience of playing drums

2009-03-26T13:09:00.002-04:00

However, the multi-instrumentalist picked up the drums quickly and earned fulltime duties on the band. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Champion

There are people who can actually see, smell and physically taste music

2009-03-26T13:05:00.001-04:00

This is an example of a phenomenon known as synesthesia. Synesthesia is a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.

While cross-sensory metaphors (e.g., "loud shirt," "bitter wind" or "prickly laugh") are sometimes described as "synesthetic," true neurological synesthesia is involuntary. It is estimated that synesthesia could possibly be as prevalent as 1 in 23 persons across its range of variants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synaesthesia

The number of school-age kids with peanut allergies has doubled in the past decade

2009-03-24T13:17:00.000-04:00

Scientists can't quite put their finger on what makes the legume such a threat or why the allergy has become so prevalent. Theories abound, though, and most involve an overactive immune system. "We have done such a good job of eliminating the threats that the immune system is supposed to manage, that it's looking for something to do," says Anne Muñoz-Furlong, CEO of the nonprofit Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. http://www.popsci.com

Turtles often bury their eggs in alligator nests

2009-03-24T12:00:00.001-04:00

The mother alligator guards her nest so well it ensures the safety of the turtles as well. Females sneak into the territory of nesting alligators and bury their eggs in the mound of vegetation created by the mother alligator to protect and incubate her own eggs. In so doing, the turtles gain protection from nest predators due to the presence of the female alligator,and reap the benefits of the warmth generated by the decomposing vegetation of the gator nest. http://www.stetson.edu/

The depressed area of skin under your nose and above your upper lip is called your philtrum.

2009-03-23T15:07:00.001-04:00

The philtrum allows humans to express a much larger range of lip motions than would otherwise be possible, which enhances vocal and nonverbal communication. The ancient Greeks believed that the philtrum was one of the most erogenous spots on the human body, hence the etymology. According to the Jewish Talmud (Niddah 30b), God sends an angel to each womb and teaches a baby all the wisdom that can be obtained. Just before the unborn baby comes out, the angel touches it between the upper lip and the nose and all that it has taught the baby is forgotten.

The aquatic ape hypothesis provides a potential explanation for the philtrum. The hooded nose in the human species is seen as an adaptation that is not seen in the apes, preventing water from entering the nasal passage while swimming.

Each jaw of the Venus flytrap can only close a few times before dying

2009-03-23T14:58:00.002-04:00

Contrary to popular belief, Venus flytraps do not make acids. The digestion process is in fact caused by enzymes secreted by glands in the trap. The enzymes reduce the protein in the bug, reducing it to a skeleton. The trap then reopens, ready for reuse. Traps typically only open or close three times before dying. (So don't stick your finger in it!) http://flytrapgrowing.info/category/science/

The ubiquitous garden earthworms are not indigenous to the U.S.

2009-03-19T20:19:00.000-04:00

They came over in the mud on the boots and on the roots of the crops the colonists brought over.

When referring to China, make sure to say the People’s Republic of China.

2009-03-19T20:10:00.000-04:00

When referring to China, make sure to say the People’s Republic of China. Leave off “People’s,” and you’re talking about Taiwan.

A stone means 14 lbs.

2009-03-19T20:09:00.001-04:00

1 stone = 14lb.

It's an English unit of weight

A sculpture of Darth Vader’s head appears on the Washington National Cathedral as a grotesque (similar to a gargoyle)

2009-03-18T13:28:00.004-04:00

In the 1980s, while the west towers were construction, Washington National Cathedral held a decorative sculpture competition for children. Word of the competition was spread nationwide through National Geographic World Magazine. The third-place winner was Christopher Rader, with his drawing of that fearful villain, Darth Vader. The fierce head was sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, carved by Patrick J. Plunkett, and placed high upon the northwest tower of the Cathedral. http://www.nationalcathedral.org/

In the UK, G.I. Joe is called Action Man

2009-03-18T13:23:00.001-04:00

From 1966 through 1984, Palitoy Ltd. produced a British version of the 12-inch G.I. Joe line, under the Action Man name for the UK market. Initially, these were the exact same designs as the American figures, and at first the same military theme which included figures from World War II. The line later expanded the line to include all men of action, like footballers and other sports figures.

Every hour one billion cells in the body must be replaced.

2009-03-17T15:21:00.001-04:00

The small intestine in the human body is about 2 inches around, and 22 feet long.
The human body has approximately 37,000 miles of capillaries.
There are as many hairs per square inch on your body as a chimpanzee. You don't see all of them because most are too fine and light to be noticed.

PRetzels were invented by an Italian monk as a bribe to get kids to memorize scripture.

2009-03-17T13:51:00.000-04:00

In fact, the criss-crossed bits are supposed to represent the folded arms of pious children in prayer. He called the strips of baked dough that were folded to resemble arms crossing the chest, 'pretiola' ("little rewards").

In the 16th century, the German tradition of eating pretzels during Good Friday dinner was introduced. It is said that the shape of the pretzel is like that of praying hands.

All kittens are born with blue eyes

2009-03-16T09:30:00.004-04:00

Melanin, the brown pigment molecule that colors skin, hair, and eyes, hasn't been fully deposited in the irises of their eyes or darkened by exposure to ultraviolet light. The iris is the colored part of the eye that controls the amount of light that is allowed to enter.

The color of a kitten's eyes changes from the blue-gray color to the adult color usually by 7 weeks of age. The color usually changes to gold, green, or copper. The exception is Siamese kittens or kittens that are mixed with Siamese. Their eyes are blue as kittens and stay blue. http://chemistry.about.com

Black-eyed peas aren’t peas, but beans. And coffee beans aren’t beans, but seeds.

2009-03-16T09:30:00.003-04:00

Bean is the name of many herbs of the Legume or Pea Family and their edible pods and seeds. But bean is also loosely applied to the pods or seeds of various trees and shrubs (as tamarind?coffee). In America, when used without qualification, the term refers to horticultural varieties of Phaseolus. The term pea refers only to the genus Pisum when used for the true peas. These are closely related to the very popular southern pea in that both are legumes (Family: Leguminosae). Southern peas are actually beans (Vigna sinensis) Also, peas have tendrils and beans do not. Also, vine growth patterns are different. Seed food storage structures (cotyledons) on beans emerge from the soil whereas on peas, they do not.

Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs.

2009-03-15T10:50:00.005-04:00

Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young like marsupials and placental mammals.

They also are among the small number of mammalian species known to:

- be capable of electroreception (or the biological ability to perceive electrical impulses)
- not have communication between the right and left brain hemisphere
- have their urinary, defecatory, and reproductive systems all open into a single duct

The only surviving examples of monotremes are all indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. They are the platypus and the echidna.

The U.S. constitutes about 5% of the world population, but uses more than 30% of its natural resources

2009-03-15T10:44:00.003-04:00

8 motor vehicles are on the roads in China for every 1,000 Chinese citizens

750 motor vehicles are on the roads in the U.S. for every 1,000 U.S. citizens

15 kilograms of paper are consumed annually by each person in the developing world

333 kilograms of paper are consumed annually by each person in the U.S.

20 percent of the world's population lives in industrialized nations

75 percent of the world's pollutants and waste are produced by industrialized nations

8 billion dollars are spent each year on cosmetics in the U.S.

9 billion dollars would be needed each year (in addition to current expenditures) to provide water and sanitation for all people in developing nations. http://www.grist.org

Shaving legs (women) became popular in WWI

2009-03-14T10:03:00.001-04:00

In the May 1915 issue of Harper's Bazaar, they ran an ad of a young woman in a dress with next to no sleeves. She had her arms raised above her head and showed bare armpits. The copy of the ad read in part, "Summer Dress and Modern Dancing combine to make necessary the removal of objectionable hair."

A few months later, various ads promoted underarm shaving for hygienic reasons. One ad stated "The Woman of Fashion says the underarm must be as smooth as the face".

By 1917, McCall's magazine started featuring ads opposing arm hair. By 1922, the Sears catalogue started advertising women's razors and hair removal products. Many of the ads coincided with an increase in sleeveless dresses and tops.

Leg hair took much longer to conquer. It wasn't until World War Two that shaving leg hair became popular. Some attribute this phenomenon to a pin-up poster of Betty Grable showing off her bare legs. At the same time, skirts were becoming shorter and stockings were becoming sheer.

A Mercurian day is longer than its year.

2009-03-13T12:06:00.000-04:00

Mercury revolves around the sun very quickly, but rotates around its axis very, very slowly. One day on Mercury (sunrise to sunrise) is longer than one year on Mercury (one orbit around the Sun).

Mercurian Year: A year on Mercury takes 87.97 Earth days; it takes 87.97 Earth days for Mercury to orbit the sun once.

Mercurian Sidereal Day: Each sidereal day on Mercury takes 58.65 Earth days; it takes Mercury 58.65 days (2/3's of its year) to rotate around its axis once. One day on Mercury seems to last two Mercurian years (or 176 Earth days), i.e., sunrise to sunrise. It is daytime for one Mercurian year, and nighttime for one Mercurian year. http://www.enchantedlearning.com

There are no wild tigers in Africa

2009-03-13T12:00:00.000-04:00

Contrary to the widely held belief, there never have been any wild tigers in Africa. That fact comes as a surprise to most people. Lions, leopards, and cheetah are the big cats in Africa, along with a few less familiar feline cousins. Tigers are strictly Asian cats. http://www.tigerfdn.com/

Snails can sleep for 3 years.

2009-03-12T14:51:00.000-04:00

We're lucky to even see them move! The reason snails sleep is they alike many other animals hibernate. Hibernation means that they sleep when weather becomes excessively cold, this is a necessity in survival. Snails will bury themselves in the ground and close their shells off with their own slime. It is also been known some species of desert snails can do this for years before actually dying. http://www.associatedcontent.com/

Men are struck by lightning four times more often than women.

2009-03-12T13:15:00.001-04:00

Although there haven’t been any studies on the topic, a good guess is that perhaps men are more likely to be employed in outdoor jobs such as roofing, are more likely to engage in outdoor recreation like hiking or golfing.

Ostriches do not actually bury their heads in the sand

2009-03-11T11:19:00.000-04:00

When an ostrich senses danger and cannot run away, it flops to the ground and remains still, with its head and neck flat on the ground in front of it. Because the head and neck are lightly colored, they blend in with the color of the soil. From a distance, it just looks like the ostrich has buried its head in the sand, because only the body is visible. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-ostrich.html http://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/ostrich-facts.htm