GregR
Footballguy
A collection of mostly useless but sometimes interesting things I've come across.
Links to previous Useless Trivia:
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#46 #47 #48 #49 #50 (100 questions)
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1) True or False. The majority of globes sold in South America feature the South Pole at the top and the North Pole at the bottom of the globe.
2) This celebrity is well known for his cursing, and one swear word in particular. But fewer people realize that the celebrity has problems with stuttering, and something about that particular swear word helps get the problem under control. Name the celebrity.
3) According to National Geographic, the star-nosed mole does this necessary bodily function faster than any other mammal on Earth.
4) True or False. After a space walk, the space suits of astronauts smell like cooked meat.
5) Tardigrades are eight-legged, microscopic creatures who also have a sucker-like pharynx on their faces. They can survive dehydration, freezing, autoclaving, exposure to the vacuum of space, and irradiation. They live in most countries and states. You may have seen them mentioned in science shows or dancing to Taylor Swift on South Park. But probably the most recent time people might have seen them was in this feature film. Name the film.
6) What notable distinction do the following all share?
cymotrichous
knaidel
koinonia
marocain
nunatak
7) True or False. Bumblebees impart an electric charge to flowers which tells other bees to leave the flower alone as having already had its pollen harvested.
8) True or False. Rations given to American soldiers in World War I were often 50% made up of pickles, due to their high amounts of vitamins, plus sodium to prevent dehydration, and being resistant to spoiling.
9) True or False. Toy maker Hasbro is also the largest arms manufacturer in the world.
10) During a lightning storm, you can take shelter inside a car. What about the car protects you?
Links to previous Useless Trivia:
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5
#6 #7 #8 #9 #10
#11 #12 #13 #14 #15
#16 #17 #18 #19 #20
#21 #22 #23 #24 #25
#26 #27 #28 #29 #30
#31 #32 #33 #34 #35
#36 #37 #38 #39 #40
#41 #42 #43 #44 #45
#46 #47 #48 #49 #50 (100 questions)
#51 #52 #53 #54 #55
#56 #57 #58 #59 #60
1) True or False. The majority of globes sold in South America feature the South Pole at the top and the North Pole at the bottom of the globe.
False. Though sometimes maps or globes might be made "south up", often as a political statement, generally north is at the top of such objects.
2) This celebrity is well known for his cursing, and one swear word in particular. But fewer people realize that the celebrity has problems with stuttering, and something about that particular swear word helps get the problem under control. Name the celebrity.
Samuel L Jackson, who finds saying motherf##### to be therapeutic. Why? "I have no idea," Jackson told GQ. "But it just does. It clicks a switch that stops the d-d-d-d, b-b-b-b."
3) According to National Geographic, the star-nosed mole does this necessary bodily function faster than any other mammal on Earth.
Eating. They decide if something is edible in 8 milliseconds and devour their meal (mostly bugs) in less than two-tenths of a second. They owe part of their ability to the extremely efficient operation of their nervous system and partly to their hideous “noses” that look like a starfish. The star, which contains 100,000 nerve fibers contained into a space smaller than your fingertip, is the most sensitive touch organ in any mammal. They are also the only mammal known to smell underwater and again they have their grotesque snouts to thank. Moles blow bubbles into the water and then re-inhale them to catch a whiff of potential prey.
4) True or False. After a space walk, the space suits of astronauts smell like cooked meat.
True. Dying stars create molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These molecules seem to be all over the universe according to NASA's Ames Research Center. And they float around forever, appearing in comets, meteors and space dust. When astronauts are outside the ISS, space-borne compounds adhere to their suits and hitch a ride back into the station. Astronauts have reported smelling "burned" or "fried" steak after a space walk
5) Tardigrades are eight-legged, microscopic creatures who also have a sucker-like pharynx on their faces. They can survive dehydration, freezing, autoclaving, exposure to the vacuum of space, and irradiation. They live in most countries and states. You may have seen them mentioned in science shows or dancing to Taylor Swift on South Park. But probably the most recent time people might have seen them was in this feature film. Name the film.
Antman and the Wasp. Tardigrades were the creatures that went after the minitiarized ship. https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/151/590x/Tardigrade-623201.jpg
6) What notable distinction do the following all share?
cymotrichous
knaidel
koinonia
marocain
nunatak
They were all final, winning words in the National Spelling Bee competition. Cymotrichous (2011) means "having wavy hair". Knaidel (2013) are a type of dumpling found in soup. Koinonia (2018) are a body of religious believers. Marocain (2017) is a fabric. And a nunatak (2015) is a glacial island surrounded by ice and snow but not covered with it.
7) True or False. Bumblebees impart an electric charge to flowers which tells other bees to leave the flower alone as having already had its pollen harvested.
True. A bumblebee generates a positive electrical charge as it flaps its wings and transfers some of the charge to a flower when it lands. Thanks to a 2013 study in the journal Science, experts now know that when bees detect a change in a flower’s charge, they avoid the flower, sensing that another bee has recently removed its pollen.
8) True or False. Rations given to American soldiers in World War I were often 50% made up of pickles, due to their high amounts of vitamins, plus sodium to prevent dehydration, and being resistant to spoiling.
False. As far as I know. Made that one up.
9) True or False. Toy maker Hasbro is also the largest arms manufacturer in the world.
False. Although they do make GI Joe figures, and once made lawn darts, Hasbro doesn't make armaments. That award, based on sales, probably goes to Lockheed Martin, with Boeing coming in second.
10) During a lightning storm, you can take shelter inside a car. What about the car protects you?
Though many people think the rubber tires insulate the car sufficiently, that is not the case. When lightning hits a car, it travels around the outside of the metal car body (and then through the tires) to get to the ground. Just make sure you don't touch anywhere on the car body while you wait out the storm.
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