The Random Facts You Were Completely Oblivious About Until Fairly Recently Thread

[Buttons*]

The platypus and the echidna are the only two egg laying mammals in the world, both are native to Australia. that means, they are hatched from eggs and suckled my their mothers. The male platypus has poison spurs on it's hind legs.

you just recently figured that out?

 

[lunamoth]

When they sent the first specimens of a dead platypus back to England just after Australia was settled by Europeans. People in England thought it to be a hoax. A composite made up of several cleverly stitched together animals.

You mean it's not!

 

[tcprowling]

you just recently figured that out?

LOL well at least they do more then sitting around eating bamboo LOL

 

[tcprowling]

You mean it's not!

Shhhhh!

 

[Buttons*]

LOL well at least they do more then sitting around eating bamboo LOL

darling, i do more than you'd think

 

[Pah]

Boxing is the most lethal of all bodily contact martial arts though a specialized form of kick boxing comes close

 

[McBell]

two chapters in the Bible, 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37, are alike almost word for word.

In the history of printing, several early English Bibles are famous not so much for their workmanship or their beauty as for their textual idosyncrasies. A few examples,
The Breeches Bible (1560)--So named because it states that Adam and Eve "sewed fig leeves together and made breeches."
The Bug Bible (1551)--So named because of an incorrect translation of a line in the Ninety-first Psalm. The line "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night" reads "Thou shalt not be afraid of any buggies by night."
The Treacle Bible (1568)--So named because it uses the word "treacle" for "balm" in the line "Is there no balm in Gilead?"

 

[Capt. Haddock]

There are twelve countries in the world that have more than one capital city:

http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/multiplecapital.htm


An American from Tennessee named William Walker was elected president of Nicaragua in 1856. He launched a series of invasions of neighboring Central American countries and was eventually overthrown by the US Navy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_%28soldier%29

 

[Circle_One]

A Tiger Shark's teeth are so sharp, they can bite through a turtle shell like we can bite through and apple.

 

[Bastet]

I recently learned that kittens can be spayed as early as two months old.

They can, but they have to cut their tummy open down the middle as opposed to going in through the side like they do with older cats. My kitty had to be done that way because she was small for her age and the RSPCA wouldn't let me take her without her being spayed. Now she has a permanent floppy belly. For which I give her much crap.

 

[Bastet]

I know there is one thing I learned recently that was really a surprise to me....and now I can't think of it.

I'm afraid I'm having the same problem. But I've been doped up on painkillers all week, so I'm using that as my excuse. My brain is mush.

 

[Yerda]

Elephants can make really appreciable paintings.

 

[yippityyak]

An octopus has 3 hearts and an electric eel can produce enough electricity in one shock to light up an entire house!

 

[tcprowling]

an elephant cannot jump

 

[Halcyon]

Pigs are the only animal (or is it mammal, i forgot already ) that cannot look up.

 

[tcprowling]

A cough releases an explosive charge of air that moves at speeds up to 60 mph.​

A fetus acquires fingerprints at the age of three months.
A fingernail or toenail takes about 6 months to grow from base to tip.
A healthy individual releases 3.5 oz. of gas in a single flatulent emission, or about 17 oz. in a day.
A human being loses an average of 40 to 100 strands of hair a day.
A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a few weeks.
A sneeze can exceed the speed of 100 mph.
According to German researchers, the risk of heart attack is higher on Monday than any other day of the week.

 

[Bastet]

A zebra is white with black stripes.

I read this little tidbit last night...turns out it was perfect timing. Thanks, TC! I went into work this morning and a guy who'd worked last night had written in the 'diary' we use to communicate important stuff to each other in the cafe. His words of wisdom were:

Hey Meg,
The sky is blue. Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? These are the questions...

He was trying to be funny, but I wrote in the answer anyway. I'm such a dork.

 

[Bastet]

A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a few weeks.

Hey, that lack of sleep one was an episode of 'House'!

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Thier is less than 1/10 of an ounce on average in a bottle of Goldshlager.
Schnaps (real schnapps), can be made from cereal.

 

[MaddLlama]

That Phil is not in his 20's :cover:

Seriously, I thought he was around 26-29 until this morning when I actually thought to look.