May 2010
31 posts
9 tags
Two Dollar Bills (5/31/10)
The 2-dollar bill was discontinued in 1966, but reintroduced 10 years later as a part of the U.S. Bicentennial celebrations (WOOHOO!!!!!…). Currently, the usage of $2 bills is increasing. For instance, strip clubs will hand out $2’s for change instead of singles, so the strippers get mo’ money. I think most people I know have a $2 bill. Either your grandma gave you one. Or...
4 tags
Origin of Centaurs (5/30/10)
The most common theory as to the origin of the centaur (half-man, half-horse) comes from the first reaction of the non-riding culture (such as the Bronze Age Greeks) when they encountered nomads who were riding horses. The Minoan Aegean culture, which hadn’t tamed horses, were baffled by the arrival of Central Asian nomads who not only looked different, but also rode horses. The non-riding...
5 tags
Check out those melons (5/29/10)
Watermelon breeders cross a diploid plant (2 sets of chromosomes) with a tetraploid plant (4 sets of chromosomes) to get a triploid plant (3 sets). This seed grows fruits that rarely develop seeds. Enter the seedless watermelon! I have seen some pretty raunchy videos of watermelons breeding. It’s not for the faint of heart.
6 tags
Cousins (5/28/10)
The child of your cousin is your second cousin. Not your second niece or second nephew. Or any other family member. Unless you are in Arkansas, where the rules are different.
8 tags
Poison vs. Poison Ivy (5/27/10)
Urushiol is the oily allergen found in poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac that causes rashes. The stuff is extremely potent. Apparently, only 1/4 ounce is needed to give a rash to every person on the planet. Even Bret Michaels can’t do that. I’m not making a “Poison” pun. I am making fun of the fact that he probably has rashy STDs.
I am taking the high...
8 tags
Shoes on Powerlines (5/26/10)
I always see pairs of shoes hanging from powerlines. I have also heard a bunch of conflicting theories as to why they are there. I looked it up on the World Wide Web, and I am still pretty unsure. I hear that it’s to recognize a fallen friend, or to tell people that a crack house is on the street, or that someone graduated high school, or to mark gang territory. I don’t really buy...
6 tags
Trying to put a name to the face (5/25/10)
Prosopagnosia is a disorder of face perception where the ability to recognize faces is hindered, even though the person can still recognize objects. On the other hand, Capgras delusion is a disorder where a person holds that a spouse, friend, family member, or other familiar person has been replaced by an identical impostor, even if the face is recognizable. I just thought of a great idea for a...
7 tags
What could be greater than golf with a satyr?...
The god of shepherds in Greek Mythology, Pan, is the root of the word “panic,” as the satyr Pan would apparently make noises in the forest that would freak everyone out and panic. Pan was also known for his sexual potency. In art, he is often portrayed with a quite noticeable phallus. He was primed to make a ton of baby satyrs. Satyr Tots, if you will.
9 tags
Police Codes (5/23/10)
10-91H is the police code for “Stray Horse.” I will make sure I watch for this when I am listening to the police scanner. I would hate to get in the middle of this. I bet the LAPD would give a whole new meaning to beating a dead horse.
11 tags
Mr. Munch::Yoko Ono? (5/22/10)
This is really stupid. Just warning you…
But today, I learned that there used to be another member of Chuck E. Cheese’s animatronic band—you know, those creepy robots at the Chuck E. Cheese restaurants. Well, there used to be a character named Crusty the Cat. Crusty was replaced by Mr. Munch (the purple pizza eater).
Now the band consists of Chuck E. Cheese, Helen Henny,...
5 tags
Soccer or Football or Boring (5/21/10)
In 1863 England, the rules of football (not American football) were revised to distinguish association football (soccer) from rugby football. The term “soccer” started being used in England in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of the word “association.” Of the 45 FIFA countries which use English as a primary language, only three (the United States, Canada, and Samoa) call...
6 tags
Wikigina (5/20/10)
Here are the top three searches on Wikipedia in 2009: 1. Wiki, 2. The Beatles, 3. Michael Jackson. My favorite however was #36: Vagina.
Dear 14 year old boy,
Wikipediaing “vagina” is not going to help you. You should realize that the people who wrote the Wikipedia entry for “vagina” are in the same boat you are.
Your friend,
SY.com
EDIT: I just read the list...
7 tags
Drunk Ass (5/19/10)
Yikes, Greek philosopher Chrysippus allegedly died of laughter. Apparently, his heart stopped during a fit of laughter, after he fed wine to his donkey and watched it try to eat figs. For such an esteemed philosopher, his sense of humor was awfully simple.
And hilarious.
8 tags
Almighty Mouse (5/18/10)
Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction found in females, where growth and development of embryos occurs without fertilization by a male. In 2004, scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture used parthenogenesis to create a fatherless mouse, named Kaguya. And just like that, a mouse religion has been created.
11 tags
Pranks (5/17/10)
George P. Burdell is a fictitious student that was enrolled at Georgia Tech in 1927. After a prospective student, Ed Smith, received two applications to the college, he filled one of them out for a non-existent person named George P. Burdell. Both Smith and Burdell were accepted. Smith entered Burdell into all the same classes he was taking. Smith did two sets of homework and tests under his...
11 tags
Respect Your Elders (5/16/10)
Ming was the name given to a clam that was found off the coast of Iceland in 2007. Judging by the annual growth rings on Ming’s shell, the clam was believed to be between 405 to 410 years old, making it the oldest living creature ever recorded. This claim was made by researchers at Bangor University, where Ming died during the age assessment process. Scientists hope that Ming will give...
5 tags
Not Easy As Cake (5/15/10)
I’ve never really understood the saying, “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Of course I can. That’s what I do with my cake. Apparently the confusion comes from a distortion of the original 1546 quote, “wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?” The original saying meant, you can’t eat your cake and still possess a cake (because...
5 tags
Idiom #65..? (5/14/10)
The euphemism for death, “to kick the bucket” likely originates from a method of suicide in the Middle Ages where someone standing on a bucket with a noose around their neck kicks the bucket out from underneath them, thus hanging themselves. …That doesn’t seem like a euphemism. That sounds way more grisly. I’d rather just pass away… whatever that means.
3 tags
Quickie (5/13/10)
Jaywalking comes from the early 20th century word “jay” (meaning ‘an inexperienced person’) and “walk” (meaning ‘walk’).
4 tags
Generation Stuff-Me-In-A-Locker (5/12/10)
The next generation to follow the current Generation Z (it has gone Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z) will be called Generation Alpha, or Gen A. Generation A is made up of people who are born after 2010. Apparently, this will be the most formally educated generation in history. The Generation As will also spend the most time in school.
Sucks for all you babies out there. Have fun in school your whole...
7 tags
Suffrage (5/11/10)
Of the independent countries at the time, New Zealand was the first country to give women the right to vote (1893). However, things are not quite as equal in Lebanon, where women have partial suffrage. Proof of elementary education is required for women, but not for men. Also, voting is compulsory for men, but optional for women. Gee… that’s so nice of Lebanon to let the women have...
7 tags
Desirable Alien? (5/10/10)
In 2009, the Bureau of Immigration of the Philippines issued an order prohibiting actor Alec Baldwin from entering the country, considering him an “undesirable alien.” This was in response to a joke Baldwin made about wanting a Filipino mail-order bride. Joke’s on the Philippines…This doesn’t stop him from getting a mail-order bride.
5 tags
Proof! (5/9/10)
The term “proof,” used to measure of how much alcohol is in a bottle of booze, originated in the 18th century. At the time, a bottle of rum was included in the salaries of British sailors. To make sure the rum wasn’t too diluted with water, the “proof” was to saturate gunpowder with the liquid and see if it would ignite. If it ignited, there was “proof”...
7 tags
Hysterical Strength (5/8/10)
Hysterical strength is the name given for that type of extreme strength that moms use to lift automobiles off their children. But, I want to define hysterical as “very funny,” not as “uncontrollably emotional.” If I was trapped under a car and my mom lifted it off of me, it would not be very funny. It would be very, very terrifying. I like to view hysterical strength as...
9 tags
Sexy Time (5/7/10)
The most common birthday in the United States, according to anybirthday.com (which claims to have millions of birth records on file…?), is October 5th. According to the same questionable website that told me about anybirthday.com, the average pregnancy lasts 274 days and cites October 5th as “about 274 days” after New Years Eve. From a quick investigation, I learned that October...
5 tags
Religious Relish (5/6/10)
Vinegar comes from the Old French vinaigre, meaning “sour wine.” The Bible mentions vinegar several times, usually as a metaphor for something unpleasant (the Bible does use metaphors, right?). On the other side of things, in Islamic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad considers vinegar to be a “blessed seasoning” and includes it in his list of four favorite condiments. We...
5 tags
I thought I knew Gerald Ford (5/5/10)
For the first couple years of his life, Gerald Ford was named Leslie Lynch King, Jr., after his father. As it turned out, his father was an abusive douche-bag, so the future President’s mom divorced him, married a guy named Gerald Ford, and decided to rename her son after him. It’s bizarre to me how his mom treated him like a classroom gerbil that gets a new name after every school...
4 tags
Noon Delight (5/4/10)
The word “noon” is derived from the Latin nona hora, the ninth hour (of daylight). Originally at around 3PM, noon switched to 12PM in the 12th century when the Church prayers shifted from the ninth hour of the day to the sixth hour. Typical case of the Church playing God.
4 tags
Oldest Joke (5/3/10)
The world’s oldest recorded joke has been traced back to the Sumerians in 1900 BC. The translated joke: “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.”
I can’t beat that.
6 tags
Stupid Fact #3 (5/2/10)
A Snapple cap just told me that ‘Americans, on average, eat 18 acres of pizza a day.’ I maybe, maybe eat about 1 acre of pizza a day, definitely not 18. I want them to bring me to this forest of pizza that we fatties are depleting so badly. SAVE OUR PIZZA ACREAGE!
5 tags
Epic Saturday Night (5/1/10)
Saturday night, I was hanging in my room with some friends. Just being cool. And one of my friends tells us all to guess how many gallons are in a square foot of water. We all guessed low. The answer is 7.481 gallons of water in a square foot! That seems like a lot. I have really cool friends….
It’s just nice to have someone teach me a fact so I don’t have to go to...