Trivia: amazing nothings!

A highly intelligent and well-read friend of mine has a serious interest in non-serious matters. He does handle solemn things too, and handles them well. But tell him about something that has no earthly value except having an unusual angle about it, my friend will lap it up like “mishti doi” (sweet curd, the technology to manufacture which is known only to Bengalis). The disease is infectious. I've got hooked to interesting trivia thanks to this friend of mine.

This morning I found a mail sent by another friend with loads of trivia. I'm going to paste some of them below. If you care for amazing nothings, please read on. And if you have a point to add to the list, please do write to me.

Although I have edited and added to the original message, and also sprinkled a bit of spices on the piece, let me add a caveat. The owner of this blog is not responsible for the authenticity or otherwise of what is below. If you want to sue anyone for misleading people with incorrect information (or for copyright violation), please tell me, I will furnish the email ID of my friend Sanat Kumar Banerjee who sent me all this.


You know that you are living in 2010 when ...

• You accidentally enter your ATM PIN on the microwave.
• You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.
• You have a list of nine phone numbers to reach your family of three.
• If you are at a seminar, the moment a break is announced, you reach out for your mobile.
• While returning from office, about five minutes before you reach home, you ring up your husband/wife to tell them that you are on the way.
• Leaving the house without your cellphone, which you didn't even have the first 20, 30 or 60 years of your life, is now a cause for panic; you go back and get it.
• You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
• Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
• Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
• You get up in the morning and go on line before you brush your teeth.
• You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

Idioms are born …

• In the 1400s a law was introduced in England that allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have “the rule of thumb”.
• Once upon a time in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled “Gentlemen only... ladies forbidden”. Thus, GOLF got into the English lexicon.
• In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase: “Goodnight, sleep tight!”
• It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

The number game

• Question: If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"? Answer: One thousand.
• 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321

Literary trivia

• The first novel to be written on a typewriter was Tom Sawyer. (It has survived beyond the life span of the typewriter, and hopefully, will outlast computers as we know them!)
• The great novelist of our time, Gabriel Garcia Marquez struggled for many years to become a commercially successful writer. During the period, he went through rough times and once reportedly collected bottles on the streets of Paris.

A bit of geography

• The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%. 
• The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%.

Miscellany 

• It is impossible to lick your elbow.
• Coca-Cola was originally green.
• If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
• Question: Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what? Answer: Their birthplace.
• Question: What do bullet-proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common? Answer: All were invented by women.
• Approximately 89.25% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!