h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The diameter of the booster rockets that send the space shuttle into space is because the wheelbase of Roman chariots was the same as the gauge of American railways and hence the diameter of the tunnels through which these objects must pass.

That's only part of the story...

The entire thing shows that modern space craft are designed around the width of two asses! (two horses or mules side by side pulling said chariots.) The full version has many more intermediary steps in history.

Despite what conspiracy theorists say Lee Harvey Oswald could easily have fired three quick shots at JFK as he had been a sniper grade marksman in the US Marines. Also the so-called 'magic bullet' which apparently proves that there was somebody on the grassy knoll could easily have been fired from Oswald's rifle as a bullet will only take a perfectly straight path through the human body if fired at close range.

Both of these facts are ultimately useless as half the world will never believe you...

Kennedy was actually killed by John Dillinger... According to the Illuminatus trilogy.

Leonarod Da Vinci invented scissors - why are they not all left handed?

Because early scissors worked more like tweezers with blades (went to a re-enactors' market recently and a mate got some... scissors that is)

Better go to the Hand & Raquet then.

I know the type of scissors you mean... I've seen some of those around somewhere... I and even normal hinged scissors do not need to favour one hand over the other. Most of the scissors I use these days are ambidextrous...

....


I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

"Also the so-called 'magic bullet' which apparently proves that there was somebody on the grassy knoll could easily have been fired from Oswald's rifle as a bullet will only take a perfectly straight path through the human body if fired at close range."

Actually, the 'magic bullet' is really a fallacy because Governor Connally was *not* sitting directly in front of JFK at the time. His seat was offset to one side and, as I recall, slightly lower than JFK's. So a bullet could have passed through both bodies, causing the injuries that happened, without bending, ricocheting, or doing anything else 'nifty'.

I didn't kill Kennedy. FACT!

left handed scissors fall into the same category as left handed cups and pencils.

if the hinge or pivot is not old and worn, the operating mechanics are identical regardless of which hand they are used in because the mechanism is not inverted by transfer to the other hand. unlike, for example, a guitar.

Unless they were ergonomically designed to be left or right handed with angled thumb holes.

It is physically impossible to get a left handed shark, underwater or not.

foreign currency was legal tender in the usa until 1857.

http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/dollar.html

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When the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was first broadcast many, many years ago I seem to recall that the Beeb’s audience research indicate that only five people would listen to the whole thing and hence they broadcast it on the third programme at some ungodly hour. I happen to know three of the others but does anyone know who the fifth one is?

My mum.

Thanks - now I can die in peace -or is it piece?

Depends if you want to be dismembered first.

I don't want to die in pieces and in West African pidgin 'dis member' means something quite different.