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

I have three nipples.

(Yes I know)

PP

Mayonnaise dries clear, like PVA glue. This fact only adds to its unpleasantness.

Louis the 14th had a gas problem so he sat on a lavendar-filled pillow. He didn't want his court to smell it.

PEZ got it's name from the German word for peppermint which is PfeffErminZ
Chlorophyll, Cinnamon, Coffee, Eucalyptus, Flower, Licorice, and Menthol, were once PEZ flavors, they didn't last.

Oh, and PEZ was originally invented to cover-up smokers bad breath, and of coarse pepperment was the first flavor.

The traditional craft for trainee bullfighters is a bricklayer

Egyptians invented the first toothpaste. Not any ordinary toothpaste, but a mixture of pumice stone and strong wine vinegar.

The Romans came up with something even better. Portuguese urine, believed to be the strongest in the world.

Urine was an active component in toothpastes and mouthwashes until the eighteenth century! Believe it or not, it actually worked. It seems that the ammonia molecules (still used in modern pastes) in the urine does a great job at whitening teeth.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A cat's urine glows under a blacklight.

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.

All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

"All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20"
Does that suggest that QT or the set director was a Hitch-hikers fan?

My God!
There's a whole world of useless information out there!


I don't suppose you encounter these little bits of knowledge one by one throughout the years, do you? Is there some source for it on the web, or do you find it in encyclopedia?

Just about everywhere I look I find some sort of useless information. Or to some I suppose it could be refered to as "little bits of knowledge that serve just about no purpose."

for instance...

Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

Amount American Airlines saved in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class: $40,000.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour

Chances of a white Christmas in New York: 1 in 4.

Chances that an American lives within 50 miles of where they grew up: 1 in 2.

City with the most Rolls Royce's per capita: Hong Kong.

Coca-cola was originally green.

If you walk on the same section of carpet, barefoot constantly for 116 years you will die of carpet poisoning.

Carpet poisoning, that sounds silly.

I thought that we didnt´even know if other animals have orgasms, how do we then know about the pig.

Hoolovoo: There´s a book compiled of useless facts. Actually there´s probably many. But I got one called the Concise Book of Useless Facts. I think.

What do you mean? Animals ejaculate don't they? Isn't that an orgasm, or do you just consider it spontanious ejaculation? "Oink, Oink, Squeeeel!

Pigs willies are corkscrew shaped

And the scientific unit of beauty is the millihelen - the amount of beauty required to launch one ship

I think the millihelen was made up here on H2G2, it is not scientifically recognised.

And as for orgasm, I meant the thing women get. How can a pig be getting an ejaculation for 30 minutes? Wouldn´t it get sucked dry? And I don´t mean by the female pig.

millihelen is in The Ultimate Irrelevent Encyclopaedia published by Unwin in 1984

- probably made up though even so...

The penis of the male cat is covered in little spines. These are fine going in, but cause the female some grief on withdrawal... all the more reason for not stopping, I would've thought.

Mandragora, are the little spines on a cat's willy (love that word, never grew up), the same as on a cat's tongue? I am not prepared to continue this train of thought any further.

And

Xantac, which animal is going to accept responsibillity for the drying up of the male pig if not the female pig?

PP

I don't think so- the tonguey things are 'backwards-hooked papillae' whereas the willy ones are always described as 'barbs'.
Also, the female cat will first choose a mate by fighting all the potentials. When they've all had enough, though, she assumes the manner of a right little 'ho.
I like cats. We have much to learn from them.

Carpet poisoning? Yeah, why not... You can get poisoned by literally anything : if you drink about 60 liters of water on a day you will also die by water-poisoning. Fact is that it is rather hard to do, isn't it?

I love cats too, for every reason there is : they've got character, they make me laugh, you can become very relaxed by stroking a cat, they make little twitching movements when they're dreaming, they tend to neglect your order not to make a total mess of the flower-box, etc. etc.