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

The youngest pope was 11 years old.

In French, you often use 'orteil' instead of 'doigt de pied' ('toe' instead of 'foot finger').

Not a useless fact, but a reply to WG

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

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Not entirely true. Glycerin (used in the production of nitroglycerin, obviously) can be made from peanut oil, but this isn't the same saying that peanuts are an ingredient of dynamite.

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This is actually an urban myth, there has never been any such law.

No it isn't, (and no there wasn't).

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-rul1.htm


Just another widely believed myth.

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Good point.

English is the only language that calls toes toes, if we exclude French.

Probably.

They also use the word toe in scandinavian languages.

English is the only language that calls toes toes, if we exclude French and Scandinavian languages.

Probably in Vogonese as well. Many horrible and long poems about toes written by malicious Vogon poets. They probably have 33 different words for toe jam.

Is Vogon a Scandinavian language by any chance?

Ummmmmm...... No.

Dang! My original assertion is starting to look more and more shaky.

Coca-Cola would be green if colouring weren’t added to it.

The average pencil will draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English words.

The phrase "take you down a peg or two" derives from a few hundred years ago when a law was passed... I'm not going to bother saying this when I can't remember the details.

The Great Wall of China can only be seen from space

"The Great Wall of China can only be seen from space"



Perhaps you'd like to rephrase that?

It's visible from the ground too

"the great wall of china can only be seen from space"

van-smeiter if that was the case why would any tourists visit it ??????


Taff
agent of kaos

... and German:
finger - Finger
toe - Zehe

Y.

English is the only language where toes are called toes, except for Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, Faroese, German and French.

And Italian, punta.
And Dutch, teen.
And Greek, toe.