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

Goethe was a bit shorter than Schiller.

Their statues in Weimar have the same height though, which makes Goethe look a bit fatter.

I just have to share this:
Apparently some people don't know how to "use" useless information.

http://basicinstructions.net/comics/2009-01-15%20-%20Factoids.gif

Oh, and something I just learned in the comments:

A factoid is NOT the same thing as trivia.
A factoid is "something that looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact".

The term 'factoid' was coined by Norman Mailer to describe a "fact" that had no existence until it appeared in the media.

Like humanoid? I never knew that a factoid wasn't a fact. I'll be more careful in future.

Examples of factoids:

Posh is derived from Port Out, Starboard Home.
Golf is derived from Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden.

No word derived from an acronym is known before the beginning of the 20th century, and they're rare before the inter-war years.

Snarge - (noun) the bloody goop remaining after a bird strikes an airplane in flight.

I am dubious about the golf one, especially with the no word being derived from an acronym part. So golf was known as something else before 1900? Until later....
BCNU - Crescent

hmmm, maybe I shoudl read further up the queue first Until later...
BCNU - Crescent

I think this is right. This whole factoid discussion has got me doubting myself.

Anyway, here goes. The first bomb dropped from a plane was the idea of a pilot flying a reconnaissance mission, who thought he might as well do a bit of damage while he was checking what was going on below and threw some grenades over the side of his plane. His name was Giulio Gavotti, and it happened during the Italian-Turkish War of 1911-1912.

Bombing died out after that as it was considered unsporting, but unfortunately that way of thinking didn't last. Nowadays people flying around in complete safety releasing laser-guided bombs on enemies who can't retaliate are considered heroes. That's progress for you.

Here's some thoroughly useless facts, straight from ABC News:

'Former prime minister Gough Whitlam will tomorrow become Australia's longest living former leader, surpassing Frank Forde's lifespan of 92 years, six months and 10 days.'

For crying out loud, who sits there figuring this stuff out?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/20/2470518.htm?section=justin

Yea, so unsporting of armies not to line up in rank and file across empty fields from one another like is proper.

Which reminds me...

I used to work for English Heretics in the aerial photographs archive... naturally all the most interesting stuff is the stuff the public never get to see, including an aerial photograph of a gas attack a Ypres. To this day it remains one of the most haunting and beautiful photographs I have ever seen.

That got me going a bit, Mr D. I found these on the net. Is that the sort of thing you're talking about?

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/Mellon/images/noyes/gas.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/Mellon/images/noyes/gas.html&usg=__1tOwpkUVWdFSBjZbDBIXoSusncc=&h=417&w=597&sz=94&hl=en&start=32&tbnid=Cxv1ggs5ZMeQZM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522gas%2Battack%2522%26start%3D20%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/Mellon/images/noyes/gas2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/Mellon/images/noyes/gas2.html&usg=__HFPrWRGrmucHamsymLRyhzcgxTY=&h=391&w=555&sz=73&hl=en&start=61&tbnid=1HqiO3n0uWC31M:&tbnh=94&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522gas%2Battack%2522%26start%3D60%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mainlesson.com/books/usher/war/zpage150.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php%3Fauthor%3Dusher%26book%3Dwar%26story%3D_xyz&usg=__CaeQLZfFPAL_GIKeYdKObRWwZW4=&h=407&w=598&sz=243&hl=en&start=66&tbnid=TnQSgMYZtngtlM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522gas%2Battack%2522%26start%3D60%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

-To this day it remains one of the most haunting and beautiful photographs I have ever seen.-

Curtis LeMay, who led the US bombing against Germany and later against Japan, used to say that the most beautful sight he had ever seen was a city in flames. He didn't send the firebombers, he led them personally.

It is indeed, InfiniteImp...

It's odd that the most awful, tragic things can be beautiful. A physicist friend of mine recently said that she thought the equations behind the nuclear bomb were beautiful. Some were offended, I told her about the gas attack photo.

All polar bears are Capricorns.

What?


Elaborate!

Not that I hold any truck in astrology...

Wait, nevermind!


If you want to change that to "All polar bears are born in mid December", then I'm interested.

If you want to specify that all polar bears... "are introspective and are ruled by the planet Saturn..."

Then I don't care.

The former, ergo they're Capricorns

Thanks, you had me worried for a bit.

Octopuses have a favourite leg.