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

Actually, rhythms has more consecutive consonants than latchstring, and is more commonly used. So there!

[grumbles about vowelishness of y]

The word bookkeeper has three consecutive sets of double letters.

Stewardessess is the longest word typable with the left hand side of a qwerty keyboard!!!

Note, writng qwerty on a keyboard is brillinat!!!

The theory of a flat earth was, apparently, not invented by the church, but attributed to them by anti-religious propagandists in the 19th century.

Interesting! (I had come across that somewhere - Stephen Jay Gould?)

Also - every giraffe's markings are unique, like fingerprints.. (Dunno if anyone's said that already...)

Er, yeah actually. Small world.
Columbus was not backed by the Portuguese or Genoese states because his estimate of the circumference of the earth was too small.

More people are bit by cocker spaniels than any other breed of dog.

From the Metro newspaper (edited highlights!)

During an 18.5Hr aeroplane flight
1) Each passenger will shed 11.1million skin cells, 100 strands of hair. With 180 passengers you do the math..
2) Each one will pass 500ml of gas by flatulance (and just think what molecules that is releasing !)
3) total 150 litres of sweat lost
4) total of 144 litres of gas belched.
5) The man sat next to you will get up to 8 erections during the flight.

What are you doing to that man next to you?

nothing, but I'd love to see the questionaire they used to get that little lot!

Really? I avoid small yappy dogs like that, anyway...

I don't want to know that, espically when I've got to go to Australia soon!!!

Enjoy the flight and try not to keep looking suspiciously at the bloke next to you!

In 1979 the French astrologer Michel Gauquelin placed an advertisement in Ici-Paris offering free personal horoscopes. Of those who received the horoscope, 94% subsequently rated it as accurate. Unfortunately, they had each been sent the same one, that of Dr. Petiot, France's most notorious mass murderer.

The middle star on 'Orion's Belt' is closer to Earth than it is the other two stars.

That star's name is Alnilam (Epsilon Orionis). To its left is Alnitak (Zeta Orionis) and to its right is Mintaka (Delta Orionis). Alnilam (whose name comes from an Arabic word that means 'string of pearls') is actually the farthest away at approximately 1340 light years. Alnitak and Mintaka are both at approximately 870 light years distance. Even though it is half again as far away Alnilam is the brightest of the three with a magnitude of 1.70.

Betelguese is still the most 'happening' star of the constellation, while Sirius is the brightest!!!

On a monopoly board, the set of streets coloured orange are the ones most landed on. Seen on a news item, lady talking to a monopoly champion.

People often ask to borrow a tissue. Would you want it back afterwards?

No, on reflection...