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

It's not that I don't accept what GR says, it's just that while it's still a theory it's not necessarily correct. At the moment we can only base what we call the laws of physics on our very, very, very, very, very small (in universal terms) sphere of knowledge.

Bugger... I've done it again... I came up with a brilliant fact earlier and now I've forgotten it!

Supposedly when something slips our mind like that or is "on the tip of our tongues" our brain runs a rather hap-hazard subroutine to retrieve it. That's why out of the blue hours/days/months later you may shout out during lunch "HARRY NIELSEN! THAT'S who sang the cocoanut song!"

Also we tend to look up to the right when trying to retrieve information and up to the left when trying to think of something new or solve a problem.

Note: Due to Mr. Dreadful's point which admittedly is true all future facts should be prefaced with the Statement "It is the currently accepted poisition that..."

Actually I can't be bothered with that.
If a rope that is long enough to encircle the globe is increased in legth by 6 inches would have a suffecent gap all the way round for a mouse to fit under it.

If you tie a rope around the Pentagon building and then add the same length of rope as in the previous post, the mice of the same size could pass through the gap. Cats could not (provided that no cat could pass through the global rope of the previous post.)

Y.

If you hoover at midnight when there is a full moon, outside in teh main street, totally naked you get arrested. not many people know that. well I didn't. apparently not knowing somethign isn't considered a good enough excuese to them boys in blue.

Harry Nielsson sang the coconut song?!?

Is that the one about having your banana tallied that they used in the 'possession' scene in Beetlejuice. If it is, I quite like that one.

In medeavil times, several unsavory cults where built up entirely around the worship of parsons noses. A parsons nose being the correct biological terminology for a chickens bottom.

<>

Classic!

quote
>>Pretty much all scientists subscribe to the "null hypothesis" method of investigation and experiment. What this means is that we constantly seek to disprove our hypothesis. This in turn means that we cannot prove something with a theory, or often even with years of experimental data, but merely prove we are wrong OR fail to prove we are wrong. Failing to prove we are wrong does not mean we are right<<
end quote.

Actualy not true. This is what some (outdated) philosophy of science sais scientists should do. Scientists form theories that make predictions and these predictions are then tested. If the result is what is predicted on sufficient occasions then the theory is said to be valid. If the outcome is different then either the theory is incomplete or faulty or the experiment was wrong (i.e. wrong circumstanses).
As for the speed of gravity: in physics it is still totaly accepted that nothing can travel faster than light, although some q-mechanic things sugest some loophole. But quantummechanics still sais nothing about gravity (this being one of the biggest chalanges of modern physics). It is GR that deals with it. And yes, gravity is also believed to have a speed.

as for useless facts: the national anthems of Finland and Estonia have the same melodie, only different lyrics.

Rod

I believe the English one is shared by a couple of other countries too, but I can't remember which. I have a feeling it might have been Liechtenstein or Switzerland, plus an African country if I recall right.

the cabbage white butterfly (pieris brassicae) loves cabbage so much it would rater die of starvation rather than eat anything else

Tell that to the blighters that gorge themselves on my nasturtiums!

Butterflies live on nectar not cabbage or nasturtians

Ok, I lied - it's the caterpillars that eat my nasturtiums

Finland, you say?

The national anthem of the breakaway Nigerian region of Biafra was Sibelius' 'Finlandia'. Lord knows why.

The National Anthem of the relatively newly formed Bratislokia (former USSR) is sung along to a horn arrangement of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.

Pfffft-

The Harry Nilsson (my bad spelling earlier is not uncommon ) Coconut song is the one where "You put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up."

The velocity of a piece of wind being broken is in direct proportion to the combined volume of a persons individual buttock.

I'm fairly sure that's not true. For more fun flatulation facts: A3826217 (currently in Peer Review)

Lime in the Coconut - I remember that one being used in Resevoir Dogs, but I don't really know it. I was thinking of that one that goes Dayo Dayo Daylight come and me wanna go home. It's a fantastic song to belt out when youre scoobied.

It is a fact that no two polaroid pictures that have been taken have been the same. Ever.

And anyway - can you have a 'piece' of wind?