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

Does anyone have any useless facts that could not be used in any given situation. The rules are:

1) They must be truthful (Hence it being a fact)
2) Must not be helpful in everyday life or in extreme situations

To start off I have a few:

1)Fridges do not work in zero gravity
2)If you pin your eyelids open and sneeze your eyebals will fall out.

3) Owls are the only birds which blink with their upper eyelids.
4) Pigs cannot angle their heads upwards

You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

6) (I'm still looking into this as it sounds like rubbish, but)
In Belgium, the liability limits for dental insurance must be expressed on a per tooth basis i.e. the maximum insurance you can take out depends on how many teeth you have.

Fact #2 sounds like an urban myth to me. It takes a great deal of force to make your eyeballs pop out, and I'm not sure that sneezing provides it.

7) Apes can't swim. Neither can camels.

You might be able to use the first part of that fact, but I can't think of any circumstances under which you would *want* to get a camel to swim.

Apes can't swim? I consider myself too be an ape - and I can swim, also those hairy japanese monkeys (I'm sure there's a species name, but I don't know it) are always pictured in hot springs...something which might be dangerous if they can't swim.

8) The elephant is the only mamal which can't jump. This is because it has 4 knees and would collapse forward if it tried.

9) All mens nipples are between 7 and 9 inches apart, no matter how broad chested they are.
(Not sure about this one - I heard it on TFI Friday and haven't researched it beyond my own self)

I've just heard although I can't back this up that urinating in the shower is good for Atheletes foot. I don't think this counts as it could be useful

the athleats foot one is true ammonia in the urine kills bacteria

#whatever never EVER drop your palm pilot from a hight of over about 2 feet onto a hard surface

I should have said the 'great apes', e.g. chimpanzees and gorillas, can't swim. This is because the fat distribution on their bodies is wrong, so they have little or no buoyancy. Humans (or the human ape) doesn't have this problem. And the animals that sit in the hot springs in Japan are, as far as I'm aware, monkeys. All they do is sit. It's usually quite safe to just sit in shallow water, even if you can't swim. You may find that most, if not all, monkeys can't swim, either.

Oh, and I always understood that elephants can't jump because their bone-structure is wrong for it. If they tried it their bones would shatter from the impact when they landed.

ok i got another

#whatever+1 My mothers name is shelly

This is not strictly useless to you or any siblings you may have (banks and such ask for you mother's name when they want to verify your identity over the phone). It is , however, completely useless to the rest of us.

exactly

Here's a good one:

'This is not a useful fact.'

26199

The father of one of the members of the bands Ozric Tentacles designed the 1973(?) Uk 50p peice, the one with all the habds on it.

*floating in, in her usual vague, elf-like manner*

Hi all!

Just wanted to say, that if you have something to say, why not say it at:

http://www.h2g2.com/U147915

*drifting off, in her usual v.e.l.manner*

* elephants are the only mammals whose all four knees bend the exact same direction.

* picasso was pronounced a stillborn until his uncle breathed cigar smoke into his lungs.

* alligators can close their jaws with such strenght to break bones, but the muscle that opens its jaws are so weak that a man can hold it closed with only one hand.


i have dozens of these. some from memory, hearing here and there, others from a book called "facts and trivia." it's an awesome book, with all sorts of...well....facts and trivia inside.

Hamsters just aren't any good at tennis !

Oranges Don't make good parachutes

Zaniwhoop is not among the top 10 boys names in the UK

Who wrote this book and what's its ISBN? It sounds my kind of book, although Richard reckons I memorise the answers to Trivial Pursuit, so he won't be happy if I get a copy.

Do you mean hamsters are not good at playing tennis or are not good being used to play tennis, if the latter I disagree, many a happy hour have I spent serving high speed rodents across a net.

CH

But you can use the fact that camels don´t swim or will avoid water in general... In Zoos Camels are kept where they are supposed to stay in using water to surround them...