|
|
|
| TOM'S LIST OF INTERESTING THINGS | |
|
|
|
• The Chinese word for "demon" is "kuei". • The same dude that invented the Atari 2600 was a founder of Chuck E. Cheese and the same dude that created Wonder Woman invented the Lie Detector. • When you smell a fart, it's actual particles from that person's butthole INSIDE YOUR NOSE. • The system adopted by the United States requiring vehicles to drive on the right side of the roadways was originally Napoleon's idea. It is but a small part of what is known as the Napoleonic Code. • You can tell the engine size of sixties-era Ford Mustangs by the number of lugs on the wheels. Four bolts is a six cylinder, five bolts is an eight cylinder. • The Interstate system was designed so that one mile in every five must be straight, usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies. That's also why there aren't alot of trees. (The Interstate's official name is The National Defense Highway System.) ....OR MAYBE I'M LYING. • The capital of Wisconsin used to be in Burlington, Iowa. • How come the cover of Kurasawa's Seven Samurai only has six samurai on it? The fuck? • When you crack your knuckles, it's not really the sound of your bones cracking that you hear, but rather air escaping from where the joint meets. • Billy Corgan, of the rock band Smashing Pumpkins, is much taller than you might expect. • Jeeps were originally square instead of rounded because the first commercial jeep manufacturing plant was a converted washing machine factory and didn't have the capacity to make rounded metal. • American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first-class. • In case you thought Evil has been around since the beginning of time, the original concept of the Devil (or rather, Ultimate Good versus Ultimate Evil) was formulated by a man named Zoroaster (born around 628 BC, likely his full name was Zarathustra Spitama) in what is now Iran. And, in case you have some sort of problem with that part of the world, keep in mind that he was a Magi, three of which were present at Jesus' birth, and that it is said that the Garden of Eden was actually located in Iraq, near the Persian Gulf. • A microphone responds to sound waves by producing an electric sound signal that changes in voltage at the same rate or frequency. • When you ride alone, you ride with Hitler. • Two places that really exist: Waterproof, LA and Yazoo City, MS. • Black people aren't really black and white people aren't really white. • One Bermuda Triangle theory involves methane gas escaping from fissures on the ocean floor in that area of the world. The rising gas bubbles actually changes the density of the ocean water, causing it to become up to 30% less dense than normal. This would cause an otherwise seaworthy vessel to suddenly and unalterably begin to sink. • Outer space was created by God. • In Windows 95-98, you can change your startup screen by looking for the file logo.sys on your C drive. Rename it logo.bmp and then open it up in an image editor. It'll look a little stretched, but you'll figure it out! Fiddle with it, and don't forget to change the file extension back again! Why be advertised at and forced to look at a corporate logo when you could look at a picture of pretty flowers instead? Or perhaps a cute puppy or a "money shot". Or perhaps be advertised at and forced to look at your own corporate logo. • Abraham Lincoln's Log Cabin is a HOAX! • During the Vietnam War, more workers were killed in the American workplace than soldiers in the field. • The original "Happy Birthday" tune was first published in 1893 by Mildred J. Hill as "Good Morning to All". The "Happy Birthday" lyric was apparently added in 1924 without the composer's consent. The lyric writer is unknown. The first authorized version of "Happy Birthday" was published in 1935. The copyright was renewed and is currently owned by the Summy-Birchard Co. • Almonds are Forever™. • The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. (If you've ever seen Robert Conrad in Black Sheep Squadron, you know who I mean.) When arming their airplanes on the ground, the 50-caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a kraut or a jap, the kraut or jap is said to have gotten "the whole 9 yards". • You can rearrange the letters in "parental advisory" to spell "prenatal advisory", if you try hard enough. • A pedestrian's gravest error is assuming drivers can see them. • The guy that co-wrote "Livin' la Vida Loca", Desmond Child, also wrote Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" and Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer". Is this Him? Have we found The Enemy? • There is a real company called "The Hog Pride Pork Packing Plant"....OR MAYBE I'M LYING. • Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.
• Apparently The Norm Show writers liked to lift plotlines from old Barney Miller episodes and adapt them to their characters. • According to Mister Reusch's aunt, 1 in every 4 Americans has appeared on television. I know I have. How about you? Yeah thought so, loser. • The current popularity of daytime running lights on automobiles is destroying the solemn sanctity of funeral motorcades. • You don't hear about many people with the last name "Hitler" anymore, do you? • There's no such thing as a 1983 Chevy Corvette. • That nursery rhyme Ring Around the Rosey is really about the bubonic plague. Infected people with the plague would get red circular sores ("Ring around the Rosey..."). These sores would smell very bad so people would hide flowers on their bodies in an attempt to mask the smell ("pocket full of posies..."). People who died from the plague would be burned to reduce the spread of the disease ("ashes, ashes, we all fall down")....OR MAYBE I'M LYING. • Diamonds are not at all rare. • Since 1988, only 16 classical albums have sold more than a million copies in the United States; five of them were put out by Victoria's Secret. • Some fires burn so hot, any attempt to put them out with water feeds the fire, because the water molecules are split into hydrogen and oxygen. I heard this on the X-Files, so maybe it isn't true, but the truth is out there. • The term "cop" is not a random slang word, but rather a shortened version of "Constable On Patrol"....OR MAYBE I'M LYING. • If you use Netscape Navigator, type about:mozilla into the address field. It's downright peculiar. • Buy.com has trademarked the phrase "It's All Good". • "Oprah" is "Harpo" spelled backwards. • "Oprah" and "Harpo" are both stupid fucking names. • A "paper road" is a road that exists only on city maps. Maybe you have one right in your own backyard! • In an attempt to efficiently use land, England began digging up old graves to reuse the caskets & plots. When reopening these coffins, one out of 25 were found to have scratch marks on the inside, revealing that the occupants had been buried alive. So someone thought it would be a good idea to tie a string onto the wrist of the deceased, run it through the coffin and up through the ground, where it would be tied to a bell. Groundskeepers would have to sit out in the cemetery all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for dead ringers. It was only then that they could be saved by the bell. • There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. • A car battery is at 100% charge at 12.6 volts. At 12.4, it is only at 75% of it's strength, and at 11.6, it can be considered dead. • In his original incarnation, Saint Christopher, much-loved patron saint of the road-weary traveler, was a dog-headed giant. Funny, I don't really remember that from the little plastic emblem glued to my grandfather's Chevy Malibu dashboard. • When Alexander Graham Bell died in 1922, phone service all over the world was suspended for one minute. Seems to me maybe they should have had everyone MAKE a call instead, but alas, I was not in a seat of power at that time. • Space Invaders. On your old Atari 2600, Hold RESET when you power on the system. Start the game and you'll have double shots. Sweet. • The guy that created the constantly-utilized "recycling" symbol was the winner of a nationwide contest in the 70's, but never received any money for his creation. he must be very angry. • Service Corporation International disposes of 1 in 9 dead Americans. • In its pure form, water is not a particularly good conductor of electricity. But hold on, don't bring that boombox into the bathtub just yet, DJ Stupid. Most water is full of impurities in the form of ions, which as it turns out are excellent electrical conductors. • A duck's quack doesn't echo and apparently no one knows why. I am sure as hell going to find out. • Joseph of Arimathea was actually Jesus's brother, James the Just.
|
You
like to bring up meaningless trivia at social gatherings, don't you?
Well, I do. Here are a few random bursts of shit to shout in
the ear of the next hot chick you meet at a bar on open-mic night. I
claim none of this to be true, merely an intoxicating diversion from
the droll dinner parties I normally attend. Remember, hot chicks love
hearing sweet nothings that sound like they were copped from diner
placemats.
| TOM'S LIST OF INTERESTING THINGS |
|