Thread: Strange and Unusual Facts

Strange punishments:

The cangue (pre-revolutionary China) was one of the more bizarre punishments, consisting of a large square piece of wood attached around your neck. That’s it, now you can’t feed yourself, so you have to rely on others.

Samurai posing in front of the Sphinx in 1864 during the Ikeda Mission.

Originally Posted by jabir

That's a good one

Size comparison between a human and certain types of bears.

The Amasunzu is a traditional Rwandan hairstyle that's making a comeback.

The 1946 'Adventures of Superman' radio show revealed the 'secret' codes and rituals of the
KKK, making it a laughing stock and drying up Klan recruitment almost overnight.

How Superman Defeated the Ku Klux Klan | Mental Floss

A "dash" is 1/8 of a teaspoon, a "pinch" is 1/16 of a teaspoon, and a "smidgen" is 1/32 of a teaspoon.

There is an abandoned 120-year-old concert hall buried underground in the middle of downtown Boston.

Steinert Hall – Boston, Massachusetts
- Atlas Obscura.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

A "dash" is 1/8 of a teaspoon, a "pinch" is 1/16 of a teaspoon, and a "smidgen" is 1/32 of a teaspoon.

...and a dollop?...

I'd expect that to be bigger than a dash.

Originally Posted by tomcat

...and a dollop?...

Aprrox 3 poofteenth's.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

There is a screenplay named 'Atuk' which has never been made into a movie because anyone
who has shown interest in playing the lead role has died unexpectedly, including John Candy,
Chris Farley, John Belushi and Sam Kinison.

An added twist, Both Chris Farley and John Belushi died of a drug overdose age 33 !!

Originally Posted by tomcat

...and a dollop?...

A dollop is about a heaping Tablespoon

...^thanks...

Welcome.

Most power outages in the US are caused by



bothersome creatures!

Blood donors in Sweden receive a text when their blood is used.



Good idea, encourages more young people to donate blood.

Originally Posted by jabir

Blood donors in Sweden receive a text when their blood is used.

Good idea

Hmm, not sure . . . I don't mind not knowing when mine's used, plus it's usually plasma which isn't used individually . . .

It's called a donation, no need for it, imo

According to research from security firm Symantec, religious websites carry three times more malware threats than porn sites. Their conclusions found that the average number of security threats on religious sites was around 115, against 25 to porn sites.

Don't knock the Chinese, they've been the source of many innovations, scientific discoveries and inventions, including paper, printing, gunpowder, compass, coffins, cast iron, crossbow, and let's not forget sunglasses, which were originally made out of smoky quartz in 12th century China, where they were used by judges to mask their emotions when they were questioning witnesses. Then they went commie, and invented weird and wonderful diseases.

The Apollo 11 crew used hundreds of autographs as life insurance.



Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 crew faced the real chance that they wouldn't return from the moon safely, leaving their families without financial support.

Due to the extreme danger that they were about to face, it's no surprise that they out life insurance policies. So instead, they signed hundreds of autographs, which their families would have been able to sell if they didn't make it home. Although they returned safely and the insurance autographs weren't needed, they still turn up in space memorabilia auctions selling for as much as $30,000 each.

For Sale: New Zealand

Some odd things have been sold on eBay, from a grilled cheese sandwich with the face of the Virgin Mary to Justin Timberlake's half-eaten French toast. Up there with the strangest must be New Zealand, which a man from Brisbane tried to sell in 2006.

The listing described the country as "the dodgiest American Cup win ever" and said it has "very ordinary weather." Despite those selling points, the ridiculous auction gained a ton of interest. The starting bid was 1 cent and after 6,000 hits and 22 bids, the selling price for New Zealand climbed all the way to $3,000. Eventually, eBay caught wind of the offer and pulled it.

Paper bags can be worse for the environment than plastic ones.



It's commonly believed that paper is always a better choice than plastic, which is why many govs are banning the use of plastic bags and other products.

According to experts, the times taken to break down come nowhere near compensating for paper bag production which emits 70 percent more pollution, and uses four times as much energy than plastic bags. Probably better to stay with plastic, but bring your own.

Originally Posted by jabir

Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 crew faced the real chance that they wouldn't return from the moon safely, leaving their families without financial support.

If there was an issue with the Apollo crafts being unable to return to Earth (particularly risky was the reentry trajectory, and it skimming and bouncing off the atmosphere instead of reentering it, if there was any sort of malfunction, miscommunication or miscalculation) the Nasa protocol was to cut off all radio contact, leaving the astronauts drift away to certain death in silence, unable to contact 'home'.

Originally Posted by jabir

According to experts, the times taken to break down come nowhere near compensating for paper bag production which emits 70 percent more pollution, and uses four times as much energy than plastic bags. Probably better to stay with plastic, but bring your own.

I read that the plastic bag was created to actually be better for the environment than paper bags.

With the idea being they'd be reused.

Obviously something 7-11s and Thais ignored for a few decades.