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  1. #551
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Strange and Unusual Facts-erfu_ivvcaucq2d-jpg
    Tom Cruise divorced all three of his ex-wives when they turned 33 (Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, Katie Holmes) and each is 11 years younger than the last.

  2. #552
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Strange and Unusual Facts-erkfgwcucaexres-jpg
    Himalayan griffon vultures intimidate intruders with their fake eyes.






  3. #553
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    Ohh, did not know that it was actually real. Heard this news some time long ago and did not honestly think that it was true. Well, there are a lot of strange facts that I am not familiar with and is really fascinating to know. As years pass by, there is no doubt that there more interesting facts like this. When the time comes, hope that there are still a lot of interesting facts like this. Knowing interesting facts to boast with your friends is definitely a nice ice breaker... especially when things are a bit serious or silent haha

  4. #554
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Emmababes View Post
    Ohh, did not know that it was actually real. Heard this news some time long ago and did not honestly think that it was true. Well, there are a lot of strange facts that I am not familiar with and is really fascinating to know. As years pass by, there is no doubt that there more interesting facts like this. When the time comes, hope that there are still a lot of interesting facts like this. Knowing interesting facts to boast with your friends is definitely a nice ice breaker... especially when things are a bit serious or silent haha
    which fact were you so marvellously referring to? Who greener you? Was it skidmark?

  5. #555
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Strange and Unusual Facts-erpg00gvcai0ha9-jpg
    Giant Tarantulas keep tiny frogs as pets so that the frog can protect the spider's eggs from insects and the spider can protect the frog from predators.

  6. #556
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Strange and Unusual Facts-erpii6yveaajbet-jpg
    African elephants often bury dead or sleeping humans or aid them when they are hurt. In one case, a woman fell asleep under a tree and woke to find elephants burying her under branches. She was found the next morning unharmed.

  7. #557
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    The real Shrek, Maurice Tillet, was a French wrestler who married an extremely beautiful woman named Olga.



    Years later, Maurice developed a disease called Acromegaly which made his bones keep growing and growing.



    He eventually died of a heart attack at age 51. But he never let his disease get him down, and would have been proud to know that his face and body were the inspiration behind the popular comedy series.



    For legal reasons, and probably something to do with money, DreamWorks which released the film is quiet about the rumour that Tillet's appearance served as the basis for their animated character.

  8. #558
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Get a house for your paperclip

    In 2005, Kyle MacDonald was unemployed, had little money, but wanted to live in a house. With limited options, he concocted an unorthodox plan. Beginning with a red paper clip on his desk in Montreal, he would trade the seemingly useless item for something better; then he would keep trading up until he reached his goal, a house.

    For his first step, he posted the red paper clip in the ‘Barter’ section on Craigslist. From Kyle MacDonald’s book:

    one red paperclip
    This might not surprise you, but below is a picture of a paperclip. It is red.
    This red paperclip is currently sitting on my desk next to my computer. I want to trade this paperclip with you for something bigger or better, maybe a pen, a spoon, or perhaps a boot.
    If you promise to make the trade I will come and visit you, wherever you are, to trade.
    Hope to trade with you soon!
    Kyle

    PS – I’m going to make a continuous chain of ‘up trades’ until I get a house. Or an Island. Or a house on an island. You get the idea.

    A series of 14 trades later, over the course of just one year, and the publicity generated by his personal mission, Kyle transformed his red paperclip into a new home:

    01 Paper clip for Fish-shaped pen.
    02 Fish-shaped pen for a hand-sculpted doorknob.
    03 Doorknob for a Coleman camp stove (with fuel).
    04 Camp stove for a Honda generator.
    05 Generator for an “instant party”: an empty keg, a beer-filling IOU for, and a neon Budweiser sign.
    06 “Instant party” for a snowmobile.
    07 Snowmobile for a two-person trip to British Columbia.
    08 Trip for a cube van.
    09 Cube van for a recording contract with Metalworks.
    10 Recording contract for a year’s rent in Phoenix, Arizona.
    11 Year’s rent for one afternoon with Alice Cooper.
    12 Alice Cooper afternoon for a KISS motorized snow globe.
    13 KISS motorized snow globe to Corbin Bernsen (a large collector of snow globes) for a role in the film Donna on Demand.
    14 Movie role for a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan.



    Kyle wrote a book about his experience, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for “Most Successful Internet Trade.”

    From paper-clip to house in 14 trades: From paper-clip to house in 14 trades | CBC News

  9. #559
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    ^ I wish I'd thought of that!

  10. #560
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neverna View Post
    ^ I wish I'd thought of that!
    Ok - I'll give you a paperclip for a house in return. (cut out the middle trades)

  11. #561
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    The secret of WD40

    San Diego, 1953, a group of engineers from a small company (Rocket Chemical Company) created a product intended for use as an anticorrosive in the aerospace industry.

    WD refers to Water Displacement, and 40 refers to the number of tries until the formula worked. Almost 70 years later, the formula is still in use and despite many attempts by the industry, hasn't been improved.

    First commercial use of WD was to protect the exterior of the American missile, Atlas, from corrosion. The product worked so well that some employees started taking home cans for their personal use. Took a while, but a few years later the CEO decided to bottle the liquid in aerosol cans and sell it to the public.

    From then the company grew exponentially, and the uses given to their product increased as well. Consumers rapidly discovered hundreds of new applications, some of them quite far away from the original intention.

    The secret lies in the decision the company took. Contrary to expectations, they decided not to patent their product, since doing so would mean submitting the recipe; the patent would last only for a few years and after the expiration date, anyone could legally make and sell it.

    A secret so well kept that seven decades later no-one has been able to figure it out.

    WD-40 History | Learn the Stories Behind the WD-40 Brand

  12. #562
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Free money!



    2008, a Russian man named Dmitry Agarkov was sifting through his junk mail, when he came across an offer for a credit card from Tinkoff Bank.

    At first glance the offer didn’t look too bad, offering 13% interest and decent credit limits.

    Interested, Dmitry decided to do what not one in a hundred does, read through the contract to see if it was as good as it seemed. As expected, it wasn’t. There were many differences, but most importantly, the fine print stated that instead of 13%, the interest rate was actually a staggering 45%.

    Most people would have thrown out the application at this point, but Dmitry was irked by what he viewed as a scam, albeit a common one, and decided to have some fun.

    He scanned the application into his computer, then went through and changed many of the bank’s terms to some that he felt were fairer to the customer. He lowered the interest rate to 0%, removed the credit limit, and stated that the customer is “not obliged to pay any fees and charges imposed by bank tariffs.”

    He also added that if the bank tried to change any of the terms of the contract, they would have to pay him c$90,000, and if for whatever reason they tried to cancel the contract, they would have to pay him a further c$180,000.

    After he made these changes, Dmitry printed the contract out, signed it, and sent it to the bank, not expecting to hear from them again.

    A few days later, Dmitry received the signed and certified contract from the bank. He was now the owner of the world’s best credit card!

    For the next 2 years, Dmitry used the card for small purchases, nothing big like a car or holidays, though he would have been well within his rights to do so! He just lived his life normally, making normal purchases.

    2 years later, Tinkoff Bank tried to terminate Dmitry’s credit card after he’d been late making a payment, and sued him for the unpaid fees and late charges totalling about $1,300.

    Dmitry took them to court.

    Tinkoff Bank made the simple argument that they had failed to read the contract, so they didn’t know what it said. Because of this, they wanted the contract invalidated.

    The judge ruled that a contract is a contract, and the modifications that Dmitry had made to the contract were valid, because both he and the bank had signed it. Dmitry did not have to pay any late fees, only the balance he owed before charges.

    A minor victory for Dmitry. But he wasn’t satisfied with this, and decided to countersue Tinkoff Bank, saying that they owed him c$727,000, since they had twice breached the contract by attempting to modify the terms, and also cancel the card, with an extra sum for punitive damages.

    Tinkoff did almost everything they could to keep from paying Dmitry, but fearing the possible consequences of going back into court after the first ruling, they ended up settling with Dmitry.

    Along with an unknown amount of money (likely more than $10,000) Dmitry received a special debit card from the bank, giving up to 30% cash back on some purchases.

    All because he actually read the fine print, and decided to do something about it.

    This kicked off a debate on Reddit and elsewhere, with critics posting that what Dmitry did amounted to fraud; a US attorney puts it simply that he made a counterproposal to the bank, which they accepted, and any US court would agree they are obliged to comply with the terms of the contract.
    Last edited by jabir; 14-01-2021 at 01:35 PM.

  13. #563
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jabir View Post
    A secret so well kept that seven decades later no-one has been able to figure it out.
    a glance at the composition information included in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for WD-40 aerosol indicates the product is primarily petroleum-based, with the main ingredient being “solvent naptha, petroleum, medium aliphatic” (also known as Stoddard Solvent):

    • solvent naphtha petroleum, medium aliphatic, > 60%
    • petroleum base oil as paraffinic distillate, heavy, solvent-dewaxed (severe), 15% to 25%
    • corrosion inhibitor unregulated, 1% to 10%
    • wetting agent unregulated, 1% to 10%
    • fragrance unregulated, 0% to 1%
    • carbon dioxide, 2% to 3%
    Warning: Be cautious if you are a fragile pink

  14. #564
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    What do those numbers add up to, on your calculator, and how specific aren't they?

  15. #565
    Thailand Expat armstrong's Avatar
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    KW assuming that no one in 70years had tried to Google what was in WD40

  16. #566
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Bastards. Thought I could make a fortune by copying KW's ingenious methodology, googled the coke formula, doesn't even work!

  17. #567
    . Neverna's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jabir View Post
    Bastards. Thought I could make a fortune by copying KW's ingenious methodology, googled the coke formula, doesn't even work!
    I'll swap your Google search for a pair of [new] socks.

  18. #568
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    I like one fact on WD-40. It was initially developed specifically for protecting the Atlas rocket with a steel body. Only when employees starting taking the stuff home for private use the manufacturer realized they have a product for the general public, not only for the rocket.

  19. #569
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Next time you watch Godfather 1, follow Brando's eyes when he is delivering dialogue. He rarely looks at the person he is talking to, and this was definitely not in the script!

    Brando was notorious, too fcuking lazy to learn his lines, forcing Coppola to place notes around the set for almost every scene involving the Godfather speaking.

    On screen, Brando is constantly studying the ground, looking up into the trees, glancing at furniture…unscripted acting that totally worked, creating an interesting detached yet thoughtful aura about Don Corleone.

    Once you know what Brando is doing and you see it, it can be pretty funny to see he is reading his lines.


  20. #570
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by armstrong View Post
    KW assuming that no one in 70years had tried to Google what was in WD40
    Not really, showing that the statement no one knows the recipie is about as truthful as KFC’s 11 secret herbs and spices or McDonald’s secret sauce...ie marketing fluff

  21. #571
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Weirder and weirder you get trying to be discreetly obtuse; have you considered if nobody knows the recipe these things wouldn't exist?

    So, someone obviously knows these secret recipes, and yet nobody outside of very small and trusted circles are supposed to know, which keeps them secret.

    ffs!

  22. #572
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Not sure if this is a 'fact', but it's strange, interesting, the pros say it is, and it works in practice:

    You have a Coke vending machine at a public venue, which sells let's say 100 cans daily.

    You place a Pepsi machine next to it.

    All else being equal, how many daily cans of cola do you expect each machine will now sell?

    Fifty each? A sixty-forty split?





    No cheating, pick your numbers...



















    More likely than not, 100 if not 200 each.

    Here's why: When there's only one machine, the question for the consumer is, “do I want a Coke or not?” But when there are two vending machines, that first question is by-passed and becomes, “do I want a Coke or a Pepsi?”


    Counter-intuitive, but having competitors side-by-side can increase sales of both.

    As a marketer put it: This also works with other forms of incentive. Do you want to win a drone or a games console? To do either they have to buy. It’s getting people to choose a preference, knowing they are likely to confuse preference with want or need.

  23. #573
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by Takeovers View Post
    I like one fact on WD-40. It was initially developed specifically for protecting the Atlas rocket with a steel body.
    Wouldn't any generic PX24 be just as good and cheaper?

  24. #574
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jabir View Post
    unscripted acting that totally worked, creating an interesting detached yet thoughtful aura about Don Corleone.
    ...my grandfather (Nonno) was the same way: he never showed excitement or upset with the events in his life. The kitchen and the kids belonged to Nonna; his jobs included a steady income, home repairs and a deep, but understated, appreciation for Nonna's cooking. His circle of friends was small...all men approximately the same age from the area around his home village, speaking the same dialect, reminiscing in the garden with a glass of his homemade wine...
    Majestically enthroned amid the vulgar herd

  25. #575
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    Quote Originally Posted by tomcat View Post
    ... Nonna's cooking. ... speaking the same dialect, reminiscing in the garden with a glass of his homemade wine...
    Life could be much, much worse . . .

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