Fun Friday Fact - hope you respond weekly to give us all a smile

[Heather Shay]

Being inundated with snow - 

 

First one goes out to my friends in Seattle area

FEELING MORE DEVILISH? THE LARGEST SNOWBALL FIGHT ON RECORD TOOK PLACE IN SEATTLE.

Exactly 5834 snow fighters came together to exchange frozen barrages to create the largest snowball fight in the world on January 12, 2013.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK TRIED TO MAKE SNOW ILLEGAL.

America’s snowiest major city has an impressive arsenal of plows, but in 1992 it tried a new trick to control white stuff. The city’s Common Council passed a decree that any more snow before Christmas Eve was illegal. As it turns out, Mother Nature is a scofflaw—it snowed just two days later.

 IT'S A MYTH THAT NO TWO SNOWFLAKES ARE EXACTLY THE SAME.

In 1988, a scientist found two identical snow crystals. They came from a storm in Wisconsin.

 THE LARGEST SNOWFLAKE MIGHT HAVE BEEN 15 INCHES WIDE.

According to some sources, the largest snowflakes ever observed fell during a snowstorm in January 1887 at Montana’s Fort Keogh. While witnesses said the flakes were “larger than milk pans,” these claims have not been substantiated.

 

[miz miranda]

More winter tidbits, as I sit in the icy mid-south

 

Snow comes in two main forms.

There are actually two different types of snow phenomena. Some snow is dry, while other snow can be wet! That’s why you get some which is powdery and solid, or dry, and other snow which is softer and easier to play with.

 

Let’s squash some myths about snowflakes.

Snowflakes will differ from flake to flake, but they are all hexagonal.

Actually – not all snowflakes are completely unique. There have been very rare cases where two snowflakes found have matched up. We certainly wouldn’t like to be the ones playing that intense a game of spot the difference!

The US has seen lots of snow in one heap!

The most snowfall ever recorded in one winter took place in Mt Baker, Washington. This ski resort saw snow fall to a staggering 1,100 inches between 1998 and 1999.

 

We probably see more of the Sun during winter.

Believe it or not, during the winter, the Earth is actually likely to be closer to the Sun. The drop in temperature during the season has nothing to do with our location in relation to the Sun, rather, it relates to the Earth’s tilt. While one hemisphere witnesses warmer weather in the wintertime, the other will get colder weather.

That’s why Australia, for example, celebrates a warm winter compared to the UK and USA, where things really start to get bitterly cold.

 

Winter might not warm the heart.

It’s thought that winter is the worst time for many relationships. Statistics and research shows that couples may double their chance of splitting up between December and February. Whether this is due to holiday pressure or seasonal depression is open to debate.

[Ivy]

29 minutes ago, miz miranda said:

splitting up between December and February

Sadly, this was the case for me.

[Heather Shay]

• It is impossible for most people to lick their own elbow. (try it!)
• A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
• A shrimp's heart is in its head.
• It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
• The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is believed to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.

[Davie]

3 hours ago, Heather Shay said:

The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is believed to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.

Not true. Check out this one. It takes incomprehensible incommunicability to say this thung thwister. (And I can actually say it).

 

"Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three-thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. Now if, Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of of unsifted thistles, thrust three-thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, how many thistles can'st thou thrust through the thick of thy thumb . . . in sifting a sieve-full of unsifted thistles?

Success to the successful thistle sifter!"

[miz miranda]

a potpourri of facts

 

A snail can sleep for three years.

All polar bears are left handed.

Elephants are the only animals that can’t jump.

Coca-Cola was originally green because of fresh cocoa leaves.

The bulletproof vest was actually invented by a pizza delivery guy from Detroit USA, after he was shot twice on the job.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history. Spades – King David, Clubs – Alexander the Great, Hearts – Charlemagne, Diamonds – Julius Caesar.

 

Bonus state facts

If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.

If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle.

If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

[Davie]

4 hours ago, Davie said:

Not true. Check out this one. It takes incomprehensible incommunicability to say this thung thwister. (And I can actually say it).

 

"Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three-thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. Now if, Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of of unsifted thistles, thrust three-thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, how many thistles can'st thou thrust through the thick of thy thumb . . . in sifting a sieve-full of unsifted thistles?

Success to the successful thistle sifter!"

Bet you didn't think I could perform it. Listen:

 

Thistle Sifter.m4a

[Heather Nicole]

7 hours ago, Heather Shay said:

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

 

Considering their teeth and strong snapping jaw, I imagine that's for the best!

[Heather Shay]

FILISTIMLYANIN/GETTY IMAGES

It’s impossible to hum while holding your nose

You just tested it, didn’t you? Normally, when you hum, the air is able to escape through your nose to create the sound, and of course, it can’t do that when you’re holding it shut. This is one of the weird facts you can test out for yourself. Go ahead, try it.

[miz miranda]

Stuff we just don't need to know

 

Sleepy summers all round!

While some animals hibernate, others estivate. Estivation is sleeping through the summer, and animals such as crocodiles, tortoises and snails all follow this pattern

A unique word that’s not used too often.

‘Eunoia’ is the shortest word in the English language to contain all five vowels. It means, ‘Goodwill created by a speaker whilst addressing an audience’.

 

In case you’re in a hurry…

Alaska is the only state in the US which you can type with letters all in one keyboard row.

 

It’s not just for men…

Australian and Israeli researchers discovered that if Viagra is added to the water in a vase of flowers, they can remain erect for up to a week longer than expected!

There’s a reason why we shorten it!

The full name of Bangkok, Thailand is a mouthful. It’s technically called ‘Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukan Prasit’. Thank goodness they shortened it!

 

[Heather Shay]

24 minutes ago, miz miranda said:

‘Eunoia’ is the shortest word in the English language to contain all five vowels. It means, ‘Goodwill created by a speaker whilst addressing an audience’.

Love this word. thx

[Marcie Jensen]

40 minutes ago, miz miranda said:

Australian and Israeli researchers discovered that if Viagra is added to the water in a vase of flowers, they can remain erect for up to a week longer than expected!

Now I know what to do with the old ones from several years ago!

[Jackie C.]

4 hours ago, Heather Shay said:

You just tested it, didn’t you? Normally, when you hum, the air is able to escape through your nose to create the sound, and of course, it can’t do that when you’re holding it shut. This is one of the weird facts you can test out for yourself. Go ahead, try it.

 

I did... and I can totally do it. Probably because I had to learn to do it the other way because my sinuses being open for business is a roll of the dice at best.

 

Hugs!

[Heather Shay]

BOB BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES

Fact: Sea otters hold hands when they sleep.

They do that because it keeps them from floating away from each other while they sleep. 

[Jani]

Holding hands is so beneficial in many ways!  

[Astrid]

Why did the cowboy get a dachshund?

 

...to get a long, little doggie!

 

 

[miz miranda]

where some common sayings come from

 

Go the Whole 9 Yards

 

World War II Fighter pilots received a 9-yard chain of ammunition. Therefore, when a pilot used all of his ammunition on one target, he gave it “the whole 9 yards.”

 

Let Your Hair Down

Parisian nobles risked condemnation from their peers if they appeared in public without an elaborate hairdo. Some of the more intricate styles required hours of work, so of course it was a relaxing ritual for these aristocrats to come home at the end of a long day and let their hair down.

 

Run Amok

This short saying comes from the Malaysian word amoq, which describes the behavior of tribesmen who, under the influence of opium, became wild, rampaging mobs that attacked anybody in their path.

 

Saved by the Bell

As scary as it sounds, being buried alive was once a common occurrence. People who feared succumbing to such a fate were buried in special coffins that connected to a bell above ground. At night, guards listened for any bells in case they had to dig up a living person and save them “by the bell.”

 

Blowing Smoke up my Ass

Oh, you’re just blowing smoke up my ass,” is something you might hear someone say when they think you’re just telling them what they want to hear. But in 18th-century England, blowing smoke up your ass was an actual medical procedure, and no, we aren’t kidding.

By the late 1700s, the blowing smoke had become a regularly applied medical procedure, mostly used to revive people thought to be nearly deceased, usually drowning victims. The process was so common, in fact, that several major waterways kept the instrument, consisting of a bellows and flexible tube, nearby in case of such emergencies.

The tobacco smoke was believed to increase the heart rate of the victim and encourage respiratory functions, as well as “dry out” the insides of the waterlogged individual, making this method of delivery more preferred than breathing air directly into the lungs via the mouth.

 

[Heather Shay]

A flock of flamingos is called a flamboyance.

[Marcie Jensen]

A flamboyance of flamingos?  :I ;ove this! Just had a mental picture and can't stop laughing...

 

[Davie]

It's either "a quit of cowards, or a runaway of cowards" —I can't remember which.

— Davie

[miz miranda]

Going along with the names

 

A Congress of Baboons

I'm not sure if this refers to the house and senate or the apes

A Concerto of Crickets

A Wisdom of Wombats

A Rhumba of Rattlesnakes

A Bouquet of Hummingbirds

A Grumble of Pugs

[Katie M]

This holds special meaning to me as I continue my journey...the fact that I found it on a Friday is even better!

[Jani]

I whole-heartedly agree! 

[Marcie Jensen]

19 hours ago, miz miranda said:

Going along with the names

 

A Congress of Baboons

I'm not sure if this refers to the house and senate or the apes

If it does refer to the house and senate, it's a blatant insult to simians.

[Heather Shay]