Total Trivia

[desideratum]

It's Prttey fnuny how we can raed tihs einrte snetnece wtih all tehse ltters all out of palce, and we can cnotniue to keep raednig and sitll mekas snese of waht we are raeding. No mttar how mnay tmies you raed tihs oevr and oevr you can sitll mkae snese of it.
How is taht pssoible?

Our eyes just glance at the first and last letters of a word. As long as the first and last letter of a word is in its' correct position, you can position the middle letters in any order and still make sense of it.

 

[Sienna]

Ever wondered where the word sadism came from?

It originated from the name of a French writer of erotica; Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, the Marquis de Sade (1740 - 1814).

His novels featured hints of rape, bestiality and necrophilia, which is the correct meaning of the modern day description of sadism. Although I say hints, most of his work was in the main philosophical and erotic by his French readers.

It is said that de Sade lived a scandalous libertine existence and, purportedly, repeatedly procured young prostitutes as well as employees of both sexes in his chateau (castle). He was also accused of blasphemy, a serious offense at that time. His behavior included an affair with his wife's sister and a number of other sexual offenses. And for this behaviour he was imprisoned for the rest of his life.

 

[smotherman]

Every blue-eyed person on planet Earth has descended from a single common ancestor with a genetic mutation who lived 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.

 

[smotherman]

Fidgeting can account for a 40% increase over a resting metabolism.

 

[smotherman]

People who take three 30-minute naps per week have an amazing 37% reduced risk of heart disease.

 

[smotherman]

Although calcium is important to bone strength, 99% of the calcium in the human body is in the teeth.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

During the Christmas season, more than 1.76 billion candy canes will be made.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

The kiwi fruit was originally called the Chinese gooseberry.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

When viewed from above, rainbows are doughnut-shaped.

 

[smotherman]

Raisins are made from grapes that have dried in the sun for two to three weeks. Most of the raisins eaten in the United States come from California and about three quarters of all raisins are eaten with breakfast.

 

[smotherman]

The average person in the United States eats 140 pounds of potatoes every year.

 

[smotherman]

The biggest hamburger ever served weighed 8,266 lbs. It was cooked in 2001 at the Burger Fest in Seymour, Wisconsin


Good god!

 

[smotherman]

More than 87 billion eggs are produced in the U.S. each year The average person eats the equivalent of 254 eggs yearly

 

[Sienna]

The Wicker Man was a large wicker statue of a human supposedly used by the ancient Celtic Druids for human sacrifice. According to Julius Caesar's diaries, the Commentarii de Bello Gallico.

It is a myth that virgins were sacrificed to the pagan gods of the celts. Anyone could be sacrificed by choice of both the tribe and the person chosen.

Today the Wicker Man is still burned during pagan festivals, without the human sacrifice.

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Wicker-Man-movie-06.jpg

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

More than a third of all adults hit their alarm clock's "snooze" button each morning — an average of three times before they get up. Those most guilty of snatching some extra sleep are those in the 25–34 age bracket, at 57 percent.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Researchers at Bradley University, Illinois, have recently published a list of the most promiscuous countries in the world, based on the number of one night stands. The top ten culprits are...

1 - United Kingdom
2 - Germany
3 - Netherlands
4 - Czech Republic
5 - Australia
6 - USA
7 - France
8 - Turkey
9 - Mexico
10 - Canada

The researchers blame the situation on a decline of religious scruples, the growth of equal rights for women and a highly sexualised popular culture.

 

[Daizie]

Christmas has been celebrated for many centuries, but the custom of sending greeting cards at Christmas didn't begin until 1843.

That year, an Englishman named Henry Cole wanted to send his friends a note wishing them happiness at Christmas. He hired an artist named John Horsley to design the world's first Christmas card. This card showed a large family gathered around a table. On each side of the picture were smaller scenes showing people giving food and clothing to the poor. The message read: "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you."

Christmas cards didn't become popular in the United States until about 30 years later. Today, Americans send about four billion Christmas cards a year — that's 20 for every person!

A California man once sent more than 62,000 Christmas cards in a single year!

 

[Daizie]

"It's a Wonderful Life" appears on TV more often than any other holiday movie.

 

[Daizie]

How Do You Say, Merry Christmas?


Glaedelig Jul - Danish

Vrolijike Kerst - Dutch

Hyvvaa Joulua - Finnish

Frohe Weihnachten - German

Kala Christouyenna - Greek

Gledileg Jol - Icelandic

Buon Natale - Italian

God Jul - Norwegian

Feliz Natal - Portuguese

Heri za Krismas - Swahili

God Jul - Swedish

Iyi Noeller - Turkish

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

The French term for D-Day is J-Jour.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Americans consumed 76 billion pounds of red meat and poultry in the year 2000, up 21% from a decade earlier.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Scientists have identified only 4,000 different viruses, a fraction of the estimated 400,000 believed to exist on Earth.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

600 million years ago the length of the day was about 2 hours less than it is now at just less than 22 hours.
This is due to a slowing down of the Earth's spin which is caused by the friction of the tides on the Earth's surface.

 

[NewTemptations]

Sex and the Law

Whereas in California pretty much anything goes, states like Florida are rather conservative in their view of sex. Practices such as oral sex and cohabitation are illegal under any circumstances.

 

[NewTemptations]

Sex and the Law

Oral sex is perhaps the issue that causes the most problems in a legal sense.

Sodomy is legally defined as homosexual behavior in most cases, but in some states its meaning extends to include anything seen as "deviate sexual conduct" and hence unnatural. In states like Kansas, Missouri and Indiana, oral sex is classified as sodomy