Total Trivia

[desideratum]

4 A.D. saw the first writings on the cultivation of raspberries.

Various strains of the raspberry are native to both hemispheres. Common wisdom places the wild raspberry’s earliest days in eastern Asia, with the natural propagating of berry bushes around the world via birds, animals, and human travelers.

Raspberry leaves can be used to make tea for medicinal purposes.

 

[daus42]

Pears are a member of the rose family.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

The banana is a distant cousin to ginger, turmeric, and cardamom, and is botanically classified as a berry.

 

[MikeCasanova]

Tomato is technically a fruit, and corn is actually a grain.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Butternut squash and other members of the squash family come from South and Central America. More than 10,000 years ago, the squash had very little flesh but had many seeds. As cultivation progressed and the squash was imported to Europe and the Americas, the flesh content increased and the sweetness improved.

 

[MikeCasanova]

England was only introduced to tobacco after Sir Walter Raliegh returned from the american colonies.

 

[Sensualdreamer]

Vodka has medicinal uses. If you ever have a sore throat, drink some plain vodka. The vodka will steralise your throat and kill any harmful bacteria that may be causing an infection. It also helps w/ toothaches

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Alcohol has been used medicinally throughout recorded history; its medicinal properties are mentioned 191 times in the Old and New Testaments.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Moderate drinkers tend to have better health and live longer than those who are either abstainers or heavy drinkers. In addition to having fewer heart attacks and strokes, moderate consumers of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine or distilled spirits or liquor) are generally less likely to suffer hypertension or high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease, Alzheimer's disease and the common cold.

 

[daus42]

England was only introduced to tobacco after Sir Walter Raliegh returned from the american colonies.

Tobacco use causes 20% of cancer deaths worldwide.

 

[desideratum]

Each molecule of alcohol is less than a billionth of a metre long and consists of a few atoms of oxygen, carbon and hydrogen.

Alcohol consumption decreases during the time of the full moon.

 

[RUlookingup]

Central Park in the middle of Manhattan covers a larger area than the principality of Monaco.

 

[RUlookingup]

New York's Central Park is the first urban landscaped park in the United States.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

3.6 percent of the total land area of the USA is in the National Park system.

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

That distinct odour of the seaside is the result of the action of bacteria giving off their waste product dimethylsulphide.

Or (translated into USA-speak)...

That distinct odor of the seaboard is a bacterium that produces dimethylsulfide

 

[Lady_Mornington]

There are 30 recorded runestones on the Isle of Man

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

There are 30 recorded runestones on the Isle of Man

I was interested by your post because I have been there as a young child yet I know little about the history of the island, so I did a Google...

Concise History of the Isle of Man
Man became an island as the glaciers of the last Ice Age retreated and the sea level rose around ten thousand years ago
Was first settled during the Iron Age
50 - 450 occupied by the Romans
1000 was subjected to Viking raids
Until 1266 the Isle of Man was owned by Norway
It was a separate country with its own King
1300's - 1500's sovereignty passes between Scotland, Ireland and England
Manx is a Celtic language spoken on the Isle of Man and is closely related to the now extinct Irish dialects of Ulster and Galloway
In 1313 Robert the Bruce, the King of Scotland invaded
In 1334 Edward III became the Isle of Man's first English king
In 1405 Henry IV gave the Isle of Man to the Stanley family and it later passed to the Dukes of Athol
It was used extensively by smugglers as its position and virtual independence made it difficult for the British to prosecute
In addition to the smugglers a local Manx law meant that debts in England and Ireland could not be recovered in the Isle of Man
The Isle of Man therefore provided sanctuary for vast numbers of debtors and other profligates
In 1765 the third Duke was induced to surrender the regality and customs duties to the Crown for £70,000 and an annuity of £2,000 allowing prosecution
In 1829, the British Government acquired all remaining privileges from the Dukes of Athol for a lump sum payment of £410,000
The Island's democratically elected government exercises full control of its internal affairs and territorial waters - the Island's Parliament is called the Tynwald
The ancient Manx Celtic language is still used on road name signs and taught as a specialist subject in Manx schools.

 

[Lady_Mornington]

The dinosaur Leaellynasaura was discovered (?) in 1989 by Patricia Vickers-Rich and her husband Tom. It's named after their daughter Leaellyn

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks otherwise it will digest itself.

 

[Lady_Mornington]

The Canadian-US border is the world's longest border (8,891 kilometres) and also the longest undefended border in the worl

 

[EesomeBeastie]

The Canadian-US border is the world's longest border (8,891 kilometres) and also the longest undefended border in the worl

Undefended? You mean you didn't know the Canadians have all those grizzly bears trained to attack should the Americans try to roll in?

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Mauna Kea has an altitude of 4,205 meters (13,796 feet) - much lower than Mount Everest. However, Mauna Kea is an island and if the distance from the bottom of the nearby ocean floor to the peak of the island is measured, then Mauna Kea is taller than Mount Everest.

Mauna Kea is over 10,000 meters tall compared to 8,848 meters for Mount Everest - making it the world's tallest mountain.

 

[Lady_Mornington]

The most expensive stamp is the Treskilling Yellow. The estimated value exceeds 2 million US$

 

[Gaia_Lorraine]

Dead Sea Depression - The lowest point on Earth
Elevation: 413 meters below sea level (approximate and fluctuating)
Country: Israel, Jordan, Syria
Latitude/Longitude: 31°32′N 35°29′E
The Dead Sea Depression is an extensive area of land that is below sea level. It contains the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, a portion of the Jordan River, large areas of cultivated land and many communities. The shoreline of the Dead Sea is the lowest dry land on Earth. It is approximately 413 meters below sea level. However, this elevation is constantly changing. The surface of the Dead Sea rises and falls as precipitation, evaporation, irrigation, salt production and other natural and human activities consume the water of the Jordan River, the Dead Sea and its tributaries.

 

[desideratum]

Dead Sea Depression - The lowest point on Earth
Elevation: 413 meters below sea level (approximate and fluctuating)
Country: Israel, Jordan, Syria
Latitude/Longitude: 31°32′N 35°29′E
The Dead Sea Depression is an extensive area of land that is below sea level. It contains the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, a portion of the Jordan River, large areas of cultivated land and many communities. The shoreline of the Dead Sea is the lowest dry land on Earth. It is approximately 413 meters below sea level. However, this elevation is constantly changing. The surface of the Dead Sea rises and falls as precipitation, evaporation, irrigation, salt production and other natural and human activities consume the water of the Jordan River, the Dead Sea and its tributaries.

I never realised it was that low!

Salt preserves foods by creating a hostile environment for micro-organisms. Salt brine dehydrates bacterial cells within foods, alters osmotic pressure and inhibits bacterial growth & subsequent spoilage. Salting fish made long-range explorations possible in the age of sailing ships.

*tip* cream will whip better if you add a pinch of salt.