Pointless Trivia

Actor Lou Costello (Abbot & Costello) was born in Patterson, NJ. He has a park named after him, and has a statue there. I know, I’ve seen it.

In Albuquerque NM, there is a series of streets named after the states in alphabetical order. There is a series of streets named after Presidents in chronological order, and a series of streets near the University of New Mexico that are named after Ivy League schools. Also, the city is divided into quadrants, and every address has a “NE, NW, SE, or SW” in it.

“Walkie-talkie” in French is “talkie-walkie.”

There were six Marx Brothers: Manfred (died in infancy), Chico, Groucho, Harpo, Gummo, and Zeppo.

The primary export of Lesotho is mohair.

People from Nigeria are called Nigerians, while people from Niger are called Nigeriens.

The term “okay” is actually more properly “O.K.” and comes from the political campign of Martin Van Buren, who came from Kinderhook new york. He was called “Old Kinderhook.”

Certainly, starting from my apartment in Illinois, I’d have to drive through Canada to reach even the southern strip of Alaska. Were I starting in Alaska, I’d have to drive through Canada to reach 48 other states.

“2. Name the two locations in the United States that, traveling by car,one MUST travel through a foreign country to reach:”

How 'bout Alaska?

Speaking of streets…

  • Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons,” is from Portland, Oregon, (I only know this because I’m from Portland). For some reason, he decided to show that by naming characters after streets in Portland. I don’t know the whole list, but off the top of my head, there are streets in Portland named Burns, Kearney, Lovejoy, and Flanders. Can someone help me out who knows all of the names?

  • A nybble is half of a byte.

  • Personal trivia: My dad plays drums in a band who’s keyboarder used to play for the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, who are also from Portland.

The Egyptians discovered leavened bread when a brewer added beer instead of water to the dough.

A man named van Houten developed a screw press that enabled the pressing of cacao beans to remove the cocoa butter–producing cocoa, and changing how chocolate was made.

Catherine de’Medici transformed French cooking when she arrived in France in 1533 from Florence. At the time, cooks from Italy were far more advanced in cooking techniques, and helped form the basis of classic French cooking.

CrankyAsAnOldMan:

According to Richard Schenkman’s “Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of Amercan History” the term “OK” does NOT come from “Old Kinderhook”, but from the then-popular fad of misspelling words and using the resulting abbreviations. “OK” was from “Oll Korrect”. Hard to believe, but Schenkman gives lots of footnotes, and I’ve encountered this explanation elsewhere.

Sideshow Bob Terwilliger (sp?) is one. I haven’t been in Portland in six years, or else I’d remember more. Great city, though!

The Master on the origins of OK

My mistake…your right about Alaska. I usually specify the question to only include the lower 48 states.

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
(Hardly seems worth it)

If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
(Now that’s more like it)

A pig’s orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.
(In my next life I want to be a pig)
How’d they figure this out, and why?)

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(Still can’t get over that pig thing)
(Don’t try this at home…maybe at work?)

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
(Is that why Flipper was always smiling?)
(And pigs get 30-minute orgasms? Doesn’t seem fair)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
(Hmmmmmmmmm…)

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.
(If you’re ambidextrous do you split the difference?)

The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
(From drinking little bottles of…?)
(Did taxpayers pay for this research??)

Polar bears are left handed.
Who knew…? Who cares? How’d they find out? Ask them?)

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
(What can be so tasty on the bottom of the pond?)

The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It’s like a human jumping the length of a football field.
(30 minutes…can you imagine?? And why pigs?)

A cockroach will live nine days without it’s head, before it starves to death.
(Creepy)

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male’s head off. (Honey, I’m home. What the…) (Well, at least pigs get a break there…)

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
(In my next life I still want to be a pig… quality over quantity)

Butterflies taste with their feet.
Oh, geez)
(That’s almost as bad as catfish)

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than it’s brain.
(I know some people like that.)

Starfish don’t have brains.
(I know some people like that too.)

After reading all these, all I can say is…Lucky Pigs…
(I didn’t write the things in paraentheses btw)

Imagine screwing up trivia that cecil himself has covered.

I’ve got newbie written ALL over me…

Mosquitoes can flap their wings as many as 1,000 times a second.

And while he was in the Army, he used to sleep with his guitar.

Buzz!!!

You are 50% correct on this one :slight_smile:

Mt. Evans is indeed 14,260’ above sea level. However, the parking lot, which marks the end of the paved road, is at an elevation of 14,130’ above sea level.

I’ve trudged my way up that last 130’, and I damn well want the credit for it!

*Comanche, Captain Miles Keogh’s horse, was the only representative of Custer’s command to survive the Battle of little Bighorn.

*The Black Hole of Calcutta was actually a cell less than 20 foot square into which were shoved 146 Britons (1756) and from which only 23 emerged alive.

*Walter Brennan is the only person ever to have won three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor.