A landmark longitudinal study of twins proved a small but statistically significant difference in IQ based on the gravitational differences between sleeping on the top bunk versus the bottom bunk. A later study found even stronger correlations when one twin had a bedroom on an upper floor while the other’s bedroom was on the ground floor or basement.
Nixon’s jowls are preserved in the Smithsonian, albeit not usually on display to the general public.
An old Iowa law specifically prohibits shucking corn in a, “lewd, debauched, or indecent manner” while in the company of women or children.
During World War II there was a tremendous need for the destruction of confidential documents. As the mechanical shredder had not yet been invented, the covert operations agencies employed vast numbers of little old ladies with excellent security clearances to tear pieces of paper into long, narrow strips.
I have actually convinced several people of this. The idea of burn bags never occurs to them.
The thirteenth element on the periodic table is Aluminum or Al. However the ‘Al’ isn’t short for Aluminum. It’s named after its discoverer, Albert Hopfstraefer. Ironically, Hopfstraefer was incredibly superstitious and began to see the number 13 in everything around him, going mad, and committing suicide just short of the age of 27. His story was the inspiration for the Jim Carrey movie The Number 23. The titular number was changed to 23 b/c the director, Joel Schumacher, is superstitious of the number 27! You now, some people won’t believe this, but press “Like or Share” if you believe!
You can create all sorts of statements that appear plausible on their face by exploiting people’s fuzzy sense of time. I.E. all things that happened several thousand (several million, etc.) years ago happened at the same time.
“Several T. Rex skeletons have been found with old Stegosaurus spikes in them, with wounds that had apparently not been fatal as evidenced by new bone growth”
“Julius Cesar rose sharply in prominence after leading the successful siege of Carthage during the Punic wars”
There is a small section of Antarctica that never gets snow or ice- in fact it has an almost tropical climate, with palm trees and white sand beaches. It is kept warm by an ocean current from the Pacific that flows down past the coast of South America, called the Tierra Del Fuego Flow (or just Fuego Flow).
There are no SDMB Mods, at least not in human form. All of the moderation done on this board is by a very sophisticated program that uses analysis and feedback to appear as if people are doing the job. Unfortunately, the program developers implanted a strong snark loop that occasionally gets out of control - it takes three successive CTRL-ALT-DEL to break the loop, and no one knows why.
Sorry to quote myself but I thought some of you might like to know more about this part of Antarctica.
It is called El Ricardo Grandé and is a peninsula which curves upward, jutting into the southern Pacific Ocean. It is about half the size of Florida (to Antarctica’s eternal embarrassment).
It was named after its discoverer, Big Dick McGee- a Scottish sea captain who, through a series of unusual events ended up with an entirely Spanish crew. “El Ricardo Grandé” is how they affectionately referred to their beloved leader.
Mountain goats evolve with shorter legs on one side or the other, so they can stand on steep hillsides: left or right depending on the prevailing winds they face away from.
He took it, and he killed it. Since 1938 and the annexation of Austria by Germany, there has not been a single ballet performance in the entire country.
The D.C. Metro maintains a special two-car train for the exclusive use of the President, stored on a discreet side-track just north of the Federal Triangle station. Officially, the train (call sign “Subway 1”) is intended for quick, underground evacuation of the First Family in case of emergency, but there are unconfirmed reports from the Clinton era of occasional wild, mobile parties taking place aboard as the train wandered the system after the Metro’s midnight closing to public traffic.
In order to be hired as a Ranger in the National Parks, you have to demonstrate that you can safely trap a live rattlesnake, using only a forked branch.
Disney’s “Frozen” is based on the true story of Sophia of Nassau, the longest-reigning Queen of Sweden and a champion ice sculptor. They changed the character name to “Elsa,” to avoid confusion with a previous Disney princess, Sophia the First.
