# Trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 1999, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309 "1999-10-09T21:45:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChrisCTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@ChrisCTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisCTP)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 1999, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/1 "1999-10-09T21:45:00Z")
I received this in my email box recently…thought it might be fun to share. Any additions/corrections? 1. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated. 2. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. 3. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. 4. The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing. 5. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes. 6. There are more chickens than people in the world. 7. Two-thirds of the world’s eggplant is grown in New Jersey. 8. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is “screeched.” 9. On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag. 10. All of the clocks in the movie “Pulp Fiction” are stuck on 4:20. 11. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple. 12. “Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”. 13. All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill. 14. Almonds are a member of the peach family. 15. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance. 16. Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable. 17. There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. 18. Los Angeles’ full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula” 19. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear. 20. An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. 21. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur. 22. In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10. 23. Al Capone’s business card said he was a used furniture dealer. 24. The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”. 25. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours. 26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds 27. A dime has 118 ridges around the edge. 28. It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. 29. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world. 30. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak. 31. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. 32. Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister. 33. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes. 34. There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball. 35. “Stewardesses” is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 1999, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/2 "1999-10-09T21:50:00Z")
I’ve gotten this list before…but there’s usually something on it about pigs having three, six, or thirty minute orgasms. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 1999, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/3 "1999-10-09T22:12:00Z")
I know that several of these claims are false or half-truths. Before I reveal them, Anybody else wanna take a stab? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 1999, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/4 "1999-10-09T22:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is “screeched.” Thus tying with _stretched_ and _strengths_, if not with others. > [@](#): > > 1. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours. I have heard that the _mayfly_ has an **adult** life of 24 hours, but I’m fairly sure that the larval and nymph stages of these insects are rather longer that 24 hours. > [@](#): > > 1. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds Simple bushwa. Some goldfish can recognize the one person in a family that feeds them (an act that requires memory as well as sight). * * * Tom~ ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 1999, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/5 "1999-10-09T22:21:00Z")
Mostly correct and interesting, but I have a couple issues off the top of my head: 1. “Strengths” is just as long as “screeched”. 2. Actually, 48 states’ names are on the real Lincoln Memorial, but only 26 are on the back of the $5 bill. See [http://www.centercoin.com/currency\_information/FAQ/five\_dollar\_bill.htm](http://www.centercoin.com/currency_information/FAQ/five_dollar_bill.htm) 3. Cecil himself answered this one, in “Return of the Straight Dope,” p. 236-7. There’re dozens. Anyway. This is by no means complete, but it’s the best I can do without research. ---
**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 1999, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/6 "1999-10-09T23:08:00Z")
Assuming that you can still find a Canadian $2 bill, I’m not sure this “oversight” had not already been corrected before all the ($1 and $2) bills were replaced with coins. As far as it being impossible to sneeze with eyes open, I’d say it’s somewaht true, I (among others, no doubt) having achieved the “feat” of sneezing with eyes in a partially-open-partially-close position (the equivalent of a squint). ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 1999, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/7 "1999-10-10T02:21:00Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing. heh. heh heh. . . * * * “I’m just too much for human existence – I should be animated.” –Wayne Knight ---
**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 1999, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/8 "1999-10-11T21:19:00Z")
1. How about _unkemt_? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 1999, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/9 "1999-10-11T21:27:00Z")
I think golf balls are made now with a differing numbers of dimples. * * * “The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.” - _Humphrey Bogart_ ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 1999, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/10 "1999-10-11T21:47:00Z")
1. “sporange” rhymes with “orange”. Means “produce spores”, IIRC. Can you work it into a limerick, TennHippie? * * * “Eppur, si muove!” - Galileo Galilei ---
**Author:** ![Pixoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pixoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixoid)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 1999, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/11 "1999-10-11T21:53:00Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. “Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”. “How about unkemt?” Gilly, it’s spelled unkem **p** t. ---
**Author:** ![torq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@torq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torq)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/12 "1999-10-13T00:09:00Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. Dynamite is, IIRC, nitroglycerin and kaolin (a kind of clay). It’s entirely possible that peanuts are used as one of the original sources of the glycerine, but peanuts qua peanuts are not in dynamite that I know of. ---
**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/13 "1999-10-13T00:29:00Z")
If anyone cares for the _longer_version: [http://www.iea.com/~lswanson/trivia.html](http://www.iea.com/~lswanson/trivia.html) ---
**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/14 "1999-10-13T00:37:00Z")
And if THAT isn’t enough… [http://www.southhouse.com/](http://www.southhouse.com/) P.S.: I’m done 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/15 "1999-10-13T01:21:00Z")
Here’s a ling to Cecil’s “-dous” column MaxT refers to: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_236.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_236.html) Forget the world, Jersey grows less than 30% of the total _American_ eggplant production, at least in 1993. [http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu:70/0/data-sets/crops/9X180/93180/B/epveg.us](http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu:70/0/data-sets/crops/9X180/93180/B/epveg.us) #14 is true, both are in the _Prunus_ genus. ## This list is everywhere. I’m surprised there is no FAQ responding to it… “The world ends when I die. And as far as I’m concerned, the rest of the universe might as well call it a day too.” – Matt Groening ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/16 "1999-10-13T03:46:00Z")
## I have to go with the list on the golf balls question (Sorry, Unc!). Take a look. There is a definite pattern (IIRC, it’s icosahedral). And the dimples do affect performance. So it stands to reason that a “regulation” golf ball would have a standard number of dimples. Strangers have the best candy. ---
**Author:** ![AuraSeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@AuraSeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuraSeer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/17 "1999-10-13T05:52:00Z")
Different brands and styles of golf ball have differing numbers of dimples. There is no such thing as a “regulation” ball, any more than there is one “regulation” driver. * * * Laugh hard; it’s a long way to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/18 "1999-10-13T15:16:00Z")
I don’t know anything for sure about the golf balls; I was just regurgitating some bile I thought I had heard at one time. A cursory web search didn’t turn up anything substantive. I am absolutely clueless about golf having never played. I am however, hopelessly addicted to the Golden Tee video golf that’s in all the bars around here. * * * “The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.” - _Humphrey Bogart_ ---
**Author:** ![Donj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Donj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donj)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/19 "1999-10-13T15:36:00Z")
While Im not sure about a ‘regulation golf ball’. I do know Greg Norman had to forfeit a tourney for the use of a ball not approved by the PGA. –Donj ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309/20 "1999-10-13T18:15:00Z")
Geez! Being wrong is getting really boooring!! > [@](#): > > [http://www.fantomgolf.com/super.html](http://www.fantomgolf.com/super.html) > [@](#): > > [http://www.mame.syr.edu/simfluid/redder/golf.html](http://www.mame.syr.edu/simfluid/redder/golf.html) ## I still insist there must be some sort of regulations governing golf balls, though, at least in tournament (PGA) play. “The inability of science to grasp Quality, as an object of enquiry, makes it impossible for science to provide a scale of values.” Robert Pirsig [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivia/9309.md?page=2)