I’d like to start by saying I have an exceptional amount of knowledge in each of these fields, but am not an expert within them. I am regularly humbled and educated when around te real experts.
Horses. Pretty much all things horse, be it breeds and colors, tack and training, history and use.
Similarly–horse racing. I’m a trivia freak and have a noggin full of record times, dates, lists, pedigree lines, etc. When I can’t sleep, I run through a chronological list of the last 35 Kentucky Derby winners.
Animals in general. Having had a wide variety of exotic pets, I’ve gained an above-the-norm amount of knowledge of several different species. Beyond that, I just love animals and am fascinated by them, so I study various biology subjects for pleasure.
Education/teaching techniques. Being a teacher, I’d hope I’d be pretty up on behavioral/educational theory. It’s fascinating, at least to me.
Heh…50 states and capitals. Having taught them for so long, I know them all and can place them on a blank map.
To iterate others; I am only an “expert” in #1 and am thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from true experts, but here goes:
[list=1]
[li]Propery Management a.k.a. Feces Management[/li][li]Star Trek TOS[/li][li]Cats (the little furry companions, not the musical)[/li][li]Clive Staples Lewis (the man and his work)[/li][li]Vivien Leigh [/li][li]Laurence Olivier[/li][li]Bad Theater[/li][li]Much more completely useless information that has no practical application in RL, 'ya think that might be why I’m not exactly rolling in the dough?[/li][/list=1]
I forgot to add World Capitals to my list. A kid in my study hall asked my one once, and I didn’t know the answer ( I am a math teacher you know). I was so dissapointed with myself, that I started with the biggies, and kept going and going. I know every capital in the world now, and can usually answer them with about 98% accuracy.
moejuck, I should have added that I am not an expert so much as more knowledgable than your average Joe. I don’t know much about the history except that
the sport is about 2000 years old, but it didn’t become popular as a spectator sport until the 1600’s
it possibly is an imported sport from the Asian continent (Korea and Mongolia also have their own variety of sumo)
the current system of six tournaments per year didn’t start until 1958
it uses a lot of Shinto ritual
it was about the 1600’s that bansuke (rankings), heya (“stables”), and the dohyo (ring) were introduced.
the original rikishi were usually unemployed samurai, and “tournaments” were held to raise money for temples, shrines and such, with a small proportion of the money given to the competitors themselves.
Now, if you want to know about MODERN sumo (ie. the past 5 years or so) I could give you a decent rundown, and answer most questions I think.
I also know quite a bit about cooking (especially southern Italian), carpentry and woodworking, computers, cars of the 50’s through the 70’s, and the attack on Pearl Harbor.
