Add your Trivia post for the day

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 16 Jul 2019 07:23

A liquor store in the United Kingdom and Ireland is called an "Off license" because they are licensed to sell liquor for consumption elsewhere, or "off" the premises.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor_store

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 16 Jul 2019 07:25

Hans Steininger, a 16th century German Mayor of a small town, died by tripping on his beard. It was over 4 and a ½ feet long and he usually kept it tucked away in a pocket, but during a town fire he forgot to put it in and tripped on in it in the chaos, breaking his neck.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/beard-braunau-steininger-hans

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 17 Jul 2019 06:38

In the late 17th century, the pirate Henry Every became the richest pirate in the world after raiding a treasure laden ship belonging to the Grand Ruler of India. He stole £600,000 in precious metals and jewels, equivalent to £89.6M today. The world’s first worldwide manhunt was called on him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Every

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 17 Jul 2019 06:40

In 1953, a paper boy acquired a hollowed-out nickel containing a ciphered message while collecting for his deliveries. He told the daughter of an NYPD officer and the news got to the FBI, eventually leading to the arrest and conviction of KGB agent Vilyam Fisher four years later.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_Nickel_Case

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 17 Jul 2019 06:43

In 1979 when the Skylab re-entry approached, the San Francisco Examiner offered $10,000 to the first person to deliver a piece to them within 72hrs knowing it wasn't heading toward the USA. A 17yr old Aussie collected a piece, jumped on a plane with no passport or luggage and collected his prize.

https://www.history.com/news/the-day-skylab-crashed-to-earth ... s-re-entry

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 17 Jul 2019 06:45

97% of Britain’s wildflower meadows have disappeared since the end of WW2. These meadows supported pollinating insects for food crops, helped mitigate flooding by holding on to rain water, and captured vast amounts of carbon.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20150702-why-meadows-are-worth-saving

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 17 Jul 2019 06:48

The word ‘space’ was first used to reference the area beyond Earth's sky in John Milton's Paradise Lost in 1667.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jan/28/britishidentity.johncrace

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 17 Jul 2019 06:51

A card addressed to "Ya know yer wan, her mother’s Hogan from Castleblayney, but the daughter’s an ex-townie. Grew up in Athlone and moved to Ballymacward when she got married. Lives next door to her in-laws now. She has a rake a’ childer and 7 dogs and 4 cats and..." was successfully delivered.

https://www.dailyedge.ie/an-post-letter-galway-3143597-Dec2016/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 18 Jul 2019 06:40

Shrinkflation, the practice of stealthily reducing a product's size while maintaining its price so that consumers may unknowingly pay the same for less. According to the UK’s Office of National Statistics, 2,529 supermarket products decreased in size or weight between 2012 and 2017.

https://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180510-the-food-you-buy-really-is-shrinking

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 18 Jul 2019 06:42

The process of dry cleaning was invented in 1821 by an African American business owner named Thomas Jennings. He was one of the first African Americans to be granted a patent. He had to use the proceeds from his invention to buy his wife and children out of slavery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_L._Jennings

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 18 Jul 2019 06:45

The words "senile" and "senator" are based on the same Latin root word meaning "old man"

https://www.latin-is-simple.com/en/vocabulary/noun/257/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 18 Jul 2019 06:47

In 1999, Philip Morris attempted to convince the government of the Czech Republic that smoking was highly beneficial to the country, as more people would die earlier as a result, thus letting the government save millions on pensions, hospitals, and housing for elderly citizens.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-05-mn-30831-story.html

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 19 Jul 2019 07:27

The US has refused to continue funding the nuclear claims tribunal set up to compensate islanders that suffered radiation-related diseases from testing. So far it's paid less than $4 million of a $2.2 billion damage judgement. More than half of the affected islanders have died since.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Islands_Nuclear_Claims_Tribunal

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 19 Jul 2019 07:30

Francis Pegahmagabow, a Canadian indigenous man who fought in WWI. He killed 378 enemies with his Ross rifle and captured another 300, which makes him one of the most successful marksmen in the conflict.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/legendary-ojibwa-sniper-unsung-hero-of-ww-i-1.2725241

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 19 Jul 2019 07:31

Walt Disney World near Orlando briefly had a real airport with a singing runway. Grooves in the tarmac were spaced so the lines played the opening notes of "When You Wish Upon a Star" when planes rolled over them. The airport closed in 1972.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/singing-runway-at-the-abandoned-disney-world-airport

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 19 Jul 2019 07:34

In 1959, police were called to a segregated library in S. Carolina when a 9yr-old Black boy refused to leave. He later got a PhD in Physics from MIT, and died in 1986, one of the astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger. The library that refused to lend him books is now named after him. Ronald McNair.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_McNair

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 19 Jul 2019 07:37

An unmanned Russian spacecraft crashed on the moon on July 21, 1969 - while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were still walking on the surface.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/luna-15/in-depth/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 19 Jul 2019 07:39

Manila folders are named after Manila hemp, a fibre from a banana plant which is native to the Philippines (Capital: Manila).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_folder

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 20 Jul 2019 06:48

The world's largest book was lost by the city of Cleveland. It was called The Golden Book of Cleveland; and it was as large as a mattress. It was misplaced in 1936.

https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/the-read/articles/the-golden-book-of-cleveland

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 20 Jul 2019 06:52

In Idaho, Cannibalism is strictly prohibited and punishable by up to 14 years in prison, except under "life-threatening conditions as the only apparent means of survival."

https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title18/T18CH50/SECT18-5003/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 20 Jul 2019 06:59

The UK has multiple types of pedestrian crossings named after animals, including zebra, toucan, pelican, puffin, and pegasus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrian_crossing#United_Kingdom

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 20 Jul 2019 07:02

The oldest known bread was baked in Australia more than 30 thousands years ago

https://australianmuseum.net.au/blog-archive/science/food-culture-aboriginal-bread/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 20 Jul 2019 07:06

12 people have walked on the moon, but only one man is buried there

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/eugene-shoemaker-burie ... reddit.com

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 21 Jul 2019 07:27

A man once sued a dry cleaner’s for $67M over a late return of a pair of pants. He reduced it to $45 million in court. The case was thrown out multiple times, the man lost his job as he was a judge himself, and the dry cleaners was forced to close their shop due to court costs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson_v._Chung

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 21 Jul 2019 07:30

During the Middle Ages, members of guilds were referred to as “masters.” Artisans who wanted to join a guild were required to prepare a “master piece” to be judged for qualification. If the masters approved of the piece, that artisan would be accepted into the guild.

https://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/ARTH200/artist/masterpiece.html

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 21 Jul 2019 07:32

The Soviet Government banned Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin from space flight after another Cosmonaut died in a crash, fearing the political impact his death would have. Gagarin requested that he be able to fly regular aircraft, which the government granted. He died five weeks later in a plane crash.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 21 Jul 2019 07:35

Bill Weaver, the man who fell 78,000 feet from an SR-71 Blackbird test flight at Mach 3.2, and survived.

https://theaviationist.com/2015/03/17/sr-71-mid-air-disintegration/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 21 Jul 2019 07:38

Nazi Germany developed the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history (Me 163) with unsurpassed speed and climb rate for the time. However, it proved ineffective in engaging slower Allied aircraft as its target was reached and passed in seconds, limiting its attack opportunities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_163_Komet

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 22 Jul 2019 06:33

Barely a year after the 1969 moon landing the American public had completely lost interest in space exploration - to such an extent that 90% of people surveyed could not remember Neil Armstrong's name.

https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2014/07/16/331362649/n ... -years-ago

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 22 Jul 2019 06:35

The Space Shuttle flew 135 missions with a flight computer that had less than 1% of the computing power as an XBox 360.

https://www.al.com/space-news/2011/07/space_shuttle_fast_fac ... reddit.com

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 22 Jul 2019 06:37

Ama, female Japanese pearl divers that start diving at the age of 12-13, and are well active into their 70s. They endure freezing conditions and great pressure from deep sea depths to get pearls. They have a unique technique in which they release air in a long whistle as they resurface.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ama_(diving)

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 22 Jul 2019 06:40

People were skeptical of reinforced concrete until the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, where the few concrete buildings survived the quake and fire remarkably. Now we produce about 7.5 billion cubic meters of concrete worldwide every year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforced_concrete#Use_in_construction

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 22 Jul 2019 06:43

The Hope Diamond was mailed through the United States Postal Service costing only $2 and $150 to insure.

https://postalmuseumblog.si.edu/2012/11/delivering-the-hope-diamond.html

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 23 Jul 2019 06:53

The famous painting of a dog looking down a gramophone funnel, used as a logo by various companies, was inspired by the artist's dog, Nipper. He inherited the animal from his dead brother, and noted that Nipper would look down a gramophone when a recording of his dead owner’s voice was played.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master%27s_Voice

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 23 Jul 2019 06:55

"The Attack of the Dead Men" where after being hit with a wave of chlorine gas, 100 Russian soldiers coved in blood and half-blind, successfully launched a counter-attack against the advancing 7000 Germans, who fled at the sight of the "dead men walking".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osowiec_Fortress

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 23 Jul 2019 06:57

Frank Willis, a security guard in 1972. While on duty he noticed tape on a basement door lock. Thinking a worker had left it there accidentally, he removed it. Willis later found tape again in the same place. He called the police, saying he believed there had been a break-in at Watergate.

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/29/us/frank-wills-52-watchman-foiled-watergate-break-in.html

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 23 Jul 2019 07:01

7/11 is named after their 'new' hours of 7am-11pm which were unprecedented in 1946, and they didn't experiment with 24-hour stores until 1963.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-Eleven#History

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 23 Jul 2019 07:03

Thomas Fuller an illiterate enslaved African whose Math Genius shocked Colonists, capable of quickly solving math problems in his head he earned the title of “The Mental Calculator” serving as a figurehead of Africans not being mentally inferior to Whites further abolitionist efforts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fuller_(mental_calculator)

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 23 Jul 2019 07:05

the Scoville scale which is used to figure out the heat of any given pepper is determined by the number of dilutions of sugar water needed to eliminate the heat.

https://www.pepperscale.com/what-is-the-scoville-scale/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 23 Jul 2019 07:07

The number 8 is considered lucky in China. A man bought a license plate reading 'K88888' for $150,500. He was stopped by the police eight times in one day to confirm the number plate was real.

https://www.ejinsight.com/20160630-henan-businessman-finds-million-yuan-car-plate-unlucky/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 24 Jul 2019 06:49

The summit of Mt. Everest is made of marine limestone which means the highest point on earth was once at the bottom of the sea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 24 Jul 2019 06:52

The Mugger crocodile has been observed balancing sticks on its head to lure in birds searching for sticks for their nests. This is the first known example of tool use in a reptile.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mugger_crocodile& ... p#Tool_use

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 24 Jul 2019 06:54

A "Hot Shot" was originally a cannon ball that was heated in a furnace and then fired at wooden ships for the purpose of setting fire to them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heated_shot

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 24 Jul 2019 06:56

The terms "upper case" and "lower case" originated from the common layouts of drawers, called cases, used to hold movable type for letterpress printing. Capitol (or majuscule) letters were stored in the upper case; smaller (or minuscule) letters, in the lower case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_case#Terminology

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 24 Jul 2019 06:58

Knives used in airport restaurant kitchens have to be tethered and accounted for so that those knives do not make it onto airplanes.

https://www.ajc.com/business/reasons-not-easy-running-airpor ... vjVpk1mgP/

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 26 Jul 2019 06:44

The two of the US pilots who were able to take off during the attack on Pearl Harbor and down 7 enemy aircraft in the process were denied the Medal of Honour because their commanding officer said they had "taken off without orders".

https://www.historynet.com/american-aviators-aloft-pearl-harbor.htm

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 26 Jul 2019 06:46

Bobby Leach, the 2nd person to go over Niagara falls in a barrel and survive, spent six months in the hospital recovering from his injuries. He traveled the world recounting his ordeal in vaudeville shows. Years later he slipped on an orange peel, injured his leg, and died from complications

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Leach?repost

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 26 Jul 2019 06:47

When France was occupied by the Germans in 1940, Citroen was forced to produce vehicles for the Nazis. They chose to move the fill line on their oil dipsticks lower, causing the trucks to seize under stress from low oil.

https://www.core77.com/posts/27638/A-Brief-History-of-Citrno ... conic-Cars

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 26 Jul 2019 06:50

In 1536, French explorer Jacques Cartier and his crew were cured of scurvy by drinking tea of pine needles and by eating bark given to them by the Iroquois after the crew suffered months of nutritional deprivation at sea. Pine needles have approximately 3 to 5 times more vitamin C than an orange

https://www.wildedible.com/pine-needle-tea-natural-vitamin-c

bazza4338 · Post by **bazza4338** » 26 Jul 2019 06:54

We wouldn’t have avocados if it weren’t for the giant sloth.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/avocado-giant-sloth-seed?utm_source=reddit.com