Astonishing Facts....
Discussion
Dr Jekyll said:
tertius said:
He did, though as for most people it was a temporary thing on returning to sea that he got over after a few days/weeks at sea.
And a related astonishing “fact” that I can’t easily substantiate though recall reading: Admiral Collingwood (who was Nelson’s deputy at Trafalgar, and successor following Nelson’s death) did not set foot on land again after the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) - he was continuously at sea until his death in 1810.
Another good Trafalgar fact was that the one of the French ships captured by the Royal Navy at Trafalgar was finally sunk in 1949.And a related astonishing “fact” that I can’t easily substantiate though recall reading: Admiral Collingwood (who was Nelson’s deputy at Trafalgar, and successor following Nelson’s death) did not set foot on land again after the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) - he was continuously at sea until his death in 1810.
Seeing as you are mentioning war and insurance companies, the 'GO COMPARE' song is based on this American morale song from the first world war !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v33jF5TGLw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v33jF5TGLw
Edited by mintybiscuit on Thursday 12th April 18:38
GroundEffect said:
Shakermaker said:
If every star in the universe was represented by one green pea, there would be enough peas that they would overflow if they were poured into the London Olympic Stadium
Not even close.The craziness of really big numbers.
7,500,000,000,000,000,000 grains of sand on earth
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe
Or, a MILLION times as many stars in the universe as grains of sand in the world...
You would need 10^113 Hydrogen atoms to pack the universe full of them.
But if you want to get into much bigger numbers than puny physical univese stuff, you'll have lots of fun reading this (this is part two):
https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/11/1000000-grahams-num...
Ayahuasca said:
alfie2244 said:
Ayahuasca said:
The entire population of the world can fit onto the Isle of Wight.
Would it sink?https://www.livescience.com/36470-human-population...
mintybiscuit said:
Seeing as you are mentioning war and insurance companies, the 'GO COMPARE' song is based on this American morale song from the first world war !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v33jF5TGLw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v33jF5TGLw
That is genuinely interesting (though perhaps not quite astonishing)!Nimby said:
(Probably first saw this on PH)
It's the eastern-most end of the Panama Canal that joins the Pacific Ocean
When ships transit the locks of the canal they are pulled by 'Mules', little trains moving along the lock side. The clearance at the sides of large ocean liners is less than a metre.It's the eastern-most end of the Panama Canal that joins the Pacific Ocean
davhill said:
mickk said:
Cats can't taste sweetness.
I wonder how this was discovered. Mrs. Tibbles may have refused a jelly baby 'cos she disliked the smell or texture. 
kerMine loves to eat breadcrumbs, marmite, quorn, tomato sauce and muffins, but will turn her nose up at all but one specific brand of cat food and every type of treat.
As for a random fact, wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin was originally going to be known as Baron von Ruthless or Chilly McFreeze
As for a random fact, wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin was originally going to be known as Baron von Ruthless or Chilly McFreeze
Russian Troll Bot said:
Another Napoleonic fact - a significant proportion of the British Army did not wear red jackets. Depending on role or rank it could have also been blue, green, yellow etc.
For another random fact, adult cats virtually never meow at eachother, it's something they develop specifically to communicate with humans. Since it's a similar frequency to a baby's cry, we're hardwired to respond to it.
Re the first point, the 95th Regiment of Foot (effectively Sharpe's lot, later renamed the Rifle Brigade) wore a green uniform that was copied from a German model. It had a green jacket with black facings and a black velvet collar. Rather than breeches, close-fitting pantaloons were worn. The belt was black, as were the badges and buttons. The headgear was a black shakoe with a green plume. Baker rfiles were used. No original examples of the uniform survive. For another random fact, adult cats virtually never meow at eachother, it's something they develop specifically to communicate with humans. Since it's a similar frequency to a baby's cry, we're hardwired to respond to it.
It's thought this early camouflage worked well.
nonsequitur said:
Nimby said:
(Probably first saw this on PH)
It's the eastern-most end of the Panama Canal that joins the Pacific Ocean
When ships transit the locks of the canal they are pulled by 'Mules', little trains moving along the lock side. The clearance at the sides of large ocean liners is less than a metre.It's the eastern-most end of the Panama Canal that joins the Pacific Ocean
nonsequitur said:
The clearance at the sides of large ocean liners is less than a metre.
That's because they're Panamax sized;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamax
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