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One Man's Blog

Specialization is for Insects.

How the World Has Changed in 100 Years

Farmer’s AlmanacOk. This info is old, but I came across it and thought it would be fun to resurrect it once again.

There have been all sorts of claims as to the year these stats originated, but generally I believe they are from 1903. I have not vetted any of the “facts” here, but they do seem to pass the “gut-check” for reliability. Read the rest of this entry »

English Language Trivia

In keeping with my fascination with completely useless trivia, here are a few facts you might not have known about the English language.

So, next time you are at lunch with the boys from work and start spouting out this crap to impress everyone just remember who loves ya…

  • Of all the words in the English language, the word ’set’ has the most definitions!
  • What is called a “French kiss” in the English speaking world is known as an “English kiss” in France.
  • “Almost” is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.
  • “Rhythm” is the longest English word without a vowel.

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Random Animal Trivia

Here are a few fun / interesting facts about animals:

  • Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.
  • The placement of a donkey’s eyes in its’ heads enables it to see all four feet at all times.
  • On average a hedgehog’s heart beats 300 times a minute.
  • In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child.
  • Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

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Professor Refutes DWI Testing Accuracy

Sobriety TestDr. David J. Hanson, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the State University of New York at Potsdam has put together a vast amount of information related to the accuracy of current drunk driving testing methods based on his 30+ years of research.

I was surprised to learn that even non-drinkers could easily fail a sobriety test – including a breath alcohol test.
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Trivia: Forty Four Fantastic Food Facts

Grocery MeatHow about that alliteration huh? :-) Seriously, cheesy though it may be, I found 44 pretty cool facts about food. Just be thankful I didn’t drag it out even longer (think Peter Piper picked a peck…).
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Size Comparison of Stars and Planets

EarthAs a follow up to my previous post of The Most Important Photo Ever Taken, here is a very interesting video illustrating the relative size of planets in our solar system as well as stars throughout the galaxy.

Keep in mind that the smallest body they show is Mercury and at an average height of 5.5′ it would take over 2.9 million humans standing head to toe just to stretch across that tiny planet.

The largest star illustrated is 753,320 times larger than Mercury. It would take 2.185 TRILLION humans standing head to toe to stretch across the diameter of that star, or 364 times the entire population of Earth.
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Human Physiology Trivia – 26 Fun Facts

HumanAs a follow up to my previous trivia topics, I now present some unusual trivia related to the human body.

True, most of this information is completely useless… but then again so was much of the stuff you learned in high school. :-)
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Interesting Insect Facts

BugsI don’t know what compelled me to compile this list, but I was reading some little bit of insect trivia and I got off on a tear.

Not only did I compile a bunch of insect trivia, but you can look forward to a series of other interesting trivia topics to come…
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40 Amazing Facts About Sleep

Counting Penguins

  1. Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you’re sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you’re still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.
  2. A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year.
  3. Tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake. The light turns off a “neural switch” in the brain, causing levels of a key sleep chemical to decline within minutes.
  4. Read the rest of this entry »

Beer. It’s what’s for Dinner.

Hot Beer BabeNow, I know someone is going to accuse me of making up this silly post about beer just so I could post this photo online.

So? Is that a problem?

Anyway, the inspiration for this post was actually a pile of little known beer facts. Enjoy:
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Google Gapminder

Google GapminderGoogle teams with Gapminder to deliver an interactive service which allows you to see all sorts of interactive Global statistics ranging from life expectancy to internet usage and more.
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