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13 June 2006

This is a useless fact thread. Share something useless!→[More:]
IKEA stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.
There are pink dolphins in southeast asia.
post by: I Love Tacos at: 14:35 | 93 comments
You can't lick your own elbow.
posted by Capn 13 June | 14:38
When New York magazine's reviewer when to Masa, New York's only non-French 4 star restaurant, for dinner with his wife, the bill came to over $800.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 13 June | 14:39
(Damn you Capn! I think I pulled my shoulder!)
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 13 June | 14:39
Manhattan used to contain a pond that was drained into the harbor by means of a canal that was later filled in. Where was that canal located? Canal Street.
posted by jonmc 13 June | 14:42
When I was very young a guy in our street had the given name of Ashburner. He preferred to be called Bill.
posted by arse_hat 13 June | 14:44
In swimming the individual medley is swum butterfly, backstroke, breastroke, freestyle. The medley relay, however, goes backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestlye. This is because the backstroke start begins in the water and thus must be the first start performed.
posted by dame 13 June | 14:45
I used to live across the street from a man named Charlie Brown.
posted by sisterhavana 13 June | 14:45
In swimming the individual medley

The word 'medley' has weird associations for me due to my job and hobby. I'm now picturing dame singing a selection of snippets of popular songs.
posted by jonmc 13 June | 14:47
I got caught throwing rocks in the room in 6th grade.

I also used to work for a guy named Charlie Brown.
posted by chewatadistance 13 June | 14:48
POSH - stands for Port Out Starboard Home, it came about from the wealthy Brits requesting the best views on the cruiseliners.

Patrick Swayze can cure cancer, he just chooses not to.
posted by miles 13 June | 14:48
Honey bees have at least 15 glands that produce a wide variety of compounds.
posted by Specklet 13 June | 14:51
POSH is an urban legend.

The only thing I hate more than soccer is the pretentious fucks who pretend to love it.

Jon, the swimming medley *is* like a singing medley.
posted by dame 13 June | 14:52
Armadillos are particularly susceptible to leprosy.
posted by initapplette 13 June | 14:52
I just noticed that my underwear and t-shirt are the same color – aqua.
posted by betty 13 June | 14:53
All pet hamsters are descended from a single female wild golden hamster found with a litter of 12 young in Syria in 1930.
posted by essexjan 13 June | 14:55
POSH is an urban legend.

Also, shit doesn't stand for "ship high in transit", nor does fuck stand for "fornication under command of the king" (or "for unlawful carnal knowledge").


Frederick Delius died of syphilis.
posted by PinkStainlessTail 13 June | 14:55
My brother went to high school with a guy named Charlie Brown.
posted by mudpuppie 13 June | 15:02
The only thing I hate more than soccer is the pretentious fucks who pretend to love it.


I don't judge you by your preferred entertainment. Please extend the same courtesy to me.

And yes, I really do enjoy watching it. Just because it's not for you, doesn't mean that everybody else is faking their enjoyment.
posted by I Love Tacos 13 June | 15:03
The only thing I hate more than soccer is the pretentious fucks who pretend to love it.


yeah! yeah! We are either with you or against you, fucka!
posted by carmina 13 June | 15:04
All dandelions are genetically identical. A disease deadly to one could wipe them all out.
posted by Pips 13 June | 15:05
Also, "duct tape" was originally called "duck" tape, even though we now tend to think that people who say "duck" tape are just kinda dumb. It was developed for army use during WWII. When soldiers discovered that it could seal their boots and ammo boxes against moisture, it became known as duck tape. After the postwar housing boom, it became popular with HVAC contractors -- hence "duct" tape.

Not useless -- interesting!
posted by mudpuppie 13 June | 15:05
Stephen Foster (author of Camptown Races) died from falling down a flight of stairs.
posted by Capn 13 June | 15:07
If you're American and claim to like soccer, you are lying. If you also root for the freaking Yankees of soccer, you should be shot. These have been scientifically proven.
posted by dame 13 June | 15:09
Armadillos are the only animals besides humans who can contract leprosy.
posted by unknowncommand 13 June | 15:11
dames generalizations are annoying.
posted by Specklet 13 June | 15:12
on actually reading the thread, initapplette beat me to it. weird.
posted by unknowncommand 13 June | 15:13
dames generalizations are annoying.

...and unfunny, though my guess is they're intended as humor.
posted by mudpuppie 13 June | 15:14
In 1952, the first TV toy commercial aired. It was for Mr. Potato Head.

(my daughter Ev, who is 2, pronounces it poe-dah head)
posted by richat 13 June | 15:15
If you're American and claim to like soccer, you are lying.

I used to find American soccer fandom to be an annoying faux-euro affectation (even though I enjoyed playing it as a kid at the Y and I was a good goalie, believe it or not), but after hanging out in bars during world cup games, I'm started to catch the fever a bit. I still like baseball, basketball, American football and hockey better, though.
posted by jonmc 13 June | 15:15
unknowncommand, your statement was more specific than mine ... but yeah, that is weird.
posted by initapplette 13 June | 15:16
A drink that is half lemonade, half iced tea is also known as an Arnold Palmer.
posted by initapplette 13 June | 15:17
dame doesn't like soccer
posted by richat 13 June | 15:17
I am now crying because mudpuppie and speclet don't like me. I was thinking about being sorry, but now digging in seems so much more fun.
posted by dame 13 June | 15:20
Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield and CSNY fame once unsuccessfully auditioned for The Monkees.
posted by danf 13 June | 15:20
GOOOOOAAAAAL!

Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield and CSNY fame once unsuccessfully auditioned for The Monkees.

Danny Hutton from Three Dog Night as well.
posted by jonmc 13 June | 15:21
Danny Hutton from Three Dog Night as well.


And the first recorded release of Neil Young's The Loner was on the first Three Dog Night album. . .

Makes ya think. . .sorta.
posted by danf 13 June | 15:26
I'm an American and I like soccer.

Specklet, mudpuppie, and jonmc are all owed tacos and beer.
The offer is also extended to dame because she's clearly taco/beer deficient.

posted by I Love Tacos 13 June | 15:27
I just totally made a photostamp with my doll picture. Awesome. Who wants a postcard?
posted by gaspode 13 June | 15:28
PennDOT will apply Friday for a permit to build an engineered rock placement area in Worth Township, Centre County. The Altoona Mirror calls this breaking news. The headline: PennDOT announces acid rock plan
posted by eatitlive 13 June | 15:29
And the first recorded release of Neil Young's The Loner was on the first Three Dog Night album. . .

Makes ya think. . .sorta.

They also covered stuff by the Band ('Lonesome Suzie'), Hoyt Axton ('Joy To The World') Randy Newman ('Eli's Coming'), and Argent ('Liar'). They were all good singers, but whoever chose the groups songs had impeccable taste.
posted by jonmc 13 June | 15:31
Penguins use their supraorbital gland to convert salt water into fresh water.
posted by puke & cry 13 June | 15:32
These facts are edging dangerously close to being useful.
posted by Capn 13 June | 15:34
MEEEEEEEE MEEEEEEEEEEE I WANT ONE!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 13 June | 15:35
You need a supraorbital gland?
posted by PinkStainlessTail 13 June | 15:36
typo correction: Laura Nyro wrote 'Eli's Coming.' Randy Newman wrote 'Mama Told Me Not To Come.' Both tunes were covered by Three Dog Night though. (I knew I'd messed that up somehow).
posted by jonmc 13 June | 15:36
Linen condoms were used to prevent the spread of Syphilis.
posted by I Love Tacos 13 June | 15:40
Generally, a material will break if it is below the halfway point between absolute zero and it's melting point, and bend if it is above that halfway point.

One major exception to this is water.
posted by danf 13 June | 15:42
The paint color used for the Golden Gate Bridge is the only color of it's kind and cannot be duplicated anywhere else by law. (I dated a women who's relatives worked on the bridge).

posted by Lipstick Thespian 13 June | 15:44
Alberto is going to pee heavily on NC this evening.
posted by chewatadistance 13 June | 15:47
Hey Tacos, because you offer tacos & beer as opposed to tongue-clucking to my ill-timed "I already am done with this cup crap" outburst, you are hereby granted special dispensation. All other Americans: bandwagon-jumping posers. And I'm sorry I sullied your thread. The others can go f*** themselves with sharp sticks, though.
posted by dame 13 June | 15:51
Screech has a huge penis.
posted by krix 13 June | 15:52
mon crayon est large et jaune

(better, Capn?)

The verb 'ask' was originally 'aksian', and so perhaps the people who say 'aks' are just channelling their Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Or not.
posted by elizard 13 June | 15:52
One of the criteria for "healthy indoor air" in an occupied space, according to AHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) is a carbon dioxide level of 1000 parts per million, or below.

The outside levels are 350-400ppm. Levels over 5000ppm are considered dangerous.

I have seen someone go into an unoccupied room, get a reading of below 1000ppm and declare the room "healthy."
posted by danf 13 June | 15:57
This morning's dump: lots of corn.
posted by kyleg 13 June | 15:58
The others can go f*** themselves with sharp sticks, though.

Raht back atcha, sugarbritches.
posted by Specklet 13 June | 16:04
Charlie Brown is the title of a 1958 song by The Coasters.
posted by initapplette 13 June | 16:10
as opposed to tongue-clucking to my ill-timed "I already am done with this cup crap" outburst


If you can't take it, suck it. oe! oe! oe! oe! ooooe! ooooe!
posted by carmina 13 June | 16:13
I once went on a date with Bill Murray. This information is useless to everyone but me.

posted by Lola_G 13 June | 16:19
AND I want a postcard PODE!!! You can send it from Pittsburg.
posted by Lola_G 13 June | 16:20
I once went on a date with Bill Murray. This information is useless to everyone but me.


But you need to elaborate, however useless this info is. We'll be the judge.
posted by danf 13 June | 16:25
Postcard me too, please, 'pode!

And what danf said!
posted by Specklet 13 June | 16:26
I just learned something about myself. Although everyone I know would say I am the king of useless information, apparently none of it is file under "useless information" in my brain, so you'll have to give me a topic, any topic, before I can regale you with useless information.
posted by StickyCarpet 13 June | 16:42
It's really useless. I was just trying to bring levity to the thread with all the sticking sharp objects places.

Suffice to say, it was ten years ago and I was working at a golf course where he played in a celebrity tournament. He invited me to a baseball game (minor league team he was a part owner in the team) and I went. I think when I got there he was annoyed he asked me (he might have downed a bottle of scotch the day of the tourney) but it was still a great memory for me.

He bought me a beer and a hot dog. Also, I brought my girlfriend as a chaperone. So, that might have had something to do with his annoyance.

Anyway, it was so long ago but its a sweet little memory for me.

AND I guess it might not be fair to call it a "date" but that's how I chose to remember it!

AND I saw him the following year and he remembered me...isn't it lame that I think that's cool???
posted by Lola_G 13 June | 16:44
Lola_G, my cousin once dated Bill Murray too! It was in the 80s, and she said he was really immature. During the date, he wore that leather aviator hat that he wore on SNL.
posted by mudpuppie 13 June | 16:51
CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH HEINECKEN : He is said to have been talking within just a few hours of birth in 1721. By eight weeks of age, he was speaking intelligible German. At just one year old he knew the main events in the first five books of the old testament, at two the whole of biblical history, at three world history and geography. He could also speak German, Latin and French (though not English). In 1724 the King of Denmark brought him to Copenhagen. The infant predicted his own death within twelve months and died at age four as predicted.
posted by Zack_Replica 13 June | 16:56
AND I saw him the following year and he remembered me...isn't it lame that I think that's cool???

That's not lame at all!

Zach, nuh UH!
posted by Specklet 13 June | 16:57
OK, now I can chime in since you've cued me. I met a girl who went backstage and ended up sleeping with Bob Dylan. She said his feet smelled really bad.
posted by StickyCarpet 13 June | 16:58
OOh. . I remember another one. . .

The house I grew up in was once Shirley Temple's summer home.
posted by danf 13 June | 17:00
Wow! Bill Murray's a slut!
posted by Lola_G 13 June | 17:04
I began speaking in full sentences before I turned 1, surprising many babysitters.
posted by cmonkey 13 June | 17:06
Specklet - maybe, maybe not. Either way, it's still useless!
posted by Zack_Replica 13 June | 17:06
You can polish a tarnished saxophone with cigarette ash.
posted by StickyCarpet 13 June | 17:07
A few years ago, that would have been useful to me, Sticky!

My neighbor spent a year being Coppola's mother's artistic companion. His mother called him "Franny".
posted by Specklet 13 June | 17:14
Specklet: You quit blowing, or you quit smoking?
posted by StickyCarpet 13 June | 17:18
The dot over the letter "i" is called a tittle.
posted by deborah 13 June | 17:19
Portabella mushrooms are overgrown crimini mushrooms are the brown form of plain white mushrooms. I haven't bought the white ones in years.
posted by casarkos 13 June | 17:28
My old neighbor was named Pepper Burns. He and Jim Henson (muppets) had been roommates in college.
posted by frances1972 13 June | 17:28
Speaking of The Monkees, Michael Nesmith's mother invented Liquid Paper.
posted by tommasz 13 June | 17:40
I once dated a guy who once dated Jim Henson's niece. She was in school to become a pop-up book artist, something I envied greatly.

Sticky, quit blowing. Last I heard, my sax was making the rounds with my buddy Ethan in New York...
posted by Specklet 13 June | 17:45
Specklicious: I will send you a postcard if you send me your address...
posted by gaspode 13 June | 17:47
mon crayon est large et jaune


OMG elizard! Was that from Gotcha!? (I just saw that last night - not a bad movie.)

Chloramphenicol is a very good antibiotic - unfortunately, it has a propensity to cause aplastic anaemia, a rather troublesome disease. Chloramphenicol is no longer adminstered clinically in N. America/W. Europe but can still be found dispensed in many parts of the world.

The Second Narrows bridge in Vancouver BC was designed wrong. A highschool maths teacher observed it casually while it was being built and called all the radio stations and newspapers to try to tell people that the bridge design is fundamentally flawed and the bridge will collapse.

Nothing was done until 27 ironworkers lost their lives. 18 of the 50 ironworkers who plunged into the waters 30m (~90 feet) below drowed because they couldn't undo their heavy toolbelts.
posted by porpoise 13 June | 17:49
My college creative writing professor wrote the novel adaptation of Dark Crystal and was once hugged by Jim Henson. This is not a useless fact, so much as an 8-degrees of separation thing.
posted by mudpuppie 13 June | 17:52
My grandfather's hated middle name was...Ethelbert. Supposedly old family name. He hated it, and went by another middle name "Brown", or "Brownie". No, sadly, his first name was not Charlie.
posted by redvixen 13 June | 18:15
The Dark Crystal novel is really good. I bought it from Toys 'R Us (useless fact). It was so good I thought the movie was based on it. Your professor did a really good job, mudpuppie!

Degrees of separation: I have two degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon, as I interviewed Jason Patric once for "Your Friends and Neighbors," and they were in "Sleepers" together. I have shaken Ray Bradbury's hand. I also know someone named Charlie Brown. He's from New Orleans.

The central buildings of the UCLA campus are built in Italian Romanesque style. The graduate research library is dedicated to Hugh G. Dick, "friend to librarians everywhere."
posted by halonine 13 June | 18:17
An ex-girlfriend's ex-boyfriend makes puppets for Jim Henson. It was a lifelong dream of his.
posted by cmonkey 13 June | 18:47
This is the first time I've ever logged in to metachat.
posted by bingo 13 June | 18:57
Marriage was initially invented so that humans could have a lifelong partner to lick their elbow for them.
posted by SassHat 13 June | 19:16
I never knew anybody named Charlie Brown.
posted by matildaben 13 June | 19:23
Billy Bush from Access Hollywood (he's also W's cousin) was my brother's hockey coach and I had a terrible crush on him. At the time he was working as a dj at some crappy radio station.

One of my friends is Steve Buschemi's cousin, but has never met him.

My dad met Dr. Ruth and Mick Jagger on the same trip, when he went to the Cayman Islands. He also has many many friends who played or currently coach in the NHL.

I've met Jeb Bush 3 times when I lived in Florida. He's really an asshole. And I always thought politicians were supposed to be charming...
posted by SassHat 13 June | 19:30
I love soccer. Mostly because I like sleeping with soccer players. So much so that I married one. Ironically, he's the only "keeper" I've ever slept with.
posted by jrossi4r 13 June | 20:19
The engineering building at Mississippi State University is named after my grandfather.

And Patrick Stewart is just as sexy in real life as you would expect.
posted by croctommy 14 June | 03:18
The dot over the letter "i" is called a tittle.


We can't just call it a dot?
posted by chewatadistance 14 June | 04:20
The average North American consumes 105 pounds of added sugar per year. That is sugar that is not naturally occuring in the foods they are eating.
That is approximately 4.6 ounces a day.
posted by asok 14 June | 09:45
← This Should Be Fen to Watch || ...moleskine sketchbook...solvent transfer...laser copies →

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