Trivia Thread!

[Berzelmayr]

Sigurd the Mighty, the second Earl of Orkney, strapped the head of his defeated foe Máel Brigte to his horse's saddle. Brigte's teeth rubbed against Sigurd's leg as he rode, causing a fatal infection, according to the Old Norse Heimskringla and Orkneyinga sagas.

 

[Vorondil]

Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

 

[Ent]

In case you encounter one and just need to be sure:

A tortoise is a turtle, but a turtle isn't a tortoise.
A turtle is any shelled reptile belonging to the order Chelonii. The term "tortoise" is more specific, referring to terrestrial turtles. (Of course, there's always an exception. In this case, the land-dwelling box turtle.) Tortoises are usually herbivorous and can't swim.

One easy way to tell 'em apart: look at their feet and shells. Water turtles have flippers or webbed feet with long claws, and their shells are flatter and more streamlined. Tortoises have stubby, elephant-like feet and heavier, domed shells.

A group of tortoises is called a creep
But you won't see a creep very often. (Not that kind, anyway.) Tortoises are solitary roamers. Some mother tortoises are protective of their nests, but they don't care for their young after they hatch.

Tortoises inspired the ancient Roman military.
During seiges, soldiers would get in "testudo" formation, named after the Latin word for tortoise. The men formed rows and held shields in front or above them to completely shelter the unit.

-- And there you have it.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Although Mariana is known as the trench, there are real mountains here. Scientists have discovered 4 mountain peaks, each with a height of more than 2.5 kilometres.

 

[Berzelmayr]

4 January 1903:

Topsy, an elephant, was executed by poisoning, electrocution, and strangulation. A 74-second film of the electrocution was recorded and preserved. It may have been the first time death was ever captured in a motion picture film.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

From my favorite movie, Casablanca(1942). Knowing that the actors' and actresses' reactions are genuine because of what they'd actually been through in real life, this scene always gives me chills:

(at around 1h 12 mins) During the scene in which the "La Marseillaise" is sung over the German song "Die Wacht am Rhein" ("The Watch on the Rhine"), many of the extras had real tears in their eyes as a large number were actual refugees from Nazi persecution in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and were overcome by the emotions the scene brought out. The scene was copied from Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion (1937), in which French soldiers in a German POW camp sing the song as a similar gesture of defiance. In that film the song was led by a prisoner who was in drag for a show the prisoners were putting on. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" ("War Song for the Rhine Army").

 

[Ent]

OK, so insert grawlix here..!! (grawlix)

TRIVIA: A Symbol Used in Place of a Curse Word Is Called a Grawlix
When you use a jumble of symbols in place of a curse word, it's perfectly clear what you mean (and certainly how strongly you feel). But what you might not know is that those symbols used in this particular way are called a grawlix.

The term was coined by late cartoonist Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey, in an article he wrote in 1964, for the National Cartoonist's Society in the US, although the use of grawlixes in comics preceded him by several decades.

Grawlix usage can be seen as far back as 11/1//1901, in a Lady Bountiful comic,
It was used in the Katzenjammer Kids created by Rudolph Dirks, German immigrant, at 20 years of age, as early as 12/14/1902.

 

[Deimos]

Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world... 50 feet

Time elapse of tide rising and falling

 

[Deimos]

From my favorite movie, Casablanca(1942). Knowing that the actors' and actresses' reactions are genuine because of what they'd actually been through in real life, this scene always gives me chills:

(at around 1h 12 mins) During the scene in which the "La Marseillaise" is sung over the German song "Die Wacht am Rhein" ("The Watch on the Rhine"), many of the extras had real tears in their eyes as a large number were actual refugees from Nazi persecution in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and were overcome by the emotions the scene brought out. The scene was copied from Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion (1937), in which French soldiers in a German POW camp sing the song as a similar gesture of defiance. In that film the song was led by a prisoner who was in drag for a show the prisoners were putting on. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" ("War Song for the Rhine Army").

Casablanca...one of the greatest movies ever made. Stellar cast, inspired screenplay, flawless direction.
Will always rank in the top ten movies on my list of favorites.

 

[Olorgando]

TRIVIA: A Symbol Used in Place of a Curse Word Is Called a Grawlix

This would be Mad Magazine's §$%&@€# ... 😁

 

[Olorgando]

Casablanca...one of the greatest movies ever made. Stellar cast, inspired screenplay, flawless direction.
Will always rank in the top ten movies on my list of favorites.

I like to call this series of films the Bogart / Cagney / Raft / Robinson series. Every one of them a "B-flick" by the standards of the industry (read: their boardroom trolls).
Many of them have become classics, if not all on the level of "Casablanca". Outside of hard-core film historians, almost nobody today (and even in decades past) remembers the abominable fluff that the trolls put out as "A-flicks".

 

[Deimos]

This would be Mad Magazine's §$%&@€# ... 😁

I like to call this series of films the Bogart / Cagney / Raft / Robinson series. Every one of them a "B-flick" by the standards of the industry (read: their boardroom trolls).
Many of them have become classics, if not all on the level of "Casablanca". Outside of hard-core film historians, almost nobody today (and even in decades past) remembers the abominable fluff that the trolls put out as "A-flicks".

Can you name some of those A[wful]-flicks? Just curious if I'd recognize them, or had ever watched them.

 

[Olorgando]

Can you name some of those A[wful]-flicks? Just curious if I'd recognize them, or had ever watched them.

Not really. I'd guess the musical genre might have been a prime perpetrator. Though that scourge continued decades after Bogart's death in 1957.
Perhaps my memory is skewered by the exceptionally inane musicals starring a former competitive swimmer (?) with limited acting skills, with lots of water skiing and stuff of the sort. Some of the musicals of that era may also be considered "classics" - but not by me.

 

[Celebrían]

An unusual fact about the bird species known as the Kakapo (Strigops habroptila) is that it is not only the world's heaviest parrot but also one of the rarest and most unique birds on the planet. Native to New Zealand, the Kakapo is a flightless bird that is known for its distinctive appearance and fascinating behavior.

One particularly interesting aspect of the Kakapo's behavior is its unusual mating ritual. Rather than relying on elaborate courtship displays or bright plumage, male Kakapos attract females by creating "booming" sounds. During the breeding season, the male Kakapo puffs up like a balloon and emits low-frequency sounds that can travel several kilometers. These booming calls not only signal the male's location but also help to establish and defend territories. The booming sound is so deep that it is often mistaken for a distant foghorn or a rumbling noise.

This unique mating behavior reflects the Kakapo's adaptation to the dense forests of New Zealand, where visual displays would be less effective due to limited visibility. The combination of its heavy build, nocturnal nature, and booming calls makes the Kakapo a truly remarkable and distinct bird species. Sadly, the Kakapo is critically endangered, with only around 200 individuals remaining, making it one of the most endangered bird species in the world. Conservation efforts are underway to protect and revive the population of this extraordinary bird.

 

[Ent]

I'm probably the only one didn't know this, but...

TRIVIA: Spaghetto is what a single strand of spaghetti is called. It's also the proper singular form of the word of course.
(The same is true of linguina, the singular of linguini, and others. I never considered it.)

Now... I can't imagine eating just one... a spaghetto or a linguina... seems it would be worse than trying to eat just one Lays potato chip. (for those aware of the reference.)

But hey.. there you have it.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

It’s estimated that as much as 4% of the cheese produced around the world is stolen. That equates to as much as 90.6 million tons of cheese each year.

 

[Olorgando]

It’s estimated that as much as 4% of the cheese produced around the world is stolen. That equates to as much as 90.6 million tons of cheese each year.

Did they mention what part of the stealing is attributed to mice? 🤔

 

[Ent]

Can't live without this one:

Trivia: Between 1912 and 1948, the Olympic Games awarded medals in sculpture, music, painting, and engraving and architecture, according to Smithsonian magazine. After a heated debate in the post-war years, the competitions were scrapped. John Copley of Britain won one of the final medals at age 73, at the London Summer Olympics in 1948. He would be the oldest medalist in Olympic history if his silver, awarded for his engraving Polo Players, were still counted.

 

[Olorgando]

Trivia: Between 1912 and 1948, the Olympic Games ...

Got some more:
tug-of-war was Olympic 1900 in Paris, 1904 in St. Louis, 1908 in London, 1912 in Stockholm, and 1920 in Antwerp.
London 1908 and Antwerp 1920 additionally had figure skating in summer, Antwerp topping London by adding an ice hockey competition ...
The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 ...

 

[Celebrían]

The Voynich Manuscript is a mysterious document that has puzzled scholars for centuries. It is named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish book dealer who acquired it in 1912. The manuscript is written in an unknown script and contains illustrations of unidentified plants, astronomical diagrams, and strange, intricate drawings.

Despite numerous attempts to decipher it, the Voynich Manuscript remains undeciphered to this day. It has become one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in the world of cryptography and linguistics. The text has defied all known language patterns and has resisted the efforts of professional codebreakers and experts.

The manuscript's origin, purpose, and authorship are still unknown. Carbon dating suggests that it was created between the 15th and 16th centuries. Many theories abound about its content, ranging from it being an elaborate hoax to holding encoded knowledge about medicinal plants, alchemy, or extraterrestrial communication.

The Voynich Manuscript continues to captivate researchers, historians, and enthusiasts alike, serving as a testament to the enduring power of enigma and the limits of human understanding.