Trivia Thread!

[Ashley]

To those of you who live in the UK, my state is bigger than your whole country! 😂

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And it's only the 11th biggest state.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

A few fun facts about my stare, Pennsylvania

• There is only one town in Pennsylvania: Bloomsburg. Everywhere else is either a city, borough, or township.
• Hugh J. Ward invented Bingo in Pittsburgh in the early 1920s. He originally called the game Beano and used beans as markers.
• The Warner Brothers got their start leasing the Cascade Theater in New Castle from 1906-1907. They borrowed chairs from the nearby funeral home but had to return them (and thus were not able to show films) when someone died.
• Crayola Crayons makes all of its products in Pennsylvania. They produce nearly three billion crayons each year, enough to encircle the globe six times.
• The world’s first commercial radio station, KDKA, began broadcasting in Pittsburgh on November 2, 1920. The first programming was announcing the presidential election results.

 

[Ashley]

There is only one town in Pennsylvania: Bloomsburg. Everywhere else is either a city, borough, or township.

What exactly is the difference?

 

[Olorgando]

A few fun facts about my stare, Pennsylvania

• The world’s first commercial radio station, KDKA, began broadcasting in Pittsburgh on November 2, 1920. The first programming was announcing the presidential election results.

With Warren G. Harding being elected. Which confirms the tired old journalistic adage "no news is good news". 😏

 

[Radaghast]

Before the Invention of the Eraser, People Used Bread Crumbs​

Although the very first mass-produced pencils arrived on the scene in the 1600s, English scientist Joseph Priestley (discoverer of oxygen) didn’t describe “caoutchouc,” or rubber, as an excellent material for “wiping from paper the mark of black lead pencil” until 1770. (Priestley was the one who renamed it “rubber,” because it could be used to rub out marks.) Before the arrival of the rubber eraser, people often used small pieces of lightly moistened bread to erase pencil mistakes. However, these bread-based erasers succumbed to mold, and eventually, rot. Let’s just say the rubber substitute was a welcome innovation.

• https://interestingfacts.com/bread-facts/

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

What exactly is the difference?

I think it lies more in tradition and legal terminology than in practical governance differences. Bloomsburg’s status as a “town” is more of an honorary or historical distinction, as the responsibilities and powers of a town, borough, or city in Pennsylvania are generally determined by state law and are quite similar across these types of municipalities.

 

[Server Room Gremlin]

To those of you who live in the UK, my state is bigger than your whole country! 😂

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My state (WA in Australia) is... outrageously big.

 

[Vorondil]

To those of you who live in the UK, my state is bigger than your whole country! 😂

To those of you who live in Michigan, my empire is slightly larger than your state.

The British Empire was the largest empire in history, with an estimated area of 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi), around 141 times larger than Michigan.

Dashed impressive for such a puny little island.

 

[Radaghast]

Oceans have lakes and rivers.​

Geography
2m read
by Darren Orf
Original photo by Ball Park Brand/ Unsplash

The Earth’s oceans are just as dynamic a landscape as the bits of rock that peek above its surface. Our seas are home to the world’s longest mountain chain, its deepest trenches, and other impressive natural structures that boggle the mind. The ocean is even home to its own underwater lakes and rivers. When seawater seeps up from the seafloor, it mixes with the salt layers above and creates a depression in the seabed, where this heavy, dense, and briny mixture rests. Some of these depressions can be more like puddles than proper lakes, stretching only a few feet across, but others can be many miles wide or long, and even feature their own underwater waves. And like lakes and rivers on land, these underwater features also have coastlines and animals that rely on these salty seas within seas to survive.

• https://interestingfacts.com/fact/oceans-have-lakes-and-rivers/

https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/lakesinanocean/otkn_603_lakesinanocean_sm.mp4

 

[grendel]

A few fun facts about my stare, Pennsylvania

• Hugh J. Ward invented Bingo in Pittsburgh in the early 1920s. He originally called the game Beano and used beans as markers.

These days, Beano has a slightly different connotation...

 

[grendel]

Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. that is divided into parishes and not counties. Starting under French and Spanish rule, Catholicism in Louisiana is the closest thing to a state religion that you'll find here. Mardi Gras Day and All Saints Day are actual state holidays.

 

[Eljorahir]

Speaking of Louisiana…

In Louisiana (and maybe other places) they have festivals named Cochon de lait.

When I was a 1st grader (approximately 1972), we moved from St. Louis to New Orleans. I remember they had a Cochon de lait festival right across the street from our house on the grounds of my school, St. Edward the Confessor (Catholics always did not how to party.) I don’t remember the taste of the food, but the image of the giant slabs of meat roasting over the open fires is seared in my memory.

What is cochon de lait?
One of Acadiana’s most famous and delectable dishes is also its most impressive. To make cochon de lait, which literally translates to “suckling pig,” a whole marinated young pig is pit-roasted, sliced thin and then served with gravy on a plate or po'boy. Not only is the resulting taste out of this world, but the aroma of the pig cooking is down-right intoxicating. The roasting process itself is often a huge communal affair, with folks gathering to prepare the pig, then socialize and celebrate as it cooks.

If you’re a vegan, don’t watch this video:

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Peanut butter has been a favored food item in space missions since the early days of NASA. Its first recorded space journey was aboard Gemini and Apollo missions in the 1960s. The reason for its popularity among astronauts is its familiar, comforting taste, and its non-perishable nature, making it ideal for long missions.

Notably, peanut butter was part of astronaut meals on the International Space Station, demonstrating its versatility and appeal even in zero-gravity environments.

 

[Radaghast]

Credit: Allstar Picture Library Ltd/ Alamy Stock Photo

The Dog Who Played Toto Earned $125 per Week​

Few dogs are more famous than the cairn terrier who played Toto in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. Terry, as she was known off-screen, was born in 1933 and rescued by Carl Spitz after being abandoned by her birth parents. Despite a tumultuous start to her life, she went on to have a prolific career in Hollywood that even many human actors would envy.

Spitz ran his own Hollywood Dog Training School, and although he initially took in Terry just as a pet, she quickly became his biggest star. His technique used silent hand signals, which gave him (and his dogs) an edge over other trainers who had to vocally call out their commands. With his help, Terry landed an uncredited role in 1934’s Ready for Love, and later that year starred alongside Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes. After appearing in several other films, Terry ascended to superstardom when she booked the role of Toto in The Wizard of Oz, earning $125 a week for portraying Dorothy’s trusted companion — more than some of her human castmates made.

 

[Deimos]

A few fun facts about my stare, Pennsylvania

• There is only one town in Pennsylvania: Bloomsburg. Everywhere else is either a city, borough, or township.
• Hugh J. Ward invented Bingo in Pittsburgh in the early 1920s. He originally called the game Beano and used beans as markers.
• The Warner Brothers got their start leasing the Cascade Theater in New Castle from 1906-1907. They borrowed chairs from the nearby funeral home but had to return them (and thus were not able to show films) when someone died.
• Crayola Crayons makes all of its products in Pennsylvania. They produce nearly three billion crayons each year, enough to encircle the globe six times.
• The world’s first commercial radio station, KDKA, began broadcasting in Pittsburgh on November 2, 1920. The first programming was announcing the presidential election results.

Not to put too fine of a point on it, but being a chocolate lover, how could you not mention Hershey's chocolate??!!!

 

[Deimos]

The Dog Who Played Toto Earned $125 per Week​

Considering how traumatic it probably was to be threatened by the the Wicked Witch of the West (the incomparable Margaret Hamilton) the dog deserved at least $125 per week if not more. 😬

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Not to put too fine of a point on it, but being a chocolate lover, how could you not mention Hershey's chocolate??!!!

Fair point. I go there at least once a year for the chocolate and the excellent theme park as well.

 

[Radaghast]

The Dog Who Played Toto Earned $125 per Week​

Considering how traumatic it probably was to be threatened by the the Wicked Witch of the West (the incomparable Margaret Hamilton) the dog deserved at least $125 per week if not more. 😬

The actress playing the Witch, Margaret Hamilton, perhaps deserved more money for getting badly burned during filming 😦

From IMDb.com:

Nearly quit as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939) after a December 1938 accident in which she was severely burned during her dramatic exit from Munchkinland. The impressive special effect was achieved by her stepping onto a trap door (obscured by rising smoke) that dropped beneath her, and then a burst of real fire came up. On one take, the fire came too early, and her costume caught fire. She was off the film for more than a month. After she recuperated, she said "I won't sue, because I know how this business works, and I would never work again. I will return to work on one condition - no more fire work!".

 

[Deimos]

The actress playing the Witch, Margaret Hamilton, perhaps deserved more money for getting badly burned during filming 😦

From IMDb.com:

Yes I recall reading about that years ago. Also her stunt double got burned and injured in some scenes as well.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Just one of the mishaps on that film, along with the toxic makeup and several others.

Was The Wizard of Oz Cursed? The Truth Behind the Dark Stories About the Judy Garland Classic

The production of the classic film was an infamous disaster, but not everything you've heard about what happened on set is true

time.com