Trivia Thread!

[Firiel23]

Not trivial, but I didn't know where else to post this.
Parts of the Balkans, eastern Austria, the Czech Republic and parts of Slovakia and Poland really got drenched since last week Thursday. Some regions had 20 or more inches (500 mm) of rainfall in 72 hours. A buddy of mine lives in Vienna, so I phoned him Sunday afternoon. They had up to 16 inches (400 mm) in 72 hours, but the situation was not critical, though a couple of subway lines had to discontinue service. Durig the chat, he mentioned having read a news item about Australia, with temperatures being unseasonably hot there for early spring, over 40°C or 104°F. @Halasían , @TrackerOrc , have you been affected by unusual heat where you live?

oh, my sister was in the middle of this, in Austria. Their houses almost flooded (they'd dug flood channels around their houses a month or two ago, and those saved them), and all the bridges in their area are washed out/shut down for repair/inspection. she said it takes them an hour to drive around to the local town, which is about 20 min away.

My brother is in south-east England, and they got hit with a ton of rain as well. His fitness apps thought he was surfing; what he was actually doing was cleaning out his machining cell at work - it completely flooded, as did all the offices! totally crazy, but they had a good laugh about it!

 

[Deimos]

have you been affected by unusual heat where you live?

Oh my. ...ROFL.... unusual heat? ***

2020: 61 days at or above 110F+ degrees. (110F = 43C)

2021: number of 110-degree days that summer was 55. ...22 of those extremely hot days hit 115-degrees or hotter.

2022: 22 days of 110+

2023: 55 days of 110+

2024: 56 days of 110+

***in 2011 there were 33 days of 110F or higher. It took 9 years for that number of days to be exceeded.
But now we are seeing 110F+ for at least that many days every year.
When I moved to Phoenix (metro area) in 1983 there were typically about 7 days in the summer when the temperatures hit (but not exceeded) 110F.
Maybe it's difficult for some folks to believe it, but any temps under 106F were OK, and nights were nice.
Now, well, it's not so nice at all... from mid May through Mid Sept is really an ordeal.

 

[Idril Celebrindal]

Some beginner piano players who struggle with keeping their hands in the right position (slightly curved) will tie sharpened pencils to the back of their hands so that if they keep their hands flat the pencils will poke them. (this isn't common, though).

 

[Deimos]

Some beginner piano players who struggle with keeping their hands in the right position (slightly curved) will tie sharpened pencils to the back of their hands so that if they keep their hands flat the pencils will poke them. (this isn't common, though).

This reminds me of people who sleepwalk are told to spread broken glass around their beds.
If they get up (while asleep) to walk , they step on the broken glass.
Having their feet lacerated trains their subconscious to make them stay in bed until morning when it's light and they can see the glass.

 

[Vorondil]

This reminds me of people who sleepwalk are told to spread broken glass around their beds.
If they get up (while asleep) to walk , they step on the broken glass.
Having their feet lacerated trains their subconscious to make them stay in bed until morning when it's light and they can see the glass.

 

[Deimos]

View attachment 36517

Holmes, you are as sharp as ever. 😁

 

[Berzelmayr]

In the 1970s there was a terrorist, whose original family name was Leberwurst (translates as liver sausage).

 

[Deimos]

Last Calvin and Hobbes cartoon proof sold for $35,000 (USD)
(I've also posted a larger pic of the cartoon)

 

[Idril Celebrindal]

Spiderwebs are considered good luck in Ukranian tradition, and some people will make Christmas ornaments called "spiderwebs" out of straw.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

El Yunque Rainforest is one of the most famous sights in Puerto Rico. The 28,000 acres of tropical palms and dense foliage make El Yunque National Forest feel like a primitive landscape that has remained virtually unchanged for millennia. The rainforest receives over 120 inches of rain every year, and it can rain up to 365 days a year.

 

[Elwing the White]

There's a town in eastern Kentucky called Dryhill that's also known as "Hell for Certain".

 

[Ashley]

There's a town in eastern Kentucky called Dryhill that's also known as "Hell for Certain".

Is there a reason behind this nickname?

 

[Elwing the White]

Nobody really knows, but people say that when a visitor returned to his home town and was asked about it, he responded it was "hell for certain."

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

There are four north poles not including the towns and villages that take the real North Pole’s name. The most famous North Pole is the geographical North Pole, which lies in the central part of the Arctic Ocean.

There is also the Pole of Cold, the North Pole of Inaccessibility, and the North Magnetic Pole. The North Magnetic Pole is a point on the Earth’s surface where a compass always points down. Meanwhile, the Pole of Cold are places in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere where the lowest air temperatures have been recorded. Finally, the North Pole of Inaccessibility is the most remote point in the Arctic.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Neptune is the only planet in our solar system discovered using mathematics.

Astronomers noticed Uranus's orbit wasnt lining up with where they predicted, they theorised there must be another large planet last Uranus pulling on its orbit. Neptune was later observed after the math predicted where it should be based on Uranus's orbit.

Galileo actually observed Neptune in the 1600's but because its so far away he labelled it a star.

 

[Idril Celebrindal]

There is a lizard called a sandfish that lives in the desert and can burrow beneath loose sand to hide from predators. I managed to catch a sandfish on a trip to the Desert, and it can basically "swim" in the sand, I had to stick my hand under the sand to catch it. Not sure how it breaths under the sand, but it's scales are really close together to prevent friction.

 

[Elwing the White]

There is a lizard called a sandfish that lives in the desert and can burrow beneath loose sand to hide from predators. I managed to catch a sandfish on a trip to the Desert, and it can basically "swim" in the sand, I had to stick my hand under the sand to catch it. Not sure how it breaths under the sand, but it's scales are really close together to prevent friction.

I might have seen one of these once, but it was pale and looked like a snake. Could it possibly be a sandfish?

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

All the world’s bacteria stacked on top of each other would stretch for 10 billion light-years. Together, Earth's 0.001mm-long microbes could wrap around the Milky Way over 20,000 times.

 

[Idril Celebrindal]

I might have seen one of these once, but it was pale and looked like a snake. Could it possibly be a sandfish?

Probably not. They look like normal garden lizards, except their heads are a bit different.

 

[Elwing the White]

Probably not. They look like normal garden lizards, except their heads are a bit different.

Perhaps I caught a rare glimpse of a white, legless, mini version of Glaurung.