There is no subject that
we of the current age have not managed to politicize – even the most random
ones from fly fishing to botany. We argue over “false facts” (the ultimate
oxymoron) and call each other anti-science for believing or disbelieving the
wrong ones. But while I despair of finding any that are truly apolitical, there
are facts and factoids which are at least non-partisan, which is to say they
can be spun in almost any direction. So, just for fun and relief, here are a
dozen for today.
The ancient Egyptian word for cat is “miaow.” (The current Coptic, which derives from ancient Egyptian, transliterates as “emou.”) One has to admire the ready intelligibility.
The slogan on the first coin minted as US currency (1787) was “Mind Your Business.” I like it.
According to Public Policy Polling, 28% of Americans believe a secretive elite conspires to run the world. Only 28%?
When neurologist James Fallon compared his own brain scan to those of known psychopaths, he discovered he was one. I hate when that happens.
Gavisti, Sanskrit for “war,” literally means “desire for more cows.” I’m still not turning vegan.
Five countries have no national debt: Singapore, Taiwan (yes I know its status as a country is ambiguous), Brunei, Palau, and Liechtenstein. Those governments just aren’t trying.
There is a word for someone who never had a haircut: acersecomic. I wouldn’t have thought there were enough folks to need a specific word.
Nocturia is the need to get up at night to urinate. OK, I get why there is a word for that.
Edgar Allan Poe was paid $9 for the publication of “The Raven.” No wonder his midnight was so dreary.
The mother of Matt Groening (creator of “The Simpsons") was named Marge. Sigmund would approve.
Jaguars are attracted to the scent of Calvin Klein’s Obsession for Men. Wildlife photographers bait them with it. Wrong New World big cat.
Research from the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University indicates that falling in love typically will cost you two close friends. Is one of those friends the beloved?
Those are twelve, which incidentally is the point value of the word “twelve” in Scrabble.
The ancient Egyptian word for cat is “miaow.” (The current Coptic, which derives from ancient Egyptian, transliterates as “emou.”) One has to admire the ready intelligibility.
The slogan on the first coin minted as US currency (1787) was “Mind Your Business.” I like it.
According to Public Policy Polling, 28% of Americans believe a secretive elite conspires to run the world. Only 28%?
When neurologist James Fallon compared his own brain scan to those of known psychopaths, he discovered he was one. I hate when that happens.
Gavisti, Sanskrit for “war,” literally means “desire for more cows.” I’m still not turning vegan.
Five countries have no national debt: Singapore, Taiwan (yes I know its status as a country is ambiguous), Brunei, Palau, and Liechtenstein. Those governments just aren’t trying.
There is a word for someone who never had a haircut: acersecomic. I wouldn’t have thought there were enough folks to need a specific word.
Nocturia is the need to get up at night to urinate. OK, I get why there is a word for that.
Edgar Allan Poe was paid $9 for the publication of “The Raven.” No wonder his midnight was so dreary.
The mother of Matt Groening (creator of “The Simpsons") was named Marge. Sigmund would approve.
Jaguars are attracted to the scent of Calvin Klein’s Obsession for Men. Wildlife photographers bait them with it. Wrong New World big cat.
Research from the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University indicates that falling in love typically will cost you two close friends. Is one of those friends the beloved?
Those are twelve, which incidentally is the point value of the word “twelve” in Scrabble.
Alice Cooper – Grim Facts
I found this interesting today: 25 facts you learned in school that are no longer true: https://www.rd.com/list/facts-you-learned-no-longer-true/
ReplyDeleteMark Tawin in “Following the Equator” remarked “Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it.”
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