Strange and Basicly Useless Information

[jazz lady (Premo)]

Red and blue are the most popular tie colors in the U.S.

A mother kangaroo is called a "flyer."

Fingernails are made out of the same stuff as horse hooves, bird talons, bull horns, and bear claws.

In Great Britain, rummage sales are called "jumble sales."

In the opening procession of the Olympics, the team representing the host nation always marches last.

"Horripilation" is the medical term for goosebumps.

Thirty-four percent of Microsoft employees are Indian.

American electric razors hum in the key of B flat. Razors in England, however, buzz in the key of G.

The pilgrims took apart the Mayflower and used the wood to build a barn.

Forty percent of people in America have never been to see a dentist.

A cosmic year is the amount of time it takes the Sun to revolve around the center of the Milky Way. That's about 225 million years.

Major league baseball bats are made of ash.

Just about half of the people charged with homicide in the US are convicted of the crime.

Toys R Us was originally the Children's Supermart.

The first portable calculator placed for sale by Texas Instruments, in 1972, weighed 2.5 pounds and cost $150.

Melba toast is named after Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba.

Sixty percent of Americans can name all Three Stooges. Just 17 percent can name three Supreme Court judges.

The back of the human hand is the "opisthenar."

Norway has won more total medals at the Winter Olympic Games than any other nation.

The official name of Rhode Island, used on all state documents, is Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

[Ken King]

Originally Posted by jazz lady

American electric razors hum in the key of B flat. Razors in England, however, buzz in the key of G.

I think I know why (or at least here is my wag at why), which is probably just as useless as the list.

B-flat has a frequency multiple of 29.135 Hz and G has a multiple of 24.5 Hz. In England and many European countries the electricity is carried at the 50 Hz rate while in the good old USA it is at 60 Hz. The oscillation of the razor driven by a 60 Hz power source would be very close to the second multiple of B-flat at 58.27 HZ and the oscillation of 50 Hz source would be close to the second multiple of G at 49 Hz.

[jazz lady (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Ken King

I think I know why (or at least here is my wag at why), which is probably just as useless as the list.

B-flat has a frequency multiple of 29.135 Hz and G has a multiple of 24.5 Hz. In England and many European countries the electricity is carried at the 50 Hz rate while in the good old USA it is at 60 Hz. The oscillation of the razor driven by a 60 Hz power source would be very close to the second multiple of B-flat at 58.27 HZ and the oscillation of 50 Hz source would be close to the second multiple of G at 49 Hz.

Well, I always find useless trivia interesting.

I always wondered why you needed adapters for American appliances if you go overseas. Thanks!

[Ken King]

Originally Posted by jazz lady

Well, I always find useless trivia interesting.

I always wondered why you needed adapters for American appliances if you go overseas. Thanks!

Cool, about trivia. I have a ton of useless information tucked away in my head. How about this one. At what temperature are centigrade and Fahrenheit the same, if any?

[jazz lady (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Ken King

Cool, about trivia. I have a ton of useless information tucked away in my head. How about this one. At what temperature are centigrade and Fahrenheit the same, if any?

I know they do at some point. I know it's somewhere way below zero, but I don't remember exactly how far. I guess if I solved the conversion formulas, I could figure it out but it's easier to just have you tell me.

[Ken King]

-40. Charts in the airframe publications.