One of the reference books on my bookcase (next to the Australian Dictionary of Vulgarities and Obscenities) is the Book of Useless Information (an Official Publication of the Useless Information Society). You may think that reading this book is a total waste of time but, before you go that far, ask yourself, as Shakespeare did: "Just how useless is useless?"
My response to this question? Well, you just never can tell; knowing this might just come in handy some day. Then again, maybe not. Let me share a few examples, and you can decide for yourself.
- Andrew Jackson was the only president to believe that the world is flat.
- Leonardo Da Vinci spent twelve years painting the Mona Lisa's lips.
- Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns.
- Hitler and Napoleon both had only one testicle.
- Christopher Columbus had blonde hair.
- Keanu Reeves's first name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian.
- In 1953, Marilyn Monroe appeared as the first Playboy centerfold.
- Clark Gable used to shower more than four times a day.
- Ringo Starr was born during a World War II air raid.
- The bagpipe was originally made from the whole skin of a dead sheep.
- The first CD pressed in the United States was Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA.
- Elvis loved to eat meatloaf.
- Every day, more money is printed for Monopoly than by the U.S. Treasury.
- According to Pope Innocent III, it was not a crime to kill someone after a game of chess.
- Miss Piggy's measurements are 27-20-36.
- One in every four Americans has appeared on television.
- The characters of Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life.
- Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots.
- Donald Duck cartoons were banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants.
- Because metal was scarce, Academy Awards given our during World War II were made of wood.
- Smokey the Bear's zip code is 20252.
- Keeping Warm with an Ax is the title of a real how-to book.
- Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson."
- The last word in the Bible is Amen.
- Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
- The phrase "rule of thumb" comes from an old English law stating that you could not beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
- Clans long ago who wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn down their houses - hence the expression "get fired".
- The Old English word for sneeze if fneosam.
- A klazomaniac is someone who feels like shouting.
- Spat out food is called chanking.
- The oldest word in the English language is town.
- No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
- November 19 is Have a Bad Day Day.
- Coca-Cola was originally green.
- Beer foam will go down if you lick your finger and then stick it in the beer.
- Peanuts are cholesterol-free. They are one of the ingredients in dynamite.
- Grapes explode when you put them in a microwave.
- There is no such thing as blue food - even blueberries are purple.
- The only food that does not spoil is honey. It is used as a center in golf balls and in antifreeze mixtures.
- A can of SPM is opened every four seconds.
- Vanilla is used to make chocolate.
- Chewing gum while peeling opinions will keep your from crying.
- Salt is the only rock humans can eat.
There are currently twenty-nine members of the Useless Information Society. Do you have a burning desire to be number thirty?
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