What's your trivially useful pieces of information

Alun

OK another, admittedly quite niche, one ... Sycamore trees in Ireland (and the UK and most of Europe too) are not actually Sycamores, they're Maples, Acer Pseudoplatanus.

Irish Guitarist

If you press f5 in Windows notepad it automatically displays the date and time.

Capt'n Midnight

Jolie Unimportant Applause wrote: »

The Moon and Sun have virtually the same size in our sky, because the Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon, but it's also about 400 times farther away. This allows for perfect total solar eclipses.

A spooky coincidence?
Perhaps, or could just be a equilibrium terrestrial orbit (Unified Field Theory), 'reciprocal locks' and so on...

It's just coincidence that we are here now to see it.

In the distant past the moon was much much closer and the months were shorter. Days were 6 hours long. And HUGE tides.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-rotation-summer-solstice/

As the moon has migrated out from an initial tighter orbit of perhaps 25,000 kilometers to the modern average distance of 384,000 kilometers, it has teamed up with the sun to protract Earthly days fourfold.

...
. "The moon will continue to go farther away and Earth will continue to slow down," Lambeck says, until Earth becomes tidally locked, meaning only one hemisphere of our planet will see the moon in the sky.
...
single day on Earth could eventually exceed 1,000 hours,

4068ac1elhodqr

It could be a coincidence thing with the moon-earth-sun, but in the distant past we weren't here as intelligent life, and in the future may not also be supported, if conditions change.

This picture sum up the reciprocal locks and harmonic constants referencing 273.2

This picture shows the Pi constant 1.6180339… euclidea geometry whotnot (trans-dimensional constant of the Universe)

CanadaDave

Of all species that have existed on Earth, 99.9 percent are now extinct. Many of them perished in five cataclysmic events.

Capt'n Midnight

The moon has moved out by over ten times it's original distance, so it's done 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and every digit in between at some stage or other.

Humans are very good at finding patterns.
Especially when trying to not feel guilty later.

Oft times they'll find patterns when there aren't any. Comes of millions of years of finding food and avoiding predators and stuff.

Academic

The Siberian tiger can whistle but chooses not to.

worded

Academic wrote: »

The Siberian tiger can whistle but chooses not to.

I heard it's the "endangered" Siberian snow leopard

Kadser

If you order a POT of tea in the McCafe in McDonalds they'll always ask "Are you having it here or taking it out?"

bonzodog2

Kadser wrote: »

If you order a POT of tea in the McCafe in McDonalds they'll always ask "Are you having it here or taking it out?"

And have you tried getting a teapot-to-go ?

5rtytry56

Staying on the subject of McDonalds, if you see discarded fast food packaging on Dublin Bus, it has a 96% chance of originating from McDonalds like these:

HalloweenJack

The air in planes is less clean than it was when smoking was allowed on flights.

Cheers to QI for that one, was talking about it with my mate last night.

Kadser

Those metal things flying in the sky in Ireland are called aeroplanes not airplanes.

IvyTheTerrible

Kadser wrote: »

Those metal things flying in the sky in Ireland are called aeroplanes not airplanes.

Airplane is an acceptable word, according to a dictionary.

K.Flyer

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

The hot tap is on the left and the cold tap is on the right. This is a safety feature as more people are right-handed. It means you are less likely to scald yourself. And to waste the hot water. If your taps aren't like this they're plumbed wrong. And I don't want any plumbers to come along disagreeing with me.

When running water was first introduced to houses there was only one tap on a sink and as most people were right handed the tap was indeed placed on the right. Later when running hot water came along the hot tap was placed on the left, but only because the cold was still on the right.
In most countries now, there is a standard arrangement of hot/cold taps, with the placement of the hot tap to the left because of building code requirements.
In the main that format is adhered to and is considered best practice as blind or visually impaired people will be expecting the hot to the left and the cold to the right.

RiderOnTheStorm

Jolie Unimportant Applause wrote:

The Moon and Sun have virtually the same size in our sky, because the Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon, but it's also about 400 times farther away. This allows for perfect total solar eclipses.

.....and, the size of the Eucharist (the big white bit of bread that the priest holds up during mass) is the same size as the sun (if held at arms length) and will neatly eclipse the sun..... Does this come from the time we were sun worshipers? And the IHS printed on various accoutrements means Isis Horus Sirius (from sun worshipping times!) and not "I Have Suffered" .... Start your conspiracy-engines now!!

...And Justice

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

.....and, the size of the Eucharist (the big white bit of bread that the priest holds up during mass) is the same size as the sun (if held at arms length) and will neatly eclipse the sun..... Does this come from the time we were sun worshipers? And the IHS printed on various accoutrements means Isis Horus Sirius (from sun worshipping times!) and not "I Have Suffered" .... Start your conspiracy-engines now!!

The earth is flat

Badly Drunk Boy

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

And the IHS printed on various accoutrements means Isis Horus Sirius (from sun worshipping times!) and not "I Have Suffered" .... Start your conspiracy-engines now!!

Actually, it comes from the first 3 letters of the Greek version of the name 'Jesus', IHΣΟΥΣ, iota-eta-sigma. (The New Testament was originally written in Greek.)

RiderOnTheStorm

Badly Drunk Boy wrote:

Actually, it comes from the first 3 letters of the Greek version of the name 'Jesus', IHΣΟΥΣ, iota-eta-sigma. (The New Testament was originally written in Greek.)

Well..... This is now my new trivial piece of info... Thx

K.Flyer

Kadser wrote: »

Those metal things flying in the sky in Ireland are called aeroplanes not airplanes.

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Airplane is an acceptable word, according to a dictionary.

I think I would go with what the manufacturer calls their own product.. :pac:

Boeing "Airplane"

harry Bailey esq

corner of hells wrote: »

On average a human adult consumes 16 pubic hairs a year from takeaway and restaurant meals.

Interesting, how do 'boffins' come up with these stats? I wonder what the figures are for oral sex.

K.Flyer

It takes more facial muscles to frown than it does to smile.
So it takes less effort to smile than it does to go around all day with a sour puss on ya!

Smile Everyone!!

New Home

^^^
Funny, 'cause doing neither and just staying serious uses no muscles at all.

GerB40

Elephants are actually afraid of mice. Mythbusters said it so I know it's true...

porsche boy

Teyla Emmagan wrote:

The average IQ in Ireland is slightly lower than in most countries. Through all those historical periods of emigration those who left were the ones who were most likely to succeed elsewhere - our best and brightest. The ones who stayed, our forefathers, were the blunter tools in the drawer. We are therefore a bit thicker than we would otherwise be.

This is actually down to the use of Hydroflurosicic acid (flouride) used in domestic drinking water.

Curly Judge

porsche boy wrote: »

This is actually down to the use of Hydroflurosicic acid (flouride) used in domestic drinking water.

In these islands Scottish people tend to be in the slightly higher IQ bracket and us Irish at the slightly lower end.
Personally I don't think it's down to genetics but to culture.
If.... for generations.... we allowed ourselves to be told what to think rather than thinking for ourselves it's bound to have had a cumulative effect.
Being an Island nation too, we are probably a bit more inbred than the norm?

Subacio

mansize wrote: »

Orange the name for the fruit came before orange the name for the colour.

That's why it's a robin red breast and not a robin orange breast.

md23040

Heard this useful piece of information from BBC news today. Over 20% of all cyclist accidents in cities are caused by cars doors being opened without due care. Within Holland they are trying to introduce new policy to counteract this as part of the driving test theory. Simply drivers and passengers should always open their car doors with their hand that's furthest from the door - that way it forces you to turn your head round as you open the door and see possibly any cyclist approaching the mirror blind spot etc.

This is a really easy and practical solution that should become part of driving etiquette.

Stigura

If caught in an avalanche; Dribble.

:cool: