I bet you didnt know that

Hagar7

Hagar7 wrote: »

Tis your forte.:D

Thanks, that's nice to hear.

Capt'n Midnight

Antarctica has the driest deserts.

Looking at the soil in the Dry Valleys it was determined that there's been no signification rainfall during the last two million years.


It's the Katabatic Winds that do it.

Hagar7

Candie wrote: »

Thanks, that's nice to hear.

You have a computer that talks!!!
No way.:D

Bandana boy

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

You can also see Russia on a clear day from the Diomede islands in the Bering Sea.

Sarah Palin mentioned this to a reporter during the 2008 election. They maliciously misquoted her by printing that she said she could see Russia from her house.

I remember feeling so sorry for at the time. The press can be so cruel, especially if they have an agenda like that bastard who interviewed her did.

In fairness to the press it was her answer to a question about her experience in foreign affairs ,that she stated that you could see Russia from Alaska , it was a snl parody that added the can be seen from my house for comedic effect .

The original was a ridiculous answer and rightly pilloried

ScrubsfanChris

In New Jersey its illegal to fill up your own vehicle, petrol or diesel. An attendant has to do it for you.
Its also illegal in Oregon except at night.

ScrubsfanChris

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

In New Jersey its illegal to fill up your own vehicle, petrol or diesel. An attendant has to do it for you.
Its also illegal in Oregon except at night.

I didn't know about this until I gassed up in NJ. Apparently it was made illegal to pump your own gas because all the gas suppliers had agreed on a fixed price back in the 50's, and an entrepreneurial upstart came along and sold gas at a few cents cheaper per gallon with the proviso that you pumped it yourself.

He opened a gas station with lots of pumps and people queued around the block to pump their own gas and save a few cents.

With urgent lobbying from the influential established gas station owners, a bill was passed in record time prohibiting self service stations, eliminating the few cents price advantage.

It doesn't even pretend to be motivated by a safety issue, it's just a price-fixing issue.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Candie wrote: »

I didn't know about this until I gassed up in NJ. Apparently it was made illegal to pump your own gas because all the gas suppliers had agreed on a fixed price back in the 50's, and an entrepreneurial upstart came along and sold gas at a few cents cheaper per gallon with the proviso that you pumped it yourself.

He opened a gas station with lots of pumps and people queued around the block to pump their own gas and save a few cents.

With urgent lobbying from the influential established gas station owners, a bill was passed in record time prohibiting self service stations, eliminating the few cents price advantage.

It doesn't even pretend to be motivated by a safety issue, it's just a price-fixing issue.

And they maintain it saved thousands of jobs. Some jobs! Pumping gas.

Anders Shy Aircraft

Anders Shy Aircraft wrote: »

And they maintain it saved thousands of jobs. Some jobs! Pumping gas.

Lots of students and part timers would be grateful for those jobs tho!

hungry hypno toad

Anders Shy Aircraft wrote: »

And they maintain it saved thousands of jobs. Some jobs! Pumping gas.

They get to clean windscreens too.

fiachr_a

If you win money from gambling (in Ireland) they're not legally obliged to pay you the winnings.

Capt'n Midnight

Candie wrote: »

Lots of students and part timers would be grateful for those jobs tho!

The reason they were grateful was because back then those jobs paid enough to put you through college.

Nowadays a pilot with a regional airline in the US might be on food stamps.

Captain_Crash

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

You can also see Russia on a clear day from the Diomede islands in the Bering Sea

It doesn't even need to be a clear day, there are two Diomede islands, Little and Big. The larger of the two is Russian territory and nicknamed Tomorrow Island by the locals on Little Diomede, because its timezone is 24 hours ahead, despite it being swimming distance to the west.

valoren

Anders Shy Aircraft wrote: »

And they maintain it saved thousands of jobs. Some jobs! Pumping gas.

Fuel Injection Engineers to be precise. :pac:

sbsquarepants

Candie wrote: »

At 3rd level, some of the time.

It's one of those paradox thingies isn't it.
Full time = some of the time:D

fiachr_a wrote: »

If you win money from gambling (in Ireland) they're not legally obliged to pay you the winnings.

I have a friend who fell foul of this a few years back - he "won" I think it was 5 or 6 grand on an accumulator bet, bookie told him he'd given him the wrong odds so he'd only pay him 6 or 700. Mate went to a solicitor who told him take the 700 - he doesn't even have to give you that if he doesn't want to!:mad:

Captain_Crash

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I have a friend who fell foul of this a few years back - he "won" I think it was 5 or 6 grand on an accumulator bet, bookie told him he'd given him the wrong odds so he'd only pay him 6 or 700. Mate went to a solicitor who told him take the 700 - he doesn't even have to give you that if he doesn't want to!:mad:

I heard of a case on the news only this morning of a bloke who won €11k in a casino in Dublin and took it to court to enforce the payment, where he lost.

New Home

Are they obliged to give you your money back, at least?

New Home

BrianBoru00

New Home wrote: »

Are they obliged to give you your money back, at least?

No , its considered a "gentlemans bet". There is no legal obligtion or contract formed

New Home

BrianBoru00 wrote: »

No , its considered a "gentlemans bet". There is no legal obligtion or contract formed

Now, that's the pits. I could, at a stretch, accept that they're not legally obliged to pay me my winnings, but why should they be entitled to keep the money I bet in the first place?!

The 1908 Olympic games were held in London, but the Russian team didn't show up until 12 days after the opening ceremony.

The Russians hadn't yet changed from the Julian calendar and hadn't thought to check the date of the games on the Gregorian calendar.

tomwaterford

Ben Sliney

The man who ordered all aircraft in the US to be ground in America on September 11th.

Was his first day on the job

fiachr_a

fiachr_a wrote: »

If you win money from gambling (in Ireland) they're not legally obliged to pay you the winnings.

Yes, it's one of those "contrary to public policy" type exemptions to the usual rules of contract, they cannot be used to underpin gambling.

The way to get to them is to object to the bookmaker's licence at annual licensing Court.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/bookie-loses-his-licence-in-dispute-over-bet-25922664.html

blastman

Captain_Crash wrote: »

It doesn't even need to be a clear day, there are two Diomede islands, Little and Big. The larger of the two is Russian territory and nicknamed Tomorrow Island by the locals on Little Diomede, because its timezone is 24 hours ahead, despite it being swimming distance to the west.

Apparently because of locally defined timezones, Big Diomede is only 21 hours ahead of Little (which is nicknamed Yesterday Isle)

Oh, and travel between the two islands is illegal despite the fact it is (theoretically) possible to walk between them in winter as an ice bridge forms connecting them.

fiachr_a

If you type Ctrl D in MS Excel it inserts the value from the cell directly above.

evolving_doors

Type ' use the force luke ' into youtube.

MonkieSocks

Easy Eddie O’Hare was one of Al Capone’s lawyers.

For reasons still disputed, Eddie wanted to do the right thing

He met with Frank J. Wilson of the treasury department and agreed to help the government convict Capone of tax evasion.

His testimony however was enough for Capone to be convicted and sentenced to 11 years at Alcatraz Penitentiary in 1933.

On November 8, 1939 the once pristine hood of a Lincoln-Zephyr was crushed upon impact at the corner of Ogden Avenue and Rockwell Street in Chicago.

What they found was a car riddled with bullets.

Inside was the body of Eddie O’Hare

---

O’Hares son had joined Annapolis Naval Academy in Maryland.

Here Edward picked up the nickname “Butch”.

On February 20, 1942, Butch was given what seemed like an impossible mission. Japanese bombers were swarming like flies around the navel carrier the USS Lexington.

Low on fuel and ammunition, Butch made four passes directly through the Japanese formation under heavy gunfire.

The Japanese bombers were scattered and Butch made it back to the carrier.

He not only saved the day but had shot down five Japanese planes and for his valor he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

He also was the first U.S. serviceman in World War II and the first pilot ever to be decorated with the Medal of Honor.

Butch, son of a Capone lawyer, became an instant celebrity.

Though uncomfortable with all the fuss, parades and accolades followed him wherever he went.

Sadly, in 1943, Butch led a squadron of night fighters and never returned home.

At age 29, he died a hero serving his country.

Butch’s father Easy Eddie, would have been proud.

So the next time you fly in or out of Chicago’s largest airport think about this story.

Why?

Because Easy Eddie’s famous son was named Edward “Butch” O’Hare and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport bears their family name!

Chancer3001

Whatsapp was sold to Facebook for over 19 billion dollars. Despite not making any money because they haven't figured out how to make money with it yet (they don't want ads or service charge anynore)

For a 19billion dollar company they have 49 employees....

valoren

At Google's headquarters at Mountain View, CA, they do not use lawnmowers to maintain the lawns.
They rent a herd of 200 goats instead as part of a carbon free approach to maintenance.

neonsofa

I don't know if this was said already and the boards search function is not the best especially on mobile- so apologies if it was!

If you Google image search the number 241543903 you will see loads of pictures of people with their head in a freezer.

Esel

neonsofa wrote: »

I don't know if this was said already and the boards search function is not the best especially on mobile- so apologies if it was!

If you Google image search the number 241543903 you will see loads of pictures of people with their head in a freezer.

That's chilling!