The "Awesome but Useless Facts to Impress and Bemuse Your Friends" Thread

[90019]

It's a small minority.

But it's unfortunate that it's often the majority that create the image that becomes associated with the majority. (Something I know about only too well )

so telling the truth is no longer acceptable?

Can we see your evidence that Scotland is a 3rd world country then? (Please cite your sources as well)

 

[Sam Bentley]

Can we see your evidence that Scotland is a 3rd world country then? (Please cite your sources as well)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1511557.stm


http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6006313


Unbiased enough for you?

 

[EM2]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1511557.stm


http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6006313


Unbiased enough for you?

One link that is nine years old and one that discusses academic performance in just two subjects? Not exactly comprehensive evidence.

 

[Sam Bentley]

One link that is nine years old and one that discusses academic performance in just two subjects? Not exactly comprehensive evidence.

good enough for goverment work or this forum

 

[yorkie]

1) A 2001 report that Scotland is "in danger" of becoming a 3rd world economy does not mean it happened.

2) 'Scotland is languishing in the company of Third World countries when it comes to the performance of 10- and 14-year-olds in maths and science' is that the best you can do? It would not surprise me if some third world countries probably beat us in terms of performance in those subjects, given that students in third world countries are generally more well motivated and have longer attention spans to many students in the UK.

That's a very weak argument.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

good enough for this forum

Without wishing to speak for anyone else, I suspect that very few people here would consider that 'good enough' evidence...

 

[90019]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1511557.stm


http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6006313


Unbiased enough for you?

If that's all it takes to convince you, then it certainly explains your previous posts

 

[Ivo]

In an effort to bring this thread back on course, a few more facts. Might I suggest that the last 30 or so posts are split from the rest of the thread and locked?

• The history of the world's longest longest pleasure pier, that of Southend, is an odd one. First built in the 1800s, it was extended in two stages in the late 1920s. Since the mid-1960s, however, the pier has averaged a fire every ten years, and has even been subjected to a ship ploughing through it. According to Sir John Betjeman, "The Pier is Southend, Southend is the Pier"; does this mean that the entire town is liable to major disasters every ten or so years?
• Most Japanese words end in a vowel or an "n". However, when they end in a "u", the final sounds is that of the phoneme immediately before the "u". This brings an anomaly when a word ends in a double "u"; this actually does produce a "u" sound in spite of it being overlooked. Some phonemes though, such as "sh", do not eradicate the "u" sound.
• Popular opinion would suggest that the world's least densely populated country is either Australia or Canada. In fact, it is neither; Mongolia has a density of less than two people per square kilometre (1.75 to be exact). Such a density in England would equate a total population of approximately 230,000; in other words, we would all live in Reading!
• The Football League main offices are based in Preston, home of the first ever League winners, and of course London. However, the operations centre was formally based in Lytham St Anne's, which has never had its own League team.

 

[Tom B]

• English notes are not legal tender in Scotland

Well, current BofE banknotes with a value under £5 are... just don't see any of them!

(I'm in London at the moment and loving winding people up with £1 notes)

 

[transportphoto]

Well, current BofE banknotes with a value under £5 are... just don't see any of them!

(I'm in London at the moment and loving winding people up with £1 notes)

No Wonder why we don't see any! There aren't any in circulation as they don't appear on this webpage!

 

[me123]

Well, current BofE banknotes with a value under £5 are... just don't see any of them!

(I'm in London at the moment and loving winding people up with £1 notes)

You still get £1 notes? In my supermarket, £100 notes are more common! Try giving them one of those and just watch their head explode. (If you want further information, please visit this extremely useful site).

 

[CarterUSM]

On the banking theme, the Bank of England was founded by a Scot, step forward Mr William Paterson!

 

[ert47]

This fact makes me Chortle;

Green grapes cause more accidents on the London Underground than banana skins.

 

[EM2]

This fact makes me Chortle;

Green grapes cause more accidents on the London Underground than banana skins.

Half of the profit that Asda makes on grapes is lost as it is paid out as compensation to people who slip or fall on them.

 

[90019]

You still get £1 notes? In my supermarket, £100 notes are more common! Try giving them one of those and just watch their head explode. (If you want further information, please visit this extremely useful site).

I have a couple of them around somewhere.
I think you can still get them from some banks if you ask.

It's nice when they get mistaken for a fiver as well

 

[me123]

Here's another fact; some self service machines misread £1 RBS notes as £5 RBS notes. Hardly useless information though, as it can net you a nice £4 profit through no fault of your own.

 

[Wyvern]

The small wooden hut that served as the station building when Burgess Hill was opened in 1841 still exists on Platform 1

 

[NSWGR]

# The Funny Bone is not a bone - it's a nerve;

# The TV series M*A*S*H ran for 11 years - almost 4 times as long as the Korean War which it was set in;

# Rugby was last played as an Olympic sport at the Antwerp Games in 1920. The current Olympic champion in Rugby is - wait for it - the United States!

# Australia's new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, as well as being the first woman to occupy the post, is the first UK-born Australian PM since William Morris "Billy" Hughes in 1915 - both are of Welsh ancestry.

 

[ainsworth74]

# The TV series M*A*S*H ran for 11 years - almost 4 times as long as the Korean War which it was set in

The Korean War has been going on for 60 years as of last Friday. Only a ceasefire was signed in 1953 no peace treaty and as such the war is still on going.

 

[90019]

IIRC, the town of Berwick is still technically at war with Germany. (Can't remember if it's still the case though).

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I think Berwick on Tweed sorted that out a few years ago? I'll have to get Googling to check.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

IIRC, the town of Berwick is still technically at war with Germany. (Can't remember if it's still the case though).

Oh dear Oh dear! Wrong Country!!!!

It was excluded from the Treaty of Paris and was, as a consequence, still at war with RUSSIA!
(A Russian official came to Berwick in the 1960's to announce that there were no ongoing hostilities - though whether the people present in that announcement actually had the authority to make such a binding declaration is questionable).

 

[90019]

Oh dear Oh dear! Wrong Country!!!!

It was excluded from the Treaty of Paris and was, as a consequence, still at war with RUSSIA!
(A Russian official came to Berwick in the 1960's to announce that there were no ongoing hostilities - though whether the people present in that announcement actually had the authority to make such a binding declaration is questionable).

I knew something wasn't quite right with it

 

[ChrisTheRef]

Nearly 20% of all RailUK threads descend into a childish argument :P

 

[flymo]

Nearly 20% of all RailUK threads descend into a childish argument :P

Still a lot less than some rail forums.

 

[Ivo]

Nearly 20% of all RailUK threads descend into a childish argument :P

Is this a FACT? (This thread was somehow recovered from "a childish argument"!)

Fanta was invented in Nazi Germany when the local Coca-Cola branch had no incoming ingredients for Coca-Cola and had to improvise.

 

[90019]

Nearly 20% of all RailUK threads descend into a childish argument :P

That little?