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

[ainsworth74]

They don't have the full legislative powers that the Scottish Government does in that they can't make laws (because Scots law is separate from English & Welsh Law), although I do think that they should.

Hmm I suppose so, but still the Assembly does have considerable powers over matters internal to Wales. However we are wandering quite a bit of course from the point of the thread so I propose we leave the politics alone and focus on the facts!

• Consumption of TNT turns urine amber or deep red, which people often mistake for blood.
• The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
• 100,000,000,000 tons of dynamite would have to be detonated every second to match the energy produced by the sun.

 

[Wyvern]

[*]Despite the paranoia about £50 notes, forged £20 notes are about 25x as prevalent as fifties.

Totally off topic but if you've got any old Elgar £20 stashed away they are not going to be legal tender after Wednesday

 

[CarterUSM]

Totally off topic but if you've got any old Elgar £20 stashed away they are not going to be legal tender after Wednesday

You will however, be able to take them to Threadneedle Street to exchange as you can with all Bank of England notes, or something like that!!

 

[Wyvern]

The name of the Peak District did not come from it being hilly.

 

[CarterUSM]

Up until the early 20th century, Canada had extensive plans to invade the united states.

 

[Sam Bentley]

They don't have the full legislative powers that the Scottish Government does in that they can't make laws (because Scots law is separate from English & Welsh Law), although I do think that they should.

Devolution is grossly unfair to the English and should be repealed. There should be just one parliament for the entire UK. Just think of the money that has been squandered on devolution

• Dr Frasier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammer, is the longest running character on American primetime TV at a whopping 20 years (over both Cheers and Frasier).

John Mahoney played Frasier's father for the entire Frasier run, from its inception in 1993 until the final episode in 2004. He also appeared in an episode of Cheers as an inept jingle writer, including a brief conversation with Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), whose father he would later play.

 

[CarterUSM]

Devolution is grossly unfair to the English and should be repealed. There should be just one parliament for the entire UK. Just think of the money that has been squandered on devolution

I agree with that point, a disgraceful waste of time and resources. Another fact, giraffes have the same number of neck bones as a human.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

There should be just one parliament for the entire UK. Just think of the money that has been squandered on devolution.

Interesting!
Shall we make Holyrood the seat of parliament for the whole UK, then?
Its got a much more appropriate building than any of the other contenders, better infrastructure, comms links, catering and ambience. You don't even have to walk through a converted underground station to walk between the chambers and members' offices - (and minor members don't have to continue walking after a converted rail station to a converted Police office) - in Holyrood they're just along the corridor in the one building.
What a smart idea!

 

[Sam Bentley]

Interesting!
Shall we make Holyrood the seat of parliament for the whole UK, then?
Its got a much more appropriate building than any of the other contenders, better infrastructure, comms links, catering and ambience. You don't even have to walk through a converted underground station to walk between the chambers and members' offices - (and minor members don't have to continue walking after a converted rail station to a converted Police office) - in Holyrood they're just along the corridor in the one building.
What a smart idea!

Why waste money relocating staff? Just keep the present Westminster arrangement.

 

[CarterUSM]

Interesting!
Shall we make Holyrood the seat of parliament for the whole UK, then?
Its got a much more appropriate building than any of the other contenders, better infrastructure, comms links, catering and ambience. You don't even have to walk through a converted underground station to walk between the chambers and members' offices - (and minor members don't have to continue walking after a converted rail station to a converted Police office) - in Holyrood they're just along the corridor in the one building.
What a smart idea!

With the final bill for the holyrood parliament building, i'd have been pretty peeved off if it hadn't been as admittedly functional as it is!

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Just keep the present Westminster arrangement.

What? For all the members of all four nations?
You are having a laugh, aren't you?

You have made use of the, er, facilities in Westminster before making that suggestion haven't you?

You do know the conditions that the staff you refer to have to deal with, and the distances they have to travel, and the innappropriateness of the buildings, just to enable the simplest meeting or committee hearing, don't you? You do know about English members' offices in the police building, don't you?

I was trying to make a humourous but railway-related link for the sake of this thread, because it is a national joke that the English Government partly relies on the use of a converted railway station to do its business. I have a shuddering thought that perhaps you are serious that its the best place to carry on doing business!

 

[Sam Bentley]

• The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

The first advert on UK commercial TV was on ITV on 21 September 1955, advertising Gibbs S.R Toothpaste.

The first DJ to broadcast on the Radio 1 was Tony Blackburn, and the first complete record played on Radio 1 was "Flowers in the Rain" by The Move

When Virgin radio started broadcasting, it was at 12.15pm (to reflect its AM frequency) on 30 April 1993, and the first song was a cover version of the Steppenwolf song "Born to be Wild", recorded by Australian group INXS.
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What? For all the members of all four nations?
You are having a laugh, aren't you?

You have made use of the, er, facilities in Westminster before making that suggestion haven't you?

You do know the conditons that the staff you refer to have to deal with, and the distances they have to travel, and the innappropriateness of the buildings, just to enable the simplest meeting or committee hearing, don't you?

London is the UK capital, just keep the parliament in the capital.

Why move it to a third world country like scotland?

 

[90019]

• Contrary to Michael MacIntyre (and Scots on holiday down South) Scottish money is NOT legal tender. Although it's perfectly legal currency, so there's still no excuse for refusing it
• English notes are not legal tender in Scotland

Scottish notes technically aren't legal tender anywhere, including in Scotland.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

You have made use of the, er, facilities in Westminster before making that suggestion haven't you?

You do know the conditions that the staff you refer to have to deal with, and the distances they have to travel, and the innappropriateness of the buildings, just to enable the simplest meeting or committee hearing, don't you? You do know about English members' offices in the police building, don't you?

I was trying to make a humourous but railway-related link for the sake of this thread, because it is a national joke that the English Government partly relies on the use of a converted railway station to do its business. I have a shuddering thought that perhaps you are serious that its the best place to carry on doing business!

London is the UK capital, just keep the parliament in the capital.

Why move it to a third world country like scotland?

I guess that your answer to my 3 questions, then, is, "No, I haven't used the facilities in Westminster. No, I don't know how difficult the conditions are, and No, I didn't know how inappropriate English members' buildings are.

Your jibe about Scotland being a third world country says a lot. I'm not promoting anything about Scotland here other than the physical facilities of the building in which governance takes place. One very simple point.
I'm astonished that you want to challenge its magnificent ability to to the job better than any other place on the grounds of some sort of territorial competitiveness!
It seems that from your point of view of having a singe seat of governemtn for the UK, which I haven't challenged in the least, then Holyrood is pretty central, isn't it? Westminster certainly isn't.
I really thought you were joking

 

[Sam Bentley]

I guess that your answer to my 3 questions, then, is, "No, I haven't used the facilities in Westminster. No, I don't know how difficult the conditions are, and No, I didn't know how inappropriate English members' buildings are.

Your jibe about Scotland being a third world country says a lot. I'm not promoting anything about Scotland here other than the physical facilities of the building in which governance takes place. One very simple point.
I'm astonished that you want to challenge its magnificent ability to to the job better than any other place on the grounds of some sort of territorial competitiveness!
It seems that from your point of view of having a singe seat of governemtn for the UK, which I haven't challenged in the least, then Holyrood is pretty central, isn't it? Westminster certainly isn't.
I really thought you were joking

The Uk transport network is much more centred on London than Edinburgh

 

[CarterUSM]

Third world country? Last time I checked, we were part of the UK! I'll take that as tongue in cheek when every second person I meet in Edinburgh is from south of the border. While we're talking politics, Inverness is unique as the only place in the UK outwith London where the UK parliament has sat in session.

 

[jimrbrobinson]

Last time I was in Edinburgh it seemed like the English outnumbered the Scots, if the accents were anything to go by. Conversely, last time I was in Manchester city centre, there did seem to be a lot of Scottish people around. Of course, Rangers were playing Manchester United that day, which I suppose could account for it!!!

Has the UK become a third-world country and nobody's bothered to tell us????

 

[DaveNewcastle]

The Uk transport network is much more centred on London than Edinburgh

You really do have a problem here about London, don't you? !

Look, if we were starting from scratch, it could just as easily be Manchester or Sheffield that was chosen to be the most accessible for every constituency in the UK. No problem. I'm not precious about Scotland being the capital of the UK or whatever else frightens you, BUT, and this is your point (not mine!) . . . , if you want a single seat of government for the UK, the Holyrood is much much more appropriate for the job. And Westminster is a repeatedly bodged adaptation.
And there isn't a government building in Manchester or Sheffield! Is there?

I love the Palace of Westmnster.
And I'm an agnostic on devolution, but . . .
Holyrood simply is the best building for the job. Its very simple.
I don't actually feel convinced that your "One united UK" argument is what I want, but if I did, I'd still want to put it in Holyrood, and let Westminster become something like the Tower of London, a wonderful building to be amired. Holyrood is structurally and accessibly, the best place to put it.

 

[me123]

Devolution is grossly unfair to the English and should be repealed. There should be just one parliament for the entire UK. Just think of the money that has been squandered on devolution

I won't go into this debate, because it's off topic. But I strongly believe that there should be a referendum on English devolution as well as I do believe that the current arrangement is unfair to England.

Of course, I don't believe that there should be one parliament for the UK (yes, I am a nationalist) for a number of reasons, such as Scotland having different issues to England, Scots Law being different from English law, Scottish votes in Westminster not actually having any bearing on the overall result...

Holyrood is a vastly superior parliamentary facility to Westminster. Have you seen a division (vote) in Westminster? It takes twenty minutes! It's an embarrassment. As much as I love the theatre that goes alongside proceedings in Westminster, the whole thing is not fit for purpose on a practical level.

 

[Sam Bentley]

Scots Law being different from English law

Surely if we are one country we should be working towards one set of laws.

 

[me123]

Why move it to a third world country like scotland?

HOW DARE YOU?!?!?!?

When you descend down this frankly pathetic path, there's no reason to even continue any debate. (Which is off topic anyway-sorry mods!).
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Surely if we are one country we should be working towards one set of laws.

I do not believe that we are one country. I am not British (except for things like Passports where my true nationality cannot be legally recognised). I am Scottish. I live in Scotland. I live under Scots law.

 

[yorkie]

Why move it to a third world country like scotland?

Is there any need to be so Xenophobic and hostile?
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The Uk transport network is much more centred on London than Edinburgh

Wow, you come up with such brilliant one-liners!!

Here's another:

The UK transport network is much more centered on Glasgow than Edinburgh.

Does it prove anything? Not really...

 

[90019]

Why move it to a third world country like scotland?

And some people wonder why the English get a reputation for being arrogant...

 

[Sam Bentley]

HOW DARE YOU?!?!?!?

I do not believe that we are one country. I am not British (except for things like Passports where my true nationality cannot be legally recognised). I am Scottish. I live in Scotland. I live under Scots law.

well one day you might be lucky enough to live in a civilised country
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And some people wonder why the English get a reputation for being arrogant...

Just confidently superior!

 

[90019]

Just confidently superior!

My point exactly.

 

[me123]

Is there any need to be so Xenophobic and hostile?

Nice to see English people standing up for us here! At least in terms of the totally unnecessarily racist stuff. Scotland is far from a perfect country, but neither's any of the other consistent nations of the United Kingdom, or for that matter any other nation in the world. We have problems. Some rather severe. But so does everywhere else.

I'm not anti-English. I generally support England, and don't mind most English people. I think England is a great country, and to be honest you English aren't proud enough of yourselves. (Except in football, where you go a bit too far in the other direction! ) You get English idiots, granted, but you get idiots everywhere.

I don't have a problem with England. I just have a problem with being joined to you politically. On the other hand, you seem to loathe Scotland. Yet, you've not actually given us any real reason for doing so, and in fact you want to continue to be attached to us for some reason known possibly only unto yourself. My guess is oil revenue.
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[Offensive post removed].

If you genuinely think that we all love Gordo, you're mistaken. Many people up here don't like him, even if they did vote Labour...

Another example is Margaret Thatcher. She wasn't very popular to say the least. But we don't use it as an example to hate England.

 

[Sam Bentley]

Another example is Margaret Thatcher.

A ****ing good prime minister. We need some with her vision, energy and backbone to rescue us from the current mess we're in.
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I just have a problem with being joined to you politically.
On the other hand, you want to continue to be attached to us for some reason known possibly only unto yourself.

I'd happily be rid of the Celtic nations and the Cornish can **** off too if they don't want to be English; but until that is agreed by a referendum, we remain one country, and accordingly we only need one parliament, and one common set of laws.

 

[yorkie]

And some people wonder why the English get a reputation for being arrogant...

It's a small minority.

I would encourage anyone offended by Sam Bentley's posts to use the report a post link (

) in the bottom left of the applicable post.

I have referred this topic to other moderators to consider whether or not his comments are acceptable.

 

[Sam Bentley]

It's a small minority.

I would encourage anyone offended by Sam Bentley's posts to use the report a post link (

) in the bottom left of the applicable post.

I have referred this topic to other moderators to consider whether or not his comments are acceptable.

so telling the truth is no longer acceptable?

get a life

 

[yorkie]

so telling the truth is no longer acceptable?

get a life

Offensive content (e.g. the name you used to refer to people from Scotland) is unacceptable, regardless of whether or not you deem it to be "the truth".