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Original poster

To want to know the useless facts you store in your brain..

334 replies

IseeNarcPeople · 31/07/2023 20:25

The ones that never get an outting, the chance to use them has never arisen.
For instance, from the many useless facts in my brain:
The phrases "Not enough room to swing a cat" and "Don't let the cat out of the bag" are actually about a whip "Cat O' nine tails" which was kept as a warning and punishment on ships.
Oh and snails can sleep for three years.
Please release some of yours.

OP posts:
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7
Justleaveitblankthen · 31/07/2023 23:25

CherieBabySpliffUp · 31/07/2023 23:04

There's a word for throwing someone out of a window...defenestration. I can't imagine that I would ever need to use it.

I can name all of Santa's reindeer with ease thanks to learning it in primary school some 40 years ago

Was it in The Night Before Christmas rhyme?
They are all named there.

HateTheView · 31/07/2023 23:23

Labradors are from Newfoundland and Newfoundlands are from Labrador!

RumNotRun · 31/07/2023 23:23

HairyMcHairyFace · 31/07/2023 22:55

Cobra, as in "the Prime minister attended a cobra meeting this afternoon" is an acronym for Cabinet Office Meeting Room A.

Wouldn't that be COMRA?

SarahAndQuack · 31/07/2023 23:22

This is my favourite: before humans could reliably write, they knew how to graft trees (ie. grow a par tree spliced onto a quince rootstock). They basically made aliens!

TellMeDinosaurFacts · 31/07/2023 23:20

TRex lived closer to the existence of mobile phones than to Stegosaurus.

Being true to my username there.

Dunnoburt · 31/07/2023 23:11

Oh and a foal is born with their adult size legs......

wishihadagoodone · 31/07/2023 23:11

GettingStuffed · 31/07/2023 22:24

Jellyfish don't have brains but can make decisions

They're qualified to run for public office then

DanceWithTheBigBoysAgain · 31/07/2023 23:10

There's no such thing as useless knowledge. I might have thought that knowing that the first four presenters of The Generation Game were Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson, Brucie again, and then Jim Davidson would have been useless but it's just got me 3 virtual points and bragging rights against DH while watching Only Connect.

Dunnoburt · 31/07/2023 23:10

The bigger the black bib on a male sparrow is the more kudos he has with his local ladies! Fact!........

MavisMcMinty · 31/07/2023 23:06

Defenestration is one of Putin’s preferred methods for offing his opponents.

CherieBabySpliffUp · 31/07/2023 23:04

There's a word for throwing someone out of a window...defenestration. I can't imagine that I would ever need to use it.

I can name all of Santa's reindeer with ease thanks to learning it in primary school some 40 years ago

Maddy70 · 31/07/2023 23:01

I used to work for a bank. Can remember customers account numbers. 25 years later! J changed my phone 6 months ago Can't remember my own phone number!

MillicentTrilbyHiggins · 31/07/2023 23:00

Joseph's coat was...
Red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ochre and peach and Ruby and olive and violet and fawn and lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve and cream and crimson and silver and rose and azure and lemon and russet and grey and purple and white and pink and orange and blue.

NannyGythaOgg · 31/07/2023 23:00

SarahLHs · 31/07/2023 20:48

Polar bears fur is actually see-through, not white.

And their skin is black

IntheJingelyJangelyJungle · 31/07/2023 22:59

AlanJohnsonsBeamer · 31/07/2023 20:34

The word used to describe the smell of rain is Petrichor.

I love this!

My son used this word in his 11+ when given a picture of a storm and asked to ‘describe the scene’.

I had to google it. He got a full scholarship 😂

Lagershandy · 31/07/2023 22:57

Only 5% of the world's population have hazel eyes.

HairyMcHairyFace · 31/07/2023 22:55

Cobra, as in "the Prime minister attended a cobra meeting this afternoon" is an acronym for Cabinet Office Meeting Room A.

Hawkins009 · 31/07/2023 22:51

*That I'm not half pickled by believing in them.

Hawkins009 · 31/07/2023 22:50

Different conspiracy theories, I don't usually discuss them as I try to convey I'm part pickle. Plus most don't have detailed perspectives of different theories.

FrangipaniBlue · 31/07/2023 22:49

@Jewelanemone it's because the UK is almost always tilted to the right when printed on a page so that it fits more neatly - take note of where the N line is - not at the top, usually off towards 2 o'clock!

If you tilt it so the N is directly up it totally changes the perspective.

To want to know the useless facts you store in your brain..
Callipygion · 31/07/2023 22:48

Cows can walk up stairs but not down (apparently!).

So if you have stairs in your house, whatever you do, don’t let a cow in or you might not get it out again!

MillicentTrilbyHiggins · 31/07/2023 22:48

Laiste · 31/07/2023 21:06

At 2 and a half years old you are half the height you are going to be as an adult.

Sounds nuts but it's true. I checked with my 4 DCs (3 are in their 20s now) and it's accurate to within an inch or so.

It's not true. Based on that DS will be 5ft3.
Hes nearly 5ft 10 and possibly still growing.

MavisMcMinty · 31/07/2023 22:47

I gather that (some breeds of?) slugs have teeth all the way along their digestive tract, from their mouth to their arsehole.

MavisMcMinty · 31/07/2023 22:46

I spent a long time reading that Wiki Monty Hall problem and my mind was spinning!

Original poster
IseeNarcPeople · 31/07/2023 22:45

lovemycbf · 31/07/2023 22:40

Snails have 1400 teeth (saw a program saying it )
Also your foot is the length of your forearm- heel towards inner elbow and toes towards your wrist

I am fascinated by snails and I didn't know that. Wow.

OP posts: