Random facts you have only recently discovered

[fandabbyfannyflutters]

I found out only yesterday you are not allowed to take photos of the Eiffel Tower at night...mind totally blown

The T. rex actually existed closer in history to humans than to the Stegosaurus

Small thing but the fact you can't sit next to your DP on a flight if you have two children under 2

Earth is a second generation planet - there were different planets in the solar system which got trashed by Jupiter migrating inwards. Earth grew from the ruins. It’s why earth appears to be unique in terms of planets we have observed in other solar systems.

Anyway, I’m off to look into Premier League 2...

If you fly the union flag upside down, it's a distress signal

@Soubriquet whaaaaaat?! That's an amazing fact!

Lauren83 what?!

Just to go back a fair way in the thread to ' Portsmouth is an island'. Technically only a bit of it...

Really it's Portsmouth = Portsea Island + 'environs' (favourite word) of Cosham, Paulsgrove etc etc. So only Portsea Island is an island.

As you were Pompey peops.

Yep

I find it amazing to think that the spider has the intelligence to get themselves a pet to keep their eggs safe

The word ‘banana’ comes from the Arabic ‘banan’ which means finger.

I’m loving this thread.

Michelangelo wrote a poem about how much he hated painting the Sistine Chapel :-

I’ve already grown a goiter from this torture,
hunched up here like a cat in Lombardy
(or anywhere else where the stagnant water’s poison).

... just one of the verses.

Fromage I know! We paid to book seats and presumed we would be together with a newborn and toddler but we can't even go on the same row, they zig zag the infants across the plane so one infant per row on alternate sides, I'm terrified of flying too and have always relied on DP to hell me through it but can't now

That's why it's so very difficult for deaf people to learn lip reading....

Carrots were predominantly purple until dutch farmers in the 17th century developed orange varieties. As orange is the dutch national colour this new variety became very popular.

Re: The aluminium foil debate - Is this why if you go out on a cold day wearing a coat, when the temperature rises you should wear the coat inside-out to keep cool?

Pineapples don’t grow on trees but on a plant on the ground, one pineapple per plant .

The length of your forearm is the length of your feet!

@lostfrequencies

Oh my word i now want to cry! Wtf? Gutted!!!

For those who want to feast more on these sort of discussions, here's one I prepared earlier.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3418716-Pineapples-dont-grow-on-trees-and-other-misconceptions-that-MN-has-revealed-over-the-years

GUTTED got dressed and went to the road excitedly with my car keys and my crappy 107 does neither of the tricks....Would have been wonderful as I am always leaving the windows open

Vests for babies have envelope openings so you can take them off both ways! Could have done with knowing that a few years ago!

Otters have a skin pocket for their favourite pebbles and I can't stop thinking about it.

Spot The Dog is called Spot not only because he has a spot, but because the point of the first book is to try and spot him. My kids are 16 and 13 and I have only just realised this

This may have already come up - but I heard that food publications substitute icecream with mashed potatoe - as real ice cream melts quickly under all the lighting. Put me right off my B&J's that did!

*other top notch icecream brands are available.

Otters have a skin pocket for their favourite pebbles and I can't stop thinking about it.

Oh - I knew sea otters used stones as tools to crack open molluscs, but I'd assumed they picked up a new one with their food. Apparently they also can store food in their 'pockets' - presumably they dive down, then bring it back to to the surface to eat floating on their backs.

there is a little grip thing on the inside of the car boot lid for closing it .. to save your hands touching the dirty outside! I'm into my 50s, my teenager pointed it out