What's your favourite fact?

[GlitterSquid]

Fill me full of your favourite facts. The more obscure, the better!

My favourite all time fact is that two halves of a supermarket sandwich are never from the same sandwich and are each another half of another pair. Unbelievable.

I met a grown man who didn't know peanuts grew underground recently too, which pleased me.

Enlighten me further!

I am loving this thread 💕

@creamcheeseandlox

Leap years and the Summer Olympic games always fall in the same year. A good way to remember when a leap year is...or visa versa.

Not strictly true as they won't on the turn of the century, because that isn't a leap year unless the turn of the century is also a new millennium.

@chopsadoodle that just gave me goosebumps! I always think of him as the unlucky one who had to stay behind, but instead he's incredibly special!

@Awwlookatmybabyspider

That pain you get in your mouth when eating a pineapple is because the pineapple is also trying to eat you.

😃 Plants have many self defences, a lot of chemical compounds that are not great for non herbivores to process 😞

Group of cats is called a glaring, group of bears is a sloth.

Australia is wider than the moon

Not strictly true as they won't on the turn of the century, because that isn't a leap year unless the turn of the century is also a new millennium.

It was very forward thinking indeed of whoever set up the idea of leap years, but inserted a gap every 400 years. Anybody who is 21 yo or younger now will never live through the phenomenon of a 'non-leap-year 4th year' (not that it's anything particularly exciting). It still blows my mind that I've lived in two different millennia!

The French were still killing people by guillotine when the first Star Wars movie was released!

Plants have many self defences, a lot of chemical compounds that are not great for non herbivores to process

Sprouts!!! But they are delicious and will not thwart me - just stock up on the toilet rolls and charcoal-coated pants and bring 'em on

Anybody who is 21 yo or younger now will never live through the phenomenon of a 'non-leap-year 4th year'

2100 will be a non-leap-year 4th year, so there's a good chance anyone 10 or younger now will live to see one - someone aged 21 might have a chance if they lived to 100+. It's people who are older than that who won't - but we saw the millennium which was much more exciting!

@StarlingsAreAmazing

The French were still killing people by guillotine when the first Star Wars movie was released!

No! Really?

@AncientofMuMu

Your tongue print is as unique as your finger print, it's also the only muscle that is only attached at one end.

Giraffes have the same number of vertebrae in their necks as we do: 7

A group of crows is called a murder of crows, a group of owls is called a parliament of owls. Also, owl legs freak me out

I just typed “owls” into Bing and the first search suggestion was “owl legs”. Clearly many minds have been blown.

2100 will be a non-leap-year 4th year, so there's a good chance anyone 10 or younger now will live to see one - someone aged 21 might have a chance if they lived to 100+. It's people who are older than that who won't - but we saw the millennium which was much more exciting!

No, 2100 will be a leap year. The rule is that every year that is exactly divisible by 4 is a leap year UNLESS it is also exactly divisible by 400, in which case it is not a leap year. The next 'gap non-leap year' will be in 2400.

The turn of the millennium was quite rubbish for me personally, but it certainly was nevertheless quite a landmark moment. Having said that, I don't know about you, but I don't expect to see the vast majority of this millennium (just as I didn't the last one)

The TV presenter Chris Packham is the brother of the dress designer Jenny Packham who is a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge.

@BoredZelda

Nope, totally wrong. A segment of a story based on the popular folk tales of the vampire is not in any way the same as the novel and character of Dracula being written in the same room. Bram Stoker created both 80 years later.

Polar bears have black skin. The fur is hollow and translucent. And giraffes have purple tongues to prevent sunburn.

@sashh

Deaf people cannot lip read better than hearing people Some lip patterns look the same when they mean different things.

Get a mirror and lip pattern (speak but with no volume)

Beans

Meat

and Van Gough

I don’t get what this one is supposed to look like I’m saying?

To add my fact … tigers have striped skin.

Neither do I: the beans vs meat thing makes complete sense, but Van Gogh?!?!?!

And apart from the completely different sound and mouth positioning, surely context counts for something? Maybe I'm just not posh enough, but the places that I can afford to shop in certainly don't sell Van Goghs alongside the Heinz and the sausages

as the novel and character of Dracula being written in the same room

Read carefully, I never said the novel or character.

@wineosaurus4

All crisps go out of date on a Saturday

What? Why?

Our teeth are the only part of skeleton that is visible.

I loved this @Awwlookatmybabyspider, then my husband and daughter pointed out that your teeth aren't part of the skeleton. They aren't bones.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Neither do I: the beans vs meat thing makes complete sense, but Van Gogh?!?!?!

And apart from the completely different sound and mouth positioning, surely context counts for something? Maybe I'm just not posh enough, but the places that I can afford to shop in certainly don't sell Van Goghs alongside the Heinz and the sausages

I think 'van gough' might look like 'fuck off'? (I've not actually bothered getting out of bed to check in a mirror)

I think the crisps thing is only those made by Walkers (granted the vast majority). As the best before date on a product like crisps is only a guideline and a few days either side won't make any practical difference to the taste, Walkers just set it as the nearest Saturday to (or possibly the last Saturday before the end of) the predetermined 'prime consumption' period after manufacture.

I presume it's much easier to only have to change the date stamp on their packaging machine once a week and/or more streamlined for stock control inventories. After all, nobody in their right mind throws away a packet of crisps uneaten upon noticing that the BBE date was only two or three days ago!

All crisps go out of date on a Saturday

What? Why?

The manufacturers work on a "production week" Each Sunday they change the dates for the stamping of the packaging, and the production week runs til the following Saturday.

It's the same for all the savoury bagged snacks. Crisps, nuts, corn snacks etc.

I love that otter fact snd intend to share with my girlfriends at lunch on Saturday!