Trivia Time

[pacdiggity]

One day when I was 9 I discovered the internet. It had the cure to boredom. That was, until I saw everything useful and relevant on it.
Now, I come to bring a collection of the most useless and irrelevant pieces of factual information! Should you happen to know something ridiculous, factual and useless to any situation, please post it here to add to the collection! Post a question you know the ridiculous answer to, and the collection will grow further! For more rules, see this post by Strike. I'll start us off...

1. Flamingos, contrary to popular belief, are not pink because they eat shrimp; it is because they eat a specific blue-green algae.
2. Polar bears are not white, nor do they have white fur. Their fur is reflective.
3. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite.
4. Ursus Arctos is not, as one might suspect, the polar bear; it is the brown bear.
5. Alan Burns, contrary to Arrow's belief, did not invent the modern steam engine; Thomas Savery invented it.
6. Lance Barr was responsible for the design of the NES gamepad.
7. Zylos' penis is big enough to impress, but small enough to have fun.
8. Molybdenum is the 42nd element on the periodic table.
9. Jacques E. Brandenberger invented cellophane.
10. Koji Kondo wrote the music for Super Mario Bros.
11. The word "Hello" came from the Hungarian word "Hallo?" meaning "Can you hear me?". It became "Hello" through the first telephone call made between Alexander Bell and his assistant.
12. The first prototype alarm clock belonged to Plato and it was powered by water.
13. A syzygy is a well-coordinated alignment, especially in astronomy. The more well-known side effect of syzygy is an eclipse.
14. The first ever UFO sighting was a 47,000 year old rock carving in the Hunan province of China.
15. War and Peace was written by Leo Tolstoy. It was originally going to be called "War, what is it good for?"
16. A threshold is called a threshold because in the old days, people would put husks from grain (thresh) in the doorways of their houses, to keep mud from being spread into the house. Sort of a primitive welcome mat. Thus, every doorway into a place is called the threshold.
17. Wikipedia cannot solve everything.
18. They key difference between apples and pears is that apples float and pears sink.
19. Granny Smith apples were first cultivated by Maria Ann ('Granny') and Thomas Smith in 1868 in their orchard in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
20. Adolf Hitler made the though behind the Volkswagen.
21. Mewtwo's birthday is at time-to-strangle-Johnny-English o'clock. (Well done Arrow - See 26 for the real answer.)
22. Big Ben was completed on April 10, 1858.
23. We (well, most of us) share 40%-60% DNA with animals like rats, pigs and felines as well as chimpanzees. Hence we use them as lab animals.
24. Medorthophobia is fear of an erect penis.
25. Pepsi Max has maximum kick, no sugar.
26. Mewtwo's birthday is on February 6.
27. Bhutan is the world's only carbon sink, meaning it takes in more carbon that it emits. It's national sport is darts.
28. If not for its disproportionate hind legs, the hyena would most likely dominate a large part of Africa.
29. A giraffe's tongue is at least 18 inches (45 cm) because it needs to clean its ears with its tongue.
30. A monotreme is a mammal that lays eggs. All known monotremes are also marsupials and found only in Australia mainland, Tasmania or New Guinea; all platypus and echidna species.
31. The first explorer to land on Antarctica was not this - [spoiler=wtf?][/spoiler] - it was the American Captain John Davis. Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the south pole.
32. The Large Hadron Collider was built for the purpose of testing various predictions of high-energy physics, including the existence of the hypothesized Higgs boson and of the large family of new particles predicted by supersymmetry.
33. Daniel arap Moi is depicted on the twenty Kenyan Shilling note.
34. Alpheratz (Alpha Andromedae) is the brightest star in the Andromeda Galaxy.
35. Bananas grow on herbs that look suspiciously like trees.
36. The animal that has killed the most people in the world is the mosquito.
37. Frankenstein killed nobody. Frankenstein's monster killed plenty enough for the both of them.
38. Bamboos are grass. Deal with it.
39. The colour of water is blue. In large amounts without anything to reflect, it has been shown that water is almost clear, but with a barely noticeable blue tint.
40. If humans were to disappear, dolphins would most likely replace humans as the earths most sentient being.
41. Keiji Inafune's career with Capcom ended on October 29, 2010.
42. Pete Best was the drummer for the Beatles before Ringo Starr.
43. Vile (Mega Man X) was originally designed a little differently. One of his arms was a melee weapon; a spinning blade.
44. The Pygmy Jerboa is the world's smallest rodent.
45. Eros is the Greek analogue of the Roman god Cupid.
46. In Irish gypsy culture, the first man a girl kisses is their partner for life. The process is called grabbing. A man literally picks up a girl he wants and carries her away in attempt to kiss her. If she does, even by mistake, shes his for life.
47. Doogie Howser voiced Dr. Blowhole in the tv series, "Penguins of Madagascar".
48. This.
49. The Atanasoff-Berry computer is considered the first electronic computer to ever be made, and was made in 1937.
50. If you had 32 white socks and 51 black socks, and it was put in a bag, the minimum number of socks to be pulled out to get one matching pair is 3. (That's not trivia, Johnny.)
51. Muscles use the chemical compound Adenosine Triphosphate.
52. The tallest mountain on Earth is bloody well not Mount Everest; it is Mauna Kea in Hawaii that goes over 10 kilometers from the bottom of the sea floor. The furthest point from the center of the Earth that is part of Earth is Mt. Chimborazo, because the Earth is a partially oblate spheroid.
53. Dioclesian and Dido and Aeneas were both written by Henry Purcell, our "Uncle Henry".
54. John is Big Boss's first name from MGS.
55. Gracie doesn't like it when you get her super-hard questions right. It was "Dust in the wind" by Kansas.
56. The Huntsman spider is the only type that has lungs. Remember to listen to its breathing next time you have one on your ear.
57. Gazpacho soup is popular in the Seville region of Spain, but probably originated either in Arab countries where it was taken by the invading Moors to Spain, or as a similarly introduced Roman dish, albeit with the addition of vinegar.
58. The common earthworm has 5 "brains", or, more specifically, "ganglia". Incidentally, ganglia sounds dirty. Hehe.
59. 680 kilograms (1500 pounds) is the accepted lethal dose of THC, the compound in Marijuana that gets you high.
60. The thought of time travel came from India in 700 BCE-300 CE, in the book Mahabrata.
61. Kadhafi must leave his country in March 1992 (which is a bit time prehensile, but ok.)
62. The country that has the least use for Jeremy Clarkson is Bhutan.
63. James Cameron did not invent Avatars, Hinduism did it.
64. The 1st Moscow McDonalds opened on January 31, 1990.
65. Kadhafi is the oldest dic(tator) still in power.
66. Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump. Try telling that to jmtb02.
67. Tipping a waiter in Iceland is considered an insult.
68. In Romeo and Juliet, _ kills Mercutio, _ kills Mercutio's killer and is punished with _.

And the first question of the thread; what species of bear has the taxonomic binomial name of Ursus Arctos?

Most Learned in the Art of Useless Knowledge: - 1st: Arrow. 2nd: Gracie/Acolyte. 3rd: Johnny.

[strike]

brown bear

Who invented the modern steam engine?


Also I'd suggest a topic change to something along the lines of "Trivia Time" or something that reflects the person who posts next has to go find the answer and post it. I suppose it's just an effort in googling but I like the idea of a thread where you pose and interesting question and the next person has to find the answer.

[Arrow]

Alan Burns. Right?

Who was responsible for the design of the NES gamepad?

[Zylos]

Lance Barr.

How big is my penis?

[EvilM00s]

Big enough to impress, small enough to be fun.

What element is numbered 42 on the Periodic Table?

[Acolyte]

Molybdenum

Who invented cellophane?

[strike]

Jacques E. Brandenberger

Who did the music for Super Mario Bros?

Alan Burns. Right?

that's the steam-jet engine. the first modern steam engine was Thomas Savery in 1689.

[pacdiggity]

Koji Kondo, no?

Where did the word 'hello' come from?

[CodeMaster]

Thomas Edison! as a telephone greating.


Who invented the alarm clock?

[Holkeye]

Wrong, it was derived from Hola, but Edison chose it as a possible telephone greeting, along with others such as Ahoy.

The first prototype alarm clock in history was owned by Plato. It was powered by water, and it was used to signal the time for his speeches.

What does the word syzygy mean, and what is the more well-known side effect?

[Arrow]

A coordinated alignment, especially astronomically. As for "side effect"s, I couldn't find anything. :S

When and where was the first recorded sighting of a UFO?

[Holkeye]

The more well-known side effect of syzygy is an eclipse.

[pacdiggity]

Wrong, it was derived from Hola, but Edison chose it as a possible telephone greeting, along with others such as Ahoy.

I believe you'll find that it derives from the Hungarian phrase "Hallo?" meaning "Can you hear me?" And it was developed from Alexander Bell's first ever telephone call with his Hungarian assistant. He, as you mentioned, preferred to say either "Ahoy" or "Ahoy-hoy".
I think. That's what I'm writing anyway.

[Arrow]

Answering my own question, lest it be lost:

A 47,000 year old rock carving in the Hunan province of China.

Who wrote War and Peace?

[Holkeye]

Tolstoy, bro! It was originally going to be called "War, what is it good for?"

(Seinfeld joke)

Why is a threshold called a threshold?

[pacdiggity]

Threshold is a very old word, dating to at least 1000. The word thresh originally meant to stamp on or trample and survives today in the verb to thresh and in thrash. The hold portion is of unknown origin. The threshold is the first place in a building you step and has also branched off to mean any gateway.

How can you tell the difference between an apple and a pear without any prior knowledge, scientific apparatus or training in the field?

[Holkeye]

Wrong. A threshold is called a threshold because in the old days, people would put husks from grain (thresh) in the doorways of their houses, to keep mud from being spread into the house. Sort of a primitive welcome mat. Thus, every doorway into a place is called the threshold.

Wikipedia can't solve everything!

[pacdiggity]

My sincerest apologies for my incorrect answer.
I didn't use Wikipedia though. Perhaps my answer is correct, just not what you were looking for.

Any light to be shed on my question?

[strike]

 

How can you tell the difference between an apple and a pear without any prior knowledge, scientific apparatus or training in the field?

apples float, pears don't

Who cultivated Granny Smith apples when and where. (bonus trivia: Granny Smith apples were not a natural apple type)



also can we have a new rule right now? being If you are going to respond to a question that was incorrectly answered or whatever you still need to give an answer and another question.

ANSWER

NEW QUESTION

COMMENTS ON AN EARLIER INCORRECT ANSWER OR A QUOTE AND COMMENT OR WHATEVER ELSE

like this

[pacdiggity]

Granny Smith apples were first cultivated by Maria Ann ('Granny') and Thomas Smith in 1868 in their orchard in Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Who put forward the idea for the Volkswagon?

Also, a very good idea. Well done, sir.

[Pokey]

Hitler, i think.(i read it in history... or did i?)
when is mewto's Bday??

[Arrow]

Time-to-strangle-Johnny-English o'clock.

When was Big Ben erected?

[pacdiggity]

Hehe... erected. April 10, 1858 was when it was finished. I think that's what you wanted.

What... is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Also Johnny was right.

[Arrow]

African or European?

[pacdiggity]

What? I don't know tha-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!