Useless

Ever met someone that seems like a know-it-all at the most random moments? For instance, someone once spouted out (not joking) "The scientific study of kissing is called philematology." We simply stared at him for a moment and started cracking up. "Where the hell did that come from?!"

Similar to the "Random" thread in this forum, this thread is devoted to randomness, but about useless facts. The game is simple, post up something completely random, mildly interesting, and factual. I'll start us off.

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The metric system started during the French Revolution.

The word "lethologica" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.

Male hippos will spin their tail while defecating and spread their excrement to attract female hippos.

Female hippo to friends: "So I told him, 'No way, boy! I ain't puttin' up with yo' shit no more!'"

The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley.

Lateral nystagmus is an involuntary movement of the eyes in a horizontal direction - seen as a rapid, "jerky" movement of the eyes. Actor Pruitt Taylor Vince has a form of this condition.

In 1939, a bill as introduced in Maine to make tomatoes in clam chowder illegal.

In 2008, a bill was introduced in California to make gay marriage illegal.

Male giraffes are bisexual. Nearly 94 percent of copulations are between two males.

Spoiler:

A fully-equipped Roman legionary was armed with a shield (scutum), several javelins (pila), a sword (gladius), often a dagger (pugio), and perhaps darts (plumbatae).

In Super Mario World(SNES) it is possible to kill Mario during the opening credits. Doing this takes you to the area that he scrolls through when the game is first turned on. The area does not have an end or time limit and the game needs to be reset to get out of it.

Kansei Drift (Inertia Drift)
1. Enter a turn at high speed. The Kansei Drift should be performed at race speeds. (if you do not drift, your vehicle should experience severe understeer at this speed).

2. Turn your wheels sharply into the turn, and let off the throttle quickly. The cornering force of the vehicle combined with the loss of throttle will cause your vehicle to oversteer.

3. When your vehicle begins to lose traction, get on the throttle again quickly. This will overpower the wheels for the traction that is available, sending your vehicle into a drift.

4. When you feel the vehicle’s rear end kicking out, immediately countersteer the wheels to face straight with the road. Your vehicle will pull in the direction of the front wheels, as long as the wheels are still moving. Keep on the throttle. If you press the brakes or let off the throttle because your vehicle is in an extremely oversteered condition, you will spin out or leave the road.

5. When you wish to straighten out your car, after completing the drift, let off the throttle smoothly and straighten out the wheels as your vehicle kicks in line behind the front tires.

A company sells bikinis made from salmon skin.

I thought that chick I met smelled fishy.

A Sileighty is a Nissan 180SX with a Nissan Silvia's headlights, front fenders, hood, and front bumper installed, hence the 'Sil' in front and the 'eighty' rear.

In the film 12 Monkeys, there are actually twelve monkeys(in images, toys, and live animal forms) placed randomly and hidden in scenes throughout the movie.

My phone insists on spelling babysitters as "babyshtuds." Babysitters is seriously not in the dictionary.

The Mazda RX-7 is a sports car by the Japanese automaker Mazda. It was produced from 1978 to 2002. The original RX-7 featured a 1146 cc twin-rotor Wankel rotary engine and a sporty front-midship, rear-wheel drive layout. The RX-7 was a direct replacement for the RX-3 (both were sold in Japan as the Savanna) and subsequently replaced all other Mazda rotary cars with the exception of the Cosmo.
The original RX-7 was a sports car. The compact and lightweight Wankel engine (rotary engine) is situated slightly behind the front axle, a configuration marketed by Mazda as "front mid-engine". It was offered as a two-seat coupé, with optional "occasional" rear seats in Japan, Australia, the United States, and other parts of the world. These rear seats were initially marketed as a dealer-installed option for the North American markets.
The RX-7 made Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list five times. In total, 811,634 RX-7s were produced

Fog's most active topic is the Complaints thread.

Heel Toe Shifting (Double Clutching)
Heel toe shifting is a race shifting technique that allows drivers to downshift quickly while applying the brakes. Proper heal toe shifting keeps the engine, transmission, and wheel speed matched up so there is no jolt through the driveline while downshifting. When drifting, heel toe downshifting allows drivers to downshift in order to increase engine rpm, while braking to transfer weight forward and off the rear wheels.


1. Before entering a turn, do your initial braking to transfer your vehicle’s weight forward. Double clutch / heel toe downshift (see next step). Turn your wheels into the corner. Carry enough momentum into the corner to induce oversteer.


2. Clutch in, bring your vehicle into neutral, and release clutch. While on the brakes, slide your right heel over to the gas pedal and rev up (blip) the engine to match transmission and engine speed. Without matching revs on downshift, the engine speed will cause a jolt through the driveline, upsetting rear traction uncontrollably.


3. After matching revs, clutch in, and downshift your vehicle. Double clutching is optional, but reduces wear on your transmission. Use e-brake if momentum and downshift do not create enough oversteer.


4. Release the clutch, get off the brakes, and press the accelerator. Accelerate enough to keep tires spinning to continue oversteer. Add steering input (countersteering) to keep your vehicle from pivoting or spinning out.

The scientific name for Deadly Nightshade, Atropa belladonna, comes from one of the Greek Fates, Atropos, and Italian words that mean "beautiful woman". The beautiful woman part of the name comes from its usage by women to make the pupils of the eyes larger and more alluring, and Atropos refers to the poisonous qualities of the plant. Altogether, it means "beautiful woman who cuts the thread of life."

E-Brake Drift
1. Enter a turn at a speed too high for the vehicle to handle (if you do not drift, your vehicle should experience understeer at this speed).

2. Heel-Toe Downshift to get your vehicle into a gear low enough to pull you through a drift (2nd gear).

3. Turn your wheels sharply into the turn. By the time you finish downshifting and turning your wheels, you should be at the apex of the turn.

4. Hold in the release button on your E-Brake and pull up your brake sharply, then quickly release (e-brake is held up for only about 1 second). If using a RWD car, clutch in while pulling your E-Brake. If using a FWD car, keep on the throttle while pulling your E-Brake.

5. When you feel the vehicle’s rear end kicking out, immediately countersteer the wheels to face straight with the road. Your vehicle will pull in the direction of the front wheels, as long as the wheels are still moving. Keep on the throttle. If you press the brakes or let off the throttle because your vehicle is in an extremely oversteered condition, you will spin out or leave the road.

6. When you wish to straighten out your car, after completing the drift, let off the throttle smoothly and straighten out the wheels as your vehicle kicks in line behind the front tires.

Muslim Sharia law forbids the charging or paying of interest on loans.

And you can take that to the bank. (don't actually try it in the states)

Islamic law recognizes private and community property, as well as overlapping forms of entitlement for charitable purposes, known as waqf or trusts. Under Sharia law, however, ownership of all property ultimately rests with God; while individual property rights are upheld, there is a corresponding obligation to share, particularly with those in need.

Great Danes that are born with white coloring around their eyes or on their ears are often blind and/or deaf.

The fear of long words is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.
That's just evil. xD

The phrase "Hold your horses" originates with the circus; when the parades before a show would come marching through the towns, often, the smell of the elephants would cause the horses to bolt. So, they had a man in the parade go ahead of the animal's arrival and call out to the crowd for men to hold onto their horses.

Also, the phrases "Tossing his hat into the ring", "Rain or shine" and the words "Jumbo" and "Grandstanding" originated with the circus as well.

The first motorized vehicle was a steam-powered tractor built by Nicolas Cugnot for the French army to pull artillery pieces in 1769. It moved along at only 2.5 miles per hour and never caught on.

I figured all you steam punk fans might enjoy that bit of history.

The name Grimalkin, used for one of the Shade species in Caligo, is actually a real word, also called greymalkin, which is an old (often female) or evil-looking cat. During the early modern period, the name grimalkin - and cats in general - became associated with the devil and witchcraft. Women tried as witches in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries were often accused of having a grimalkin.

While on the topic of Shades, the other two aren't real words, but more so words combined into one. I named the raven-like Shades Inklaws, referring to both their inky coloring and their sharp claws. The dog/wolf-like Shades known as Bownytes are a combination of the words bow (as in bow-wow) and nyte, an alternate form of night, also relating to their coloring.

1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York is the street address of the X-Men Mansion.

Lumeus wrote:1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York is the street address of the X-Men Mansion.

Too cool.

The longest possible word in the English language, a transcription of the largest known protein, is 189,819 letters long.