Useless Knowledge

[Eiji Hino]

• Hannibal only had one eye after getting a disease while attacking Rome.

If a statue of a person on a horse has the horse with both front legs in the air, then it means that the person riding it died in battle.  If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person riding it died of wounds received in battle.  If all the horse's legs are on the ground, the person riding it died of natural causes.

One in seven workers in Boston, Massachusetts, walks to work.

Residents of Houston, Texas, lead the US in eating out: approximately 4.6 times every week.

"Go." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

In Italy, 17 is considered an unlucky number.

[Toa Jaxus]

 

• Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth I's mother, had six fingers on one hand.

 

No she did not, that was propaganda written to discredit her 50 years after she died.

 

Here are some interesting things:

•  Contrary to popular opinion, the Pope's every word is not considered infallible by Catholic Doctorine.
• Modern people are more likely to develop an overbite due to changes in the diet from the use of cutlery.
• Elsa in Frozen was supposed to be an antagonist/villain until Let it Go was written; it was so good at making sympathetic that the movie was rewritten to change her character.
• H.G. Wells invented one of the first war games: Floor games. This was replaced by him with Little Wars.
• The five elements of Greek philosophy; Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Aether. They existed in spherical layers in that order; our world being form when the creator messed with the lower four elements while the heavens remained of undisturbed.
• Roman Consuls only remained in power for one year before having to wait 10 years before getting another chance, 5 years of which were spent in a governorship far from Rome.
• In the Bible, only the book of Ester does not mention God directly.
• Everyone of any learning in the Middle Ages knew the Earth was round. Columbus was able to get his trip funded by arguing that due to differences between Ancient Greek and Renaissance measurements meant that the Earth was actually half the size it actually is. Columbus was very luck that the Americas are were there or he would be very dead.

[Master Inika]

• In the Bible, only the book of Ester does not mention God directly.

 

Additional fun fact: the Greek version of Esther contains extra chapters that do mention God. My personal theory is that the Greek translator was uncomfortable with it not mentioning him and added the extra chapters.

[Toa Jaxus]

 

• In the Bible, only the book of Ester does not mention God directly.

 

Additional fun fact: the Greek version of Esther contains extra chapters that do mention God. My personal theory is that the Greek translator was uncomfortable with it not mentioning him and added the extra chapters.

 

True, but I was thinking of the original version.

[The Hip Historian Iaredios]

 

 

• In the Bible, only the book of Ester does not mention God directly.
•  

 

Additional fun fact: the Greek version of Esther contains extra chapters that do mention God. My personal theory is that the Greek translator was uncomfortable with it not mentioning him and added the extra chapters.

 

True, but I was thinking of the original version.

 

I wonder when this was done. If it was done during and after the reign of Roman Emperor Theodosius I, it may be Roman Imperial intervention in biblical records. Thank God for the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

 

 

• Hannibal only had one eye after getting a disease while attacking Rome.

Hannibal Barca was marching his forces through an Italian marshland in the summer, the swarms of mosquitoes ravaged his men, killed his last elephant, and one such monster bit his eyeball and it became infected. He stabbed out his eyeball with his sword and wore an eye-patch thenceforth.

[Master Inika]

 

 

 

• In the Bible, only the book of Ester does not mention God directly.

Additional fun fact: the Greek version of Esther contains extra chapters that do mention God. My personal theory is that the Greek translator was uncomfortable with it not mentioning him and added the extra chapters.

 

True, but I was thinking of the original version.

 

I wonder when this was done. If it was done during and after the reign of Roman Emperor Theodosius I, it may be Roman Imperial intervention in biblical records. Thank God for the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

The Greek version I meant was the Septuagint translation of the Jewish Bible, completed prior to the lifetime of Jesus. The differences are usually the Septuagint being longer in certain areas. In this case, it's believable that a well-meaning scribe added references to God, but I can't imagine them being part of the original book and a later scribe expunging them all but only from that one book.

[Eiji Hino]

• The average American/Canadian will eat about 11.9 pounds of cereal per year.

You share a birthday with at least nine million other people in the world.

A shark is the only fish that blink with both eyes.

Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

[Mukaukau Nuva]

Napoleon III wasn't actually the son of Napoleon's brother (Louis Bonaparte); the Y DNA of every Bonaparte descendant matches except for Napoleon III and his descendants (they used both living descendants and hair from Napoleon III). Jury's still out who the 'real' father is.

The marriage between Louis Bonaparte and Hortense was arranged and neither of them was particularly 'nice' to the other, so the amount of 'betrayal' here is pretty negligible (meaning this knowledge is even more useless).

 

[Master Inika]

Henry VIII's selected his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, after having only seen a painting of her. He was disappointed by the real woman and the marriage was annulled after six months. On the bright side, they remained on friendly terms afterward. He gave her an allowance and was invited to Christmas.

[Eiji Hino]

• an ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
• a boeing 747's wingspan is longer than the wright brothers' first flight.
• right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.
• the hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters.
• dartboards are made out of horse hairs.
• the only domestic animal not mentioned in the bible is the cat.
• if you bring a raccoon's head to the henniker, new hampshire town hall, you are entitled to receive ten cents from the town.
• a jiffy is the scientific name for 1/100th of a second.
• slugs have four noses.