The fun facts thread.

[Melon Hunter]

Mantis shrimps have twelve colour receptors in each eye (compared to human eyes having 3), allowing them to see colours we cannot even comprehend. Also, each eye has three optical hemispheres, allowing them to comprehend 3 dimensions with one eye better than we can with two eyes.

 

[Zekkykins]

If you squeeze your dominant hand, it cuts off your gag reflex entirely, so long as it's squeezed.

This is obviously fantastic for... A multitude of acts.

Like brushing your teeth.

:3

 

[Rhaff]

There is not time before the big bang, as the theory goes time and space were created in the big bang so it is incorrect to say "before the big bang there was nothing in space" because there was neither space nor time.

That depends on what theory you believe in when it comes to the origin of the universe. I think its the freeze death or heat death that states, when the universe ends, another begins with a big bang.

 

[Amphoteric]

There is not time before the big bang, as the theory goes time and space were created in the big bang so it is incorrect to say "before the big bang there was nothing in space" because there was neither space nor time.

That depends on what theory you believe in when it comes to the origin of the universe. I think its the freeze death or heat death that states, when the universe ends, another begins with a big bang.

i'm pretty sure physicists think that the universe is going to infinately expand.

 

[Rhaff]

There is not time before the big bang, as the theory goes time and space were created in the big bang so it is incorrect to say "before the big bang there was nothing in space" because there was neither space nor time.

That depends on what theory you believe in when it comes to the origin of the universe. I think its the freeze death or heat death that states, when the universe ends, another begins with a big bang.

i'm pretty sure physicists think that the universe is going to infinately expand.

It varies widely on who you ask.

 

[Harry Mason]

Fun fact?
Catching HIV from kissing or sharing a drink with a person with HIV or AIDS is statistically impossible.
You would have to drink over a gallon of their spit before being in danger of catching the virus.

Also, it is perfectly legal for women to walk around topless in public in my home town, Asheville, NC.
Fun times.

 

[Rhaff]

Fun fact?
Catching HIV from kissing or sharing a drink with a person with HIV or AIDS is statistically impossible.
You would have to drink over a gallon of their spit before being in danger of catching the virus.

Or have an open sore or cut in your mouth.

 

[Logodaedalus]

On avarage Coconuts kill 50 times as many people a year as sharks do.

Grey hair doesn't exist, people with 'grey' hair actualy have a mix of black and white hairs.

In scotland it is illegal to deny a pregnant woman the use of your bathroom.

 

[ultrachicken]

There are also more humans in the world that donate with no thought of receiving, than people who give with a hope of receiving. This can apply to clothes, food, or blood. The fact remains, that more humans give without a thought of reward, than people who give because they think they get something in return.

That's not entirely true. As you said, most humans believe in a higher power, and the vast majority of the time, said higher power looks favorably on those who donate to charities, and therefore doing so increases your chance of getting into your version of heaven.

 

[Saxm13]

Dinosaurs were feathered......

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!!!!!

/sob in corner

 

[Azaradel]

The velociraptors in Jurassic Park are too large to be velociraptors - they are based on deinonychus, a close relative to the velociraptors. This misconception has it's base in the fact that Crichton, when writing the book, used a reference which falsely classed deinonychus as a species of velociraptor. In the film, they were kept large for dramatic effect. Also, given the size of their brains in relation to their bodies, it is unlikely that velociraptors would have been nearly as intelligent as portrayed in the film.

Or something like that.

Why do I even care about biological inaccuracies in a work of fiction?

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfd39yLRLH1qc489fo1_500.png

 

[Harry Mason]

Fun fact?
Catching HIV from kissing or sharing a drink with a person with HIV or AIDS is statistically impossible.
You would have to drink over a gallon of their spit before being in danger of catching the virus.

Or have an open sore or cut in your mouth.

Or just bleeding from brushing with sensitive gums. I failed to mention that. Meant to say from spit, not kissing.

Another thing people don't know about AIDS is that it is perfect plausible, even common, for a woman currently infected with the HIV virus to have a healthy, non-HIV infected baby. The placenta actually functions as a filter that catches the HIV virus. It is so effective at filtering the HIV virus that it's being studied to possibly help with a cure. The way that babies of HIV infected mothers commonly get the virus is through exchanges of bodily fluids during birth, which with the right precautions can be avoided entirely.

Also, the HIV virus dies instantly when exposed to air.

Grey hair doesn't exist, people with 'grey' hair actualy have a mix of black and white hairs.

Then explain the pure grey hair I found on my head last week, still grey when plucked and isolated!
*sobs* AAARGH! I'M 21 AND GETTING OLD ALREADY!

 

[Wyes]

Black holes are not cosmic vacuum cleaners; they exert a gravitational force in the same way that any other massive object does. If the Sun were to somehow be compressed enough to become a black hole (without losing any of its mass), there would be almost no noticeable effect on the Solar System (in terms of orbits and the like, obviously suddenly there's no light etc.).

 

[FernandoV]

If fleas were human size they could jump over the empire state building

No. By comparison, the ability of a flea to jump would be like a human being able to jump over the empire state building. That doesn't mean that if you scaled them proportionally they could do it.

 

[FernandoV]

There is not time before the big bang, as the theory goes time and space were created in the big bang so it is incorrect to say "before the big bang there was nothing in space" because there was neither space nor time.

I don't think an argument in semantics count as a fun fact.

*Sorry for the double post, I thought my previous post timed out.

 

[Genixma]

As soon as I saw the title I had to post this.

 

[Torrasque]

Black holes are not cosmic vacuum cleaners; they exert a gravitational force in the same way that any other massive object does. If the Sun were to somehow be compressed enough to become a black hole (without losing any of its mass), there would be almost no noticeable effect on the Solar System (in terms of orbits and the like, obviously suddenly there's no light etc.).

Except you would have to ignore several details of physics, and what makes black holes, black holes, for your scenario to work =P
Your super condensed sun would be a neutron star before it became a black hole.
The key factor of black holes, that makes them black holes, is the massive gravitational force they exert on everything around them.

There are also more humans in the world that donate with no thought of receiving, than people who give with a hope of receiving. This can apply to clothes, food, or blood. The fact remains, that more humans give without a thought of reward, than people who give because they think they get something in return.

That's not entirely true. As you said, most humans believe in a higher power, and the vast majority of the time, said higher power looks favorably on those who donate to charities, and therefore doing so increases your chance of getting into your version of heaven.

Well no, that is still a thought of reward, which I said: most people don't do.
If you really want to be picky, every action a person does in their life, is for themselves.
Getting gifts for others: self satisfaction
Helping old ladies across the road: satisfying one's conscience
Stepping in front of the president to stop a bullet: thoughts of "for the good of the country" usually, which boil down to "I want my country to be awesome"

So take your pick, either most people are selfless and do things that need doing, just cause, or everyone is a selfish asshole.

 

[Hitokiri_Gensai]

the Model 1911 by John Browning and put into production by Colt Firearms, celebrated 100 years of service as of this past March.

Between 1907 and 1911, the US Army came down to testing the Colt 1911 and the Savage Arms 1905. One of the final tests in 1910, Browning fired 6,000 rounds through his design, cooling it by dunking it in water. The pistol fired flawlessly, while the Savage had 37 failures.

Finally adopted March 29th, 1911, the gun entered service with the US Army, later adopted by the Navy and Marine Corps in 1913.

 

[ultrachicken]

There are also more humans in the world that donate with no thought of receiving, than people who give with a hope of receiving. This can apply to clothes, food, or blood. The fact remains, that more humans give without a thought of reward, than people who give because they think they get something in return.

That's not entirely true. As you said, most humans believe in a higher power, and the vast majority of the time, said higher power looks favorably on those who donate to charities, and therefore doing so increases your chance of getting into your version of heaven.

Well no, that is still a thought of reward, which I said: most people don't do.
If you really want to be picky, every action a person does in their life, is for themselves.
Getting gifts for others: self satisfaction
Helping old ladies across the road: satisfying one's conscience
Stepping in front of the president to stop a bullet: thoughts of "for the good of the country" usually, which boil down to "I want my country to be awesome"

So take your pick, either most people are selfless and do things that need doing, just cause, or everyone is a selfish asshole.

Wow, way to completely ignore what I just said. I stated that religious people see eternal bliss as a reward for "selflessness." It's not the feeling of pride and self satisfaction, it's the promise of eternal bliss, that drives those actions.

 

[Torrasque]

There are also more humans in the world that donate with no thought of receiving, than people who give with a hope of receiving. This can apply to clothes, food, or blood. The fact remains, that more humans give without a thought of reward, than people who give because they think they get something in return.

That's not entirely true. As you said, most humans believe in a higher power, and the vast majority of the time, said higher power looks favorably on those who donate to charities, and therefore doing so increases your chance of getting into your version of heaven.

Well no, that is still a thought of reward, which I said: most people don't do.
If you really want to be picky, every action a person does in their life, is for themselves.
Getting gifts for others: self satisfaction
Helping old ladies across the road: satisfying one's conscience
Stepping in front of the president to stop a bullet: thoughts of "for the good of the country" usually, which boil down to "I want my country to be awesome"

So take your pick, either most people are selfless and do things that need doing, just cause, or everyone is a selfish asshole.

Wow, way to completely ignore what I just said. I stated that religious people see eternal bliss as a reward for "selflessness." It's not the feeling of pride and self satisfaction, it's the promise of eternal bliss, that drives those actions.

Oh thats your main point? Thats easier to handle.
Most religions don't reward more good acts, with more eternal bliss. Take Christianity for instance, all you have to do to get into heaven, is accept jesus as your lord and saviour. Anything after that, gets you a pat on the back. The bible says (and denounces) good acts, but the Christian god generally doesn't give a fuck. Islam is a bit trickier, but is generally the same. Bhuddism is the only faith I know of, that rewards good behaviour; do good on others, do good on yourself, do good on the universe, thats good.

I remember in a philosophy class of mine, god got brought up, and since we finished the material of the day, the prof was fine with entertaining free dialogue between each other, with a bit of moderation. The prof asked "why do people do good things?". This was of course a religious question, since there are no "good" things in philosophy. For this question, the prof told us all that we are christians who believe in god and whatnot. One person brought up your argument, "because it gets me into heaven". Another person denounced that with the argument you see me giving above, and another person added "because god gets mad at me if I don't". Obviously, few of us were religious, we were just entertaining reasons to do good. The prof got that person to repeat themselves, and he said, "so, you do good things because you fear god's wrath, and not god's praise?". This got the class thinking, and I added, "I suppose I do good things because I know god is watching, and want to be seen as worthy of his praise". The prof laughed and said, "there you go, praise. The act of seeking praise, is selfish and self-satisfying, so you are doing it for yourself, not because the action is good, but because it makes you feel good".

TL;DR, my argument still applies for religious folk.