Here's your (not so) totally useless fact(s) of the day:

[phkrause]

In 2013, Looney Tunes revealed that 'Yosemite Sam's' full name is Samuel Michelangelo Rosenbaum.

James

[phkrause]

An estimated 5 to 10 percent of people have never had a headache.

James

[phkrause]

In 1886, the Harvard Observatory hired a team of women known as the "Harvard Computers". According to legend, the director was fed up with his male workers and said his maid could do a better job, so he hired her, along with other women, so he could pay them at a lower wage. They outperformed the men, had more precise calculations, invented new systems for classifying stars, and changed the
face of astronomy.

James

[phkrause]

You can always see your nose, but your brain mostly ignores it.

James

[phkrause]

"Backpfeifengesicht" is the German word for "a face that's badly in need of a punch".

James

[phkrause]

The state of Texas has more than 500 ghost towns, the most in the country.

James

[phkrause]

Rainbows are always full circles. They can only be seen while we're in the air because the horizon interferes from the Earth's surface.
Here's a cool pic of one.

James

[phkrause]

In Wisconsin, children of all ages are legally allowed to drink alcohol in bars and restaurants as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian of legal drinking age and the establishment allows it.

James

[phkrause]

In 2011, a man in the UK was tired of marketers calling him, so he set his phone line as a premium rate number. When telemarketers called him, he would make money by letting them talk.

James

[phkrause]

Medieval English longbows could fire an arrow further than 300 yards - which is almost the distance of 3 football fields. So much strength was required to operate them that ancient skeletons can be identified as longbow archers due to their enlarged left arms.

James

[phkrause]

While many people assume that Earth's oxygen comes from rainforests, 50 to 85 percent of the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere is generated by little marine plants called phytoplankton.

James

[phkrause]

The Indiana Jones movies changed the course of real-life archaeology. There's statistical evidence that the number of archaeology students increased after Raiders of the Lost Ark was released, and hundreds of today's best professors and practicing archaeologists say they were first inspired to pursue careers intheir field when they saw the film.

James

[phkrause]

Paul Newman's friends loved his homemade salad dressing so much that he started "Newman's Own." Newman never took personal pay, and the company donates 100% of its profits to charities.

By 1992, ten years after the first product was sold, more than $50 million had been donated.

James

[phkrause]

Earth is the only planet whose English name is not taken from Greek or Roman mythology.

James

[phkrause]

A Texas man went to the ER with a blood alcohol level of 0.37, but swore he hadn't been drinking. For years people thought he was a closet drinker because he often became randomly drunk and claimed he didn't know why. Doctors found that he had auto-brewery syndrome, a condition which caused intoxicating fermentation in his stomach whenever he ate a lot of carbs.

James

[phkrause]

In 1967, a Senate subcommittee theorized that by the year 1985, Americans would be working only 22 hours a week and could possibly retire by age 38.

LOL. For themselves probably!

James

[phkrause]

American Express was founded in 1850 by Henry Wells, William Fargo and JohnWarren Butterfield. Two years later, Wells and Fargo would split off and formtheir own company, Wells Fargo. For the first 108 years of its history, AmericanExpress wasn't in the charge or credit card business. Instead, American Express began operations as an express mail business in Buffalo, NY. It wasn't until 1958
that they would launch their first travel-and-entertainment card (the American Express green card). They now have 114.4 million cards in force worldwide.

James

[phkrause]

Once a cars electrical circuit has been turned on by a sensor, a pellet of sodium azide (NaN3) is ignited. A rapid reaction occurs, generating a hot blast of nitrogen gas to inflate the airbag. The nitrogen gas fills a nylon or polyamide bag at a velocity of up to 250 miles per hour. This process, from the initial impact of the crash to full inflation of the airbags, happens in only one-twenty-fifth of a second — faster than the blink of an eye! A second later, the gas quickly dissipates through tiny holes in the bag, thus deflating the bag so you can move.

James

[phkrause]

The idea of making “The Flintstones,” a cartoon that Joseph Barbera admitted was based loosely on the TV comedy “The Honeymooners,” came after marketing experts discovered the audience for cartoons in the late ‘50s was more than 50% adults. Since the show's inception, people have noted the similarities between The Flintstones and The Honeymooners. To put it simply, the Flintstones and the Rubbles are the stone-age equivalents of the Kramdens and the Nortons. Jackie Gleason even considered suing Hanna and Barbera for ripping off his show, but ultimately decided he did not want to go down in history as "the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air".

James

[phkrause]

It is estimated that 570 gallons of white paint are used to keep the White House its proper color. The paint used is made by Duron and named “Whisper White.” The Duron “Whisper White” paint is made in Germany, and is meant to help preserve aging buildings by allowing moisture to escape from underneath while protecting the structure from the elements. In 2019, the entire exterior was given a fresh coat of paint at $150 per gallon, so to freshen the outside of the building cost $85,000, according to the White House Historical Association.

James

[phkrause]

Chick-fil-A locations across the US are all closed on Sunday, in keeping with founder Truett Cathy's Christian faith. He believed that all franchised Chick-fil-A Operators and their employees should have an opportunity to rest, spend time with family and friends, and worship if they choose to do so. "Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord's Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him," Cathy wrote in his book "Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People." Despite being open for 14% fewer days a year than competitors, Chick-fil-A continues to dominate the fast-food industry.

James

[phkrause]

Contrary to popular belief, the camel’s humps are not filled with water. Instead, these odd protrusions are mounds of fat which allow these gangly beasts to travel days through the desert without stopping for a bite to eat. The camel will use the fat as nourishment when food is scarce. A camel can carry up to 80 pounds of fat on its back. When a camel consumes the emergency food supply, the hump will become limp and droop down. Refueling and a good night’s sleep will return the hump to its normal upright position.

James

[phkrause]

UPS trucks don't turn left. Their policy to never turn across oncoming traffic, even when it shortens their routes, reduces traffic collisions and delays, so they plan routes that avoid left turns whenever possible. This reportedly cuts their number of trucks by 1,100, saves 10 million gallons of fuel and emits 22,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide per year, and lowers the annual distance traveled by 28.5 million
miles.

James

[phkrause]

In Japan, public napping is a sign of hard work. It's called "inemuri", which means "sleeping on duty" or "sleeping while present". Because falling asleep in public is thought to be a symptom of working yourself to exhaustion, it's socially acceptable in restaurants, stores, commuter trains, and on park benches – as long as you don't sprawl out and take up too much space.

James

[phkrause]

Axe Body Spray once shut down an entire school because the 6th grade boys produced an excessive stench that landed 8 kids in the hospital. Many schools have banned the spray altogether due to the "Wall of Axe", which occurs when groups of boys who doused themselves after gym congregate in the hallways and suffocate everyone in the general vicinity. It's also been known to set off smoke alarms.

James