Cliff Claven trivia
Dan Kohn (dan@teledesic.com)
Mon, 4 Nov 1996 15:04:21 -0800
>Some interesting trivia:
>
>The word "queueing" is the only English word with five consecutive
>vowels.
>
>The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the
>"General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.
>
>The two longest one-syllable words in the English language are
>"screeched" and "strengths."
>
>The longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary is
>"floccinaucinihilipilification," which means "the act of estimating as
>worthless."
>
>The abbreviation for pound, "lb.," comes from the astrological sign
>Libra, meaning balance, and symbolized by scales.
>
>February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full
>moon.
>
>Montpelier, Vermont is the only U.S. state capital without a McDonalds.
>
>The Chinese ideogram for 'trouble' symbolizes 'two women living under
>one
>roof'.
>
>In Chinese, the words for crisis and opportunity are the same.
>
>Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people
>without
>killing them use to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to
>get
>fired."
>
>The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each
>gallon of diesel that it burns.
>
>Maine is the only state that borders on only one state.
>
>The word 'byte' is a contraction of 'by eight.'
>
>The average ear of corn has eight-hundred kernels arranged in sixteen
>rows.
>
>The famous split-fingered Vulcan salute is actually intended to
>represent
>the first letter ("shin," pronounced "sheen") of the word "shalom." As
>a
>small boy, Leonard Nimoy observed his rabbi using it in a benediction
>and
>never forgot it; eventually he was able to add it to "Star Trek" lore.
>
>The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South
>Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber
>machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded
>into
>the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got
>"the
>whole 9 yards."
>
>The term the "Boogey Man will get you" comes from the Boogey people,who
>still inhabit an area of Indonesia. These people still act as pirates
>today and attack ships that pass. Thus the term spread "if you don't
>watch out the Boogey man will get you."
>
>The longest U.S. highway is route 6 starting in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
>going through 14 states, and ending in Bishop, California...
>
>"Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and
>ends with the letters "und."
>