Trivia - Continuation 1

Well, I have researched the subject quite extensively and I have found a treasure trove of "Useless Facts" of which I have selected a few to get your minds working, and maybe you may even find some of them a bit obvious or even "funny". But it doesn't matter what you think of them, the important thing is that maybe you will remember some of them and use them to amaze someone over a beer or two!!!

So, here we go. Some of them I have added my own thoughts to, but mainly I will let you just read and enjoy...

A Hawaiian stamp of 1851 with a face value of 2 cents was the sole reason Gaston Leroux, a Parisian philatelist, murdered its owner, Hector Giroux.

Lawsuits filed by California inmates cost the taxpayers more than $25 million in 1994.

Archduke Karl Ludwig (1833-1896), brother of the Austrian emperor, was a man of such piety that on a trip to the Holy Land, he insisted on drinking from the River Jordan, despite warnings that it would make him fatally ill. He died within a few weeks.

If you would like to make a Siberian happy, give him a horse-meat steak.

The Ritz cracker was introduced to markets in 1934, but gourmets had to wait until 1953 for the invention of cheese in a can.

The fortune cookie was invented in 1916 by George Jung, a Los Angeles noodle maker. And the Dim Sim was invented by a Chinese restaurant owner in Melbourne in the 1950's.

An apple, onion, and potato all have the same taste. The differences in flavor are caused by their smell. To prove this - pinch your nose and take a bite from each. They will all taste sweet. (Are you really game to try this??)

There are more than 200 kinds of chili peppers, none of which belong to the pepper family.

In Bavaria, beer isn't considered an alcoholic drink but rather a staple food. (Now they have the right idea!!!)

And here are some good old Australian useless facts ...

Lake Cadibarrawirracannais a salt lake in central South Australia. It is located in the northeastern portion of the Woomera Prohibited Area, east of the Stuart Highway. Lake Cadibarrawirracanna, meaning "Stars dancing on water", is the second longest official place name in Australia. (Try and pronounce that and not get a twist in your tongue).

Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya Hill in South Australia is the longest official place name in Australia and means "Where the devil urinates". (This one is worse, but I like the translation better!!!)

The first Sub Branch of the Vietnam Veterans' Association of Australia was started in Launceston, Tasmania in May 1980. (Previously, Vietnam Veterans could only join the South East Asian Veterans' Association).

The first car radio was fitted to an Australian car built by Kelly Motors in NSW in 1924.

Per capita, Australians read more newspapers than any other nation.

The world's first electric drill was patented by Arthur Arnot while he was an employee of the Union Electric Company in Melbourne in 1889.

In 1992 the world's first multi-focal contact lens was invented by optical research scientist Stephen Newman in Queensland.

So there is a taste of my sometimes passion. I will bring you more over time, so keep looking in and mostly, just enjoy.