Be a hit at the next dinner party you attend — toss out a few of these

If you want to be really dull, repeat them over and over again,
especially to people who have heard them before

What do each of these eight words have in common?

Can you figure out what the words below have in common with each other?

Assess
Banana
Dresser
Grammar
Potato
Revive
Uneven
Voodoo

Scroll down for answer.

Answer: with each of these words, if you move the first letter the word to the end of the word, it spells the same word backwards.

A Unique Moment in History -- Wednesday, April 5, 2006


On Wednesday of next this upcoming week, early in the morning at two minutes and three seconds past 1:00 a.m., the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.
 
This has never happened before and will never happen again.

Fascinating Trivia about Hull City

December 9, 2005

Dear DMC,

Did you know that  Hull City is the only team in the English Football League
which hasn't got a single letter that you can colour in?

(e.g. Liverpool you can fill in e, p and the 2 o's )

all the best

Graham

Folding Paper

Did you know that no piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven times. Try it. Try it with a napkin at the next dinner party you attend.

Golf . . . origin of the word

Controversy? Dull men like to avoid controversy as much as possible. On the other hand, dull men like to get to the truth. A letter came to us pointing out that in our Trivia Section we probably have a cute but incorrect explanation of the origin of the word "golf."

October 9, 2003

Dear DMC,

 

    In the trivia section, you noted that the word golf stands for "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden." That's incorrect. The following link provides ample proof that the word golf goes back many centuries: http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/golf.htm

 

    Thanks [exclamation point removed]

 

Jonathan Shipley

But when we click on the link and get to the web site that Jonathan refers us to, we are bewildered . . . what's the answer?

So now where do we stand? In a state of confusion? How do we sort this out?

We'd like your thoughts on this. Meanwhile, let's simply enjoy the game. Many dull men like to play golf. Walking around for hours hitting a little ball. That?s a fine form of Safe Excitement for us.

Origin of the word "Trivia" . . . and alternate view about dangers of sneezing

June 15, 2003

Dear DMC,

tion. http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/rosie.htm  To set this bitter possibility I would like to share with you the origin of the word "trivia".  Its origins are Latin.  Tri = three and Via = way or road.  In ancient ve a lie down now.

 

Bob Edwards

World War II . . . Germany declared war on only one country

Which country was it?

Germany declared war only on the U.S. The other countries involved in the war, e.g., the U.K., Australia, France, Poland, etc. declared war on Germany. [Thank you "Zac" for this]

Duck Tape or Duct Tape?

Which is it? Click here to get to a site that explains it all. Tip off: both are correct. It began as duck tape, later became known, for a good reason, to some as duct tape.

Two more English words that have no rhymes

December 23, 2002

    I think you ought to know that as well as silver, purple, orange and month, there are at least two other English words that don't have any rhymes, as far as  I know - they are "spirit" and "silver".

    The fact that "spirit" doesn't rhyme with anything has kept hymn writers depressed for centuries.

Regards

Andy Mardo

Example: Hymn writers would not be overjoyed with something like this: "If ever our brain runs out of spirit, we reach up the nose and stir it" [Thanks to Karl Hirsch for send this to us]

Wordsworthshire

Following Wordsworth's appointment as Poet Laureate, a movement was launched to rename the Lake District "Wordsworthshire."

It's impossible to bite your own teeth

The average escalator transports up to 5,000 people each hour

How does the snow get into snowglobes?

We'd like to know the answer to this. Does anyone out there know? Or take a guess? We'd like to publish the answer by Christmas (Christmas 2002). Thanks

For a link to a multitude of snowglobes, click here

	Ralphie—buffalo mascot of athletics teams at the University of Colorado Did you know that Ralphie, the buffalo mascot of the University of Colorado's athletics teams, is a girl buffalo? The first Ralphie mascot arrived on campus in 1966. It was first called Ralph, the thought being that it was a boy buffalo. But that year, when the University of Colorado played Colorado State University, Colorado's original agricultural college, the aggies from CSU pointed out to the dudes from CU that Ralph was a girl buffalo. So CU changed Ralph's name to Ralphie. But shouldn't the name have been changed to Ralphina? At least that's what we think from what we read. For example, according to The Penguin Dictionary of First Names, the female version of Ralph is Ralphina, not Raphie.
	Georgian word for "frog croaks in the water"

Their word for this is "cbakhi tskhalshi khikhinebs."

Georgian is an ancient language, famous for its formidable consonant clusters. One of these that daunts even the most skilled linguist is the "kh" sound ? a strangled aspirated glottal sound ? that appears four times in "cbakhi tskhalshi khikhinebs." [Thanks to Angus James for this one]

 

Inuit Eskimo word for "I guess I—'' l just have to give up drinking — They have one word for this: "Imminngernaveersaartunngortussaavunga." [Thanks to Angus James for this one]

[How are you supposed to say that when you've reached that point of having had too many?]

World Series . . . origin of its name?

Was baseball's World Series so named because in the early days it was sponsored by a newspaper in New York called the New York World?

No, that's a myth, says Doug Pappas. Click here to read his fascinating explanation.

Is calling the games the World Series grandiose . . . since only American teams, and once in a while a Canadian team, play in it? Perhaps. Is it any more grandiose than calling a college in London the Imperial College?

 

Thirteen Floors . . . missing?

Seventy percent of the buildings along Broadway in New York City have no thirteenth floor. [From CNN, October 27, 2002]

State with most sanctioned league bowlers

Michigan, with 303,233. New York is second, 239,951. Ohio third, 239,010. Then California (196,154), and Illinois (187,166). [Reported in USA Today, October 15, 2002; source: American Bowling Congress)

Birthdays for women in Japan How many birthdays does the average Japanese woman have? One . . . the day of birth . . . in Japan, the subsequent ones are called anniversaries.

Salt in Tea

Tibetans, Mongolians, and people in parts of western China put salt instead of sugar in their tea. [Thanks to Antony Hagues for this one]

Polar bears . . . right- or left-handed? All polar bears are left handed. [Thanks to Paul for this] "Left-pawed" is actually what the bears are . . . and the bears tell us that their lack of thumbs is more of a problem than being left pawed. [Thanks to Jeff Muse for this]

Is sneezing dangerous?

If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib.  If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.  If you keep your eyes open by force, they will pop out. First explanation: People say "bless you" when you sneeze because, when you sneeze, your heart stops for a mili-second. [From Sam Bali] Alternative explanation: It is due to a law passed by Pope Gregory VII who came up with the current custom of saying "God Bless You." The blessing was a response to the bubonic plague that was decimating Rome at the time. [From Tone] Alternative alternative explanation: It dates from the time of the plague in Britain and was said because an early sign of the plague was sneezing. Hence the line from the old nursery rhyme, " . . . atishoo atishoo (a tissue?) we all fall down." [From Duncan Morris]

Mind Your P's and Q's

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."

Alternative explanation: "mind your P's and Q's" comes from the printing industry . . . letters are back-to-front on the presses . . . it is easy to confuse P's and Q's. [From Danny Daly]

	Your Elbow It is impossible to lick your elbow
	Your Elbow

At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow

Money and Monopoly

More money is printed every day for Monopoly than for the U.S. Treasury

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola was originally green

	Why Accountants Wear Gray
	Accountants wear gray in honor of their founder, the great Italian Renaissance accountant and mathematician Luca Pacioli. Luca was a Franciscan friar. He wore the gray, hooded cloak that  all Franciscans friars wore. Modern accountants proudly dress in all-over gray in memory of Luca. [Thanks to Frank Upton for sending this to us. Frank also sent us a quotation from Nigel Barley: —There is no shortage of information.  There is just a shortage of something intelligent to do with it."]

What rhymes with silver, purple, orange, or month?

A good dinner party discussion is to find words that rhyme with silver, purple, orange, or month.  There aren't any, but it keeps a dull conversation going for quite a while. [Thanks to Ray Prince for this one]

Golf . . . do you know the origins of the game's name?

The game of golf was invented at one of those old-fashioned men-only gentlemen's clubs in Scotland. The name took on the name "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden." [Thanks to an anonymous contributor from Switzerland, a country where the mountains are exciting but (thank goodness) most of the men are dull.]

Scissors

Leonardo di Vinci invented scissors. [Thanks to Al Herter (Paris) for sending this one and the next four to us]

Invention of the words "assassination" and "bump"

Shakespeare invented these two words

A Cold Winter

The winter of 1982 was so cold that Niagara Falls completely froze

Toughest Tongue-Twister

The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick? is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language . . . try it

The Story of Mayonnaise . . . Cinco de Mayo

Most people don't know that back in 1912 Hellman's mayonnaise was manufactured exclusively in England. In fact, the "Titanic" was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after New York. The people of Mexico who were crazy about the stuff, were eagerly awaiting delivery, and were disconsolate at the loss. So much so that they declared a National Day of mourning which they still observe today. It is known, of course, as Cinco de Mayo.

A reader's letter:

December 12, 2003

I believe your fact regarding Mexico's national holiday is incorrect. Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Hellmann?s mayonnaise; rather it celebrates the only war Mexico has ever won.

Grant

4th of July Trivia

All of the fireworks and most of the flags used to celebrate the 4th of July in America come from China

Shrimps' Hearts

A shrimp's heart is in its head

Crocodile Tongues

A crocodile can't stick out its tongue

February 20, 2002 . . . an symmetrical phenomena concerning time and dates will occur . . . and will never occur again

As the clock ticks over from 8:01PM on Wednesday, February 20th, 2002, time will (for sixty seconds only) read in perfect symmetry. To be more precise: 20:02, 20/02, 2002. It is an event which has only ever happened once before, and is something which will never be repeated. The last occasion that time read in such a symmetrical pattern was long before the days of the digital watch (or the 24-hour clock): 10:01AM, on January 10, 1001. And because the clock only goes up to 23.59, it is something that will never happen again. [Thank you Dennis Bloomquist for forwarding this to us] 

Controversy . . . correction? Dennis M. Yates wrote to us yesterday, —Well, I am sorry to inform you but the 20/02 trivia thing (there not being another date/time like that) is wrong. At 21:12 (9:12 pm) on 21 December 2112, the date and time will also be symmetrical. Since it won't happen for 110 more years, it is something to look forward to. Just thought you should know.—

Spam . . . by the end of 2002, how many cans of Spam will have been produced since Spam started in 1936? Six billion.

What is something Nebraska is famous for? It's one of two U.S. locations where Spam is produced. Spam is produced not only in Austin Minnesota (where the Spam Museum is located), it also is produced in Fremont Nebraska.

For more fascinating Spam trivia, click here

Getting to the heart of Tootsie Pops

"Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Toosie Roll center of a Toosie Pop?" According to a reader of this site, it takes, on the average, 276 licks to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. Wayne Buckles reports, "Upon seeing a rerun of that commercial on TV, I decided to revisit that puzzling question. I promptly put this on my shopping list of things to buy that I have on a whiteboard in the kitchen. The following week, on shopping day (Tuesday) I purchased a package of these treats (just in case you were wondering, they resemble a cauliflower, this was noticed when the two items sat side by side in my shopping cart). When I got home, I got to work. I counted the licks that it took to get to the center for each Tootsie Pop. I then averaged them and came out with the number 276."

Thirty-six states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the five dollar bill. [Previously, we had said that all 50 states were listed.  Chuck Kroger pointed out to us that only 36 states were listed, the 36 states that were in the U.S. when Lincoln died.  Thanks, Chuck for keeping us up-to-date]

There are more convertibles in the U.K. than in France, Spain, and Portugal combined.

Which English football club (soccer club) has no letters in its name that are the same in the letters in mackerel?

Answer: Swindon Town. [Thank you BBC Five Live for this]

Sixty percent of customers ordering Caesar Salad at Harrods' Terrace Restaurant request that the anchovies be left out.

The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns

There are three words in the English language that have all five vowels in order, abstemious, arsenious, and facetious. [Thanks to Johnny Belfast and Stuart Mayne for sending these words to us]

There were three times as many people killed by bulls in Denmark in 1939 than there were registered Atheists in New Zealand in that year. [Thank you Raymond G. Frensham for letting us know about this.  You're right . . . this will really be a conversation stopper when tossed out at a dinner party]

The word "strengths" is the longest word in the English language that only uses one vowel. [Thanks to John Hopkin and Joe Porter for bring this to our attention.  Joe pointed out to us that "strength" was the only eight-letter word that used only one vowel; John stretched this, pointing out that "strengths" was an even longer word, longer by one letter, that uses only one vowel . . . we commend John on his creativity]

The phrase "rule of thumb" stems from a rule of law in England that came from a court case involving a Mr. Thumb.  Mr. Thumb was a wife beater.  Mrs. Thumb took Mr. Thumb to court. The court ruled that it was okay for Mr. Thumb to hit Mrs. Thumb but only as long as it was with a small stick. Earlier we had said, erroneously, that the phrase came from an old English law that allowed a man to beat his wife but only with something no wider than his thumb. [Thank you Christian Logue for straightening us out on this]

There are only two words in the English language (and they are hard to find) that begin with "weh." "Wehee" which is the onomatopoeic sound of a horse's whinny. "Wehrlite" which is a gray alloy. [Thanks to Simon Edwards for sending this to us]

	Rhythms is the longest word in the English language that does not contain a true vowel. [Thanks to Sir Patrik for sending this to us]
	Ben and Jerry's send the waste from making ice cream to local pig farmers to use as feed.  Pigs love the stuff.  Except for one flavor: Mint Oreo.

John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles.

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge. [A dime is the ten cent coin in the U.S.]

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.

	The Baby Ruth candy bar was named after Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth.
	The longest word you can write, using just the top line of a QWERTY keyboard is 'Typewriter'. Thanks to Tony Marshall for sending this in to us.
	The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the 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."

You might be interested to know that in WordPerfect 6.1, when using 12-point Times Roman, non-boldface asterisks have six points, whereas boldface asterisks have five. Not so, however, in 12-point Courier, where asterisks have five points in both cases.

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.

When Heinz ketchup leaves the bottle, it travels at a rate of 25 miles per year.

The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes when you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on.  That's where the phrase, "goodnight, sleep tight" came from.

The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." uses every letter in the alphabet. Developed by Western Union to test telex/Twix communications

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

When opossums are playing 'possum, they are not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror.

The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To Beaver."

Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.