Groucho's Fact Hunt

[summerisle]

Britain is the world's largest exporter of cannabis for medical and scientific use : 95 tonnes, equating to just under half of the world total.

 

[PITA]

Ever wondered about tonne vs ton...and why a ton weighs differently in the US than in UK?

a tonne in US and UK is 2,204 pounds (known as a metric ton = 1000kg )
a ton in US is 2000 pounds (known as a short ton)
a ton in UK is 2240 pounds (known as a long ton).

"why the difference between US and UK/Commonwealth weights?" you ask:

well, 1kg =2.204 pounds, so the tonne's 2,204 pounds is easily derived and is the same in UK and US..
The short ton and long ton are both derived from being equal to 20 hundredweight (an old Imperial unit of weight). In US a hundredweight =100 pounds ...thus a US (i.e. short) ton is 20 x 100 = 2000pounds.
In UK a hundredweight is/was defined as being 8 stone. There's 14 pounds to a stone therefore 112 pounds in a hundredweight (i.e. 8 x 14).
20 hundredweight thus equals 20 x 112= 2240 pounds.

Mate, you're back to your best here. Give us a few more big words and you will achieve redemption.

 

[DualityNSNO]

The Sun loses 5.5million tonnes of mass every second

Just seeing this.

While accurate and it looks like a massive number, it will total to slightly less than 0.01% of the mass of the Sun in approximately a billion or so years, assuming constant rate of loss; so in 5 billion or so years time, when it is calculated it will explode - it would've lost ~0.04% of its mass.

Space is weird, man.

 

[DualityNSNO]

Because I like to go back in this thread to look at cool facts - this is wrong, it's a common misconception/myth though! For one, why would the Roman emperor wage war against a Greek god? For another, it's only in literature that this happened.

He was mad as a box of frogs though and did send his army to absolutely random/illogical exercises (collecting seashells after a battle, for no reason at all), crossdress in public, impregnate his sister, was going to make his favourite horse a consul (and according to other writing - did make him a priest), fed the horse gold and, of course, declare himself a God... only to be slaughtered by his own guards for being crazy.

I'm sure there's a lot more I'm missing but still... lol

 

[PITA]

Because I like to go back in this thread to look at cool facts - this is wrong, it's a common misconception/myth though! For one, why would the Roman emperor wage war against a Greek god? For another, it's only in literature that this happened.

He was mad as a box of frogs though and did send his army to absolutely random/illogical exercises (collecting seashells after a battle, for no reason at all), crossdress in public, impregnate his sister, was going to make his favourite horse a consul (and according to other writing - did make him a priest), fed the horse gold and, of course, declare himself a God... only to be slaughtered by his own guards for being crazy.

I'm sure there's a lot more I'm missing but still... lol

You might have answered your own question.

 

[DualityNSNO]

You might have answered your own question.

Just read up on that - apparently first mentioned by someone born half a century after Caligula's reign.

But no honestly if someone did say he'd waged war against a random turtle and lost half his army - I'd believe that. Mad lad.

Him and Hannibal Barca are some of my favourite mad lads of history.

 

[deipnosophist]

Mate, you're back to your best here. Give us a few more big words and you will achieve redemption.

Thank you for giving me hope, PITA; sadly however, I fear I might have passed the event horizon of 'beyond redemption's' black hole.

 

[deipnosophist]

While accurate and it looks like a massive number, it will total to slightly less than 0.01% of the mass of the Sun in approximately a billion or so years, assuming constant rate of loss; so in 5 billion or so years time, when it is calculated it will explode - it would've lost ~0.04% of its mass.

Space is weird, man.

you are correct...on both counts

 

[deipnosophist]

There are 2 billion pigs in the world

...and yet they call themselves 'the thin blue line'...

 

[Elvis the pelvis]

...and yet they call themselves 'the thin blue line'...

Should be thick going on iq

 

[deipnosophist]

Should be thick going on iq

...and waist measurement...

 

[Groucho]

Gallileo’s middle finger is on display in a museum.

 

[summerisle]

Gallileo’s middle finger is on display in a museum.

Sure it's his finger ?

 

[degsy]

Gallileo’s middle finger is on display in a museum.

Still aimed no doubt at the Catholic Inquisition.

Nobody expected that fact.

 

[Elvis the pelvis]

Gallileo’s middle finger is on display in a museum.

Robbie Williams middle finger is on display in Russia