Thread: Weird True Facts

The remarkable bee


Bees can be used to detect landmines. Tiny radio plates the size of a rice grain will be attached to honey bees to detect antipersonnel landmines, of which there are about 100 million in 70 war-torn countries.
The tiny radio plates are engraved with serial numbers to keep track of the bees, which are being conditioned to develop a preference in addition to nectar, in this case TNT, or any other material that releases metamphenamine. Special spectrometers that can "smell" TNT are placed in movable beehives to indicate landmines in specific areas. Bees that "smell" of explosives can then be tracked to the landmine. The bees won't detonate the landmines.
This is just one of many reasons why bees are important to us. Without bees, there will be no flowers or crops. Although birds, other insects and the wind also pollinate plants, bees do most of it.


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CONTRACTOR? FOR WHAT? FUNERAL HOMES?

USA Today tells of a Spokane, Washington, contractor who registered his phone in the name of Osama bin Laden, meaning whoever he called saw the name of that infamous person on their caller ID. The FBI said they had received complaints from several people who become frightened seeing that feared name on their phones. Unfortunately, the spokesman told the paper, since no law was broken, they could do nothing.


THE FASTEST

(1) Fastest fish: the sailfish 68 mph (110 km/h); (2) Fastest car, and faster than sound: the SSC Thrust II 763 mph (1228 km/h); (3) Fastest commercial train: the French TGV (train à grande vitesse) 357 mph (574.8 km/h); (4) Fastest mammal: the cheetah 76 mph (122 km/h); (5) Fastest bird: the peregrine falcon 225 mph (362 km/h).


MANY, MANY YEARS BEFORE REFRIGERATION

Now days, we take salt for granted because it is so easy to obtain. Ancient Greek traders valued it so highly they sold slaves for it (a sick slave "wasn't worth his salt"). In some cultures, salt was more valuable than currency itself. Jericho was founded as a salt trading center over 11,000 years ago, in 9000 BC. And, the Austrian city named Salzburg literally translated means "Salt Castle."

World's largest flower

The largest flower in the world, the rafflesia arnoldi, weighs 7 kg (15 pounds) and grows only on the Sumatra island of Indonesia. Its petals grow to 1/2 metre (1,6 feet) long and 2,5 cm (1 inch) thick.

There are 16 species of rafflesia, found in Sumatra, Malaysia and Borneo. The species is named after the naturalist Sir Stamford Raffles, who founded the British colony of Singapore in 1819. Raffles discovered the parasitic plant with his friend Dr. Joseph Arnold during their travels in May 1818. The rafflesia arnoldi is named after the two.

However fascinating and beautiful the rafflesia arnoldi may be, it is also called "corpse flower" and really reeks, the latter to attract flies for pollination.

Of about 200,000 kinds of flowers in the world, the smallest is the duckweed, which can only be seen with a microscope.

Oldest living thing

The oldest living thing on earth is a flowering shrub called the creosote bush, found in the Mojave Desert. It is 15 metres (50 ft) in diameter. It is estimated that it started from a seed nearly 12,000 years ago. During its lifetime the last major period of glaciation in North America came to an end, the wheel and writing were invented, and the great Egyptian and Mayan pyramids were built. The shrub is still living.


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Wow, id love to see the worlds oldest flower. I love things like that.
Very intereting Andy.

True Sheena. LOL

Hmm, did you notice how i put oldest instead of biggest? Obviously i hadn't had enough coffee this morning to wake me up!

Yes, a senoir morning moment

You ladies honestly, you do make me laugh. Thanks




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Originally Posted by Andy Chapman

You ladies honestly, you do make me laugh. Thanks




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Glad to hear it Andy :yes:

Cow Farts link to global warming


A herd of cows blows out more climate-changing gas than a family car, a university researcher has said.
Andy Thorpe, an economist at the University of Portsmouth, explained that 200 cows fart the annual amount of methane equivalent to the energy produced by a family car being driven 111,850 miles (180,000km).


Now who in their right mind would research something like that ?

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Potty-mouth pay-out

A US woman who was arrested and prosecuted for swearing at her toilet has won nearly £12,000 in compensation.
Dawn Herb's legal fees will also be paid as part of the out of court settlement with the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
She was arrested last year after a neighbour, an off-duty police officer, heard her swearing at her overflowing lavatory through an open window.
She was charged with disorderly conduct and faced a possible 90 days in jail, reports the Scranton Times-Tribune.
But the judge at her trial found her not guilty, saying that swearing was not illegal and her language was constitutionally protected free speech.


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