Random factoids you can't help but remember

[Proctopeo]

Instead they built one of wood, an awesome plane, of which Goering noted..

In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I'm going to buy a British radio set – then at least I'll own something that has always worked

Aircraft carrier, not aircraft.

What about an aircraft carrier that's an aircraft made of recycled aircraft

[Shrillland]

First of all:

Croissants are believed to have been invented in Vienna, 1683. After the siege of Vienna, to commemorate their triumph against ottoman forces. Hence the cresent shape.

Thank you very much. Now I can't even look at a croissant without hearing Sabaton's Winged Hussars at full blast in my head.

Now, for my random factoids. The last execution by guillotine was in 1978, the death penalty was banned in France just a few years later.

Margaret Thatcher, before she entered politics, worked at a dairy and was instrumental in bringing soft-serve ice cream to Britain's shores in 1958, just months shy of her entry into the House of Commons.

The Ancient Greeks had no words for colours i.e, red, blue, yellow, they're all Latin or Germanic words.

South Africa banned television until 1975 because they didn't want any positive examples of race-mixing. Consequently, they became the laughing stock of the Commonwealth when it was discovered that the moon landing was shown at old-fashioned newsreel theatres.

[Averren]

In the US marketers discovered that people would pay 3 times more (and "enjoy" them) if crescent rolls were re-branded as croissants because, you know, call something by its exotic French name and English speakers will go for it -- Except for maybe French fries.

[Bombadil]

Instead they built one of wood, an awesome plane, of which Goering noted..

In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I'm going to buy a British radio set – then at least I'll own something that has always worked

Aircraft carrier, not aircraft.

Fair cop guv'nor!

[Senkaku]

Aircraft carrier, not aircraft.

What about an aircraft carrier that's an aircraft made of recycled aircraft

Would probably suck since it'd be made out of super lightweight aluminum alloys and stuff lol

[Kowani]

In the US marketers discovered that people would pay 3 times more (and "enjoy" them) if crescent rolls were re-branded as croissants because, you know, call something by its exotic French name and English speakers will go for it -- Except for maybe French fries.

Freedom Fries, let’s go!

[Bombadil]

In the US marketers discovered that people would pay 3 times more (and "enjoy" them) if crescent rolls were re-branded as croissants because, you know, call something by its exotic French name and English speakers will go for it -- Except for maybe French fries.

Not unlike how the Patagonian Toothfish, which is not something you'd think to order, magically becomes the Chilean Seabass with a little marketing and ignoring taxonomy.

The name "Chilean seabass" was invented by a fish wholesaler named Lee Lantz in 1977. He was looking for a name that would make it attractive to the American market. He considered "Pacific sea bass" and "South American sea bass" before settling on "Chilean sea bass". In 1994, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted "Chilean seabass" as an "alternative market name" for Patagonian toothfish, and in 2013 for Antarctic toothfish.

The USFDA indulging in some of those 'alternative facts' early doors.

[The Blaatschapen]

Lanted ale is ale to which urine was added to make it more flavoured.

Nowadays, we call this Stella Artois.

[The Fascist Waffle Empire]

New York used to be called new Amsterdam when it was under Dutch administration. But they traded it to the British for a few tiny islands in the Antilles.

[Barboneia]

Roald Dahl’s last words were “Ow, fuck!”

[The Fascist Waffle Empire]

Buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo; is a grammatically correct sentence

[The Blaatschapen]

New York used to be called new Amsterdam when it was under Dutch administration. But they traded it to the British for a few tiny islands in the Antilles.

Wrong.

They "traded" it for Suriname. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suriname#Colonial_period

[West Leas Oros 2]

The place where they... "get" the sperm for sperm banks is called a masturbatorium.
Sounds like the perfect thing to call NSG

[Ethel mermania]

New York used to be called new Amsterdam when it was under Dutch administration. But they traded it to the British for a few tiny islands in the Antilles.

Wrong.

They "traded" it for Suriname. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suriname#Colonial_period

Those bastards.

[Abarri]

The place where they... "get" the sperm for sperm banks is called a masturbatorium.
Sounds like the perfect thing to call NSG

Whoa. I totally did not know such term exists.

Random factoid:
Funambulist is the term for a tight-rope walker.

[Longweather]

Time for some random French factoids. The term used for potatoes in French literally translates to "apple of earth" or "earth apple". Likewise, the French term for French fries is "apple fries".

In addition to this, the French do not have separate words for 70, 80, or 90. Instead they use what translates to "sixty-ten", "four twenties", and "four twenties-ten." To get French terms for them, you have to look to Switzerland, Belgium, and places the Belgians colonized.

Oh, and Charlemagne's name was actually Karl. He was a Frank, which were a Germanic people. I've met millennials from France and Belgium working in Silicon Valley that got upset when I mentioned that Karl wasn't French, he was Frankish.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Time for some random French factoids. The term used for potatoes in French literally translates to "apple of earth" or "earth apple". Likewise, the French term for French fries is "apple fries".

In addition to this, the French do not have separate words for 70, 80, or 90. Instead they use what translates to "sixty-ten", "four twenties", and "four twenties-ten." To get French terms for them, you have to look to Switzerland, Belgium, and places the Belgians colonized.

Oh, and Charlemagne's name was actually Karl. He was a Grank, which were a Germanic people. I've met millennials from France and Belgium working in Silicon Valley that get upset when I mentioned that Karl wasn't French, he was Frankish.

French numbers... now I’m having horrid flashbacks. Thanks.

[Valrifell]

Roman emperor Caligula once waged a war on the sea god Neptune, led his fully-armed army up to the beaches, and ordered them to take their swords out and start stabbing the water.

True story lol

In Caligula's defense, it's because he was going to go to war with the Germans but decided that was a bad idea.

So he declared war on the sea to satisfy his large army instead

First of all, he wanted to attack the Britons, but for some reason was unable or unwilling to cross the channel.

Second, it's hard to say to what extent Caligula's madness was genuine or an invention of himself and/or his successors, but he probably didn't do it to satiate his army but to keep up appearances about being a chaotic evil despot with absolute authority over them or it was a genuine bout of madness. Nobody really knows.

[Valrifell]

Buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo; is a grammatically correct sentence

Remove the commas and it's also structurally correct

[West Leas Oros 2]

Time for some random French factoids. The term used for potatoes in French literally translates to "apple of earth" or "earth apple". Likewise, the French term for French fries is "apple fries".

In addition to this, the French do not have separate words for 70, 80, or 90. Instead they use what translates to "sixty-ten", "four twenties", and "four twenties-ten." To get French terms for them, you have to look to Switzerland, Belgium, and places the Belgians colonized.

Oh, and Charlemagne's name was actually Karl. He was a Frank, which were a Germanic people. I've met millennials from France and Belgium working in Silicon Valley that got upset when I mentioned that Karl wasn't French, he was Frankish.

I know right? I hated French when I first learned it, but now I love the absurdity of the number system.

[New Legland]

The U.S. has lost several nuclear warheads at sea, and that says nothing of the Soviet Union.

[US-SSR]

Peep eyes are insoluble in phenol.

[Great Eddy]

Pluto has 5 moons, more than Earth.

[Vetalia]

Titan's atmospheric pressure is 1.45 that of Earth's so colonies could exist on that moon without pressure suits.

One factoid that fascinates me dates back to the early solar system. Apparently, back then Jupiter's moon Europa had a global ocean and atmosphere warmed by the heat from the forming Jupiter before it finally froze into the solid ice crust we know today.

[Califghanistan]

The most purple national flag is the flag of Dominica. It has a small purple bird right in the centre.

Yeah, right.