The "Did You Know" Thread

[Murph]

The 1918 flu pandemic wiped out up to 3% of the entire world's population. Some countries lost more than 15% of their people.

Almost 9 out of every 10 that died was from pneumonia associated with the virus, not the virus itself.

[Guest]

Fun fact: In NC it is illegal to throw an aluminum can or a plastic bottle in the regular trash.

[Shufdog]

Fun fact: In NC it is illegal to throw an aluminum can or a plastic bottle in the regular trash.

I'd get the death penalty then!

[pstall]

Only a ninja can kill a ninja.

[Bronn]

It takes 8 minutes 17 seconds for light to travel from the Sun’s surface to the Earth

The Earth spins at 1,000 mph but it travels through space at an incredible 67,000 mph.

Astronauts cannot belch – there is no gravity to separate liquid from gas in their stomachs.

Without its lining of mucus your stomach would digest itself.

The call of the humpback whale is louder than Concorde and can be heard from 500 miles away.

There are more living organisms on the skin of each human than there are humans on the surface of the earth.

If every star in the Milky Way was a grain of salt they would fill an Olympic sized swimming pool.

[KSpan]

Game over! How did Michael Biehn die in Aliens?

Technically, his character (Hicks) died in Alien 3 via a beam through the chest. And apologies for the thumbs down on your post - replying on my phone and apparently missed the quote button.

[Captroop]

Did you know about the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin Fighter?

This plane, which looks like a bad photoshop job, was developed in the late 40s in response to the devestating effect that German interceptors had on allied bombers during WWII. With folding wings, this parasite fighter was designed to be lowered from the bomb bays of large bombers to counter enemy interceptors.

Two prototypes were made and tested (performing surprisingly well) before the project was ultimately cancelled due to the fact that they were grossly outmatched by modern jet fighters.

[Sapper]

Popular Christmas tune 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' is about the Cuban Missile Crisis

Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world (though a lot of it is below sea level).

World War 2 is not over since China and Japan have yet to sign a treaty.

The worlds driest and largest desert is Antarctica.

[Guest]

Popular Christmas tune 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' is about the Cuban Missile Crisis

Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world (though a lot of it is below sea level).

World War 2 is not over since China and Japan have yet to sign a treaty.

The worlds driest and largest desert is Antarctica.

Strange but true. It was written as a plea for peace.

[Guest]

Lightning strikes the earth 100 times a second.

[Panthers_Lover]

Popular Christmas tune 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' is about the Cuban Missile Crisis

Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world (though a lot of it is below sea level).

World War 2 is not over since China and Japan have yet to sign a treaty.

The worlds driest and largest desert is Antarctica.

It's not really "about" the Cuban Missile Crisis ... just written during that time, and the composer was asked to write a Christmas song and was inspired by the sight of two babies he saw on the streets of New York:

“I had thought I’d never write a Christmas song,” he recalled. “Christmas had become so commercial. But this was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the studio, the producer was listening to the radio to see if we had been obliterated.

“En route to my home, I saw two mothers with their babies in strollers. The little angels were looking at each other and smiling. All of a sudden, my mood was extraordinary.”

A glimpse of these babies filled Noel Regney’s heart with poetry. The little ones reminded him of newborn lambs. Thus, the song begins, “Said the night wind to the little lamb....”

[Chimera]

Southern right whales' testicles weigh in at about half a ton each.

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

Did you know that f*ck everything?

[Hotsauce]

The internet is slow in our new office, so i called IT....he said my offices internet is slower than any office he has ever seen in my company. He told me that even our remote office in Haiti had a faster connection...FML