Totally Useless (or not) Fact of the Day

First topic message reminder :

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Since 1950, neither winners

nor heirs may sell their Oscar statuette
without offering to sell it back

to the Academy first for $1.

Useless... or not?

Beef by-products serve as source materials for
other industries, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and textiles.

We normally associate beef as being part of a satisfying meal. However,
because 99% of the beef animal is utilized, items manufactured from beef
by-products are all around us. Yogurt, car tires, drywall and a variety of
medicines all contain a beef by-product.

The medical world relies on beef by-products for many life saving or life
improving medications and treatments. Our bodies can easily accept a
medication or treatment made with beef by-products. Although some medical
products and treatments are made from synthetic ingredients, many are
still made more economically from beef cattle, thus helping to keep the
cost of our health care down.

Some frequently used medical products made from beef by-products include
trypsin (for cleansing wounds and ulcers), corticotrophin (for treating
allergies, arthritis and respiratory diseases), iron (for treating
anemia), thrombin (for blood coagulation), and a huge range of other
valuable pharmaceutical products.

Beef by-products are also used in all sorts of mechanical items. For
example, chemical manufacturers use the fatty acids of inedible beef fats
and proteins for the production of lubricants and fluids. From industrial
cleaners and fertilizers to printing ink and high gloss for magazines,
many useful products are created from beef cattle.

Automobile and bicycle tires contain stearic acid, which makes the rubber
hold its shape under continuous surface friction. Even the asphalt on our
roadways contains a binding agent derived from the fat of beef cattle.

The creation of beef by-products is an important way for the beef industry
to reduce, reuse and recycle.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
On September 13, 1913, the famous Lincoln Highway, the first paved transamerican highway, was completed from New York to San Francisco. Prior to it being built, there were almost no good roads to speak of in the United States. The relatively few miles of improved road were only around towns and cities. A road was "improved" if it was graded; travelers were lucky to have gravel or brick. Most roads, though, were dirt. The Lincoln Highway was the first major roadway constructed with the automobile in mind. Later in 1928, thousands of Boy Scouts fanned out along the highway. At an average of about one per mile, they installed small concrete markers with a small bust of Lincoln and the inscription, "This highway dedicated to Abraham Lincoln."

Quote of the Day
"I no longer worry about being a brilliant conversationalist. I simply try to be a good listener. I notice that people who do that are usually welcome wherever they go." - Frank Bettger

Birthday today:
March 12th ...1940
Al [Alwin] Jarreau
singer, songwriter

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Fact of the Day:
More than 1,130,000 packages of Jell-O gelatin are purchased or eaten every day.

Birthday today:
March 12th ... 1948
James Taylor
musician, singer

"On this day" ... (March 12th) ... 1923
Dr. Lee DeForest demonstrated putting sound on motion picture film. As a pioneer of ‘modern’ radio in the early 1900’s, DeForest called his invention; phonofilm. Today it's called soundtrack.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The smallest wild rabbit breed in North American is the Pygmy or Little Idaho rabbit, which weighs slightly less than one pound.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The world's only robotic swimming shark, called Roboshark, lives in a specially designed aquarium at National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, England.
Here's an article about it: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Tish, the world's oldest caprive goldfish, died in his bowl in 1999, forty-three years after being won at a Yorkshire fair. Another fish, Goldie, was supposedly forty-five when he died in 2005, but with no documented proof, Tish retains the title.

In 1994, there were more than 420,000 accidents caused by kitchen knives, 122,000 by drinking glasses, 29,000 by refrigerators, and 7,000 by dishwashers. ... 29,000 people had a refrigerator fall on them? Wow! ... This one sounds a bit suspicious to me ... careful around those refrigerators!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
As of June 2007 a Chihuahua standing 4.9 inches tall and weighing 1.4 pounds has been officially confirmed as the world's smallest living dog. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the smallest dog ever recorded was a 2.8 inch tall Yorkshire terrier.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]the worlds smallest man at 29 inches. He just passed away, he was only 21 years old

Before prohibition, the most common method of drinking beer at
home was drinking it out of a bucket filled at a local pub or brewery.
Updated version:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

(The bunny is not a beer-drinker ...
... just found this interesting.)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Bunny fun facts:

Rabbits hop in a zig-zap pattern
to confuse animals chasing them.

Baby bunnies leave the nest for good
when they are about 1 month old!

There are about 60 species
of different rabbits and hares.

Chocolate was used as medicine during the eighteenth century. It was believed that chocolate could cure a stomachache. Chocolate contains phenethylamine, the same chemical that your brain produces when you fall in love.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The first McDonald's opened in 1940 in San Bernardino, California.
By 1970 there was a McDonald's in every state.
Here's a picture:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
All fruits have three layers:
exocarp (skin),
mesocarp (pulp),
and endocarp (pit).

You put a tomato in the fruit bowl!! Take it back!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I will never be able to think of a tomato as a fruit! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Jack, I actually remember when McDonald's hamburgers were 15 cents. I believe cheeseburgers were 18 cents!

The movie company Warner Brothers threatened to sue Groucho Marx, leader of the famous Marx Brothers comedy team, for giving his newest film the title "A Night in Casablanca" because it was too similar to their Bogart-Bergman film "Casablanca." In response, the ascerbic Groucho growled back, "I'll sue you for using the word ‘Brothers'."

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The word "yo-yo" itself was
a registered trademark of Duncan until 1965.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Birthday today:
March 26th ... 1880
Duncan Hines
author, traveler d: 1959

Ummm ... cake!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Arachibutyrophobia
is fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
(Bet cha didn't know there was a name for it! LOL)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Happy Birthday Mr. Spock!
March 26th ... 1931
Leonard Nimoy ... actor, director
"Live long and prosper!"

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It’s the 1st of the month again (tomorrow) and people all over the westen world are uttering “White rabbits, white rabbits” first thing in the morning; but have you ever asked yourself why?

In Europe, through the Middle Ages until about Shakespeare’s time, the economies of most countries, including especially those where the inhabitants were the ancestors of the English-speaking peoples, were continuing to emerge from the hunter-gatherer traditions that had marked the end of the Stone Age into the modern versions of these traditions that we see today. As hunters, men needed meat, as well as animal furs to protect them from the harsh winters of Northern Europe. The rabbit was sometimes useful for both purposes, but because the rabbit was viewed as a predator on the very fields that man himself was learning how to cultivate, the elimination of rabbits became a desirable purpose for man the farmer/hunter. In this case, man the hunter was generally man the trapper, and since rabbits were not his only prey, he soon noticed that the taking of a rabbit in a trap was usually a precursor to the taking of other small animals, such as foxes and badgers, that might use the same game trail.

Shakespeare himself wrote:

‘Tis not but a mere rabbit,
For where runs the rabbit,
There ’tis the habit of running the fox.
-- All’s Well That Ends Well, IV, iii, l.17-21. --

Therefore, the rabbit was viewed as a sign of good luck to come; and the rabbit’s foot, the part of the animal that was caught in the trap, came to seem especially lucky.

Many of these people were still influenced by fairly simple religions, like that of the Druids here in the UK. For the priests or medicine men of these faiths, the monthly cycle of the moon usually assumed great importance; so any farmers or hunters who wanted to try to assure good luck in the coming cycle would repeat talismanic oaths in the way taught to them by their religious leaders.

Therefore, on the first of the month, anyone wishing to pray to his or her primitive gods for good luck during the month ahead might repeat a simple charm, such as “Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit”; or “lucky rabbit, lucky rabbit;” or, because of the association of the color white with the sun and with virtue, “white rabbit, white rabbit.”

This superstition is still clung on to today, even if people don’t know what it means anymore, and has spread across the globe by virtue of the British Empire.

HOPPY SPRING to everyone!

Jack, I had never heard anybody saying "white rabbit, white rabbit"; if I had, I probably would have thought they were a fan of Jefferson Starship! (or is that Jefferson Airplane?)

I have heard of a white elephant but not white rabbit. I wonder if he'll make good Easter Stew, or is that like eating a white unicorn bad luck ,lol. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I don't know if rabbits make good stew or not, but I heard they can make a mean batch of chili!

Tater Salad wrote:I don't know if rabbits make good stew or not, but I heard they can make a mean batch of chili!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Cut that out!
We are NOT having rabbit stew!
Nor are we having any rabbit chili!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The Lincoln Monument in Edinburgh's Old Carlton Cemetery (Scotland) was the first statue of an American president to be constructed outside the U.S.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The Luxor pyramid in Las Vegas
is the 3rd tallest pyramid in the world

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

How 14 Car Companies Got Their Names:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Jack, I meant that rabbits can COOK a good batch of chili, not be used to make one! We all know that rabbits have good taste!

Tater Salad wrote:Jack, I meant that rabbits can COOK a good batch of chili, not be used to make one! We all know that rabbits have good taste!

Oh ... OK then ... I will rest easy.
As Emily Latella would say: "Nevermind."

But Jack if we don't cook them they will be eating everybody's garden,lol. I will never see another carrot,lol. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

See, there you go [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] , but I could never kill anything even a rabbit,lol especially a white one. We used to have wild rabbits back in Ca. they never bothered anyone, they were so cool, but my cat grabbed a small bunny and brought it up on the deck, man I was so mad at that cat, the poor bunny was crying his head off. I took him back to his momma the poor little guy.

Sounds like your cat just wanted some fast food, Ron.

He was Tater, he was quite the hunter. He loved birds too. He would sit on our roof talking to them waiting for his chance. He got fed so good, but even at that, he loved to hunt.

Birthdays Today...
April 2nd ... 1955
Dana Carvey, Comedian, actor

Today in history: April 2, 1956
Two very successful daytime dramas premiered this day. "The Edge of Night" and "As the World Turns" were seen for the first time on CBS-TV.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Fact of the Day
Soap was considered a frivolous luxury of the British aristocracy from the early 1700's until 1862, and there was a tax on those who used it in England.

Quote of the Day
"We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why don't we legalize it and then tax it out of business." - Will Rogers

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
On the average, women dream more than men and children dream more than adults. Overall, more people dream in black-and-white than in color.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] What categorie was our wtf is this in. It seems it dissappeared.

The link I posted was about how they renact the crusifixion of Christ in the Phillipines. They actually nail themselves to a cross like they did before, but usin that link, I did not think it would change but it did to today's news. Well, live and learn.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Eggs are a symbol of the new life that returns to nature at Easter Time. The custom of exchanging eggs began long before Easter was celebrated. It was a custom of the Egyptians and the Persians. They exchanged eggs decorated in Spring colors. They believed Earth hatched from an egg which contributed to this custom. Early Christians used red colored eggs to symbolize the Resurrection.

In England they began writing messages and dates on their eggs and exchanging them with friends and loved ones. In the 1800's, candied eggs were made. They were open on one end and a scene was put inside. They were used as table centerpieces.

Rabbits symbolized new life and rebirth in ancient Egypt. They considered it a symbol of the moon as the moon determines the date of Easter. The Easter Bunny's visit is based upon a German Legend. The legend goes that a poor woman decorated eggs for her children to find during a famine. At the moment they found them, they looked up to see a big bunny hopping away.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Birthday today:
April 4th ... 1965
Robert Downey, Jr. - Actor

The first U.S. census to be tallied by computer
was in 1950. UNIVAC did the tallying.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The average American uses 12.4 gallons of water
to take a shower which lasts, on the average,
10.4 minutes at an average temperature
of 105 degrees Fahrenheit.