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Did You Know ?

Discussion in 'Politics & Current Affairs' started by Neophyte, Jan 14, 2018.

  1. Brutus58

    Brutus58 Trusted.Member

    Amazing what they eat at Weight Watchers.
     
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  2. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    [​IMG]
     
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  5. itshot

    itshot Trusted.Member

    Just another thing that I did not know. Thank You
     
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  6. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2018
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  7. Brutus58

    Brutus58 Trusted.Member

    A bit early for "River Dancing". Never early enough for Valentine's Day!
     
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  8. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    There - I put them in the right order for next year . Happy now ? :D
     
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  9. Neophyte

    Neophyte Administrator Staff Member

  10. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    “Jingle Bells” was written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas.

    The song was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”.

    It was supposed to be played in the composer’s Sunday school class during Thanksgiving, as a way to commemorate the famed Medford sleigh races.

    “Jingle Bells” was also the first song to be broadcast from space.

    [​IMG]

     
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  12. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    In Germany, Poland, and Ukraine, finding a spider or a spider’s web on a Christmas tree is believed to be a harbinger of good luck.

    According to one legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus.

    According to another, a spider web on the Christmas tree turned silver and gold once the sunlight touched it.

    One way or another, decorating a Christmas tree with artificial spiders and spider webs will inevitably bring you luck and prosperity !

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    Japanese people traditionally eat at KFC for Christmas dinner.

    Although the percentage of Christian people in Japan is close to zero, every Christmas kids and grown-ups head to the closest KFC to enjoy some fried chicken – the closest food to turkey that you can get in Japan.

    It’s all thanks to a successful “Kentucky for Christmas!” marketing campaign in 1947.

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    First aimed at foreigners, KFC offered a “Christmas dinner” that contained chicken and wine – a meal that remotely resembled the food expats and tourists had at home. After a huge success, Kentucky Fried Chicken started promoting this offer every year, until the fast food chain became strongly associated with the holiday season.

     
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  15. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    The 'X' in XMAS does not take Christ out of Christmas.

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    'XMAS' is a common abbreviation of the word 'Christmas'. However, some people think that this is not right, because it takes the 'Christ' out of Christmas.

    But don’t worry, because nobody is removing the 'Christ' meaning - just symbolizing it.

    The 'X' comes from the Greek letter 'Chi', which is the first letter of the Greek word 'Χριστός' (pronounced Christos) which in English is 'Christ'.

    So with that bit of history in mind, XMAS may indeed be used as an acceptable abbreviation for Christmas.

     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2018
  16. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    The first artificial Christmas Tree was created out of goose feathers that were dyed green.

    [​IMG]

    The first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany in the 19th century, due to a major continuous deforestation.

    The feather trees became increasingly popular during the early 20th century and finally made their way to North America.


     
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  17. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    In Armenia, the traditional Christmas Eve meal consists of fried fish, lettuce and spinach.

    [​IMG]

    Many Armenians fast for a week before the Christmas Eve.

    So that’s why, in order not to stress the stomach, the menu for the Christmas dinner is pretty light.
     
  18. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasite.

    [​IMG]

    According to physicist Roger Highfield, the world’s most famous reindeer has a red nose due to a parasitic infection.

    The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey

    However, Rudolf’s relationship with his parasite is apparently symbiotic - after all, his red nose illuminates the path through the winter night for the whole reindeer team.
     
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  19. Insp Gadget

    Insp Gadget Trusted.Member

    Santa stretches time like a rubber band, in order to deliver all the gifts in one night.

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    If we assume that each household has in average 2.5 children, Santa would have to make 842 million stops on Christmas Eve, travelling 221 million miles. And given the different time zones, Santa has 36 hours to deliver gifts, therefore his average speed would be approximately 650 miles per second.

    That is less than the speed of light (therefore, it’s theoretically do-able but still quite hard for a chubby old man). A professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University suggests that Santa uses relativity clouds to get the work done.

    Relativity clouds would allow Santa to stretch time like a rubber band, allowing him months to deliver gifts, while only a few minutes pass for the rest of us.

     
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  20. Neophyte

    Neophyte Administrator Staff Member