Interesting facts you didn't know

Monday, July 18, 2011

Clockwise staircases

Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be
right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Theory of Relativity

According to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, it is possible to go slower than light and faster than
light, but it is impossible to go the speed of light. Also, there is a particle called tackyon, which is supposed to go faster than light. This means if you fire a tackyon beam, it travels before you fire it.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Confusion

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Left-hand side driving

Until 1965, driving was done on the left-hand side on roads in Sweden. The conversion to right-hand was done on a weekday at 5pm. All traffic stopped as people switched sides. This time and day were chosen to prevent accidents where drivers would have gotten up in the morning and been too sleepy to realize that this was the day of the changeover.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye

The term, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging." Everything else was allowed, but the only way to be disqualified was to poke someone's eye out.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Left-handed people

A left-handed person finds it easier to open a jar than a right-handed person because they can supply a stronger anticlockwise turning force than a right-handed person. However a right-handed person will find it easier to tighten the jar up afterwards.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Global village

If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, there would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Americas and 8 Africans. Only 1 would own a computer.