Factoid

I just spilled coffee all over my computer keyboard. While horrified at the damage, I was fascinated to see how the coffee pooled in the middle of the keys. I’ve never seen the like before. It’s an Apple keyboard. The keys have a glossy finish and are slightly depressed in the center. Of course, most of the coffee drained off the keys and collected in the keyboard’s base, which is made of transparent plastic. I wish i’d got a picture of that. It looked like one of those paperweights filled with oil and water, but in this case, it was a muddy brown liquid. But the coffee drained out when I turned it over. I shall run the keyboard through the dishwasher to see if that myth works.

So, you're still scratching your head over yesterday's factoid? Just click play to hear the solution: If you're reading this by e-mail, visit www.karlblog.com to hear how to solve the gold coin puzzle. Happy Saturday! :)

In today's Friday Factoid, I'd like to chat about a man I'm a huge fan of... Columbo! Almost every evening, I settle into my bed and switch on the DVD player, falling to sleep with the lieutenant's catchphrases drowning in my ears. Well -- here's something I bet you never knew about the classic TV detective series. In absolutely every episode of Columbo, you'll find the tune from "This Old

Welcome to another peculiar Friday Factoid! Here's something you probably didn't know... Fanta was invented in Nazi Germany! The popular orange-flavoured drink, which actually doesn't contain any orange juice in the US, as opposed to the European recipe, was invented during the second world war. Back in the 1930s, Coca-Cola was carefully marketed in Germany so as not to emphasize it's

Welcome to another Friday Factoid! Sitting in my office earlier today, I stared at my keyboard and pondered... "Who the devil put all of those keys in such a random order?" I mean, surely it'd make sense to put them in alphabetical order? Not with a "Q" in the top-left, and an "M" bottom-right? Well, that's when I began my research. And it all began back in 1872, with a then-clumsy device

it never matters.there is no chance that anyone is home but me.everyone is accounted for across the far reaches of earth.keaton on the west coast.the folks in atlantic city.my brothers never do the unannounced drop by.the kid and pseudo step kid are occupied in rousing matches of college dorm beer pong.friends benny and andy aren't talking to me right now.all doors of entry are bolted shut.short of a misplaced swat team storming through the second story windows, no one but no one is in or going to come in the house.i'm in lock-down mode.get it?so eventually i go to the bathroom to pee.and i shut the door.then i lock it.that's so bobbish.

Welcome to another Friday Factoid! And today, I'd like to ramble on about one of my favourite topics: SPACE and the Universe. Did you know that the average galaxy holds somewhere between 100 and 200 million stars, encircling the centre? We live within the Milky Way galaxy. The next closest galaxy is Andromeda, which is still pretty far away. Even if we travelled at the speed of light, it'd

Welcome to another (ever-belated) Friday Factoid! Do you know what a MULE is? Really? Well, get ready for an education. When a female horse and a male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule. But when a male horse and a female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny. When a male zebra and a female donkey mate the offspring is called a 'zedonk' or 'zebrass'. But despite all of this

Welcome to another, rather delicate Friday Factoid! And today, as ever, I'm talking pure gonads... The word "testis" comes from Latin, meaning to bear witness. And apparently back in ancient Rome, only MEN could bear witness or testify in a public forum. In order to show importance to their testimony, they would hold their testicles as they spoke, and an oath was declared while holding

Welcome to another wonderous Friday Factoid! Now, following last week's tech-name related factoid, today I'm asking a similar question. "Where did Google get it's name from?" Well, the completely intelligent types among you will know that a "Googol" is actually a just the name for a rather large number. It's the number 1, with a hundred 0s after it. Or, to put it another way:

Welcome back to another Friday Factoid! And today, I'm chatting about Amazon.com, the book company currently enjoying over $10.7 billion a year in revenue. Well, here's something you just might not know... Amazon.com was almost called Cadabra.com. Founder Jeff Bezos officially launched back in 1994, trading under the name "Cadabra.com" -- but Bezos later changed the name to the world's most

Welcome to another Friday(-ish) Factoid! Today, I'd like to talk about acronyms. Now, we all know that acronyms are words formed by combining the initial letters (or parts) of several other words. Perhaps the most common acronym is "USA"... representing the United States of America. But in today's Friday Factoid, I'd like to share a few common words you may not have even realized were

Welcome to another dose of Friday Factoids, from Karl Blog.com! And today, I'd like to talk about that beloved drink of summer: the cold beer. A whopping 69% of men -- and 57% of women -- drink the stuff in the United States. In fact, it's something of a traditional: the oldest recipe in existence is for beer itself. Back in medieval England, it was routinely served with breakfast. And over in

Welcome to another Friday Factoid! The notorious Bronx.... For me, this New York borough conjours up images of "My Cousin Vinny" and the automobile-savvy Marisa Tomei with her quick-witted comebacks. But do you know where the Bronx got it's name from? Well, the Bronx is actually named after the Bronx River -- which in turn was named after the first European settler in the region, a

Welcome to another Friday Factoid! Today, I'm taking a random dive deep into the underworlds of literature... Starting with that great American classic, Gone With The Wind... Based on the actual battles mentioned, it's calculated that gentle Melanie's pregnancy actually took 21 months -- as opposed the slightly more traditional nine. Books can be strange like that. And authors can be even

A horse is a horse! Of course, of course. And no-one can talk to a horse, of course! That is, of course, unless the horse Is the famous Mr Ed! So begins the theme song to famed 60's sitcom Mr Ed, the talking horse. However, here's something to blow your mind... Mr Ed wasn't in fact a horse. He was a ZEBRA! During production, the original horse cast as Mr Ed was so unruly, the producers almost

Nobody asked me a question this time, though I wish people would since I know someone is reading this blog, but I figure I could put something entirely random here that won't have any influence on the story.How To Count in the Ancient Language of TraeaThis is very similar to how Spanish is put together. So you have the first 10 numbers here.Na - OneTwa - TwoTre - ThreeFirth - FourFith - FiveFesh - SixEsen - SevenEct - EightNoc - NineNas - TenNow, after Nas, it goes Nas'na, Nas'twa, Nas'tre, Nas'fir, Nas'fi, Nas'fe, Nas'en, Nas'ec, Nas'oc, and then Twas (for Twenty). It repeats the same after the ' for each ten. From then it goes to Tres (Thirty), Firs (Forty), Fis (Fifty), Fes (Sixty), Ese (like 'essay' for Seventy), Ectes (Eighty), Nos (Ninety), and finally Nan (One Hundred).From One Hundred on it is a different story, but now you can all count in the ancient language. Congrats. For those that actually look at the map you might notice some new things now.

Welcome to another slightly-belated Friday Factoid!Today, I'm sharing yet another random brain-splurge of curiosities.From erotic cucumbers to Sir Jimmy Saville, vending machine deaths to dining with royalty -- if it's not here, it's... well, it's just not here.So ENJOY, amaze your friends -- and have a great weekend!* * ** The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred

Welcome to Friday Factoid! And today, there is absolutely NO overriding theme to the barrage of nonsense I'm throwing your way. Did you know that every day 200 million people make love, 400,000 babies are born -- and 140,000 people die? How about Google? Did you know the word "google" is actually a common mathematical term for a number with a million zeros. True! It cost just $7 million to

Welcome to another super-fun, super-quick Friday Factoid! And today, I'm asking the question... "Can blood be passed from one generation to another?" Now, you're thinking this is a trick question, right? Pah! Would I do that? :) Think about it. Bloodlines. Bad blood. Royal blood. Blue blood. Mixed blood. Surely your blood DNA is passed from one generation to another, right? Well - strangely

Forget everything you thought you knew. The Friday Factoid is here! Today, I'm asking the question... "What were Cinderella's slippers made from?" Well, if you're like 99.99% of the Western world, you answered GLASS. And you'd have been wrong. Cinderella's slippers were actually made from squirrel fur. Charles Perrault, who wrote the version of Cinderella we're all so familiar with,

Welcome to another curious Friday Factoid! Did you know that, as an adult, you have 206 bones in your body... ? But when you were a child, you actually had 300 bones! Weird! So, what happened to those 94 bones between childhood and adulthood? Well, it's perhaps not totally true that "children" have 300 bones... In fact, children have a different number of bones at different times in their

Welcome to another amazing Friday Factoid -- where curious facts are uncovered, and urban myths are blasted for good! Now... Blue Moon ... Yes, you've heard the song. But is there really such a thing as a blue Moon? According to modern folklore, a "blue Moon" is the second full moon in a calendar month. Usually months have only one full moon, but occasionally a second one sneaks in. This

A quick Friday Factoid this week! On Tuesday morning, for the first and only time in history, the date and time will be as follows... 05/06/07 08:09:10 How cool is that? I put this in my diary some time ago and really wanted to share it today. Pass it onto your friends. Make a wish! And make sure you remember it as you're going to work on Tuesday! Of course, for the US, with the reverse

Welcome to another, ever-belated Friday Factoid! Today, I'm asking.... "What way does bathwater go down the plughole?" Now some of the boffins among you will believe you know the answer. In the Northern hemisphere, it goes clockwise. In the Southern hemisphere it goes anti-clockwise. Right? It MUST do! You've seen The Simpsons episode, Bart vs Australia, where they show it happening.

Honestly. I don't make these things up. In today's Friday Factoid, I'm asking... "How high is Cloud Nine?" Well, according to the International Cloud Atlas scale, Cloud 0 is the highest type of cloud. It's known as cirrus, as appears as wispy streaks as high as 40,000 feet up in the air. Cloud Nine however is one of those big, looming thunder clouds. Ironically, it's at the bottom of the

Welcome to another weird and wacky Friday Factoid! Today, I'm asking... "What did Atlas carry on his shoulders?" And by Atlas, of course, I'm referring to the Titan of Greek mythology. You've seen his statue, no doubt. Most people would answer the question simply. He's holding the earth, fool! But he's not. That famed image of Atlas actually depicts him holding not the earth... But the

Welcome to another exciting Friday Factoid! And today, I'm asking... "What animal are the Canary Islands named after?" The answer is DOGS. Of course. The Canary Islands were originally named "Insula Canaria". That means the "Isle of Dogs" in Latin, after the large number of both domesticated and wild dogs that lived on the Spanish archipelago. ("Canis" means "dog" in Latin. Think canine.)

Welcome to yet another Friday Factoid! And today, I'm asking... "Do YOU suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia?" Yes, paraskevidekatriaphobia. It's incredibly common, you know. It's a condition that will cost businesses throughout the globe between $800-900 million today alone. What is it? It's the fear of TODAY... Friday the 13th! :) Honestly. And that fear is international. In the UK, a

Codswallop means "nonsense." But where did the word come from? In today's Friday Factoid, I'm on location in at the Betws-y-Coed waterfalls, where I have all the answers! Simply click the play button to watch the video. If you're reading this by e-mail, visit the site at www.karlblog.com to view my first video blog entry! Happy Friday! :)

Welcome back to another Friday Factoid... And today, let me ask you: "How many planets are in our solar system?" Like most people, you probably answered nine. From proximity to the sun, we have: Mercury; Venus; Earth; Mars; Jupiter; Saturn (the big one); Uranus; Neptune; Pluto. Right? Wrong. There are only EIGHT planets in the solar system -- even though millions of textbooks throughout

As ever, it's Saturday morning, so I'm going to pretend I haven't seen the clock and present to you yet another... ... Famous (Yet Slightly Belated) Friday Factoid! Today, I'm asking the question "Where does the word NEWS come from?" But because my fingers are aching, I'm describing it in person. Just click on the play button below to listen. If you receive this blog by e-mail, visit the

Welcome to another slightly-belated Friday Factoid! And today, I'm asking.... "How many wives did King Henry VIII have?" That's King Henry the Eighth, if your Roman numerals are a bit dodgy. The official answer is... two. I know, I know. This Friday Factoid thing always sounds unbelievable. In England and the US, British history students are taught that King Henry VIII had exactly six wives

Welcome to another Friday Factoid! And today I'd like to ask..."What one thing can be found on EVERY postage stamp in the world?"The answer is the country name, such as the USA or Australia.Unless that is, you live in the UK.No kidding!Back in the 1840's, a bloke called Sir Rowland Hill practically invented the postal system over here in UK. He's credited with creating the world's first postage

Did you know that even though typical single women earns 30% less than typical single men, they save -1.4% compred to over 12% for men. CPI jumped 3.6% in Jan YOY for jewelry, clothes, cosmetics etc., compared to TV's, sporting goods and beer. This is based on a Merill Lynch study. No wonder I like Tiffany (TIF).

Welcome to the first Friday Factoid of March 2007! Today I'm asking... "How do moths feel about flames?" Most people think that moths are attracted to lights and flames. We've all seen that Disney film, where the moth is flying toward the lamp: "But it's sooo beautiful!" he groans. Well, brace yourself... as another world myth is shattered. You see, moths aren't attracted to flames. They're

For today's Friday Factoid, I'd like to ask... "What man-made artefact can be seen from the moon?" If, like 99% of individuals, you answered with the Great Wall of China... ... You'd be wrong. The moon is -- ohhhhh -- around 250,000 miles away. And from that distance, you really cannot see the Great Wall of China. Admittedly, I haven't actually checked, but I can take a pretty good guess.

As many of you know, I live in the UK.Unfortunately many of the Americans I speak to aren't aware that the UK is actually split into three countries: England; Scotland; and, Wales.But you should...Because America was named after a Welshman!No kidding.There's a common misconception that the name "America" comes from Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian navigator that bunked with Christopher Columbus during his travels to discover the Carribean and South America.Incorrect.That guess was made by cartographer Martin Waldseemuller, in his authoratitive world map published in 1507. His wording is a little dodgy too... You can tell he's really just presuming.The truth is that America was named after Richard Ameryk, a wealthy Bristol merchant.He was the chief investor behind the second true transatlantic voyage, spearheaded by explorer John Cabot. Cabot was officially the first recorded European to step foot on American soil... Beating that Vespucci bloke by an easy two years.Now, being the man tha

Okay, okay. I know what you're thinking.There's no WAY you'll be wrong about today's Friday Factoid.So... "Who invented the telephone?"If you answered Alexander Graham Bell... Incorrect.The guilty party was actually a Florentine inventor named Antonio Meucci.Meucci moved to the USA from Italy back in 1850. He went straight to work on a brand new "communications device," and in 1860, publicly demonstrated the first working telephone.He called it the teletrofono.In 1871, Meucci filed something called a "caveat," which was kind of like a stop-gap patent. That's five years before Bell filed his telephone patent.But later that year, Meucci fell ill.The Staten Island ferry's boiler had exploded and Meucci was badly scolded. Living on state benefit, he was unable to pay the $10 required to renew his caveat in 1874.Stay tuned: Thrilling, exciting bit coming up.Bell then registered his patent in 1876.Meucci, understandably a bit miffed, tried to sue. And surely he had a great case, he tho

Forget everything you thought you knew...... And welcome to another Friday Factoid!Today, I'm writing about one famous statue in Piccadilly Circus, London. (Currently about 14 miles away from Richmond, where I'm currently staying.)Even if you live overseas, you might be familiar with this statue. It was erected in 1892 to commemorate the work of Victorian philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury.It got pretty good press, as it was the first in the world to be cast in aluminium.Here's a pic: Now, you probably know this as the Statue of Eros. As do most people in the UK.And across the globe, in fact.But it isn't.Designed by Sir Alfred Gilbert, it actually represents Anteros, who was the less-naughty brother of Eros. Anteros represented "mature love and reflection." Sweet.However popular Greek mythology wasn't exactly popular, so most people had absolutely no idea who it was. The bow and arrow made people think it was cupid... Or, to the Romans, Eros... the God of Love.Later, a rumour started

It's time for yet another Friday Factoid. And today's question is..."What colour is water?"The most common answer is... "It's transparent. It doesn't really have a colour!"The educated explain that the blue colour of the sea is only a reflection of the sky.And they'd be wrong.Water really is blue... Albeit rather a faint shade of the colour.You'll find the answer in nature itself: Try looking into a deep hole in the snow, or into the centre of a thick icicle.Or if you're feeling practical, go fill a big white pool full of water and look straight down through it. The water will be blue.It's true that the reflection of the sky does affect the way the sea appears. And other elements, such as algae and other microscopic plants, make a big difference.But water really does have a colour. And that colour is blue.Credit where it's due, eh? :)

Welcome to another Friday Factoid!Now, if you been around anytime over the past couple of thousand years, you'll know about the number 666.It's the dreaded Number of the Beast, a number more unlucky than 13.It's the sign of the dreaded Anti-Christ, the fiend that will apparently return to rule the world before the Last Judgement. Aye curumba.However according to the very latest scientific research, they got it all arse upwards.Apparently 666 should actually be... 661.(Seriously. I don't make this stuff up!)A new translation of the very earliest Book of Revelation shows the number clearly to be 616, not 666.The 2005 translation was made on a 1700-year-old papyrus recovered from the city of Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, and deciphered by a palaeographical research team from the University of Birmingham. The team was led by Professor David Parker.But of course, not everyone is going to welcome the finding.Such as the European Parliament, who currently leave seat 666 free. (Just in case the De

Okay, okay, so it's Saturday...But just because my Friday was incredibly busy isn't a good enough an excuse not to introduce my new Friday-But-If-I'm-Really-Busy-Then-Saturday feature:The Friday Factoid! Inspired by Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2, QI, and a selection of other interesting "fact books" I received for Christmas, every week I'll be posting something interesting you'll wish you never knew.Today, I'm asking the question...How many legs does a centipede have?Well, if you thought 100, then as you probably guessed... You're quite appallingly wrong.The word "centipede" comes from the Latin for "one hundred feet", however not a single centipede has ever been found that actually has that number of legs.Seriously.The closest anyone has ever come to 100 legs was back in 1999, when some bloke found a species that had 96 legs. Which, personally, I don't think is much of an accolade.Other centipede species have between 15 and 191 pairs of legs.But not one has exactly 100 legs.Tsk.

Here's a little fun factoid for you along the lines of dumb laws: New York: - It is laws that while riding in an elevator, one must talk to no one, and fold his hands while looking toward the door.- The penalty for jumping off a building is death. Tennessee: - One cannot shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile.- It is illegal to use a lasso to catch a fish.

In honor of Black History month, rather than do a Friday Flashback, I'm giving out Black History factoids.On this day in 1990, South African president F.W. De Klerk promised to free Nelson Mandela and lift the ban in his country on Black membership in the African National Congress.Also on this day in 1995, the first African American walked in space. While other African Americans preceeded him in space, he was the first to perform a spacewalk. He served as Payload Commmander on STS-63, the first flight of the joint American-Russian space flight program.