Fact O' The Day

[Peelz]

"October is the right month to observe a spike in cases of clinical lycanthropy. "


Clinical lycanthropy is the name of the psychiatric syndrome in which people believe that they turn into wolves or werewolves, one of the more recognizable icons of Halloween. Some researchers think that werewolves -- as well as vampires -- came about on account of a condition known as porphyria. Sufferers lack a certain iron-rich molecule in their blood, leading to light sensitivity, receding gums, and even an allergic reaction to garlic.

lycanthropy? seriously?

I just put on my wolf wolf moon shirt and rock the f**k out! 

[Krandall]

"Eric Bana turned down the role of Xander Cage in XXX, which later went to Vin Diesel. "


Bana was also considered for the role of James Bond that went to Daniel Craig, and Diesel himself turned down the
lead in the sequel xXx: State of the Union, a role that went to Ice Cube.

Neither of those decisions made much impact in the history of film, but back in 1971 Paramount studios clashed with Francis Ford Coppola over his desire to cast Marlon Brando in The Godfather. They offered the role to Danny Thomas, who declined and even backed the casting of Brando.

[Peelz]

Seriously?

so if I read that correctly.....

we are comparing to Vin Diesel in XXX to Marlon Brando in the godfather?

that is fuking ridiculous. And insulting....

vin diesel movies are complete and utter garbage. ALL of them.

[Krandall]

Thank you for your opinion.

[Peelz]

Thank you for your opinion.

Nope, its a fact    you cannot compare those two movies.

now....if by some chance, 30 years from now, they are talking about XXX like a classic, such as they do Godfather, I will eat my shoe. With fava beans and a nice chianti. ill send you the video.

Im pretty confident its a safe bet, a "good vin diesel movie" is an oxymoron.   

[Magz]

^ would you like some ketchup with your shoe?

[Peelz]

^ would you like some ketchup with your shoe?

LOL yes, 500 gallons plz.   

[Krandall]

"The Morse code distress signal "SOS" is not an acronym."


The famous code, erroneously read as "Save Our Souls" or "Save Our Ship" was adopted in 1906 at the International Conference on Wireless Communication at Sea, after officials from different countries had suggested and vetoed other ideas for a universal distress signal in Morse code that could be understood by anyone, regardless of the language they spoke.

Popular belief holds that the Titanic was the first ship to send an SOS distress call, but this is untrue; accounts show that it had been used at least two years before the Titanic sunk.

[Krandall]

"In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that some life forms were patentable."


Before 1980, life forms were regarded as aspects of nature and thus not patentable. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Diamond v. Chakrabarty that genetically engineered bacteria were indeed patentable because they didn't naturally occur in nature. After that, scientists and companies began to patent genes as well as fragments of DNA, leading to an enormous amount of controversy in the scientific community.

[Peelz]

"In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that some life forms were patentable."


Before 1980, life forms were regarded as aspects of nature and thus not patentable. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Diamond v. Chakrabarty that genetically engineered bacteria were indeed patentable because they didn't naturally occur in nature. After that, scientists and companies began to patent genes as well as fragments of DNA, leading to an enormous amount of controversy in the scientific community.

and the whole monsanto thing.... genetically mutated soybean seed... if you're bored, interesting info.

[Krandall]

Yea, I've read about that before. It's crazy.

[Krandall]

"Moving at the same pace as someone else makes you more likely to agree with him."


A study conducted at USC's Marshall School of Business asked participants to walk alongside an experimenter, either trying to keep stride, walking purposefully out of sync, or walking at whatever pace was comfortable. Participants were then given questionnaires on their perceptions of the experimenter (how much they liked him, how close they felt to him and how similar to him they felt). The participants who were instructed to keep in step thought they were more similar to the experimenter than those who walked at their own pace or stayed intentionally out of step. A second study made groups perform a task while listening to music on headphones that either kept them in sync or kept them working at different rates and again, the participants felt closer to their in-sync peers.

[Krandall]

"The Minnesota North Stars were the last NHL team to reach the Stanley Cup finals with a losing record. "


Back in 1991 when the NHL had just 21 teams, reaching the playoffs wasn't too difficult since 8 teams from each of the 2 conferences were granted playoff spots, leaving just 5 teams out. That year the Minnesota franchise - which was just two years away from relocating to Dallas - finished 27-39-14, almost 40 points behind division leader Chicago.

Nonetheless, they upset Chicago, St. Louis and Edmonton on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. There they ran into Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins and were up 2 games to 1 before losing 3 straight.

[Krandall]

"Before 1850, most golf balls were stuffed with feathers."

[Krandall]

"In some animal populations, high-ranking males also experience the most stress."


High-ranking alpha males in baboon populations, previously thought to have easier lives, are in fact more stressed than beta males below them, according to authors of a Princeton study. Baboon populations are a good model for human interactions, given their genetic resemblance to humans and similarly complex societies. Researchers measured the stress-hormone levels of baboons over a nearly decade-long span and found that alpha males, who are constantly responsible for protecting their spoils and guarding their mates, had stress levels comparable only to those of the lowest-ranking males.