Trivia and Commentary

[loulizlee]

I had an idea about starting yet another new topic with items from the news or just general internet ramblings.  I am a fan of trivia and get a few in my inbox each day.  This one I found yesterday was rather interesting as I had just seen a segment of the evening news about lightning and people who have survived lightning strikes.  One man had survived three.

"According to a worldwide lightening distribution map released by NASA, Africa is the continent that is most heavily hit by lightning. The specific area on earth with the highest lightning activity is located over the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. This area has thunderstorms all year round as a result of moisture-laden air masses from the Atlantic Ocean encountering mountains.''   

[loulizlee]

"Lapis lazuli is a deep blue gemstone with golden inclusions of pyrites which shimmer like little stars. Lapis lazuli is regarded by many people around the world as the stone of friendship and truth."

COMMENTARY:  I love these gemstones, but I didn't realize that some people view them as the stone of friendship and truth.  I find that very delightful.

[loulizlee]

What is the difference between an island and a peninsula?

An island is a mass of land completely surrounded by water, and a peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland.

[loulizlee]

"Joanne "Jo" Rowling, pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British novelist, best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies to become the best-selling book series in history."  triviatoday.com

COMMENTARY:  I thought this was an interesting trivia item, although I have never read any of the Harry Potter books.  Of course, they are quite a bit young for me.  I do appreciate, though, the fact that she went through so much before she had so much success.  I read that she had nine children and would work all hours of the night when she first started writing.  That shows real dedication.

[sarabtrayior]

Good idea. I like to see things and find out about things and this does both, THANK YOU!!!

[loulizlee]

You're very welcome.

[loulizlee]

When did the U.S. boycott the Summer Olympics?

"The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan spurred Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum on January 20, 1980 that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan within one month. Sixty-five countries did not participate in the Olympics despite being invited. While some of these may not have participated because of the boycott, some did not participate for economic reasons."  (triviatoday.com)

COMMENTARY:  It's amazing how the world has changed in such a short time, especially in the political area.  Countries have changed powers, allegiances, and even names so many times in the past 35-40 years. 

[bleyd]

When did the tradition of carrying the olympic torch begin?

The Olympic torch relay began in 1936 at the Berlin Games. Carl Diem, the secretary general of the Organizing Committee of the Games of the XI Olympiad in Berlin, proposed using a torch relay to bring the flame from Olympia to the games in Germany. Modern historians have speculated that Adolf Hitler, then chancellor of Germany who believed in the supremacy of the Aryan race, pushed for the torch relay to symbolically link the Berlin games with the rituals and gods of Ancient Greece.

Infoplease.com

[loulizlee]

Gerald Ford, Jr. was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. Gerald Ford was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974.  (triviatoday.com)

Commentary:  I was not aware of this or maybe had forgotten about it.  Although he was never adopted, he was renamed Gerald Ford, Jr., after his step-father, Gerald Ford, Sr.

[alaric99x]

Major general John Sedgwick;

Sedgwick fell at the beginning of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, on May 9, 1864. His corps was probing skirmish lines ahead of the left flank of Confederate defenses and he was directing artillery placements. Confederate sharpshooters were about 1,000 yards (900 m) away and their shots caused members of his staff and artillerymen to duck for cover. Sedgwick strode around in the open and was quoted as saying, "What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Although ashamed, his men continued to flinch and he repeated, "I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Just seconds later he fell forward with a bullet hole below his left eye.
Sedgwick was the highest ranking Union casualty in the Civil War. Although James B. McPherson was in command of an army at the time of his death and Sedgwick of a corps, Sedgwick had the most senior rank by date of all major generals killed. Upon hearing of his death, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, flabbergasted by the news, repeatedly asked, "Is he really dead?"

[masked_brown_guy]

geckos do not have eyelids. they use their tongues to keep their eyes clear and moist. 

[loulizlee]

FUNNY LAWS:  It was illegal to sell E. T. dolls in France because there is a law against selling dolls without human faces.  Trivia Today

[lynnc35]

Very interesting,
Do you know their are 12 sites on earth with electromagetic activity that is very abnormal, bermuda triangle, devils sea to name a couple, the dead sea, that their is proof that their are subterranen fires burning underneath, this could be hell, and the 12 sites could be basically portals to hell, the 12 gates. Did you know their are 12 gates to heaven. hmmmm. hell is right in the core of the center of the earth when they tried to drill, they could not, because of the high tempertures, they even tried cold drilling, did not work, we are talking 13,000 degrees.

[potluck6]

The powder on chewing gum is finely ground marble,unique rewards posts stuff like this all the time .

[falcon9]

Do you know their are 12 sites on earth with electromagetic activity that is very abnormal, bermuda triangle, devils sea to name a couple, the dead sea, that their is proof that their are subterranen fires burning underneath, this could be hell, and the 12 sites could be basically portals to hell, the 12 gates. Did you know their are 12 gates to heaven. hmmmm. hell is right in the core of the center of the earth when they tried to drill, they could not, because of the high tempertures, they even tried cold drilling, did not work, we are talking 13,000 degrees.

There's a significant difference between a superstitous religiously-biased "could be portals to hell/heaven" and equating geothermic/other planetary core activity to 'demons and devils'.