The "Did you know" thread.....

[GailFan]

Did you know...
The US Navy once had a warship named after an enemy commander. USS Hood was named after Mount Hood, which was in turn named after British Admiral Samuel Hood.

Hood was one of the greatest naval commanders of his day, a mentor to Nelson, and fought at the battle of Chesapeake Bay. As Hood did not have seniority, he was not in overall command during the battle. Had he been, the battle (and therefore the course of the American Revolution), might have had a different outcome.

[Bill derBerg]

Originally Posted by Riley Owain

Did you know that the Mayflower Compact was sign on this day in 1620.

Actress Sally Field had her ancestry traced by the researches at Finding Your Roots and found out that not only did her family arrive on the Mayflower the captain of the ship was her lineal grandfather. He was elected the first governor and was directly responsible for organizing the feast with the natives which became Thanksgiving.

Her family story contains some other fascinating twists and turns. PBS has put the episode online : http://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your...e-family-tree/

[Greenman]

Did you know that Kenneth Grahame who wrote The Wind in the Willows was once shot at three times in his time working at the Bank of England. Blimey Ken, the book wasn't that bad!

[GailFan]

Did you know...

The Argentinian football team River Plate is unusual in that they have an English name; they are actually called River Plate (or, to their fans, simply "River") not Rio de la Plata as the place is called in Spanish.

They apparently got their name from some mysterious crates that were being unloaded at a wharf, cryptically (to Spanish speakers) labelled "River Plate".

I have an Argentinian friend who is a big fan (she cutely pronounces it "Ree-ver"), and she was thoroughly confused when I took her to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Engraved on the outside of the building are the names of all the battles of the 1st and 2nd World Wars New Zealand fought in, including "River Plate".

[Mal Hombre]

The Hungarians have a word "Donaldkacsázás" literally "Donald Ducking",Going around wearing a shirt but no trousers or underpants..

[thunderfly]

There are two 'common' grades of stainless steel. These are A2 and A4. A2 is 'standard' stainless steel and A4 is classed as 'marine grade' as it can withstand salty atmospheres/environments better than A2.
Stainless steel is made by mixing the steel with chromium and, obviously, A4 will have a higher chromium content than A2.
A good way of telling if something is stainless steel or not is to hold a magnet to it (assuming it is actually steel). A2 will attract a magnet but the attraction will be weak and virtually unnoticeable while A4 will not attract a magnet unless the magnet is very powerful. So, if you have an item which claims to be stainless steel such as a kitchen knife etc and it attracts a magnet, then the claim is at best a little dubious.
Stainless steel does actually rust. It just takes a lot longer to do so than 'ordinary' steel.

[Riley Owain]

Did you know that today in 43 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero was assassinated.

[Dr Pepper]

Originally Posted by Riley Owain

Did you know that today in 43 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero was assassinated.

Aah but was it today in the Julian calendar-which had only just been implemented....?

[bloke57]

Originally Posted by Riley Owain

Did you know that today in 43 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero was assassinated.

You could've broken it a bit more gently Riley. I'm devastated. When's the funeral?

Seagulls!!!

[Greenman]

We all know in this country Anton Rodgers as a fine actor for BBC comedy, 'May to December' and the film 'The Fourth Protocol' where he plays a naive person in Government who has, due to his odd principles had inadvertently passed major secrets to the Russians, but did you also know he was a fine song and dance man - I particularly like him as Tom in the 1971 musical 'Scrooge'(singing and dancing in a number called 'Thank You very much' and I saw him on stage at the Victoria Palace theatre in December 1983 in a production of 'Windy City' based on the film 'The Front Page'. The other lead was to be played by Dennis Waterman(Sweeney, Minder etc) but he had fallen ill and so his understudy stepped in and was very good.