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

[Dr Pepper]

Originally Posted by SanteeFats

Apart from Arabs refusing to play them the Israeli's would be so vulnerable to attack IMO that it would only be a matter of time before an attack happened. After all if you are playing in an Arab country they will most likely be supplying at least the bulk of the security. That would be like letting kids loose in a candy store with no adults around.

Hardly the point though is it? By no stretch of the imagination can Israel be considered a EUROPEAN country

[Greenman]

The over-75s typically pay seven times more for ski holiday insurance than 30 yr olds.

The Romans minted coins in the temple of the goddess Juno Monota 'Mint and Money' comes from her name.

Donkey handlers in the 19th century seaside resorts faced fines of five shillings for allowing overweight punters a ride.
Source: Daily Mail Money section.

[rotobott]

Originally Posted by Greenman

Donkey handlers in the 19th century seaside resorts faced fines of five shillings for allowing overweight punters a ride.

Your not still pissed off about that, they offered you a ride on their shire

[Greenman]

I don't resemble that these days matey. Last time I was on a donkey I was 6-7yrs old in shorts and wearing sandals with my sister nervously traversing a steep hill-downwards VERY slowly

[HugoHackenbush]

In reading the eulogies for Leonard Nimoy over in the RIP thread, it jogged my memory that both Nimoy and Shatner were guest stars on the old TV series "The Man From UNCLE"...in the same episode. I must say it was rather fun watching them interact, knowing what the future held for them both.

[Greenman]

Jodrell Bank Observatory or research centre has a giant radio telescope dish which I found out is classed as a Grade 1-listed building. This means anything given that designation cannot be knocked down or built on, BUT the surface needs replacing after nearly 70 years(this year is Jodrell Bank's 70th anniversary) so that is what will happen.

[Greenman]

Odd isn't it. Women can have boob jobs yet you very rarely hear of men doing the same to their 'members'. Men's bodies are obviously different and certain parts of the anatomy can 'grow' like hair(moustaches, beards etc) and of course the most obvious, the penis. Women however don't have anything that expands or deflates(unless you count the nipple) to that extent, and have more hair than men, at least on their heads, yet in this day and age, with women changing their body shapes to almost ludicrous proportions, I think the old quote stands truer than ever "Vanity...thy name is WOMAN!"

[tygrkhat40]

The Wired Nation

In his book, The Shadow Presidents, author Michael Medved relates the extreme disappointment of H.R. Haldeman over his failure to implement his plan to link up all of the homes in America by coaxial cable. In Haldeman's words, "There would be two-way communication. Through computer, you could use your television set to order up whatever you wanted. The morning paper, entertainment sevices, shopping sevices, coverage of sporting events and public events...Just as Eisenhower linked up America's cities by highways so that you could get there, the Nixon legacy would have linked them by cable communications so you wouldn't have to go there."

One could almost see the dreamy eyes of Nixon and Haldeman as they sat around discussing a plan that would eliminate the need for newspapers, seemingly oblivious to the Big Brother aspects. Fortunately, the Watergate scandal intervened, and Nixon was forced to resign before "the Wired Nation" could be hooked up.

--David Wallechinski, The Book of Lists #2 (1979)

So much of Al Gore "inventing" the internet. This idea was being touted probably in the early 70's. ARPANet was still rudimentary, internet protocols were just being devised and the PC was still 5 years from being invented. Haldeman had it spot on; two-way (or more) communications, news, sports, entertainment, shopping all available in the home. And Wallechinski was spot on about the Big Brother aspects.

[Mal Hombre]

The first Racial Discriminatory legislation was passed in Ancient Byzantium,Against people with blond hair and blue eyes..

[Tarkus666]

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

The Wired Nation

In his book, The Shadow Presidents, author Michael Medved relates the extreme disappointment of H.R. Haldeman over his failure to implement his plan to link up all of the homes in America by coaxial cable. In Haldeman's words, "There would be two-way communication. Through computer, you could use your television set to order up whatever you wanted. The morning paper, entertainment sevices, shopping sevices, coverage of sporting events and public events...Just as Eisenhower linked up America's cities by highways so that you could get there, the Nixon legacy would have linked them by cable communications so you wouldn't have to go there."

Jeez I cannot remember the last time I heard the name Haldeman!

Either way it was a pipe dream by Haldeman to suggest that this was even possible. Keep in mind in the 1940's American children were taught in school that when they were adults that there would be rocket cars. We are 2015 and I am still waiting on Buick to inform me that my next car will fly. Just because something seems possible at the time does not mean it was and the reality was that without a computer there really was no means for cable to be anything one directional?

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

One could almost see the dreamy eyes of Nixon and Haldeman as they sat around discussing a plan that would eliminate the need for newspapers, seemingly oblivious to the Big Brother aspects. Fortunately, the Watergate scandal intervened, and Nixon was forced to resign before "the Wired Nation" could be hooked up.

I've often wondered whether or not Tricky Dicky, "sock it me?" from Laugh-In, would have even been questioned in today's political schema? His use of tapes seems almost mundane now when everything anyone ever says or thinks is usually caught in a Tweet. However I expect that despite the fact that the Washington Post put him down Nixon in fact was a master of the public appearance, (okay he lost to Kennedy but consider the Checkers speech), so I would think if he believed Haldeman he would have considered this chance to speak directly to the American household as a positive.

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

--David Wallechinski, The Book of Lists #2 (1979)

So much of Al Gore "inventing" the internet. This idea was being touted probably in the early 70's. ARPANet was still rudimentary, internet protocols were just being devised and the PC was still 5 years from being invented. Haldeman had it spot on; two-way (or more) communications, news, sports, entertainment, shopping all available in the home. And Wallechinski was spot on about the Big Brother aspects.

Well let's try and be intelligent about this. Gore indeed says "creating in the Internet" in an interview with Wolf Blitzer when in fact he is really referencing his funding for ARPANET. The difference between Haldeman and Gore was that Haldeman was talking about flying cars whereas Gore was referencing DLC over a Telcom. Haldeman was about as spot on as Jules Verne was to suggest that space travel would be possible:

Example Protocol:

1. Determine goal.
2. Gather support.
3. Retain funding.
4. Hire Implementation Team.
5. Then a miracle happens.
6. Project complete.

In Gore's case step 5 actually existed.


As per Big Brother I had no issue with the concept until 2006 when I realized that the computing and algorithmic processing power now existed to actually sort through 500,000,000 emails a day. I always knew that the US could capture and store the data but there was no way to assess them. Times have changed!