General Ignorance

I thought it would be fun to start a thread about general ignorance because most of the stuff they teach or tell us is just completely wrong.

im just going to give you some stuff that not many people know and if you have any please post them here so here goes.
1. Q.Who invented the lightbulb?
A. most people think that it was thomas edison but it was actually an Englishman called Joseph Swann.
2. Q.What was the first animal in space?
A. Most people think it was a dog or a monkey but it was actually a fruit fly in 1946.
Please post more cause i really enjoy these because most of the time its not the answer you expect.

God bless

Q- How does John Lear know all this stuff about cities on the moon?

A- He doesn't, he's a liar



[edit on 31/8/2008 by OzWeatherman]

One of my favorites is supposedly there is a law in some cities that you can't throw rice after weddings any more. When I ask women (it's always women talking about this) why, the answer is always, "Birds eat the rice and it kills them." First, rice doesn't kill birds. I've fed may birds unhulled rice. Using logic, if rice kills birds, there would be billions of dead birds in the U.S.. When rice is harvested in the U.S. it is done with a machine with huge blades called a combine. It leave plenty of rice on the ground and migratory birds such as ducks and geese that winter here in Texas, as well as the birds that don't migrate, eat it.

Think, use logic, and read!

Q. Who flew the first (heavier than air) powered flight?
A. Most people think of Wilbur and Orville Wright but Richard Pearse, a New Zealander was the first on March 31, 1902. source

Q: Who said, "Play it again, Sam." ?

A: Who knows? But it certainly wasn't Bogart in Casablanka. He only said, "Play it."

Humphrey Bogart (Rick): You know what I want to hear.
Dooley Wilson (Sam):: No, I don't.
Humphrey Bogart (Rick): You played it for her, you can play it for me!
Dooley Wilson (Sam): Well, I don't think I can remember
Humphrey Bogart (Rick): If she can stand it, I can! Play it!

reply to post by OzWeatherman


Haha! That was rich. I'm starting to think that a lot of the disclosure project whistleblowers are still employed by the government.

Yeah, John Lear is a liar, I am nearly sure of it.

On to the topic at hand... Who discovered electricity? Benjamin Franklin? No... The ancient egyptians, so far as I can tell.

Electric cars were introduced in 1896.By 1900 almost 50% of cars worldwide were electric, yet by 1905, 80% of cars were fuel driven and by 1920 the elecytic car had disappeard.

I thought flies were insects not animals?
Well I guess it's back to the basic's for me!!

I was listening to the radio on my way to drop my kids off at school and they were asking people (in the *aftermath* of the democratic convention) questions about our country that I was shocked not many ppl knew the answers to.

One of the Q's was "What year was the Declaration of Independence signed?" The answer is of course 1776.

The answers ppl gave were 1918 (?), 1887 (?), and 1968

I looked at my oldest son and asked him if he remembered when we talked about this and what year it was. My not quite 7 year old child said 1776.

Originally posted by Darth Logan
I thought flies were insects not animals?
Well I guess it's back to the basic's for me!!

fair enough but its not a human though and it was the first ever living thing in space.

Heres a goon un

Q. when did the second world war end
A. most people think late April/Early May 1945 but it officially ended in October 3rd 1990. im not 100% sure why its got something to do with east and west germany being independent.

In general??

Well, the government seems to want us to think that Marijuana is dangerous, and needs to remain illegal to 'protect' people. Yet, there have been studies to prove it beneficial for many things that would lose the Pharmaceuticals a lot of money. Like a natural, cheap sleep aid? Mood enhancer? Even something about it being beneficial to an eye condition, I have read.

It is sometimes written as a 'prescription', where the expense to the Insurance company, or the tax-payer is insane.

England was the first country to start making widespread use of canned foods...But it still took about 50 years before someone finally invented the canopener!

Most people think of pizza & spaghetti as Italian foods, but the Chinese invented them...Also invented ice cream too, but that's not considered to be "Italian."

George Washington didn't really tell the truth about chopping down a cherry tree when he was a boy...The real story more accurately involves a dead horse.

Murphy's Law wasn't really invented by Murphy...It was invented by an unrelated someone-or-another who just happened to share the same last name.

BTW, that's something I never learned from "mainstream education."

[edit on 31-8-2008 by MidnightDStroyer]

reply to post by justamomma


How about this one: What DAY was the Declaration signed? Most would have you believe that it was on July 4th, 1776, but that would be incorrect. According to en.wikipedia.org...:

Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Contrary to popular mythology, Congress did not sign this document on July 4, 1776; it was created after July 19 and was signed by most Congressional delegates on August 2.

Interesting, to say the least. Anyway, I figured I'd throw out a little useless trivia for the masses. Hope you enjoyed it!!

TheBorg

reply to post by Darth Logan


Darth, pardon me for being ponsy or whatever, but insects are animals. They're yucky and gross, but they're part of the animal kingdom...just like my dogs Tony and Chico (T&C aren't yucky and gross, didn't mean to imply that!).

dictionary.reference.com...

And Styxxn (I hope I got that right)--thanks for mentioning that about the New Zealander being the first person in powered flight...that's one that only New Zealanders seem to be aware of!


Here's one that really irks me, but I can't seem to convince anyone that I'm correct when the opportunities arise: "Qantas" should be pronounced "Kantis", not "Kwantis". The "u" in the word "Queen" should no more play a role in the pronunciation of this acronym than the "o" should be pronounced from the word "north" in NATO. It's not pronounced "Noato"--nor should it be pronounced "Kwantis".





[edit on 1/9/08 by Fuggle]

reply to post by Darth Logan


Insects are indeed animals. From Wikipedia:

The word "animal" comes from the Latin word animale, neuter of animalis, and is derived from anima, meaning vital breath or soul. In everyday colloquial usage, the word usually refers to non-human animals. The biological definition of the word refers to all members of the Kingdom Animalia. Therefore, when the word "animal" is used in a biological context, humans are included

reply to post by Darth Logan

Insects are animals.

Another piece of general ignorance denied!

Edit to add: I seem to be a little late to the party...

[edit on 1-9-2008 by Astyanax]

You have four nostrils not two.

Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, parts have not seen rain for over 2 million years....Not any desert.

Chameleons do not change colour to match their background. It represents their mood.

Who invented the steam enjine? Not Thomas Newcomen, it was a Heron from Egypt around 1,600 years earlier.

Scotland, Kilts, Bagpipes, Haggis, Whisky...None are scottish. (Scotland is named after the 'Scoti' a celtic tribe from Ireland.... Kilts were ivented by the Irish.....Bagpipes are more likely to have come from central Asia......Haggis is Greek.... Whiskey is Chinese.)

Champagne was invented in England not France.

The guillotine was invented in Halifax England...Not France.

Nelsons actual last words: "Drink, drink, fan, fan, rub, rub." He was thristy, hot and in pain.

There are currently 15 states of matter, though the list grows.

The MMS scales is used to measure earthquakes not the Richtor scale.

The Earth has 7 moons.

A centipede does not have 100 legs, it always ranges above or below.

Roman Emperors gave the 'thumbs up' signal to order the death of a gladiator....they did not use the 'thumbs down' signal for anything.

616 is the number of the beast not 666....


Plenty more to come....

The animal with the highest worldwide output of farts: THE TERMITE.

reply to post by billyjoinedat2k8


Not really generally ignorant but most people think that colour (or color for our american friends ) exists as an individual entity when really its how our brains interpret different wavelengths of light.