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Post by anxiousmom on May 25, 2015 19:58:51 GMT
For me, and I am not even sure how it happened that I ended up researching this, but I learned that the French Foreign Legion does indeed, still exist. The little bit I have learned has been fascinating...including the information that in order to join, you show up at an intake facility in France where they don't care about your past (beyond being on Interpol's wanted list or certain drug charges) and welcome those who are wanting to "start over" (aka running from your past.)
I also learned that if you are selected, they give you a new identity-name, birthday, etc. You can keep this identity. (This helps with the "starting over" thing.)
You aren't required to be French, or even speak French. They teach you. And after you served your five year commitment you can apply for French citizenship.
So that is the interesting thing that I learned this weekend...what about you?
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Deleted
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Oct 7, 2024 13:45:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 20:02:06 GMT
I learned that not all beavers build dams.. that beavers in lakes and large ponds live in tunnels/holes in the banks. Beavers who live in streams/rivers build dams. If you take a dam-building beaver from a river and move it to a lake, it won't build a dam. If you record the sound of running water and play it near the pond-dwelling, dam-less beavers, they will cover the speakers over with mud and stuff to stop the sound.
So, it turns out, beavers may just hate the sound of running water and that's maybe part of the reason why they build dams.
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lindas
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by lindas on May 25, 2015 20:04:52 GMT
My mom is in a rehab center and they put out a daily fun facts sheet. So yesterday I learned that an average of 150 people a year are killed by falling coconuts. How's that for strange.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on May 25, 2015 20:06:05 GMT
I learned a Mom I know was arrested for grand larceny after shoplifting from a local department store.
It happened 5 years ago. I was trying to figure out what school she works at. Now I'm not sure if she actually works at any school. I just googled her name and school district and there were 5 articles, saying she had been suspended. I don't know how it turned out.. and I wish I hadn't found it out at all!!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 13:45:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 20:06:55 GMT
For me, and I am not even sure how it happened that I ended up researching this, but I learned that the French Foreign Legion does indeed, still exist. The little bit I have learned has been fascinating...including the information that in order to join, you show up at an intake facility in France where they don't care about your past (beyond being on Interpol's wanted list or certain drug charges) and welcome those who are wanting to "start over" (aka running from your past.) I also learned that if you are selected, they give you a new identity-name, birthday, etc. You can keep this identity. (This helps with the "starting over" thing.) You aren't required to be French, or even speak French. They teach you. And after you served your five year commitment you can apply for French citizenship. So that is the interesting thing that I learned this weekend...what about you? Love it! |
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Post by hop2 on May 25, 2015 20:29:18 GMT
That Benjamin Franklin had a son who was a staunch loyalist (royalist?) and was the last royal Governor of NJ. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Franklin They barely reconciled after the revolutionary war. |
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melissa
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,912
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Post by melissa on May 25, 2015 20:32:14 GMT
Hypnobirthing women do not "push" their babies out. They breathe them out.
It makes it sound like they do not push, but they still do. The term "push" is banned from the delivery room even though pushing, albeit less directed, is exactly what is going on.
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Post by bc2ca on May 25, 2015 20:58:07 GMT
Naked & Afraid must be running a marathon this weekend because it seems to be on the TV every time I've walked into the family room if DD or DH is in there. Catching a few minutes of one episode last night, I learned that alligators make a growling noise and it is scary to be in the swamp with alligator growling coming from three different sides of your camp.
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purplebee
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,792
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Post by purplebee on May 25, 2015 21:14:14 GMT
Naked & Afraid must be running a marathon this weekend because it seems to be on the TV every time I've walked into the family room if DD or DH is in there. Catching a few minutes of one episode last night, I learned that alligators make a growling noise and it is scary to be in the swamp with alligator growling coming from three different sides of your camp. And that a deadly giant black Indian scorpion has 240 calories! For about 100 more I'd rather have a 6" subway sandwich! |
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Post by chaosisapony on May 25, 2015 21:30:16 GMT
That is really interesting about the French Foreign Legion. I had no idea. Thanks for sharing.  I recently learned that some people think a cat will die if you cut off their whiskers.  |
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on May 25, 2015 21:54:21 GMT
Sadly I know no interesting facts, but I love reading other people's facts.
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Post by stargazer on May 25, 2015 22:04:06 GMT
That "blood is thicker than water" really means the opposite of the way it's usually quoted. The bible verse is actually "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" & it referred originally to the bond formed on the battlefield.
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Post by Dixie Lou on May 25, 2015 22:14:12 GMT
I recently learned that there is a certain kind of cyst called a pilonidal cyst that forms on your tailbone. It forms when there is an ingrown hair that gets infected. It is very painful and requires removal and antibiotics. Sometimes there's a big bunch of hair inside. GROSS! And I also learned that a lot of people enjoy watching things like that being squished and removed like a big old pimple. There's a ton of videos on you tube.
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,128
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Post by M in Carolina on May 25, 2015 22:33:22 GMT
Michelangelo was called a heretic for giving Adam a belly button in his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
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Post by finsup on May 25, 2015 22:46:56 GMT
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Post by PEArfect on May 25, 2015 23:02:54 GMT
More personal, but still strange. The other day on Facebook I noticed a local story about a girl that attends the same high school as my daughter. What caught my attention was her last name. It is pronounced the same as my maiden name, but spelled differently. What was strange was that her father had the same first name as my brother (Gary), and her grandpa has the same first name as my dad (Roger). What a strange coincidence. Not very common names either, and then with almost the same last name.
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Post by scrapsotime on May 25, 2015 23:06:52 GMT
That there are shrimp called mantis shrimp and they either have claws that are clubs or spears. I couldn't remember all the speed and force stuff so I got this from wikipedia:
"The clubs are employed with blinding quickness, with an acceleration of 10,400 g (102,000 m/s2 or 335,000 ft/s2) and speeds of 23 m/s from a standing start.Because they strike so rapidly, they generate cavitation bubbles between the appendage and the striking surface. The collapse of these cavitation bubbles produces measurable forces on their prey in addition to the instantaneous forces of 1,500 newtons that are caused by the impact of the appendage against the striking surface, which means that the prey is hit twice by a single strike; first by the claw and then by the collapsing cavitation bubbles that immediately follow. Even if the initial strike misses the prey, the resulting shock wave can be enough to stun or kill the prey."
That shrimp has one mean punch.
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Post by crazy4scraps on May 26, 2015 1:25:24 GMT
I have less than 100 posts to go before I reach Pearl Clutcher!  |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on May 26, 2015 1:36:05 GMT
I recently learned that there is a certain kind of cyst called a pilonidal cyst that forms on your tailbone. It forms when there is an ingrown hair that gets infected. It is very painful and requires removal and antibiotics. Sometimes there's a big bunch of hair inside. GROSS! And I also learned that a lot of people enjoy watching things like that being squished and removed like a big old pimple. There's a ton of videos on you tube. okay, the fact that sharlag 'liked' this post is kinda funny to me...  I don't know any odd / interesting facts right now either since my memory is horrible these days, but these have all been pretty interesting to me. (up until this one, anyway- lol!!) |
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caro
Drama Llama
Refupea 1130
Posts: 5,222
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Post by caro on May 26, 2015 1:40:04 GMT
I learned that Armadillos make burrows in your yard and can tear a yard up quick. I thought Armadillos only lived in Texas or some other flat, hot place not in Ga. A lot I know.  |
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Post by femalebusiness on May 26, 2015 1:41:05 GMT
A few years ago I learned that there is no such word as centrifical, as in centrifical force. The word is actually centripetal, meaning directed towards the center or centripetal force.
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Post by mirabelleswalker on May 26, 2015 1:44:49 GMT
A few years ago I learned that there is no such word as centrifical, as in centrifical force. The word is actually centripetal, meaning directed towards the center or centripetal force. Or centrifugal. (pronounced like your centrifical and used with force!) |
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Post by femalebusiness on May 26, 2015 1:46:55 GMT
I recently learned that some people think a cat will die if you cut off their whiskers. My mom told me that when she was a kid she cut her cat's whiskers and that he then bumped into things because the whiskers are like feelers. Don't know if there is any truth to that or not and knowing my mother anything is possible.  |
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Post by anxiousmom on May 26, 2015 1:47:36 GMT
I learned that Armadillos make burrows in your yard and can tear a yard up quick. I thought Armadillos only lived in Texas or some other flat, hot place not in Ga. A lot I know. Not a fact, just a funny... when one of my nieces was a little bitty thing, she couldn't say armadillo very well and much to our sick sense of humor called them armadildos. So now, the whole family calls them armadildos. |
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Post by femalebusiness on May 26, 2015 1:48:03 GMT
A few years ago I learned that there is no such word as centrifical, as in centrifical force. The word is actually centripetal, meaning directed towards the center or centripetal force. Or centrifugal. (pronounced like your centrifical and used with force!) Yep, centrifugal is indeed a word. |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on May 26, 2015 1:48:07 GMT
I think there is truth to the cat whisker one, actually... what I remember reading is that cats use their whiskers to determine how wide of a space they can fit thru.
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Post by mirabelleswalker on May 26, 2015 1:48:29 GMT
I recently learned that some people think a cat will die if you cut off their whiskers. My mom told me that when she was a kid she cut her cat's whiskers and that he then bumped into things because the whiskers are like feelers. Don't know if there is any truth to that or not and knowing my mother anything is possible. Yes. That's why cats have whiskers. To keep them from going where they won't fit. |
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Post by Outspoken on May 26, 2015 1:48:58 GMT
A few years ago I learned that there is no such word as centrifical, as in centrifical force. The word is actually centripetal, meaning directed towards the center or centripetal force. Centrifugal force is a thing. |
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Post by femalebusiness on May 26, 2015 1:51:49 GMT
My mom told me that when she was a kid she cut her cat's whiskers and that he then bumped into things because the whiskers are like feelers. Don't know if there is any truth to that or not and knowing my mother anything is possible. Yes. That's why cats have whiskers. To keep them from going where they won't fit. Wow, so it is true. Interesting. |
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Post by chaosisapony on May 26, 2015 2:11:49 GMT
My mom told me that when she was a kid she cut her cat's whiskers and that he then bumped into things because the whiskers are like feelers. Don't know if there is any truth to that or not and knowing my mother anything is possible. Yes. That's why cats have whiskers. To keep them from going where they won't fit. Yes, this is true. But the cat will not die because its whiskers get damaged or cut off. |
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Southern Side eyed Pea 
