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30 May 01 - 09:21 AM (#472955) Subject: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Peter T. Every once in awhile I come across a little fact that I know to be absolutely true, that I have built whole edifices upon, not a big fact, just something I have never doubted for a minute, and then it is revealed to be wrong. I usually rejoice over these -- who wants to be carrying around lies? -- but these little things do wobble the edifice. Last night I decided to get down the chords of "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" (because I am of course unhappy in my mansion), and I go to a site, and there are the wrong lyrics in the first line!: "I don't want your lonely mansion with a tear in every room". I try another, and the same lyric! And then it dawns on me: I have always heard it wrong. I always heard it: "I don't want your lonely mansion with a TV in every room", which I have used on innumerable occasions for the past 35 years as a symbol of angst (and is a BETTER LINE!!!). But, where I go to now in life I do not know, I am unsettled, perturbed, etc. Any other facts I should know that aren't? yours, Peter T. |
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30 May 01 - 09:54 AM (#472974) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Mountain Dog Lest it plunge you further into despair, I trust you already knew that in her magnum opus, "Angel of the Morning", Juice Newton's sweet request that you "...just brush my teeth before you leave" was a mondegreen of the first water? |
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30 May 01 - 09:57 AM (#472978) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: SINSULL And poinsettias are not poisonous to pets. |
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30 May 01 - 10:00 AM (#472979) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: A Wandering Minstrel and two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do. |
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30 May 01 - 10:00 AM (#472980) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Mrrzy I thought they were poisonous to children, though... Is that wrong? What about Don't drink water after eating apricots? |
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30 May 01 - 10:03 AM (#472985) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Jim the Bart Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers!! Proving, once again, that facts are highly overrated. It's your world, Peter T., make it up any way you want to. |
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30 May 01 - 10:08 AM (#472988) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: sian, west wales Mohair sweaters are not made from the hair of moes, and the the fourth line of God Save the Queen is not, "send her six story books". sian |
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30 May 01 - 10:10 AM (#472992) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Peter T. I see that there is evidence that placebos don't actually have the placebo effect. Even the things that don't work don't work!!! yours, Peter T. |
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30 May 01 - 10:21 AM (#472997) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: catspaw49 Once again, if you take cranberries and stew them like prunes, they taste much more like applesauce than rhubarb does. Spaw |
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30 May 01 - 10:42 AM (#473005) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: InOBU When saying prayers as a ween "Pity mice and plicity" (pity my simplicity)... I grew up with great pity for mice, was I wrong? Larry PS What the F is plicity? |
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30 May 01 - 11:23 AM (#473035) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Noreen Don't drink water after eating apricots? What, ever?? Please explain, Mrrzy... |
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30 May 01 - 11:25 AM (#473037) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler Larry, I always thought it was "pity my simple city" (Birmingham in my case!) RtS |
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30 May 01 - 11:30 AM (#473044) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: mousethief I like the idea of pitying mice. They have such a rough time of it, poor little critters. I'm sure we can think of something for "plicity" to mean. Peter, I saw the thing about the placebo effect, too. Kinda makes you lose all faith in double-blinded studies. If there is no placebo effect, what exactly are we discovering? Alex |
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30 May 01 - 11:54 AM (#473065) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: chip a Well Shoot!, I've spent the last week polishing "Old Kentucky Home" to perfection on the banjo. (Some would think that to be an impossibility) I was doing this from my memory of the tune and for a few days I'd had a little nagging thing in my head about it. So......last night I checked it out in a songbook. A songbook that was within inches of me all week as I sat in my favorite chair working on this damn song. I HAD IT WRONG!!!! WAY, WAY WRONG!!!!! Hey, sometimes there're lots of versions of the same song, right? Peter T, I feel your pain! Chip A. |
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30 May 01 - 12:04 PM (#473072) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Don Firth Don't use naugahyde. Naugas are an endangered species. Don Firth |
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30 May 01 - 12:08 PM (#473077) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: RichM Maybe we need a new facts machine.... |
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30 May 01 - 12:14 PM (#473082) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Karen Growing up I went to a parochial school and was taught that "Limbo" was the place where unbaptized babies went after they died. We were painted a wonderful picture of a happy garden-like place where babies could play all day. They were "as happy as they could be outside the presence of God." I was relieved to know these babies would be well-treated in the After Life. The Vatican decided that was not correct after all and did away with the whole concept! Just wiped it out completely! No more Limbo! I hate the idea that I took the time to learn something only to be told years later, "No, sorry, it was a silly idea to begin with. Just forget all about it." |
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30 May 01 - 12:21 PM (#473090) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: JedMarum ... when my boys grew up, they pissed off to find that most people think the tooth fairy is a she not a he (no wonder Dad always smirked when he talked about putting those teeth under the pillow). |
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30 May 01 - 12:22 PM (#473091) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Jim Dixon To clarify matters: Yes, it may be true that placebos don't have the placebo effect, but that doesn't mean that placebos aren't useful in double-blind studies. In fact, you can't construct a double-blind study without them. As I understand it, any conclusion based on a study in which a placebo was used will not be changed because of this new information. Studies have also shown that people don't act nuttier when the moon is full, and that there is no increase in suicides and other emergencies around Christmas or any other holiday. Both of these ideas were once widely believed by mental health workers, ambulance drivers, police, etc. Guess what: I read the other day that Easter lilies are poisonous. Do you suppose the old story about poinsettias just got transferred to a different holiday plant? |
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30 May 01 - 12:36 PM (#473099) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Bat Goddess Poinsettias CAN make cats who eat them very, very sick (which they will proceed to do all over the floor). And I had an apparently healthy cat suddenly grow extremely lethargic and be found dead (under the Christmas tree, as a matter of fact) after POSSIBLY nibbling on poinsettias. I, too, have it from reliable sources that ingesting poinsettias is not fatal, but I prefer not to have them around (unfortunately because I find them rather attractive) for fear of cat nibbles. Cats don't seem to bother other euphorbias which have the same icky stuff inside. Bat Goddess who misses Inquiry, the black cat |
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30 May 01 - 12:36 PM (#473100) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: mousethief I had a cat absolutely mow down a pointsettia, and she seemed to suffer no ill effects (except dirty looks and harsh words from me, which of course bothered her not at all). Alex |
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30 May 01 - 12:38 PM (#473101) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Little Hawk It's also completely untrue that if you die in a dream then you actually die and never wake up. I died in a dream a good ten years ago (got shot, in fact, and rose up as a spirit right out of my dead body) and here I am telling you about it right now. Oh, yeah, and there are no alligators living in the New York City sewers. - LH |
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30 May 01 - 12:42 PM (#473102) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Karen Bat Goddess, sorry about your cat. Maybe she ate some holly berries? Here's a site that tells of different poisonous holiday plants Click Here |
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30 May 01 - 12:51 PM (#473112) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: kendall There no alligators in NY sewers. Absolutly not. Think about it, alligators are cold blooded, they need the heat of the sun to get them going, and they would freeze to death in NY. What would they eat? Ed Norton? 10 years ago, our friend Kathy Westra and Joe Hickerson gave me a book for my birthday titled, THERE ARE ALLIGATORS IN OUR SEWERS and other American credos. A collection of bunk nonsense and fabels we believe. |
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30 May 01 - 12:56 PM (#473114) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: SINSULL These alligators have mutated. I have it on the authority of my two older brothers that tiny girl children are often dragged screaming down the toilet whereas boys can keep a safe distance and escape. Mary, who still checks for alligators in the toilet (and occasionally finds a cat) |
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30 May 01 - 12:56 PM (#473115) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Karen Maybe that's where all those poor mice are living... |
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30 May 01 - 12:57 PM (#473116) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Jim Dixon If you had a dream that you died, and then you actually died without waking up, HOW WOULD ANYBODY KNOW? |
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30 May 01 - 01:01 PM (#473118) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Jim Dixon Crossing your eyes won't make them cross permanently. |
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30 May 01 - 01:02 PM (#473121) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: wdyat12 And dust buildup in your brakepads from driving on dirt roads isn't the metal on metal sound you hear when you roll to a stop at a light. wdyat12 |
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30 May 01 - 01:14 PM (#473129) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Lin in Kansas And if you scowl at your older brothers, your face won't freeze that way... |
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30 May 01 - 01:18 PM (#473134) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: wdyat12 And you don't rotate your mattress for the same reason you rotate your tires. wdyat12 |
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30 May 01 - 01:20 PM (#473138) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: mousethief I don't rotate my mattress at all. What have I been missing? Is this some new American fad? Alex |
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30 May 01 - 01:21 PM (#473140) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Clinton Hammond "Facts... Bppppppphhhhhfffff! You can use facts to prove anything that even REMOTELY true! Facts schmacts!" ---Homer Simpson--- |
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30 May 01 - 01:26 PM (#473143) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Little Hawk Which does not resolve the vexing matter of what the hell happened to Spaw's face, does it? :-) Jim Dixon - "If you had a dream that you died, and then you actually died without waking up, HOW WOULD ANYBODY KNOW?" Hey! Good point! Given that, I wonder who started such a dumb story in the first place...and why did anyone believe it? Nevertheless, I have had several people assure me that it is absolutely and infallibly true...without exception. When I tell them about the dream I had and died in (and woke up from), they say..."Well, you must not have actually died in that dream, then..." Duh. It's like trying to explain the good points of socialism to a Republican. "Does not compute (click)...does not compute (click)...does not compute (click)....does not..." - LH |
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30 May 01 - 01:28 PM (#473144) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: katlaughing Well, my SO and daughter were absolutely certian that my oldest Siamese, Heyokah, was done for and would have to be put down this morning, but I am pleased to say he defied their absolutes and is here to live another day, albeit as a newly-diagnosed diabetic.* *bloodwork pending...it could still be touch and go, but at least it was not today, as they were so sure of! kat |
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30 May 01 - 01:38 PM (#473154) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Morticia Well I was heartbroken when someone sent me this site.....brace yourself, Peter Hoaxbusters |
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30 May 01 - 02:03 PM (#473183) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Clinton Hammond Oh man oh man! I can think of about a million people who need to read that site!!! Thanks Morty!!!! ;-) |
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30 May 01 - 02:37 PM (#473202) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Bill D ...and you can't get a genuine WWII jeep still packed in cosmoline in the original crate for $200..(or $100..or $500..or...)..people used to make money collecting $$$ for these myths |
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30 May 01 - 02:39 PM (#473204) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Peter T. This is beginning to get unsettling (ha)! yours, Peter T. |
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30 May 01 - 02:42 PM (#473205) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Mudlark Gladly the cross-eyed bear.... Love YOUR line, Peter T.....much better, more, um, visual! Pretty poison....wisteria....the seed pods very poisonous to critters, oleander sap the same, so I've heard for years. Also lots of bulbs, like daffs.... Good luck to your cat, kat.... and....I go crazy at the full moon....it's just that noone doing a study has ever asked me... Mudlark |
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30 May 01 - 09:57 PM (#473384) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: kendall I love that comment about the mattress and tires! |
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30 May 01 - 11:59 PM (#473396) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: catspaw49 There was actually a point at which I was completely convinced I did not have all the answers. It was a bit unsettling when I realized just how wrong I had been.........I'm much better now. Spaw |
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31 May 01 - 01:29 AM (#473424) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Liz the Squeak Noreen - drinking water after eating dried fruit makes them swell too quickly and gives you stomach ache. Fresh fruit should have no problems. Pragmatic but true. Honest. And those of you who think you know everything are annoying those of us who do. LTS |
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31 May 01 - 01:29 AM (#473425) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Ebbie I thought one time that I was wrong- but I was wrong... Ebbie |
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31 May 01 - 01:40 AM (#473430) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Metchosin I'm now absolutely certain that if I undo my belly button my eyes won't fall out. |
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31 May 01 - 01:57 AM (#473434) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Liz the Squeak No but your ass will drop off!! : ) LTS |
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31 May 01 - 03:11 AM (#473454) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Clinton Hammond Only if you undo your bellybutton with a silver screwdriver... ;-) |
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31 May 01 - 05:14 AM (#473476) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Billy the Bus LtS and Clinton. You are both wrong! Belly-buttons are there for the "sole" purpose of storing the salt when you eat fish & chips in bed! Get your facts right (or left if you are Liberal)..:) Cheers - Sam |
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31 May 01 - 05:31 AM (#473480) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Jim Hancock Bell's Whiskey regularly results in rotating mattresses. By the way "Plicity" is the singular of duplicity, (Not to be confused with dohplicity which is something to do with Homer Simpson) |
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31 May 01 - 06:53 AM (#473502) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Les from Hull Sorry to mess with your facts Jim, but there's no such thing as Bell's Whiskey. Only Bell's Whisky. |
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31 May 01 - 07:06 AM (#473507) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: cetmst Is chocolate poisonous to dogs or is it a tale spread by chocoholics to prevent diverting the stuff ? |
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31 May 01 - 07:44 AM (#473524) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Bat Goddess Belly buttons exist for storing salt for eating CELERY in bed... Inquiry's death may have been totally irrelevant to any poinsettias (and, no, there were no holly or mistletoe berries around, either), but Curmudgeon won't let one in the house. And Stephanie Piro's cat did get very sick from eating poinsettias -- she has the vet bills to prove it. The best book on New York was "Where to Go in New York: A Guide to Public Comfort Stations" -- but it didn't say a thing about alligators. Presumably they were already in the sewer and didn't need comfort stations;-). Bat Goddess |
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31 May 01 - 08:10 AM (#473532) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Lyndi-loo Yes dogs do get sick on chocolate. And chewing gum does not stick to your tonsils if you swallow it. But there is definitely a Loch Ness monster |
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31 May 01 - 10:41 AM (#473595) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Jim Dixon Here's something I learned a few years ago: All those top-40 radio stations that allegedly play "requests" are fake (sort of). They make up their playlists first, and then find "requests" that match them. Since they never have any shortage of requests for the top 20 or so songs, this works for them. If your "request" doesn't correspond to what they would have played anyway, it never gets on the air. I do think my local public radio station genuinely plays requests, however. Or am I just being naïve? |
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31 May 01 - 11:09 AM (#473609) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Dicho (Frank Staplin) My dogs are chocoholics. They get the lower part of the chocolate ice cream cone I eat every day. I am not not not a choco- |
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31 May 01 - 11:21 AM (#473614) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: MMario well - euphorbia's have some compound (I don't remember what) in them that people exhibit a wide range of reactions to - from the "yeuck" tastes bad feeling I got tasting it in botony class - to the full fledged anaphylatic shock type reaction one of my best friends got from touching the sap with her tongue...cats may well have the same type range of reactions to Pointsettia's |
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31 May 01 - 11:48 AM (#473635) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Ebbie "A long steel rail on a shore so fine Embarrassing but true- that's how I sang it until I was well into grown. I can only think that's the line my parents must have sung. ?? |
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31 May 01 - 12:09 PM (#473646) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: paddymac Yes, there is a broad spectrum of responses among persons allergic to something. I have a friend who is allergic to virtually anything from the sea - fin fish, shell fish, "sea salt", anything with anchovie paste in it, etc. I have known others who seemed to have far more specific allergies to "sea things". I even knew a lad who had developed an allergic response to alchohol. Now that would be a serious malady. Generally, allergies of many different sorts play a far greater - and often undiagnosed - role in the maladies of man than is generally recognized. |
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31 May 01 - 12:15 PM (#473650) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Matt_R BILLY THE BUS!!! Long time no see mate!! Where you been? We missed ya? --Matt (formerly Mbo) |
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31 May 01 - 02:05 PM (#473737) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Walking Eagle Jeezo man, have I had some myths busted wide open! Here's another one. Think again if you think Chief Seattle said all those wise, witty things about the environment. Seems as most of 'em came from soneone's very alive mind in Texas. |
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31 May 01 - 02:15 PM (#473750) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Art Thieme That there is a God. Art Thieme |
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31 May 01 - 02:20 PM (#473755) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Chicken Charlie You can drink water after eating apricots, but you have to wait half an hour. And they aren't alligators, they're crocodiles. CC |
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31 May 01 - 02:22 PM (#473758) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Tara I just read a great article in a vet-tech journal (i.e. a Reliable Resource) which said that neither poinsettias, holly nor misletoe are poisonous enough to hurt anybody or anything. At worst, a serious poinsettia binge could cause a tummy-ache and teach pooch not to munch on houseplants. So, the lady who had a cat get sick on it - that cat must have been especially sensitive, as that is not a typical reaction. Personally, I'm hoping that one of these years my cats will sample the poinsettia and get sick, and thus decide to leave all my herbs alone... Phlox, lily of the valley and digitalis are more deadly than christmas plants, and my pets don't touch those. Chocolate on the other hand is truely deadly to dogs - the chemical is called theobromide, and it doesn't take much. Chocolate-hull mulch will kill, too. Now, never having had a counter-surfing dog before my current fuzzy-butted moocher, Cooper, I'm beginning to suspect that any plant or food eaten by a pet has a potential to be deadly. At least, if Cooper opens the cabinet and rips up another box of cereal, I just might kill him... ...And, I thought that belly buttons were only holding tanks for lint, until it could be safely disposed of? -Tara |
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31 May 01 - 02:33 PM (#473765) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: MMario So all the chocolate munching dogs I know are unusually non-sensative? |
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31 May 01 - 02:36 PM (#473767) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Jim Dixon Here's another disillusionment: Bug zappers do more harm than good, because they attract more mosquitoes than they kill. |
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31 May 01 - 03:09 PM (#473799) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Bill D ...and though no one has mentioned it, Black Walnut chips are to horses,(and to some people and plants) as chocolate is to dogs....http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html but the Smithsonian Institution does NOT have 'any' *grin* parts of John Dillinger in alcohol.... |
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31 May 01 - 03:30 PM (#473814) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Claymore Bell's Whiskey? I thought it was Bell's Palsy..."a suddenly occurring unilateral facial paralysis of unknown etiology" usually following the statement "Step out of the vehicle, Sir. Damn! And I thought that bald heads resulted from too many U turns on the mattress, not rotating it. And there's a guy named Bruce who lives in our complex, and has his very own Good Tooth Fairy that drives a Buick, and leaves something under his pillow every night. |
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31 May 01 - 03:48 PM (#473828) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Kernow John It isn't the marbles that you ate, but the marble statuette. Now what song was that in ? KJ |
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31 May 01 - 03:48 PM (#473829) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: MAG (inactive) Chief Seattle did say some words when he was forced to sign a treaty signing away his people's land, and nobody knows how accurate the remembered ones written down by ? some journalist way after the fact; probably as accurate as the Parables; but if you read the words as an angry "You can't own the land. It's a typical stupid white man thing to think you can own the land." speech, they make a whole lot more sense. |
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31 May 01 - 04:35 PM (#473864) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Little Hawk Art Thieme - Get out. I was just talking to God, and She's willing to admit to your existence... :-) - LH |
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31 May 01 - 04:41 PM (#473867) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Uncle_DaveO GUEST,Tara: I think if you look it up you'll find that that chemical you refer to is theobromine, not "theobromide". Theobromine is the "caffeine-equivalent" found in tea, although there is some caffeine also present. The first three letters are "tea" in French. No refererence to the Diety. Dave Oesterreich |
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31 May 01 - 05:08 PM (#473892) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Chicken Charlie John-- The marble statuettes were standing stately in the hall in the tune "Crystal Chandeliers." Actually, Thea Bromide was a Belgian "actress" shot for espionage during the Franco-Prussian War, though I have always wondered how Franco fought the Prussians given that France is in between. One of the above paragraphs is true. CC |
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31 May 01 - 05:41 PM (#473910) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,wfisher@mediaone.net In November, George W. Bush was the winner of the presidental election. |
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31 May 01 - 06:26 PM (#473933) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Mark Cohen Sorry, Dave O., but theobromine comes from the Greek and means "food of the gods" -- an apt description of chocolate, in my book. You may be getting confused with the methylxanthine that's found in tea, theophylline (which is also an asthma medicine, not as widely used now as it was when I was in residency). That word means "leaf of the gods". For completeness, the third common food-borne methylxanthine is caffeine, from the phrase, "God, I need some coffee!" Aloha, Mark |
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31 May 01 - 06:49 PM (#473967) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST ....eating the crusts of your bread/toast makes your hair curly.....
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31 May 01 - 09:54 PM (#474088) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Uncle_DaveO My grandmother assured me (what better authority?) that "Little boys who play with matches wet the bed!" Dave Oesterreich |
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31 May 01 - 10:00 PM (#474094) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Mark Cohen Well, at least they can put out the fire! Aloha, Mark |
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01 Jun 01 - 08:19 AM (#474334) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Les from Hull No it's picking dandelions that makes you wet the bed, I'm sure of it. (Actually the French do call them pis-en-lit). |
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01 Jun 01 - 09:04 AM (#474365) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Brian It doesn't make you short sighted. Now where did I put them glasses? Or cause short term memory .........um.......er..... What was I going to say? By the way PeterT, why don't you want a mansion with a crossdresser in every room? |
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01 Jun 01 - 10:38 AM (#474425) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Peter T. Actually Brian, I was considering other variations: "with a teatray in every room" "with a DJ in every room" "with a bier in every room," and so on..... yours, Peter T. |
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01 Jun 01 - 10:43 AM (#474428) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Les from Hull Actually, a tear in every room would be hardly noticable. I mean, I spill more tea than that. Unless of course, it is really a tear (other pronounciation, work with me on this one) in every room. That could indicated major subsidence. |
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01 Jun 01 - 12:05 PM (#474486) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Ebbie And of course, a tear can also be a rampage. And here I was thinking of a lonely house echoing with emptiness... |
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01 Jun 01 - 02:53 PM (#474648) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: MichaelM I went to Hoaxbusters (thanks Morticia) and found this hilarious one. If you're having a miserable rainy day like Toronto's go to http://sites.netscape.net/spzumalt2/camera1.html Sorry about the non-blue non-clicky thing. Michael |
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01 Jun 01 - 03:02 PM (#474661) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: MichaelM went to Hoaxbusters (thanks Morticia) and found this hilarious one. If you're having a miserable rainy day like Toronto's go to Click here Let's see if that works. If so...thank you permathread. Michael |
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01 Jun 01 - 03:17 PM (#474669) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Dicho (Frank Staplin) Just told my dogs (both senior citizens) that they can't have any more chocolate. They are packing up to leave. Poisonous plants listed in my horticultural guide include Anthurium, cyclamen, Dieffenbachia (iritates throat if you eat it), leaves of English ivy, Euphorbias including Poinsettia and crown of thorns, Hydrangea, Lantana, Mistletoe, Oleander, monkshood (Aconitum), castor bean, foxglove (Digitalis), sweetpea and buffalo been seeds, etc. etc. Of course tolerances vary and not all animals are affected. Poinsettia sap doesn't affect my skin but I know one greenhouse worker who has to wear gloves during the annual task of starting thousands of plants for Christmas sale. |
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01 Jun 01 - 03:34 PM (#474683) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: MichaelM I drag myself reluctantly from the greased path of thread creep back to the road less traveled. On a science fact program on Canadian television (@Discovery if I remember properly) a scientist was discussing her work in schools debunking the image of science as this monolith of TRUTH. She discussed the ubiquitous science experiment of tasting liquids to identify the taste centres in your mouth. Most textbooks and teachers describe the perception of sweet,sour,salt and bitter as taking place in distinct areas of your mouth i.e. "You will taste sweet at the back of your tongue..." The interviewee said this was a complete fallacy. There was an early mis-translation of a German medical text. The German text stated that they discovered a tendency towards perception of tastes in different areas. The English text turned it into an absolute. In fact there is no difference in the function of the tastebuds from one portion of your mouth to the other. Generations of young students were pressured into perceiving something that wasn't there by teachers and textbooks that were wrong. P.S. What is the name for the fifth taste dicovered by the Japanese? |
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01 Jun 01 - 04:12 PM (#474704) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: harpmolly I don't know about the fifth taste...but I do remember Terry Pratchett's five particles of magic: "It was here that the thaum, hitherto believed to be the smallest possible particle of magic, was succesfully demonstrated to be made up of resons (Lit.: 'Thing-ies') or reality fragments. Currently research indicates that each reson is itself made up of a combination of at least five 'flavours', known as 'up', 'down', 'sideways', 'sex appeal' and 'peppermint'." -- (Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies) |
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01 Jun 01 - 04:33 PM (#474718) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Ebbie A friend of mine who is a very back-to-the-earth kind of guy told me that he once tested Skunk Cabbage and thought he would die. It has crystals in it evidently that are abrasive and totally non-digestible in the human system. It's a great favorite of bears however . |
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01 Jun 01 - 04:47 PM (#474733) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Little Hawk While most humans find it unbearable... - LH |
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01 Jun 01 - 05:17 PM (#474752) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Liz the Squeak I have a male friend who is violently allergic to alcohol - one little sip makes his system shut down in stages .. the bigger the sip, the shorter the time.... if ever anyone spikes his drink, he's dead.... He used to drink a lot and developed the allergy quite slowly. Conversely, I have a female friend who was born allergic to alcohol (she didn't find out until she was 17....), spent half her life being paranoid, and quite ill when told 'it's got nothing else in it snigger snigger', and then after about 15 years has seen her symptoms lessen, and now she can drink almost anything except scotch. LTS |
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01 Jun 01 - 06:34 PM (#474818) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Mark Cohen Well I heard that it was birds who would die if you fed them chocolate. On the allergy front, there are a tremendous number of people who swear they are "allergic" to one thing or another. Some of these are true allergies (one of a few specific kinds of immune response, which cause things like hives, itching, watery eyes, etc.), some are adverse reactions that are not allergies (some people, like Liz's friends, lack an enzyme to metabolize alcohol, which can cause the buildup of a toxic metabolite that can make them sick), and some are so-called "idiosyncratic reactions", which means "We don't know why it happened, but you probably shouldn't eat any more of that stuff." Then there are people who are "allergic" to things like air and water... If it was discovered in Japan, the fifth taste was probably wasabi. Aloha, Mark |
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01 Jun 01 - 07:18 PM (#474845) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: wdyat12 Here is a fact that is still a fact. Want to keep those pesky squirrels occupied for hours while the birds get their dinner at the feeder? Just glob peanut better on a slice of bread and watch them. wdyat12 |
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01 Jun 01 - 07:22 PM (#474846) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: wdyat12 Peanut Butter? wdyat12 |
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01 Jun 01 - 07:41 PM (#474856) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Jim Dixon Here's one: A few years ago a lot of people switched from throwing rice at weddings to throwing birdseed, because a story went around that birds would eat the rice and then the rice would swell up in their bellies and kill them. I'll bet that story was hokum, too. Anybody know for sure? |
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01 Jun 01 - 10:18 PM (#474934) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Uncle_DaveO Somewhere in the various shelves and drawers of books in this house we have a Chinese cookbook called, as I recall, Eight Immortal Flavors. It seems that in Chinese classical "gourmet" cooking it is considered de rigeur to include in the menu of a planned meal every one of the eight flavors, viz.: 1. Sweet Who can name the other three? I'll give a little time for people to respond, and I'll post the other three tomorrow sometime. Hint: Two of them you'll probably recognize, though you might not have thought of them as flavors. The third, though a common word, you STILL will have a problem thinking what it might mean as a flavor, until I give examples. Dave Oesterreich |
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01 Jun 01 - 10:39 PM (#474943) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: marty D For about five years I thought that Sigmund Freud was really on to something. For the next five, it was Fritz Perls. Now I know that NOBODY has a clue, and that's a fact. marty |
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02 Jun 01 - 12:14 AM (#474973) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: hesperis From http://thestar.com.my/kuali/recipes/05jzcook.html The number five has always been central in Chinese food culture. The earliest book on medicine, Neijing (Internal Channels), written over 2,000 years ago said that the body needed "five flavours'' to live: five grains for nourishment, five fruits for support, five animals for benefit, and five vegetables for energy. This idea is perpetuated in the traditional flavours deemed fundamental to Chinese cooking; sweet, sour, bitter, hot and salty. That was when flavouring agents were natural products such as honey, fruit jam, nuts, herbs, chillies, peppers and salt. Later, processed flavouring such as sugar, vinegar and jiang (soy) began to be used, and the Chinese created two additional flavours. One is xiang which translates to "fragrant'' or "aromatic,'' a taste associated with wine, garlic, spring onion, sesame seeds, Szechuan pepper and other such spices. The other taste is xian which means "delicious'' or "savoury,'' a flavour produced by good chicken or meat stock, oyster sauce, mushroom sauce, shrimp sauce and monosodium glutamate (MSG). But, of course, that is only 7 flavours, not eight... Other sources said "Bitter Sweet Hot, spicy, pungent Salty Acid, sour as in vinegar" and "hot, sour, sweet, salty, bitter and fragrant" I also found one source that said "bland" was the last flavour. Very interesting! (I'm getting hungry now!!!) ~*sirepseh*~ |
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02 Jun 01 - 10:22 AM (#475117) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Uncle_DaveO The other three are, per Eight Immortal Flavors,: 6. Bland, as you found. "What???" (I hear you saying.) "What's "golden" mean as a flavor?" "Golden" is that taste that you get in kumquats or in orange rind, the sort of sharp or prickly (my words) or penetrating flavor. Dave Oesterreich |
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02 Jun 01 - 05:10 PM (#475317) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,hilary When I as little, I thought the carol was : Good King Wenslas LAST looked out... I was brought up in north Staffordshire where AMEN is pronounced OUR - MEN. I couldn't understand why hymns should end with our-men. Hilary |
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02 Jun 01 - 06:29 PM (#475343) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Johnny Angel Anytime you're curious about possible myths, urban legends, and crazy stories you hear or receive by e-mail, you should check out Snopes and The Straight Dope. www.snopes.com www.straightdope.com Snopes is a clearing house for urban legends, and they've got an awful lot of them archived, as researched by folklorists Barbara and David Mikkelson. The Straight Dope is a column by Cecil Adams, in which the record is set straight on a number of perplexing issues. They also have an active message board, where if anyone has any questions about obscure song lyrics, I send them right to Mudcat. |
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02 Jun 01 - 08:09 PM (#475382) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: GUEST,Broke I saw on Martha Stewart that it's OK for birds to eat rice. Another myth DEBUNKED!! Now popcorn...that's a different story...=) Btw, I sang "God Bless your knees Mrs. Robinson" until last year. |
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07 Jun 01 - 11:31 PM (#478967) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: RangerSteve I bought a copy the "The Loved One" years ago and couldn't figure out why, in the short biography of the author, they kept referring to Evelyn Waugh as "he". I think I can be excused for not knowing it's pronounced "eevelyn" and it's a mans name in the UK. For a few days, I kept wondering if maybe everything else I knew was also wrong. Also, I once had a habit of giving people who were trying to put things over on me a look that consisted of lowering one eyebrow and raising the other (Mr. Spock on Star Trek did the same thing). Now my left eyebrow is slightly higher than the right. My mom was right, if you keep making a face, it will stay that way. |
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08 Jun 01 - 06:29 PM (#479453) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: Dicho (Frank Staplin) Cold water or Aqua Velva (do they still make it?) will close your pores after shaving. Turns out this is nonsense but we used to believe it. |
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08 Jun 01 - 06:46 PM (#479462) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: doncam Two wrongs do make a right if you are NANDing in boolean algebra! |
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29 Mar 12 - 10:30 PM (#3330918) Subject: RE: Darn!Another Absolute Certain Fact Wrong From: maeve Refresh for RangerSteve and others in need of a laugh. |