“No, it’s a matter of logic! If you’re going to say things that have been proven wrong, like that the first man and woman lived in Missouri, and that Native Americans came from Jerusalem, then you’d better have something to back it up. All you’ve got are a bunch of stories about some asswipe who read plates nobody ever saw out of a hat, and then couldn’t do it again when the translations were hidden!”
– Stan Marsh
“When did ‘hope’ become a political dynamic? Hope is right below wishful thinking and right above performing a rain dance.”
– Rich Hall
“Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not, and a sense of humour was provided to console him for what he is.”
– Oscar Wilde
“A physicist is just an atom’s way of looking at itself.”
– Niels Bohr
Gagingwell is a hamlet in West Oxfordshire, England.
Until Abramic religions were introduced in Egyptian society, women had been independent, empowered and emancipated citizens.
Roman Emperor Vespasian introduced a tax on the sale of urine. Therefore, the phrase pecunia non olet, ‘money does not stink’, is ascribed to him.
Mutterkuchen, the German word for placenta literally means ‘mother cake’.
Stravinsky had an affair with Coco Chanel in the summer of 1920. He was revising the Rite of Spring at the time, and she was about to launch Chanel No.5.
See other: Quite Interesting Facts
[The typical commercial directed at women.]
Generic woman: Ouch, my stomach!
Male voice over: Do you suffer from gut agony?
Generic woman: And my head!
Male voice over: Tension head? Got that bloated feeling? Inevitable wrinkles? The beginnings of lady moustache? And now you’ve pissed yourself again? Women, you’re leaking, ageing, hairy, overweight, and everything hurts. And your children’s clothes are filthy. No wonder men long for other less clammy women. For god’s sake sort yourself out!
Generic woman: Now I’m free to live my own life, my way!
[The typical commercial directed at men.]
Male voice over: Men, shave and get drunk! Because you’re already brilliant!
– That Mitchell and Webb Look (2006-2010)
From an English-speaking perspective, some of the names and abbreviations of airports around the world are exceedingly unusual and unfortunate.
Unfortunate IATA airport codes include:
BAD (Barksdale Air Force Base, Bossier City, Louisiana, United States); BOG (Bogotá Airport, Columbia); BUM (Butler Airport, United States); DIK (Dickinson Airport, United States); DOH (Doha Airport, Qatar); FAT (Fresno Yosemite International Airport, California, United States); GIT (Geita Airport, Tanzania); KOK (Kokkola/Pietarsaari Kruunupyy Airport, Finland); MAD (Madrid Barajas International Airport, Spain); NOB (Nosara Beach Airport, Costa Rica); OLD (Old Town Municipal Airport, Maine, United States); PEE (Perm Airport, Russia); POO (Pocos De Caldas Airport, Brazil); SAD (Safford Regional Airport, Arizona, United States); SEX (Sembach Airport, Germany).
Unusual names of airports include:
Batman Airport (BAL) Turkey; Black Tickle Airport (YBI) Canada; Brest Airport (BES) France; Dang Airport (DNP) Nepal; Fak Fak Airport (FKQ) Indonesia; Flin Flon Airport (YFO) Canada; Fort Dix Airport (WRI) United States; Fukui Airport (FKJ) Japan; Gaylord Airport (GLR) United States; Linga Linga Airport (LGN) Papua New Guinea; Mafia Airport (MFA) Tanzania; Mala Mala Airport (AAM) South Africa; Moron Airport (MXV) Mongolia; Ponce Airport (PSE) Puerto Rico; Pratt Airport (PTT) United States; Shafter Airport (MIT) United States; Tsili Tsili Airport (TSI) Papau New Guinea; Useless Loop Airport (USL) Australia; Wagga Wagga Airport (WGA) Australia; Wee Waa Airport (WEW) Australia; Wuhu Airport (WHU) China.
‘Bathos is a tradition from the dignified or grand to commonplace or laughable; an anticlimax […].'[1] The term was first used in this sense by Alexander Pope in his treatise Peri Bathous; or, The Art of Sinking in Poetry (1728).
From the Ancient Greek βάθος meaning ‘depth’, bathos is generally a sudden change of tone in a work of writing, usually from the sublime to the ridiculous. When used unintentionally or executed poorly, this may result in sappiness. When used properly, this may create a comedic effect.
Bridgekeeper: Stop. Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.
Sir Lancelot: Ask me the questions, bridgekeeper. I am not afraid.
Bridgekeeper: What… is your name?
Sir Lancelot: My name is Sir Lancelot of Camelot.
Bridgekeeper: What… is your quest?
Sir Lancelot: To seek the Holy Grail.
Bridgekeeper: What… is your favourite colour?
Sir Lancelot: Blue.
Bridgekeeper: Go on. Off you go.
Sir Lancelot: Oh, thank you. Thank you very much.
– Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
[1] Fiske, Robert Hartwell (1 November 2011). Robert Hartwell Fiske’s Dictionary of Unendurable English: A Compendium of Mistakes in Grammar, Usage, and Spelling with commentary on lexicographers and linguists. Scribner. p. 71
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