Random Acts of Trivia

Posted on Jun 19, 2007 - 6:11am by E. Phil Haley in General, Trivia

Table of contents for Tuesday Trivia

It’s become abundantly clear to many that there’s some kind of glitch in my brain. Useless facts seem to be stored with priority tags while important information is quarantined like spam. Because of that I have the ability to spout trivia at the drop of a hat - which is all well and good but trivia is…well…trivial. People seem to enjoy it, though, so I thought I’d share a bit of trivia with you on a weekly basis. Some might be remotely related to trucking but most of it’ill just be a bunch of obscure, random, and utterly useless stuff. Here goes!

The word “decimation”, which makes most folks think of total destruction, is actually derived from the Latin word decimare; meaning “the removal or destruction of one-tenth.” A decimated army, for example, was one that had suffered the conquering Roman punishment of decimationem; the killing, chosen by lottery, of one-in-ten.
Even though Pittsburgh, PA is commonly called “Iron City”; Alabama is the only state housing within its borders all the natural resources needed to make iron and steel.
80 percent of the old asphalt pavement removed each year is re-used; making asphalt the most recycled product in America - more than newspaper, aluminum cans or glass.
The word “loophole” was originally used to describe the slits in castle walls through which defending archers could shoot their arrows at attacking armies.
After winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans with A. J. Foyt in 1967 Dan Gurney was handed a Magnum of MOËT ET CHANDON and “began spraying at the photographers, drivers, Henry Ford II, Carroll Shelby and their wives.” This act of exuberance “started a tradition that continues in winner’s circles all over the world to this day.”
The feathers at the back of an arrow, allowing it to fly straight and true, are known as “fletching”. Back in Medieval times an arrow maker was known as a “fletcher”. If you know someone with the last name Fletcher its a good bet that their great-great-great-great-(you get the idea)-great-grandfather was an arrow maker.
In 1784 then second-lieutenant Henry Shrapnel got the idea to fill a hollowed out cannonball with musket balls and a charge of gunpowder. The “Shrapnel Shell”, as it came to be known, was adopted by the British Army in 1803 and fragmentation from artillery shells has been called “shrapnel” ever since. Then there’s the story of General Joseph Hooker who’s credited with…well…we’ll leave that for another day.
The lowest point on the Interstate Highway system is on Interstate 8 at the New River near Seeley, California (elev. -52 feet).
Jerry Van Dyke turned down the title role in “Gilligan’s Island” because he, like Tina Louise, thought the show was stupid. That makes his decision to star in the series “My Mother the Car” entirely inexplicable.
On December 23rd, 1750, Benjamin Franklin knocked himself unconscious while attempting to electrocute a turkey. I knew you wouldn’t believe me so I provide proof.