Historical
A Gift of General Ignorance
Christmas is coming and I've also just noticed this new category. One for fans of QI and similar such programmes. Or just fans of trivia in general. I enjoyed making quizzes during lockdown, and maybe this might inspire more, saying as many parts of the world are back in lockdown this winter, and many places seem to be heading in that direction. God forbid but we can never tell. I Just thought I'd give my Christmas present to this Vocal community by sharing the general ignorance I've stumbled across that I haven't seen on things like QI. A quick disclaimer is that they may have featured on QI and other such programmes, I just haven't noticed as I haven't consumed them all. Anyhow, there could be some content for your Christmas quizzes here. And UK readers will know all to well that they are allowed Christmas parties this year, so why not have a quiz? Let's just hope you do a better job of answering difficult questions than our ridiculous Prime Minister! I've tried to keep this trivia as festive-themed as possible, but there are limits to my knowledge of original general ignorance.
By Matty Long4 years ago in FYI
Knives Out — The Man Who Swallowed Small Blades
Long before kids were eating Tide pods and swallowing spoonfuls of dry cinnamon, there were other people in the world willing to do dangerous things to thrill a crowd. As far back as the early 1800s, we find one such case recorded by the late physician. Alexander Marcet of Guy Hospital. His tale regards a 23-year-old American sailor named John Cummings.
By A.W. Naves4 years ago in FYI
It's Raining Cats and Dogs
When someone says “it’s raining cats and dogs” what they’re really saying is “gee, isn’t it raining heavily outside”. It’s a phrase you might mutter to yourself or hear someone else say without giving too much thought: understandable given the expression has existed since at least the 17th century.
By R P Gibson4 years ago in FYI
The History of the Royal Disease
By the late 18th-early 19th century, the extended family of Queen Victoria had stretched throughout the European continent. With nine children of her own, marrying each of them off to Europe’s wealthiest and most powerful, her influence spread across the globe. But thanks to what would become known as ‘the Royal disease’, she was unknowingly spreading far more.
By R P Gibson4 years ago in FYI
The Romanov Dog That Survived
On 17 July 1918 the final Imperial family of the Russian Empire — former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei, were executed by Bolsheviks in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, a little over a year after Nicholas’ abdication.
By R P Gibson4 years ago in FYI
IAF Chopper Crashed CDS Bipin Rawat Amongst the Dead
CDS Bipin Rawat Death News: Key Points An IAF Chopper Mi-17 V5 met with an accident today in Tamil Nadu. Chopper carrying CDS General Bipin Rawat along with his wife and 11 other army personnel lost their lives. Only Captain Varun Singh was found alive and was brutally injured and is now under further treatment. Many people including PM Modi expressed their grief from their social media twitter accounts. Life is uncertain here, the only place to attain immortality is Satlok. True Worship of Supreme God Kabir can land us there.
By SA News Channel4 years ago in FYI
THE VICTORIAN TWO-PENNY HANGOVER
The term ‘hangover’ is assumed to mean the suffering of a night on the beer. But where does the term come from? One explanation is from the Victorian age. In the Victorian era, paying for a ‘two-penny hangover’ was widespread among the homeless population, especially in London. A two-penny hangover is not the description of a very cheap night out. It’s somewhere you could go to sleep if you were one of the many thousands of homeless living in the country’s major cities.
By Paul Asling4 years ago in FYI
