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Topic Originator: GG Riva
Date: Wed 12 Nov 10:56
During the Civil War, when troops returned to their barracks without any casualties, they would write "0 Killed" on a large blackboard; this is where the expression "OK" comes from to say that everything is alright.
In convents, during the reading of the Holy Scriptures, when referring to Saint Joseph they always said "Pater Putatibus", that is, putative father, which means father who raises but whose paternity is not proven and to simplify this word, it was shortened to "PP". Thus was born the calling of Josephs "Pepe".
In the New Testament, in the book of Saint Matthew, it says, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." The problem is that Saint Jerome, the translator of the text, interpreted the word "camelos" as camel, when in reality, in Greek, "kamelos" is that thick rope with which ships are tied to docks. Ultimately, the meaning of the phrase is the same, but... which seems more logical to you?
When the English conquerors arrived in Australia, they were astonished to see strange animals that made incredible leaps. They immediately called over a native (the Indigenous Australians were extremely peaceful) and tried to ask him using sign language. Noticing that the native always said "Khan Ghu Ru," they adopted the English word "kangaroo." Linguists later determined the meaning, which was quite clear. The Aboriginal people meant "I don`t understand."
The region of Mexico known as Yucatán got its name during the conquest when a Spaniard asked an indigenous person what they called the place. The indigenous person replied: Yucatán. What the Spaniard didn`t realize was that the person was actually saying: "I`m not from here."
In old England, people couldn`t have sex without the King`s consent (unless they were a member of the royal family). When people wanted to have a child, they had to request permission from the monarch, who would give them a sign to hang outside their door while they were having sex. The sign read: "Fornication Under Consent of the King" (****). That is the origin of such a popular little word.
Please add any amusing trivia you know to this thread.
Not your average Sunday League player.
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Wed 12 Nov 12:24
GG, I`m afraid I reckon some of your trivia is legit. Certainly not the last one anyway.
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: GG Riva
Date: Wed 12 Nov 12:49
Quote:
The One Who Knocks, Wed 12 Nov 12:24
GG, I`m afraid I reckon some of your trivia is legit. Certainly not the last one anyway.
Did you mean none of it, TOWK? I read on a forum. Not claiming it`s all true. They all made me laugh or smile. That has to be good for us, I`m sure you`ll agree.
Not your average Sunday League player.
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Topic Originator: AdamAntsParsStripe
Date: Wed 12 Nov 15:13
The Kangaroo one is definitely wrong.
Heard this years ago that it’s a myth.
Can’t mind the correct spelling but something like Gangeru was translated from indigenous tribes by James Cook.
Zwei Pints Bier und ein Päckchen Chips bitte
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Topic Originator: veteraneastender
Date: Wed 12 Nov 15:53
You have to be careful about words and phrases that have worked their way into the English language and are far from their original roots
One classic term is decimation - that was a deterrent in the Roman Army for general cowardice within the ranks engaged in fighting the enemy.
One in ten soldiers were selected at random for punishment, sometimes capital.
In modern times it has come to mean a very high casualty rate in a military unit, whereas literally it means 10%.
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Topic Originator: parsfan
Date: Wed 12 Nov 16:15
Assuming you mean the American Civil War, or even if not, I call BS on the first one as it pre-dates it. I know for certain the last one`s made-up so I`d question all of them. I`d heard the kangaroo one before, wanted to believe it but always thought it was too good to be true. A bit like the queen and her farting horse story.
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The universe is ruled by chance and indifference
Post Edited (Wed 12 Nov 16:15)
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Wed 12 Nov 16:16
When you shuffle a deck of cards it is an almost mathematical certainty that the sequence the cards are now in has never happened before in the history of cards being shuffled. To be clear I mean that in all of human history nobody has ever randomised a pack of cards in the same sequence as someone else had previously.
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: red-star-par
Date: Wed 12 Nov 16:41
Quote:
The One Who Knocks, Wed 12 Nov 16:16
When you shuffle a deck of cards it is an almost mathematical certainty that the sequence the cards are now in has never happened before in the history of cards being shuffled. To be clear I mean that in all of human history nobody has ever randomised a pack of cards in the same sequence as someone else had previously.
That`s quite interesting, especially when you think about the mind-boggling maths behind it. We will never know, but I would say that surely, at least once someone has done it exactly the same as someone else.
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Topic Originator: ipswichpar
Date: Wed 12 Nov 16:47
The odds would be 1 in 52! wouldn`t it? Which is around 8 x 10^67. I`d never thought about it that way.
Mind you, I`m sure most of us have struggled with trying to break in a new deck of cards more than once. I`m sure that would reduce the odds somewhat!
ETA: to give another context.... that would be the equivalent of picking (randomly) all the numbers in exactly the same order in a 52 number lottery game.
Post Edited (Wed 12 Nov 16:50)
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Wed 12 Nov 18:42
Just to put it into more context there are more possible combinations of card orders than there are atoms that make up the earth. Far more. To put that into context there are more atoms in a glass of water than there are glasses of water in all the worlds oceans and seas. Again far more. Fifty two factorial is an eight followed by sixty eight zeroes. So yeah if you genuinely randomise a deck of cards by shuffling it`s never been in that order before.
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: Dave_1885
Date: Thu 13 Nov 16:10
Quote:
The One Who Knocks, Wed 12 Nov 18:42
Just to put it into more context there are more possible combinations of card orders than there are atoms that make up the earth. Far more. To put that into context there are more atoms in a glass of water than there are glasses of water in all the worlds oceans and seas. Again far more. Fifty two factorial is an eight followed by sixty eight zeroes. So yeah if you genuinely randomise a deck of cards by shuffling it`s never been in that order before.
I guess thats a good one. Although, it would also be interesting to know the math on how many decks of cards are shuffled every minute on earth?
Bearing in mind, the number of decks casinos use, and change over, every minute with the number of casinos worldwide operating 24/7. Think of the World Series of Poker as a stand alone - the dealers for that one festival must shuffle in the tens of thousands of decks surely?
Now do the math over the years, it would be interesting if nobody has ever shuffled them the same way. But I guess we will never know either way
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