The Useless Facts Thread

[BIL]

Fun with Ninja Gaiden boss name transliterations:

"Basaquer" = "Berserker"

"Kelebross" = "Cerberus" (this was pointed out even in magazine coverage of the time, iirc)

"Bloody Malth" = "Bloody Mars"

"Dando" = "Damned"

"Jaquio" = Jaki Oh or "King of Devils" <-- MIND BLOWN, I always assumed he was a Mexican warlock or something. Jackie O?

[trap15]

"Jaquio" = Jaki Oh or "King of Devils" <-- MIND BLOWN, I always assumed he was a Mexican warlock or something. Jackie O?

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

Cadillac put a character on Chicago Hope named Lisa Catera. As in 'lease a Catera,' Cadillac's new car at the time.

[BIL]

In Blast Wind, during the last boss's intro, one of the stage's grazing horses will run into the fleeing GORN ship along with the leader and his men. Smart horse! Its position seems to be random. Horse at the upper-left. And horse at the top-right. I have never seen the horse come tumbling out of the ship later on, perhaps it was eaten in the ensuing panic? Admittedly there are a lot of lasers and explosions at that point, maybe I've just missed it.

[Ruldra]

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/

Tons and tons of useless facts.

[DrTrouserPlank]

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/

Tons and tons of useless facts.

Stretching the definition of "fact" so far that it loses all meaning.

[Stormwatch]

The most expensive console ever was probably the Halcyon, released by RDI Video Systems in 1985. It cost about $2500 ($5400 adjusted for inflation), and had an incredible library of two games. Oh, and it was also a LaserDisc player, so it wasn't completely useless.

[Ed Oscuro]

Well, he says it's all useless:
http://littlevillagemag.com/author/v-pasternak/

[antron]

in gymnastics there is a move called the "Arab Spring"

[KAI]

The sexual attraction to trees and other large plants is called Dendrophilia

[ShmupSamurai]

The most expensive console ever was probably the Halcyon, released by RDI Video Systems in 1985. It cost about $2500 ($5400 adjusted for inflation), and had an incredible library of two games. Oh, and it was also a LaserDisc player, so it wasn't completely useless.

Wait a mintue- Extremely expensive, two games, only good for LaserDiscs...looks like two black DVRs stacked on top of each other..is it just me...

or is the Xbone "Halcyon Mk.2", only minus one stacked DVR??

[Aleksei]

My car has done 157000 miles and has absolutely no record of mechanical maintenance. Its a mitsibushi and I've had it since new. :p

My wife's first car was a 1989 Ford Festiva (manufactured by then-unknown Kia...Ford's not getting the credit for this one). Her mom bought it new, put ~100,000 miles on it, then my wife inherited it in 1992. Had a new muffler put on it in 1994, and I replaced the rear wheel bearings in 1996. We sold it in 1999 with 265,000 miles. After that, I saw the new owners driving it around for about 3 more years. That car had one hell of a hamster under the hood.

i have a 95' civic I drive every day, everytime i take it to a new mechanic they try to convince me to sell it to them because they swear it will stop working any day now, its been 4 years of mechanics saying that.

[Stormwatch]

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of the number 666.

[antron]

Women have a tiny prostate gland.

[Teufel_in_Blau]

Today is the first time I realised that the -> are actually sparkling.

I thought at first "Damn, I shouldn't have drank so much today".

[Ghegs]

The icon sparkles for threads that have more than 100 replies to them.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The most expensive console ever was probably the Halcyon, released by RDI Video Systems in 1985. It cost about $2500 ($5400 adjusted for inflation), and had an incredible library of two games. Oh, and it was also a LaserDisc player, so it wasn't completely useless.

Wait a mintue- Extremely expensive, two games, only good for LaserDiscs...looks like two black DVRs stacked on top of each other..is it just me...

or is the Xbone "Halcyon Mk.2", only minus one stacked DVR??

I recall playing the slick Thayer's Quest arcade LD game at the local Tilt! back in 1984-1985 at 50 cents per credit. It was quite groundbreaking as it had a membrane-based keyboard on the control panel itself. And the CPU talked to you when playing a serious session of it indeed. In retrospect, it was more of a extravagant "Choose your own Adventure" type of game where you are given a series of decisions/choices, and by choosing it, determines the rest of the story with possible different outcomes/endings. The animation wasn't of Don Bluth's caliber but more reminiscent of those early '80s "Saturday morning cartoons" type of vibe.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[drauch]

The icon sparkles for threads that have more than 100 replies to them.

Never noticed that until I sat there and stared at it. Interesting!

[AntiFritz]

The icon sparkles for threads that have more than 100 replies to them.

Cannot unsee.

[Stormwatch]

Cuba's "bay of pigs", most famous for the infamous failed 1961 invasion, is a translation error. The place's original name is "bahía de cochinos", and you could translate it literally like that; but that would be wrong, as "cochino" is also the popular name for the queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) that inhabits its coral reefs.

So... triggerfish bay. Yeah.

[Stormwatch]

There is a German beer called "Fucking Hell".

The "fucking" comes from the village of Fucking, Austria (founded in the 6th century by a Bavarian nobleman named Focko).

The "hell" comes from its color, as it is a pale ale, and "hell" is German for "light".

[Ruldra]

^That reminds me of a reddit post I saw some days ago...

In 2008 there was a music festival called 'Festival of the fuck bands', where bands such as Fucked Up, Holy Fuck and Fuck buttons performed. It was held in Fucking, Austria.

[Stormwatch]

Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of president Richard Nixon and wife to the grandson of president Dwight Eisenhower, did the vocals to "Where Do We Go From Here? (Calace’s Song)", the first song from a video game (Kingdom II: Shadoan) to become a mainstream radio hit.

[Stormwatch]

Crono's mother's name is Gina (ジナ).

[Stormwatch]

A baby is more likely to die during a circumcision than ever actually need a circumcision.

[BIL]

Chubby Checker was actually Earnest Evans all along.

[Stormwatch]

Why is he called Chubby Checker? He doesn't seem to be overweight, and what does he check anyway?

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

He's checking out chubbies. Look at his face.

[BIL]

In the original Akumajo Dracula / Castlevania, while you are advancing in either direction Medusa Heads will always target Simon with an upward impact at the center of the screen. If you have to dodge one, back up a step and duck. Yo! It's like they be followin' a pattern or some shit...

[trap15]

Now tell me if you can come up with something like that for all the shit in Holy Diver ;D