Trivia And Other Diversions

Trivia And Other Diversions

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NEW AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE EXAM by NW7US The new amateur radio test is here. A few changes have been made. The new test has been designed so that the same test can be given for all license classes. To qualify for the higher classes of license, all you have to do is score better on the test. This makes things so much simpler for VEs. ==================================================================== Please PRINT (that means no squiggly lines) YOUR NAME (what they call you) __________________________________________ ADDRESS (where you live) _______________________________________________ BIRTH DATE (when you were born) ________________________________ EXAM INSTRUCTIONS: Make a circle (one of these round things O ) around the letter of the best answer! This is so we know what your answer to the question is! 1. You TALK into a microphone with your _______. A. Hands B. Feet C. Toes D. Mouth E. Armpits 2. When you talk into a microphone, you talk into _______. A. the front B. the back C. the top D. the bottom E. the wire 3. "HEADPHONES" are worn over the ___________. A. Knees B. Eyes C. Toes D. Ears E. Lips 4. What do you do with the AC line cord coming out of a power supply? A. Hold it in the air to pick up signals B. Pull on it to start the motor C. Talk into the plug to get real "skip DX" D. Hook it to your antenna E. Insert the plug into a source of power 5. A "two meter" radio is: A. twice as strong as a one-meter radio B. two one-meter radios in series C. a CB with two meters on the front panel D. a good doorstop E. a monoband radio 6. A "ten-foot mast" is how long? A. Three meters B. Ten pounds C. Two meters D. Tree-top tall E. Same length as basketball hoop is high 7. A "Triband antenna" is made to work on how many bands? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 10 8. The "Marconi" antenna is named after: A. Marconi B. Mantovani C. macaroni D. Dean Martin E. martini 9. What colors of DIODES can you buy at a Radio Shack store? A. Red, blue and black B. Red, yellow and green C. Orange and brown D. I am color blind so this is a discriminatory question and I should automatically get a waiver on this question. E. I have no intention of ever using DIODES, so don't care what color they are. 10. What color of SLURPEE can you buy at 7-11? A. Red, blue and black B. Red, yellow and green C. Orange and brown D. I am color blind so this is a discriminatory question and I should get another waiver on this question. I now have two questions right. E. All the above 11. You have just installed your new mobile rig in your vehicle and you are still parked at the curb, you need to pull out into traffic and you are talking to another station? A. You put down the mic long enough to signal that you intend to pull away from the curb B. You keep on talking and just pull out in traffic C. You open your left rear door to signal that you want to pull out in traffic, while calling CQ DX on the repeater D. You install a light bulb at the top of your antenna so that it will flash when you are talking on the radio and people will then know to let you out END OF EXAM. YOUR SIGNATURE (slap yo tag here) _________________________________________ ==================================================================== SCORING: Get FOUR correct and you get an EXTRA!!!! Get THREE right and you get an ADVANCED!!!! Get TWO right and you get a GENERAL!!! Get ONE right and you get a TECHNICIAN!!! Get None right. Go back out in parking lot and study another five minutes. When you are done, come back in and try again.

Trivia/fun stuff:

A man came home from work, sat down in his favorite chair, turned on the TV, and said to his wife, "Quick, bring me a beer before it starts."

She looked a little puzzled, but brought him a beer. When he finished it, he said, "Quick, bring me another beer. It's gonna start."

This time she looked a little angry, but brought him a beer. When it was gone, he said, "Quick, another beer before it starts."

"That's it!" She blows her top! "You bastard! You waltz in here, flop your fat ass down, don't even say 'hello' to me, and then expect me to run around like your slave. Don't you realize that I cook and clean and wash and iron all day long?"

The husband sighed, "Ah, oh. It's started..."

A Collection of Word Oddities and Trivia

1961 was the most recent year that could be written upside-down and right side-up and appear the same. The next year that this will be possible will be 6009.
A baby eel is called an elver. A baby oyster is called a spat. A group of crows is called a murder. A group of officers is called a mess.
A hamlet is a village without a church and a town is not a city until it has a cathedral.
A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox car can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
A necropsy is an autopsy on animals.
According to Genesis 1:20-22, the chicken came before the egg.
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" or what we know today as the "honeymoon."
In English public houses (pubs), ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your Ps and Qs."
Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. That's where the phrase, "good night, sleep tight" came from. (Yeah, but what about that bedbugs thing?)
The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the alphabet. (Developed by Western Union to test TELEX/TWX communications)
The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
The only English word with three consecutive repeated letters is "bookkeeper."
When opossums are playing 'possum, they're not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror.
The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WW II fighter pilots in the Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50-caliber machine gun ammunition belts measured exactly 27 feet before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."
The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
The name jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "general purpose" vehicle--G.P.
The cruise liner Queen Elizabeth II moves only 6 inches for each gallon of diesel fuel that it burns.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously. (Wonder which now dead flower child found out that little ditty)
The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To Beaver."
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
In Cleveland, Ohio, it's illegal to catch mice without a hunting license.
It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.
Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.
There is an average of 178 sesame seeds on a McDonald's Big Mac bun.
The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1.
The three most recognizable brand names on earth are Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.
When Heinz ketchup leaves the bottle, it travels at a rate of 25 miles per year. (Anticipation..)
Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of vodka.
On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year. (100 incredibly stoopid people)
In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world's nuclear weapons combined. (Is that before or after the SALT treaty?)
By counting the number of chirps a cricket makes in 14 seconds and adding 40 to that number, you can find the correct temperature. Scientists claim that tests show it is possible to get the correct temperature within one degree 75 percent of the time and within two degrees 90 percent of the time.
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere. (Usually on Jerry's bookshelf)
Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to the mobile radio service, but did not re-number the other channel assignments. That's why American TV set has channels 2 and up, but no channel 1.
Hang On Sloopy is the official rock song of Ohio. (And no one knows why)

There are coffee flavored PEZ.

The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.)

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades - King David; clubs - Alexander the Great; hearts - Charlemagne; and diamonds - Julius Caesar.

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down--hence the expression "to get fired."

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th--John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Hershey's Kisses are so named because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.

The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.

The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms as are necessary. When it was built in the 1940s, the state of Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet facilities for blacks and whites.

Cat's urine glows under a black light. (And no one knows why)

The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.

If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.

The only two days of the year on which there are no professional sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL) are the day before and the day after the Major League All-Star Game.

The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."

Pound for pound, hamburgers cost more than new cars.

It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.

The Bible has been translated into Klingon. (And no one knows why)

Humans are the only primates that don't have pigment in the palms of their hands.

Reno, Nevada is west of Los Angeles, California.

Average age of top GM executives in 1994: 49.8 years. Average age of the Rolling Stones: 50.6.

Elephants can't jump. Every other mammal can.

The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

Five Jell-O flavors that flopped: celery (of course), coffee, cola, apple, and chocolate.
Names for things you probably didn't know had names:

Armsaye - The armhole in clothing.
Chad - The tiny bits of paper left over from punching data cards.
Chanking - Spat-out food, such as rinds or pits.
Feat - A dangling curl of hair.
Minimus - The little finger or toe.
Obdormition - The numbness caused by pressure on a nerve; when a limb is "asleep."
Ophryon - The space between the eyebrows on a line with the top of the eye sockets.
Peen - The end of a hammer head opposite the striking face.
Purlicue - The space between the thumb and extended forefinger.
Rasceta - Creases on the inside of the wrist.
Scroop - The rustle of silk.

Thanks to Robert/N5RKN for the following:

If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.
Nearly a third of all bottled drinking water purchased in the U.S. is contaminated with bacteria.
Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over 1 million descendants.
You are more likely to be struck by lightning than to be eaten by a shark. You are more likely to be infected by flesh-eating bacteria than you are to be struck by lightning.
When the pilot light in a gas barbecue fails to ignite the gas jets properly, it's easy for you to inhale gas accidentally while trying to light it by hand. If this has happened, when the match does light, sometimes a trail of flame will blaze from the jet onto your mouth, filling your lungs with fire. Oddly enough, you would suffocate before burning to death as the flame would consume the oxygen in every breath you would take.
The soft plastic headphones used on airplanes create a warm, moist environment in the ear canal that is ideal for breeding bacteria. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
Homely criminals get 50 percent longer jail sentences, on average, than good-looking criminals.
Four sunken nuclear submarines sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. One, a Russian sub resting in deep water off of Bermuda, holds 16 live nuclear warheads. Scientists and oceanographers are unsure what the impact of the escaping plutonium will have, but warn that corrosion could create the proper chemical environment for a massive nuclear chain reaction.
In 1994, electromagnetic interference (EMI) from a nearby cellular telephone captivated a power wheelchair at a scenic vista in Colorado, sending the passenger over a cliff.
If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?
More people working in advertising died on the job in 1996 than died while working in petroleum refining.

Thanks to Lee/W7AX for the following:

All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20.
If she were life size, Barbie's measurements are: 39-23-33.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt."
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
Almonds are members of the peach family.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
There are only four words in the English language which end in"-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
The longest place-name still in use is: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokai-
wenuakitanatahu, a New Zealand hill.
Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63 percent of its size, "L.A."
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
The Ramses brand condom is named after the great pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.
The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life."
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
On an American one-dollar bill, there is an owl in the upper left-hand corner of the "1" encased in the "shield" and a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner.
The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
Who's that playing the piano on the "Mad About You" theme? Why it's Paul Reiser himself.
The male gypsy moth can "smell" the virgin female gypsy moth from 1.8 miles away.
The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz."
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.
John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles.
The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
"Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.

More to come...

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