The Big Book of Interesting Stuff!

The Big Book of Interesting Stuff!

By Michael Hopkins

Copyright 2017 Michael Hopkins

- Smashwords Edition -

Introduction

The idea behind this book is as simple as the title itself; it's a great big collection of interesting, entertaining, and downright fun stuff to read!

Whether you need something to get you through a long airplane journey, or you just want to chill out with an enjoyable book, then this is for you.

From the weird to the wonderful, from the horrible to the hilarious, from science-fiction to ancient history, from Billy the Kid to Albert the Einstein... it's all in here, and then some!

It's got lots of short pieces, lots of medium length pieces, and a few longer pieces. You'll find incredible true stories, funny lists, strange facts, hilarious quotes, tricky brain teasers, weird coincidences, terrible puns, unusual short fiction, and a whole lot more...

So, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

Michael

Titan And Titanic: When Fiction Became Fact!

In 1898, novelist Morgan Robertson published a short novel called Futility. Fourteen years later, the RMS Titanic sank after striking an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.

These might seem like unrelated events, but there's a remarkable connection between the two. You see, Robertson's novel, which includes the details of a ship which would later sink to the bottom of the ocean, seems to predict the events of 14 years later to a startling degree.

Here are some of the eerie similarities between the 1912 tragedy and the novel that preceded it...

In Reality: The ship was called RMS Titanic.

In the Novel: The ship was called Titan.

In Reality: Titanic was the world's largest liner and was described by many as unsinkable.

In the Novel: Titan was described as the largest craft afloat and was also called unsinkable.

In Reality: Titanic carried just 20 lifeboats which were less than half the amount needed for her full capacity of 3,500 passengers.

In the Novel: Titan carried just 24 lifeboats which was also described as less than half the amount required for her full capacity of 3,000 passengers.

In Reality: On the night of April 14th, 400 miles from Newfoundland, Titanic struck an iceberg on its starboard side - and sank with a huge loss of life.

In the Novel: On an April night, 400 miles from Newfoundland, Titan struck an iceberg on its starboard side - and sank with a huge loss of life.

There are, of course, differences between Robertson's story and the tragic events that would follow it. For example, Titanic was sailing from England to the US, while Titan was sailing in the opposite direction. Also, Titanic took two and a half hours to sink, and there were 705 survivors.

The fictional Titan, however, went down in just five minutes and only 13 people survived.

Despite this, Robertson's novel is still remarkably prophetic.

P.S. If you're interested in reading Futility, it's available in various formats at Archive.org (under its alternative title, The Wreck of the Titan).

Two Quickies

— Parents spend the first two years of a child's life teaching them to walk and talk. Then they spend the next sixteen years telling them to sit down and shut up!

— Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure.

Did You Know..?

According to Thomas Fuchs' book, A Concise Biography of Adolf Hitler, when Hitler's friend Ernst Hanfstaengl told him that his moustache was unfashionable, the infamous dictator replied, "If it is not the fashion now, it will be because I wear it."

Many Tanks

Ever wondered why tanks are called tanks?

Well, when they were introduced by the British army during World War I, they were initially called 'landships'. The authorities, however, decided that they needed to keep the true nature of these machines secret so that they could surprise the Germans when they introduced them on the front.

As a result, it was decided that the 'landships' would be referred to as 'water tanks for Russia' on all official documentation while they were being designed, manufactured and delivered.

Ultimately, this was shortened to the cute and cuddly 'tank' we know today.

Water tanks. For Russia. *wink wink*

In Brief...

In the 1920's, American writer Anne Parrish and her husband were browsing in a bookstore in Paris when she happened upon a book she knew from her childhood: Jack Frost and Other Stories.

She showed it to her husband, telling him that it was one of her favorites as a little girl.

Her husband opened the book and was stunned to find the following inscription inside: "Anne Parrish, 209 N. Weber Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado." She had found her very own copy of the book, in a small bookstore, half a world away!

The Little Man With The Hammer

After every flight, airplane pilots fill out a form called a 'gripe sheet' which is basically a list of any problems the pilot experienced with the aircraft during the flight. This list is given to the ground mechanics. The mechanics then fix whatever needs fixing, note down the details on the same form, and give it back to the pilot.

Here are some real-life comments from various gripe sheets over the years...

Pilot: Unfamiliar noise coming from #2 engine.

Mechanic: Engine run for four hours. Noise is now familiar.

Pilot: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.

Mechanic: Evidence removed.

Pilot: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.

Mechanic: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

Pilot: Something loose in cockpit.

Mechanic: Something tightened in cockpit.

Pilot: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.

Mechanic: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

Pilot: Whining sound heard in cockpit on engine shutdown.

Mechanic: Pilot removed from cockpit.

Pilot: Dead bugs on windshield.

Mechanic: Live bugs on back-order.

Pilot: #2 ADF needle runs wild.

Mechanic: Caught and tamed #2 ADF needle.

Pilot: DME volume unbelievably loud.

Mechanic: DME volume set to more believable level.

Pilot: Noise coming from #2 engine compartment. Sounds like a little man tapping something with a hammer.

Mechanic: Took hammer away from little man.

Pilot: IFF inoperative.

Mechanic: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

Pilot: Number 3 engine missing.

Mechanic: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

Pilot: Whining noise coming from #2 engine compartment.

Mechanic: Gave back hammer to little man in #2 engine compartment.

Pilot: Aircraft handles funny.

Mechanic: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

The Not-So-Wild West

The Wild West has a notorious reputation as a place where violence and murder were commonplace.

If someone cheated at poker, shoot him. If someone stole your horse, shoot him. If the bartender refused to serve you, shoot him. If the McDanigan brothers forgot to give you a birthday present, shoot them. And their dog.

Basically, it was anarchy. Gun-slingers abounded. Shoot-outs were a daily affair. Outlaws and bandits were everywhere. The local sheriffs were powerless to halt the bloodshed.

So how many murders do you think were happening in these western towns at the height of this craziness? How many murders would typically occur in your average year in the most badass of all these badass towns?

A hundred? Two hundred? More than that?

In fact... five.

Five? What the fu... FIVE!?

Yes siree bob. Five was the most murders that any of the old west towns ever saw in one year. The average murder rate was about 1.5 per year - and, of course, not all of those were shootings.

How about Tombstone dammit? Surely there were more than five people shot during the famous gunfight at the OK Corral?

Well, no. In fact, 'only' three people were killed in that particular shoot-out - and that was Tombstone's most violent year ever!

Billy the Kid. According to legend he killed 21 men.

In truth, it's believed he killed between four and nine. Allegedly.

Did You Know..?

You're almost certainly familiar with the American DJ/producer, Moby.

Well, Moby's real name is Richard Melville Hall.

His great-great-great-granduncle was Herman Melville, author of... Moby Dick.

In Brief...

The 1998 sci-fi movie Armageddon contains so many scientific inaccuracies that NASA uses it as part of their management training program. Trainee managers are shown the movie to see how many of these inaccuracies they can find.

According to reports, at least 168 'impossible things' have been identified during these screenings!

The Moon! The Moon!

Quick Quote

"The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck, is probably the day Microsoft starts making vacuum cleaners."

— Ernst Jan Plugge

Some Demetri Martin Funnies

If you've never seen the TV show, Important Things With Demetri Martin, then I highly recommend you check it out. It's hilarious.

In the meantime, here are ten classic quotes from the man himself.

– "I was on the street. This guy waved to me, and he came up to me and said, 'I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else.' And I said, 'I am.'"

– "I went into a clothes store and a lady came up to me and said, 'If you need anything, I'm Jill'. I've never met anyone with a conditional identity before."

– "I like the beach. I like to get there really early before everyone else shows up and take, like, thirty bottles with notes in them and throw them into the water. Then I wait for everyone to come to the beach and when someone goes to pick up one of the bottles, I go up behind them because when they open it there's a note saying 'I'm standing right behind you.'"

– "I wrapped my Christmas presents early this year, but I used the wrong paper. See, the paper I used said 'Happy Birthday' on it. I didn't want to waste it so I just wrote 'Jesus' on it."

– "I like to use 'I Can't Believe it's Not Butter!' on my toast in the morning, because sometimes when I eat breakfast, I like to be incredulous. How was breakfast? Unbelievable!"

– "I feel stupid when I write the word 'banana'. Its like, how many na's are on this thing? I'm like 'Bana...' Keep going... 'Bananana...' Damn!"

– "I heard this lady say 'I love kids.' That's nice, a little weird though. It's like saying 'I like people, for a little while.' 'How old are you? 14? F**k off!' You can say 'I love kids' as a general statement, that's fine. It's when you get specific that you get into trouble. 'I love twelve-year-olds.'"

– Employee of the month is a good example of how somebody can be both a winner and a loser at the same time.

– "'Sort of' is such a harmless thing to say... Sort of. It's just filler. Sort of. It doesn't really mean anything. But after certain things, 'sort of' means everything. Like after 'I love you' or 'You're going to live' or 'It's a boy!'"

– "I went into a deli and got an egg sandwich and a hot chocolate. And then I went outside and I had to get a cab, so I had to put up one of my hands. But I already started eating my sandwich; I took it out of the bag, I was impatient. So my choice was hold up an egg sandwich or hold up a hot chocolate to get a car. So I chose the hot chocolate. And I put it up there and no cab stopped and I realized it was because I looked like I was toasting traffic. Standing on the street, 'Here's to you guys, to everybody heading west, I just wanna say I like what you do but one of you needs to stop, pick me up.'"

A Quick Trim And A Vasectomy!

Have you ever wondered why barber shops are traditionally represented by a pole with alternating red and white stripes twisted around it?

Well, back in the Middle Ages, barbers weren't just about giving you a trim and a shave. They also served as dentists and surgeons!

Yep, as soon as he was finished sculpting your rockabilly quiff, your friendly neighborhood barber would be happy to pull your teeth, extract your blood, or hack off that lump sticking out of the side of your neck.

And as to the red and white stripes, there are two theories.

According to one field of thought, this was purely symbolic. If a barber was also a surgeon/dentist he indicated it with the famous pole — red indicating all the bloody stuff and white representing the standard barber stuff.

Others, however, suggest that it started out in a more macabre fashion.

Basically, after a