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Interesting Facts - Fun Facts

The Turbulent HISTORY Of The LITTLE MERMAID SCULPTURE.

August 5th 2009 12:06
Little Mermaid
One of Denmark's most famous attractions is the statue of The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen who was based on the story by Danish Storyteller Hans Christian Anderson. Usually tourists are surprised at first, on witnessing her small size as she is only 1.25 metres high and weighs around 175 kg. She was sculpted by Edvard Eriksen and revealed to the public in August 1913.

Her history since has been a very turbulent one, even having her cut cut off more than once. There is actually a very faint line that can still be seen on her neck from having her head replaced. Having just come back from seeing her myself, I can attest to that, but I had no idea until this that she had been vandalised so often until I was introduced to her 'vandalism timeline'.

* 24 April 1964 – Her head was sawn off and stolen.The head was never recovered and a new head was produced and placed on the statue. (Apparently, or so I was told, the original mould for her head is still in existence.)

* 22 July 1984 – her right arm was sawn off. The arm was returned 2 days later.

* 1990 – another attempt was made to cut her head off as she was discovered with an 18 cm deep cut in the neck.

* 6 January 1998 – she lost her head again. The head was returned anonymously to a nearby TV station, and by February the head was back on.

* Red paint has been thrown on her several times, including one episode in 1961 where her hair was painted red and a bra was painted on her.

* March 8, 2006 – a dildo was attached to the statue's hand, green paint was dumped over it, with 'March 8' scrawled on it. Suspicion pointed to something to do with International Women's Day (March 8).

* March 3, 2007 – the statue was covered with pink paint.

* May 2007 – the statue was again covered in paint.
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2009 ODDEST BOOK TITLE AWARD!

July 2nd 2009 12:30
book stack
As discussed in a previous post many eons ago (which I now can't locate thanks to Firefox!!!) the competition for the weirdest book titles, as run by he Bookseller Magazine, has been hard at work as ever to appoint their 2009 winner.

Having brought books to the public eye such as 'How to Avoid Huge Ships', 'Bombproof Your Horse' and ''If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs', the shortlist for this year's Oddest Book Title of the Year included:
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WHY Are SHIPS Christened With A Bottle Of CHAMPAGNE???

June 30th 2009 16:10
Upon the launching of a newly completed ship, a bottle of champagne is usually smashed over the bow to christen it. The origins of this are a little unclear and can vary slightly from culture to culture, but for the most part it is believed that blood or wine, depending on the particular culture, was originally used as a sacrifice to the gods of the sea to allow for a smooth passage.

Namcy Reagan ship christening
Over time this became wine by those who originally used blood, and the wine was poured first into a silver chalice, from which a sip was taken before spilling the wine over the ship and casting the chalice into the sea.
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QUICK TO SWOOP

June 26th 2009 11:19
Michael Jackson
With the announcement of Michael Jackson's death, I thought everyone was quick with the new jokes, (in fact some sites have gone down with the amount of traffic online today) but not as quick it turns out, as people are to begin selling off their Michael Jackson memorabilia on Ebay.

In fact I counted up to 15 pages newly listed from today before I stopped - the list is seemingly endless. (What colour will his ghost be by the way???)
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CRAZY About CARROTS And Their NON-ORANGE COLOUR!!!

June 17th 2009 08:13
coloured carrots
According to the World Carrot Museum, (yes, it really does exist!), carrots are the second-most popular vegetable after potato, and the most popular in the UK.

Originally carrots were found in a variety of colours including purple, white, black, yellow and red. Orange carrots did not appear until later on in the 1500's when the Dutch Royal House of Orange was in power and the Dutch decided therefore to breed an orange carrot by using a mutant yellow carrot seed from North Africa. Beta carotene, found in orange carrots is converted in the human body to vitamin A.
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The REAL Story Behind The Location of HOLLYWOOD!!!

May 30th 2009 07:58
Hollywood sign
Many people think that Hollywood is situated in California because of all of the glorious sunshine associated with the area, but the real reason behind the placement of Hollywood is a little more sly than most would think.

While it is true that it takes a lot of light to produce good films, especially in the early days of the industry, it actually had much more to do with patent infringement.
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HARI KARI? HARI KUYO!

May 21st 2009 10:49
sewing needle threaded
In Japan, every village has a shrine dedicated to broken sewing needles. Yes, that's right, broken sewing needles! The name for this shrine is Hari Kuyo.

This is done in the belief that a sewing needle which has performed its task well over its entire life and in the service of others, has 'died' whilst in active service. Broken needles are therefore laid to rest on a soft bed of tofu.
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A LESSON IN LAMINGTONS!!!

May 11th 2009 09:19
The chocolate Lamington is as Australian as meat pies, kangaroos and Holdens. (Who else remembers that song/chant from way back when - "Football, meat-pies, kangaroos and Holden cars...?")

For years lamingtons have been a way of putting stale or over-cooked sponge cake to good use, but where did it actually start?
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Are FRENCH FRIES Really FRENCH???

May 5th 2009 10:29
French fries hot chips
French fries. Are they actually French?

It turns out the answer is actually no.
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So What's YOUR CUP SIZE???

April 27th 2009 08:33
bra bras brassiere
Who knew cup sizes could vary so much related on your country of birth, and what does this have to do with the average woman (or man) who likes to spend a lot of time in the kitchen?

Well, it may not mean anything to some, but for those of us who dabble in international recipes it can make a world (no pun intended) of difference!
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A Few Little Known Body Facts

April 10th 2009 10:53
human body 3D
A human head remains conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it is been decapitated.

About 10,000,000 people have the same birthday as you.
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The Average Human Body CONTAINS ENOUGH.......

March 23rd 2009 11:03
human body torso cut open
The average human body contains enough:

Sulfur to kill all the fleas on an average dog.
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What's YOUR BLOOD-TYPE???

March 12th 2009 10:37
red blood cells free image
The human body contains one of four main blood types: A, B, AB and O.

Each blood-type also has an accompanying Rhesus or Rh factor of either positive or negative.
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Posted By: MelissaA - Category: Interesting Facts, Loose Ends, Science
   


The MYTH Behind SALUTING As A WINNER Or LOSER Of The WAR!

March 7th 2009 10:00
US naval salute
U.S Naval salute - palm down.
Recently I was involved in a conversation where an American decided to, quite arrogantly I might add, tell an Englishwoman that the reason that the American military salute with their palms down (as if shading the eyes from the sun) is because they have never lost a war, whereas the British, who salute with their palms facing outwards, have lost in the past and therefore must salute as such.

Upon pointing out that they lost at Vietnam, the American initially tried to deny that it was actually a war, and when challenged on the issue subsequently snapped and the night turned into a smaller, but more tense version of Fawlty Towers ‘don’t mention the war.’
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