Theos-Talk Archives (May 1998 Message tl00044)

Thoa Tran wrote:
> 
> Did you know?.....
> Smartest dogs:  1) Scottish border collie; 2) Poodle;  3) Golden Retriever

	Tbeosophical question: What, in a dog, is the definition of
intelligence?

> Cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400

	That actually sounds a little low, averaging about $50/month. Does that
include vet bills, for example? How about cleaning bills?

> Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

	Theosophical question: How is intelligence being defined, here?

> A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

	I think this one is an urban legend.

> Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
> Spades - King David; Clubs - Alexander the Great; Hearts - Charlemagne;
> Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

	We were just discussing this old chestnut in TAROT-L. This has no basis
in fact.

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

	So?

> "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

	OK.

> 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.

	I hate it when special interest groups create legends to further their
own causes. This was invented by radical femnists in the 1970's. In
fact, "rule of thumb" comes from a practice of using one's thumb as
measure of length in rough carpentry. 

	Another example of politically correct revisionist etymology is the
complaints by "diffabled" people about the use of the word
"handicapped", which the activists claim comes from handicapped people
in the past being beggars, always having their cap out in their hand.
Actually, the term was used in gaming first; there was a game called
hand'i'cap where better players had to play under rules which made it
harder for them. Note it is also used in horse racing and golf, in the
original sense.

> The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, moves only six inches for each
> gallon of
> diesel that it burns.

	They have been discussing this one on alt.folklore.urban_legends. Some
of the more mathematically inclined proved this to be impossible.

> Cat's urine glows under a blacklight.

	So does mine. I'm pretty sure Chuck's does too, but he doesn't need a
blacklight...

> Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.

	It also is an hallucinogen, in large amounts orally, which is why
prisons keep the nutmeg locked up.

	Bart Lidofsky.