Odd factoids

[screenman]

The first human powered land vehicle was constructed by Giovanni Fontana in 1418

 

[screenman]

Half of all the parts of a typical bicycle are in the chain.

 

[screenman]

There are roughly one billion bicycles in the world (about twice as many as motor vehicles).

 

[Bazzer]

The Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

France is the only country in the world where English isn't the mandatory language used by aircraft.

 

[MiK1138]

If a woodchuck could chuck wood it wouldn't chuck very much

 

[Beebo]

People who can swim are more likely to drown than people who can't.

That is like saying you are statistically more likely to die in an air crash if you are a qualified pilot.
Which I imagine is true.

 

[jefmcg]

People who can swim are more likely to be eaten by a shark.

This is because they are so damned tasty.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

English is the de facto international language of civil aviation - including in France. English is the mandatory language for air traffic control throughout Europe under EU Regulation 2015/340.

Blimey. You'll be telling us Stevie Wonder doesn't like the Archers next.

 

[tony111]

A cow can't walk downstairs............or is it upstairs?

 

[midlife]

Basenji dogs don't bark

 

[Dirk]

Ants dont have kneecaps.

 

[srw]

Blimey. You'll be telling us Stevie Wonder doesn't like the Archers next.

I don't suppose Stevie Wonder has ever seen the Archers.

 

[classic33]

That is like saying you are statistically more likely to die in an air crash if you are a qualified pilot.
Which I imagine is true.

What about the passengers?


"In 2001, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) determined that English would, from then on, be the standardized language of air travel, and issued a directive that stated that all aviation personnel—pilots, flight crews, and air traffic controllers—must pass an English proficiency test. The mandatory compliance date was March 5, 2008. Not only must applicants know the appropriate aviation terminology in English, they must also be able to understand English instructions via radio, with no facial cues to prompt them. They also must learn to develop as benign an accent as possible, so that they are “intelligible to the aeronautical community.”"

 

[Dirk]

A cow can't walk downstairs............or is it upstairs?

Downstairs.
Horses are the same. Many years ago a chap kept a small pony upstairs in a council house in Barnstaple! He got it up there and then it wouldn't go back down. The fire brigade had to hoist it out of the bedroom, after removing the window and some brickwork.