Weekend Open Thread
As often as the Democrats attempt to torpedo Donald Trump, they keep missing the mark. Indictments? Donald Trump’s support get stronger. Convicted? Donald Trump’s support gets stronger. It doesn’t help the Democrats when they must make things up or take things out of context. It’s like watching Wile E. Coyote chasing after the road runner. Enjoy your weekend!
Category: Open thread
First!
The FIRST on The TAH Weekend Open Thread Prize AND Lois Lane? Go buy a Lotto Ticket, you Lucky Devil! Be a Kong Rat upon you, CW.
Many thanks, King … and Lois sends her best!
Cong Rats to ya, CW. I left the Crown, Orb, and Scepter where they belong for easy access for you.
Oh, and I restocked the Top Shelf Imbibables, and the larder is full. Enjoy.
FIRST!
Can Hack Stone get first comment for Weekend Open Thread?
Magic 8-Ball says…
Nope, yet again … sorry, Hack.
Hack Stone will just have to wait until those compromising photos that Commissioner Wretched and KoB posed for in the 1980’s for Penthouse to be published, then he will regain his crown.
Missed it by 2 seconds. Damn that All Points Logistics cellphone.
MY REPLY IS NO
All Signs Point To GTFOH.
Hey, everybody … look who got the throne this week!!! I have to say that Tox left it in very good shape, so it will not require much to make the old Commish comfortable once again. In order to truly enjoy the victory, I throw open all the storerooms to everything, and offer up as a little appetizer the week’s trivia foolishness. Have fun!
DID YOU KNOW…?
Did an actor’s mustache cost a movie studio $25 million?
By Commissioner Wretched
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
Copyright © 2024
When I am wrong, I freely admit it … and this time, I think I’m wrong all the way around.
A couple of weeks ago, I had an item in the column that said Captain Thomas Ward Custer won two Medals of Honor during the Civil War. I was quickly taken to task by several veterans who reminded me that one does not “win” the Medal of Honor, one earns it.
You win on a game show.
I’d like to thank all of them, especially the retired Army master sergeant who wrote me most respectfully, for correcting me on something I should have already known.
Many thanks, my friends – for the correction, and for your service.
Now, let’s get to the trivia, which is the real reason we’re all here, right?
Did you know …
… the Big Bang really wasn’t a big bang? One of the most popular theories for the creation of the universe, scientists say it shouldn’t be considered a conventional explosion. Rather, it should be viewed as a “vast sudden expansion.” (Uh, isn’t that what an explosion is?)
… polar bears are very athletic animals? For instance, a polar bear swimming can jump up to eight feet out of the water to surprise a seal. (And you can rest assured the seal is surprised.)
… gladiator contests had referees? Even in the days of the Roman Empire, games involving gladiators had officials who could stop fights, or just pause them to let the fighters rest and freshen up. (You could always tell the referee at a gladiator contest. They were wearing the black-and-white striped toga.)
… no one can adequately explain the scoring system used in tennis? Why the point system used in tennis goes 15-30-40, or even why 0 is called “love,” is not known. (Nor does it make sense.)
… residents of a part of India at one time had to have passports to leave their neighborhood? The enclave of Dahala Khagrabari, India, was surrounded by the enclave of Upanchowki Bhanji, which is in Bangladesh. But that ain’t all, folks … that enclave was surrounded by an Indian enclave called Balapara Khagrabari, which itself was inside the border of Bangladesh. The entire confusing thing was solved in 2011 when the governments of both nations agreed to iron out the problem by ceding the Indian parts to Bangladesh. (Diplomacy be hanged!)
… the most toxic substance known is routinely used in cosmetic injections? Botulinum toxin is so poisonous, two pounds of it in pure form would be enough to wipe out the entire human race. The poison is secreted by a bacterium, and causes muscle paralysis by cutting off proteins which normally enable function at neuromuscular junctions. But under the trade name Botox™, people willingly have that stuff injected into their faces each year. The injection is a very, very diluted form, of course, but still – it’s poison. (In its favor, I should point out, it is completely natural, organic, and gluten free to boot.)
As was explained to me by a physical education major, love in tennis comes from the French. L’oeuf, which means the egg in French, was used for zero. L’oeuf is pronounced similarly to the English love. Kinda sorta as we might say goose egg for zero. Personally, I prefer the Yiddish bupkis, it has a more zero like feel, I just can’t see the tennis set saying it.
Oh, I almost forgot. The other scores, from what my informant said, come from the clock: 15, 30, & 40 (40 was shortened from the original 45), and back to love (for 0 or 60).
… an actor’s mustache cost a movie studio $25 million? Henry Cavill (born 1983) was working on two movies – Justice League for Warner Brothers and Mission: Impossible – Fallout for Paramount – back to back in 2016. Cavill’s character had a mustache in the Mission: Impossible film, but he played a clean-shaven Superman in Justice League. Reshoots for Justice League were scheduled during the filming of Mission, and Paramount refused to allow Cavill to shave the mustache for the reshoots. Warner Brothers had to digitally remove the actor’s mustache from the Justice League scenes that were reshot, and the special effects bill for doing so came to $25 million. Additional trivia note: The effect didn’t work nearly as well as Warner Brothers hoped; people were clearly able to see where Cavill’s mustache had been digitally eliminated. (Your mission, should you choose to accept it – shave Superman. Good luck.)
… things in space move very fast? Let me give you an example: clap your hands once. Wait one second, and clap them again. During the time between claps, the Earth moved 18 miles in its orbit around the Sun. To a casual observer, however, things seem to move very slowly in space, but that’s because the distances between things in space are very, very vast. (Not just half vast, mind you, but very vast.)
… the guitarist for a popular band was allowed to join because of his age? The Offspring, formed in California in 1984, has a guitarist who goes by the stage name of Noodles. Kevin John Wasserman (born 1963), the fellow behind the name, was allowed to join the band because he was old enough to buy alcohol for the other members. (That’s one way to do it.)
How can the Man of Steel find a razor strong enough to groom his whiskers? Superman probably uses hot wax to groom his face.
Back in the day when I was a wee lad and read the comic of the book. They had a story about the Man of Steel using a shard of glass from the rocket that brought him to earth. It seemed plausible to my young mind.
Actually, as I recall, Superman had to focus his heat vision with a mirror to shave himself. (Yeah, I know, it doesn’t make much sense to me, either.)
And now we know the inspiration for the Bathroom Mirror Selfie. Now, how would that work if Dracula came from Krypton?
… one of the most iconic characters in science fiction was initially conceived very differently from how he was portrayed? When Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991) wrote the original treatments and character sketches for Star Trek in 1964, he included a character called Mister Spock, who became a cultural icon of the late 20th Century. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015), is known to the world as a half-human, half-Vulcan hybrid with pointed ears and green blood. But in the first treatments, Spock was described as a red-skinned being with a plate in the middle of his stomach. The original Spock would not eat or drink, but would be sustained with any form of energy that hit the plate. When it became obvious that the effect would be almost impossible to believably show with 1960s television technology (and Roddenberry would never get a serious actor to take on a role like that), changes were made to make Spock more presentable to television audiences. (Live long and don’t crowd the energy plate.)
Now … you know!
Does the Polar Bear go down to bed of the ocean to get some leverage for leaping out of the water?
The Heroes that EARNED The MoH didn’t set out to do that. They were only doing their job…which was to look after their Buddy…and their Buddy’s Buddy. We are all winners when you present us with your trivia.
In Theory I wouldn’t mind a Big Bang with Penny. She causes a vast expansion to a certain extremity. I can’t bearly seal a deal, no surprise. In that fight I’d probably be Commodus since my chances for winning her would be in the toilet. Sadly, that love score is a 0 also.
Talk about toxic…Living in India and then living in Bangladesh? It don’t come easy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tby39qh9Lts
Remember when a shave and a hair cut was 2 bits? Talk about inflation.
So now we have a vast space conspiracy? Boy, that came on fast. Warp speed or another type of drive? Captain Lee was unavailable for comment.
Wasserman used to noodle and got the gig.
Spock had his mind more on Pon Farr. Fascinating! The Tarkans were unavailable for comment. (iykyk)
Another fine presentation, CW. Thank you muchly, Good Sir! And “Lois sends her best”? Lois needs to make a personal delivery.
Indeed:
The Tarkans are grateful for the shout-out, King!
Since Hack Stone did not secure the highly coveted and rarely awarded First Commenter Award, he will entertain the masses with this tribute to Daniel Bernath.
Happy weekend!
Open Thread!!
Happy Flag Day.
Woo hoo. Late again.
Top Twenty and I award myself another Honorary First.
((((OVER))))
Epstein did not kill himself.
The ones in charge STILL guard Epstein’s list harder than they did TOP SECRET information they have possessed.
The FBI is the KGB of the DNC.
Posted this on the wrong thread
Or at least practice making babies.
They say, “ practice makes perfect!”
Meanwhile, the Kardashians are as popular as ever:
WHO are the Kardashians?
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” like Santa said (just ask Ray Jay).
Ray Jay? You mean this guy?
Probably an improvement, but look what happened to Bruce Jenner for his sake.
His sitcom starts in 2025
Kinda the TV version… at least in his own mind:
That movie is definitely a classic
Who would have known this would become reality
FIRST TWENTY SECOND
This could be entertaining, but the nooses need to be a bit tighter.
If that was anywhere near me, I’d slowly walk up to them with a ball peen hammer for the ice and the most psychotic expression on my face I could muster!
This is not a Hillary approved setup.
Hillary would have the nooses tighter, and it would look like an accident.
Forget the hammer.
I would have just come up behind them and kicked the blocks of ice out from under their feet.
And then run away laughing like a psychotic.
I recently came across a video of some enlightened yout who had glued his hand to the pavement at what looked to be a F1 type race. One guy went to move him, but his hand wouldn’t turn lose. 2 or 3 more people came to help and they were successful in separating hand from pavement. Couldn’t tell if he was screaming with all the background noise.
What’s the carbon footprint of the source of that ice? Unless the chopped it off of an iceberg, there was probably some fossil fuel somewhere in the logistics chain to make that ice.
+25 stealth mission
^^^
Tis the season. Please give them space.
This goes with above pic.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-L7UAyQ83Yg
Present and unaccountable.
Y’all have a blessed weekend.
RIP MarineGrandDad(19)36.
Age 87.
MarineSon90, currently deployed overseas,
but presently on east coast CONUS training TDY,
was able to attend the funeral,
a pleasant surprise for MarineDad61,
family, and friends.
My deepest condolences on your loss, Dad.
Thank you. 🙂
Sorry to hear of your loss.
Thank you. 🙂
Sorry for your loss.
Thank you. 🙂
I’m sorry for your loss, glad your son was able to come.
The memory of a good father is priceless.
Thank you. 🙂
Sorry to hear of your loss. I will say a prayer for your father.
Thank you. 🙂
This dog knows a no good bastard when he sees it
https://x.com/ontwtf/status/1801634048055644486/mediaviewer
Anyone remember a periodical that the DoD published maybe late 1970’s, definitely early 1980’s titled SSAM (Soldier Sailor Airman Marine)? Pretty much an authorized place for the Enlisted Slime to bitch about how the military sucks. Hack remembers reading an article about a kid in the 1950’s who took a bus to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Middle of the night the bus pulls into Beaufort SC, a Marine Drill Instructor gets on board and orders all of the Marine Recruits off the base. The kid doesn’t budge, they drag him off the bus, he says he is not supposed to be there, of course they don’t believe him, and before you can say Chesty Puller, he has a shaved head and marching in formation. Meanwhile, Grandpa and Grandma go to the bus station, and he is nowhere to be found. Took about a week for the Marine Corps to figure out that he was not one of the few, not the proud. Pretty sure Hack read that in SSAM, but it may been a Leatherneck issue. Does this story ring a bell with anyone?
The old series is coming back to TV
Auto Make over show returns to A&E