Yes it really happened

[Khun Paul]

I was pleasantly surprised at the drop to 200 from 300 that was three years ago, however , it seems talking to others it is now standard 200, more open to discretion which as we know can depend on which side of the bed the accounting staff got out of. Why they do have a list of fees for certain actions always amazes me.

[Doodoo]

Volkswagen
The name of the car translates to "people's car" from German.

Google
The search engine gets its name from the mathematical term, googol, which is the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros.

Sony
The name was taken from the Latin word "sonus," meaning sound, and was chosen because it can be easily pronounced in most languages.

[Doodoo]

It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.
Alan Shepard

[stattointhailand]

Funny, coz I feel exactly the same when driving over some of Thailands overpasses/underpasses/raised expressways

[Whistler]

It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.
Alan Shepard

That is not really the case.

For a start, if it is a NASA contract, it gets designated to particular states in many cases, that is why the booster rockets for the Apollo missions were made in Utah, Senator Orrin Hatch made sure that money was spent in his state. A dumb decision, they should be manufactured in situ at Cape Canaveral. The engineering design was compromised so they could take the rockets by land from Utah to Florida, so they were made in multiple sections. To join the sections they used O-Rings, a flawed engineering approach just so Utah could win the contact. It was the failure of these O-Rings that lead to the Apollo 13 disaster

If you bid on a government contract in most parts of the USA, you have to comply with other conditions. A percentage must be allocated for subcontractors who are women, even if there is no logical reason for doing so, a percentage must go to a minority and African Americans, again for no logical reason, other parts of the contract go to ethnic minorities or disabled.

You need a one legged, Eskimo-Aleut, half African American female to comply. This pads out the bid with worthless subbies. Then the lobbyists get involved so the bidding process is an utter farce.

Far from selecting the cheapest bid, it goes through all these hoops that often result in a very expensive winning contract.

[tamada]

The o-ring seals made by HydraPak in West Jordan, Utah were installed in the booster rocket sections made by Morton Thiokol in Ogden, Utah during assembly at the launch site. They failed on the Challenger space shuttle.

https://jalopnik.com/how-a-cult-built-t ... 1846151814

Morton Thiokol didn't propose the most expensive tender for the solid rocker boosters. Neither was their tender the cheapest.

https://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/archive/gen ... sters.html

[jackspratt]

If you bid on a government contract in most parts of the USA, you have to comply with other conditions. A percentage must be allocated for subcontractors who are women, even if there is no logical reason for doing so, a percentage must go to a minority and African Americans, again for no logical reason, other parts of the contract go to ethnic minorities or disabled.

Hmmm ....... this seems to indicate otherwise.

Affirmative action requirements are intended to ensure that applicants and employees of federal contractors have equal opportunity for recruitment, selection, advancement, and every other term and privilege associated with employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/faqs/AAFAQs

I assume this applies to NASA.

[Stantheman]

The o-ring seals made by HydraPak in West Jordan, Utah were installed in the booster rocket sections made by Morton Thiokol in Ogden, Utah during assembly at the launch site. They failed on the Challenger space shuttle.

You mean the Apollo 13 accident wasn't caused by booster o-ring problem, I'm shocked that Mister Whistler was wrong!

[Doodoo]

Poisonings

Bean Sprouts

Sprouts are often consumed raw — like on salads — or lightly cooked, thrown into a stir fry last minute to preserve the crunch. That's means its tough to cook out food borne illnesses, like e.coli, listeria, and salmonella. Since 1996, 30 different outbreaks (some deadly) have been recorded

Chili Peppers

One won't kill you — obviously — but peppers have a chemical called capsaicin. It's what makes them spicy, and it's also what's used in pepper spray. Consuming a lot (like during a dangerous pepper eating contest) can cause your lungs to constrict.

Unpasteurized Cheese

Similar to raw milk, unpasteurized cheese — or "raw" cheese — isn't commercially imported to the U.S. (That includes popular varieties like camembert.) It's a host for deadly food borne illnesses and bacteria.

Microwave Popcorn

It's not so much the kernels as it is the bags they come in. When a chemical that's used in the bag's nonstick coating decomposes, it creates a compound called perfluorooctanoic acid. That acid's been linked to both liver and prostate cancer

[Doodoo]

The sign that Thais are in debt over their heads
https://aseannow.com/topic/1299213-auct ... _source=NL

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Canadians ae getting more deeply in debt. https://financialpost.com/executive/exe ... ies-rising

[Doodoo]

Longest marriage
The longest marriage ever was enjoyed by Herbert Fisher (USA, b. 1905) and Zelmyra Fisher (USA, b. 1907).

The couple had been married for 86 years 290 days as of 27 February 2011, when Mr Fisher passed away.
LONGEST MARRIAGE
Together they withstood the Great Depression and World War II, lived through the Civil Rights Movement and eventually lived to witness the first African-American president of the USA. President Obama even sent them a signed commendation in 2010!

Herbert and Zelmyra grew up together as best friends in North Carolina, USA and married on 13 May 1924. Herbert was 18 years old and Zelmyra was 16.

[Doodoo]

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/v ... tion=click

70% of the Worlds Footballs are produced here, Pakistan

[Doodoo]

Adolf Hitler was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize
Don’t worry, the Swedish politician who sent the letter of nomination in 1939 meant it ironically and withdrew his nomination. In an even more ironic twist, Hitler had banned Germans from accepting the awards four years before his own name was thrown in the ring.

The Eiffel Tower was originally intended for Barcelona
The Spanish city thought the design was too ugly, so Gustave Eiffel pitched it to Paris instead, as a temporary landmark during its 1889 International Exposition. French critics didn’t like it much either though.

Scotland has more than 400 words for snow
There are a lot of weird facts out there. But how many of them involve word choice? In Scotland, yes, there are more than 400 words for snow. There are 421, to be exact!

[Doodoo]

NUTBUSH CITY LIMITS Fund Raiser, Queensland
5338 Dancers raised close to $90,000 for the Flying Doctor program

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWIvNrgjJEw

[Doodoo]

Here is a new one for some

Words not to be used by the Royals

Certain words can’t be used within the royal palace. For instance, a royal can’t use the words “toilet,” “patio,” “pardon,” “living room,” “posh,” “perfume,” and “couch.”

[Drunk Monkey]

Here is a new one for some

Words not to be used by the Royals

Certain words can’t be used within the royal palace. For instance, a royal can’t use the words “toilet,” “patio,” “pardon,” “living room,” “posh,” “perfume,” and “couch.”

very strange .. but interesting DD.

Purely hyperthetical so lets say Will n Kate are at a mates house how would they say the following to the house owner ??

Pardon me thats lovely perfume you are wearing and this is a smashing living room with a very posh couch , i desperately need to curl one off wheres the the toilet ? perhaps i shall retire to the patio for some fresh air after my bowel movement.

DM

[Doodoo]

Simple DD, they dont
What can be said is "Whats a cookin?"

[Khun Paul]

Here is a new one for some

Words not to be used by the Royals

Certain words can’t be used within the royal palace. For instance, a royal can’t use the words “toilet,” “patio,” “pardon,” “living room,” “posh,” “perfume,” and “couch.”

Balderdash , I know having ben n the3 company of some Royals , they use all of them . Such twaddle !!

[tamada]

Here is a new one for some

Words not to be used by the Royals

Certain words can’t be used within the royal palace. For instance, a royal can’t use the words “toilet,” “patio,” “pardon,” “living room,” “posh,” “perfume,” and “couch.”

Balderdash , I know having ben n the3 company of some Royals , they use all of them . Such twaddle !!

And "balderdash". They're proscribed from using that too.