My useful and useless facts thread

[Anonymous_IHB]

The Rise and Fall of Albania's Pyramid Schemes

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2000/03/jarvis.htm

 

[Trooper_IHB]

Woo hoo....Irvine came in 4th place Nationwide in that short sale Google search....Just behind Sacramento, San Diego and Pleasanton CA.

 

[Trooper_IHB]

So much for your mile high ambitions....Singapore Airlines asks passengers to "please refrain from sex" - Gadling

 

[graphrix_IHB]

Um yeah with that spread all they need is to change the TV channel and mile high membership will be granted.

 

[Trooper_IHB]

Interesting idea on marketing a property....say goodbye to iPix Virtual Tours ! The cheesy music has got to go though !

YouTube - Duwamish River waterfront fixer 10 minutes to Seattle!

 

[lawyerliz_IHB]

Roman cement was and is much better than our cement. They were the Emperors of cement; some of their cement buildings have lasted 2,000 years (there are some buildings in Rome that old that are still in use); ours crumbles after 200 years or so. I understand that somebody invented something called pycrete (for pyramids, which were of stone of course) or something like that which is supposed to last as long, but I don't know if it is still even being produced.

 

[TRock_IHB]

Refried beans are not "cooked twice," rather it means cooked a long time. It is actually a mistranslation of the Spanish "re-" which intensifies a word rather than repeating it.

 

[Nude_IHB]

According to Bloomberg reports, it's now cheaper to import American coal for energy than to import oil. I have not yet been able to confirm rumors that Al Gore is demanding a 1000% tax increase on coal exports in the name of saving the planet.

 

[Trooper_IHB]

Banking Industry On Hard Times | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

 

[graphrix_IHB]

It looks like Neverland Ranch is a couple $100k behind. Hat tip ml-implode.

 

[Trooper_IHB]

Holy crap, 23 Million dollar loan taken out 4/14/06.....now owes more than that. Who's the brain surgeon that underwrote this one ? Woo doggy.

 

[caycifish_IHB]

In April of 06, wasn't it common knowledge that Jackson was insolvent? Somebody should be fired for sure for that one.

 

[Anonymous_IHB]

Perhaps as part of the federal subprime reforms, all mortgage brokers and realtors should be forced to wear one specific and unique perfume. That might be enough to help the math challenged the next time around ...

Watch it, Tom! Experts find fearless Jerries

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071108/sc_nm/mice_fear_dc

 

[EvaLSeraphim_IHB]

Sweet potatoes vs. yams. Somebody, somewhere, wants November named Sweet Potato Awareness Month.

 

[acpme_IHB]

sweet potato fries @ veggie grill... mmmm

 

[lendingmaestro_IHB]

Does anyone know where I can get good apple cider? Like the kind you can get back east and in the mid-west?

 

[acpme_IHB]

in julian, unfortunately... although not sure what the condition of the town is after the recent fires.

 

[lawyerliz_IHB]

There is some really terrific cider in Melbourne, Florida, hard, sold in an Irish pub. I had 2 glasses once, because it didn't seem too alcoholic, and it set me back on my keister. You might find something interesting in a health food store.

 

[profette_IHB]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chocolate enjoyed around the world today had its origins at least 3,100 years ago in Central America not as the sweet treat people now crave but as a celebratory beer-like beverage and status symbol, scientists said on Monday.

Researchers identified residue of a chemical compound that comes exclusively from the cacao plant -- the source of chocolate -- in pottery vessels dating from about 1100 BC in Puerto Escondido, Honduras.

This pushed back by at least 500 years the earliest documented use of cacao, an important luxury commodity in Mesoamerica before European invaders arrived and now the basis of the modern chocolate industry.

 

[lawyerliz_IHB]

I think they drank it without sugar or sweetening.