Trivial Trivia and Other Useful Information

Fleas have caused more human deaths than all wars put together.

In Aussie slang, the term for underwear is "grundies."

A recent study showed that as many as 16 million people alive today, about .5% of the population of Earth, are descendants of Genghis Khan.

"Sphenopalatineganglioneuralgia" is a medical term for ailment known as "brain freeze."

Viagra was invented in the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.

President Lyndon Johnson had two beagles named Him and Her.

In December 1993, there were just 623 sites on the Internet.

A male ballet dancer is a "ballerino."

According to researchers, over a 60-plus-year period, the groundhog has accurately predicted the coming of spring only 28 percent of the time.

Chartreuse (yellow-green) is the most visible color to the human eye.

Mr. Clean has a first name. It's Veritably.

Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis once took a break from acting to study shoemaking.

About five percent of the U.S. potato crop goes to make McDonald's French fries.

The first disposable diaper was called a "Boater."

A blink lasts approximately 0.3 seconds.

In Thailand, it's illegal to leave your home if you're not wearing underwear.

The shotput used by male athletes weighs 16 pounds.

The proper name for a crash test dummy is "Anthropomorphic Test Device."

Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words. The entire story was, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." He considered it his best work.

The average person receives eight birthday cards annually.

The above list was borrowed from here.

Mongol -- Film Review

This seems like it is a film that I would enjoy watching based on this review. It is a foreign language film and was nominated for an Oscar this past year in the Best Foreign Language film category. I do not know why, but I have been watching foreign language films since I was a kid. Generally, I watch films in languages that I do not speak but that seems to be no hindrance to my enjoyment of the spectacle of film.

It might also be the reason that I have an affinity for languages and pick them up so easily. I am very lucky that way. I once enrolled to learn Vietnamese at the Bankstown Community College and after a couple of classes the teacher wanted to move me to the intermediate class because he did not believe me that I had not studied the language before. Unfortunately, I have forgotten most of the language for the purposes of being able to use it in an immediate setting. However, I do find that after only a couple of hours listening to it, it starts to come back...

Back to the film.

The film is a work of fiction but apparently draws on a number of sources including the epic poem, The Secret History Of The Moguls, which was written about Genghis Khan shortly after his death in 1227. The film was shot on the steppes of China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. This along with the fact that the cast resembles in physical appearance the people of whom the story is about should give it a great deal of authenticity.

I do not know if the film will get into theatres in Jakarta, but with a bit of luck I might be able to pick it up of DVD.

Here's looking forward to a good flick!