random_facts 1.0.0 → 1.1.0

data/data/facts/expressions.json

@@ -0,0 +1,370 @@
+[
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "\"Ever think you're hearing something in a song, but they're really singing something else? The word for mis-heard lyrics is 'mondegreen,' and it comes from a folk song in the '50's. The singer was actually singing \"They slew the Earl of Morray and laid him on the green,\" but this came off sounding like 'They slew the Earl of Morray and Lady Mondegreen.'\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "\"Freelance\" comes from a knight whose lance was free for hire, i.e. not pledged to one master"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "\"Goodbye\" came from \"God bye\" which came from \"God be with you.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "\"So long\" came from the Arabic \"salaam\" and the Hebrew \"shalom.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "\"Speak of the Devil\" is short for \"Speak of the Devil and he shall come\". It was believed that if you spoke about the Devil it would attract his attention. That's why when your talking about someone and they show up people say \"Speak of the Devil\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "\"Speak of the Devil\" is short for \"Speak of the Devil and he shall come.\" It was believed that if you spoke about the Devil it would attract his attention. That's why when you are talking about someone and they show up people say \"Speak of the Devil.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "\"Toki doki kuruma de kayotte imasu\" means \"Sometimes I commute by car\" in Japanese."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "\"Zorro\" means \"fox\" in Spanish."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "'Crack' gets it name because it crackles when you smoke it."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "A \"clue\" originally meant a ball of thread. This is why one is said to \"unravel\" the clues of a mystery"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "A coward was originally a boy who took care of cows."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "A game of pool is referred to as a \"frame.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "A hamlet is a village without a church and a town is not a city until it has a cathedral."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "Bite the bullet – before anaesthetics were invented/introduced wounded soldiers were given a bullet to bite onto during operations."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "Bless you – After sneezing it is common for the phrase bless you to be said to the person having sneezed, it is likely that this saying comes from medieval times when superstition held that a person sneezing ejected their sole whilst doing so and enabled evil spirits to enter the body in the sole’s place, Saying bless you was supposed to ward off the evil spirits."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "Bottoms up – derived from the days of press gangs, when it was common practice for press gangs to slip a shilling in someone’s drink, which when drunk effectively made the drinker accept the king’s shilling and thereby volunteer for the army/navy. To counter this, glass bottoms were put in tankards and it was common practice to lift the tankard up high enough to see through the glass bottom of the tankard, hence bottoms up."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "Bury the hatchet – derived from the American Indian’s method of concluding a peace negotiation between two tribes when both sides literally buried a hatchet or tomahawk to signify they were at peace."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "Canada is an Indian word meaning \"Big Village.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "Happy as a clam is from the expression happy as a clam at high tide. Clams are only harvested when the tide is out."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "In 1956 the phrase, \"In God We Trust\", was adopted as the U.S. national motto."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "People say 'Bless you' when you sneeze because when you sneeze,your heart stops for a mili-second."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "Shakespeare invented the word \"assassination\" and \"bump.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The act of snapping one's fingers has a name. It is called a “fillip.”"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The magician's words \"hocus-pocus\" were taken from the name of a mythological sorcerer, Ochus Bochus, who appeared in Norse folktales and legends"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The oldest word in the English language is \"town\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The phrase \"rule of thumb\" is derived from an old English law which stated that  you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The phrase \"sleep tight\" originated when mattresses were set upon ropes woven through the bed frame. To remedy sagging ropes, one would use a bed key to tighten the rope."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The popular phrase \"The blind leading the blind\" comes from the New Testament, Matthew 15:14."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"Checkmate\" comes from the Arabic Shah Mat, meaning \"the king is dead\"."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass mokey\" started when sailors in the navy witnessed the stack of cannon balls tumble off a steel plate called a brass monkey in winters on the oceans."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"Mayday\" used for signaling for help (after SOS), it comes from the French term \"M'aidez\" which is pronounced \"MayDay\" and means, \"Help Me\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"Mayday\" used for signaling for help after (SOS), it comes from the French term \"M'aidez\" which is pronounced \"MayDay\" and means, \"Help Me\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"ace\" was first used during World War I for a pilot who had brought down at least five enemy aircraft. The German equivalent was Oberkanone, which meant \"top gun.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"atlas\" came into use in the late sixteenth century after the son of Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator published a book of his father's maps with a picture on the title page showing the Titan Atlas supporting the world on his shoulder."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"devil's advocate\" comes from the Roman Catholic church. When deciding if someone should be sainted, a devil's advocate is always appointed to give an alternative view."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"devil's advocate\"comes from the Roman Catholic church. When deciding if someone should become a saint, a devil's advocate is always appointed to give an alternative view."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"rhinestone,\" from the French caillou du Rhin, came to be because the colorless, hard-glass artificial gems were originally made at Strasbourg (on the Rhine)."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"tall ship\" emerged in the 1890s in the twilight days of commercial sailing ships as nostalgia arose over the gradual disappearance of large square-rigged vessels. The term was popularized by John Masefield, a former mariner who became poet laureate of England in his poem \"Sea Fever\", published in 1902."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"the whole 9 yards\" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got \"the whole 9 yards.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term \"underwear\" first came into use at about 1879."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term 'flying on cloud 9' originates from military flights. Cloud types are classified as numbers... with 'cloud 9' being a very tall thunderstorm. Jets have to climb to an extremely high altitude in order to fly over 'cloud 9."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term Cop comes from Constable on Patrol, which is a term used in England."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term “cocktail” was invented in Elmsford, New York. A barmaid named Betsy Flanagan decorated her establishment with the tail feathers of cocks. One day a patron asked for “one of those cock tails.” She served him a drink with a feather in it."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term “freelance” was invented by Sir Walter Scott to refer to itinerant mercenary soldiers who sold their abilities to the highest bidder. At first such soldiers were known as “free companions.” Since they usually traveled with their own weapons, including lances, Scott dubbed them “freelancers."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term “hooker,” meaning a prostitute, originated with U.S. Army General Joseph Hooker, whose penchant for war was matched only by his predilection for paid female companionship. In New Orleans during the Civil war, Hooker spent so much time frolicking with ladies of the night that the women came to be called “Hooker's division.” Eventually these specialized “troops” became known simply as “hookers.”"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term “senator” means “old man” in Latin."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The term, honeymoon, is derived from the Babylonians who declared mead, a honey-flavored wine, the official wedding drink, stipulating that the bride's parents be required to keep the groom supplied with the drink for the month following the wedding; that month became known as the honeymonth, hence our honeymoon."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"Checkmate\" in chess comes from the Persian phrase \"Shah Mat,\" which means \"the king is dead\"."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"boondocks\" comes from the Tagalog (Filipino) word \"Bundok,\" which means mountain."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"curfew\" is derived from an old French word that means \"cover fire.\" In Europe during the Middle Ages, a curfew was a metal cone or shield that was used to put out the hearth fire in the evening. The word \"curfew\" came to mean the end of the day's activities."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"dude\" was coined by Oscar Wilde and his friends. It is a combination of the words duds and attitude."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"fiscal\" is derived from a Latin word meaning \"moneybag.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"gas,\" coined by the chemist J.B. van Helmont, is taken from the word \"chaos,\" which means \"unformed\" in Greek."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"gazelle\" comes from the Arabian term for \"affectionate,\" and it is believed to be inspired by the creature's large, gentle eyes."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"grease monkey\" comes from the person (usually a young boy) that would crawl up in the rafters to grease all of the pulleys and belts that ran all of the equipment in a blacksmith shop or machine shop"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"hangnail\" comes from Middle English: ang- (painful) + nail. Nothing to do with hanging."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"idiot\" is derived from a Greek word that originally meant merely a private citizen or layman."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"karate\" means \"empty hand.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"lethologica\" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"modem\" is a contraction of the words \"modulate, demodulate.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"monosyllable\" actually has five syllables in it."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"nerd\" was first coined by Dr. Seuss in \"If I Ran the Zoo.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"racecar\" and \"kayak\" are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"set\" has more definitions than any other word in the English language"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word \"trivia\" comes from the Latin \"trivium\" which is the place where three roads meet, a public square. People would gather and talk about all sorts of matters, most of which were trivial."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word 'byte' is a contraction of 'by eight.'"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word 'queue' is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word 'samba' means 'to rub navels together.'"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word February comes from Latin, meaning \"to cleanse.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word denim comes from 'deNimes', or from Nimes, a place in France."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word dinosaur means terrible lizard."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word encyclopedia is derived from the Greek enkuklios paideia, meaning \"general education.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word for \"name\" in Japanese is \"na-ma-e,\" in Mongolian \"nameg.\""
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word rodent comes from the Latin word 'rodere' meaning to gnaw."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word ‘pixel’ is a contraction of either ‘picture cell’ or ‘picture element’."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “Nazi” was actually an abbreviation. The party's full name was the Nazionalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “bamboo” has contributed two colloquialisms to the English language. First, we owe to it the word “joint,” meaning a disreputable gathering place, a dive. This is because the pipes used in opium dens were crafted of bamboo and had many “joints.” (It has been suggested that marijuana cigarettes are also know as “joints” because of their association with opium dens.) Second, there is the word “bamboozle,” which means to fool or cheat. This traces back to the Chinese custom of punishing swindlers by whacking them on the hands and back with bamboo poles. Any smart aleck so treated was a “bamboozler,” that is, one worthy of being tanned with bamboo."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “clodhopper” originated in early England as a term of derision for the peasantry. In those days farmers traveled by foot, and had to step or jump across clods of plowed Earth. Unlike the gentry, who traveled by carriage or by steed, the peasants were therefore “clodhoppers” --those who had to hop over clods."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “geriatrics” was not coined until 1951."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “live” spelled backward is “evil.”"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “queue” is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “robot” was coined in 1920 in a play, R.U.R. (the initals stood for Rossum's Universal Robots), written by the Czech dramatist Karel Capek."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “tip,” meaning a gratuity, was originally an acronym standing for “To Insure Promptness.”"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “toady” originally referred to a magician's assistant who literally ate toads as part of the show. Toads, at one time, were thought to be poisonous; when the “toady” recovered from eating one of them, it was considered an indication of the magician's great power."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “toast,” meaning a proposal of health, originated in Rome, where an actual bit of spiced, burned bread was dropped into wine to improve the drink's flavor, absorb its sediment, and thus make it more healthful."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The word “turnpike” originated in the days when toll collectors were armed with pikes, long-handled weapons to prevent travelers who refused to pay the tariff from using their roads."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The words CHOICE COD read the same when held in front of a mirror upside-down. This also applies to the word DIOXIDE."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The words “naked” and “nude” are not the same. Naked implies unprotected. Nude means unclothed."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "The “D” in D-Day stands for “Day” to reiterate its military importance."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "“E Pluribus Unum,” the Latin expression appearing on US currency, means “one out of many.”"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "“Shiek” means “old man” in Arabic."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "expressions",
+    "fact": "“Utopia” is an ancient Greek word meaning “nowhere.”"
+  }
+]

data/data/facts/flags.json

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+[
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "A Vexillologist is an expert on the history of flags."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "Belgium's flag is identical to the African country of Chad."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "Cyprus has a map on it's flag."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "Denmark's is the oldest unchanged flag in the world."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "If you paint the flag of Canada, you must use these colors: 'The printing ink colour is FIP red: General Printing Ink, No. 0-712; Inmont Canada Ltd., No. 4T51577; Monarch Inks, No. 62539/0; or Sinclair and Valentine, No. RL163929/0. The painting colours are FIP red No. 509-211 and white: 513-201.'"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "Libya is the only flag made up of just one colour, plain Green."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "Mrs. Betsy Ross reputedly made the first American flag."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "On 12 April 1606, the National Flags of Scotland and England were united for use at sea, thus making the first Union 'Jack'. Ashore however, the old flags of England and Scotland continued to be used by their respective countries."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "Paraguay's flag has a different design on each side."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "Robert Peary was once honoured for cutting the US flag into pieces. He did it on reaching the North Pole in 1909."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "Switzerland's flag is the direct reverse of the Red Cross Flag and is the only square flag."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The American flag first flew over a foreign fort in Libya over Fort Derne."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Blue Peter flag is raised before a ship sets sail."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Irish flag includes the colour Orange which represents the tiny minority of Protestant people who live there."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Italian Flag was designed by the Frenchman Napoleon."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Lebanese flag features a Cedar tree."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Mexican flag features a snake and an eagle."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Nepal flag is made up of 2 basic triangular shapes and is the only non-rectangular shaped flag."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Queen's personal flag is known as the Royal Standard."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The USA flag has changed designs more often than any other country."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Union Jack flag was created in 1801."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The Union Jack of Great Britain features on more country's flags than any other."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The ball on top of a flagpole is called the truck."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The flag of Cyprus is the only one that has the outline of the country on it."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "The flag's of the Netherlands and Luxembourg are identical."
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "flags",
+    "fact": "There are 11 points on the Canadian flag."
+  }
+]