Odd factoids

[Ming the Merciless]

Gerry Mander was a troublesome neighbour who kept moving the garden fence to make his garden bigger.

 

[raleighnut]

Gerry Mander was a troublesome neighbour who kept moving the garden fence to make his garden bigger.

We had one of those

 

[Drago]

Gerry Anderson was a UFO abductee, and that is what inspired him to create the TV documentary U.F.O.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Thunder birds got its title after Virgil did a massively load fart in between takes for the first series.

 

[Drago]

Virgil Tracey was cast as a virgin, but a typo by the script editor messed it up.

 

[Threevok]

Ben Afflick was turned down for the part of Troy Tempest, for being "too wooden"

The part was later offered to Rick Astley, after the producers saw his dancing, on the video - "Never Gonna Give You Up"

 

[Chris S]

The Redken hair-care company was founded by Ken Livingstone.

 

[Drago]

Ken Livinstone refused an honorary doctorate in Jewish studies, as he was worried that everyone woukd say to him "Dr Livingstone, I presume?"

 

[Seevio]

Archaeopteryx had three fingers on each wing and held its palms facing each other. This implies that it was capable of air quotes, and therefore, sarcasm.

 

[bruce1530]

Long before the establishment of the Irish Free State, Victorian engineers discovered that the centre of gravity of the entire British Isles was on the Isle of Man, an uninhabited island in the Irish Sea. They then devised a massive steam powered machine, which would lift the entire country and slowly rotate it, thus ensuring that sunlight fell through the window of the Queen's favourite sitting room in Balmoral from dawn to dusk.

After Victoria's demise, the equipment fell into disuse, but the main engine remains as the "Laxey Wheel".

 

[Drago]

The Irish Sea is in fact a mountain range.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

The Mountains of Mourne are very, very sad indeed.

 

[Drago]

The band Sad Cafe actually first met in a Wimpy.

 

[PeteXXX]

Sad Café were originally wanted to call themselves Melancholy Bistro but thought it a tad pretentious.

 

[bruce1530]

Dutch football star "Cheery Burger-Van" was so named because his parents hated Sad Cafe's music, and determined that their child would be named the complete opposite.