Valhalla's New Writeups

Wright Brothers (person)

2000-08-08T13:14:43Z

Orville and Wilbur Wright are credited with in December 1903 launching the first aircraft off the ground on the beach of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
It is not so widely known that their uncle, a protestant bishop, (their father was one, too, by the way) only a short time before, in a statement that swept America, had publicly announced that "of course" man would never fly.

Some other interesting factoids:

The Wright brothers were actually from Dayton, Ohio, where they ran a bicycle shop. Their first plane was called the "Wright Flyer", named, bizarrely enough, after one of their bicycles.
During their final 84 days of constant work at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk to get their plane working, they mostly lived off beans.
Neither of the Wright bothers was married.
They never called their invention "airplane", they called it "flying machine"
Dayton, the brother's hometown, showed so little interest in their invention that

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Rerum Causas Cognoscere (thing)

2000-08-08T02:35:23Z

Motto of the London School of Economics. Latin. Translates to: "To find out the reasons for things."
Appears on the logo in conjunction with a beaver, the LSE's furry symbol.

How is it that Mexicans know neither Chili con Carne nor Toilet Paper? (idea)

2000-08-08T01:31:48Z

I've just spent 3 weeks in Mexico. You would think they eat a lot of really hot stuff, hold siesta with their sombreros on their faces, reclining back against some creaky tree, only to spring to life in the evening when the fiesta gets going. Then it's time for Tequila and campfires, rodeos on small horses, and maybe the odd game involving a small cactus (adults only).
Now, this picture is totally wrong.
For some reason, I felt I was hard pressed to find much that was Mexican in Mexico. Chili con Carne apparently is American, the beans they eat are of the black variety which is really not someting foreigners enjoy very much, and above all, all activity in the entire country is stifled by the most mystifying toilet paper problem: hardly any toilet at all has toilet paper. You have to bring your own. Just in case: the word is "papel sanitario". Most toilets are dismally dirty. ... And to…

Nemo me impune lacessit (idea)

2000-08-08T01:14:06Z

Latin proverb. Translates to "Nobody ridicules me unpunished". According to Edgar Allan Poe the motto of a rich aristocratic family in Venice during the Renaissance.
Poe describes how a young member of said family is jokingly insulted by his best friend during Carnival. Acting according to his ancient family motto, he lures his friend into the wine cellar, gets him drunk, and then locks the door from the outside and erects a wall in front of it.
The motto is also found on the side of a third of all British One Pound coins.

Pecunia non olet (idea)

2000-08-08T01:13:03Z

Famous Latin proverb: "Money doesn't stink"
Originally used by a Roman senator in response to the complaint that it would be immoral and dirty to introduce toilet taxes.

Klobesen (person)

2000-08-08T01:02:38Z

Austrian term for toilet brush. Often used in reference to women with spiky hair, disagreeable character, or bad smell.