As I watched this video of 50 common misconceptions I am guilty of believing in more than a few of them. Most notably you don’t get two worms out of cutting one in half and I guess I can give up in my search of the famed elephant graveyard. On a bonus I guess the man grooming is back on. Funny the things that you learn or are told and carry them with you.

It appears that every time you turn around silver coins are making the news. Collectors are loving them and investors are eating them up like a kid hoarding candy.  While US silver coins are at an all time high it was an Australian coin that recently made a big splash at auction. A Holey Dollar recently fetched $508,000 at auction.  This coin is regarded at being Australia’s first coins. It was minted in 1813 out of a coin that had been struck in Lima in 1803.  The coins were brought in by the Australian government to make their own currency out of by uniquely striking the middle out of it making it do-nut shaped.

Wondering how your country stacks up? I was wondering where we stood as well. Somewhere in the middle of the pack by the looks of things. Just some more strange facts for you to enjoy with your cup of joe.

VIA

Total Coolness! Watch nine billion years in the history of The Universe in just over a minute.

"This computer animation, created using new software called Arepo, simulates 9 billion years of cosmic history. Arepo can accurately follow the birth and evolution of thousands of galaxies over billions of years. Arepo generates the full variety of galaxies seen locally, including majestic spirals like the Milky Way and Andromeda."

You may have to scroll in with the + arrow on the top left side of the map for a nice surprise. Maybe you can see the pool. The damn thing didn't want to work a few times for me.

 
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I am working on refinishing my basement and am putting up steel studding on the walls. We were trying to screw through a piece of steel and my friend today said something to the effect that you would need a handful diamonds to get through it. That made me think that there are probably some strange facts about diamonds that I never thought of.

• Most of the diamonds in the world are used for industrial purposes and not for getting your girlfriend off of your back.
• Less than 1% of women will ever wear a diamond that is one carat or more, my woman being one of them.
• In ancient times diamonds were seen as signs of strength, courage and invincibility.
• Archduke Maximilian of Austria was the first person to give a diamond engagement ring, to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. Blame him.
• The largest Diamond ever found was the Cullinan at 3,106 carats.
• Diamonds can withstand extremely high temperatures so they used in windows on space ships.
• In India, around one million people are employed because of diamond industry, the rest of them answer the phone when my cable goes out.

The goofy things you find playing around in google. I was looking at a series of industrial hand wheels when I found some very large sized wheels. Actually it was a tank built in 1914. You can see a man standing on top of it to the left and a man on the ground. This beast weighed 40 tons, it's wheels were 9 meters in diameter and oddly enough it got stuck on a small ditch on its first run. It was too big a target for the enemy and it was melted down by 1916.