Completely useless and trivial information...

[mr.x]

I was doing some reading yesterday and came upon this little factoid and I thought I'd pass it along.

The name of the state of Texas is derived from "Tejas" in Spanish as most folks are aware.

What you maynot be aware of is the origin of Tejas in Spanish.

According to the text I was reading it was derived from the word "tayshas" of the Hasinai Caddo Indians of East Texas. Tayshas means "friend" or "allies".


Any other obscure word/name associations out there?

[stuntman]

Well nice info.
I live in New York City, on the island of Manhattan. Peter Minuet bought this island for the equivalence of $24 USD in 1628 for beads and trinkets from the manhattanus tribe. Manhattanus means "flatlands people" as they were located above wall street and all the way up to 59th street. And if you know anything about Manhattan this area has the largest concentration of skyscrapers in the world!

Europe's first contact with this area occurred in 1524, when Italian explorer Giovanni de Verrazano viewed New York from the base of Manhattan. The following year, a black Portuguese explorer named Esteban Gomez reached the Hudson River. Despite these early encounters, the Dutch settled New York first, after explorer Henry Hudson lent his name to the world's largest tidal river. In 1625, six farms called "bouweries" were started in Manhattan.

The next year, Governor Peter Minuet purchased Manhattan from the native American Indians for USD24 worth of trinkets. By 1640, the predominately Dutch New Amsterdam (as it was then called) was teeming with the diversity of the New World, as the tolerant Dutch welcomed all.

Rapid expansion soon pitted early Dutch Manhattanites against English Puritans who had moved to the colony. Less than tolerant, the Puritans had banned bowling and even the celebration of Christmas. While initially seen as outsiders, the prosperous and hardworking Puritans soon had the political upper hand. After an invasion by British troops in 1664, an Anglo-Dutch treaty handed the city over to the English.

Under British rule, the renamed New York City saw its population grow from 6,000 to 20,000 by the end of the 17th century. Events in Europe also brought turmoil to the city. Wars between England and France gave birth to privateering, or legalized piracy, that allowed the likes of Wall Street resident William Kidd to go capture enemy ships off the coast of New York. During this time, New York City tolerated (and in some circles encouraged) the slave trade, and a large and prosperous slave market was located on Wall Street.

As the 18th century wore on, England's passage of restrictive acts of trade and imposition of tariffs on the American colonies brought about protest and ultimately revolution. New York City was strategically vital during the American Revolutionary War. Early on, from Brooklyn to Harlem, General George Washington's army suffered a series of defeats and barely escaped capture. The British took the city and stationed itself there. At the end of the war, Washington was sworn in as the first president on the steps of New York's Federal Hall.
http://www.rci.com/CDA/wcities/tmpwcitiesinfo/1,6038,HISTORY%7C33%7CNew+York%7C,00.html

[ValkXB70]

The average human head weights 8 Lbs.

[Haiw]

One cord of wood (4 X 4 X 8 foot stack) produces only 20 copies of the Sunday N.Y. Times.
Odds of being killed in a tornado - 1 in 2 million.
Every time Beethoven sat down to write music, he poured ice water over his head.
Every person has a unique tongue print.
On average, there are 178 sesame seeds on each McDonalds BigMac bun.
The telephone was 51 years old before one was installed on the desk of the President of the U.S.
The thyroid cartilage is more commonly known as the adams apple.
The Apollo 11 only had 20 seconds of fuel when it landed.
1 gallon of fuel moves the QE2 luxury liner about 50 ft.
67.5% of men wear briefs instead of boxers.
1/3 of Taiwanese funeral processions include a stripper.
Water softens whiskers, shaving foam doesn't..it just holds the water. (You won't need shaving foam if you shave in the shower)
During the time of Peter the Great, any Russian man who wore a beard was required to pay a special tax.
Kerimaki Church in Finland is the world's biggest church made of wood.
Between the time of death and the onset of rigor mortis in a body, the contraction of muscles can cause the body to turn over on its side.
About a third of all Americans flush the toilet while they're still sitting on it.
Pigs can become alcoholics.
A cockroach can live 9 days without its head before it starves to death.
Shakespeare invented the word "assassination" and "bump."
The average life of a taste bud is 10 days.
80% of all body heat escapes through the head.
The opening to the cave in which a bear hibernates is always on the North Slope.
Each square inch (2.5 cm) of human skin consists of 20 feet (6 m) of blood vessels.
he most powerful muscle in your body is the jaw muscle.