Followers

Wednesday 20 May 2009

What's the point?........


Someone sent me this so I thought I'd share.



What's the Point?
A list of ten things the world could do without.


1. Male Nipples
Beating off stiff competition from underarm hair and wisdom teeth, male nipples sit proudly at the top of our most useless body parts list. We know why men have nipples (find out here), but that doesn’t negate the fact that they serve no practical purpose—they do not, ordinarily, produce milk.

2. Unicycle
As its name suggests, a unicycle is similar to a bicycle but it only has one wheel. The effects of removing a wheel are all negative. Balancing on a unicycle requires much more effort and leads to a much greater likelihood of falling off. Taking away a wheel is also much slower. The maximum speed reached on a unicycle is approximately 35 km/h (22 mph), while Chris Hoy (pictured above) has reached speeds of 70 km/h (40 mph) on his bicycle.

3. Spam
The chances of someone responding to spam is approximately one in 12.5 million. It may be extremely cheap to market a product by sending out junk e-mails, but surely such an enormous failure rate should deter even the most persistent person... Please?

4. Denton railway station
As dead as a station in the Australian outback, the unstaffed railway station in Denton, Manchester has got to be Britain’s most redundant railway stop. One train per week stops at Denton on Saturday mornings. But be warned: Denton is a request stop, so it may be necessary to flag the train down using your arms. To make matters worse, there are no return tickets to Denton—the weekly service runs only in one direction. You can leave, but you won’t be coming back again in a hurry.

5. Four-poster beds
Bedrooms are a relatively modern concept: before the eighteenth century, beds simply stood in the living room, being used as couches by day. Four-poster beds were by-products of this dual function, for they allowed curtains to hang around the bed during the night to keep out draughts and to offer privacy.Needless to say, 21st-century houses come equipped with both bedrooms and insulation, making the four-post element of these beds redundant. Yet they remain popular, with almost all furniture shops offering various forms of curtained, elaborate and ornate four-poster beds.

6. Capital letters
We all know that capital letters indicate the start of each sentence. But why do we need to mark the start of a sentence when the humble full stop has already marked the end? The limited use of capital letters in text speak or in casual emails indicates that capitals are a superfluity to the language, rather than a necessity. In fact, the majority of writing systems—including Georgian, Arabic, Hebrew and Chinese—do not have an upper and lower case system.

7. All the varieties of pasta shapes
Various shapes of pasta have different flavours, textures, cooking times, and each must be used in the appropriate context. Obviously, it’s important to get the right pasta for the right sauce. After all, lasagne wouldn’t be lasagne if it weren’t for those thin layers of baked pasta nestled between the sauce and cheese.However, is there really any point to lasagnette (a narrower version of lasagne) or lasagnotte (a longer version of lasagna)? Or does the average person really care whether they’re eating penne rigate (penne with ridged sides), penne lisce (penne with smooth sides), penne zita (penne with a slightly wider hole), or pennette (penne that is slightly shorter and thinner)? I would hazard a guess at no.

8. The word inflammable
The in- prefix of inflammable means ‘into’, rather than ‘not’, leaving us with two words—flammable and inflammable—with exactly the same meaning. But not only is the word inflammable needless, it is also dangerous. When labelling commercial and industrial products, ‘flammable’ is considered to be the safer choice because of the potentially disastrous consequences of misinterpreting ‘inflammable’. To add to the confusion, the word most frequently used to convey the opposite meaning to flammable is nonflammable, but noninflammable also exists.

9. The SysRq key on your keyboard
The system request key (SysRq), which now shares its place with the Print Screen button, has sat on the top row of keyboards since the very first PCs were made. Way back then, it was included on the keyboard in case anyone wanted to reach the main operating system without interrupting the running software. Nobody ever did. It is a redundant fixture, serving no purpose in Windows or any other operating system.

10. Ties
Ties once served a sociological purpose: archaeological evidence in China suggests that the ancient elite hung fabric around their necks as a means of marking their elevated status. But now that mankind has invented other ways of exhibiting wealth—the Ferrari parked in the driveway, or the penthouse in Park Lane—ties no longer serve such a function. So dangling coloured material from around the neck does what, exactly?
The pointlessness of the tie is perhaps beaten only by that sixteenth-century folly: the neck ruff. At their most extreme, starched ruffs could reach a foot or more in diameter and had to be propped by specially made wires. Fortunately, they fell out of fashion as quickly as they entered it.


Are there any more things you think 'what's the point' of?

28 comments:

Unknown said...

I think that I agree with all ten, although I rather like different shaped pasta.

I appreciate the info on the system request key (SysRq) that I admit I had never noticed but when I looked at my keyboard, it was there!

Dumdad said...

Interesting! Although I think I'll hang on to my nipples for the moment...

Anonymous said...

Great list. I also will hold on to my nipples as well...whatever function they are there for. I really like #6 and 8.. They are both so true. I've left a little something for you on my blog my friend :)

CrystalChick said...

My hubby's nipples are very sensitive and he just loves some attention there. His pleasure is good enough reason for me. ;)

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

i don't use the whole top row of my keys!

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo

buffalodick said...

"The Point" was an animated (made for TV) movie back in the 70's. It was about a little kid, who did not have a pointy head, like the rest of the people.. Had had a dog named Arrow(who did have an arrow shaped head!)and the moral of the movie was "You don't have to have a point to make a point" Harry Nielsson had a minor hit song "Me And My Arrow" from the sound track.. How's that for useless trivia? :)

G-Man said...

AKE...I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT PENNE!!

Real Live Lesbian said...

I had no idea about all of that! But the pasta shapes MUST remain!

Kaylia Metcalfe said...

Great post!

But I like ties, I find them very sex and I don't know why.

Everything else? Yeah, let it all go!

Daryl said...

Brilliant list .. Husband does not like rigatoni because its 'too' hard/tough .. he prefers penne and ziti .. and loves fuscilli (the long spaghetti that looks sort of like a long ringlet of hair) HE insists while they all taste the same (of the sauce they are in) but the texture/consistency is different ..

Ron said...

VERRRRRRY interesting post!

I especially enjoyed the one about PASTA. I'm such pasta eater that I'd probably die without the variety.

SPAM...SPAM...GO AWAY!

My "nips" I think I'll keep!

tee, hee!

Have a great day, dear lady!
X

Salute said...

Yep! I think we could do w/o the vast majority of these things, but not necessarily that we would want to.

Thumbelina said...

I agree with all of these except the ties. I like ties. They are smart.

In addition, what's the point of your appendix? I serves no useful purpose and just gets infected and if you are really unlucky, bursts. It serves no useful purpose whatsoever.

nitebyrd said...

I'll agree with most. I have no clue about the train station but I'll believe you. The male nipples, I don't agree with. Men like their nipples and they do like to have a bit of attention paid to them. ;)

Fandango said...

I get spam from a flower place in India and that makes no sense at all.
That was the first time I saw that key. It is good to read blogs you find things out.
The explanation of why men have nipples is no explanation at all since woman and me despite starting the same end up with different appendages. You would think the nipples would just have evolved away.

Spiky Zora Jones said...

I thought spam was food...spiced ham. :D

I was dating thsi guy in Highschool and he said he knew I was dating other guys. He then crossed his armswaiting for a reply...

I said. "what's your point?"

heheh.

ciao sweetie.

Mother of Invention said...

All good ones and I can't think of any right now. I do love the four-poster look though! Nostalgia! Some just have to do with style and habit.

Travis Cody said...

I must speak to capital letters. If we didn't have those, I couldn't hand write anything. I haven't used lower case letters to hand write in years.

I don't think I know how to write a lower case letter anymore!

Flowerpot said...

I have to say I do like CAPITAL LETTERS!!!

Akelamalu said...

I'd never noticed the system request key either Nick!

I quite like nipples on a man Dumdad - a chest would look wierd without them I think! ;)

#8 rang true for me too Thom - the word inflammable has always confused me!

Well that's a good enough reason to keep the nipples Crystalchick! LOL

Now you mention it Bee I don't use very many of the top row of keys either!

That is an 'interesting' piece of useless trivia Buff without a doubt!

You're a pasta junkie G-man! LOL

I have to admit I do like the pasta shapes too RLL :)

I like to see a man in a suit with a nice shirt and tie occasionally too Kay.

MWM doesn't like pasta at all Daryl no matter what shape or colour!

Oh yes SPAM is an absolute nuisance Ron, keep your nips honey. xx

Ah that's the point Salute would we really want to do without some of these things? :)

Ah Thumbelina I too have always wondered what the point of the Appendix is?

Agreed Nitebyrd some men do like their nipples receiving attention in 'certain' situations. (wink,wink)

I'm so glad you learnt something here today Fandango - I did too! :)

I like Spam - the meat variety! That was a perfect reply to that guy Spiky! LOL

I always wanted a four poster bed MOI but I settled for a waterbed in stead. :)

You don't do real joined up writing Trav? ;)

I like capital letters too Flowerpot - they're good when you're writing and want to SHOUT! :)

Cloudia said...

thanks for a quick laugh!

Anonymous said...

I think the variety of pasta shapes is just for fun. And I totally agree about four poster beds - they just make rooms seem claustrophobic.

But I like male nipples, I'm glad they have them.

Linda said...

Spam we could definitely do without but I'm a bit of a stickler for capital letters! Even in my text messages!

snowelf said...

I love ties too, but I know so many men who wish we could do away with them forever!!

--snow

CG said...

Fascinating...I just found that key on my keyboard never noticed it before!

CrAzY Working Mom said...

Great list! Male nipples...that cracked my stuff up. :)

Thanks for the laugh.

CJ said...

I only disagree with the ties. When a man is wearing a boring business suit, it is the only way to express some personality in wardrobe choices. For a while, I thought ties had a lot of quirky individuality, but I think they've gotten too traditional again. I like to see a man wearing a tie with a design featuring anything from a Harley to a cartoon character, to a sports team.

Akelamalu said...

You're welcome Cloudia x

I have to say I like male nipples too Citizen ;)

I have to use precise grammar too when texting Linda I just can't not! :0

I don't think MWM has wore a tie in the 5 years since he retired Snowelf, before that he wore one every day for work.

I did exactly the same thing CG!

I'm Happy to make you smile Tisha x

MWM still has hundreds of ties in all different patterns and colours CJ. :)