The Book of General Ignorance. Part 3. Bashny.Net

The third part of the errors in the book Stephen Fry.
Part 2.




Certainly not played the violin, which was invented only in the XV century.
Even Nero blamed that on 64, when Rome was on fire, he reportedly sang a song about the burning Troy, hinting that he himself had arranged the whole arson.
In fact, when the fire broke out, Nero is 56 km from Rome, at his dacha on the coast. Upon hearing the terrible news, Nero immediately jumped into the burning city, and personally led the operation to extinguish the fire. The suspicion that Nero wanted to burn Rome, could arise from repeatedly expressed their ambition to completely rebuild the great city.
Now a few words about what Nero did do. This man was a transvestite who loved to dress up in women's clothes, to sing, play musical instruments and organize orgies. By order of Nero he was killed by his own mother. He is very proud of his musical abilities; it is believed that his last words were:
"What a great artist loses the world!»
Allegedly, Nero often accompanied himself on the kithara (lyre cousin), but he also played the bagpipes.
Dion Chrysostomos, Greek rhetorician and philosopher, writing in the year 100, noted:
"They say he can write, carving statues and play the aulos mouth and the armpit, under which the inflated bag tucked».
At the beginning of the VI century Greek historian Procopius mentioned that bagpipes were popular instrument of the Roman infantry, while the cavalry favored pipe.
Even Nero invented the ice cream (messengers brought him mountain snow, which is then added to fruit juice), and his personal poisoner, Locusta mistress, became the first ever officially recorded serial killer.
Locust translated "lobster" or "locust": the Latin language uses the same word in both senses.



a) Fourteen.
b) No.
c) Two (one - for special occasions).
d) None of your business.
The correct answer is c). Common earwig (aka European) has a penis as a reserve - in case the first suddenly broken off, which, incidentally, happens quite often.
Both the penis are very fragile and relatively long: the length of a little more than a centimeter long, they are often the most earwigs. This phenomenal fact was revealed by two gentlemen from the University of Tokyo, when one of them jokingly plucked male earwigs ass during the act of sexual intercourse. Penis male were broken off, remaining inside the female, but - lo and behold! - In its place immediately increased understudy.
The name "earwig" comes from the almost universal belief that the creature crawls our ear and gnaws holes to the brain. Earwigs earwig English name comes from the Anglo-Saxon "ear creature". In French they are called perce-oreille («ear drill"), German - ohrwurm («ear worm"), and Turkish - kulagakacan («ear tramp»).
In fact, earwigs crawl into the ears of no more than any other insect, although Pliny the Elder is still advised, if that happens, spit in the ear as long as earwig does not come out. No holes to brain earwigs definitely not pierce.
Such a strange name can be explained in another way: small pliers on the rear end of earwigs are very similar to a tool once used for ear piercing.
This idea seems to have impressed the Latins. In Spanish, for example, for two whole earwigs name: contraplumas (which also means "penknife") and tijereta (meaning, including "blade of the scissors"). Italian earwig - forbicina («scissors"). Giant earwig (8, 5 cm) once lived on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic - the same one where he spent the last years in exile, Napoleon Bonaparte. Perhaps they are found there today, but since 1967 no earwigs on the island was not observed.
Scientists do not lose hope that the rare earwig (namely the so-called troop to which he belongs earwig), earned him the nickname "earwig Hercules" still exists. Anyway, this one was enough for environmentalists to prevent the construction of a new airport on the island of Saint Helena in 2005.
Two types of Malay earwigs feed exclusively on bodily secretions and dead skin bare buldogovyh bats.