en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1178866 Comments by fizzure http://listverse.com/2009/06/16/top-10-misconceptions-about-neanderthals#IDComment95527840 Neanderthals and humans are related sub-species but have drifted so far apart there is little chance of successful interbreeding. Horses and donkeys are similarly related but on being paired they produce mules, which are sterile. Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:48:17 +0000 http://listverse.com/2009/06/16/top-10-misconceptions-about-neanderthals#IDComment95527840 http://listverse.com/2009/06/16/top-10-misconceptions-about-neanderthals#IDComment95275665 When the dinosaurs disappeared about 65,000,000 years ago, among the species of animals that began replacing them were mammals called primates. They lived in the trees and were a kind of lemur of squirrel-like size and appearance. Between fifteen and eight million years ago, some of the primates in East Africa, perhaps stimulated by the opportunity to fill ecological niches, mutated in their genetic code and fostered variations in different directions. Some became larger and lost their facial snout. Some became the ancestors of monkeys, others lost their tails and became ground dwelling apes, while, in due time, others became members of biped groups and began to walk upright. By about four million years ago the members of one biped group formed the Neanderthals while another was singled out to become human beings. Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:03:44 +0000 http://listverse.com/2009/06/16/top-10-misconceptions-about-neanderthals#IDComment95275665 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79553951 Hi guys, just caught up with you so it will be easier to respond to you all as a lump. So where to begin? Well, I'll ignore the ancient, inane wisecrack plagiarised from someone more intelligent and go straight to it. I make no apology for stealing a little bit of humour that fits neatly into what I'm writing. People do it all the time and in this case it works well. The governor of this site can chop the article if he feels strongly about the matter and I'll accept that, but I don't give a damn in hell for any of your better-than-thou sanctimonious opinions. There was a time in my life when I felt hurt when people criticised my efforts, but I was out of that by the time I was eight. It occurs to me. Have I had the mischance to stumble on some of that little gang that noses through Listverse expressing noble sentiments about the craft of writing? They usually whinge and nitpick about spelling mistakes, minor grammatical errors and incorrect punctuation, but I've never noticed them string more than a weak sentence together themselves. They pride themselves on carrying the torch of literary righteousness when they're no more than small minded gerbils nibbling on a damp match. My little sin must have got them spinning in a slaver. Come on guys. This site is for fun. Got it? FUN! No you won't have got it, I'm striking flint on clay. By nature such people are small-minded cretins whose only joy in life is pulling others down. Well, you won't pull me down, my little caustic sunbeams. The centre of the planet will freeze before that happens. Have a nice day. Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:24:45 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79553951 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79317723 bassbait Edward II was the son of Edward I and had prominent part in the movie. If you have genuine interest in King Arthur check out the name Ambrosius Aurelianus on Google. Wed, 9 Jun 2010 16:14:14 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79317723 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79315064 It may not be exactly the same one hermy. Edward I later rebuilt some and added many others, including those at Harlech, Conwy, Caernarfon and Caerphilly that still stand today. Wed, 9 Jun 2010 15:54:27 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79315064 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79249413 If there is a touch of plagiarism planted here and there to enhance the script, so what? There's no money changing hands and the result is better than straight pasting from Wiki, ain't it? Wed, 9 Jun 2010 07:39:09 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79249413 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79248444 I must point out that the Scots were originally migrants from County Antrim in Ireland. Scotland as a country did not exist until the ninth century when Kenneth McAlpine imposed himself into the vacant Pictish kingship Wed, 9 Jun 2010 07:26:22 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79248444 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79247540 The Romans employed Angles and Saxons in Britain as auxiliary troops. When the Romans went home (410ish A D) Celtic kings such as Vortigern continued to make use of them and they began coming over in larger and larger numbers. The legend of King Arthur blossomed in this period. Never heard that story about Richard III. He was a warrior though. He died trying to smash his way through the enemy ranks in an attempt to get at Henry Tudor and got close enough to kill Henry's standard bearer. Wed, 9 Jun 2010 07:13:18 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79247540 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79243676 Typo error! 1547 should read 1647. King Charles became a prisoner of Parliament when the civil war ended in 1646, but that didn't prevent him from trying to bribe the Scots to start it all over again. Such behaviour was deemed as treasonous by Oliver Cromwell and was the reason for the trial and execution of the king in 1649. Wed, 9 Jun 2010 06:39:31 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/06/08/10-unfortunate-fates-of-english-kings#IDComment79243676 http://listverse.com/2008/09/30/15-fascinating-facts-about-medieval-england#IDComment78274449 When Richard was being held prisoner in Austria, his brother John hoped to become king himself. He did his level best not to pay the demanded ransom, but the Pope and King Philip of France insisted he did the honourable thing. When Richard eventually returned to England he knew all about his brother's scheming and John was shaking in his shoes. 'Forget it', he said, slapping John on the back, 'you are but a child'. And he promptly took the 27 year-old child to a feast. Wed, 2 Jun 2010 22:12:09 +0000 http://listverse.com/2008/09/30/15-fascinating-facts-about-medieval-england#IDComment78274449 http://listverse.com/2009/08/28/10-heroic-last-stands-from-military-history#IDComment77875452 Sorry M Mac, it was no last stand, it was a pitched battle which the Roman's won. (and the Caledonians were Picts, the Scots were still living in Ireland at that time.) The Roman's beat the Picts but never managed to suppress them. The Emperor Semtimus Severus invaded again sometime later, but the Picts avoided a full-out rumble with him and wore him down on this occasion by just hacking at his supply trains. Mon, 31 May 2010 05:48:24 +0000 http://listverse.com/2009/08/28/10-heroic-last-stands-from-military-history#IDComment77875452 http://listverse.com/2009/11/23/yet-another-10-commonly-believed-myths#IDComment77662399 It was always so, from day one. Sat, 29 May 2010 20:20:02 +0000 http://listverse.com/2009/11/23/yet-another-10-commonly-believed-myths#IDComment77662399 http://listverse.com/2010/03/14/top-10-cases-of-animals-saving-humans#IDComment77654190 There's more to some animals than I can fathom. My wife and I owned a mongrel terrier. She and I split for a while and she moved to a house three miles away on the other side of town. I kept the dog. After some weeks it escaped from my garden and disappeared, only to be brought back later by some kids who had checked the address on its collar-tag. They said they found it in a park the other side of town where I'd never been. My wife said she lived nearby and walked in that park sometimes, so I can understand there may have been enough of her scent there to attract the dog. But what urged it to trek off through the town in the first place? How did it know which direction to take? It did the same trick three times before we all pulled together again, and it never ran off again afterwards. When we were younger we lived in a fourth floor apartment where we could only keep a couple of pet mice. The mice didn't get along together so I took the renegade one out to some waste ground half a mile away and let it loose. The following morning I found the same animal on the steps of the third floor of the block, struggling to get up to the fourth. Do mice have a homing instinct that can carry it half a mile and up to the fourth storey? Sat, 29 May 2010 18:44:35 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/03/14/top-10-cases-of-animals-saving-humans#IDComment77654190 http://listverse.com/2010/05/27/55-survivors-from-10-notable-ship-sinkings#IDComment77539022 True. Hood was not a battleship she was completed in 1920 as a battle-cruiser ( less armour = more speed ) a concept that was seen as a failure at Jutland in 1915 when 3 British battle-cruisers, Queen Mary, Indefatigable and Invincible, blew up in quick succession after being raked by plunging shot. Fri, 28 May 2010 19:22:34 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/05/27/55-survivors-from-10-notable-ship-sinkings#IDComment77539022 http://listverse.com/2010/05/27/55-survivors-from-10-notable-ship-sinkings#IDComment77534312 My tuppence worth. Personally I don't have a problem with titles. Heck, it's only fun, and it takes only a few moments of time to decide if I wish to read something or skim past it. Many subjects are Western-orientated because a great many of the people who contribute to the site are 'Westerners' and they write about what they know about and are comfortable with. Having said that, during my short time here I've noticed a swathe of good stuff with an exotic flavour and as far as I know Lists can be submitted by 'anyone' regardless of nationality. Fri, 28 May 2010 18:36:07 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/05/27/55-survivors-from-10-notable-ship-sinkings#IDComment77534312 http://listverse.com/2010/05/27/55-survivors-from-10-notable-ship-sinkings#IDComment77413370 When Henry I of England was preparing to return from his holdings in France in 1120, he was offered the use of a brand new, state-of-the-art galley called the White Ship to make the journey across the Channel. He had already made his own arrangements to travel, but he thought it a nice gesture to give the use of the great White Ship to his seventeen year old son. Henry set sail leaving the young William to follow. Wine flowed freely and in the evening the lively young blades in the prince’s party challenged the captain of the White Ship to overtake the King’s vessel. Fifty oarsmen heaved to pull clear of the harbour of Barfleur, but the ships captain was probably as tipsy as his passengers and in the darkness the boat struck an half-submerged rock. The ship capsized almost immediately, and although it was still close to the land the cries and screams of the 300 passengers and crew were mistaken for drunken revelry by those ashore. The White Ship was the Titanic catastrophe of the Middle Ages, a much vaunted high-tech vessel wrecked in the pursuit of speed on its maiden voyage. Only one survivor was plucked from the sea the following morning, a butcher from Rouen who had leapt aboard to collect some debts owed to him. The lack of a male heir led to nineteen years of civil war in England when Henry died. Fri, 28 May 2010 02:17:49 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/05/27/55-survivors-from-10-notable-ship-sinkings#IDComment77413370 http://listverse.com/2007/11/23/top-10-errors-in-science-fiction-movies#IDComment77394802 If you're travelling at the speed of light, what happens if - a planet, asteroid, dustbin full of space junk - gets in the way? Thu, 27 May 2010 23:21:00 +0000 http://listverse.com/2007/11/23/top-10-errors-in-science-fiction-movies#IDComment77394802 http://listverse.com/2009/11/29/10-worst-moments-in-us-history#IDComment77379612 General Bernard Montgomery wrote: "in my view it was unnecessary to drop the bombs on Japan. According to President Truman it was done to save 'hundreds of thousands of lives', but the removal of the demand for Unconditional Surrender would have saved those lives, because Japan would have surrendered earlier. They had already been defeated by conventional weapons. The dropping of the bombs was an example was an example of our failure to match technological progress with moral progress". Thu, 27 May 2010 21:03:55 +0000 http://listverse.com/2009/11/29/10-worst-moments-in-us-history#IDComment77379612 http://listverse.com/2010/05/23/top-10-greatest-firearms-designers#IDComment77375191 Hiram Maxim was American born. He moved to England in 1881 and became a naturalised British citizen in 1899, when he was knighted. Maxim was the first to use the force of a guns recoil to load, fire and eject cartridges that were fed to it on a long strip of webbing. He used the same technique with the later Pom-Pom gun which fired one pound shells. Variants of the Maxim machine-gun were used by numerous countries. In Britain after further development by Vickers at the Royal Arms Factory at Enfield, it became known as the Vickers gun, and proved a sound enough weapon to be used in two world wars. Thu, 27 May 2010 20:24:26 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/05/23/top-10-greatest-firearms-designers#IDComment77375191 http://listverse.com/2010/05/27/55-survivors-from-10-notable-ship-sinkings#IDComment77370575 The Mary Rose. Henry VIII’s ship building programme culminated with the massive Henri Grace a Dieu of 1500 tons, which had four masts, six towering decks and half-decks and nearly 400 guns. A much smaller vessel, Mary Rose of 600 tons, became the second most powerful ship in his fleet and something of a royal favourite. She was a carrack, designed to fight at close range and was expected to carry a large compliment of armed men to serve as boarding parties. At that time the King’s ships operated mainly in the Channel to maintain links with English possessions around Calais. In July 1545, Mary Rose led the English fleet out from Portsmouth harbour to challenge French galleys in the distance. Having outrun the vessels in her company and coming under fire, she put about to await support. At this moment it’s not unlikely that the large number of troops on her top deck made her unstable. A sudden strong gust of wind caused her to heel hard over, her lower gun-ports were still open and the sea gushed in to fill her like a bucket. She quickly sank taking all the passengers and crew with her. Thu, 27 May 2010 19:44:57 +0000 http://listverse.com/2010/05/27/55-survivors-from-10-notable-ship-sinkings#IDComment77370575