Top ten fibs

[InsaneApache]

Well my grandad was too old to re-enlist at the outbreak of WWII, (he had been in the Indian Army), so he joined the RAF who weren't as fussy. I think he was about 38 when the 'balloon went up'.

It was a tale he told me when I was a nipper. Nice to see it's true though, unlike a lot of the stuff he said.

I once asked him what a particular item was on his mantlepiece....it looked like an animal..with four legs but two tails, both standing upwards...

"Whats that grandad?"

"It's a rary"

"A rary?"

"Yes"

"Where's it come from?"

"It comes from tipper"

"Where's tipper grandad?"

*a smirk spreads across his face*

"It's a long way to Tipperary"

*me blank*

I loved that man.

[KukriKhan]

"It's a long way to Tipperary"

*me blank*

5-6 years later, when you heard the song on TV or in the movies, I'd have paid money to see the look of realization spread on your face. ROFL.

Yep, we gramppies go for the long joke, too. :)

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I think the carrots thing comes from the fact that they contain beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A, which is necessary for vision. Any beyond the required amount won't improve it, though.

[Beirut]

I think the carrots thing comes from the fact that they contain beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A, which is necessary for vision. Any beyond the required amount won't improve it, though.

I heard polar bear liver has a lethal concentration of Vitamin A. That's why the Inuit don't eat it.

Guess if it kills you it doesn't do much for your vision either.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Carotenemia or hypercarotenemia is excess carotene, and unlike excess Vitamin A is non-toxic. Although hypercarotenemia is not particularly dangerous, it can lead to a yellowing of the skin (carotenodermia). It is most commonly associated with consumption of an abundance of carrots, but it also can be a medical sign of more dangerous conditions.

Yes, an excess of vitamin A will kill you-but according to wikipedia, an excess of carotene can't. So keep on eating those carrots, people!

Edit-Apparently, it's not only polar bear livers that will give you a fatal does of vitamin a-

The livers of certain animals, especially those adapted to polar environments, often contain amounts of vitamin A that would be toxic to humans. Thus, vitamin A toxicity is typically reported in arctic explorers and people taking large doses of synthetic vitamin A. The first documented death due to vitamin A poisoning was Xavier Mertz, a Swiss scientist who died in January 1913 on an Antarctic expedition that had lost its food supplies and fell to eating its sled dogs. Mertz consumed lethal amounts of vitamin A by eating the dogs' livers.

[Marshal Murat]

But eating carrots, or a good amount of vitamin A (US Soldiers) helped maintain good night vision while the Vietnamese ate rice, and a good amount of it. So they didn't have sufficient Vitamin A to help maintain good eye-sight and night vision. So, it kinda does help your night vision.

[Del Arroyo]

The US soldiers also had infrared goggles (even back then).