Under mutual combat laws; two people can fight as long as they verbally agree beforehand!

Many a drunken brawler has been arrested for fighting. If only he had known to discuss the fight with his opponent beforehand, he could have escaped jail time. Mutual combat is a legal term and is defined as "a fight into which both parties enter willingly, or in which two persons, upon a sudden quarrel, and in hot blood, mutually fight upon equal terms."

Back in the day, this type of fight was much more common. There were formal duels between men. School boys were made to fight as a rite of passage. Today, the boxing ring and other formalized (often for entertainment value) forms of fighting are the only places where mutual combat exists.

According to most, mutual combat has not survived the common law and would no longer hold up as a defense. However, it is still part of the criminal law of the United States.

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There are more possible games of chess than atoms in the observable universe

This is because the number of atoms is estimated to be about 10^79, while the number of unique chess games is 10^120. Here are some interesting facts for our chess fans:

• The word "Checkmate" in Chess comes from the Arabic language. The original form is "Shah Mat," which means "the King is dead."
• From the starting position, there are eight different ways to Mate in two moves and 355 different ways to Mate in three moves.
• The folding Chess board was invented by a priest in 1125. It was intended to make the board look like two books laying together when it was folded, thus concealing the board. This was done because the church forbid priests to play chess.
• Rookies or, players in their first year, are named after the Rook in Chess. Rooks generally are the last pieces to be moved into action, and the same goes for Rookies.
• There is a form of chess that is played while blindfolded. Many good chess players can do this, but it gets tricky after many moves since you need to see the board clearly. The record was set in 1960 in Budapest by Hungarian Janos Flesch, who played 52 opponents simultaneously while blindfolded – he won 31 of those games.

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The US Postal Service sent a cease and desist letter to the band The Postal Service for trademark infringement!

The Postal Service is an American electronic music band. They got their name because of the way they first started creating songs. Producer Jimmy Tamborello would write and perform instrumental tracks and then send them to vocalist Ben Gibbard. Ben would add his vocals and edit the tracks and then send them back to Tamborello via the US Postal Service.

Apparently, the USPS was not flattered by this nod to their service. In August 2003, they sent the band a cease and desist letter, citing their trademark on the phrase “postal service.” The USPS entered into negotiations with the band and decided they could use the trademark in exchange for promotional efforts and a performance at the USPS’s National Executive Conference. At one point, the USPS even sold the band’s CDs on their website.

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The Olympic tradition of athletes mingling at the closing ceremony came from an anonymous suggestion!

After all the friendly and sometimes not-so-friendly competition during the Olympic Games, they end with a communal closing ceremony. While the opening ceremony is tense with competition between countries, the closing ceremony is much more laid back. Athletes from across the world, finally done with their events, mingle with one another.

This was not always the case though. This tradition began with the 1956 Olympic Games. These Games were held in Melbourne, Australia during the height of the Cold War. Obviously, political tensions were running high. A number of countries protested the Games or forbid their athletes from mingling with athletes from other countries. Fights broke out and it appeared that the Games were a failed effort.

The International Olympic Committee and the Organizing Committee then discovered an anonymous letter written by a 17-year-old Chinese boy. He was surprised that the athletes were not allowed to mingle with each other during the closing ceremony and explained that the best part of any sporting event was the celebration afterwards. When the committees instituted this change, the Melbourne Games became known as the Friendly Games.

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Daryl from The Walking Dead was discovered at a party in LA when he started screaming while wearing giant sunglasses!

Norman Reedus is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Daryl Dixon on the hit TV show “The Walking Dead.” He also played Murphy McManus in the 1999 film “The Boondock Saints” and it's sequel.

Reedus was born in Florida but grew up in L.A. He worked at a Harley Davidson shop in Venice and created art as a photographer, painter, sculptor and video artist. In an odd turn of events, he was discovered as an actor at a party. Reedus was yelling while wearing a pair of giant sunglasses. He kept screaming until someone asked him if he wanted to be in a play. His first film was the 1997 horror movie “Mimic.”

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