Current Events > Random Interesting Facts ITT #4

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Did you know that Stuart Little in the book is a mutant human child who looks mouse-like? This was changed in the movies where he's an anthropomorphic mouse born from mouse parents.

Unlike centipedes, millipedes do not bite or sting. Although they do not bite, some millipedes defend themselves another way. They produce an unpleasant-smelling liquid from glands on their sides. Scientists think this liquid is toxic to insects, spiders and small animals. The liquid can cause small blisters on the skin of people who try to handle certain millipedes.The toxin that millipedes release keeps away most predators. Some large millipede species can spray these toxins as far as 32 inches (80 cm). Contact with these secretions may cause allergic reactions in some people.

Chuck Connors (star of the old Western TV series The Rifleman) is one of only 13 people to play both major league baseball and in the NBA.

The place in the U.S. with the longest name is Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Webster, Massachusetts.

The U.S. Department of the Interior recognizes it as Lake Chaubunagungamaug, which is the original name before the exaggerated longer version was created in the early 20th century. The locals generally call it Webster Lake.

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

Chuck Connors (star of the old Western TV series The Rifleman) is one of only 13 people to play both major league baseball and in the NBA.

The Rifleman was one of the few Western World shows allowed on Soviet television as Leonid Brezhnev, the then-leader of the Soviet Union was a huge fan of the show, and was friends with Connors. Connors wanted to attend Brezhnev's funeral in 1982, but the US government refused the request.

A shape with 26 sides is known as a rhombicuboctahedron.
Playing dice are the only common objects that have this shape. These dice are also ideal for labeling with the English alphabet.

TyVulpine posted...

The Rifleman was one of the few Western World shows allowed on Soviet television as Leonid Brezhnev, the then-leader of the Soviet Union was a huge fan of the show, and was friends with Connors. Connors wanted to attend Brezhnev's funeral in 1982, but the US government refused the request.

Speaking of which, the first American TV show to be imported to China was The Man from Atlantis, starring Bobby Ewing. It flopped in the US and lasted only one season, but it was phenomenal in China and Patrick Duffy became a star there without him knowing.

Another popular US TV show there was Hunter, starring Fred Dryer, who was still widely recognized there a decade after the show ended.

HannibalBarca3 posted...

Did you know that Stuart Little in the book is a mutant human child who looks mouse-like? This was changed in the movies where he's an anthropomorphic mouse born from mouse parents.

That part always disturbed me. Along with the original Dr Doolittle book where the doctor turns an African prince white so he could pick up European princesses.

Theres a product called Cupids Arrow that encourages Sea Monkeys to mate. Shrimp aphrodisiac I guess?

Televangelist Jimmy Swaggert, rock n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis, and country music singer Mickey Gilley were all cousins; each played the piano and sang.

Bonus fact: Swaggert is the oldest of the three (by six months) and the only one still alive (Lewis and Gilley both died in 2022).

Fusion Reborn released on 1995
Dragon Ball Super released on 2017

It took 22 years for Dragon Ball writers to realize that Vegeta should not lose to a character whose weakness is being insulted.

There are over 6,000 species of grass. The most common examples are rice, wheat, oats, and sugarcane.

BlueKat posted...

Here's a fun fact: Ketchup used to not have tomatoes at all and was actually a fish sauce. The word originally comes from the Malay word kecap which then becomes the Chinese (Hokkien) word k-chiap: "brine of pickled fish or shellfish"

that is indeed a fun fact :)

This animal that lived ~250 million years ago is called a Bulbasaurus:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/3c34904b.jpg

The paleontologists who named it said it wasn't a reference to the Pokemon, but rather named that way for the bulbous shape on its head, though similarities might not be coincidental.

Its full scientific name Phylloxyron comes from ancient Greek phyllos (meaning 'leaf') and xyron ('razor'). So this creature is officially called Bulbasaur Razor Leaf.

The Stock Market Crash of 1929 cost almost $30 billion dollars, or nearly what the United States had spent on their involvement in World War 1 ($32 billion).

https://i.imgur.com/e89FB70.jpg

There are 16 circles in this picture

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/87ad864a.jpg

BlueKat posted...

I recently requested a name change on my account. I used to be "indica" but felt I grew out of that name a long time ago.

Here's a fun fact: Ketchup used to not have tomatoes at all and was actually a fish sauce. The word originally comes from the Malay word kecap which then becomes the Chinese (Hokkien) word k-chiap: "brine of pickled fish or shellfish"

Interestingly, tea and chai all came from Chinese pronunciations. Tea comes from the Malay word teh, which itself came from the southern Chinese word te. Chai comes from the northern Chinese word cha, and changed through trading with Central and South Asia.

Romans drove on the left side of the road.

https://www.history.com/news/why-do-some-countries-drive-on-the-left-side-of-the-road

The majority of people are right handed, one theory goes, so driving or riding on the left would have allowed them to wield a weapon with their dominant hand if they crossed paths with an enemy.
...
In the United States, meanwhile, many researchers trace the beginning of right-hand traffic to the 18th century and the rise of freight wagons pulled by large teams of horses. Since these vehicles often didnt have a drivers seat, drivers tended to ride on the left rear horse to more easily control their animal team with their right hand. As the wagons became more popular, traffic naturally moved to the right so drivers could sit closer to the center of the road and avoid collisions with one another. Yet another major influence was carmaker Henry Ford, who mass-produced his Model T with a left-positioned steering wheel, which necessitated driving on the right side of the road.

Bump

Vatican City got 2.3 popes per square kilometer.

Hens can crow when there are no roosters around. I got woken up by a neighbour's hen this morning.

Argonaut octopuses have taken the saying go fuck yourself quite literally. As the smaller male is in danger of being eaten by the female, theyll rip off a special tentacle containing sperm (the hectocotylus) for the female to use to inseminate herself.

YugiNoob posted...

Argonaut octopuses have taken the saying go fuck yourself quite literally. As the smaller male is in danger of being eaten by the female, theyll rip off a special tentacle containing sperm (the hectocotylus) for the female to use to inseminate herself.

Awesome.
https://blog.nature.org/2021/05/24/meet-the-argonaut-the-worlds-weirdest-octopus/

Did you know that despite the movie 300 portraying the killing of the Persian messenger as an act of defiance the actual killing of the messenger was seen as a crime against the gods since heralds were seen as having divine protection. For this the Spartans sent two men to be killed by the Persians, Herodotos recalls the tale:

Be that as it may, the anger of Talthybius, Agamemnon's herald, fell upon the Lacedaemonians. At Sparta there is a shrine of Talthybius and descendants of Talthybius called Talthybiadae, who have the special privilege of conducting all embassies from Sparta. Now there was a long period after the incident I have mentioned above during which the Spartans were unable to obtain good omens from sacrifice. The Lacedaemonians were grieved and dismayed by this and frequently called assemblies, making a proclamation inviting some Lacedaemonian to give his life for Sparta. Then two Spartans of noble birth and great wealth, Sperthias son of Aneristus and Bulis son of Nicolaus, undertook of their own free will to make atonement to Xerxes for Darius' heralds who had been killed at Sparta.

Thereupon the Spartans sent these men to Media for execution.
Worthy of admiration was these men's deed of daring, and so also were their sayings. On their way to Susa, they came to Hydarnes, a Persian, who was general of the coast of Asia. He entertained and feasted them as his guests, and as they sat at his board, he asked: Lacedaemonians, why do you shun the king's friendship? You can judge from what you see of me and my condition how well the king can honor men of worth. So might it be with you if you would but put yourselves in the king's hands, being as you are of proven worth in his eyes, and every one of you might by his commission be a ruler of Hellas.

To this the Spartans answered: Your advice to us, Hydarnes, is not completely sound; one half of it rests on knowledge, but the other on ignorance. You know well how to be a slave, but you, who have never tasted freedom, do not know whether it is sweet or not. Were you to taste of it, not with spears you would counsel us to fight for it, no, but with axes.

This was their answer to Hydarnes. From there they came to Susa, into the king's presence, and when the guards commanded and would have compelled them to fall down and bow to the king, they said they would never do that. This they would refuse even if they were thrust down headlong, for it was not their custom, said they, to bow to mortal men, nor was that the purpose of their coming. Having averted that, they next said,

The Lacedaemonians have sent us, O king of the Medes, in requital for the slaying of your heralds at Sparta, to make atonement for their death, and more to that effect. To this Xerxes, with great magnanimity, replied that he would not imitate the Lacedaemonians. You, said he, made havoc of all human law by slaying heralds, but I will not do that for which I censure you, nor by putting you in turn to death will I set the Lacedaemonians free from this guilt. Hdt. 7.135

Bump

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/f1eb933f.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/e747e439.jpg

The Earth holds about 11 quintillion pounds of air.
The force that gravity holds it in place is equivalent to a pressure of 15 psi. There are a total of 5 regions in our atmosphere.

The $10,000 bill is the highest denomination US currency to circulate. It has president Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase on it. In 1969, the $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills were discontinued, although they're still legal tender.

There's a $100,000 bill with Woodrow Wilson on it, but it's illegal for a private individual to own, as its purpose was to transfer funds between Federal Reserve Banks.

Anyone can nominate someone for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but it costs $250 per nomination. If chosen, the honoree must pay $75,000 for installation and upkeep costs. Gene Autry is the only person with stars in 5 categories. Also Kermit the Frog has a star :3

Blue_Thunder posted...

https://i.imgur.com/e89FB70.jpg

Wikipedia says there are variations "Pairs can either compete, with only one individual transferring sperm to the other, or the pair can transfer sperm bilaterally. Both forms of sperm transfer can occur in the same species, depending on various factors.[2]"

Not so much an interesting fact as much as it a random thought, but people tend to draw non-full moons (crescent, half, etc.) with stars in front of where the non-visible portion of the moon is.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/d07e91fb.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/95d7bae4.jpg

But when you think about it, that doesnt make sense because those stars should always be hidden behind the moon, since if there was a star between the Earth and the moon, wed all die a horrible fiery death.

YugiNoob posted...

But when you think about it, that doesnt make sense because those stars should always be hidden behind the moon, since if there was a star between the Earth and the moon, wed all die a horrible fiery death.

Those are fireflies, though. Fireflies that got stuck up in that big, blueish-black...thing.

YugiNoob posted...

Not so much an interesting fact as much as it a random thought, but people tend to draw non-full moons (crescent, half, etc.) with stars in front of where the non-visible portion of the moon is.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/d07e91fb.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/95d7bae4.jpg

But when you think about it, that doesnt make sense because those stars should always be hidden behind the moon, since if there was a star between the Earth and the moon, wed all die a horrible fiery death.

Technically they could be satellites or high orbit objects.

Foppe posted...

Technically they could be satellites or high orbit objects.

This is true

But I accept the stuck fireflies theory more readily >:(

That said, we should still be able to see the shadow on the moon as black against the lighter night sky.

The queens in ant colonies live for around 30 years.
This was observed by keeping queen ants in captivity. On average they lived for almost 29 years. However, it is estimated that they are able to live much longer in the wild with a full colony.

YugiNoob posted...

Anyone can nominate someone for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but it costs $250 per nomination. If chosen, the honoree must pay $75,000 for installation and upkeep costs. Gene Autry is the only person with stars in 5 categories. Also Kermit the Frog has a star :3

Ed O'Neil has his star right in front of a shoe store.

Multiplying 1089 by 9 will give you the same numbers in reverse.

A British scientist studying chocolate has her taste buds insured.
Her taste buds are insured for one million British Pounds. This entails that she would need to avoid very hot foods in order to keep her taste buds from damage.

Sea otters have the densest fur of any animal. They have 100 hairs per hair follicle, compared to humans who have 1 or 2. Their fur has 600K-1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch. They need this because unlike most marine mammals, they lack a layer of blubber to keep them warm, so their fur traps air and heat next to their skin.

https://phys.org/news/2009-11-extinct-goat-cold-blooded.html

The goat, Myotragus balearicus, lived on what is now Majorca, a Spanish island. The island had scarce resources, and there was no way for the goats to leave, and so scientists wondered how they had thrived for so long. A recently published research paper reveals the extinct goat survived by adjusting its growth rate and metabolism to suit the available food, becoming cold-blooded like reptiles.

lol 1 1/2 foot tall goats

The bee hummingbird is the smallest bird ever to exist, and, according to many, it's also the "smallest dinaosaur" to ever exist. This characterization is based upon the recognition that birds are, in fact, a living form of dinosaurs (or, strictly speaking, theropods), and no smaller bird or non-avian dinosaur has been found in the fossil record.

This difference between misinformation and disinformation is intent. Misinformation is false, misleading, or out-of-context content shared without an intent to deceive; however, disinformation is purposefully false or misleading content shared with an intent to deceive and cause harm.

Tanks are called tanks because when the US first deployed them in Europe, they transported them in crates that said "Tank" so that the enemy wouldn't know what was really in them.

You can't lick your elbow.

Also, the skin on your elbow is impervious to pain. Try pinching it. Won't hurt.

Mike the Headless Chicken (April 20, 1945 March 17, 1947) was a male Wyandotte chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off, surviving because most of his brain stem remained intact and it did not bleed to death due to a blood clot. After the loss of his head, Mike achieved national fame until his death in March 1947

Cocytus posted...

Also, the skin on your elbow is impervious to pain. Try pinching it. Won't hurt.

Do people still fall for this one?