# Amazing bullshit true facts that are in fact true. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514 "2013-01-27T03:44:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/81 "2013-01-31T14:44:55Z")
Male fruit flies have mind-controlling semen. They have a gland called an “accessory gland” that makes a whole lot of proteins that get secreted into their seminal fluid, sort of analogous to the prostate. One of the effects of these accessory proteins is to reduce the recipient female’s sex drive. This makes the females less likely to mate with other males, increasing the chance that her offspring will be fathered by the first male. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/82 "2013-01-31T16:05:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > And Joseph Bonaparte, brother to Napoleon, former king of Spain and Naples, lived for a few decades in Bordentown NJ. To add to this interesting tidbit, Charles Adams was Santa Ana’s secretary while he resided in the USA. Santa Ana was puzzling over what to do with a quantity of chicle gum, which he brought from Mexico. Adams found a way to make chicle gum chewable (added sugar and flavorings)-this was born Adams “Chiclets”-sold to this day! ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/83 "2013-01-31T16:34:20Z")
The male anglerfish is absorbed by the female during reproduction. > **[Anglerfish | Reproduction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish#Reproduction)** > > Some anglerfish, like those of the Ceratiidae, or sea devils employ an unusual mating method. Because individuals are locally rare, encounters are also very rare. Therefore, finding a mate is problematic. When scientists first started capturing ceratioid anglerfish, they noticed that all of the specimens were female. These individuals were a few centimetres in size and almost all of them had what appeared to be parasites attached to them. It turned out that these "parasites" were highly reduc Cer... ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/84 "2013-01-31T16:39:27Z")
Ho Chi Minh, Malcolm X, and Emeril Lagasse all once worked in the restaurant of the Parker House hotel in Boston. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/85 "2013-01-31T17:28:45Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > The male anglerfish is absorbed by the female during reproduction. > > [Anglerfish - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish#Reproduction) Wow. Sounds like my ex-wife. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/86 "2013-01-31T17:45:25Z")
> [@Vicullum](#): > > Both Richard Pryor and Matthew McConaugheys’ fathers died during sex. Huh. I didn’t even know they knew each other. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/87 "2013-01-31T19:19:43Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > The male anglerfish is absorbed by the female during reproduction. > > [Anglerfish - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish#Reproduction) There’s a song about anglerfish that includes that tidbit of information. My son forced me to listen to it last night. If I remember, I’ll get a link from him and post it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/88 "2013-01-31T20:23:42Z")
The hyrax, which resembles a large, tailless squirrel, is the closest relative as a species to the elephant. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/89 "2013-01-31T20:36:35Z")
The closest living relative to the whale on land is the hippo. Your forearm from your wrist to the crook of your elbow is the same length as your foot. Your nose is the length from the tip is the length of your little finger. Sea cucumbers vomit up their internal organs to escape predators. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/90 "2013-01-31T23:48:00Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The hyrax, which resembles a large, tailless squirrel, is the closest relative as a species to the elephant. Aren’t they also pretty closely allied to the horses, or is that disparaged now? No, wait, there’s a creature we have fossils of which has variously been claimed as a proto-horse and as an extinct hyrax species. I read some snark about this years ago by someone arguing about equine evolution for some reason, but I forget the species name. Ah, here it is: > **[Hyracotherium and Hyrax](http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/horses/eohippus_hyrax.html)** > > Creationists claim 'Dawn Horse' is a Hyrax, a claim that is simple not true. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/91 "2013-02-01T00:01:23Z")
(And they’re not closely related to horses after all. Oh well.) ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/92 "2013-02-01T02:59:04Z")
The US fired the first shots at Pearl Harbor. Early on December 7th, we destroyed a Japanese midget submarine. Of course, the Japanese planes were already on their way. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/93 "2013-02-01T03:03:25Z")
Damn, just how small would Japanese midgets be? ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/94 "2013-02-01T07:25:29Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Your nose is the length from the tip is the length of your little finger. This is definitely not the case for me. My little finger is certainly longer than my nose by any method of measurement I can come up with. By a significant fraction, and I don’t have any deformities or anything that would skew the result. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/95 "2013-02-01T07:27:58Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Your forearm from your wrist to the crook of your elbow is the same length as your foot. Not even close on me. But I’m probably an outlier. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/96 "2013-02-01T07:55:06Z")
> [@wolfstu](#): > > This is definitely not the case for me. My little finger is certainly longer than my nose by any method of measurement I can come up with. By a significant fraction, and I don’t have any deformities or anything that would skew the result. Ditto. My nose comes up a joint short of the length of my pinky. I do better on the foot/forearm thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/97 "2013-02-01T08:23:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Ditto. My nose comes up a joint short of the length of my pinky. My nose is adorable and doesn’t even rank a single full joint from tip to face. ETA: And my foot is only about 1/2-3/4 the length of my forearm. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/98 "2013-02-01T08:59:44Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > [Georges Lemaître](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre), a Catholic priest, proposed a theory of the origin of the universe that was given a dirisive nick-name by a critic that has stuck to this day. > > The “Big Bang” theory. > **[Fred Hoyle | Rejection of the Big Bang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Hoyle#Rejection_of_the_Big_Bang)** > > While having no argument with the Lemaître theory (later confirmed by Edwin Hubble's observations) that the universe was expanding, Hoyle disagreed on its interpretation. He found the idea that the universe had a beginning to be pseudoscience, resembling arguments for a creator, "for it's an irrational process, and can't be described in scientific terms" (see Kalam cosmological argument). Instead, Hoyle, along with Thomas Gold and Hermann Bondi (with whom he had worked on radar in the Second The... > [@](#): > > It is popularly reported that Hoyle intended this to be pejorative, but the script from which he read aloud shows that he intended the expression to help his listeners.[8] Hoyle explicitly denied that he was being insulting and said it was just a striking image meant to emphasize the difference between the two theories for the radio audience.[9] ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/99 "2013-02-01T09:11:39Z")
Lots of fun facts here! (I’d mention ring finger length correlation with gender (sex hormones) but am afraid that’s neither amazing nor little-known.) Nitpick: > [@](#): > > If this was true it would be true for any echo of any sound. I have heard the echo of a duck’s quack and had no problems distinguishing between the two. No comment on duck’s quack specifically, but some echoes will be more obvious than others. For examples, “CLAP” changes, with echos, to a distinctive “CLAP … clap … clap” while Sine\_wave plus Echo is simply … Sine\_wave. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514/100 "2013-02-01T09:46:46Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > President John Tyler (1841-1845) currently has two living grandchildren. He died at 4, and yet managed to serve as president and have kids? Amazing. (Yeah, yeah, I know, that’s his term in office, but still…) > [@Miller](#): > > Ditto. My nose comes up a joint short of the length of my pinky. Only half a joint off for me, but yeah. (Actually, it’s half a joint for my right hand, 1/4 of one on the left…there’s a noticeable difference between the two fingers, let alone the length of my nose!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-bullshit-true-facts-that-are-in-fact-true/648514.md?page=6)