# Debunking time - Fun factoids. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024 "2003-05-13T19:44:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/1 "2003-05-13T19:44:56Z")
Seeing how quacking doesn’t echo, and then seeing a thread about women blinking more often than men in the same day I get an e-mail containing “Fun facts” means that yet another one of those is spreading like wildfire around the globe. So, I’m putting the whole list of fun facts here, in the interest of fighting ignorance. Fire away. Debunk the damn things, so we can get ammunition and fire back. Butterflies have their tastebuds on their feet. A hurricane releases more energy in ten minutes, than the combined power of all the nuclear weapons in the world. 100 people die annually from choking on a pen. People are generally more afraid of psiders than of death Elephants are the only animals who can’t jump Only one person in two billion will live to 116 years of age You can lead a cow up a stair, but not down Women blink twice as much as men A snail can sleep for three months There is no word that rhymes with ‘month’. Your eyes are the same size all through your life, but your ears and nose never stop growing The electric chair was invented by a dentist All polarbears are left-pawed (south-pawed :snicker: ) The eye of an ostrich is bigger than its brain. Typewriter is the longest word that can be writter, using only one row of keys on your keyboard If Barbie was real, she’d meassure 39-23-33. A crocodile can’t put out its tongue The cigarettlighter was invented before the match. I’m sure we’ve seen some of these before. And of course I could google for the answers. But that wouldn’t be so much fun! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/2 "2003-05-13T19:51:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Elephants are the only animals who can’t jump Turtles. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![NotMrKnowItAll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/3 "2003-05-13T19:51:33Z")
I don’t know what’s wrong with psider, it’s just a double decker solitare game. [psider](http://www.class.de/~holger/psider.html) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/4 "2003-05-13T19:56:12Z")
> [@](#): > > You can lead a cow up a stair, but not down Not true. I’ve seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/5 "2003-05-13T20:00:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Butterflies have their tastebuds on their feet. I’m pretty sure this is true. > [@](#): > > Your eyes are the same size all through your life, but your ears and nose never stop growing. The second part _may_ be true, but a quick look at a baby would seem to disprove this. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/6 "2003-05-13T20:04:20Z")
I don’t really get why these are supposed to be “fun” facts, as opposed to just regular ordinary non-fun facts. So what if nothing rhymes with “month”? > [@](#): > > Elephants are the only animals who can’t jump I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worm jump. If by chance that was supposed to be mammal instead of animal, then I can’t imagine how a whale or dolphin or bat would jump. > [@](#): > > Typewriter is the longest word that can be writter, using only one row of keys on your keyboard Add Pepperroot, Pepperwort, Perpetuity, Pewterwort, Pirouetter, Prerequire, Pretorture, Proprietor, Repertoire, Repetitory and Tetterwort to that list. (From [A Collection of Word Oddities and Trivia, Page 8](http://members.aol.com/gulfhigh2/words8.html)) ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/7 "2003-05-13T20:11:07Z")
I suppose they are to be seen as ‘mindboggling’ or something. So many answers so soon. Great! ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/8 "2003-05-13T20:13:12Z")
Nobody even _tried_ to debunk time. I am so disappointed. (Seriously though, I was a little misled by the thread’s title. It all makes sense now.) ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/9 "2003-05-13T20:14:20Z")
> [@](#): > > **Typewriter is the longest word that can be writter, using only one row of keys on your keyboard** “[Rupturewort](http://define.ansme.com/words/r/rupturewort.html)” is longer. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/10 "2003-05-13T20:14:44Z")
Whales and dolphins jump. Armadillos? Porcupines? \>There is no word that rhymes with ‘month’. This may be true - the ‘fun fact’ I usually hear, though, is that only four words don’t have rhymes - month, silver, orange, and purple. _That’s_ untrue - there are lots of words without good rhymes - ‘tincture’ leaps to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/11 "2003-05-13T20:21:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Typewriter is the longest word that can be writter, using only one row of keys on your keyboard Well, a quick grep and sort of a dictionary on my computer gave the top ones like this: **11 chars** proprietory proterotype rupturewort **10 chars** pepperroot pepperwort perpetuity pewterwort pirouetter prerequire pretorture proprietor repertoire repetitory tetterwort typewriter However, the top three don’t pass the spelling checker in Word, and can’t be found on [www.m-w.com](http://www.m-w.com). Perhaps they’re British spellings or such. So… Maybe yes, maybe no. But even if it’s yes, typewriter is in a tie with several words I’m sure are correct, namely perpetuity, proprietor and repertoire. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/12 "2003-05-13T20:27:47Z")
Man, while I researched and posted, two beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/13 "2003-05-13T20:29:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > People are generally more afraid of psiders than of death I believe it was recently shown in a SD column here that people are more afraid of public speaking than death, so this is certainly plausible. (Maybe I saw it somewhere else, though, like Snopes. Anyway, there was a study that at least had the pretense of being a scientific survey.) > [@](#): > > Elephants are the only animals who can’t jump Obviously false. Think of aquatic animals and those without legs: sponges, fish, barnacles… I’d be surprised if all bats can jump. > [@](#): > > Your eyes are the same size all through your life, but your ears and nose never stop growing I think this was also disproven in a recent column here, or maybe on Snopes. > [@](#): > > Typewriter is the longest word that can be writter, using only one row of keys on your keyboard Dependent upon the keyboard. On mine, it’s not possible to type “typewriter” using the keys from only one row. > [@](#): > > If Barbie was real, she’d meassure 39-23-33. Pretty sure this is on Snopes somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Von\_Erich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@Von\_Erich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Von_Erich)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/14 "2003-05-13T20:31:41Z")
Armidillos can definitely jump. Especially when they are scared. What about sloths? ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/15 "2003-05-13T20:41:06Z")
My mind is unboggled by any of this minutia, true or not. > [@](#): > > People are generally more afraid of psiders than of death “Spider, or death?” “Death, please.” I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/16 "2003-05-13T20:43:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > \*\* > 100 people die annually from choking on a pen. > \*\* Man, somebody should throw that pen away or put it someplace safe. I do know, from firsthand experience, that Armadillos jump. They apparently do it when they’re frightened. Sadly, this means that when a car bears down on them they tend to jump up when they really should stay on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/17 "2003-05-13T21:05:06Z")
Polar bears probably do show a preference for one paw or the other (every mammal I’ve heard of has a usual side preference), but I’d be surprised if it were 100%. If Barbie were real, then she’d still be seven inches tall. If you also specify that she be life-sized, then she’d be life-sized. If she were five feet tall with a fifty inch waistline, then she’d be really fat. This all seems incredibly trivial, though. I’ve debunked the rhyming thing _n_ times already, and now I’ll debunk it for the _n+1th_. And the last time we went over the elephants jumping thing here on the board, we agreed that elephants don’t jump, and that cetaceans do, but I seem to recall that we couldn’t come up with a definitive answer on sloths (we were restricting to mammals, since there are obviously non-mammals which don’t jump). ---
**Author:** ![bryanmcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@bryanmcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmcc)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/18 "2003-05-13T21:39:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > **A snail can sleep for three months** Well, if by “sleep,” they mean “become dormant” (I doubt they undergo anything in their tiny little ganglia that any scientist would classify as “sleep”). But then the fact becomes pretty ho-hum, as many organisms can remain dormant for much longer than that – some desert frogs bury themselves for the dry season, locusts remain underground for 17 years, and things from bacteria to tardigrades can encyst and remain dormant-but-viable “forever.” > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > \*\*All polarbears are left-pawed (south-pawed :snicker: ) > \*\* Except, of course, that polar bears are from _northern_ polar regions. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/19 "2003-05-13T21:44:22Z")
The cow myth probably spawns from [this bitersweet incident](http://www.cnn.com/US/9711/21/cow.prank/) from 1965. In that case, at least, the legend proved all too true. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024/20 "2003-05-13T21:53:36Z")
Snails cannot jump, neither can earthworms, oysters and most snakes; I’m pretty sure that woodlice and flatworms can’t either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunking-time-fun-factoids/175024.md?page=2)