# Factoids that sound right, for a moment... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234 "2011-01-27T20:49:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/61 "2011-01-30T07:07:17Z")
You can be either taciturn or laconic, but not both ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/62 "2011-01-30T07:57:40Z")
> [@kath94](#): > > How about a factoid that sounds outrageous at first, but is actually true when you think about it? Like how most people have more than the average number of legs. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/63 "2011-01-30T08:41:16Z")
[QUOTE What about those who work on the weekend?[/QUOTE] Everybody’s working for the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/64 "2011-01-30T08:48:59Z")
The word “gullible” does not appear in any edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/65 "2011-01-30T10:13:53Z")
“Miaou” is the only English word containing all five vowels. A dog’s quack does echo. 9 is the smallest prime number which is also a square. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/66 "2011-01-30T10:53:27Z")
I read one in the paper this weekend, which I wasn’t sure about. Interview with a hot air balloonist, who commented that the baskets are still made of wicker because nothing else has been invented which is as ‘strong, light and flexible’. Could be right, but sounds dubious. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/67 "2011-01-30T15:29:33Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > I read one in the paper this weekend, which I wasn’t sure about. Interview with a hot air balloonist, who commented that the baskets are still made of wicker because nothing else has been invented which is as ‘strong, light and flexible’. Could be right, but sounds dubious. I suspect the part they missed was: “…and is not a hell of a lot more expensive than wicker to manufacture.” For example, I suspect a carbon fibre basket could be made with similar properties to a wicker basket, but it would cost a lot more. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/68 "2011-01-30T16:14:46Z")
Shakespeare invented the pronoun. ---
**Author:** ![Imagineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@Imagineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imagineer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/69 "2011-01-30T17:47:43Z")
We use less than 10% of our brain. Maybe it’s true for 10% of us. Some things I disagree with but I can’t prove here and now. A dull knife is more likely to hurt you than a sharp. Sharp knives don’t need much pressure. I can attest to this personaly. And suicide. A heck of a lot do. ---
**Author:** ![Imagineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@Imagineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imagineer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/70 "2011-01-30T18:02:34Z")
Oh, I just looked it up. Men take their lives more often just after the new year. More native americans take their lives than other americans. More people take their lives in Las Vegas. knives: [http://www.chefschoice.com/tips\_myth\_all.html](http://www.chefschoice.com/tips_myth_all.html) # 3 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/71 "2011-01-30T18:26:34Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > But January isn’t October, so it doesn’t count. The “fact” as it was presented to me was that five Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in one month was so unusual that the last time it happened was some 800 years ago. It was presented [like here](http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2010/10/13/hoax-an-interesting-fact-about-oct-2010.htm): > [@](#): > > An interesting fact about October 2010. This October has 5 Fridays 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays all in one month. This happens once in every 823 years. The wording is ambiguous, but to me (and, like I said, how it was presented to me) is that the antecedent of “this” in the third question is “having 5 Fridays, 5 Saturays, and 5 Sundays all in one month,” not necessarily in October. But regardless of how it’s parsed, a few seconds or a minute of thought (depending on how deeply you want to ponder this), it should become clear that the claim is totally nonsensical. Once you realize that all this means is that October has to start on a Friday and there’s no reason why, with the way dates shift by one or two days (if there’s a leap year) every year, October Friday the 1st would be consistently skipped over for 823 years. (Maybe if there were an 8 day week, so leap days consistently added the one day to skip over Friday, but then what would make this year special that it didn’t skip?) ---
**Author:** ![Imagineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@Imagineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imagineer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/72 "2011-01-30T18:42:54Z")
Myth: The bible states that Delilah cut off Samson’s hair Myth: The bible states that the creatures that entered the arc all came in 2 by 2. " Adam and Eve ate an apple " Mary rode an animal into Bethlehem " Three wise men went searching after a star ---
**Author:** ![Imagineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@Imagineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imagineer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/73 "2011-01-30T18:44:24Z")
There is no such word as irregardless ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/74 "2011-01-30T18:49:30Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > (Hijack) Here’s what I don’t get about this one. If one thing of water is 70 degrees and the other is 40, before the 70-degree water hits 32 degrees, doesn’t it have to hit 40 first? And by the time it’s at 40, won’t the water that started at 40 be colder than 40? > > I never understood how that was supposed to work. Well that’s its fatal flaw, but if I were to guess I’d say evaporation cooling because I’ve always heard it as boiling water freezes faster than cold water. Which also makes no sense assuming both sets of water are under the same atmospheric pressure. Water in orbit at 33 degrees would probably boil and freeze from evaporational cooling much faster than non-boiling 33 degree water at sea level. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/75 "2011-01-30T19:02:34Z")
> [@Imagineer](#): > > Myth: The bible states that the creatures that entered the arc all came in 2 by 2. Myth: The Bible states that the each of the creatures entered in the ark in a 4 x 4. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/76 "2011-01-30T19:44:04Z")
> [@Imagineer](#): > > There is no such word as irregardless Sure there is. It may be “nonstandard,” but it is a word by any definition of “word” I could think of. ETA: :smack: Oops. I just realized you mean that this is a factoid that sounds right, but isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/77 "2011-01-30T20:10:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Most people are careless and don’t know what they’re doing. Your extensive experience in the kitchen is extremely atypical. I’m not a professional, but I’m with Rex. I’ve rarely cut myself with a sharp knife; dull knives, on the other hand, tend to slip around a lot. Especially on slippery things like onions. Very easy to cut yourself in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/78 "2011-01-30T20:19:19Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I’m not a professional, but I’m with Rex. I’ve rarely cut myself with a sharp knife; dull knives, on the other hand, tend to slip around a lot. Especially on slippery things like onions. Very easy to cut yourself in that situation. While I have cut myself on sharp knives, most of my knife accidents (and there are one or two a year) almost always occur towards the end of the year, when my knives are dull and I haven’t gotten around to getting them professionally sharpened. Also, the difference between the wounds is different. The wound from a sharp knife seems to cause less bleeding and heals up quite quickly and nicely. My wounds from a dull knife have gotten quite ugly. Yes, all anecdote, I know, but I feel safer around sharp knives. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/79 "2011-01-30T20:20:24Z")
Venus (aka the Morning/Evening Star) is the only planet that can only be seen while the Sun is still in the sky. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2011, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/80 "2011-01-31T07:19:39Z")
> [@Imagineer](#): > > knives: [http://www.chefschoice.com/tips\_myth\_all.html](http://www.chefschoice.com/tips_myth_all.html) # 3 A quote from a knife-sharpener company website isn’t really a cite, now, is it? It’s just repeating the factoid. I’ve been both a professional chef and a home cook. In the experience of myself and everyone I’ve ever worked with who have cut themselves with a knife, it has _almost always_ been right after the knives were sharpened. I stopped sharpening friends’ and relatives’ knives because they kept slicing their fingers afterwards. Of course you can cut yourself if you use a dull knife stupidly, but ordinarily, you slice yourself because the knife is sharper, not duller. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234.md?page=5)