# 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:** 5
**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 31, 2011, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/81 "2011-01-31T07:55:13Z")
Pre-vaccination, many people died of disease in infancy. Therefore it’s statistically likely that around a quarter of your great-grandparents were dead before the age of five. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/82 "2011-01-31T15:31:36Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > How about factoids that get cause and effect mixed up, > > Taking antidepressants increases the chance of suicide…. (They are already depressed, so have a higher chance of suicide) > > People who drink a lot break fewer limbs during skiing trips? (The more they drink the less they ski..) A similar example I heard in a class once. The teacher told us this factoid and asked the class to come up with an explanation. There is a direct correlation between ice cream sales and murder. (The actual cause is the weather. The hotter it gets, the more people buy ice cream, and the more likely people are to lose their tempers. So people who are borderline-homicidal are more likely to snap when it’s super hot out.) Slightly off-topic about the antidepressants factoid. A friend who has been on antidepressants told me they actually can increase someone’s chances of suicide. She said occasionally the meds will help with the lethargy and lack of motivation, but not help the sadness and feelings of worthlessness. So you’ve got someone who still feels like they’d be better off dead, but now they actually have the energy and motivation to go through with it. She said it didn’t happen to her, but her doctor warned her that it might. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/83 "2011-01-31T15:50:00Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > Slightly off-topic about the antidepressants factoid. A friend who has been on antidepressants told me they actually can increase someone’s chances of suicide. She said occasionally the meds will help with the lethargy and lack of motivation, but not help the sadness and feelings of worthlessness. So you’ve got someone who still feels like they’d be better off dead, but now they actually have the energy and motivation to go through with it. She said it didn’t happen to her, but her doctor warned her that it might. Exactly. It’s actually true that antidepressants seem to have side effect of greater suicide risk, and the prevailing theory of why is exactly what you mention - they’ve begun to work by lifting the lethargy and malaise, but they haven’t yet addressed the feelings of sadness and hopelessness. If you look at the number of depressed people on antidepressants who kill themselves, it \*is \*higher than the number of depressed people who are not on antidepressants and kill themselves. I didn’t want to get into correcting it earlier, because this is a light hearted thread, but the poster has it wrong: they’re not comparing depressed people to non-depressed people as he thinks, they’re comparing depressed people on antidepressants to depressed people not on anti-depressants. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/84 "2011-01-31T16:12:43Z")
When a solar eclipse occurs at night, it produces a momentary green flash. ---
**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 31, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/85 "2011-01-31T16:26:04Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > There is a direct correlation between ice cream sales and murder. (The actual cause is the weather. The hotter it gets, the more people buy ice cream, and the more likely people are to lose their tempers. So people who are borderline-homicidal are more likely to snap when it’s super hot out.) There actually was a theory that ice cream was somehow a cause of polio because statisticians noticed that increased ice cream sales and polio outbreaks coincided. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/86 "2011-01-31T16:52:38Z")
-Penguins and ostriches are the only animals that can not fly. -Coca Cola originally contained heroin. -It’s possible to lead a cow uphill but not downhill. -An ostrich’s eye is bigger than it’s head. -South Dakota is actually further north than North Dakota. -On the 15th week of the NFL schedule, every team plays a home game. -The name “Peter” was made up for the book “Peter Pan”. -Nutmeg is extremely poisonous. -The San Francisco Cable cars are the only permanent National Monuments. -Hawaiian math only uses 8 digits. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/87 "2011-01-31T17:29:28Z")
The emergency services number is the only one you can still call when your mobile runs out of power. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/88 "2011-01-31T18:04:21Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Pre-vaccination, many people died of disease in infancy. Therefore it’s statistically likely that around a quarter of your great-grandparents were dead before the age of five. This one is true. I can attest to the fact that my great grandpappy was dead before puberty. But before that? Totally the man. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/89 "2011-01-31T19:56:41Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > 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. I will buy that you are more likely to be injured by a dull knife than a sharp one as there are just so many more dull knives out there. Have you seen the condition of most people’s knives? There must be more than 50 crappy dull knives in the world for every sharp one. Hell, almost everyone I know tosses them in a drawer, puts them in a dish washer, and never sharpens them. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/90 "2011-01-31T21:34:38Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Late in life, the rhino sheds its horn and becomes a hippo. This has been the only thing I have laughed out loud at for quite a while. ---
**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 31, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/91 "2011-01-31T23:10:35Z")
> [@bup](#): > > When a solar eclipse occurs at night, it produces a momentary green flash. Well, it _is_ true that there’s never been a solar eclipse at night that _didn’t_ produce a momentary green flash. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/92 "2011-01-31T23:45:36Z")
Sunrise and Sunset are exactly 12 hours apart on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Its close but not exactly. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/93 "2011-01-31T23:55:12Z")
If your parents didn’t have children, there’s a 90% chance you won’t either. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/94 "2011-02-01T03:09:41Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > -Penguins and ostriches are the only animals that can not fly. > -Coca Cola originally contained heroin. > -It’s possible to lead a cow uphill but not downhill. > -An ostrich’s eye is bigger than it’s head. > -South Dakota is actually further north than North Dakota. > -On the 15th week of the NFL schedule, every team plays a home game. > -The name “Peter” was made up for the book “Peter Pan”. > -Nutmeg is extremely poisonous. > -The San Francisco Cable cars are the only permanent National Monuments. > -Hawaiian math only uses 8 digits. These are great. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/95 "2011-02-01T06:24:30Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > These are great. Especially the Hawaiian math one. I’m going to try and find someone I can convince of that. Shouldn’t be too hard! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/96 "2011-02-01T09:40:45Z")
Elephants are aroused by pictures of naked women. Virtually all chimpanzees can juggle with no training. Skunks don’t actually smell. The smell comes from a parasite that attaches itself to their skin. WD-40 is the most effective sun block ever tested. More people are killed in roller blade related accidents than are killed in house fires. Combining 8 or more cheeses in the same meal is almost invariably fatal. Dolphins can be taught to read. We know this because they laugh at the funny parts. Because of hormonal changes, pre-pubescent males and females are technically different genders than their adult counterparts. Still, it is not widely understood that the human species has four genders. The squeak you hear when eating fresh cheese curds is from bacteria in the cheese screaming when they come into contact with saliva. Their death is almost instantaneous so the scream is not prolonged. Horses are the easiest animals to shoot in a barrel. Being pulled up out of the water is the death fish dream of. Fishermen are their gods. Beavers resent being associated with female genitalia. Oddly, cats love it. String theory was conceived of at a physics convention luncheon with string cheese on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/97 "2011-02-01T09:47:44Z")
Pens down, everyone. We have a winner. ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/98 "2011-02-02T01:20:20Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > 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. [The Master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/422/which-freezes-faster-hot-water-or-cold-water). I think it was actually that column that brought me to the Straight Dope, from which I found the SDMB (and hence led me to meet the man who is now my husband). ---
**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:** [February 2, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/99 "2011-02-02T03:02:15Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Elephants are aroused by pictures of naked women. This week’s episode of Mythbusters was a rerun. It was the one where they discovered to everyone’s amazement that elephants apparently really are scared of mice. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234/100 "2011-02-02T03:46:08Z")
Female mountain lions can go into heat if they catch the scent of male humans. Hence the modern understanding of the term “cougar”. Sharks have a Human Week. Mark Twain was the great uncle of the Marx brothers and the great great grandfather of Shania Twain. He was also a direct descendant of Jonathan Swift. It has been scientifically established that 80% of geese are left footed. If left unable to fly on a a featureless plain, a left footed goose will walk in a wide clockwise circle. Bumble bees have that name because they are in fact very clumsy. Canadians eat 5 times as much beef jerky per capita than Americans. In contrast, Americans eat 8 times as many pork rinds per capita than Canadians. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factoids-that-sound-right-for-a-moment/569234.md?page=6)