# Facts Which Sound Fake **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2022, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473 "2022-09-29T20:47:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/21 "2022-09-30T12:13:25Z")
I knew where your joke was going and still LOL’ed! 🤣 You should spoiler-blur the punchline though, so future visitors can better appreciate the awesome construction of the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/22 "2022-09-30T12:14:35Z")
I knew it was far too obvious but sometimes the fun is in the journey rather than the destination. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/23 "2022-09-30T14:06:08Z")
It occurred to me you often see abandoned Pizza Huts, sometimes turned into something else. Not unlike the Pyramids? Great minds… ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/24 "2022-09-30T14:22:31Z")
I always got the canopic jars mixed up with the red pepper flakes. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/25 "2022-09-30T14:44:59Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Not unlike the Pyramids? > **[Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid](https://www.memphistravel.com/attractions-activities/bass-pro-shops-pyramid)** > > For a full article and guide to exploring Bass Pro Shops at The Pyramid, follow to the link https://www.memphistravel.com/trip-ideas/bass-pro-pyramid-memphis"\>here…; > In addition to vast assortments of outdoor gear, the mega store includes a grand... ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/26 "2022-09-30T14:54:41Z")
I was thinking Le Louvre… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/27 "2022-09-30T19:07:44Z")
Along those lines, my favorite totally true yet completely misleading fact is that the age of dinosaurs lasted for 160,000,000 years, long enough for them to have seen fossils of dinosaurs! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/28 "2022-09-30T19:26:03Z")
Something I probably that made an impression on me from a book on worms I read some years back - [Nematodes are so prevalent that if all the matter in the world was swept away, leaving only nematodes, then ghostly, nematode-formed shapes would remain of every single thing. Oceans, humans, mites, trees…](https://www.chaosofdelight.org/nematodes) Other fun factoids: Nematodes make up 80% of earth’s multi celled creatures; [There are 57 billion nematodes for every human.](https://news.byu.edu/there-are-57-billion-tiny-wormlike-nematodes-for-every-human-on-earth-now-we-know-where-most-of-them-live) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/29 "2022-09-30T21:11:15Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I’m kind of sure I heard this as a fact… [Mallory Archer] And this is why we have ANTS![/Mallory Archer] ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/30 "2022-09-30T22:45:01Z")
From [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Bent_Pyramid_%E6%9B%B2%E6%8A%98%E9%87%91%E5%AD%97%E5%A1%94_-_panoramio.jpg/800px-Bent_Pyramid_%E6%9B%B2%E6%8A%98%E9%87%91%E5%AD%97%E5%A1%94_-_panoramio.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Bent_Pyramid_%E6%9B%B2%E6%8A%98%E9%87%91%E5%AD%97%E5%A1%94_-_panoramio.jpg/800px-Bent_Pyramid_%E6%9B%B2%E6%8A%98%E9%87%91%E5%AD%97%E5%A1%94_-_panoramio.jpg) I think we can see that the genius of Pizza Hut was in flipping it over ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/31 "2022-09-30T22:49:33Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Even if you lump all ants together, that claim wouldn’t be anywhere near true. They probably weigh less than just humans, let alone everything. That doesn’t account for all the ants carrying around ten times their own body weight. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/32 "2022-09-30T22:54:43Z")
The U.S. state that is closest to Africa is Maine. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/33 "2022-09-30T22:58:13Z")
About 50 years ago (yikes!) a coworker told me embryonic kangaroos crawl from the mother’s uterus to her pouch. I was _certain_ she was putting me on until I saw a video. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/34 "2022-09-30T22:58:46Z")
Do I live in the only city which has several abandoned Pizza Huts? I can think of at least three close to me - the architecture is not hard to identify. Just as time caught up with Cleopatra, I suppose someone outpizzaed the pyramids? Pizza Hut was reasonably good, but it’s a competitive industry and Covid helped few. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/35 "2022-09-30T23:01:58Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Julia Child invented shark repellent. Just how bad did her BĂ©chamel Sauce go? ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/36 "2022-09-30T23:07:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Julia Child invented shark repellent. That’s awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/37 "2022-09-30T23:08:10Z")
I’d like to hear that story. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/38 "2022-09-30T23:10:46Z")
And kangaroos/wallabies cannot step backwards. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/39 "2022-09-30T23:15:32Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I’d like to hear that story. > **[Julia Child](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child)** > > Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which premiered in 1963. > On August 15, 1912, Julia Child was born as Julia Carolyn McWilliams in Pasadena, California. Child's father was John McWilli... > Child joined the [Office of Strategic Services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services) (OSS) in 1942[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-history-1)[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-museum-2) after finding that she was too tall to enlist in the [Women’s Army Corps (WACs)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Army_Corps) or in the U.S. Navy’s [WAVES](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAVES).[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-wacs-10) She began her OSS career as a typist at its headquarters in Washington but, because of her education and experience, soon was given a more responsible position as a top-secret researcher working directly for the head of OSS, General [William J. Donovan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan).[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-abc-11)[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-12)[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-13) > > As a research assistant in the Secret Intelligence division, she typed 10,000 names on white note cards to keep track of officers. For a year, she worked at the OSS Emergency Sea Rescue Equipment Section (ESRES) in Washington, D.C. as a file clerk and then as an assistant to developers of a [shark repellent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_repellent) needed to ensure that sharks would not explode [ordnance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon) targeting German [U-boats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-boat).[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-history-1)[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-museum-2) From 1944–1945, she was posted to [Kandy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandy), Ceylon (now [Sri Lanka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka)), where her responsibilities included “registering, cataloging and channeling a great volume of highly classified communications” for the OSS’s clandestine stations in Asia.[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-14)[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-cia-15) She was later posted to [Kunming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunming), [China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China), where she received the [Emblem of Meritorious Civilian Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritorious_Civilian_Service_Award) as head of the Registry of the OSS Secretariat.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-history-1)[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-cia-15) > > When Child was asked to solve the problem of too many OSS underwater explosives being set off by curious sharks, “Child’s solution was to experiment with cooking various concoctions as a shark repellent,” which were sprinkled in the water near the explosives and repelled sharks.[[16]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-volkman-16) Still in use today, the experimental shark repellent “marked Child’s first foray into the world of cooking.”[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-17) > > For her service, Child received an award that cited her many virtues, including her “drive and inherent cheerfulness”.[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-abc-11) As with other OSS records, her file was declassified in 2008. Unlike other files, her complete file is available online.[[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-18) > > While in Kandy, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) she met [Paul Cushing Child](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cushing_Child), also an OSS employee, and the two were married on September 1, 1946, in [Lumberville, Pennsylvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumberville,_Pennsylvania),[[19]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-19) later moving to Washington, D.C. Paul, a [New Jersey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey) native[[20]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-20) who had lived in [Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris) as an artist and poet, was known for his sophisticated palate,[[21]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-21) and introduced his wife to fine cuisine. He joined the [United States Foreign Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Foreign_Service), and, in 1948, the couple moved to Paris after the [State Department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_State) assigned Paul there as an exhibits officer with the [United States Information Agency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Information_Agency).[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child#cite_note-cia-15) The couple had no children. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473/40 "2022-10-01T01:05:36Z")
I don’t know of any repurposed Pizza Huts locally, but I’ve seen plenty of references to them online. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-which-sound-fake/972473.md?page=3)