# "facts" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339 "2001-05-13T21:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TN\_hippie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TN\_hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TN_hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/1 "2001-05-13T21:14:36Z")
Once again, I’ve run across this list of little-known “facts.” I know some of these statements are false. Which ones? I’ll only list the ones I suspect. 2. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. 7. Two thirds of the world’s eggplant is grown in New Jersey. 9. On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag. 11. No word in the English language rhymes with month, silver, or purple. (and what about orange?) 12. “Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in “mt.” 15. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance. 17. There are only four words in the English language that end in “dous:” tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, hazardous. 21. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur. 25. A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours. (all species?) 30. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak. 31. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. 33. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes. Anybody got a clue? Peace, TN\*hippie ---
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/2 "2001-05-13T21:20:14Z")
Hirple, meaning to limp, rhymes with purple. Daydreamt, outdreamt, redreamt, and undreamt all end in -mt as well, but that’s it. So that statement is pretty much true. Amadous, apodous, decapodous, iodous, nodous, nonhazardous, palladous, ultrahazardous, and vanadous all end in -dous, but none are common words. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/3 "2001-05-13T21:28:10Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by TN_hippie \* > \*\*9. On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag. > \*\* 1. We no longer have a $2 bill, but a $2 coin, since 1996. 2. An image of the last $2 bill is available [here.](http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/banknotes/general/character/1986_2.htm) Even in the small reproduction, I can see that the flag is Canadian. Older $2 notes did not depict Parliament. The microwave one is true, though, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/4 "2001-05-13T21:28:16Z")
Well, I know 31 is true. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/5 "2001-05-13T21:28:38Z")
If memory serves, the flag on the CDN $2 is the old Dominion of Canada flag (pre maple-leaf… I don’t have one to check). I think it had the Union Jack in the upper corner, which could make the flag mistaken for a US stars and stripes since it is so small on the bill. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2001, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/6 "2001-05-13T21:28:55Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by TN_hippie \* > **9. On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.** It’s the ‘Red Ensign’, the pre-Maple-Leaf flag (Can’t remember the year the Maple Leaf was made official, it was in living memory, though.). It’s a red field, with the nation’s coat of arms on the right side, and the Union Jack in the top left corner - where the field of stars is on the US flag. When it’s as small as it is on the bill, it could be mistaken for the American flag (Or the Australian, or a half-dozen others) by someone who doesn’t know about the Red Ensign. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2001, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/7 "2001-05-13T21:33:18Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by TN_hippie \* > \*\*30. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak. > \*\* The speaker is allowed to speak, but does not take part in debates. ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/8 "2001-05-14T00:24:59Z")
#7 Is BS. We grow lots of tomatoes and cranberries though. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/9 "2001-05-14T01:07:14Z")
25 is definitely untrue. Many dragonflies live weeks if not months as adults. Many _mayflies_, on the other hand, live only a day or two as adults. ---
**Author:** ![ignatzmouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b2d939/32.png) [@ignatzmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignatzmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/10 "2001-05-14T01:09:09Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes. Seven minutes from when? From the time they lie down? Turn of the lights? Decide to sleep? ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/11 "2001-05-14T02:31:48Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* \*\* > [@](#): > > The microwave one is true, though, I think. \*\* No, the microwave effect was discovered by radar researchers at MIT who were investigating why their new frequency of radar wouldn’t penetrate fog. That’s what Doc Edgerton told me, and I have no reason to doubt him. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/12 "2001-05-14T02:53:37Z")
[Number 2 is true](http://www.rpmint.com/a_tough_nut_to_blast.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/13 "2001-05-14T02:57:21Z")
Orange–doorhinge. Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/14 "2001-05-14T03:09:52Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Chas.E \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > The microwave one is true, though, I think. \*\* > > No, the microwave effect was discovered by radar researchers at MIT who were investigating why their new frequency of radar wouldn’t penetrate fog. That’s what Doc Edgerton told me, and I have no reason to doubt him. \*\* [http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW/microwave\_ovens.html](http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW/microwave_ovens.html) > [@](#): > > In 1945, American engineer Percy Le Baron Spencer was working with radar equipment at Raytheon and noticed that some candy he had in his pocket had melted. Radar equipment detects objects by bouncing microwaves from them and Spencer realized that it was these microwaves that had heated the candy (as well as his body…oops!). Let’s distinguish between “microwaves” themselves and the microwave oven. Percy Spencer is credited with applying this interesting discovery of the effects of microwaves on food to the development of the microwave oven. [http://www.ebsciences.com/papers/mw\_tech.htm](http://www.ebsciences.com/papers/mw_tech.htm) > [@](#): > > Microwave technology evolved out of the development of radar (Radio Detection And Ranging). Because microwave pulses can be very short, they can be used for distance and time measurement. The simplest form of radar measures the time for an echo to return from a certain direction. Microwaves penetrate fog and clouds, travel in straight lines, and give distinct shadows and reflections. > > The original magnetron was invented by Albert Hull at the GE Research Laboratory in 1916. The microwave oven was invented in 1945 by Percy Spencer of Raytheon, who received a U.S. patent in 1950. The first commercial microwave oven appeared on the market in 1947. So #31 is “not exactly true, but not exactly false, either.” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/15 "2001-05-14T03:09:54Z")
**Dijon** - Number 2 is false. There are no peanuts in dynamite. Quit helping to spread this kind of misinformation. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/16 "2001-05-14T03:12:14Z")
Er, Sam? Did you read the link? ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/17 "2001-05-14T03:15:50Z")
What **DDG** said. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/18 "2001-05-14T03:17:07Z")
Hmm… let me evaluate… What Doc Edgerton, one of the world’s greatest radar engineers told me personally in a one-on-one meeting when I asked him pointed questions about his research in underwater sensors, or an unattributed anecdote I read on a web page. I think I’ll stick with Doc Edgerton’s version. ---
**Author:** ![Amedeus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Amedeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amedeus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/19 "2001-05-14T03:23:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*Er, Sam? Did you read the link? > > \*\* But they didn’t say that Peanuts were in every stick of dynamite. It would only be true if they said, Peanuts CAN be used to make dynamite. > [@](#): > > Though making soap using peanut oil will yield glycerol, it’s important to note that there are other ways to get glycerol. So peanuts can be, in an extended sense, an ingredient of dynamite, but not necessarily. Still, the reality of the connection between peanuts and dynamite demonstrates the little nut’s remarkable uses. It’s food for thought. The article does not really prove that peanuts are in a stick of dynamite, just that to make the glycerol, peanuts **can** be used. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339/20 "2001-05-14T03:34:12Z")
Yes, I read the link. If one were to go through the process of making glycerol from peanut oil, one would have glycerol, but one would no longer have peanuts. What you do with the glycerol is your biz. Let’s say you used your glycerol to make a sweetner. Should it have a warning lable to users that it contains peanuts, to which many people are alergic? Of course not. Whoever wrote that link might be a good entertainer, but a damn poor scientist or logician. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts/65339.md?page=2)