# Favorite random facts **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450 "2001-04-26T23:02:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jaimest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@jaimest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaimest)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/41 "2001-04-29T06:43:30Z")
Without Alaska, the United States would have a smaller land area than Brazil. Chile has both the world’s driest climate (in the north) and the world’s rainiest (in the south). In 1915, the Texas panhandle almost became a state named “Jefferson”. In 1900, Galveston was the largest city in Texas. Elvis Presley was a Shabbos Helper for a family of obsevant Jews in Memphis during the 1950’s. John Quincy Adams, while president, was frequently seen swimming stark naked in the Potomac river. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/42 "2001-04-29T07:09:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE Bo Diddly \* > > The largest dildo on Earth is 67 feet tall and weighs 347 tons. \*\* Who was it made for? More importantly, WHY? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/43 "2001-04-29T08:14:44Z")
> [@](#): > > The Men-er-Hroech, an enormous stone phallus in Brittany once worshiped by pagans, stands 67 ft. high and weighs 347 tons. Maybe not exactly a dildo in the sense it could be put to amorous use, but still majestic nonetheless. From the [Sexual Records](http://www.sexualrecords.com/WSRartifacts.html#largest_dildo) website. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/44 "2001-04-29T14:23:33Z")
The theme song to _ABC’s Monday Night Football_ (the famous instrumental, not “Are You Ready For Some Football”) is not an original composition. It’s actually a piece of production music off a record ABC bought from a production music company. It only took Matt Groening five minutes to create his original sketch of “The Simpsons” while waiting outside of James L. Brooks’ office. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/45 "2001-04-29T14:29:54Z")
Just thought of this one while posting in a Muppet-themed thread: The Muppet character of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is modeled after Lord Lew Grade, the British television producer who was kind enough to take a chance and finance _The Muppet Show_ when none of the major TV networks would take it. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/46 "2001-04-29T16:10:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeep’s Phoenix \* > \*\*(1/4 4x4) > \*\* Should be 1/4 ton 4x4. :o ---
**Author:** ![wariat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@wariat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wariat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/47 "2001-04-29T16:32:48Z")
Blood stains can be removed from clothing with milk (go on, try it today) ---
**Author:** ![wariat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@wariat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wariat)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/48 "2001-04-29T16:34:35Z")
…but don’t let the milk dry round the edges, or you have to try and remove a milk stain… ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/49 "2001-04-29T16:37:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kiffa \* > \*\*They are interesting facts, but I’ll be frank in telling you that I haven’t check them out: > > 1645: one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England. > 1649: one vote caused Charles I of England to be executed > 1776: one vote gave us theEnglish language instead of German > 1800: one vote kept Aaron Burr from becoming President > 1845: one vote brought Texas into the union > 1868: one vote saved Andrew Johnson from impeachment > 1875: one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic > 1923: one vote gave Hitler leadership of the Nazi party > 1941: one vote saved Selective Service 12 weeks before Pearl Harbor > 1960: one vote per precinct would have elected Nixon over Kennedy > \*\* Almost none of those are true. It’s one of those horseshit things that was published a bunch of times by hacks like Dear Abbey to prove a point, in this case why everyone should vote. For similar horseshit see “You would have aborted Beethoven” and “The amazing similarities between Lincoln and Kennedy.” Haj ---
**Author:** ![Soda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Soda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soda)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/50 "2001-04-29T18:07:49Z")
An ear of corn always have an even number of rows, between 12 and 16. I know this is true, but strangely enough, I have never actually counted. I’m that confident. ---
**Author:** ![Soda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Soda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soda)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/51 "2001-04-29T18:11:25Z")
What is wrong with me lately? An ear of corn **has** … Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/52 "2001-04-29T22:19:52Z")
You can drink a pint of blood before you get sick. Don’t ask me how I know this. ---
**Author:** ![Journeyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@Journeyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Journeyman)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/53 "2001-04-30T01:25:04Z")
In one californian city (can’t remember which) you will be fined one thousand dollars for detonating a nuclear device within the city limits. During the cold war, a tactical nuke was designed to be launched by mortar, and had a blast radius of two miles. The weapon was never mass produced, however, because the launcher had a range of (wait for it…) one point five miles. 😃 Hmm… Peeps do not dissolve in water, or sulfuric acid. Louis XVI actually inspected the gulliotine(sp?) that was later used to behead him. He suggested a number of means by which the device could be improved. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/54 "2001-04-30T01:49:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE Bo Diddly \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > The male seahorse gives birth, not the female. > > That’s not a fact. The male seahorse simply carries the egg, like penguins. It LOOKS a lot like it gives birth, though.\*\* Well, according to [this site](http://www.seaworld.org/animal_bytes/seahorses.html): > [@](#): > > The embryos develop within the male’s pouch, nourished by their individual yolk sacs. Incubation may last two to six weeks, depending on the seahorse species. After the embryos have developed, **the male gives birth** to tiny seahorses, some as small as 1 cm (0.4 in.) long. And then there’s [this place](http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/htm/exhibits_features/world_of_seahorses/seahorses.htm#): > [@](#): > > It is the mating habits of seahorses which are most incredible, for it is the male who becomes pregnant. Not only does he accept the femaleØs eggs into his body for fertilisation, **he also bathes them in nutritious fluids and endures labour and contractions before giving birth** to up to 1500 miniature versions of the adult. The bolding is of course, mine. Now this may simply be an argument over semantics, but enduring labour and contractions sure sounds like giving birth to me. ---
**Author:** ![LifeWillFall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@LifeWillFall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeWillFall)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/55 "2001-04-30T01:57:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Goose \* > \*\*You can drink a pint of blood before you get sick. Don’t ask me how I know this. \*\* I don’t know if it’s true or not but this fact was mentioned in Fight Club which is probably how you know it ---
**Author:** ![Sapphire\_Bullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@Sapphire\_Bullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapphire_Bullet)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/56 "2001-04-30T02:18:54Z")
the headlights on NASCAR stock cars are decals ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/57 "2001-04-30T05:18:14Z")
The French call the cloth used to rub on polish, stain, shellac, etc. onto wood…a TAMPON. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2001, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/58 "2001-04-30T05:50:34Z")
Almost 50% of the people in the USA are below average. ---
**Author:** ![Ell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@Ell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/59 "2001-04-30T06:20:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Goose \* > \*\*You can drink a pint of blood before you get sick. Don’t ask me how I know this. \*\* Fight Club! ---
**Author:** ![Bboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@Bboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bboy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450/60 "2001-04-30T07:30:10Z")
**jsc1953** said: > [@](#): > > (both sets are infinite, but one infinite is bigger than the other). Hello? Infinity comes in different sizes now? What have they done to math these days? One set may be _denser_ than the other… **Dark Lord Davidson** said: > [@](#): > > Besides humans, dolphins are the only other species who have sex for enjoyment, rather than just for procreation. Dang it. **brother rat** and **Loverboy** beat me to it. **donkeyoatey** said: > [@](#): > > The only planet not named after a god is the one we’re on. You mean ‘in our solar system’… right? I suppose I have to contribute something now eh? [list=1][li]When houseflies land on the ceiling, they reach over their heads with their front legs, and grab on while they are still flying upright, which causes them to flip and land upside-down in the opposite direction. cool huh?[/li][li]If you are riding a wheelie on a motorcycle, you can stay upright even if the rear tire gets ahead of the front tire for a short distance (In my younger days, I have done this many times on 1000cc street bikes, sorta makes your friends eyes bug out.) by closing the throttle and letting engine-braking pull you back upright. If you continue falling backward, and need just a little more drag, sometimes locking up the **front** brakes (in the air) can transfer enough energy from the rotating tire to the forks to pull you into balance. This is favorable to locking up the rear brake, because, it’s more difficult to apply _and_ keep your foot on the peg, and it can cause the bike to come down extremely hard.[/li]Earthworms have a whole planet named after them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-random-facts/63450.md?page=4)