# NO WAY ! That can’t be true! ... But it is! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505 "2006-12-17T15:11:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/21 "2006-12-18T14:09:03Z")
The original title of “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy was “War, What is it Good For?” ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/22 "2006-12-18T14:33:17Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] The original title of “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy was “War, What is it Good For?” [/QUOTE] Absolutely nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/23 "2006-12-18T14:47:21Z")
Say it again… We learned about Barrie in my history of kidlit class this semester–no mention of this! But, then again, I had to bring the class up to speed re Lewis Carroll and those photos, too, so… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/24 "2006-12-18T14:51:34Z")
True crime writer Ann Rule did not get her first book contract to write “The Stranger Beside Me” because she knew Ted Bundy. She got a contract to write a book about the murders of several young women. At that point, the police did not even have a suspect. The fact that she knew Bundy was a total off the wall coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/25 "2006-12-18T18:00:31Z")
I say you chaps - you need to get going on our English TV quiz ‘Quite Interesting’! 🙂 For example: If you still think that Henry VIII had six wives, the earth has only one moon, that George Washington was the first president of the USA, that Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, that the largest living thing is a blue whale, that Alexander Graeme Bell invented the telephone, that whisky and bagpipes come from Scotland or that Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain… > **[The Book of General Ignorance (A Quite... by John Lloyd](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-General-Ignorance-Quite-Interesting/dp/0571233686)** > > Buy The Book of General Ignorance (A Quite Interesting Book) Reprint by John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, Stephen Fry (ISBN: 9780571233687) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/26 "2006-12-18T18:35:35Z")
And did you know, that if you took all the veins out of a man’s body and laid them end-to-end… …that man would die. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/27 "2006-12-18T18:36:07Z")
Psychogenic dwarfism limited the guy’s height to 5’? That’s nothing! Oskar Matzerath consciously decided to stop growing at the age of _Three_ and remained at through much of his adult life until he started growing again. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/28 "2006-12-18T18:48:34Z")
[QUOTE=glee] I say you chaps - you need to get going on our English TV quiz ‘Quite Interesting’! 🙂 For example: If you still think that Henry VIII had six wives, the earth has only one moon, that George Washington was the first president of the USA, that Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, that the largest living thing is a blue whale, that Alexander Graeme Bell invented the telephone, that whisky and bagpipes come from Scotland or that Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain… > **[The Book of General Ignorance (A Quite Interesting Book): Amazon.co.uk: John...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-General-Ignorance-Quite-Interesting/dp/0571233686)** > > Buy The Book of General Ignorance (A Quite Interesting Book) 1st. Edition : 12th. Printing by John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, Stephen Fry (ISBN: 9780571233687) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. [/QUOTE] I’m guessing the largest living thing is some sort of plant or fungus, and that the tallest mountain is some undersea mountain, but how is G. Washington not America’s first president and where is our other moon? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/29 "2006-12-18T18:58:08Z")
I thought the largest organism was a bunch of trees in Washington state somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/30 "2006-12-18T19:43:12Z")
[Peter Cook] Did you know that you’ve got 4 miles of tubing in your stomache? [/Peter Cook] ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/31 "2006-12-18T20:13:04Z")
I’m a long-time lurker here, but I had to sign up as a guest simply so I could chime in on the talk of J. M. Barrie as a psychogenic dwarf. The Wikipedia article cites a paper written by an undergrad, who cites a defunct website. Unless his [mother](http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/images/scans/1893-07-30-PX1329-JMB-MO-Q.jpg) and [Michael Llewelyn-Davies](http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/images/scans/1920-04-11-PX677-JMB-MLD.620.jpg) (shown at twenty years old) were also little people he was of perfectly ordinary height. Just an example of how notoriously unreliable Wikipedia is–just having a cite isn’t enough, it actually has to be a worthwhile one. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/32 "2006-12-18T20:14:26Z")
See? You make them mad enough and they come out of hiding! Welcome aboard, **CaerieD**! Please stick around. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/33 "2006-12-18T20:21:16Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] I’m guessing the largest living thing is some sort of plant or fungus. [/QUOTE] I read somewhere that it is a coral reef. Or maybe I misremember. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/34 "2006-12-18T20:30:22Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] [Peter Cook] Did you know that you’ve got 4 miles of tubing in your stomache? [/Peter Cook] [/QUOTE] …If the giraffe could leap, pound for pound, as high as a grasshopper it would avoid a lot of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/35 "2006-12-18T20:53:12Z")
Coral reefs are made up of _billions_ of living organisms, so that doesn’t count. There’s a fungus called a _Armillaria ostoyae_ or honey mushroom in Oregon, however, that is perported to be the largest [_single_ living organism](http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/story1b080700.html) in the world. It’s said to cover 2,200 acres and is 2,400 years old. Here’s another [link.](http://www.extremescience.com/biggestlivingthing.htm) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/36 "2006-12-18T20:54:35Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] …If the giraffe could leap, pound for pound, as high as a grasshopper it would avoid a lot of trouble. [/QUOTE] Really? how very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/37 "2006-12-18T21:05:37Z")
[QUOTE=Tikki] Coral reefs are made up of _billions_ of living organisms, so that doesn’t count. There’s a fungus called a _Armillaria ostoyae_ or honey mushroom in Oregon, however, that is perported to be the largest [_single_ living organism](http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/story1b080700.html) in the world. It’s said to cover 2,200 acres and is 2,400 years old. Here’s another [link.](http://www.extremescience.com/biggestlivingthing.htm) [/QUOTE] [Aspen clones](http://www.taiga.net/yourYukon/col373.html) might be bigger. No-one knows, really. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/38 "2006-12-18T21:12:50Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] [Aspen clones](http://www.taiga.net/yourYukon/col373.html) might be bigger. No-one knows, really. [/QUOTE] And which is bigger would probably depend on how you define “bigger.” Covering more area? Weighing more? Taking up more space? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/39 "2006-12-18T21:24:38Z")
Whether or not GW is the first US president depends (I believe) on whether you count the articles of confederation. GW was the first elected president under the constitution. (Was there a temporary caretaker president after the constitution was adopted before the first elections?) Blue Whales are definitely smaller (both in size and in mass) than really big trees. They are, however, the biggest ANIMALS, I think. Wikipedia and the CIA world factbook both give Bangkok as the capital of Thailand. The earth definitely only has one moon, barring some weird-ass definition of “moon”. Not everything orbiting around something is a moon. The Hubble is not a moon of earth. Bell certainly was involved in the telephone-invention-process, even if he didn’t invent it all by himself. Mt. Everest is earth’s tallest mountain by the generally accepted, and most reasonable, definition, which is, point highest above sea level. Bagpipes did not originate in Scotland, but are/were popular there. I dunno much about Whiskey, or care [This Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wives_of_Henry_VIII) claims pretty clearly that Henry VIII had six wives. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505/40 "2006-12-18T21:32:14Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] And which is bigger would probably depend on how you define “bigger.” Covering more area? Weighing more? Taking up more space? [/QUOTE] And for that matter, how do you define “organism”? Physical connectivity? Ability to survive separation? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-way-that-can-t-be-true-but-it-is/384505.md?page=3)