# Not many people know that... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 28, 2004, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647 "2004-10-28T11:32:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/41 "2004-10-29T05:13:42Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > I hear that it’s Challenger Deep in the Mariana’s Trench, just once. In 1960. For 20 minutes. Oh, I, uhh, I, erm… Sorry, I seem to be suffering from a bit of short-term memory loss. What was that you just said? ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/42 "2004-10-29T05:13:56Z")
> [@Gadfly](#): > > If the moon’s weight in salt was all used to create pretzels, you would end up with enough pretzels to choke every politician and civil servant on earth. If every girl at Yale were laid end to end with all of the pretzels covered with the salt-weight of the oceans, the Mariana’s trench would suddenly appear on the moon, for twenty minutes, if you gave it one hundred dollars. This happened once. In 1960. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/43 "2004-10-29T05:16:35Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > If every girl at Yale were laid end to end with all of the pretzels covered with the salt-weight of the oceans, the Mariana’s trench would suddenly appear on the moon, for twenty minutes, if you gave it one hundred dollars. This happened once. In 1960. Girls at Yale have been known to annually pretzels end to end under the sea, excluding the Mariana trench - they make up for it by covering the moon in sour dough for forty minutes. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/44 "2004-10-29T05:32:02Z")
I would think getting salt in your trench would sting just a bit, Mariana, What I wonder is, how many 40 story buildings made of salt could you build on the moon, and how long would it take? Someone mention something about the deepest part of the ocean? I thought I heard something…anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/45 "2004-10-29T05:37:56Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > Someone mention something about the deepest part of the ocean? I thought I heard something…anyone? I’ve been wondering about that myself. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/46 "2004-10-29T05:59:36Z")
I figured out what happened. See, **legion** got an attack of Acid-Reflux Disease earlier in the day, so s/he was using a _guide vocal_ track, so as not to disappoint her fans. See, then his/her drummer hit _the wrong button_ and it started playing. What can I say, live TV! (This happened once before, when all of the salt on the moon fell into the Mariana’s trench for twenty minutes, in 1960.) ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/47 "2004-10-29T06:11:45Z")
Both men during the presidential debates had humps on their backs - this was due to displacement of the air due to lack of moisture due to salt which was shipped in from the moon, which fell down to the Mariana Trench. ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/48 "2004-10-29T06:24:47Z")
Way back, a mere four years after 1960, a show started on TV. It had Gilligan, the Skipper too, the Millionaire and his wife, the movie star, the Professor and Mariana, all on Gilligan’s Isle. The Professor could make anything, including coconuts, out of stuff like salt. Each episode is about 20 minutes. It also had at least one sub. I don’t know how deep it went. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/49 "2004-10-29T06:30:45Z")
I visited that Mariana wench for 20 minutes once. Wasn’t worth the hundred bucks and I had to walk up 40 stories to challenge her! Talk about salt in the wound, I mooned her just to get my own back. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/50 "2004-10-29T06:49:09Z")
> [@Standup Karmic](#): > > Way back, a mere four years after 1960, a show started on TV. It had Gilligan, the Skipper too, the Millionaire and his wife, the movie star, the Professor and Mariana, all on Gilligan’s Isle. The Professor could make anything, including coconuts, out of stuff like salt. Each episode is about 20 minutes. > > It also had at least one sub. I don’t know how deep it went. How much time did they spend in Mariana’s trench? ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/51 "2004-10-29T07:18:09Z")
I’m curious: How much shallower would the oceans be if all of the salt were removed? How much more dry land would there be as a result? And how much thinner would that layer of salt be if you spread it out to accommodate this new dry land? And would we still not want to go to Mariana’s Trench again? ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/52 "2004-10-29T07:43:08Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > Paul Verhoven directed. What people don’t realize is that it was actually a _perfect satire_ of a hoax. I’m pretty sure we discussed this back in 1960. For 20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/53 "2004-10-29T07:43:41Z")
To quote Lloyd Bridges “3/5 of the Earth’s surface is covered by water yet how little we know of that underwater world”. And why don’t we know more about that underwater world? Damn it, if you’re exploring it 20 minutes at a time, it’s gonna take quite a while to see it all !!! Not many people know that. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/54 "2004-10-29T08:27:55Z")
> [@LeeshaJoy](#): > > I’m curious: How much shallower would the oceans be if all of the salt were removed? How much more dry land would there be as a result? And how much thinner would that layer of salt be if you spread it out to accommodate this new dry land? > > And would we still not want to go to Mariana’s Trench again? To break the joke for a moment, solutes do not affect the volume of a solution. **Gadfly** : Man has visited the deepest part of the worlds oceans, Challenger Deep in the Mariana’s Trench, just once. In 1960. For 20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/55 "2004-10-29T10:22:18Z")
I’m one of the many people who didn’t know any of this stuff. But now I do. Thanks to all of you my conversations will now sparkle and I will excel at mundane stuff I must share. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/56 "2004-10-29T10:34:47Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > To break the joke for a moment, solutes do not affect the volume of a solution. :dubious: how? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/57 "2004-10-29T11:02:32Z")
Deep trench moon salt Gilligan only once. 20 minutes. Then cover, refrigerate and serve (feeds 2 men in trench; or approx. 1 man in moon {offer void where probed by laws that not many people know. [82, 82, 82.]}) What is the frequency, Kenneth? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/58 "2004-10-29T11:16:43Z")
I wonder if GW thought of looking in Mariana’s Trench for the WMD? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/59 "2004-10-29T11:37:34Z")
What makes the oceans so salty, anyway? Is it all of the salt from those [goldfish](http://www.pfgoldfish.com/noflash.asp) that live in there? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647/60 "2004-10-29T11:37:57Z")
> [@Nightwatch Trailer](#): > > Whoa - check [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Trieste) website I found. I’m not sure whether to believe these outrageous claims or not: > > Is this for real? Should we ask Cecil? Do you guys realize what this means? If the deepest part of the ocean is 35,813 feet, this means the ocean _at it deepest_ is only 6.8 miles deep. Think of the globe and how massive the oceans appear to be. Now think about how far 7 miles is on the globe’s surface, and that’s how deep the oceans are. They’re nothing but a glaze. Who’da thunk it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-many-people-know-that/271647.md?page=4)