# Odd Things You've Learned Recently **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 9, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437 "2013-09-09T20:49:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/1 "2013-09-09T20:49:20Z")
I was reading through an [article on the variability of gene expression](http://www.psmag.com/health/the-social-life-of-genes-64616/), when I came across something I had never know about bees. > [@](#): > > (Any honeybee that detects a threat emits this pheromone. It happens to smell like bananas. Thus “it’s not a good idea,” says Alaux, “to eat a banana next to a bee hive.”) That seems like important information to know. You’d think that would have gotten around. What odd things have you learned recently, important or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/2 "2013-09-09T21:52:56Z")
I learned what hummingbird poop is made from, right here on the SDMB. Not as useful as the banana and beehive info, though. Answer: mostly spider exoskeletons. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/3 "2013-09-09T22:36:00Z")
Hummingbirds eat spiders? :eek: That’s another thing I’ve learned. They looked so sweet and peaceful sipping at those flowers. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/4 "2013-09-09T22:46:33Z")
Related, hummingbirds build their nests from spider silk and lichens. Also, they aren’t sweet. They’re kind of rude and mean, in a very tiny cute way. ---
**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 9, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/5 "2013-09-09T23:13:22Z")
Lots of exposure to sunlight can affect the color of your eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/6 "2013-09-10T00:37:13Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > They’re kind of rude and mean, in a very tiny cute way. Yeah. I learned recently (I probably read it here, actually) that hummingbirds are fiercely territorial and will fight each other over access to food sources. [You can see hummingbird fights on YouTube. It’s pretty cool.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st8XJ6v9CR4) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/7 "2013-09-10T00:51:28Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Yeah. I learned recently (I probably read it here, actually) that hummingbirds are fiercely territorial and will fight each other over access to food sources. [You can see hummingbird fights on YouTube. It’s pretty cool.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st8XJ6v9CR4) And speaking of You Tube, there are a shitload (pun intended) of videos of cats pooping in the toilet. Yes, I did start a thread on this subject in case the topic looks familiar. Which begs the questions, what kind of weirdo posts things like this, never mind WATCHES things like this? Really, I only saw one. It was a Sphynx who drank out of the “birdbath” first. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/8 "2013-09-10T00:58:54Z")
Every last inch of me’s covered in hair… above the ankles. Below? Nada. Just noticed this the other day. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/9 "2013-09-10T01:02:30Z")
I just learned that Morgan Spurlock made the “One Direction” movie. What…??? ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/10 "2013-09-10T01:59:08Z")
I learned that mud daubers do, in spite of what I’ve been told my entire life here in southern Indiana where people should know better, sting. They don’t have a really painful sting, and they’re sort of polite and almost apologetic about it, but they do indeed sting. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/11 "2013-09-10T02:14:35Z")
[Roy Chapman Andrews](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Chapman_Andrews), suspected of being the inspiration (or at least _an_ inspiration) for Indiana Jones (among other things, he was well known for wearing an unusual hat and traveling armed while hunting dinosaur fossils) once had an incident involving snakes. Vipers crawled into the tents of his expedition in Mongolia (presumably seeking warmth in the cooling desert air), and Andrews supposedly was in such a hurry to get away his men found it funny. I don’t know if that’s the inspiration behind Indy’s feelings about snakes in the movies, but it’s a nice bit of trivia. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/12 "2013-09-10T02:57:26Z")
Not something learned, but maybe a learning experience. Slate has posted an interactive game on their site. Pick a time (the earliest is 16-something), push the button, and find out [what you would have died of if you lived then](http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science_of_longevity/2013/09/interactive_game_of_death_in_history_how_would_you_have_died_in_the_past.html). I had to push the button multiple times to see what my choices were. My first death was of tooth or gum disease. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/13 "2013-09-10T02:59:44Z")
Hoss Cartwright had a real given name, mentioned once, or something like that, in the first season. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/14 "2013-09-10T03:09:33Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > I just learned that Morgan Spurlock made the “One Direction” movie. What…??? Vince Gilligan, the creator and writer of Breaking Bad, wrote Home Fries, a romantic comedy with Luke Wilson and Drew Barrymore. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/15 "2013-09-10T03:34:58Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Yeah. I learned recently (I probably read it here, actually) that hummingbirds are fiercely territorial and will fight each other over access to food sources. [You can see hummingbird fights on YouTube. It’s pretty cool.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st8XJ6v9CR4) In fact, the Aztec god of war, [Huitzilopochtli](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huitzilopochtli), was often depicted as a hummingbird. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/16 "2013-09-10T03:44:48Z")
A few months ago I was reading “The Violinist’s Thumb” by Sam Kean, and I learned that mother and baby do not share blood through the umbilical cord. This may be obvious to everyone else, but I had never given it much thought. I figured the umbilical cord simply connected the two circulatory systems and that was that. The reality is that the placenta serves as a sort of DMZ where momma and baby blood cells pass stuff back and forth like prisoners passing objects through a chain link fence. The chapter in the book had made a point of how extremely rare it was for mother and fetus to come down with cancer at the same time, occurring a few dozen times since the first known case in the 1860s. With my erroneous “cross connected pipelines” understanding of the momma-baby system, this didn’t make sense: wouldn’t the baby catch whatever was in the mother’s veins? Now I know better. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/17 "2013-09-10T03:52:45Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Not something learned, but maybe a learning experience. Slate has posted an interactive game on their site. Pick a time (the earliest is 16-something), push the button, and find out [what you would have died of if you lived then](http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science_of_longevity/2013/09/interactive_game_of_death_in_history_how_would_you_have_died_in_the_past.html). I had to push the button multiple times to see what my choices were. My first death was of tooth or gum disease. One of the CODs is “purging and vomiting.” Not a good way to die. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/18 "2013-09-10T04:32:17Z")
I’ve learned that there are some amazingly talented children out there. To wit, 8-year-old Alexey Poblete on the drums, covering Rush’s YYZ: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oJ2wXoqAhI4/maxresdefault.jpg "Rush - YYZ Drum Cover by Alexey Poblete") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ2wXoqAhI4) And also that Rush’s drummer, Neil Peart, is a complete class act: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4IuyTANf4c) ---
**Author:** ![Robrein](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robrein/32/6728_2.png) [@Robrein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robrein)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/19 "2013-09-10T04:42:46Z")
The Argentine coat of arms is a [beanie on a stick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Argentina). 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437/20 "2013-09-10T06:43:41Z")
In California, bodies donated for medical research are shipped piecemeal. If the entire body is shipped intact, it must be carried in a hearse. Once all research/training/experiments are finished, all pieces are returned, and the family of the deceased is notified that they may have the remains back, if that is what the deceased wanted. My god, reading this post I sound like an idiot. My company uses cadavers for doctor training, among other things, and our staff in CA shared this info with me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-things-youve-learned-recently/668437.md?page=2)