# Tell me something I don't know **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 6, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084 "2009-07-06T15:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/141 "2014-02-26T16:07:47Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Er, no it isn’t. Maine is closer to Africa than Florida is, and, indeed, closer to Africa than any other of the United States. (Just look on a globe and it is fairly obvious; maps may be less clear, depending on the projection used.) No doubt this is what **Whammo72** was saying. Most people would probably guess that Florida is the closest U.S. state to Africa, but they would be wrong. It was a joke. I was trying to riff on **Whammo** ’s really awful phrasing. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/142 "2014-02-26T16:43:21Z")
As far as I know, the only real person to be mentioned in both Doctor Who and Sherlock is Derren Brown In Doctor Who, he’s used as an excuse to explain away the Doctor doing weird stuff in present day England. In Sherlock, he’s part of Anderson’s theory of how Sherlock did the fall. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/143 "2014-02-26T17:21:46Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > Parts of Virginia are farther west than parts of Michigan. Virginia extends further west than West Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/144 "2014-02-26T17:33:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Andrew Johnson, David G. Farragut, George H. Thomas and Sam Houston were all Southerners who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War. So was Winfield Scott. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/145 "2014-02-26T17:42:52Z")
In 1980, Pennsylvania became the only state to send teams to the “Big 4” American professional championships: NBA Finals, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, and World Series. They won the World Series and lost the other three. In addition, the U of Pittsburgh finished [#2 in the NCAA football rankings](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_NCAA_Division_I-A_football_season#Final_AP_Poll) (Penn State was #8, too.) ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/146 "2014-02-26T20:41:59Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > Did you know that in England, they also _walk_ on the left side of the street? Sure, it makes sense, but it took me a good 5 minutes to figure out why walking through the crowded train station we got out of felt like swimming through molasses (oh! they walk on the other side too!) I mean, we were city folk, so it was baffling as to why we kept stumbling into people. > [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > I shit you not. > > First, it’s not a hard-and-fast rule, but more of a trend: in the US, when people approach each other on the sidewalk or in a crowded train station, everyone breaks to the right. In England, to the left. I didn’t notice this rule in the US for a long time, but there it was: Most people were subconsciously breaking to the right. > > Maybe we wouldn’t have noticed the difference, except that our first walking experience outside of the Manchester airport was the Birmingham rail station. It was very obvious there. As tourists, we were spending lots of times in crowded city centres and rail stations, so maybe this was why it was so noticeable to us. > > Take a walk in Manhattan, and tell me you don’t see it. When I was in Australia, I found just what you reported. It took me a moment to realize why I’d had near-misses on the sidewalks. But in London, where I expected people to walk on the left, they walked on the right. I asked my brother-in-law (a London expat) about that and he didn’t have an answer. In Cornwall I didn’t get much of a chance to see which side they passed on: there weren’t enough people anywhere. I guess Easter time is the off-season. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/147 "2014-02-26T22:42:36Z")
> [@Peaton\_of\_peat](#): > > On the other hand, squid are the only known invertebrates that are also nekton. That can’t be right. If swimming freely is the only criterion for being a nekton, what about octopuses, cuttlefish, and nautiluses? There are probably a lot of others too. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/148 "2014-02-27T03:58:36Z")
Lt. Thomas Selfridge of the United States Army was the first person killed in an airplane crash. He was killed on September 17, 1908. The pilot was Orville Wright, who survived the crash. ---
**Author:** ![Armored\_Diplomacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@Armored\_Diplomacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Armored_Diplomacy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/149 "2014-02-27T08:24:42Z")
Did you know that [India and Portugal had a war in the 60s?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Indian_annexation_of_Goa). India proceeded to [go to war with China the following year.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War) ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/150 "2014-02-27T16:41:24Z")
Oklahoma City has two airports named after two people who died in the same airplane crash. Will Rogers (Will Rogers World Airport) and Wiley Post (Wiley Post Airport) ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/151 "2014-02-27T17:01:36Z")
Expectant mothers start absorbing the [DNA](http://boingboing.net/2012/01/03/cells.html) of their fetuses. Sometimes a lot. Sometimes it sticks around and makes them sick. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/152 "2014-02-27T17:14:44Z")
The female Spotted Hyena has a [fully functioning penis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_hyena#Female_genitalia) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/153 "2014-02-27T18:19:12Z")
> [@Armored\_Diplomacy](#): > > Did you know that [India and Portugal had a war in the 60s?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Indian_annexation_of_Goa). India proceeded to [go to war with China the following year.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War) Nitpick: “go to war” implies that India was the aggressor. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/154 "2014-02-27T18:30:14Z")
Eleanor Roosevelt said that she was “very flattered” when a rose was named after her. However, she wasn’t happy when she “read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.” ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/155 "2014-02-27T19:01:28Z")
Minnesota’s 15,291 lakes give it more shoreline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined. [http://www.d.umn.edu/internationalstudents/fun\_facts.html](http://www.d.umn.edu/internationalstudents/fun_facts.html) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/156 "2014-02-27T19:14:29Z")
No it doesn’t - [unless you count rivers and streams](http://www.chrisfinke.com/2013/12/30/does-minnesota-really-have-more-shoreline-than-california/). ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/157 "2014-02-27T19:58:46Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No it doesn’t - [unless you count rivers and streams](http://www.chrisfinke.com/2013/12/30/does-minnesota-really-have-more-shoreline-than-california/). :o Well, then let’s count rivers and streams. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/158 "2014-02-27T20:04:23Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Eleanor Roosevelt said that she was “very flattered” when a rose was named after her. However, she wasn’t happy when she “read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.” I was gonna say “this sounds fishy” but then I realized how fishy that would sound. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/159 "2014-02-28T02:46:49Z")
The War of Jenkins’ War was fought between Great Britain and Spain from 1739 to 1748. The war got its name because of its impetus, an attack on a British captain whose ship was boarded by Spanish coast guardsmen, who cut off Captain Jenkins’ ear. The ear was displayed in the British Parliament prior to the declaration of war. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084/160 "2014-02-28T03:00:39Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Bohemia _did_ have a seacoast during the 16th century! > > In 1490, political chaos led Hungary (which already owned part of the Croatian seacoast) to invite Vladislaus King of Bohemia to rule Hungary as well. Although this all soon became part of the Habsburg domains, the united Kingdom of Bohemia and Hungary remained a distinct polity – deliberately so, in part due to religious differences – and did retain a seacoast. > > The playwright of _Winter’s Tale_ mentions “the sea-coast of Bohemia;” this is often cited as evidence the playwright was unfamiliar with European geography. In fact, it’s as likely he was _very_ familiar, and making a elided or sophisticated reference to the still-united Bohemian-Hungarian polity, which had indeed bordered on the Adriatic Sea for at least a century when _Winter’s Tale_ was written. Similarly, a lot of people who watch _The Sound of Music_ wonder why Austria had a famous naval officer. The answer is that Austria had a coastline and a navy before its breakup at the end on World War I. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/502084.md?page=9)