# Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 13, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674 "2020-04-13T03:19:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 107
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2125 "2021-06-11T17:24:59Z")
> [@Ranch\_Dip](#): > > Golf is one of two sports played on the moon. The other is javelin throwing. Or so says Alexa. Now I’m envisioning two entire new classes of sports leagues and records: Martian and Lunar gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2126 "2021-06-11T18:13:43Z")
At some point I expect to see records kept of sports played in zero gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2127 "2021-06-11T18:18:20Z")
The mechanics are discussed in EVO DEVO ---
**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:** [June 12, 2021, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2128 "2021-06-12T02:54:38Z")
So you come upon some small town’s soccer ground and see a game in progress. You wander closer to watch. One could assume the team’s not rich or famous—the four identical grandstands (bleachers, really) altogether might hold 1200 fans. One small grandstand on each side of the square pitch. Yes, it appears they play here on a _square pitch_. **???** It turns out you can play a proper, official, totally legal, FIFA-approved soccer game on a field that’s square.\* Who knew? > **BONUS RANDOMNESS:** In case you have trouble remembering the laws of the game that govern goalposts and the crossbar, just remember: > > **WHITEHORSE** \* > > The posts and crossbar must be WHITE and their shape must be: > > **H** alf-round > **O** val > **R** ound > **S** quare > **E** lliptical \*The field of play is to be 100-130 yards along the touch lines and 50-100 yards along the goal lines. The touch lines must be longer than the goal lines but you could still have a legal field basically square at 100 yds wide and 100 yds, 1 inch long. International matches command a slightly more respectable rectangularisness of 80 yds wide x 110 yds long at their squarest. Still an odd looking field for sure. \*\*It was that way back when I was a referee. Now it’s elliptical and rectangular and no half-round or oval. It could be that ‘oval’ was included along with ‘elliptical’ just to make it a better mnemonic. But half-round was real. I’ve seen a few half-round goalposts in my day. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2129 "2021-06-12T02:59:13Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > The mechanics are discussed in EVO DEVO “EVO DEVO” being what now? ---
**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:** [June 12, 2021, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2130 "2021-06-12T03:10:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > “EVO DEVO” being what now? I guess it’s fair enough to ask. As long as you’re not me. You’re an ok-ish poster though, you should be just fine. 🙃 ---
**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:** [June 12, 2021, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2131 "2021-06-12T03:33:36Z")
Explained to someone this week that trees are effectively made of air and their mind is still 🤯 ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2132 "2021-06-12T11:42:24Z")
Evolutionary development biology - The number of segments is controlled by hox genes that form along the lateral line of the fertilized egg. I don’t know this stuff. I just read it in a book. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2133 "2021-06-12T15:54:10Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > … and their mind is still 🤯 All this time when I’ve seen the icon I thought it was a head wearing one of those huge brightly colored hairbows popular with cheerleaders and 6 yo girls. It needs more splurting and droplets if it’s gonna be a head asploding. ---
**Author:** ![Ion1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ion1/32/7896_2.png) [@Ion1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ion1)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2134 "2021-06-12T16:59:32Z")
I still don’t like you for that! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2135 "2021-06-12T18:46:47Z")
Isn’t everything basically made of air (or empty space, which is what I’m assuming you’re talking about), until you get into massive compressions like neutron stars and black holes? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2136 "2021-06-14T00:49:19Z")
I don’t know if this qualifies for this thread, but I just found out that actor Damon Herriman, who played the hapless idiot Dewey Crowe in the series _Justified_, is Australian. He was a very convincing southern cracker in that series. There seems to be a lot of Australian actors who can convincingly carry off an American accent. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2137 "2021-06-14T02:31:45Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Isn’t everything basically made of air (or empty space, which is what I’m assuming you’re talking about), until you get into massive compressions like neutron stars and black holes? Nope. Substantially all the bulk of wood & leaves and sap and all the rest is made of molecules absorbed out of the air. Very little comes from the roots. Which are themselves manufactured from molecules coming from the air. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2138 "2021-06-14T12:54:32Z")
Of course, none of us would know that except for Richard Feynman’s exquisite video on the subject. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ifk6iuLQk28/hqdefault.jpg "Biology of a tree") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifk6iuLQk28) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2139 "2021-06-16T12:48:15Z")
A while back I was walking through Nashua, New Hampshire, and I saw this mural on the side of a building (the Chase Building) celebrating the departed movie theaters of downtown Nashua (all of which were in that same building). They showed scenes from three movies. Two were _It’s a Wonderful Life_ and _Gone with the Wind_. But third one was one that was never made, and which I would dearly love to see. . . . . . . . … **The Three Stooges Meet the Blob** [https://www.positivestreetart.org/nostalgia/](https://www.positivestreetart.org/nostalgia/) > **[Christmas Weirdmas](https://www.nhmagazine.com/christmas-weirdmas/)** > > Unique holiday observations in the Granite State ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2140 "2021-06-16T19:45:44Z")
The uber famous Farrah Fawcett poster? > Pro Arts wanted Fawcett to wear a bikini, but instead, she opted for one-piece swimwear (this was what she normally wore, in part because she preferred to conceal a scar on her stomach that dated from childhood). > **[The Story Behind Farrah Fawcett's Iconic 1976 Swimsuit Poster](https://www.biography.com/actors/farrah-fawcett-swimsuit-poster)** > > Wearing her own red one-piece, the 'Charlie's Angels' star posed for the now-famous image in her Los Angeles backyard. The swimsuit is now in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2141 "2021-06-16T23:13:20Z")
Hot dogs are just smashed up meat in an animal intestine casing. Right? When you eat a hot dog, it’s still meat in an animal intestine casing, but, since it’s now your intestine casing, aren’t YOU a hot dog now? ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2142 "2021-06-16T23:38:20Z")
When you empty your vaccuum cleaner - aren’t you now the vaccuum cleaner? ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2143 "2021-06-16T23:39:30Z")
“Honey! Let’s go to the Smithsonian!” “Why?” “It’s educational!” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2144 "2021-06-18T00:40:07Z")
When Sweden plays Denmark in the Olympics, the scoreboard reads “SWE - DEN”. The unused letters are “DEN - MARK”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=106) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=108)