# 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:** 117
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2326 "2021-07-15T20:14:26Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Now he needs one of these: Everybody needs one of those! > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I learned that it was created and written by a guy named Rupert Holmes, who is probably best-known for writing and singing “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).” Also a member of The Buoys who wrote their hit “Timothy”–a rare pop music examination of cannibalism. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2327 "2021-07-15T21:06:12Z")
The story I read said he was giving some if the balls to a neighbor or relative that had one if those! ---
**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:** [July 15, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2328 "2021-07-15T21:16:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Now he needs one of these: Or a trebuchet. These guys threw a pumpkin a record of 2402 feet. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7uc2JgNQN0o/maxresdefault.jpg "Colossal Thunder Wins Punkin Chunkin") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uc2JgNQN0o) ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2329 "2021-07-15T21:25:40Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > …some if the balls…one if those! WTF? I corrected those typos before I posted and yet there they are!?! Sylvie has really f’d the timeline! ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2330 "2021-07-15T21:36:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I saw them in use until at least the mid-1970s, and probably later They were also (probably still are) used to burn plates for offset printing presses. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2331 "2021-07-15T22:33:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Now he needs one of these: > > [Bowling Ball Cannon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q1waGceDjM) That reminds me of a Dave Barry column in which he discussed bowling…from an airplane. He went on to note the typical reaction (paraphrased) to this idea, when presented to females: “You did WHAT? From a WHAT?!” …and to males: “Where do I sign up?” ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2332 "2021-07-16T10:40:06Z")
There’s something innately funny about bowling balls. A colleague once arrived late for work due to a traffic snarl on the ASB Bridge, when a car ran over a bowling ball. The car got high-centered, and had no traction. A tow truck was called, which was stymied be the geometry of the configuration – they couldn’t drag it with no contact rolling wheels ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2333 "2021-07-16T11:38:08Z")
Here’s something interesting I ran across a while back: Let’s say a car is going 60 MPH. A pebble is stuck in the tread of one of the tires. The tire is rotating, obviously. When the pebble is at the 6:00 position (the pebble is touching the road), the velocity of the pebble relative to the road is 0 MPH. Half-a-revolution later, when the pebble is at the 12:00 position (the highest point), the velocity of the pebble relative to the road is 120 MPH. And then half-a-revolution later, when the pebble is at the 6:00 position, the velocity of the pebble relative to the road is 0 MPH. And so on. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2021, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2334 "2021-07-16T12:58:10Z")
And the path it’s executing is a **cycloid** [Cycloid - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycloid#:~:text=In%20geometry%2C%20a%20cycloid%20is,curve%20rolling%20on%20another%20curve). ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2335 "2021-07-16T13:32:25Z")
Yeah, I was spitballing with the dates. There are probably a few out there still running today. But given that they were more expensive to operate, required a more skilled operator, and were less reliable than xenon lamps, the majority were replaced pretty quickly. Where was the one you saw? ---
**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:** [July 16, 2021, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2336 "2021-07-16T13:37:18Z")
Someone in the 19th century invented a barometer that used live leeches. (Leeches swim upwards when it’s going to rain.) I read about this in a novel called _The Hidden People_ by Alison Littlewood, and figured it was the author’s invention. It wasn’t, and it worked. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2337 "2021-07-16T13:42:36Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And the path it’s executing is a **cycloid** If you want to create hypotrochoids and epitrochoids, just get yourself a Spirograph. Remember those? > **[Toy, Spirograph | Smithsonian Institution](https://www.si.edu/object/toy-spirograph%3Anmah_1292825)** ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2338 "2021-07-16T14:12:02Z")
I once wrote a spirograph emulator in [AutoLISP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoLISP). Man, that was a fun toy! ---
**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:** [July 16, 2021, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2339 "2021-07-16T14:14:34Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Where was the one you saw? College lecture hall (which was also used to show movies every week). I’m pretty sure that they still used carbon arcs at several of the college lecture halls I went to – the technology was already in place, they still made replacement rods (which were pretty cheap), and changing over to xenon lamps involved some expense. So the older technology lingered on. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2340 "2021-07-16T15:20:31Z")
Yup. It’s only when the last person who knew how to replace the rods and spark the arc leaves, retires, or dies that someone decides it’s time to upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2341 "2021-07-16T16:36:45Z")
Much that once was is lost. For none now live who remember it. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2342 "2021-07-16T16:54:01Z")
Now I’ve got the “history of the ring” leitmotif earworm going. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2343 "2021-07-16T20:45:18Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > I once wrote a spirograph emulator in [AutoLISP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoLISP) And the Styx song “Too Much Time On My Hands” is now stuck in my head, thankyouverymuch 😝 And to think I wasted all my time programming functional AutoLISP 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2344 "2021-07-17T03:36:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > There are a billion microphones in a kilophone. That’s kph, which is the metric unit. Using imperial/customary units: **1,099,511,627,776 microphones to a megaphone** That’s 1024 \* 1024 \* 1024 \* 1024. uPh per MPh. From the internet: “Sound manufacturers round off these numbers and only give you 1,000,000,000,000 and try to use the excuse that they’re “simplifying things” for consumers but its just a cheap tactic to screw the customer out a full-size megaphone.” ---
**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:** [July 17, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2345 "2021-07-17T03:39:58Z")
The Panama hat does not come from Panama. In 1835, Spanish immigrant Manuel Alfaro arrived in Ecuador and reorganised the local small-scale hat straw makers and weavers of the inland town of Montecristi into a modern production line. Looking for a larger market for his new line in broad- brimmed light straw hats he set up shop in Panama, then a trans-shipment point as the narrowest strip of land in the Americas – there would be no rail line across the United States until 1869, so the fastest and safest way across the US was by sea to Panama, by land across the isthmus, then sea again to San Francisco. Three significant events boosted his business: the discovery of gold in California in 1848, the Spanish- American war of 1898, and the construction of the Panama canal – both the failed French attempt 1880–93 and the successful American one 1904–14. The ’49ers (as the early Californian goldminers became known) picked up the light broad-brimmed hats en route for protection from the tropical and Californian sun. Manuel’s son Eloy Alfaro did so well from this business that he funded the Ecuadorian Liberal revolutionary movement and became President of Ecuador in 1895. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=116) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=118)