# 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:** 118
**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 17, 2021, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2346 "2021-07-17T04:15:38Z")
When I was a kid (late 1960s, early 70s) army surplus carbon arc searchlight beams showed up at night to advertise sales, grand openings, carnivals, etc. K-mart used them often. Sometimes dad and I would just go follow the beams to see what was going on. This was in central Indiana- were they used this way elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2347 "2021-07-17T12:15:24Z")
Sure. It was common in popular culture when portraying these events, too. ---
**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, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2348 "2021-07-17T14:27:34Z")
Still turns up on consciously retro shows like The Simpsons. I remember them from Arizona, although I didn’t remember that they were arc lights (although that makes sense). I also (more recently) remember seeing a continuous ring of incandescent globes around the inside edge – was that original WWII surplus, or a more recent version? ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2349 "2021-07-18T12:23:35Z")
The sailing events for the Olympics have been held in fresh water only once - 1976 on/near Lake Ontario in Kingston, Ontario, as part of the Montreal Olympics. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2350 "2021-07-20T00:58:51Z")
The Laurentian Divide is a continental divide. I suspect you are thinking that the Great Divide is the only continental divide on the continent, but there are actually several of them. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2351 "2021-07-20T01:37:20Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > The sailing events for the Olympics have been held in fresh water only once - 1976 on/near Lake Ontario in Kingston, Ontario, as part of the Montreal Olympics. The Paris Olympics featured Pigeon Shooting. Using Passenger Pigeons. “Clay Pigeon Shooting” became a sport when the pigeon shooters ran out of Passenger Pigeons. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2352 "2021-07-20T10:39:32Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > The Laurentian Divide is a continental divide. I suspect you are thinking that the Great Divide is the only continental divide on the continent, but there are actually several of them. I think most Americans, at least those who are aware of the concept of a continental divide, probably are only aware of the Great Divide. In fact, if you cross it, the signs only name it as “continental divide,” like **[this sign in Colorado](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottonwood_Pass#/media/File:Cottonwood_pass.JPG)**. I live in Michigan and my road trips regularly take me across the St. Lawrence Divide, but I don’t recall ever seeing signs for it. > **[Watersheds of North America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watersheds_of_North_America)** > > Watersheds of North America are large drainage basins which drain to separate oceans, seas, gulfs, or endorheic basins. There are six generally recognized hydrological continental divides which divide the continent into seven principal drainage basins spanning three oceans (Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific) and one endorheic basin. The basins are the Atlantic Seaboard basin, the Gulf of Mexico basin, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin, the Pacific basin, the Arctic basin, the Hudson Bay basin, and t... ---
**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 20, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2353 "2021-07-20T14:35:32Z")
The P.F. stood for Posture Foundation. > **[12 Glorious Moments in the American History of PF Flyers](https://www.thrillist.com/own/nation/pf-flyers-american-history-bf-goodrich-bob-cousey-converse-new-balance)** > > PF Flyers are American history and culture compressed into shoe form. > The rubber base’s triangular wedge shifted weight to the outside of the foot, thus taking strain off the leg muscles. Besides giving these puppies their acronym, “Posture Foundation” set the shoes apart in the market, particularly within sports, as it allowed athletes to wear them with ease for longer periods of time. Many interesting tidbits in the article. Wikipedia says: > **PF Flyers** is an American brand of [lifestyle shoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe) that were manufactured by [New Balance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Balance). Founded in 1937 by [B.F. Goodrich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodrich_Corporation),[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PF_Flyers#cite_note-pfflyers.com-1) it is one of the original American sneaker brands. On January 12, 2021, New Balance confirmed that the PF Flyers brand has been phased out.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PF_Flyers#cite_note-2) I haven’t seen any in a long time. ---
**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 20, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2354 "2021-07-20T15:04:57Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > The P.F. stood for Posture Foundation. News to me. Thanks I remember the animated TV commercials for them, which called “the rubber base’s triangular wedge” the “Action Wedge!” (you could tell there was an exclamation point in there). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CSO9COOyEhA/hqdefault.jpg "P. F. Flyers Animated Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSO9COOyEhA) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jzlc10YlV9s/hqdefault.jpg "PF Flyers Shoes and Magic Ring Ad "Tommy and the Atom Scientist"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzlc10YlV9s) ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2355 "2021-07-20T16:38:16Z")
Bruce Springsteen originally wrote his song “Hungry Heart” for the Ramones, at the request of Joey Ramone. His manager convinced him that giving away his best material was not a good financial move, and so he recorded it himself. It’s a shame. I would love to see how they approach the material, but apparently they never recorded a version. Ramones style covers exist on YouTube, but don’t really capture it. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2356 "2021-07-20T17:19:20Z")
The fraction 355/113 approximates Pi accurately enough that it would only overestimate the circumference of a circle 10 kilometers in diameter by about 2 ⅔ millimeters. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2357 "2021-07-20T17:20:58Z")
The chemical formula for the average mammal - not that any of us are merely average - is: H375000000, O132000000, N64300000, Ca1500000, P1020000, S206000, Na183000, K177000, Cl127000, Mg40000, Si38600, Fe2680, Zn2110, Cu76, I14, Mn13, F13, Cr7, Se4, Mo3, Co1. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2358 "2021-07-20T17:22:05Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > The fraction 355/113 approximates Pi accurately enough that it would only overestimate the circumference of a circle 10 kilometers in diameter by about 2 ⅔ millimeters. That fraction also has a name: > **[Milü](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil%C3%BC)** > > Milü (Chinese: 密率; pinyin: mìlǜ; "close ratio"), also known as Zulü (Zu's ratio), is the name given to an approximation to π (pi) found by Chinese mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi in the 5th century. Using Liu Hui's algorithm (which is based on the areas of regular polygons approximating a circle), Zu famously computed π to be between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927\[a\] and gave two rational approximations of π, .mw-parser-output .sfrac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .sfrac.tion,.mw-parser-o... ---
**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:** [July 20, 2021, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2359 "2021-07-20T17:31:01Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > That fraction also has a name: > > [Milü - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil%C3%BC) How is that pronounced? Mi-loo or Mi-luh? Further fun fact: it was not until the 19th century that a physical disk or circle could be sized exactly enough that the error was less than that of the Milü ratio. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2360 "2021-07-20T19:37:10Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > How is that pronounced? Mi-loo or Mi-luh? Dunno if this is accurate, but [here](https://www.definitions.net/definition/Mil%C3%BC) (click on the speaker). ---
**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:** [July 20, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2361 "2021-07-20T19:51:46Z")
mee-loo. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2362 "2021-07-20T20:20:46Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > If tobacco, alcohol and aspirin were submitted today to the FDA, none of them would be approved. I hadn’t heard that about aspirin, but I’ve heard the same thing about acetaminophen (Tylenol). The problem with acetaminophen is that the difference between an effective dose and an overdose is quite small, so it’s easy to accidentally take too much. And taking too much can cause severe liver damage. > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > The Toyota Corolla. 44 million sold, as of 2016, almost three times the number of Model T’s. That kind of depends on whether you define a car solely by it’s name, or it’s actual design. Note that your Wikipedia source says the Corolla is the best selling _nameplate_ of all time, as opposed to bestselling car. Is a 2021 Corolla really the same car as a 1968 Corolla? Besides the name, do those two cars have anything at all in common? Whereas while the Beetle was gradually improved over the years, a 2003 Mexican-built Beetle is still pretty much the same basic design as a 1939 Beetle. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2363 "2021-07-20T20:38:41Z")
I missed the edit window, but another interesting fact about the Corolla – it first went on sale in the US in 1968, and by circa 1970 or 71 it was already the second best selling import car in the US (With the Beetle still #1 at that time). But just a few years later by about 1973 or so it knocked the Beetle off it’s throne as America’s most popular import. I might be slightly off on the years, but it was a very rapid rise from first going on sale to surpassing the Beetle in US sales. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2364 "2021-07-20T22:13:09Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > H375000000, O132000000, N64300000, Ca1500000, P1020000, S206000, Na183000, K177000, Cl127000, Mg40000, Si38600, Fe2680, Zn2110, Cu76, I14, Mn13, F13, Cr7, Se4, Mo3, Co1. There seems to be a transcription error. Calcium, Chlorine, Copper, Chromium and Cobalt are there, but not Carbon. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2365 "2021-07-20T22:27:49Z")
That’s the recipe for someone trying to eat inorganic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=117) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=119)