# 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:** 119
**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, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2366 "2021-07-20T23:00:24Z")
You’re right. Should be C85700000 after Oxygen. ---
**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 21, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2367 "2021-07-21T00:35:02Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > 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. Nicolette Larson, who sang backup for Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, et al. and had a hit probably was a casualty, dying at the age of 45. > Larson died on December 16, 1997, in Los Angeles, California, as a result of complications arising from [cerebral edema](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_edema) triggered by liver failure.[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolette_Larson#cite_note-12) > > According to her friend [Astrid Young](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_Young), Neil Young’s half-sister, Larson had been showing symptoms of depression, and her fatal seizure “was in no small way related to her chronic use of [Valium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valium) and [Tylenol PM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol_PM).”[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolette_Larson#cite_note-13) > **[Nicolette Larson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolette_Larson)** > > Nicolette Larson (July 17, 1952 – December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's "Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and No. 8 on the pop singles chart. It was followed by four more adult contemporary hits, two of which were also minor pop hits. > By 1985, she shifted her focus to country music, charting six times on the US country singles chart. Her only top... [Lotta Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80PTNnrwUO8) > [@WildaBeast](#): > > 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. Fair point. Beetles were reliable but as the years went by, became increasingly outdated. Ever see the 1959 Bel Air vs. 2009 Impala crash? 50 years of safety innovation add up. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/C_r5UJrxcck/maxresdefault.jpg "1959 Chevrolet Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu IIHS crash test") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_r5UJrxcck) It’s interesting that some names are dropped but later reappear, like the Beetle being resurrected in modern form. And the Ford Maverick name is returning to the US…as a truck? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2368 "2021-07-21T00:41:29Z")
Earth is the only planet _ **not** _ named after a god. Tripler That’s all I got–I’m tired today. ---
**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 21, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2369 "2021-07-21T01:13:36Z")
In English… Tellus, Terra and Gaia were gods. ---
**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 21, 2021, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2370 "2021-07-21T01:18:40Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Nicolette Larson, who sang backup for Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, et al. and had a hit probably was a casualty, dying at the age of 45. > > > her fatal seizure “was in no small way related to her chronic use of [Valium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valium) and [Tylenol PM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol_PM).” That was, IIRC, part of the problem. Tylenol came out with a bunch of different versions that were essentially Tylenol + something else. Like Tylenol PM = Tylenol + a sleep aid. But then people just took it for the “something else”, like taking Tylenol PM to help them sleep, even when they didn’t need the pain killer part, just assuming the acetaminophen wouldn’t hurt them. > [@Tripler](#): > > Earth is the only planet _ **not** _ named after a god. As I understand, the word “earth” originally just meant “soil”. Then once people realized this thing we’re standing on is actually a planet, it’s meaning expanded to mean this entire planet that’s covered with soil in addition to the soil itself. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2021, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2371 "2021-07-21T04:33:41Z")
This may be the first time two homophones held their respective championship trophies in a single year for American professional sports. Bucks, Bucs. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2372 "2021-07-21T06:32:27Z")
Don’t bet on Pittsburgh’s “Go, Bucs” to win the World Series. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2373 "2021-07-21T19:33:35Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > It’s interesting that some names are dropped but later reappear, like the Beetle being resurrected in modern form. And the Ford Maverick name is returning to the US…as a truck? The Ford Mustang Mach-E is an electric SUV that bears no resemblance to the classic muscle car. ---
**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 21, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2374 "2021-07-21T19:36:01Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The Ford Mustang Mach-E is an electric SUV that bears no resemblance to the classic muscle car. Well, there’s the six taillights but otherwise… ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2375 "2021-07-21T20:47:45Z")
Photic sneeze response is also called autosomal dominant compelling helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome … or ACHOO syndrome 🤦🏻‍♀️ > **[ACHOO Syndrome](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK109193/)** > > Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioopthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) Syndrome is characterized by uncontrollable sneezing in response to the sudden exposure to bright light, typically intense sunlight (1). This type of sneezing is also known as photic... ---
**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 21, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2376 "2021-07-21T20:57:05Z")
So how long did it take to gin up a name for the syndrome that made the cute acronym? (Especially since they apparently skipped the word dominant in it.) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2377 "2021-07-21T21:39:49Z")
Hmm, 1978? So circa. 1954 to 1978. > **[ACHOO syndrome: Why some people sneeze every time they see the sun](https://www.vox.com/2016/2/18/11046766/photic-sneeze-reflex)** > > The photic sneeze reflex, explained. > The phenomenon was [first described in the 1950s](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13225300) […] In the 1970s, the condition was [formalized](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/728575) under the acronym ACHOO. (Yes, really.) It stands for “autosomal dominant compelling helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome.” ~Max ---
**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 22, 2021, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2378 "2021-07-22T04:20:18Z")
Guinea pigs have nothing to do with Guinea and are of course not pigs. The animals were called “pig coneys” in a 1607 treatise (coney being a word for rabbit in some dialects of English). That became “coney-pig” by 1653, which corrupted to “ginny-pig”, which then became spelt “guinea-pig” under the influence of the then-new guinea coin. But why “pig” at all? The German, Polish and Russian names for the animal translate as “little sea-pig”– _Meerschweinchen_ in German, for instance. Along the Pacific coast of South America guinea pigs were sometimes used as livestock on sailing ships to provide fresh meat for the sailors while disposing of kitchen waste, a job traditionally done by pigs elsewhere. So they were thought of as pigs in the functional sense of “animals used as livestock on ships” rather than from any actual relationship or resemblance. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2379 "2021-07-22T14:05:20Z")
Why are they associated with experiments? ~Max ---
**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 22, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2380 "2021-07-22T16:10:35Z")
Emil Roux and Emil von Behring used guinea pigs to develop the diphtheria vaccine, which was one of the first vaccines to be developed (smallpox was taking an existing, harmless virus, but this involved developing one from scratch). Paul de Kruif’s chapter in _Microbe Hunters_ was titled “Massacre the Guinea Pigs,” indicating how extensively they were used. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2381 "2021-07-22T16:16:45Z")
Interesting. I will have to check that book out at some point. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2382 "2021-07-22T18:36:06Z")
The phrase, ‘take out’, means food, dating AND murder! ---
**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 22, 2021, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2383 "2021-07-22T23:10:07Z")
The weakest known radioactive decay is the transition of Thorium-229m to the ground state of Th-229. It’s so weak it’s difficult to measure accurately but it is currently estimated to be about 8 electron-volts, when nuclear decays are typically in the range of hundreds of thousands or millions of electron volts. This corresponds to emitting a “gamma ray” of about 150nm wavelength, in the upper ultraviolet region of the spectrum. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2021, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2384 "2021-07-23T03:52:10Z")
I expect lots of people knew this already, but tonight I learned that the blue stripes in Tutankhamun’s death mask are made out of glass. I thought they were lapis lazuli. ---
**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 23, 2021, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2385 "2021-07-23T11:51:38Z")
I thought the same, though I think you mean _funeral mask_. These are death masks: [https://www.abroadintheyard.com/25-death-masks-of-the-famous-and-infamous/](https://www.abroadintheyard.com/25-death-masks-of-the-famous-and-infamous/) > **[Death mask](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_mask)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It is sometimes possible to identify portraits that have been painted from death masks because of the characteristic slight distortions of the features caused by the weight of the plaster during the making of th... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=118) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=120)