# 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:** 123
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2446 "2021-08-13T15:47:22Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Tolweb.org?](http://tolweb.org/tree/) Don’t recall whether it shows when divergence occurred, though.   That was my old go-to, but I’m not sure how up to date it is. Also, it doesn’t have salmon species. I did just find > **[OneZoom Tree of Life Explorer](https://www.onezoom.org/)** > > Tree of life explorer which has a lot more info, but no easy way to find or link to distance. In the case of camels and salmons, their common clade is Euteleostomi (bony vertebrates) at 430Mya. while the common clade with hagfishes is Vertebrata (vertebrates) at 525Mya. ---
**Author:** ![PozhanPop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pozhanpop/32/8022_2.png) [@PozhanPop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PozhanPop)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2447 "2021-08-13T15:59:21Z")
I should have said field hockey 🙂 For us up north hockey means only one thing ! ---
**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:** [August 13, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2448 "2021-08-13T16:14:09Z")
Perhaps this is common knowledge, but I just learned the tomb of Cleopatra remains undiscovered. Su Tissue (Sue McLane) was the lead singer for [Suburban Lawns](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYLb4Zxl3Yc). She disappeared in the mid 1980s. [One fan](https://theoutline.com/post/7399/searching-for-su-tissue-suburban-lawns) claims to have tracked her down, but is not revealing any more info in order to respect her privacy. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2449 "2021-08-13T16:18:34Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Su Tissue (Sue McLane) was the lead singer for [Suburban Lawns](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYLb4Zxl3Yc). She disappeared in the mid 1980s. [One fan](https://theoutline.com/post/7399/searching-for-su-tissue-suburban-lawns) claims to have tracked her down, but is not revealing any more info in order to respect her privacy. A similar, but even more prominent case (at least for the UK, where the Manic Street Preachers were and still are a very successful and renowned band): Richey Edwards, their rhythm guitarist and main songwriter, vanished in February 1995. > **[Richey Edwards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richey_Edwards)** > > Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. He was known for his dark, politicised and intellectual songwriting which, combined with an enigmatic and eloquent character, has assured him cult status. He has been cited as a leading lyricist of his generation, leading the Cool Cymru movement. > Edwards disappeare... ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2450 "2021-08-13T19:37:00Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > [One fan](https://theoutline.com/post/7399/searching-for-su-tissue-suburban-lawns) claims to have tracked her down, but is not revealing any more info in order to respect her privacy. Did you notice this [link](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-su-tissue/522257) in that article? @Johnny_L.A was looking for her in 2009. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2021, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2451 "2021-08-13T20:02:41Z")
> **[Why Fish Don't Exist](https://radiolab.org/episodes/why-fish-dont-exist?)** > > A conversation with Lulu Miller about chaos, science, and her new book, Why Fish Don’t Exist. > **[Why Fish Don't Exist](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Why-Fish-Dont-Exist/Lulu-Miller/9781501160349)** > > A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post \* NPR \* Chicago Tribune \* Smithsonian A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Jou... ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2452 "2021-08-13T22:44:03Z")
If ‘fish’ don’t exist … then sharks and whales are fish after all. ---
**Author:** ![LegendHasit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/legendhasit/32/8246_2.png) [@LegendHasit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegendHasit)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2453 "2021-08-13T23:17:50Z")
Snopes Fact-Checking also includes plagiarizing. > **[The Cofounder Of The Fact-Checking Site Snopes Was Writing Plagiarized...](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/deansterlingjones/snopes-cofounder-plagiarism-mikkelson)** > > “You can always take an existing article and rewrite it just enough to avoid copyright infringement." ---
**Author:** ![cincinnatus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cincinnatus/32/7990_2.png) [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2454 "2021-08-13T23:32:49Z")
I read in an old _Mad_ magazine ducks can not fly: they are actually great jumpers. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2455 "2021-08-15T04:31:57Z")
I wondered about them skating barefoot. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2456 "2021-08-15T11:25:47Z")
Apparently this is well known to many people, but this city boy didn’t know chickens will roost in trees. We just stayed at a bed and breakfast that keeps chickens that would go up pretty high in the branches to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2457 "2021-08-15T11:41:53Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I wondered about them skating barefoot. Me too. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2458 "2021-08-15T14:20:39Z")
Yesterday I learned that EMS isn’t considered an essential service, which is why they’re constantly cash strapped and fundraising and why ambulance services are so expensive. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2459 "2021-08-15T14:26:39Z")
_Last Week Tonight with John Oliver_ did a [story](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezv8sdTLxKo) about funding issues with EMS services a couple of weeks ago. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2460 "2021-08-15T16:30:05Z")
Today I learned how [Isaac Newton came up with a new way to calculate pi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMlf1ELvRzc). It was much more efficient than the method that was used for thousands of years prior. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2461 "2021-08-15T18:47:34Z")
That’s where I learned 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:** [August 15, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2462 "2021-08-15T20:27:01Z")
You’re all probably familiar with how the four corners of a square can be folded in to make a square exactly half as big. What I stumbled across was a generic method of doing this for any rectangle not just a perfect square. Example below: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrrUaGuWkAEsIDO?format=jpg&name=900x900) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrrUaGuWkAEsIDO?format=jpg&name=900x900) ---
**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:** [August 16, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2463 "2021-08-16T02:24:26Z")
I’ve been reading _The Batman Chronicles Volumn I_; the original Batman stories in chronological stories. I know Bill Finger is getting his due (it was no secret to people interested in comics history – Jim Sterenko talked about Finger in his history of comics in the 70s), but noticed that, of the first eight Batman stories, Finger only wrote 2 1/2. The other 5 1/2 were credited to Gardner Fox (one of the top writers of the golden and silver age). Fox created the utility belt and Batarang, plus the Batgyro, which morphed into the Batplane. No Batmobile, but the Batman did have a powerful car (whose color varied). I had known the Batman originally worked in New York. Also the comic didn’t worry about continuity. After a two-part adventure in Europe (fighting vampires!) Batman is back home the next issue, but is back in Paris (immediately after the vampire adventure) the issue after 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:** [August 16, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2464 "2021-08-16T03:22:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Also the comic didn’t worry about continuity. After a two-part adventure in Europe (fighting vampires!) Batman is back home the next issue, but is back in Paris (immediately after the vampire adventure) the issue after that. Obviously racking up the airplane miles so he can fly first class at some point. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2466 "2021-08-16T14:32:36Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Apparently this is well known to many people, but this city boy didn’t know chickens will roost in trees. We just stayed at a bed and breakfast that keeps chickens that would go up pretty high in the branches to sleep. Some folks in US suburbs keep chickens. Last year an unknown neighbor’s chicken escaped and started roosting in a tree in our yard. Every evening at the same time, like clockwork, she’d hop from branch to branch until she was a good five feet off the ground. Same branch every night. You could spook her out of there if you approached while there was still daylight, but once it got dark out, she absolutely would not come down off of that branch. OK, maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough, but I could approach to within touch distance, shake the branch moderately hard, shine the flashlight on me instead of her, and she just wouldn’t budge. A few weeks later there was a pile of feathers in the yard; I’m guessing a fox got her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=122) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=124)