# 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:** 147
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2928 "2021-10-24T19:42:56Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Turns out that all people with blue eyes [share a common ancestor](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/all-blue-eyed-people-have-single-ancestor-common-same-genetic-mutation-gene-european-descent-a7961251.html) It’s hard to see exactly what’s being claimed by this statement, since all people, regardless of eye color, share a common ancestor. I guess the interesting point is that the common ancestor of all blue-eyed people lived only 6000-10,000 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2929 "2021-10-24T20:19:47Z")
Of course German also says colloquially “einen fahren lassen” for flatulence. Which would be _[pupsen](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A4hung)_ (German Wikipedia, very illustrative), among many other synonyms. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2930 "2021-10-24T22:05:51Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Of course German also says colloquially “einen fahren lassen” for flatulence 🤦‍♂️ Oh, how could I not think of this! Good one. I think the nearest English expression for this idiom is “to let one rip”. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2931 "2021-10-25T01:02:05Z")
@superdude, [**this**](https://www.lunadna.com/is-eye-color-genetic/) might help a bit. FYI, green eyes aren’t actually green. My eyes have what is called central heterochromia with amber on the inner ring and blue on the outer ring. They can look green. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2932 "2021-10-25T12:43:09Z")
A bit of background: in Ecuador, inflation caused a switch from their currency, the sucre, to the USD. [2015 article](https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-29/why-are-ecuadoreans-obsessed-2-bill) > While two-dollar-bills are sometimes considered bad luck in the US, the rare bills are good-luck charms in Ecuador. “There’s a superstition that if you possess a [$2 bill], then more [money] will come to you," Dennehy says. [Another 2015 article, same author](https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-29/why-are-ecuadoreans-obsessed-2-bill) > The first day I returned to my old city, Latacunga, I went to the market to buy some mangos. When I took out a $2 bill the vendor crossed herself and called over her neighbor. “My God! Look! Look! A two dollar bill.” > > I told her I had more and was willing to exchange them. > > “How much do you want for each one?” > > She thought me foolish to be selling them at face value but gladly bought some more. A few people that had overheard our conversation came over forming a small crowd around us. I only had about $30 worth on me and exchanged it all with the first handful of people that had rushed in. Consequently, in 2019: > For the first time, Ecuador’s Central Bank will introduce the U.S. $2 bill into general circulation. [https://cuencahighlife.com/once-hoarded-for-good-luck-the-u-s-2-bill-goes-into-general-circulation-in-ecuador/](https://cuencahighlife.com/once-hoarded-for-good-luck-the-u-s-2-bill-goes-into-general-circulation-in-ecuador/) ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2933 "2021-10-25T13:21:40Z")
Now if we can only get them to believe that the US dollar coin is a good-luck charm, we can offload the millions of those sitting in Treasury Department vaults. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2934 "2021-10-25T13:24:12Z")
Funny you should mention that. [https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article138837363.html](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article138837363.html) ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2935 "2021-10-25T13:26:56Z")
Thanks but the article says only about 150 million dollar coins are there but there are over six billion in the US. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2936 "2021-10-25T13:42:35Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > I have three paperback ERB books\* I inherited from my dad and your post inspired me to check the publisher. They’re all three Ace paperbacks as is the copy of _Mastermind of Mars_ I found at the used bookstore. If I hadn’t already decided to wrap them up in plastic baggies to prevent further deterioration, I would now. I’m not sure how rare they are but considering the copyright issues they’re not easy to find. As I can attest–I’ve been looking to complete those series for years but I guess I’ll have to buy new copies of all of them. My dad’s books were well-read and well-loved and it shows. Plus Ace used really cheap paper that’s getting brittle in its old age. > > Fun fact: I also inherited my dad’s paperback copy of _The Hobbit_ which is the first authorized paperback version published in the US. There’s a box on the back cover announcing this fact. The unauthorized version they were railing against? Was published by Ace. > > \*None of them are Tarzan. One is from the Caspak series, the other is from the Moon series, and the third one is ERB’s final book. Ace did have the rights to publish the other Edgar Rice Burroughs books outside the Tarzan and Barsoom series (Ballantine got the rights to those) I haven’t researched this myself, but a quick look at the isfdb seems to show _The Mastermind of Mars_ , _Thuvia Maid of Mars_, _The Chessmen of Mars_, and _A Fighting Man of Mars_ out of the Mars series being published by Ace, who I think did not have the rights to them (they were only in the 1963 series). Ace did have the rights to Carson of Venus, Pellucidar, and those random other works like _Outlaw of Tarn_. Ace did indeed publish on the cheap. Their books were smaller than most other standard paperbacks, and I do think the paper was cheaper. But they also got artist like Roy G. Krenkel and Frank Frazetta to do their covers and interior artwork. But you got the impression that they were strapped for funds, which probably explains their claim-jumping on Edgar Rice Burroughs and J. R. R. Tolkien. As someone once said in another context, they had a Great Admiration for Artists whose Work Lay in the Public Domain – Ace was the place to go for old classic works by Jules Verne, or obscure things like Robert W. Chambers’ _The King in Yellow_, Pierre Benoit’s _l’Atlantide_, Thea von Harbou’s _Metropolis_, Robert E, Howard’s _Almuric_, and similar such stuff. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2937 "2021-10-25T13:51:16Z")
I’ve read and heard so much about the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) and their involvement in erecting and maintaining statues and museums that glorify the Lost Cause ideology that I hadn’t considered whether there were any organizations memorializing the Union cause. This weekend I learned differently. There is an active organization of Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) posts and halls, and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) keeping alive the memory of the Union soldiers and cause. What I learned about in particular was about the GAR Hall in Lynn, Massachusetts. The exterior of the building has just been repaired, but it has been in constant operation and use since it was constructed in 1885. The centerpiece of the building is a great large hall that has photographs of all Union Army volunteers from Lynn. You have to see the photographs of this to properly appreciate it: [https://garlynn.org/](https://garlynn.org/) It’s open to the public, although they appreciate it if you call first. I have to go se this. > **[GAR Museum](http://www.lynnma.gov/about/gar.shtml)** > > Mayor Jared C. Nicholson welcomes you to the official website of Lynn, Massachusetts. > **[Grand Army of the Republic Hall (Lynn, Massachusetts)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_of_the_Republic_Hall_(Lynn,_Massachusetts))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Grand Army of the Republic Hall, also known as the General Frederick W. Lander Post No. 5, Grand Army of the Republic, is an historic building located at 58 Andrew Street in Lynn, Massachusetts, in the United States. > The hall was built in 1885 by members of the Grand Army of the Republic as a meeting hall and memorial to the Union Army veterans of the Civil War. Of many such halls built in the country, the Lynn GAR Hall is the largest. Only ... I’ve passed this a zillion times by car and by bike, not realizing what was just off Market Street on this side street. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2938 "2021-10-25T13:52:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Thanks but the article says only about 150 million dollar coins are there but there are over six billion in the US. Still, impressive for a country with less than 18M population. If we circulated them at that clip, we’d need about 2.7B. The mint only makes a total of 10B of all coins for circulation per year. > **[About the U.S. Mint | U.S. Mint for Kids](https://www.usmint.gov/learn/kids/about-the-mint)** > > Learn about the U.S. Mint, the types of coins it makes, and where it's located. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2939 "2021-10-25T14:35:47Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 150 million dollar coins are there but there are over six billion in the US. Hey, (extremely) small steps. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2940 "2021-10-25T15:39:29Z")
When I was more regularly attending RenFaires, I’d go to the Post Office and feed the change machines there $20s so I could get a bunch of those coins. It was fun paying with them at Faire, since they looked like small gold coins. I don’t think they’re dispensed at Post Offices anymore, and the credit union I use, like most, doesn’t let you specify coin issues if you go in to buy change. By which I mean, if you’d gone in asking for specific states when they were issuing state quarters, they couldn’t guarantee you’d get those states, or even any states, in the rolls they sold. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2941 "2021-10-25T16:28:26Z")
I heard about this guy’s alternate universe automotive drawings just last night. [https://blog.consumerguide.com/topics/frank-peiler/](https://blog.consumerguide.com/topics/frank-peiler/) ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2942 "2021-10-25T18:52:02Z")
This news has only just reached me. In 2015, biological anthropologist Jacob Dunn and his team from Cambridge University wanted to see how the size of howler monkey testicles plays into social arrangements, and how they correlate with their screams. Mr Dunn concluded that the scream of a howler monkey varies in inverse proportion to the size of its testicles. Furthermore, his team found that males with small testes and loud screams are more likely to gather a large female following. I’m wondering if Mr Dunn has ever considered applying his experience to human males. I’ll allow that observations of human males might be more difficult to arrange. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2943 "2021-10-25T18:59:57Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > I’m wondering if Mr Dunn has ever considered applying his experience to human males. Ow boys? [![](https://www.cleveland.com/resizer/XamVOmYJtdNFnvkaZEReFeKiSGE=/1280x0/smart/advancelocal-adapter-image-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/image.cleveland.com/home/cleve-media/width2048/img/pdq_impact/photo/the-city-april-15jpg-32ba7fc83276c5dd.jpg) ](https://www.cleveland.com/resizer/XamVOmYJtdNFnvkaZEReFeKiSGE=/1280x0/smart/advancelocal-adapter-image-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/image.cleveland.com/home/cleve-media/width2048/img/pdq_impact/photo/the-city-april-15jpg-32ba7fc83276c5dd.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2944 "2021-10-25T19:23:20Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > All the artisans who worked on building India’s Taj Mahal had their hands chopped off by Shah Jahan, the Moslem emperor who ordered it built. He did this allegedly to prevent them from building another structure of comparable beauty. The building and site is completely symmetrical, except for Shah Jahan’s tomb, when he died later. His son’s didn’t want to build an entire second building that Shah wanted, and buried him next to his wife’s tomb, off center. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2945 "2021-10-25T19:33:46Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Klamath Falls is more than 20,000 people, which counts as a major town in Southern Oregon. It’s about the same size as Ashland. Still, Medford has 80,000+. From googling about this, the main north-south rail line below Eugene was routed east of the mountains for technical/engineering reasons that were applicable at the time. This happened in many places around the country, and its unfortunate legacy today is that some Amtrak routes don’t go where the people are, or if they do the route is so tortuous that it takes too long and they can’t compete with cars and buses. ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2946 "2021-10-25T19:48:38Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > US President Martin Van Buren Was the first US President born after the American Revolution, and spoke Dutch as his first language. (Honest, I’m scrolling down to find a factoid here I stumbled on earlier, and the “find” button is no help at all. I didn’t realize I’m responding to facts from a year ago.) ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/2947 "2021-10-25T20:45:08Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > and its unfortunate legacy today is that some Amtrak routes don’t go where the people are, or if they do the route is so tortuous that it takes too long and they can’t compete with cars and buses. Of course, if the country hadn’t gone wild building highways, then potentially the rail ways could have afforded to maintain their lines and the towns served by the existing lines would have prospered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=146) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=148)