# 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:** 198
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3949 "2022-03-15T10:59:52Z")
If you cut along a third of the width instead of down the middle, you get an equal-sized loop with two twists and a half-sized Moebius strip. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3950 "2022-03-15T14:46:16Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I found out watermelons are legally vegetables in Georgia. I emailed the state commissioner of agriculture about it- he replied “It’s complicated.” I started googling around about that. It seems that it’s a vegetable in many places; in fact, watermelon is the [state vegetable of Oklahoma](https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/oklahoma/state-food-agriculture-symbol/watermelon#:~:text=Oklahoma%20State%20Vegetable%7C%20Watermelon). A few trivia questions: What’s an octothorpe? A hashtag The 100 folds in a chef’s hat represent…? 100 ways to cook an egg True or false? The longest wedding veil was 23,000 feet long. True Many call a group of bunnies a herd, but another term is a … fluffle [Source, 50 trivia items. I just scroll up on my Android but it’s a slideshow on my laptop (not bad on ads)](https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/g25692093/random-trivia/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=arb_ga_ghk_d_bm_g25692093&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk46k6qrI9gIVEHtvBB1WxgcAEAAYASAAEgL3n_D_BwE&slide=4) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3951 "2022-03-15T15:04:08Z")
> A hashtag Oh man. Is that now the official term for that symbol? ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3952 "2022-03-15T15:09:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh man. Is that now the official term for that symbol? A quick [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign) check reveals… Most scholars believe the word was invented by workers at the [Bell Telephone Laboratories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs) by 1968,[[32]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign#cite_note-34) who needed a word for the symbol on the [telephone keypad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-tone_multi-frequency_signaling). Don MacPherson is said to have created the word by combining _octo_ and the last name of [Jim Thorpe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe), an Olympic medalist.[[33]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign#cite_note-35) (As you may know, it represents “sharping” a note in music…there are multiple aliases, I guess—look at the Wikipedia article) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3953 "2022-03-15T15:10:18Z")
No, no, not “octothorpe,” but the word in your spoiler. I know the word “octothorpe” and its history very well. I’ve probably even used it on this board. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3954 "2022-03-15T15:14:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > No, no, not “octothorpe,” but the word in your spoiler. I know the word “octothorpe” and its history very well. I’m lost. You mean its equivalent, h\*\*\*\*\*\*? You’re questioning whether we’ve settled on that as an official term? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3955 "2022-03-15T15:16:26Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I’m lost. You mean its equivalent, h\*\*\*\*\*\*? You’re questioning whether we’ve settled on that as an official term? Not so much “an” official term, but is it the default now? I feel weird calling it that outside any contexts that are not social media related. I like to observe how language changes and am curious if this one has gone over the hump replacing the old terms as the default. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3956 "2022-03-15T15:20:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I like to observe how language changes and am curious if this one has gone over the hump replacing the old terms as the default. Is it perhaps a case of all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares? The symbol has other uses, e.g. in music. Another tidbit from the article: The voices of Mickey and Minnie Mouse got married in real life. [Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-mn-ca-classic-hollywood-minnie-mouse20140622-story.html) were married for 18 years until Allwine’s death in 2009. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3957 "2022-03-15T15:29:22Z")
The music symbol is shaped slightly differently. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3958 "2022-03-15T15:38:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > but is it the default now? I would say “yes” for any context where there isn’t another term (like the slightly different musical sharp sign). My default was always “number sign”, but I now tend to use hashtag. I don’t think I ever used octothorpe (which auto-correct doesn’t seem to recognize, at least on this machine). ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3959 "2022-03-15T15:48:23Z")
I too remember # being the number sign. I learned when I was 17 it also was used to mean pounds. This was new info to me as I always knew lbs as pounds. I’m sure the # key showing up on telephones had a lot to do with people calling it the pound sign again. “Enter your four digit PIN and then press number” would be confusing! ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3960 "2022-03-15T15:52:32Z")
I will amend my answer to say “number sign”/“pound sign” were used interchangeably (depending on if there was a context that required one or the other). So, “hashtag” is an improvement in that there is now a single widely used named for the symbol. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3961 "2022-03-15T16:02:49Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > So, “hashtag” is an improvement in that there is now a single widely used named for the symbol. It’s also got a longer pedigree. The symbol was referred to as a “hatch” 500+ years ago and “hash” was used by the Brits to describe the symbol on a keypad as early as the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3962 "2022-03-15T16:16:58Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > My default was always “number sign”, but I now tend to use hashtag. I don’t think I ever used octothorpe (which auto-correct doesn’t seem to recognize, at least on this machine I don’t think “octothorpe” was ever supposed to be more than in-house usage at AT&T, and perhaps a bit deliberately silly. Yeah, I still call it a “pound sign” by default or perhaps “number sign” as, to me, my brain still hasn’t gotten around thinking of “hashtag” as, well, something that introduces a hashtag (a word or phrase that follows the pound sign in social media.) I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but it’s taking me a little time of thinking of the sign on the phone as a hashtag and not a pound sign (and I used that pound sign today to go straight to someone’s voicemail.) ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3963 "2022-03-15T16:24:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The music symbol is shaped slightly differently. Yeah, I guess it’s kind of italicized, for one thing. I always think of the hair on the side of Archie’s head. > **[Archie Andrews - Archie Comics](https://archiecomics.com/characters/archie-andrews/)** > > Likes: Girls, milkshakes, girls, sports, girls, going to the beach (to see more girls!) Dislikes: Homework, shoveling snow, Reggie’s pranks 1st Appearance: Pep Comics #22, 1941 Originally known as “America’s Typical Teenager,” Archie Andrews has... More from that Wikipedia cite, since the cat is well and truly out of the bag: > The key labeled # is officially called the “[number sign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign)” key, but other names such as “pound”, “hash”, “hex”, “[octothorpe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octothorpe)”, “gate”, “lattice”, and “square”, are common, depending on national or personal preference. The Greek symbols _[alpha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha)_ and _[omega](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega)_ had been planned originally.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_keypad#cite_note-7) IMO alpha and omega would have been cool. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3964 "2022-03-15T17:11:49Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > This was new info to me as I always knew lbs as pounds. To be pedantic, I believe the singular and plural both use _lb_ as the symbol for pound/pounds. If we wanted the plural form according to the Latin it would be lblb (I think). ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3965 "2022-03-15T17:12:23Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Shoreham Airport (AKA Brighton City Airport), on the south coast of England, claims to be Britain’s oldest airport. I’ll buy that. > > It also claims to be “the first purpose-built commercial airport in the world”. That I’m not so sure about. The airport Johannisthal close to Berlin claims to have opened 1909: > **[Johannisthal Air Field](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannisthal_Air_Field)** > > The Johannisthal Air Field, located 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of central Berlin, between Johannisthal and Adlershof, was Germany's first commercial airfield. It opened on 26 September 1909, a few weeks after the world's first airfield at Rheims, France. > Known as the birthplace of heavier-than-air flight in Germany, Johannistal was Berlin's primary airport until the Tempelhofer Field was developed in the 1920s. It was the first commercial airfield (and second overall) to be established in Germany,... And then there is Darmstadt, 1908: > **[Griesheim Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griesheim_Airport)** > > Griesheim Airport (IATA: ZCS, ICAO: EDES) is a private airfield in Germany, located 1-mile (1.6 km) southwest of Griesheim (Hessen); approximately 270 miles (430 km) southwest of Berlin. > Formerly a NATO military airfield, it was closed in 1992. In 1996, a large part of the airfield site was placed under the control of Technische Universität Darmstadt, where a variety of disciplines carry out experiments and operate several small aircraft. > Griesheim was originally part of an Imperial German A... > Griesheim was originally part of an [Imperial German Army](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Army_(German_Empire)) (Reichsheer) military artillery firing range in 1874, an airfield was established on the site in 1908, being Germany’s first airfield and flight school. Of course it depends on what “purpose-built” and “commercial” mean. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3966 "2022-03-15T18:03:55Z")
Voyager I is the fastest object humans have ever made at 10.5 mps. This means it can travel the longest distance in the continental US (San Ysidro, CA to West Quoddy Head, ME) in 5 min 20 sec. This velocity is 56.45% of the speed of the Earth around the Sun so (here is the random fact) there are times of the year such as now there the Earth and Voyager I are getting closer to each other. ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3967 "2022-03-15T20:57:06Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > the fastest object humans have ever made at 10.5 mps Back in the 70s, I knew some girls that were almost that fast. One of them tried to bed 200 different men in 1976 to celebrate the US bicentennial. Naturally, her nickname was “Bicentennial”. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3968 "2022-03-15T21:01:39Z")
In Maine, they refer to the low-bush blueberry as the wild blueberry, whether or not it is cultivated. True wild blueberries are tiny and a pain to pick, but oh, so delicious and worth it, IMO. Just ask any brown bear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=197) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=199)