# 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:** 199
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3969 "2022-03-16T00:10:05Z")
TIL that there are at least 52 sharks in the world’s oceans for every one human in the NYC metro area, but according to [cracked.com](http://cracked.com) (where I still look in regularly), you’re more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker than by a shark. ---
**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 16, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3970 "2022-03-16T15:53:52Z")
Today reading “Journey to the Edge of Reason - The Life of Kurt Gödel”, by Stephen Budiansky, I came across an interesting and for me totally unexpected random fact. I quote page 96: > Educated mostly by private tutors - except for an awkward and unhappy three years he spent at the Realschule in Linz, where one of his schoolmates for a year was the even more awkward and unhappy fifteen-year-old Adolf Hitler - Ludwig Wittgenstein had, like all his siblings, aquired self-reliance, social arrogance, and a difficulty with intimate relationships that would dog him throughout his life. I’m loving this book, BTW. Excellent biography. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3971 "2022-03-16T15:54:27Z")
Anything online regarding Mayim Bialik and confirmed allegations can be safely ignored as fake clickbait. > **[Mayim Bialik Targeted in Phony CBD Gummies Endorsement, False Allegations](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mayim-bialik-cbd-allegations/)** > > One of the false claims was that Mayim Bialik had endorsed CBD gummies. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3972 "2022-03-16T16:31:07Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Today reading “Journey to the Edge of Reason - The Life of Kurt Gödel”, by Stephen Budiansky, I came across an interesting and for me totally unexpected random fact. I quote page 96: > > > Educated mostly by private tutors - except for an awkward and unhappy three years he spent at the Realschule in Linz, where one of his schoolmates for a year was the even more awkward and unhappy fifteen-year-old Adolf Hitler - Ludwig Wittgenstein had, like all his siblings, aquired self-reliance, social arrogance, and a difficulty with intimate relationships that would dog him throughout his life. > > I’m loving this book, BTW. Excellent biography. I read an extensive biography of Wittgenstein about 25 years ago and don’t remember that this factoid was mentioned, and I’m sure I would have remembered. Very interesting. Talk about two awkward guys in the same class… ---
**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 16, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3973 "2022-03-16T16:32:37Z")
Me too, I believe it was by a certain Monk (quoting from memory, I am not home right now). And I would have remembered that for sure too! ETA: Found it on amazon > **[Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius : Monk, Ray: Amazon.de: Bücher](https://www.amazon.de/Ludwig-Wittgenstein-Genius-Ray-Monk/dp/0140159959)** > > Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius | Monk, Ray | ISBN: 9780140159950 | Kostenloser Versand für alle Bücher mit Versand und Verkauf duch Amazon. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3974 "2022-03-16T16:37:25Z")
No, it wasn’t that bio in my case, it was by a German (or maybe Austrian) author and written in German. I’ll see if I find it. ETA: Nope, can’t find it on amazon. I also cannot look it up, it was a book that I gave to my then girlfriend and read myself. I’m still friends with that ex, but she lives in the Netherlands now and I don’t know if she still has that book after all that time. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3975 "2022-03-16T17:14:30Z")
[Regarding Airports and firsts…] > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Of course it depends on what “purpose-built” and “commercial” mean. Absolutely. This’ll come down to “_But we had a shed!_” j ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3976 "2022-03-16T18:03:57Z")
Wittgenstein and Hitler were the same age - both born in April 1889. Hitler attended the Realschule from 1900-1904 and Wittgenstein from 1903 -1906, so it makes sense that they were in the same class, or at least knew each other. ---
**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 16, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3977 "2022-03-16T22:46:44Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Anything online regarding Mayim Bialik and confirmed allegations can be safely ignored as fake clickbait. For some reason, my FB has been full of that clickbait. I hope that I have blocked them all. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3978 "2022-03-16T23:27:17Z")
Mine too! Was wondering what was up with all that, but not enough to, yanno, click. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3979 "2022-03-16T23:29:31Z")
Saw three in my FB feed, which prompted me to check Snopes. ---
**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 17, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3980 "2022-03-17T02:54:00Z")
Mrs. L was watching something about slavery. AIUI slaves sometimes refused to eat, hoping to starve to death. Therefore owners would sometimes have their slaves’ teeth pulled to make force feeding them easier. I was googling to find a cite but instead found this: [https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/store-yanks-souvenir-washington-dentures-slavery-link-69082356](https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/store-yanks-souvenir-washington-dentures-slavery-link-69082356) Sickening. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2022, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3981 "2022-03-17T03:16:22Z")
I was told that during the Revolution, he started using teeth from dead soldiers instead. ---
**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 17, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3982 "2022-03-17T14:06:29Z")
I always assumed that they were from cadavers but I guess some people did sell their teeth. [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1vsjxd/in\_les\_miserables\_fantine\_sells\_her\_two\_front/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1vsjxd/in_les_miserables_fantine_sells_her_two_front/) Then there’s this film (article from 2016): [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-birthofanation-idINKCN1260VA](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-birthofanation-idINKCN1260VA) > In one of the most jarring scenes, a slave on a hunger strike is force fed after having his teeth chiseled out by his white owners. > > “This was our reality and I think it’s important that people recognized that this was an everyday thing and a system that was so strong and so fortified that it corrupted everyone that it touched,” Parker said. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3983 "2022-03-17T16:28:41Z")
I’m sure I first heard of this on QI: > **[The British Dental Museum](https://www.bda.org/learning-and-development/museum/)** > > Ours is the largest collection of dental material in Britain. It includes dental instruments, equipment, furniture, photographs, archives, fine and decorative art. The museum is maintained as a national resource for the dental profession, dental... BDA = British Dental Association. “Waterloo” is a reference to The Battle Of Waterloo. > Replacement teeth were traditionally made from ivory (hippopotamus, walrus or elephant). > > However such teeth did not always look natural and deteriorated more quickly than real teeth. If you wanted a really nice set of dentures these were made with an ivory base and then set with real human teeth. > > These were expensive as it could take six weeks to make a complete set. They have subsequently become known as ‘Waterloo teeth’, as some were scavenged from dead soldiers on battlefields. j ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3984 "2022-03-18T00:51:18Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Wittgenstein and Hitler were the same age - both born in April 1889. > > Hitler attended the Realschule from 1900-1904 and Wittgenstein from 1903 -1906, so it makes sense that they were in the same class, or at least knew each other. How big were the classes? They may have overlapped but not known each other. I didn’t know all the kids in my high school class. ---
**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 18, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3985 "2022-03-18T01:01:08Z")
If you’re a fan of Berni(e) Wrightson’s Frankenstein, you may not know: > Wrightson has said that it was an unpaid project: > I’ve always had a thing for _Frankenstein_ , and it was a labor of love. It was not an assignment, it was not a job. I would do the drawings in between paying gigs, when I had enough to be caught up with bills and groceries and what-not. I would take three days here, a week there, to work on the _Frankenstein_ volume. It took about seven years.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Wrightson%27s_Frankenstein#cite_note-cbr-2) [DAMN, that guy could draw! Click for google image search](https://www.google.com/search?q=Berni+wrightson+frankenstein+illustrations&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS798US798&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjoqtGWuc72AhVnk2oFHVB1DJUQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1366&bih=657&dpr=1) > **[Bernie Wrightson’s Frankenstein Cover Art Breaks a World Record](https://www.sideshow.com/blog/bernie-wrightsons-frankenstein-cover-art-breaks-a-world-record/)** > > On December 12th, Bernie Wrightson’s original cover art for an adaptation of Frankenstein sold at auction for a world record price of $1.2 million. His artwork has been an inspiration to Sideshow from the very beginning, and we are thrilled as fans... ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3986 "2022-03-18T01:20:49Z")
Why stop at teeth? [Bone for fertilizer](http://dustyheaps.blogspot.com/2014/07/fertilisers-for-turnips-and-great.html?m=1) was also scavenged (by some accounts, but hard to say for sure) ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3987 "2022-03-18T06:28:36Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > How big were the classes? They may have overlapped but not known each other. I didn’t know all the kids in my high school class. The school only had about 300 students in total, so everyone must have known everyone else. The [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jew_of_Linz) on the book _The Jew of Linz_, which puts forward the theory that Wittgenstein was the person who made Hitler antisemitic, says: > Wittgenstein and Hitler both attended the Linz _Realschule_ , a state school of about 300 students, and were there at the same time only from 1903 to 1904, according to Wittgenstein’s biographers. While Hitler was just six days older than Wittgenstein, they were two grades apart at the school—Hitler was repeating a year and Wittgenstein had been advanced a year. The book is not very plausible, and puts forward various other controversial theories, but the facts about the school and their attendance are not disputed. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3988 "2022-03-18T11:38:09Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Why stop at teeth? [Bone for fertilizer](http://dustyheaps.blogspot.com/2014/07/fertilisers-for-turnips-and-great.html?m=1) was also scavenged (by some accounts, but hard to say for sure) And the Hawaiians used human bones to make tools. But using bits of dead people seems very very different to me from yanking bits out of live people. Although, i suppose my BIL donated a kidney. But he wasn’t poor or enslaved and forced to do so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=198) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=200)