# 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:** 20
**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:** [June 1, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/381 "2020-06-01T22:32:03Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > On the other end of the spectrum, while I don’t know if it’s the least valuable banknote ever issued, in the 1920s Canada issued [25¢ banknotes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawn_Canadian_banknotes). Although it’s no longer in the current version of that page, when I first stumbled across that [page](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Withdrawn_Canadian_banknotes&oldid=249691626)\* it stated they were issued “in an effort to combat an influx of lesser-valued American currency”. > > \*I have no idea what Wikipedia rabbit hole brought me to Withdrawn Canadian Banknotes. Jamaica had a 50 cent note. According to today’s exchange rate, that would be worth… $0.0035 Ouch! > **[50 cents Jamaican Dollars banknote Marcus Garvey - Exchange for cash](https://www.leftovercurrency.com/exchange/jamaican-dollars/withdrawn-jamaican-dollar-banknotes/50-cent-jamaican-dollars-banknote-marcus-garvey/)** > > Get paid in 3 easy steps for your 50 cents Jamaican Dollars banknote (Marcus Garvey). We exchange old Jamaican Dollar banknotes for cash, free of charge. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/382 "2020-06-01T22:44:14Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > OTOH, the coin with the highest nominal value of all time was a one billiard mark coin. Of course that was during the [hyperinflation of 1923 in Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic). > > From German wiki: Sorry, fucked that up because I’m always confused by numbers bigger than a million in English. In German, it was a 1 Billion coin, and a German Billion is a trillion in English. So it was 1 trillion mark coin. (A German Milliarde is an English billion (10^9), a German Billion is an English trillion (10^12) and a German Billiarde is an English quadrillion (10^15). Hope I got it right now). 😉 ---
**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:** [June 1, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/383 "2020-06-01T22:53:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Sorry, fucked that up because I’m always confused by numbers bigger than a million in English. In German, it was a 1 Billion coin, and a German Billion is a trillion in English. So it was 1 trillion mark coin. > > (A German Milliarde is an English billion (10^9), a German Billion is an English trillion (10^12) and a German Billiarde is an English quadrillion (10^15). Hope I got it right now). 😉 I think you had it right just by leaving it at billiard. 😕 But yeah, look at that Traditional British column—Millions to thousand millions; to billions to thousand billions; to trillions…:eek: > **[Names of large numbers | Standard dictionary numbers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_large_numbers#Standard_dictionary_numbers)** > > Usage: > 1.Short scale: US, English Canada, modern British, Australia, and Eastern Europe | > 2.Long scale: French Canada, older British, Western & Central Europe Apart from million, the words in this list ending with -illion are all derived by adding prefixes (bi-, tri-, etc., derived from Latin) to the stem -illion. Centillion appears to be the highest name ending in -"illion" that is included in these dictionaries. Trigintillion, often cited as a word in discussions of names of large numbers, is... Oops I see you put trillion then later quadrillion. It was the latter, right? ---
**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:** [June 1, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/384 "2020-06-01T23:07:59Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I think you had it right just by leaving it at billiard. 😕 But yeah, look at that Traditional British column—Millions to thousand millions; to billions to thousand billions; to trillions…:eek: > > [Names of large numbers - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_large_numbers#Standard_dictionary_numbers) > > Oops I see you put trillion then later quadrillion. It was the latter, right? No, I looked it up again (in the wiki link you provided). The coin had a value of 10^12 marks, that’s “eine Billion” in German and a trillion in English. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/385 "2020-06-02T12:04:23Z")
Alaska pipeline sits on the supports but it not attached to them. This is due to the temp changes from winter to summer. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2020, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/386 "2020-06-03T11:28:02Z")
Bibendum, aka the Michelin man, is one of the oldest trademarks in the world. He is supposed to represent stacked tires. > [@](#): > > The 1898 poster showed him offering the toast Nunc est bibendum to his scrawny competitors with a glass full of road hazards… The idea was that he “drinks up” the hazards, hence Bibendum. But why is he white? > [@](#): > > From 1912 onwards, tyres became black in colour because carbon was added as a preservative and a strengthener to the basic rubber material. Before then, they were a gray-white or light and translucent-beige colour. > **[Michelin Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_Man)** > > Bibendum (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}French pronunciation: \[bibɛ̃dɔm\]), commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tire Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tire company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tires, it was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 where the Michelin brothers h... And what does this have to do with the Michelin guide? > [@](#): > > In 1900, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on the roads of France. To increase the demand for cars and, accordingly, car tires, car tire manufacturers and brothers Édouard and André Michelin published a guide for French motorists, the Michelin Guide.[1] Nearly 35,000 copies of this first, free edition of the guide were distributed; it provided useful information to motorists, such as maps, tire repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France. > **[Michelin Guide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_Guide)** > > The Michelin Guides (French: Guide Michelin \[ɡid miʃlɛ̃\]) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants. The acquisition or loss of a star or stars can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. Michelin also publishes the Green Guides, a series of general guides to cities, regions, and countries. > In 1900, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on ... ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/387 "2020-06-03T13:04:04Z")
the liter is not an official measurement of the SI system (metric units) but it is used along with SI units - meter, kilogram, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/388 "2020-06-03T13:16:43Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Jamaica had a 50 cent note. According to today’s exchange rate, that would be worth… > > $0.0035 > > Ouch! > > [https://www.leftovercurrency.com/exchange/jamaican-dollars/withdrawn-jamaican-dollar-banknotes/50-cent-jamaican-dollars-banknote-marcus-garvey/](https://www.leftovercurrency.com/exchange/jamaican-dollars/withdrawn-jamaican-dollar-banknotes/50-cent-jamaican-dollars-banknote-marcus-garvey/) If we limit it to banknotes still being printed today - does anything beat India’s 5 rupee note - worth about $0.065? ---
**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:** [June 3, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/389 "2020-06-03T13:45:26Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > If we limit it to banknotes still being printed today - does anything beat India’s 5 rupee note - worth about $0.065? I managed to find one. The Cambodian riel’s lowest denomination: 100 = $0.024. They “withdrew” the 50 in 2013. There may be something even lower value in another country. How do you buy the paper, ink, press, pay your labor, etc. to print it? I’ve read that pennies cost more than a penny to mint but of course they last years and years, unlike paper money. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/390 "2020-06-03T22:35:20Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > One of the arguments tax resisters employed was based on that. Ohio was one of the states ratifying the 16th amendment allowing Federal income tax and, since this was in 1911, it wasn’t a ‘real’ state yet. It’s odd they thought so. Refusing to ratify a Constitutional amendment doesn’t exempt a state from compliance if sufficiently many other states do ratify it, and it becomes law. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/391 "2020-06-03T22:49:39Z")
I’m pretty sure the argument was that since, due to Ohio’s status, it wasn’t legally ratified… so NO ONE has to pay tax. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/392 "2020-06-03T23:27:59Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > OTOH, the coin with the highest nominal value of all time was a one billiard mark coin. Of course that was during the [hyperinflation of 1923 in Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic). > > From German wiki: Then of course there was the famous 10 trillion Zimbabwe Dollar note during their hyperinflation. Has there ever been a note with a higher ratio of denomination to real value? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/393 "2020-06-03T23:51:33Z")
I recently read when Margaret Mead was asked what the first sign of civilization is in a culture, she responded, ‘a healed femur’. The largest bone in the body, it takes six weeks to heal without medical aid. Someone must hunt and gather for them, bring them food, basically care for them. She said, ‘in survival of the fittest cultures we see no healed femurs.‘ The first sign of civilization is compassion! ---
**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:** [June 4, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/394 "2020-06-04T00:14:24Z")
Today I learned that the ancient Greeks used something called an ostrakan to clean themselves after a bowel movement, and I learned this because Ursula Vernon essentially took a dare made by a friend of hers and then [tweeted about it all](https://twitter.com/UrsulaV/status/1268307633150341123). What is an ostrakan? It’s a shard from a broken, unglazed teracotta pot. :eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/395 "2020-06-04T00:59:57Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Today I learned that the ancient Greeks used something called an ostrakan to clean themselves after a bowel movement, and I learned this because Ursula Vernon essentially took a dare made by a friend of hers and then [tweeted about it all](https://twitter.com/UrsulaV/status/1268307633150341123). > > What is an ostrakan? It’s a shard from a broken, unglazed teracotta pot. :eek::eek::eek: And we were glad to have it! ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/396 "2020-06-04T01:43:13Z")
Kids these days. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/397 "2020-06-04T02:00:59Z")
I learned today that if JFK had lived to be as old as his mother, he would still be alive _today_. (I guess this is a matter of simple math and I shouldn’t find it as startling as I did, but it’s one of those facts that makes you realize how simultaneously close and far-off various historical events were.) ---
**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:** [June 4, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/398 "2020-06-04T02:48:49Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Today I learned that the ancient Greeks used something called an ostrakan to clean themselves after a bowel movement, and I learned this because Ursula Vernon essentially took a dare made by a friend of hers and then [tweeted about it all](https://twitter.com/UrsulaV/status/1268307633150341123). > > What is an ostrakan? It’s a shard from a broken, unglazed teracotta pot. :eek::eek::eek: I should include the conclusion: She was really careful with it (“I had the steely focus of a raptor is what I’m saying.”), it was surprisingly effective, and she’s not gonna do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/399 "2020-06-04T11:22:38Z")
Germany used over 600,000 horses when they invaded USSR in WW 2. Mostly to move supplies , not in combat. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2020, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/400 "2020-06-04T12:56:42Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Germany used over 600,000 horses when they invaded USSR in WW 2. Mostly to move supplies , not in combat. More horses died in WW1 than soldiers. The US sent over 1 million horses to Europe in WW1. But 75% of horses treated by vets during WW1 recovered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=21)