# 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:** 228
**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:** [June 1, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4549 "2022-06-01T20:51:21Z")
The Tro-Bro Léon (Tour Of Léon) is a professional cycle race which takes place in the region of Léon in Brittany, France each year. The highest finishing Breton rider wins a piglet. [Cite](https://www.velonews.com/news/road/hell-west-tro-bro-leon/). > There is a winner of Tro-Bro Léon, and then there is the first Breton across the line. The two are treated with equal fanfare (with the edge, perhaps, to the Breton). The former gets a trophy; the latter, if not the same man, receives a live piglet. Last year, that honor went to Benoît Jarrier of Bretagne-Séché Environnement. j ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4550 "2022-06-01T20:53:43Z")
Yep, and I think high definition tv is what finally forced them to stop accepting calls. I remember tv golf announcers talking about how the PGA was getting inundated with calls every tournament. One major reason for call-ins was the placement of the ball on the green after it was marked. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4551 "2022-06-01T21:26:54Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I never knew this and wouldn’t have guessed. Mind blown! (especially by the second part) It’s mainly because the Amazon and its tributaries are so wide, plus that for much of its course a bridge would simply connect two places in the middle of nowhere. ---
**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, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4552 "2022-06-01T21:32:09Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > It’s mainly because the Amazon and its tributaries are so wide, plus that for much of its course a bridge would simply connect two places in the middle of nowhere. I figured that, but the area covering the Amazon and its countless tributaries is so damn huge that I thought there must be more than only one freaking bridge. Of course I’m speaking from a middle European perspective where bridges are ubiquitous and necessary. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4553 "2022-06-01T21:51:00Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The number of vets entering decrepitude and thus needing healthcare is likely close to the number dying. Almost 100% of the vets who die today were accessing VA healthcare yesterday. The percentage of vets that have survived being shot, mines, and other damaging bits of warfare have increased due to the increased skills of medics and doctors. Surviving those injuries is bound to increase VA patients. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4554 "2022-06-01T22:00:36Z")
I wonder what percentage of VA patients actually suffer from combat injuries, though. The improvement in medicine overall contributes to all patients surviving longer thus needing lengthier care. Cancer and diabetes are still deadly but they take longer to kill you these days. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4555 "2022-06-01T22:03:39Z")
It’s not just surviving those injuries and the maintenance mechanical body parts need, but also the mental health care that wasn’t available 60 years ago. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4556 "2022-06-01T22:15:22Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > It’s mainly because the Amazon and its tributaries are so wide, plus that for much of its course a bridge would simply connect two places in the middle of nowhere. The Amazon riverbed and banks are so soft, the river actually changes location over time and its width can expand ten fold in the rainy season. Ferry crossings with portable terminals make a lot more sense for those few places that actually have roads that need to connect. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4557 "2022-06-01T22:46:50Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > but also the mental health care that wasn’t available 60 years ago. And largely still isn’t available today. ---
**Author:** ![kwintenstraler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kwintenstraler/32/10698_2.png) [@kwintenstraler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwintenstraler)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4558 "2022-06-02T10:38:36Z")
I wasn’t aware that polar bears were that large [![](https://i.fokzine.net/upload/22/05/220531_1_daily639_21.jpg) ](https://i.fokzine.net/upload/22/05/220531_1_daily639_21.jpg) ---
**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:** [June 2, 2022, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4559 "2022-06-02T11:40:09Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I figured that, but the area covering the Amazon and its countless tributaries is so damn huge that I thought there must be more than only one freaking bridge This looks like a matter of definitions to me - taking your phrase > the Amazon and its countless tributaries if you google > -6.84960133528062, -78.0294485597423 there are two bridges right there. Satellite view suggests they are both road bridges. But Lancia said > [@Lancia](#): > > Further, the sum total of all the traffic bridges crossing the major tributaries So is that a _major_ tributary? Wiki says of the Marañón River > The headwaters of the Apurímac River on Nevado Mismi had been considered for nearly a century as the Amazon’s most distant source, until a 2014 study found it to be the headwaters of the Mantaro River on the Cordillera Rumi Cruz in Peru.[21] The Mantaro and Apurímac rivers join, and with other tributaries form the Ucayali River, which in turn meets the Marañón River upstream of Iquitos, Peru, forming what countries other than Brazil consider to be the main stem of the Amazon. Brazilians call this section the Solimões River above its confluence with the Rio Negro[22] forming what Brazilians call the Amazon at the Meeting of Waters (Portuguese: Encontro das Águas) at Manaus, the largest city on the river. Like I said, a matter of definitions. Fun aside - here’s another bridge over the Amazon. Though possibly not fit for all vehicles. https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211s8JBmhcwPk6jrt8vF4WYbXw%212m2%211d-7.5224507%212d-77.7294113%213f34.74%214f7.773%215f0.75 You’re probably going to have to click on the image and zoom in to spot it. j ---
**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:** [June 2, 2022, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4560 "2022-06-02T12:08:47Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The Amazon riverbed and banks are so soft, the river actually changes location over time and its width can expand ten fold in the rainy season. Ferry crossings with portable terminals make a lot more sense for those few places that actually have roads that need to connect. You could make the same argument about the Mississippi River, which has a long history of frequent changes in path. But it’s in a well-populated and economically important region, so it’s crossed by lots of bridges. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4561 "2022-06-02T19:19:56Z")
Most major rivers go through major cities because rivers used to be major transportation pathways. The Amazon doesn’t. It flows through the north of Brazil and Rio and São Paulo are a thousand miles to the south. Virtually all the historical big cities are on the Atlantic coast so inland north-south travel was secondary to shipping. Apparently those soft banks are too fragile to support anything other than small towns that make major bridges unfeasible. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4562 "2022-06-03T02:09:13Z")
So, cinnamon is the ground bark of the tree. So cinnamon is sawdust…right? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4563 "2022-06-03T02:47:31Z")
Character actor **John Quade** , a classic That Guy from multiple Clint Eastwood and other westerns was an aerospace engineer for JPL before getting into acting. > Quade met an engineer building missile silos in Kansas, which led to a job in California working at the [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory) as an [aerospace engineer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_engineering).[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quade#cite_note-TCJ-3) _Some of the parts Quade constructed are still on the moon_ [John Quade - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quade#Early_life) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4564 "2022-06-03T11:43:29Z")
The nation of Turkey has officially [changed its name](https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/02/europe/turkey-trkiye-united-nations-scli-intl/index.html) to Türkiye with the United Nations. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4565 "2022-06-03T12:09:36Z")
Some small Canadian natural history museum I visited had a taxidermy polar bear in the entrance standing on its hind legs. It was freakin enormous, like an elephant. ---
**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, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4566 "2022-06-03T13:15:28Z")
I took the (click)bait on Facebook. > If you’ve ever traveled with someone who wouldn’t quit complaining, then you were probably in the company of a “smellfungus.” This is the kind of person who always has the worst things to say about absolutely any vacation spot. That Karen who always leaves brutal Yelp reviews – yep, she’s a smellfungus, alright! This is not a slide show, but it has lots of ads as you might imagine. [https://social.entrepreneur.com/s/old-school-curse-words?as=6dap23850498631520614&utm\_source=fb&utm\_content=23850498631140614&utm\_campaign=6dap23850498631520614&utm\_medium=z020409&fbclid=IwAR0g7YKZmBF1cM\_rBGZq3qGneda-e-lOaHZHwJuIIwwgGX-tQ9vqhdGX2xQ&bdk=z020409\_62851fa529fac400096fa889](https://social.entrepreneur.com/s/old-school-curse-words?as=6dap23850498631520614&utm_source=fb&utm_content=23850498631140614&utm_campaign=6dap23850498631520614&utm_medium=z020409&fbclid=IwAR0g7YKZmBF1cM_rBGZq3qGneda-e-lOaHZHwJuIIwwgGX-tQ9vqhdGX2xQ&bdk=z020409_62851fa529fac400096fa889) And “sard?” \> This medieval turn of phrase is a little obscene, so we’ll let a tenth-century Bible translation do the explaining. The holy book contains the phrase, “Don’t sard another man’s wife.” Got it? That’s right, “sard” is an old version of the f-word. Sard it all! Some, like balderdash, I’ve definitely heard before. Bricky, collie shangles, honeyfuggle…there are several that are completely new to me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4567 "2022-06-03T13:53:43Z")
There is a record polar bear mounted on its hind legs in the main terminal at Ted Stevens International in Anchorage. Huge isn’t the word. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4568 "2022-06-03T14:42:29Z")
Tremendous height to the polar bears, exceeding the largest brown bears (Grizzly, Kodiak, etc.). Polar bears are expected to be larger than polar bear/brown bear hybrids, only a few have been found so far though. Polar bears are as heavy as the Cave Bear was and likely taller. They were probably as tall as the heaviest bears that ever lived, the South American Short-Face bear (Arctotherium angustidens). Polar bears are the largest land carnivore alive now, though they do qualify as aquatic mammals and couldn’t compete with Orcas in that respect. Yup, huge just isn’t big enough to describe those monsters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=227) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=229)