# 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:** 258
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5149 "2022-08-28T19:39:35Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > > [@Lumpy](#): > > > > It’d be a pretty damn sturdy truck that would wreck the bridge instead of the other way around. > > If it were beams and girders instead of a big chunk of concrete, I imagine they’d have to close it for inspection, depending on the mass and velocity of the impacting vehicle. I seem to recall incidents around here where trucks running into concrete bridges necessitated repair. Having damage to a bridge can be very dangerous. Although the result from Google are larger that a semi ---
**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:** [August 28, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5150 "2022-08-28T19:43:59Z")
Try this one: > **[I-5 Skagit River bridge collapse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-5_Skagit_River_bridge_collapse)** > > On May 23, 2013, at approximately 7:00 pm PDT, a span of the bridge carrying Interstate 5 over the Skagit River in the U.S. state of Washington collapsed. Three people in two different vehicles fell into the river below and were rescued by boat, escaping serious injury. The cause of the catastrophic failure was determined to be an oversize load striking several of the bridge's overhead support beams, leading to an immediate collapse of the northernmost span. > The through-truss bridge was built ... ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5151 "2022-08-28T21:31:04Z")
If you want to spend an hour or two watching some truck drivers having a very bad day, check out the videos at this site: > **[11 FOOT 8 - The Canopener Bridge](https://11foot8.com/)** > > The Canopener Bridge It’s a low railroad bridge in North Carolina (I think) that has been peeling the roofs off of trucks for years, despite (in order of installation) warning signs, signs with flashing lights, and an actual raising of the bridge by eight inches a few years ago. The bridge is not damaged by these collisions because there is a heavy steel barrier before the bridge that is what they hit first. By the time trucks get to the bridge, they are short enough! ---
**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:** [August 29, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5152 "2022-08-29T00:08:48Z")
India does one better. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AybSJJF7LIw/maxresdefault.jpg "Air India Plane Gets Stuck Under Footbridge on Highway Near Delhi Airport") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AybSJJF7LIw) Probably a bit more expensive a fix than to a semi-trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5153 "2022-08-29T00:19:22Z")
**One third** of Americans are torsos. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5154 "2022-08-29T10:50:58Z")
I’ve seen some americans. I’d say it’s nearer to **two thirds** for a lot of them. i’m joking ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5155 "2022-08-29T13:55:48Z")
TIL The US Forest Service has a guide to blowing up a horse with explosives. > **[The US Forest Service Guide To Completely Obliterating A Horse With Explosives](https://www.iflscience.com/the-us-forest-service-guide-to-completely-obliterating-a-horse-with-explosives-65031)** > > Trust us, this is not something you want to get wrong. "The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has a handy guide, complete with illustrations, on how to blow up a horse. If you’ve ever heard the tale of a certain Oregon whale that was splattered across a crowd of onlookers and journalists, you probably already realize this isn’t a terrible idea. The guide – first published in 1995 for use by Forest Service employees – explains that sometimes you just have to blow up a horse. Dead animals in recreation areas, for example, can attract bears, which could lead to a situation with even more carcasses to dispose of. " Key point as to how much explosives: “If you can still see horse, you’re doing it wrong.” ---
**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:** [August 29, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5156 "2022-08-29T14:05:55Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > The guide – first published in 1995 for use by Forest Service employees – explains that sometimes you just have to blow up a horse. Dead animals in recreation areas, for example, can attract bears, which could lead to a situation with even more carcasses to dispose of. " > > Key point as to how much explosives: “If you can still see horse, you’re doing it wrong.” Last month I read **Vermont Wild: Adventures of Fish and Game Wardens** by Megan Price and Eric Nuse. In the first book Nuse recounts how they had to blow up a rotting moose carcass that was poisoning a pool. Only they didn’t bring a long enough fuse and had to set off the explosives from too near the corpse. > **[Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Vermont Wild, Adventures of Vermont Fish &...](https://www.amazon.com/Vermont-Wild-Adventures-Fish-Wardens-ebook/product-reviews/B004VB8IS0)** > > Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Vermont Wild, Adventures of Vermont Fish & Game Wardens, Vol. 1 at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5157 "2022-08-29T14:08:26Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > TIL The US Forest Service has a guide to blowing up a horse with explosives. > > [The US Forest Service Guide To Completely Obliterating A Horse With Explosives | IFLScience](https://www.iflscience.com/the-us-forest-service-guide-to-completely-obliterating-a-horse-with-explosives-65031) I’ve seen that guide before, and I continue to be amazed at how many sticks of dynamite are recommended. Not that I have any direct experience with high explosives, but 55 pounds just _seems_ like a lot… ---
**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:** [August 29, 2022, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5158 "2022-08-29T15:39:34Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hHXK2t50S-8/hqdefault.jpg "Do you think you used enough dynamite") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHXK2t50S-8) Butch and Sundance if the link doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5159 "2022-08-29T16:22:17Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > TIL The US Forest Service has a guide to blowing up a horse with explosives. > [The US Forest Service Guide To Completely Obliterating A Horse With Explosives | IFLScience](https://www.iflscience.com/the-us-forest-service-guide-to-completely-obliterating-a-horse-with-explosives-65031) Too bad they don’t have one for whales. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/V6CLumsir34/hqdefault.jpg "Exploding Whale 50th Anniversary, Remastered!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34) ---
**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:** [August 29, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5160 "2022-08-29T16:37:04Z")
Drat. You got there before me. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5161 "2022-08-29T17:36:43Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Good heavens. They need a big ol’ baby bumper on that wall. > > (Are those idiots _still traveling_ at highway speeds?) Having lived in Seattle a long time, and knowing the conditions leading to this exit, I am a little sympathetic. It’s in the dark, in an enclosed tunnel of sorts leading through the downtown, with drivers going at fairly high speeds (traffic permitting). The exit looks like a high speed situation…until it’s abruptly not. There are, of course, signs warning drivers to slow down. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5162 "2022-08-29T18:08:03Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > 55 pounds just _seems_ like a lot… It is. As John Allen Paulos pointed out in his book **Innumeracy** , one pound of dynamite is enough to destroy a car and everything in it. You’d think that cars are built more sturdily than horses. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5163 "2022-08-29T18:49:05Z")
Well, the goal is to turn the horse into a mist, which is way more work than just disassembling it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5164 "2022-08-29T18:52:47Z")
Your post is almost twice as funny as mine is. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5165 "2022-08-29T19:04:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > one pound of dynamite is enough to destroy a car and everything in it. This reminds me of an interesting fact. When assembling a modern cartridge for a gun (case, bullet, primer, etc.), the powder put in the case is not an explosive. It is a _propellant_. Technically, the powder does not explode. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5166 "2022-08-29T19:33:15Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > It is a _propellant_. Technically, the powder does not explode. Several years ago I had the opportunity to take really high speed (0.25 million frames per second) footage of C-4-type material going off. You could actually watch the material burning from one end to the other and sending out V-shaped shock waves. It was extremely cool. And the fact that it was burning in a definite direction and sending off waves, rather than simply all burning at once, highlighted how it could function as a propellant. After the entire stick of material had burnt, it sent off a plume in the direction of the burning from the end of the stick. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5167 "2022-08-29T20:10:33Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > When assembling a modern cartridge for a gun (case, bullet, primer, etc.), the powder put in the case is not an explosive. It is a _propellant_. Technically, the powder does not explode. It’s called deflagration. The combustion does not produce shock waves, it is expanding at less then the speed of sound IIIRC. I think this is an issue with all guns, large cannons need charges that are large but don’t deflagrate too fast. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5168 "2022-08-30T15:10:41Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Well, the goal is to turn the horse into a mist, which is way more work than just disassembling it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4IcHUHRf_S0/hqdefault.jpg "Mythbusters Cement Truck Blow Up") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IcHUHRf_S0) Mythbusters cement truck. And didn’t ‘mist’ it completely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=257) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=259)