# 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:** 264
**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:** [September 29, 2022, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5270 "2022-09-29T23:56:34Z")
I say they start to pronounce the letter, then change their mind. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5271 "2022-09-30T00:02:05Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > The way I would describe it, is that you start to pronounce the letter, but then you stop before the sound comes out. That’s perfect (and what I should say instead of “swallow the last sound” which also works). There’s really no substitute for hearing a native speaker speak, and listening to them enough that the accent becomes your own. I was lucky to have French teachers who were natives (“Bonjour, Mme. Fueger!”). I’ve been watching _LUPIN_ on Netflix, and one option at the bottom of the screen is “French (ORIGINAL LANGUAGE) with English Subtitles”. I wish I could do this with all shows… French and Italian are _the_ most melodious languages. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5272 "2022-09-30T02:29:51Z")
Technically, with Italian, you’d need a small inset in the screen with a person supplying the required arm waving gestures to get the full meaning. (I was working in Italy for a number of years. Our secretary would clamp the phone [with one of those extenders] to the side of her face while gesturing wildly. I commented that he/she at the other end couldn’t see that. I was informed that, Yes they can). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5273 "2022-09-30T16:53:54Z")
From the 1931 version of “The Maltese Falcon:” Dudley Digges, who played Gutman was only 52. Thelma Todd, who played Iva Archer (Spade’s paramour and widow of his partner Miles Archer) died at four years later at 29 of carbon monoxide poisoning–the circumstances of which are debated. Dwight Frye played Wilmer. Frye would later be better known as playing weirdo characters in some of the Universal horror movies. Otto Matieson played Joel Cairo. Matieson died at 38, eight months after the film’s release in an automobile accident in Safford AZ. He and Duncan Renaldo (“The Cisco Kid”) were traveling from Hollywood to Albuquerque. The car they were traveling in skidded at a curve and overturned. (Don’t know which one was driving.) ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5274 "2022-09-30T17:30:13Z")
Recent stories about C02 shortages left me gobsmacked when I learned that we get C02 out of the ground. I always assumed any bottled C02 was being extracted out of the air. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5275 "2022-09-30T17:56:12Z")
Yesterday I learned that South Florida is the only place in the world where both crocodiles _and_ alligators are native species. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5276 "2022-09-30T18:06:08Z")
Was Bill Hailey from South Florida? 😉 ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5277 "2022-09-30T18:39:15Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > Recent stories about C02 shortages left me gobsmacked when I learned that we get C02 out of the ground. I always assumed any bottled C02 was being extracted out of the air. Wait!!! With all the talk about greenhouse gases and we have a CO2 shortage?! ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5278 "2022-09-30T18:44:57Z")
I just learn from a video on frozen pizza that freon was invented at General Motors. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5279 "2022-09-30T19:04:39Z")
Interesting. I have heard that crocs are found in Louisiana but I can’t find any confirmation of that, which is surprising since gators are found in all the gulf states and northward through the Carolinas. Unlike alligators, crocodiles are tolerant of salt water so nothing was stopping them from occupying more territory. Plenty of times gators and crocs are misidentified as each other so reports of crocs in other states might just be confusion. To add a very mildly interesting fact: Crocodilians and Birds are the only living descendants of Archosaurs, which were the ancestors of Dinosaurs and Pterosaurs. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5280 "2022-09-30T19:10:57Z")
I think CO2 can be separated in the process of liqiuidying oxygen and hydrogen and other gases from air, but it’s been much more practical to produce CO2 chemically. Small amounts of dry ice can be made from the air by wasting a lot of propane to cool air to the point where CO2 solidifies as dry ice. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5281 "2022-09-30T19:28:14Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Otto Matieson played Joel Cairo. Peter Lorre played Joe Cairo. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5282 "2022-09-30T21:52:14Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > I say they start to pronounce the letter, then change their mind. That’s another good description. > [@digs](#): > > French and Italian are _the_ most melodious languages. Agreed. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5283 "2022-09-30T21:58:41Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > French and Italian are _the_ most melodious languages. > > Agreed. I also have a soft spot for Portuguese, though I hardly understand a word of it. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5284 "2022-09-30T22:07:59Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Peter Lorre played Joe Cairo. That was the 1941 version. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5285 "2022-09-30T22:13:44Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I also have a soft spot for Portuguese, though I hardly understand a word of it. Heh, there’s an online comic I read called Quantum Vibe, the most recent arcs of which are set in a space-based arcology called Novo Paolo a.k.a. Bubbleopolis, where the official language is “Portanglish”, a creole that’s mostly Portuguese. I find myself using Google’s Portuguese to English frequently as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5286 "2022-10-01T22:56:21Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I also have a soft spot for Portuguese, though I hardly understand a word of it. To me, Portuguese sounds like Russians trying to speak Spanish. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2022, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5287 "2022-10-01T23:25:36Z")
Arthur Treacher played the role in the almost unrecognizable 1936 version called _Satan Met a Lady_. The Lady was Bette Davis. ---
**Author:** ![Oopers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@Oopers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oopers)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5288 "2022-10-01T23:36:59Z")
Venice Italy doesn’t have sewer system, everything flows into the water of the lagoon! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5289 "2022-10-02T01:10:02Z")
[Best Venice Guides - Sewage in Venice: how does it work?](https://bestveniceguides.it/en/2020/02/28/sewage-in-venice-how-does-it-work/) suggests that that’s only sort of true: no sewer system, but there’s a sort of low-tech filtration going on with the _gatoli,_ and lots of septic systems that are collected rather than dumped. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=263) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=265)