# 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:** 265
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5290 "2022-10-02T03:01:28Z")
To me, Brazilian Portuguese and Italian are the most melodious languages. Not a fan of Portuguese Portuguese. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5291 "2022-10-02T04:31:10Z")
Up until 1840, it was widely accepted that the wall we now call “Hadrian’s Wall” was actually “Severus’s Wall”. Then a clergyman named John Hodgson who’s ambition was to write the definitive and complete history of Northumberland figured out that no, actually it _was_ built by Hadrian. What to do with this information? It was important, he couldn’t ignore it, he couldn’t conceal it, **but!** he was writing a history of Northumberland, not the Wall. This was Out of Scope. What he did was include the evidence in what is probably the longest footnote in history: 173 pages of his 400-page, Volume II Part 3 of the history of Northumberland. In a really teeny font. And he fundamentally destroyed a 1500-year-long belief about British history. (information learned [from a thread on Twitter](https://twitter.com/garius/status/1570771789827166208) by John Bull) ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5292 "2022-10-02T13:11:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > To me, Portuguese sounds like Russians trying to speak Spanish. Exactly this. j ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5293 "2022-10-02T14:19:14Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Wait!!! With all the talk about greenhouse gases and we have a CO2 shortage?! At sea level and at 15 °C air has a density of approximately 1.225 kg/m3. So 1 m3 of air weighs 1.225 kg. Now air is 78% N2, 21% O2 and under 1% Ar, other gases are just present in trace amounts and are not relevant here, and that includes 400 ppm for CO2. 400 ppm by weight of 1.225 kg are 0.49 g. You don’t get CO2 from the air, except as a bonus while searching for something else. Usually N2, O2 or Ar. > [@TriPolar](#): > > I think CO2 can be separated in the process of liqiuidying oxygen and hydrogen and other gases Nitpick: There is almost no hydrogen at all in the atmosphere, that is not where you obtain H2. According to the Wikipedia article on the [Atmosphere of Earth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth#/media/File:Atmosphere_gas_proportions.svg) H2 has a concentration of 0.000055%. Would any H2 be present in the atmosphere its buoyancy would be so strong that it would escape Earth in a matter of minutes. And yes, lack of CO2 is currently a problem, as it is needed for making beer. Among the biggest producers of CO2 are fertiliser plants, and those are closing because energy is too expensive. (That is a very short version of a complex problem, but roughly correct). ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5294 "2022-10-02T15:47:25Z")
Yes, not sure why I mentioned hydrogen. [The chart on this page under Cryogenic Distillation Process](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_separation#:~:text=Pure%20gases%20can%20be%20separated,gases%20but%20is%20energy%2Dintensive.) shows hydrogen is a minute portion of gases separated from air. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5295 "2022-10-02T18:35:07Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > lack of CO2 is currently a problem, as it is needed for making beer. Seriously? You are joking, right? ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5296 "2022-10-02T18:38:13Z")
I would never joke on a matter as serious as beer! [Cite](https://carbonherald.com/beer-shortage-on-the-horizon-due-to-lack-of-co2/), first one I found searching “lack of CO2 and beer”. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5297 "2022-10-02T20:26:33Z")
You’re in the land of Reinheitsgebot, right? You’ll be just fine. j ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5298 "2022-10-02T20:31:57Z")
I like Belgian beer too, and that is not ruled by German purity laws. Now I have a dilemma with [Leffe blonde](https://brusselsreporter.com/brussels/2022/leffe-faces-boycott-calls-as-ukraine-conflict-spills-into-belgian-beer-industry/): they are supplying Russia with the good stuff! Should I boycott or should I hope they make the Russians so drunk they cannot shoot straight? But in Germany, yes, we are safe. The CO2 _should_ come from the fermentation. I hope it does! ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5299 "2022-10-02T20:36:29Z")
Stick to Corsendonk or Kwak. You know it makes sense. j ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5300 "2022-10-02T20:40:25Z")
Kwak has the nicest glasses! [![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0017/7658/2714/products/kwak_800x.jpg?v=1538786498) ](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0017/7658/2714/products/kwak_800x.jpg?v=1538786498) I read the glasses were like this because it was the prefered beer of horse cart drivers, so they did not spill. That was before DUI was a thing! 😉 Would not say no to a Corsendonk either, but have never found one in Berlin. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5301 "2022-10-02T20:43:08Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I read the glasses were like this because it was the prefered beer of horse cart drivers, so they did not spill. That was before DUI was a thing! 😉 _It is associated by legend with stagecoach drivers, though was mainly used for drinking feats and special toasts_. - per Wiki ---
**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:** [October 2, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5302 "2022-10-02T20:52:53Z")
Legends must not be true to figure in a thread about interesting random facts, but people, many people, still say it’s [true](https://belgianbeers.co.uk/beer-blog/why-is-kwak-beer-served-in-such-a-unique-glass/). (Ah, _stagecoach_ was the word I was looking for in my mind…) ---
**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:** [October 6, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5303 "2022-10-06T21:40:14Z")
A new Greek-themed restaurant in London’s Mayfair district has advertised for a grape feeder. Yes, as in someone on staff feeding grapes to patrons. Whether or not this is an actual position is currently unknown. > **[Posh restaurant Bacchanalia is hiring a grape feeder who needs 'gorgeous hands'](https://www.mylondon.news/whats-on/whats-on-news/posh-mayfair-bacchanalia-hiring-grapefeeder-25174558)** > > A new Mayfair restaurant is looking for London's first ever grapefeeder I’d think the first priority would be the hands’ health rather than their looks. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5304 "2022-10-06T22:38:51Z")
Does she have to be named “Beulah”? ---
**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 6, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5305 "2022-10-06T23:02:08Z")
I get that! Good one. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5306 "2022-10-09T16:25:54Z")
This is completely trivial, but it made me laugh. On Saturday we went to Shoreham, on the South coast, pretty much due south of London. It was market day, and whilst we were browsing the market, a large protest march wound past us - a group whose mission is described thus: > …a grass-roots community group determined to stop Hyde Home & Adur Council’s unjustified & unnecessary plan to fell the last Poplar tree on Brighton Rd, next to the Duke of Wellington pub. Admirable. But the best bit is the name of the organisation: [Shoreham Poplar Front](https://shorehampoplarfront.com/) If that gag doesn’t work in your territory, I can only apologize. It’s a play on “[Popular Front](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_front)” - a common name for political coalitions. j ---
**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:** [October 9, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5307 "2022-10-09T17:05:31Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > though was mainly used for drinking feats So kegstands (“Chug! Chug!”) have always been with us, I guess. Humanity never changes. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5308 "2022-10-09T17:21:47Z")
It does go back a ways: > **[The Drinking Horn That Took Down Thor](https://medium.com/@AleHorn/the-drinking-horn-that-took-down-thor-543addb7e550)** > > As a writer for AleHorn.com, I get to research all kinds of fun historical topics. I now know how to make a drinking horn and how to… ---
**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 9, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5309 "2022-10-09T17:58:41Z")
So the millennials didn’t invent drinking. It was the boomers. (What? Thor was the god of **thunder**.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=264) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=266)