# 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:** 300
**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:** [January 26, 2023, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5990 "2023-01-26T21:51:27Z")
Going back to sports crowds, the Alpe D’Huez is a climb which is featured every few years in the Tour de France. It’s 13.8 km (8.6 mi) long and somewhat of a natural amphitheater. > **[Alpe d'Huez | Spectators](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpe_d%27Huez#Spectators)** > > The Alpe has chaotic crowds of spectators. In 1999, Giuseppe Guerini won despite being knocked off by a spectator who stepped into his path to take a photograph. The 2004 individual time trial became chaotic when fans pushed riders toward the top. Attendance figures on the mountain have to be treated with caution. A million spectators were claimed for 1997. Eric Muller, the mayor of Alpe d'Huez, however, said there were 350,000 in 2001, four years later despite acceptance that the number rises ev... Yes, that does say _A million spectators were claimed for 1997_. The same claim was made more recently - 2013 if I remember correctly. Were there really a million people on the climb? Who knows, nobody is selling tickets. But several hundred thousand seems like a reasonably safe bet. j ---
**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:** [January 26, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5991 "2023-01-26T21:56:02Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Were there really a million people on the climb? Who knows, nobody is selling tickets. But several hundred thousand seems like a reasonably safe bet. If the Tour de France could sell tickets, it would be the most profitable sports event in the world. A whole nation (sometimes several) watches. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5992 "2023-01-26T21:58:09Z")
I was just about to ETA this to my previous post. The second photo, Dutch Corner, gives a good impression of the crowds (and the chaos). > **[alpe d'huez dutch corner](https://pezcyclingnews.com/features/20-years-of-pez-tourdefrance-2015-alpedhuez-roadside-photo-report/)** > > Ed Hood reports roadside from the Dutch corner madness of Alpe d'Huez stage 20 of the 2015 Tour de France. j ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5993 "2023-01-26T22:00:24Z")
Interesting fact I learned recently: when untrained people are asked to guess what a chimp gesture might mean, they have twice the likelihood of guessing right than average. The meaning of the gestures have been determined by careful study of what follows them. And untrained people are given 4 choices and, on average, have a 50% chance of guessing right. I tried two of them and got them both right. I wish they had tried this on fluent signers. But you know how people without a common language will start gesturing to each other. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5994 "2023-01-26T22:02:41Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > And untrained people are given 4 choices and, on average, have a 50% chance of guessing right. I tried two of them and got them both right. Is there some online test for it you’ve got a link for? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5995 "2023-01-26T22:49:58Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Is there some online test for it you’ve got a link for? Try this: > **[What Are These Apes Trying to Say? Take This Quick Quiz.](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/24/science/ape-gestures-quiz.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20230126&instance_id=83687&nl=the-morning®i_id=85862498&segment_id=123533&te=1&user_id=858e933a0a6995069fd360f9a542e8ba)** > > The great apes do not have spoken language, but they share many gestures. Can humans like you understand those gestures too? ---
**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:** [January 26, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5996 "2023-01-26T22:52:54Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Were there really a million people on the climb? Napkin math: Adding 100 meters at either end, assuming that it is darn difficult to get a person to occupy less than a square meter, stacking them 4 deep on either side of the road, I get 112,000 or so. A million seems maybe possible (nevermind the logistics of that many people getting there and then going home). I am going to say that I doubt it. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2023, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5997 "2023-01-26T22:54:46Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Try this: Thanks! ---
**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:** [January 27, 2023, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5998 "2023-01-27T04:28:12Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > In 1999, Giuseppe Guerini won despite being knocked off by a spectator who stepped into his path to take a photograph. If he had lost, he could have beaten the spectator to death; no court would have convicted him. 😛 ---
**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:** [January 27, 2023, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5999 "2023-01-27T12:21:26Z")
TIL there was a reservoir in South Carolina called Alcohol and Drug Abuse Lake. Today it’s called Village Lake according to Wikipedia. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6000 "2023-01-27T12:29:35Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > Boy would I disagree. Fair, and motor sports are one of the few sports I have very little knowledge of. I should have said that from the start. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6001 "2023-01-27T19:01:27Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > > > Were there really a million people on the climb? > > Napkin math: Adding 100 meters at either end, assuming that it is darn difficult to get a person to occupy less than a square meter, stacking them 4 deep on either side of the road, I get 112,000 or so. A million seems maybe possible (nevermind the logistics of that many people getting there and then going home). I am going to say that I doubt it. Someone needs to tell those guys on Dutch Corner that they have one square meter each, and no more than 4 deep. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QgCUD9lQtC4/maxresdefault.jpg "Alpe D'uez Dutch corner TDF 2013") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCUD9lQtC4) And that’s when there isn’t even a race going past (!) But seriously, @eschereal, good starting point - thanks for doing the heavy lifting. And for much of the roadside, the assumptions might be reasonably close to the truth. However, there are certain parts of the route - like Dutch Corner - where the crowds are insanely dense (actually, DC is known more for it’s madness than for being particularly crowded). Plus - and this is probably more significant - Alpe D’Huez consists of 21 hairpins. If you stand away from the road, you can watch (and see!) the race on the road below you. It may well be the case that only a minority of the crowd is actually by the roadside. This video gives a good impression of how the road winds and, at 0.55, you can see the large crowds away from the road. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KgHr79v45J4/maxresdefault.jpg "Magazine : Alpe d'Huez, a french garden - Stage 12 - Tour de France 2018") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgHr79v45J4) So if we take your estimate and - ehhh - triple it? - can we agree that sounds plausible? j ---
**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:** [January 27, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6002 "2023-01-27T19:29:19Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > So if we take your estimate and - ehhh - triple it? - can we agree that sounds plausible? My number was like an average. The corners have large, dense crowds, but the crowds along the stretches tend, I suspect, to be somewhat sparser. And, of course, my figure was conservative. But it is still a long reach, even tripled, to a million. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6003 "2023-01-27T19:34:23Z")
Yeah, I think “a million” is part of the mythology of the Alpe - nice story but that’s about it. But you can see just in the video still above, there are vast areas away from the road where spectators can (and do) stand and watch. If someone swore blind half a million, I would let it go. BTW, expect to camp out if you want to watch the race there. There are parts of the logistics of it all that I just don’t want to think about… j ---
**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:** [January 28, 2023, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6004 "2023-01-28T02:49:51Z")
The local media got hyped up here over parade crowds saying “over half a million” attended along a 2 km long route. Assuming the 1 sq m per person rule, you could fit 2,000 people on each side of the street. To get half a million, you would need crowds over 100 deep. (there’s room for maybe 6 or 7 deep on the sidewalk)… When I pointed this out to a radio station, future newscasts stated “tens of thousands” attended. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2023, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6005 "2023-01-28T13:23:04Z")
Baseball - the top home run hitter of the 1960’s wasn’t Mickey Mantle (256). It wasn’t Hank Aaron (375). It wasn’t Willie Mays (350). It wasn’t Willie McCovey (300). It was Harmon Killebrew (393), who played several season with the worst team in MLB at the time - the Washington Senators (before they moved to Minnesota). He’s 12th on the all-time career home run hitters. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6006 "2023-01-28T15:19:00Z")
TIL that young men in some of the US were required to swim almost naked (they did wear caps if that counts) in high school. NPR article here thankfully since I wasn’t sure how to Google it:[Naked in High School: Bad Dreams Do Come True : NPR](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5597441) ---
**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:** [January 28, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6007 "2023-01-28T16:46:23Z")
Curiously, this has come up more than once before on this Board. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6008 "2023-01-30T01:40:25Z")
Interesting. We didn’t have a pool at my high school and since our town had beaches on two bodies of salt water, everyone learned to swim in grade school. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6009 "2023-01-30T01:44:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Curiously, this has come up more than once before on this Board. @panache45 has written about his experience with this in high school. I’m pretty certain they did this at my high school, too, before I attended. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=299) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=301)