# 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:** 302
**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:** [January 30, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6030 "2023-01-30T19:20:00Z")
The word _'celadon_’, which refers to a pale blueish-green glaze popular from ancient China through today, for its delicacy and resemblance to jade, is from French, a reference to a character named Celadon in a 17th century novel by Honore D’Urfe, who wore pale jade-colored ribbons. The author borrowed the name from Ovid, who was a Roman (43 BC – 17/18 AD) who wrote about ancient Greek myths, where the word celadon appears, referring to a river, a race of mythical beings created by Hephaestus, and a couple different unrelated warriors. So the name and the glaze came into being within perhaps 500 years of each other, on separate continents, but did not become associated with each other until the 17th century in Europe. I call that a random fact. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6031 "2023-01-30T20:18:36Z")
In the Brian DePalma movie “The Untouchables,” there’s a character named Walter who is captured by Elliot Ness in the train station scene. Walter was based loosely on Capones lawyer named Edward O’Hare. “Fast Eddie” O’Hare had a son named Butch who flew a Wildcat in WWII. Butch O’Hare got a Medal of Honor in the war and in fact, Chicago’s Orchard Depot Airport was renamed O’Hare International Airport in his honor. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6032 "2023-01-30T21:44:46Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > TIL that young men in some of the US were required to swim almost naked This happened in my Junior High, which was when swimming was taught in my school district. We had such a population boom that there wasn’t enough money for the school to provide suits for all so many boys gym classes went without when swimming was on the class agenda. Girls gym classes had suits. That was in the early 70s. By the time my youngest brother hit Junior High, they had enough suits for all the boys, too. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6033 "2023-01-30T22:03:38Z")
I’ve been reading this swim suit story and I don’t get it: were the schools supposed to offer the swimming suits, and they claimed they did not have enough funds? When we had our swimming lessons in the 70s in Spain we had to bring our own swimming trunks, of course. If the school provided the trunks: how often were they washed? ---
**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:** [January 30, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6034 "2023-01-30T22:08:16Z")
I think the washing was a big part of the budget. Yes, the schools provided the suits. That way, we kids didn’t know who was poor and who was better off in gym class. We were all the same. Naturally, this was a bit silly because we did not wear uniforms other than for gym class. And because bullies are bullies. They can sniff out a potential victim no matter the clothing. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6035 "2023-01-30T22:34:21Z")
Curious, the USA is really a different place. Now back to the random facts: There is no official time on the moon. Yet. But there should be soon. Interesting how many things one has to take into [account](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00185-z?utm). From the linked article: > Defining lunar time is not simple. Although the definition of the second is the same everywhere, the special theory of relativity dictates that clocks tick slower in stronger gravitational fields. The Moon’s gravitational pull is weaker than Earth’s, meaning that, to an observer on Earth, a lunar clock would run faster than an Earth one. Gramling estimates that a lunar clock would gain about 56 microseconds over 24 hours. Compared with one on Earth, a clock’s speed would also subtly change depending on its position on the lunar surface, because of the Moon’s rotation, says Tavella. “This is a paradise for experts in relativity, because you have to take into account so many things,” she adds. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6036 "2023-01-31T00:35:50Z")
Today I learned about [shot towers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_tower). An ingenious invention for making musket & shot balls. [A shot tower with a height of 234 feet was built in Baltimore in 1828](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Shot_Tower). It was the tallest structure in the U.S. at the time. It is still there. ---
**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 31, 2023, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6037 "2023-01-31T05:24:23Z")
I think the fact that O’Hare airport is named after Al Capone’s lawyer’s kid is the headline here. Not sure why you needed the reference to the loosely based character in the movie. ---
**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 31, 2023, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6038 "2023-01-31T05:36:05Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I think the fact that O’Hare airport is named after Al Capone’s lawyer’s kid is the headline here. Not sure why you needed the reference to the loosely based character in the movie I thought it was an interesting connection - a way of getting people to be able to relate to it who might not have otherwise. ---
**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 31, 2023, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6039 "2023-01-31T06:33:16Z")
This raises interesting questions. If one were to put a supercomputer in geosynchronous orbit, would it complete lengthy tasks more quickly than a computer on Earth due to the difference in general relativity? Or is there some quirk of physics that would resolve computation time to equivalence? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6040 "2023-01-31T07:56:00Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > That’s also my experience, and my go-to dictionaries favor the “brow” definition: > > Cambridge: to bring your eyebrows together so that there are lines on your face above your eyes, often while turning the corners of your mouth downwards, showing that you are annoyed, worried, sad, or thinking hard. > > Merriam-Webster: to contract the brow in displeasure or concentration. > > Both are the first definitions of the intransitive verb, and the definitions for the noun more specifically refer to the brow. Wait… are you saying that “brow” is a verb? And it means about what the verb “furrow”, as in ‘furrow one’s brow’ means? Or do I just not understand? ---
**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:** [January 31, 2023, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6041 "2023-01-31T10:54:17Z")
I guess the supercomputer in orbit would indeed calculate a tiny bit faster, but some 56 microseconds per day would be far offset by the time it takes to communicate up and down again (300,000 km/s makes 2 x 36,000 km about 0.25 s, several orders of magnitude slower). Particularly as most calculations would not take one full day. For calculations that take centuries, like in the Hitchhiker’s Guide, it may be an advantage. But then, such a massive supercomputer may create its own gravitational field due to its own weight, including the weight of several nuclear power plants to run it, and that might slow it down again. And maintenance would be hard. ---
**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 31, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6042 "2023-01-31T13:00:22Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > some 56 microseconds per day That is the figure given for the Moon, which is in a gravity well one-sixth that of the Earth. A satellite in orbit would be in a very different gradient. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6043 "2023-01-31T14:10:17Z")
So a 5/6ths reduction of Earth’s gravity makes for a difference of 56 microseconds per day, full zero gravity, or 6/6ths less than Earth’s surface would be… under 70 microseconds? Just extrapolating. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2023, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6044 "2023-01-31T14:16:57Z")
It’s generally accepted that the first occurrence of the word “Rockabilly” is a song called “Rockabilly Boogie” written by Johnny and Dorsey Burnette in 1953 (though not recorded until 1957). It’s also generally assumed that the term is a portmanteau of “Rock and Roll” and “Hillbilly”. This assumption has been challenged by Johnny’s son, Rocky and Dorsey’s son Billy. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6045 "2023-01-31T18:15:38Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Wait… are you saying that “brow” is a verb? No, “brow” as a noun, or I guess as an adjective the way I’ve used it upthread. With this: > [@alovem](#): > > Both are the first definitions of the intransitive verb, and the definitions for the noun more specifically refer to the brow. I was referring to “frown.” ---
**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:** [January 31, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6046 "2023-01-31T18:50:46Z")
It’s a double interesting fact. The connection to the movie and the connection to the airport. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6047 "2023-02-01T03:26:09Z")
Meanwhile, in Texas we number interstate highways, U.S. highways, state highways and farm to market roads. And almost always referred to by number ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6048 "2023-02-05T23:34:08Z")
As of this writing, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA scoring leader with 38,387 points over his 20-year career. How many three-pointers did he make in that time? One. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2023, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6049 "2023-02-05T23:56:02Z")
But what about those 3-point plays? (The ones where the shooter is fouled while making a basket and then sinks the FT.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=301) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=303)