# 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:** 306
**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:** [February 17, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6110 "2023-02-17T23:25:37Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Hey! Did I just tell an interesting random fact to an audience of one? Yeah! If I know my dopers well, there’s at least one more person who finds this info useful. 😉 ---
**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:** [February 17, 2023, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6111 "2023-02-17T23:27:28Z")
Someone should tell him. ☺ ---
**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:** [February 18, 2023, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6112 "2023-02-18T05:00:41Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > However, there’s only one version of this ride. It was originally built for the 1964 World’s Fair, moved to Disneyland (I think I went on it when I was a kid, too) until 1973, …when it murdered a cast member. I had no idea there was still one called Carousel of Progress. The one in Anaheim just changed out the automatons with cute animals and called it America Sings. _They changed the robots but they didn’t remove the killer ride!!,_ ---
**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 18, 2023, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6113 "2023-02-18T05:40:22Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > …when it murdered a cast member. I had no idea there was still one called Carousel of Progress. The one in Anaheim just changed out the automatons with cute animals and called it America Sings. _They changed the robots but they didn’t remove the killer ride!!,_ According to Wikipedia, the building has changed a couple times since then. It was _America Sings_ from 1974 to 1988, storage and office space for 10 years, _Innoventions_ from 1998 to 2015, and has been the _Star Wars Launch Bay_ since then. ---
**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 18, 2023, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6114 "2023-02-18T05:53:11Z")
I just looked this up. The death actually happened shortly after the switch to America Sings ---
**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:** [February 18, 2023, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6115 "2023-02-18T10:44:14Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > > Hey! Did I just tell an interesting random fact to an audience of one? Yeah! > > If I know my dopers well, there’s at least one more person who finds this info useful. 😉 Er… Hi guys. Look what I found. > **[Vicarious embarrassment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious_embarrassment)** > > Vicarious embarrassment (also known as secondhand, empathetic, or third-party embarrassment and also as Spanish shame or Fremdschämen in German) is the feeling of embarrassment from observing the embarrassing actions of another person. Unlike general embarrassment, vicarious embarrassment is not the feelings of embarrassment for oneself or for one's own actions, but instead by feeling embarrassment for somebody else after witnessing (verbally and/or visually) that other person experie Vicarious e... _Spanish shame._ Love it. j (Just to make sure, I’ll @Pardel-Lux as well. Belt-and-braces, y’know?) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6116 "2023-02-18T13:15:28Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > _Spanish shame._ I thought that meant “pregnant”. 😉 ---
**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:** [February 18, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6117 "2023-02-18T18:33:23Z")
Indeed, _está embarazada_ in Spanish means both “she is pregnant” and “she is embarrassed”. But _es embarazoso_ means only “it is embarrassing”, not “it can make you pregnant”. I wonder what they were thinking of. > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Look what I found. Vicarious! That is a word to remember! Thanks! ---
**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:** [February 18, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6118 "2023-02-18T18:37:46Z")
_Mea Culpa_ @Pleonast - I just wasn’t good enough to get the gag. I’d still be in ignorance if @Pardel-Lux hadn’t explained it. ::sigh:: j ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6119 "2023-02-18T19:34:14Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I just wasn’t good enough to get the gag. It’s a common [false friend](https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#false_friend) for English speakers learning Spanish. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2023, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6120 "2023-02-18T19:43:48Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It’s a common [false friend](https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#false_friend) for English speakers learning Spanish. Just like “prägnant” doesn’t mean “pregnant” in German, but succinct. [https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/prägnant](https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/pr%C3%A4gnant) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6121 "2023-02-18T19:58:53Z")
Am I gregnant? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EShUeudtaFg/hqdefault.jpg "how is prangent formed") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EShUeudtaFg) ---
**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:** [February 18, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6122 "2023-02-18T21:36:43Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Leaf Sheep have the face of a cow or sheep, but look like a house plant. They can photosynthesize This sent me down a bit of rabbit hole - it’s an easy google: _which animals photosynthesize_ will do it - it’s just everything else that’s difficult (for me). “Animal photosynthesis” seems to be generally done by the use of endosymbionts, which are, as I understand it, photosynthesizing organisms which have been incorporated into the animal. The list includes [other sea slugs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_slug#Diversity_in_sea_slugs); and the [pea aphid](https://futurism.com/photosynthetic-animals) (maybe),. Regarding the [oriental hornet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_hornet), I’m no biologist, but the description sounds more like built in solar panels than photosynthesis > This daytime digging behavior of _V. orientalis_ may be possible because of the ability of its cuticle to harvest solar energy… Measuring the electric voltage between the hypocuticle and the exocuticle of the yellow stripe shows a negative electric potential at the hypocuticle with respect to the positive exocuticle. The [spotted salamander](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_salamander#Lifecycle) is the only vertebrate that I’ve seen listed. This is a very specific relationship: > Photosynthetic algae are present within the egg capsule of the developing salamander embryo, enhancing growth. Do we have a biologist in the house? I’m sure we must. It would be nice to have someone do a much better job on this subject than I can. I would particularly like to know if solar panels have _really_ evolved in nature. j ---
**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:** [February 18, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6123 "2023-02-18T23:35:02Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > If I know my dopers well, there’s at least one more person who finds this info useful. 😉 Not useful for me, but definitely interesting! ---
**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:** [February 19, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6124 "2023-02-19T22:21:20Z")
I’m listening to YouTube music at the computer (going through The Dope and whatnot). Happens to be the third Oasis album, **Be Here Now**. So: who plays slide guitar on track 7, **Fade In-Out**? Answer: Johnny Depp. [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Here_Now_(album)#Personnel). Crikey. And, inevitably, I discovered this whilst listening to Fade In-Out. Of course. j ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6125 "2023-02-19T22:32:17Z")
Lately I’ve been watching old Bogart movies then reading about them on Wikipedia and occasionally going down a rabbit hole. So yesterday I learned that Lauren Bacall and former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres were cousins. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6126 "2023-02-19T22:59:43Z")
The northernmost spot in the contiguous United States is a place in Minnesota called the Northwest Angle. A mapping error in 1783 left this practical exclave completely cut off from the rest of the state (and from the US). The only way to get to it is either by boat, or through Canada by road. This caused a lot of problems when Canada closed its borders during Covid. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6127 "2023-02-19T23:53:59Z")
And it is privately owed. That would be a good buy if you’re a geography nut. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6128 "2023-02-20T00:08:26Z")
Well, the airport is private and the Red Lake Ojibwe have 70% of the Angle in a trust, but there is a bit where an average Yankee fishing family might settle. ---
**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 20, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6129 "2023-02-20T00:56:04Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The northernmost spot in the contiguous United States is a place in Minnesota called the Northwest Angle. A mapping error in 1783 left this practical exclave completely cut off from the rest of the state (and from the US). The only way to get to it is either by boat, or through Canada by road. This caused a lot of problems when Canada closed its borders during Covid. There are also exclaves like this in Washington (Pt. Roberts) and the northern end of Lake Champlain in Vermont (Province Point). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=305) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=307)