# 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:** 317
**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:** [April 7, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6331 "2023-04-07T23:07:19Z")
During the 1930’s, Achille Starace (secretary of Mussolini’s Fascist party in Italy) had several blocks of flats in Rome designed in such a form that they formed the letters DUCE (a common address for Mussolini) when viewed from the air (centre top of the image). Due to shoddy construction, they were demolished and rebuilt in a different format after the war. Click on the map to zoom, and look near the top center. [Give me the 5!: LET’S MAKE A BIT OF HISTORY: San Basilio from the origins to today. (dammil5.blogspot.com)](http://dammil5.blogspot.com/2010/05/facciamo-un-po-di-storia-san-basilio.html) ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6332 "2023-04-07T23:35:03Z")
The opposite of; formaldehyde, Must be; casualdejekyll. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6333 "2023-04-08T04:21:39Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Due to shoddy construction, they were demolished and rebuilt in a different format after the war. Click on the map to zoom, and look near the top center. I post here from my cell phone and I have no idea what I was supposed to see. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6334 "2023-04-08T07:20:42Z")
It’s the original construction spelling DUCE. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6335 "2023-04-08T07:48:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s the original construction spelling Duce. - Ah, I see. Thx! ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6336 "2023-04-08T08:12:32Z")
Fascists loved that kind of propaganda. During the nazi regime it was popular among some forest owners to plant trees to form nazi symbols like swasticas: here is an article from [Der Spiegel](https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/hakenkreuz-im-wald-von-zernikow-brandenburger-baum-swastika-skandal-a-951178.html) from 2013 with some pictures. The trick was to plant larches among the pine woods: the pines are always the same color, the laches change with the seasons. As you can only see the form from above during some time each year some of this symbols went unnoticed for a long time (and also, I reckon, nobody really looked for that and some were quite happy to display that stuff). When they tried to erase them, felling the trees only left a mark in the pines in the shape of the original swastica. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6337 "2023-04-08T11:15:21Z")
I also remember a TV report(?) about a building complex in Germany built by the nazis in the shape of a swastika that’s of course controversial today, but naturally cannot be changed without demolishing at least parts of the complex (either office buildings or maybe a clinic, I don’t remember exactly). ETA: strange how memory works, but googling the issue I only find a building in San Diego, a US Marines base, in the shape of a swastika: ![Diese Satellitenaufnahme zeigt einen Stützpunkt der US-Marine in San Diego. Das Gebäude hat die Form eines Hakenkreuzes. ..](https://rp-online.de/imgs/32/1/3/7/2/8/5/6/3/tok_db2dd92f26a5a00028f1ad2d92566a1b/w940_h528_x470_y264_effcc523aa8db370.jpg) ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6338 "2023-04-08T14:05:52Z")
The Forest Swastika wiki page (there had to be one), blurred out because of an obvious swastika image: [Forest swastika - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_swastika) It’s of interest because it lists other examples (“Similar Incidents”). Re the Monte Giano DVX (Duce) it seems that this still exists, because it is a forest planted to stabilize a mountain side. if you google Monte Giano you’ll find that it has a wiki page, but it’s in Italian. As I believe we’re not supposed to link to non-English sources without providing a translation, I won’t; but hopefully this link will take you to the relevant image from that page. Again, spoilered for a very visible fascist symbol in the image. [Link](([Monte Giano - Wikipedia](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Giano#/media/File:Monte_Giano_-_bosco_DUX_da_Calcariola_01.png)) j ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6339 "2023-04-08T18:33:23Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > ETA: strange how memory works, but googling the issue I only find a building in San Diego, a US Marines base, in the shape of a swastika: To an extent the swastika is a geometrically “natural” shape that was independently rediscovered over thousands of years. In the case of architecture it’s one solution to how to lay out buildings in interconnected wings. Though today of course people would go out of their way to avoid doing so. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6340 "2023-04-08T19:22:49Z")
Yeah, i was thinking that but for the symbolism, it would be a very natural shape to build a building. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6341 "2023-04-08T20:41:56Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Though today of course people would go out of their way to avoid doing so. [You would think so](https://aerialarchives.photoshelter.com/image/I0000AjwndgCrnnE). ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6342 "2023-04-08T22:47:15Z")
TIL -The Concorde wasn’t the first Airliner to Break the Sound Barrier: how the DC-8 became the first commercial transport to go supersonic - The Aviation Geek Club > **[Concorde wasn’t the first Airliner to Break the Sound Barrier: how the DC-8...](https://theaviationgeekclub.com/concorde-wasnt-the-first-airliner-to-break-the-sound-barrier-how-the-dc-8-became-the-first-commercial-transport-to-go-supersonic/)** > > Concorde wasn’t the first Airliner to Break the Sound Barrier: how the DC-8 became the first commercial transport to go supersonic With Chuck Yeager involved. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6343 "2023-04-08T23:59:07Z")
Chuck Yeager could have found a way to get a Sopwith Camel to break the sound barrier. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2023, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6344 "2023-04-09T11:26:37Z")
[A few flights of the Supermarine Spitfire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire#Speed_and_altitude_records) apparently came quite close to mach 1. Control, over about 0.9, was something of a problem, though. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6345 "2023-04-09T11:58:22Z")
That’s a bit … tenuous ! A consequence of wanting runways for whatever the wind direction ! ---
**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:** [April 9, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6346 "2023-04-09T12:09:26Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > A consequence of wanting runways for whatever the wind direction ! True but at some point you would think someone would say, “I think another layout could work too.” or maybe they were too busy designing the secret underground train to Philadelphia. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2023, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6347 "2023-04-09T12:36:44Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > True but at some point you would think someone would say, “I think another layout could work too.” But, for the area, that was probably the most efficient layout. And anyway, the runways to the east, while perpendicular (8/26 and 17/35) are still 10 degrees off from the ones to the west (7/25 and 16/34). An actual swastika should be square (and probably in the 5/23, 13/31 range to be at the proper angle). ---
**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:** [April 9, 2023, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6348 "2023-04-09T12:45:57Z")
Just to be clear, I don’t think that Denver International Airport intentionally laid out their runways in the form of a swastika but 1. It is one of many conspiracy theories about the airport out there. 2. You have to wonder if at sometime someone somewhere pointed out, “Hey, you know we made our airport look a lot like a swastika.” ---
**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:** [April 9, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6349 "2023-04-09T16:43:44Z")
Another swastika-shaped-building near miss, this time in Devizes, England. [https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/google-maps-swastika-house-picture-2798330](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/google-maps-swastika-house-picture-2798330) j ---
**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:** [April 10, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6350 "2023-04-10T22:56:52Z")
TIL about [Katie McBrayer, the first woman to serve on a Special Forces team.](https://www.audacy.com/connectingvets/articles/first-woman-in-special-forces) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=316) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=318)