# 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:** 326
**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:** [May 16, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6511 "2023-05-16T18:58:22Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Seals, the dogs of the sea. In German, the harbor seal is actually called “Seehund”, sea dog, though I think it has more to do with the sounds they make than with their appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6512 "2023-05-16T19:11:55Z")
_Proximam ei Canariam vocari a multitudine canum ingentis magnitudinis ex quibus perducti sunt Jubas duo_ Pliny, _Natural History_ VI.205 Translation (from [The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Natural History of Pliny, Volume II., by Pliny the Elder.](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/60230/pg60230-images.html#BOOK_VI_CHAP_37)) “The one next to it is Canaria; it contains vast multitudes of dogs of very large size, two of which were brought home to Juba” The word for dogs here is _canum ingentis_, lit. “of dogs” + genitive of characteristic (I think) of _ingēns_, “huge” / “enormous”—so they might be mastiffs, but they could be any large breed. It is possibly to distinguish between “seal” and “dog” in Latin, so it seems strange that a passage that is really specific (in the next sentence, he mentions _silūrōs,_ “sheatfish”), he wouldn’t say. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6513 "2023-05-16T21:25:22Z")
> [@Michael\_Varn](#): > > I was surprised to learn recently that the Canary islands were not named after the birds, but were named for dogs! I’ve imagined a story about a race of uplifted dogs in space, who call their homeworld and center of their interstellar federation “Cynosure” for doubly-appropriate reasons. ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6514 "2023-05-16T22:07:55Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > Why do you say there were no dogs on the islands? Read it in a book recently. But it’ll take a few days to find the quote (and of course it may not be authoritative). ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6515 "2023-05-16T22:45:13Z")
Speaking of dogs… peninkulma: A Finnish unit of measurement, about six km, which was originally “the length at which a dog’s bark could be heard.” (Source: Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants, by James Vincent, page 13.) ---
**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:** [May 17, 2023, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6516 "2023-05-17T05:18:19Z")
Finnish also gave us “poronkusema”, the distance a reindeer can travel without stopping to urinate. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6517 "2023-05-17T08:41:20Z")
@Dr.Drake, Thanks for locating and translating that text. > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > …they might be mastiffs, but they could be any large breed. I agree. The Presa Canario is endemic to the Canary Islands. Although it’s described as being similar to a mastiff, it > was particularly influenced by dogs brought from the British Isles with the large influx of British residents in the late nineteenth century. > **[Presa Canario](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presa_Canario)** > > The Presa Canario is a Spanish breed of large dog of mastiff or catch dog type. It originates in the autonomous region of the Canary Islands, and is found mostly in the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife.: 587  It was formerly known as the Dogo Canario. It was traditionally used as a guard dog, as a herding dog for both sheep and cattle, and for dog-fighting, which was legal in Spain until 1936 and may have continued clandestinely thereafter.: 587  > The Presa Canario derives from the Bardino ... ---
**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:** [May 17, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6518 "2023-05-17T16:15:23Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > peninkulma: A Finnish unit of measurement, about six km, which was originally “the length at which a dog’s bark could be heard.” Well, the one translator tool does not handle that word very well, yielding “angle of the penis”. _But you know sometimes words have two meanings_ ---
**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:** [May 17, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6519 "2023-05-17T16:16:40Z")
Now we know why the dog is barking and can be heard for 6 km. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6520 "2023-05-17T16:57:59Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Speaking of dogs… > > peninkulma: A Finnish unit of measurement, about six km, which was originally “the length at which a dog’s bark could be heard.” (Source: Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants, by James Vincent, page 13.) > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Finnish also gave us “poronkusema”, the distance a reindeer can travel without stopping to urinate. Are you sure the Finns aren’t just having the rest of the world on? ---
**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:** [May 17, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6521 "2023-05-17T17:36:04Z")
That’s what I think the Swedes are doing whenever I go to an Ikea. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6522 "2023-05-17T18:41:37Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > In German, the harbor seal is actually called “Seehund”, sea dog, though I think it has more to do with the sounds they make than with their appearance. One of my dachshunds looked just like a seal when her ears were held back. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6523 "2023-05-17T19:00:28Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > In German, the harbor seal is actually called “Seehund”, sea dog, though I think it has more to do with the sounds they make than with their appearance. Not to forget the _Seewolf_ and the _Seelöwe_ (sea wolf and sea lion, same as in English), both conforming the [Otariidae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eared_seal): > An **eared seal** , **otariid** , or **otary** is any member of the [marine mammal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_mammal) family **Otariidae** , one of three groupings of [pinnipeds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnipeds). They comprise 15 [extant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extant_taxon) [species](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species) in seven [genera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus) (another species became extinct in the 1950s) and are commonly known either as [sea lions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_lion) or [fur seals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_seal), distinct from [true seals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_seals) (phocids) and the [walrus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walrus) ([odobenids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odobenidae)). Judging by their names I wonder what sounds they make. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6524 "2023-05-17T19:04:47Z")
I’ve never heard of a sea wolf but there are sea lions and elephant seals. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2023, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6525 "2023-05-17T19:26:13Z")
What about sea bees? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6526 "2023-05-17T19:29:49Z")
Not even [the novel](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sea-Wolf)? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6527 "2023-05-18T01:36:09Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I’ve never heard of a sea wolf but there are sea lions and elephant seals. Also sea horses and leopard seals. How come we don’t have any prairie fish or shark deer? ---
**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:** [May 18, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6528 "2023-05-18T03:06:51Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > How come we don’t have any prairie fish or shark deer? Well, we do have prairie oysters. And **perch** erons. And, some of us, who shall not be named, crabs. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6529 "2023-05-18T03:17:45Z")
And land sea lions according to Fry ---
**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:** [May 18, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6530 "2023-05-18T12:44:53Z")
not to mention, Dr. Zoiderg [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=325) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=327)