# 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:** 330
**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 28, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6591 "2023-05-28T12:52:16Z")
Malagasy is the language of Madagascar. I have known this for years even though I only know one word in the language which I learned from a web search. hajario in Malagasy is “to be arranged”. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2023, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6592 "2023-05-28T19:57:09Z")
We’ve been to Brittany in France quite often recently. I guess most people know that they have their own language there - Breton (_brezhoneg_). A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across the fact that the Bretons actually have _ **two** _ languages. The official languages of Brittany are French, Breton and **Gallo**. I’m slightly perplexed as to how I didn’t previously know this. > **[Gallo language | Status](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallo_language#Status)** > > On December 17, 2004, the Regional Council of Brittany officially recognized Breton and Gallo as "the official languages of Brittany, alongside the French language." > One of the metro stations of the Breton capital, Rennes, has bilingual signage in French and Gallo, but generally the Gallo language is not as visibly high-profile as the Breton language, even in its traditional heartland of the Pays Gallo, which includes the two historical capitals of Rennes (Gallo Resnn, Breton Roazhon) and Nantes... I have a Breizhman T-shirt (Breizh = Breton in Breton), which I wouldn’t wear in other parts of France; but it never occurred to me that there were parts of _Brittany_ where it might not be appreciated. > **[T- shirt Breizhman - VETEMENTS ADULTES - COMPTOIR DU CHATEAU](https://www.comptoirduchateau.fr/pr57811/t-shirt-breizhman)** > > Découvrez : T- shirt Breizhman - 22,00 €, livré en 2 jour(s) - Retrouvez notre sélection VETEMENTS ADULTES - COMPTOIR DU CHATEAU j ---
**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 28, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6593 "2023-05-28T20:56:19Z")
“Breizh” is “Brittany,” not “Breton,” which is “Breizhad.” ---
**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:** [May 28, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6594 "2023-05-28T21:09:50Z")
Sorry - I don’t speak a word of Breton. My mistake. j ---
**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 28, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6595 "2023-05-28T21:13:54Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > > [@eschereal](#): > > > > It feels like amnesja vú – I think I have forgotten this before. > > That is wonderful. Let’s see if I can remember it. Sorry, but I must nitpick: the correct term is _amnesia eu_: “I had forgotten this before”, your version would be something like “I have seen this forgotten before”. _Vu_ is from _voire_: to see. _Eu_ is from _avoir_, to have, both nicely irregular. It is pronounced something like **euwgh!** ---
**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 28, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6596 "2023-05-28T21:18:49Z")
But aren’t those feet on the lower part of the birds? Something is off here. But if you insist on [getting stoned](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D42FPc67lks)… you’re not alone. ---
**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 28, 2023, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6597 "2023-05-28T22:36:14Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > [@Yllaria](#): > > > > > [@eschereal](#): > > > > > > It feels like amnesja vú – I think I have forgotten this before. > > > > That is wonderful. Let’s see if I can remember it. > > Sorry, but I must nitpick: the correct term is _amnesia eu_: “I had forgotten this before”, your version would be something like “I have seen this forgotten before”. _Vu_ is from _voire_: to see. _Eu_ is from _avoir_, to have, both nicely irregular. It is pronounced something like **euwgh!** Your nitpick is, however, faulty on a couple of points. In the first place, “amnesia” is not a French word (it is spelled a little differently and probably sounds like something involving having a mouthful of marbles – my ear’s impression of spoken French). But, more importantly, if you look more carefully at what I wrote, the word is “amnesja”, which is most definitely not the French word and also not the English word but clearly a deliberate error meant to evoke the sense of the source expression, rather than an attempt at actual French. Most modern English speakers will recognise it for what it is. I discovered this important human behavior pattern and submitted it to the compilers of the DSM. They responded, “_We’re sorry, but this is not a new discovery. We cannot credit it to you._” “Well, who discovered it?” I asked. “_Well, it was, um, it was, wait, I have it right here. No that’s not it. I know we have a citation, it is just not handy right now. Let me get back to you._” So I waited, and then something came up that I had to deal with. Then something else, and another thing, and another, and before I knew it almost three decades had drifted past. When it finally occurred to me to check back with them, I received an e-mail response that consisted of some emojis and textspeak acronyms (I suspect TWYT must stand for “_that’s what you think_”?), concluding with “_OK, Boomer_”. And these are the people with whom we entrust our mental health. ---
**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 28, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6598 "2023-05-28T22:39:46Z")
**euwgh!** ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6599 "2023-05-29T02:08:57Z")
A substantial part of the ethnic heritage of central Madagascar [comes from Borneo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar#Ethnic_groups). Which means are some point in history they went through the entire Indonesian archipelago and across or around the Indian Ocean. I’ve yet to find out how, when or why! ---
**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:** [May 29, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6600 "2023-05-29T03:17:54Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > But aren’t those feet on the lower part of the birds? Something is off here. But if you insist on [getting stoned](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D42FPc67lks)… you’re not alone. Martlets - Two or three tufts of feathers - Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6601 "2023-05-29T09:05:41Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > A substantial part of the ethnic heritage of central Madagascar [comes from Borneo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar#Ethnic_groups). Malagasy is indeed an [Austronesian language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austronesian_languages), like Malay, Indonesian, Javanese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Tahitian and Maori to name just the most familiar ones. 90% of its vocabulary is Austronesian, with the remaining 10% coming from Sanskrit, Bantu languages from Africa, Arabic, and more recently, English and French. As to how they got there, and in many faraway place, see [Austronesian Expansion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austronesian_peoples#Migration_from_Taiwan). ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6602 "2023-05-29T23:51:45Z")
> [@Moonrise](#): > > As to how they got there, and in many faraway place, see [Austronesian Expansion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austronesian_peoples#Migration_from_Taiwan). I’m well aware of that, but the steps from Taiwan - Philippines - micronesia - and further on are relatively short and understandable. But what makes one group at the eastern end of Indonesia up sticks and move 7,600km over open ocean, or much further around the coasts past numerous other islands and places, to an island that you’d wonder if they even knew existed? ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6603 "2023-05-30T07:43:17Z")
It seems that the Barito ancestors of the Malagasy people were used as slaves on Malay and Javanese merchant fleets. This explains both the close genetic link of Malagasy with the Barito languages, and its many loanwords from Malay and Javanese, which belong to the same family but different subgroups. However, this only pushes the question further back. How did the Malay and Javanese “know” of Madagascar ? My hunch is, they didn’t. They were very accomplished sailors and, from what I’ve read, already had trade connections with India. I guess they sailed along the eastern coast of Africa from there and at one point stumbled upon Madagascar. By the way, the same question applies to the other side of the Austronesian realm. The steps you’ve mentioned, Taiwan =\> the Philippines =\> Indonesia =\> Micronesia, seem reasonable enough. But how did they get to Hawaii, New Zealand, and even more astonishingly Rapa Nui, one of the most isolated places on Earth ? And there’s also the open questions of probable contacts with South America, and the doubtful but intriguing possibility of an Austronesian substratum in Japanese. Fascinating stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6604 "2023-05-30T08:01:49Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > But what makes one group at the eastern end of Indonesia up sticks and move 7,600km over open ocean, or much further around the coasts past numerous other islands and places, to an island that you’d wonder if they even knew existed Maybe it’s simply that all the other places they passed through - India, Sri Lanka, Arabia, continental Africa - were already densely populated, so either they didn’t settle there or settlers were absorbed into the local population without a trace. Madagascar, on the other hand, was uninhabited, so they managed to establish a real presence. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6605 "2023-05-31T00:08:11Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > But what makes one group at the eastern end of Indonesia up sticks and move 7,600km over open ocean, or much further around the coasts past numerous other islands and places, to an island that you’d wonder if they even knew existed? Who’s to say it was only one group of people who tried? It was one group who was successful though. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2023, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6606 "2023-05-31T03:48:04Z")
In 1920, you could get a one year’s subscription to the Brooklyn “Daily Eagle” newspaper for $1.50. That’s less than half a cent an issue, and i assume it was home delivery. (News stand price was 3 cents). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6607 "2023-05-31T17:58:42Z")
Newspapers (and magazines) are funded by advertising, not subscriptions. Advertisers get charged by the number of potential readers who could see their ads. The higher the circulation the higher the rates. Newspapers (and magazines) do everything except give themselves away to drive circulation. If you subscribe to one magazine today you’ll get mailings from dozens of others offering subscriptions for pennies instead of dollars just to be able to claim more readers and scrape in a few extra bucks for whatever advertisers are willing to use a dying medium. Of course, they now use automatic renewal at the full rate to make money out of the inattentive. Circulation wars go back to the earliest penny papers in the mid-19th century. The number of ways they invented to lure readers are impressively ingenious. Comic strips were their best gimmick. They shouldn’t exist at all in a **news** paper but they brought in more readers than any other part of the paper. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6608 "2023-05-31T18:07:43Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If you subscribe to one magazine today you’ll get mailings from dozens of others offering subscriptions for pennies instead of dollars just to be able to claim more readers and scrape in a few extra bucks for whatever advertisers are willing to use a dying medium. This has not been my experience. I get junk mail from the local politicians and car dealerships, but not for magazine subscriptions, despite my existing paper magazine subscription. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6609 "2023-05-31T19:12:07Z")
I’ll borrow a [baler](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=APwXEdd_xXaMTNjpzptg29rHEy245r-TYA:1685560230785&q=baler+farm+equipment&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjtnLaWoaD_AhV-g4kEHWk9DyYQ0pQJegQIDhAB&biw=1408&bih=703&dpr=1.36#imgrc=c-oylhGpQS0Q-M) from some nearby farmer and shoot mine over to you to take advantage of. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6610 "2023-06-01T17:24:30Z")
TIL that [Randall Munroe is fucking insane](https://xkcd.com/1110) (or was, anyway – that appears to be a rather old posting). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=329) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=331)