# 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:** 335
**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:** [June 13, 2023, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6691 "2023-06-13T14:23:15Z")
[There may be more than a million undiscovered shipwrecks out there.](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230609-how-many-shipwrecks-are-there-in-the-worlds-oceans) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6692 "2023-06-13T17:58:19Z")
Fascinating. The first thing in my head as I started to read the article was the Antikythera mechanism, which it mentions at the beginning. What it doesn’t mention is that the relevance of the mechanism wasn’t discovered until much later. A few years after its retrieval in 1901, someone realized it contained a bronze gear, but it wasn’t until the 1950s and later in 1970s that scientists began to realize what they had on their hands. Sorry for getting off-topic, I just think the delay is almost as interesting as the discovery itself. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6693 "2023-06-13T18:57:01Z")
I was thinking of starting a thread on whether there are any famous shipwrecks that still haven’t been located. Titanic was found, obviously. Endurance, Yorktown, Gus Grissom’s Mercury capsule; what’s still left under the ocean that I may have heard of, but hasn’t been found and photographed? ---
**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:** [June 13, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6694 "2023-06-13T19:32:23Z")
The most famous is probably the _Santa Maria_ but Columbus had time to strip her clean (and build a fort with her timbers) after she ran aground on a sandbar so there likely isn’t much left to find. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6695 "2023-06-13T19:59:28Z")
They know where Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge is. I believe the HMS Endeavor may be buried under the mud in Narragansett Bay. The ship was commanded by a guy named Lt, Cook who later got promoted to captain. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6696 "2023-06-13T20:00:42Z")
Both the _HMS Beagle_ and the _HMS Endeavor_ remain undiscovered (or, perhaps more accurately, have been lost), although neither one likely still exists today. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6697 "2023-06-14T01:34:24Z")
Wooden shipwrecks fall apart very quickly once the shipworms get to them. Those that have survived intact are usually where temperature or salinity are too much for the worms (actually mollusks). ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6698 "2023-06-14T01:55:46Z")
I saw a YouTube video where someone was actually harvesting shipworm that were infesting tidal mangrove trees and cooking them like oysters. Kinda’ nauseating if you ask me. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6699 "2023-06-14T12:31:04Z")
Shipworms or [woodworms](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8O70op1D-4&ab_channel=GreatBigStory) because I’ve seen the latter. Or are they actually the same depending if they are in the wood of a ship or the wood of a tree? And are they really that different than geoduck? Both are in the order Myida. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6700 "2023-06-14T14:01:08Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@ftg](#): > > > > which is down to one store now called “Chad’s” > > Chad’s is a just a few miles away from me near the wharf in Santa Barbara. Chad is the grandson of the Sam in Sam-Bo. The original building and sign is still there but it’s more of an upscale breakfast place now and not like its diner origins. Do they still offer a cup of coffee for a nickel? ---
**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:** [June 15, 2023, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6701 "2023-06-15T08:06:04Z")
[As Slow as Possible](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Slow_as_Possible) is a musical piece by John Cage and the subject of one of the longest-lasting musical performances yet undertaken. An organ in St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt in 2001 began a performance that is due to end in 2640. The next note will be played on February 5, 2024. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6702 "2023-06-15T08:33:33Z")
So, six hundred years from now, will people be walking out of the church humming the tune? ---
**Author:** ![kwintenstraler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kwintenstraler/32/10698_2.png) [@kwintenstraler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwintenstraler)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6703 "2023-06-15T10:09:22Z")
The organ in Halberstadt was specifically built for this performance ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6704 "2023-06-15T11:04:55Z")
Firemen can write tickets just like police. One of those things I never thought about, but it makes sense. I don’t know the details or limitations, but found this out while working as a band parent at my kids’ high school. One of the guys who traveled with me (pulling a band trailer) was a fireman. I don’t know his exact title, but was somewhere in the officer hierarchy of the city fire department. For access/path reasons, he’d decided to demarcate a parking lot such that buses, trailers, etc. were near the stadium entrance, and private cars further out. Bubba decided his pickup could go wherever he wanted, and that he didn’t have to follow the directions of a mere fireman. Turned out they _do_ have legal authority in crowd/flow situations just like the police, and not only can write a parking ticket, they can have your vehicle towed to the impound lot. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6705 "2023-06-15T11:36:09Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Firemen can write tickets just like police. One of those things I never thought about, but it makes sense. heh. - Burnt popcorn in office building. Check. - Evacuation. Check. - Fire department comes. Check. It was about 15 minutes before closing. One woman could see her purse sitting on her desk through a window. To enter the building and get it would be about 10 paces. She asks a fireman if she can get it and just go home. Nope. She defies him and gets it. And gets a ticket. I get it I do, but I think the fireman was being a bit of a dick. He could see the purse too. It was right there. He could have gone an gotten it for her. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6706 "2023-06-15T13:49:11Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Firemen can write tickets just like police. One of those things I never thought about, but it makes sense. Also park rangers and Fish and Game wardens which also makes sense for similar reasons. I think probation officers too since they carry a badge but I doubt that that happens much. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6707 "2023-06-15T14:09:16Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I think probation officers too since they carry a badge but I doubt that that happens much. Around here, probation officers are fully-fledged sheriff’s deputies. In fact, local probation officers commonly work crowd-control detail, parking lot/traffic for special events, guarding prisoners in hospital rooms, and more. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6708 "2023-06-15T21:48:14Z")
If 600 years is too short for you, try 1000 years. > **[Overview of Longplayer : Longplayer](https://longplayer.org/about/overview/)** ---
**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 15, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6709 "2023-06-15T23:41:52Z")
Well, John Malkovich wrote and starred in a movie, that imdb describes as a short, which will be in theaters about 92 years from now (a century after it was completed). Its content has been kept secret. So far. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6710 "2023-06-16T00:36:47Z")
And police can give tickets to fire vehicles for blocking roads. Or at least some police claim the right to do so. Here’s an incident from 2012 in New Jersey. > **[NJ police, firefighters go to court over traffic ticket](https://www.police1.com/patrol-issues/articles/nj-police-firefighters-go-to-court-over-traffic-ticket-Iriw0FKAka9SxLhn/)** > > After a firefighter received a ticket for failing to move a fire chief's SUV, the matter is going in front of judge And in 2014 the California Highway Patrol was battling local fire companies about the placement of vehicles on highways. > **[Police Officer Arrests Firefighter At Accident Scene In California](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/02/05/272144424/police-officer-arrests-firefighter-at-accident-scene-in-california)** > > Authorities are still discussing an incident that took place Tuesday night on California's I-805, where a firefighter was arrested by a police officer at the scene of an accident. The reason? They disagreed over where the fire truck should be. I didn’t see how these cases resolved in a quick search. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=334) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=336)