# 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:** 34
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/661 "2020-08-17T01:03:18Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Great idea. I’m just gonna sit down and play a Beethoven string quartet now, all by myself. With modern recording technology you sure can put that together. I’d prefer three more musicians but whatever works for you. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/662 "2020-08-17T02:47:52Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Yes, they do, at least in Europe they are still quite common. I have been using them since the 70s and still use them every day. They are recomended for astigmatism, as you say, or for high dioptries. They are also easier to clean and mantain and last longer. They are not really hard, they are a bit flexible but firm. Their diameter is a little bit smaller than the iris but bigger than the pupil, that is what makes it strange that you don’t cry when you handle onions while wearing them (the lenses, not the onions). I wonder what part of the eye is sensible to onion effluvia. I always thought there were no nerves or blood in the part of the eye the lenses cover but the lenses still have an effect. I know this is from a few months ago, but I just saw it. The cornea–the clear “windowpane” covering the iris and pupil, does indeed have nerve endings. In fact, it has several hundred times as many nerve endings as the skin does. The conjunctiva, the part of the eyelid that touches your eye, also has nerve endings. The cornea does not normally have blood vessels in it. Hypoxia, however, can cause nerve vessels to grow into the cornea. The diameter of rigid contact lenses varies. While you’re correct that some rigid lenses are smaller in diameter than the iris, some, such as scleral lenses, are larger. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/663 "2020-08-17T04:29:22Z")
If anyone had actually fallen into a concrete pour they would have gone to great lengths to get the person out since it would have created a weakness in the dam. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/664 "2020-08-17T04:34:33Z")
TIL that Scorpions fluoresce under black light. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/665 "2020-08-17T05:13:33Z")
Salisbury, England has an “Endless Street.” I am sorry to say it is quite short. Still a fine name for a Harry Potter character. 22/7 Endless Street Salisbury ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/666 "2020-08-17T06:08:17Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > TIL that Scorpions fluoresce under black light. So do hornworms, which is handy if something is stripping your tomato plants of all their leaves suddenly. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2020, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/667 "2020-08-17T08:24:58Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > The cornea does not normally have blood vessels in it. Hypoxia, however, can cause nerve vessels to grow into the cornea. Thanks for the information, very interesting. Does your quote mean that if I wear contact lenses and thus reduce the flow of oxygen my cornea gets from the air this cornea will grow more nerve endings? Might it then become more sensitive, for instance to contact lenses (or dryness, or dust, or whatever), making them less comfortable to wear? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/668 "2020-08-17T10:57:47Z")
There was a guy in Pittsburgh who played multiple seasons for the Penquins (hockey) and Pirates (baseball). [Vince Lascheid](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Lascheid) ---
**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:** [August 17, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/669 "2020-08-17T14:09:01Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Scorpions fluoresce under black light. This is a relatively\* recent discovery that I read about in Smithsonian magazine 10-15 years ago. In the article, they said that after they discovered this, they doubled the known number of scorpion species in a year. And found them in areas that no one thought scorpions lived in. \*i.e. in my lifetime ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/670 "2020-08-17T14:32:54Z")
I think we’re back to: 1. COOL! 2. OMGOMGOMGOMG ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/671 "2020-08-17T14:48:56Z")
The original “Big Tex”, the iconic giant who welcomes visitors to the Texas State Fair, began life in 1949 as a [Santa Claus in Kerens TX](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/z-WJ2GMFjkm2gTde602-rHPrw9w=/1660x0/smart/filters:no_upscale()/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-dmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/V3Z4PLIWMPBLKOFBIFUPU6KRHE.jpg). The huge Santa was sold to the State Fair in 1951 for $750, ---
**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:** [August 17, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/672 "2020-08-17T15:07:26Z")
He is very similar to [Paul Bunyan statues](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS890US890&sxsrf=ALeKk00H-OXpWWUFfIkkjr56CjbgOO8TsQ:1597676446235&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=paul+bunyan+statues&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5wKzIwKLrAhXhoHIEHWYWBbcQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1366&bih=625) that were all over the country. Many had a raised arm just like that and in other poses but the arm broke off of most of those over the years. Others were converted to other characters, some locales didn’t like the look of a giant carrying wielding an axe. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/673 "2020-08-17T16:14:15Z")
Oh, crud. That was a typing error. I should have said “Hypoxia can cause BLOOD vessels to grow into the cornea.” So sorry! Contact lenses allow sufficient oxygen to permeate the lens and get to the cornea. They also allow tears to get between the lens and the cornea. In my own case, due to a corneal condition called keratoconus and many surgeries, some contact lenses stuck to my cornea like suction cups and didn’t allow enough oxygen to get to the cornea. As a result, I have blood vessels that grew into the outer rim of the cornea. This, however, is very rare. The number of nerve endings doesn’t change, though it may feel like it if you get an eyelash caught under the contact lens! I’m so sorry for the typo. I don’t know why I didn’t catch it before posting. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/674 "2020-08-17T16:50:46Z")
Don’t worry, thanks for the correction. I was wondering, as I have been wearing lenses for ages (since I was 12, and I am 55 now) and never did have any problems with them nor did I have the impression my eyes were getting more sensitive, that is why I asked. What you say makes perfect sense now, thanks again! ---
**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:** [August 17, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/675 "2020-08-17T19:57:41Z")
During Prohibition there was a neurologial disease called “jake leg” or “jake walk” caused by people drinking Jamaica Ginger Beer purposefully tainted with tricresyl phosphate to fool government tests. It was common enough that songs were written about it in the early 1930’s. That’s not what I find interesting. Despite how widespread it was and a part of American culture, there doesn’t appear to be any film of the effects. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/676 "2020-08-17T20:19:00Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > > [@Sunspace](#): > > > > How the _fmeep_ do you make “Roy” and “Waugh” sound the same? [Patrick Roy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Roy) would have used the French pronunciation of “Roy”, [wa], and while “Waugh” is one of those horrible ambiguous English spellings with a thousand pronunciations, none of them sound like [wa]. Though YouTube seems to indicate that “Waugh” is pronounced like “wa”. So close-ish and kind of rhyming, but not the same. > > When pronounced farther back in the mouth as it is in French, “R” does sound quite a bit like “W”. Years ago, I knew two unrelated families in Northumberland (UK) called Waugh. They (and everyone who knew them) pronounced it “Woff”. This seems to confirm that the usual pronunciation in the North of England is “Woff” (or was in 2005): [https://www.british-genealogy.com/forum/threads/1155-Correct-Pronunciation-of-Names](https://www.british-genealogy.com/forum/threads/1155-Correct-Pronunciation-of-Names) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/677 "2020-08-28T01:36:27Z")
This year’s fly-in at Oshkosh WI in July was canceled. Wikipedia says: > [@](#): > > The show lasts a week, usually beginning on the Monday of the last full week in July. During the gathering, the airport’s control tower, frequency 118.5, is the busiest in the world.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EAA_AirVenture_Oshkosh#cite_note-6) > **[EAA AirVenture Oshkosh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EAA_AirVenture_Oshkosh)** > > EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. The southern part of the show grounds, as well as Camp Scholler, are located in the town of Nekimi and a base for seaplanes on Lake Winnebago is in Black Wolf. > The airshow is arranged by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), an in... By the way, Wittman Field was named for Steve Wittman (1904-1995), who raced and designed planes. His pilot’s certificate was signed by Orville Wright. He died when his plane crashed because a wing failed. > **[Steve Wittman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wittman)** > > Sylvester Joseph "Steve" Wittman (April 5, 1904 – April 27, 1995) was an American air-racer and aircraft engineer. > An illness in Wittman's infancy claimed most of his vision in one eye, which convinced him from an early age that his dream of flying was unattainable. However, he learned how to fly in 1924 in a Standard J-1 and built his first aircraft, the Harley-powered "Hardly Abelson" in late 1924. From 1925 to 1927, he had his own flying service, offering joyrides, and during this time also b... A wonderful read if you’re so inclined: > **[Flying to Oshkosh | Esquire | FEBRUARY 1983](https://classic.esquire.com/article/1983/2/1/flying-to-oshkosh)** > > It's every man's dream: First you build the plane in your basement, then you kick the tires, start the engine, and fly away. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/678 "2020-08-28T02:01:32Z")
Speaking of aviation facts, the [Breda-Zappata B.Z.308](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Breda-Zappata_BZ.308.jpg), the airliner seen in the movie Roman Holiday (that I watched today), was the only one of its kind. It was damaged beyond repair in Mogadishu a year after the film and broken up for scrap. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/679 "2020-08-28T02:23:47Z")
Another aviation fact. As a strange side effect of the drastic downturn in air travel due to the COVID pandemic, at least as of a couple of months ago there were more DC-8s actively flying than A380s. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/680 "2020-08-28T21:09:49Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > one of the London bridges was built around 1830 and was taken apart and moved to Arizona in 1968 and put back together. We went to Lake Havasu City, and saw something about the London Bridge, and drove around looking for it, we crossed over it a couple times before we discovered that we had driven over it a couple times =) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=35)