# 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:** 369
**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:** [August 28, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7371 "2023-08-28T00:39:23Z")
The word _rickety_, meaning unstable or physically unsound, is derived from _rickets_, the disease caused by lack of vitamin D and whose symptoms include soft and deformed bones. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7372 "2023-08-28T00:52:12Z")
I always assumed it was the other way around! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7373 "2023-08-28T00:54:04Z")
[https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/JON-CARROLL-3324002.php](https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/JON-CARROLL-3324002.php) ---
**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:** [August 28, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7374 "2023-08-28T01:33:54Z")
Very funny. Although I once attended a Unitarian-Universalist service and I thought it was so christian it made my eyeballs ache from the rolling I gave them. Just as a BTW to the preceding posts, etymonline says rickets was coined in 1630 and rickety followed a half century later. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7375 "2023-08-28T02:31:31Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Reuters news service started with carrier pigeons. Maybe they should go back to the pigeons. [Ineternet Protocol over Avian Carriers (IPoAC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Carriers), or sending flash drives by carrier pigeon, started as a joke. However, when tested in the real world, it has sometimes been found to be faster than transmitting data over the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7376 "2023-08-28T02:44:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Folks sometimes speculate about who the first non-Christian president of the US will be. They need to look back, not forward: Don’t you mean look back to 2017-21? Does anyone here think Trump could under any circumstances be called a Christian? ---
**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:** [August 28, 2023, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7377 "2023-08-28T03:54:45Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > I worked in a film processing ~~factory~~ laboratory 40 years ago, and > their darkroom had cylindrical doors (like [this](https://youtu.be/AZyZ5bWmg14?t=18)). > The workers were all seated (breaking open the film canisters and taping the > films together onto spools) and when they needed to exit, they’d call out > “Coming through !” as they walked to the door. When you started working there, did they turn the lights on so you could see where your desk was, where the chemicals were, etc., or was it darkness from day 1? ---
**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:** [August 28, 2023, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7378 "2023-08-28T09:55:00Z")
I think it was dark as soon as the first person started working … The dark room was solely for breaking open the film cassettes and taping the films together onto spools with a length of clear acetate at the end - no chemicals or anything else, just film cassettes and empty spools. The spools were loaded into cannisters which were lightproof so could then be passed out to the processing area, which was lit normally. The length of acetate which protruded from the cannister would be stapled to the end of the previous spool (gotta be quick !) when that was disappearing into the processing machine so as to have a continuous band of film going through at all times, with clear acetate being use if the next cannister wasn’t ready, or at the end of the day after the last cannister (it was a pain to have to rethread the whole machine !) ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7379 "2023-08-28T10:13:17Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > sending flash drives by carrier pigeon > [snip] > faster than transmitting data I give you a quote from A. Tanenbaum, computer scientist > [@](#): > > Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway Throw a few flash drives in the glovebox and you got something going. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2023, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7380 "2023-08-28T11:52:44Z")
Richard Nixon almost chose Ronald Reagan as his VP. I wonder how that would have changed history? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7381 "2023-08-28T13:18:49Z")
The Soviet Union was notorious for chronic shortages. What’s lesser known was that they were also plagued by surpluses of certain undesired items. So much so that stores would often pair a highly desirable good in short supply with a less desirable good that they had a lot of. For example, if you wanted a can of instant coffee from India (yum!) you’re also required to buy a can of “sea cabbage” or seaweed (ugh!). The Soviet term for this was **нагрузка** (nagruzka). This wasn’t just limited to groceries. In bookstores, for instance, if you wanted a copy of the latest bestseller, you’d also have to buy Comrade Leonid’s biography. If wanted tickets to a soccer match with a top team, you’d also have to get tickets to a third-rate team as **нагрузка**. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7382 "2023-08-28T17:31:00Z")
Francis Spufford noted in his book “Red Plenty “ that some Soviet factories actually produced negative economic value, usually by turning perfectly good cloth into clothing that nobody would willingly wear. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2023, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7383 "2023-08-28T17:53:41Z")
I’m pretty sure that the Soviet command economy produced enormous amounts of negative value throughout. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7384 "2023-08-28T21:47:58Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Don’t you mean look back to 2017-21? Does anyone here think Trump could under any circumstances be called a Christian? He wasn’t the first, though. And isn’t Trinitarianism kind of the defining feature of Christianity? ---
**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:** [August 28, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7385 "2023-08-28T21:53:29Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Half of the cadets in West Point’s first graduating class in 1802 were Jewish. (There were only two cadets in the first class). In a similar vein, Pitcher Orel Hershiser batted 1000 in the 1988 World Series. He was only at bat five times…actually, that’s still pretty damn impressive. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7386 "2023-08-28T22:06:34Z")
In that case, Jehovah’s Witnesses aren’t Christian, either. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7387 "2023-08-28T22:32:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And isn’t Trinitarianism kind of the defining feature of Christianity? Just for fun: > **[List of Christian heresies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_heresies)** > > A heresy is a belief or doctrine that is considered to be false or erroneous by the mainstream Christian church. Heresies have been a major source of division and conflict within the Christian church throughout its history. The church has responded to heresies in a variety of ways, including through theological debate, excommunication, and even violence. The majority of these heresies centered around false ideas about Jesus Christ's nature. The early church councils were convened to address th ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7388 "2023-08-29T02:53:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And isn’t Trinitarianism kind of the defining feature of Christianity? Well, obviously, Unitarians like Adams didn’t think so, and many modern Unitarian-Universalists today don’t, either. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7389 "2023-08-29T04:22:36Z")
Toronto is a town in the Greater Newcastle area, New South Wales, Australia. > **[Toronto, New South Wales](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto,_New_South_Wales)** > > Toronto (/tərɒntoʊ/ (listen)) is a lakeside suburb within the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) from Newcastle's central business district and is a commercial hub for the sprawling suburbs on the western shore of the lake. It is one of the major centres in the City of Lake Macquarie. > The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Awabakal, were the first people of this land. > The area was originally the site of an Aboriginal... Newcastle is a town in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. > **[Newcastle, Ontario](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle,_Ontario)** > > Newcastle is a community in the municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The community inherits the former name of the present-day municipality which it belongs to. > Newcastle is located about 80 km east of Toronto, and about 18 km east of Oshawa and Bowmanville on Highway 401. It is also the southern terminus of Highway 35 and Highway 115. It has been named one of the best small towns in Ontario, by Comfort Life, a website for retirement living in Canada. > Newcastle was inco... (Okay, Newcastle is just barely in the Greater Toronto Area, being on the extreme eastern edge, but you can get there on the GO Bus, so it still works. Also, capitalization is significant in the first two sentences of this post. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7390 "2023-08-29T12:50:39Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Toronto is a town in the Greater Newcastle area, New South Wales, Australia. Apparently named in honour of the rower Ned Hanlon! I remember watching the NFB vignette about him during Saturday morning cartoons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=368) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=370)