# 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:** 382
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7631 "2023-10-01T10:49:04Z")
Nightmare time. I feel sorry for the bears. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2023, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7632 "2023-10-01T11:02:40Z")
NIghtmare time? Wait until they start mating with each other!!! šŸ˜² ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7633 "2023-10-01T14:19:23Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > The rectangle pizza slices that fit perfectly onto the lunch tray Pizza chains rue the inefficiency of baking round pies. Iā€™ve wondered if they could bake rectangular pizzas in a tray with scalloped edges such that the pizza could then be cut into wedges and rearranged as a ā€œpieā€. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7634 "2023-10-01T14:22:14Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > TIL I learned about the longest piano in the world, the Alexander Piano, 18 feet, 9 inches (5.715 meters), built by a young man in New Zealand starting when he was 16 and completed when he was 20. > > You can watch some videos of it, played by professionals, at the official site. To get the best idea of its sound, especially the amazing bass, use headphones or a full stereo system. There are at least a couple of reasons for the better sound of long strings. First, you can achieve louder volume without the pitch running sharp. When the lateral deflection of the string is a significant percentage of the stringā€™s length, the tension (at max deflection) increases, resulting in pitch increase. For a longer string, the same lateral deflection (same volume) is a lesser percentage of the stringā€™s length, so you get less pitch distortion. The second reason is reduced inharmonicity: > **[Inharmonicity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inharmonicity)** > > In music, inharmonicity is the degree to which the frequencies of overtones (also known as partials or partial tones) depart from whole multiples of the fundamental frequency (harmonic series). > Acoustically, a note perceived to have a single distinct pitch in fact contains a variety of additional overtones. Many percussion instruments, such as cymbals, tam-tams, and chimes, create complex and inharmonic sounds. > Music harmony and intonation depends strongly on the harmonicity of tones. An ideal... The largest **upright** piano Iā€™m aware of is the Klavins M450, so named because itā€™s 4.5 meters tall. It requires stairs or a ladder to reach the keyboard. And yes, the sound, especially from the bass strings, is incredible. Hereā€™s a video, cued to the start of a 40-second demo by its creator, David Klavins: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/X71PY_5XwZ4/maxresdefault.jpg "What a 15-Foot-Tall Piano Sounds Like") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X71PY_5XwZ4&t=181) ---
**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:** [October 1, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7635 "2023-10-01T22:14:21Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The second reason is reduced inharmonicity: I suspect that thatā€™s fundamentally the same effect as your first reason. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2023, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7636 "2023-10-02T10:20:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I suspect that thatā€™s fundamentally the same effect as your first reason. Donā€™t think so. The first effect is fundamental pitch increase due to increased string tension, and only happens at lateral string deflections that are large enough (relative to string length) to significantly increase the length of the string (which in turn increases string tension). The second effect is a deviation of harmonic frequencies from integer multiples of the fundamental. This happens regardless of string deflection amplitude, and is due to the bending resistance of the string. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7637 "2023-10-02T13:33:59Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The largest **upright** piano Iā€™m aware of is the Klavins M450, so named because itā€™s 4.5 meters tall. It requires stairs or a ladder to reach the keyboard. To me, it looks like they built it upside down. Why have the strings descend from the keyboard instead of ascend? ---
**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:** [October 2, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7638 "2023-10-02T13:58:58Z")
It was built in Whosville? ---
**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:** [October 2, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7639 "2023-10-02T15:12:46Z")
In reading the Wikipedia page about **[wasabi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasabi)**, I was amused to learn this interesting random fact: > Inhaling or sniffing wasabi vapor has an effect like smelling salts, a property exploited by researchers attempting to create a smoke alarm for the deaf. One deaf subject participating in a test of the prototype awoke within 10 seconds of wasabi vapour sprayed into his sleeping chamber. The 2011 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the researchers for determining the ideal density of airborne wasabi to wake people in the event of an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7640 "2023-10-02T16:00:14Z")
ā€œI had the strangest dream - I was trapped in a Sushi Bar and it was getting hotter and hotterā€ ---
**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:** [October 2, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7641 "2023-10-02T16:06:37Z")
Anyone who ever mixed up wasabi from powder and got a whiff of it would not be surprised. That stuff is usually just ordinary dried horseradish with some green dye but likely would work just as well. A powder spray near a sleeping person would probably do the job, ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7642 "2023-10-02T17:22:24Z")
ā€œA typical 21-gram African swallow (a South African cliff swallow, in particular) travelling at galactic speeds would have an energy of 420 million Joules, which is approximately the impact energy of an adult [bull sperm whale](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale) (40 tons) plummeting off Canadaā€™s [Mount Thor](http://www.summitpost.org/thor-peak/152337), the tallest vertical cliff in the world (1,250 meters).ā€ This tidbit and other fascinating/useless facts about mass, velocity, and energy. A good humorous read. [On meteors, TNT, swallows, and the end of the world - Scientific American Blog Network](https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/on-meteors-tnt-swallows-and-the-end-of-the-world/) ---
**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:** [October 2, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7643 "2023-10-02T17:50:40Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > ā€œA typical 21-gram African swallow (a South African cliff swallow, in particular) travelling at galactic speeds would have an energy of 420 million Joules, But an African swallow is not migratory. ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7644 "2023-10-02T18:11:01Z")
Can the swallow carry a coconut at that speed? And is the whale accompanied by a bowl of petunias? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7645 "2023-10-02T19:15:22Z")
> [@superwombat](#): > > Can the swallow carry a coconut at that speed? The article actually addresses that: > [@Scientific American](#): > > Carrying a typical five-pound coconut, it would instead have an energy of about 45 billion Joules ---
**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:** [October 2, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7646 "2023-10-02T20:08:31Z")
Yes, it a scandal. A Nazi-era law (1935) against people without a permanent residence and poor (that meant: gypsies and ā€œunsocial elementsā€) that politicians have pledged to revoque over and over since forever, and never have come round to do. The fact that keeping those people in jail costs a lot more than the transport fares they skipped just adds insult to injury. It is a fucking disgrace (and yes: I regularly give to that organisation, it is money well spent. And yes, it is tax deductible, by virtue of which the state acknowledges that it is better for society not to spend 200 ā‚¬ per day for the inmates that are unjustly kept behind bars for not paying the 4 ā‚¬ fare.) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2023, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7647 "2023-10-03T07:28:57Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Twin City metro here: we are already a minute shorter than even keel on the sunlight. Weā€™re at about same latitude. The shortening of the days certainly happens fast this time of year. Three minutes a day doesnā€™t seem like much on a daily basis but you certainly notice it over a week or two. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2023, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7648 "2023-10-03T07:51:21Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > You know, Brinks trucks donā€™t have to be boxy and have flat windows. That used to be required, to use bulletproof glass. Not anymore though. But I guess they do it now in order to warn the robbers. Somehow I canā€™t help but think that Brinks trucks must be mostly full of pennies and nickels. Stores have to provide correct change to their cash customers, obviously. But collectively, I canā€™t imagine that cash customers are spending as much small change as they get with their purchases. So the retailers need a constant stream of coins from the bank. Would it be worth stealing a truckful of small change? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2023, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7649 "2023-10-03T11:27:18Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Would it be worth stealing a truckful of small change? It would for this guy > **[Cheapo](https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Cheapo)** > > Cheapo is a recurring antagonist in the superhero adult animated comedy seriesĀ Stripperella. He is a thief who works with henchmen to commit robberies with as few resources as possible. He appears in two episodes. He was voiced by Jon Lovitz,... > [@](#): > > ### Goals > > Rob the 89 Cent Store. > > Steal a copious amount of pennies. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2023, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7650 "2023-10-03T12:22:23Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Would it be worth stealing a truckful of small change? There is one armored truck that I sometimes see that has duel rear axles. Like you would see on a tandem dump truck. I figure Itā€™s got to be coins. Or maybe it has some very, very serious and heavy armor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=381) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=383)