# 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:** 414
**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:** [December 5, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8271 "2023-12-05T17:08:39Z")
That makes much more sense, though I had read what I wrote somewhere a long time ago. I see now it is camelo - pardis, not camel - leo - pardis, thanks for the correction! ---
**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:** [December 5, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8272 "2023-12-05T17:15:43Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I see now it is camelo - pardis, not camel - leo - pardis, thanks for the correction! It’s quite possible you’ve seen “cameleopard” in English, as that was a variant of “camelopard”. English went through a phase of using new spellings to match what they thought were the etymologies of words. A famous example is “island” (that is, “is” + “land”) from the original “eyland” (that is, “egg” + “land”). (Edited to add: we still pronounce the word as if spelled the original “eyland” way.) I don’t think the original Greeks had that problem. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8273 "2023-12-05T17:33:25Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > A famous example is “island” (that is, “is” + “land”) from the original “eyland” (that is, “egg” + “land”). (Edited to add: we still pronounce the word as if spelled the original “eyland” way.) “Eiland” is an obsolete German word that is almost pronounced the same as “island”, except for the ‘a’ sound. It was common until, I estimate, the end of the 19th century, and you still hear it used if someone wants to sound old-timey. The modern word is “Insel”, which I guess is rather related to the French “île” and the Italian “isola”. (“island”, too? And where does the English “isle” figure into?) ---
**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:** [December 5, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8274 "2023-12-05T18:07:30Z")
All coming, I think, from the Latin “insula” meaning island. The Latin prefix paen- meaning ‘almost’ thus a paen-insula is almost an island. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8275 "2023-12-05T18:15:18Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > And where does the English “isle” figure into? English “isle” is from French “ile” (from Latin “insula”), with an added “s” to match the one in “island”. The words are unrelated, but it’s a common error to think they are. And now poking around Wiktionary, it seems I made an error. The “ey” in “eyland” is not the Old English version of “egg”\*, but another word spelled the same. Which is cognate to the German word “Aue” and Latin “aqua”–water. \*Modern English “egg” is actually from the Old Norse word for egg instead of the Old English word for egg. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8276 "2023-12-05T18:18:25Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > All coming, I think, from the Latin “insula” meaning island. The Latin prefix paen- meaning ‘almost’ thus a paen-insula is almost an island. This is also why we insulate things: from a heat transfer perspective, insulating a thing transforms it into an island. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8277 "2023-12-05T18:19:02Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > All the artisans who worked on building India’s Taj Mahal had their hands chopped off by Shah Jahan, the Moslem emperor who ordered it built. He did this allegedly to prevent them from building another structure of comparable beauty. I would like to think that he set them up with a good salary and at least one servant to make up for the loss of hands but I doubt if he did. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8278 "2023-12-05T19:03:14Z")
Falling down a rabbit hole, I learned about “migraine crowns.” Here’s hoping they’re effective in helping a lot of people. I find regular headaches miserable, and I wouldn’t want to experience a migraine. > **[Electronic Headband Prevents Migraines With Tiny Jolts](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/03/13/289787263/electronic-headband-prevents-migraines-with-tiny-jolts)** > > The battery-powered device sends electrical pulses through the skin of the forehead. People who used the headband in a study had fewer migraines and took less headache medicine. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8279 "2023-12-05T23:09:11Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > For some reason the Greeks thought that giraffes were a compound of camels and leopards, I think camels and giraffes have the same gait; moving both left legs forward together, then both right legs, etc. That might be part of the reason for drawing some relationship between the two. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8280 "2023-12-05T23:36:11Z")
And the speed of light divided by a year is just about exactly 1 g. > [@Riemann](#): > > [Cosmic time - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_time) > > And the CMB defines a reference frame that’s better than all the other reference frames… No, the CMB defines a whole bunch of different reference frames. Every location in the Universe would have a different CMB-defined reference frame. And “Cameleopardus, or the Royal Nonesuch” was the creature purportedly depicted by the two con artist in Huckleberry Finn. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8281 "2023-12-06T01:08:04Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > > For some reason the Greeks thought that giraffes were a compound of camels and leopards, > > I think camels and giraffes have the same gait; moving both left legs forward together, then both right legs, etc. That might be part of the reason for drawing some relationship between the two. The Giraffe has a slight hump behind its neck (like a camel), and coloration that is similar to that of a leopard. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2023, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8282 "2023-12-06T05:33:45Z")
I have a couple of friends who use them to good effect ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8283 "2023-12-06T07:07:59Z")
I just read Edgar Allan Poe _may_ have died of rabies. I wonder what bit him? “Quoth the Raven, Nevermore” ---
**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:** [December 6, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8284 "2023-12-06T16:41:20Z")
There are probably more species of parasitic animals than all the other animals taken together. I say probably because we haven’t counted all the animals: we don’t know how many there are. But almost every animal you examine close enough has at least one dedicated parasite. Humans, for instance, have at least three [obligate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obligate_parasite) ectoparasites: the [head louse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_louse), the [body louse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_louse) and the [crab louse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_louse). That is not couting the numerous parasited we share with other animals, like the flea, several mites, all kind of worms, tapeworms, nematodes, etc. etc. There are roughly [5,000 species of lice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_louse#Origins) described, with 4,000 parasitizing birds and an additional 800 special parasites of mammals worldwide. Considering that there are about [10,400 extant species of birds](https://www.britannica.com/animal/bird-animal) lice alone are enough to provide a dedicated parasite for every two species of bird (plus the mites, the fleas… you get the idea). Lice are so attached to their hosts that they can be used to confirm other theories about when [humans and chimpanzees diverged](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3896009/) or when humans first [arrived to America](https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/head-lice-evolution-mirrors-human-migration-and-colonization-in-the-americas/). Parasites can also be used to gauge the health of an entire ecosystem: as many parasites require multiple hosts during their life cycle they will disappear among the first if only one of the hosts in the chain becomes rare. And coming back to the Iberian lynx: when in 2002 there were only 94 left in the world they were all captured to start a [conservation and breeding program](https://www.lynxexsitu.es/index.php?id=ing). They were de-wormed and washed. They will get their worms back, no problem, they get them with the diet. But the lynx lice that were their specific parasite are probably gone for good. They will still occasionally get some lice from other animals, from the rabbits they mostly eat, or from birds. But the lice won’t like it very much and will jump ship as soon as they can. They will still get ticks, though. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8285 "2023-12-06T17:30:54Z")
This is very British so I’ll have to provide some background. [Delia Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delia_Smith) is a National Treasure. She is a writer of cookbooks and presenter of cookery shows, dating back to the 1970s. No gimmicks, no showmanship, she just explains how to cook stuff. We have several of her cook books and use her recipes all the time. Her video taught me how to make marmalade. Her lemon curd recipe is virtually foolproof. _But_, you ask (quite reasonably) _Did the lemon curd recipe get her into The Museum of Modern Art?_ No it did not. But this (created when she was young and unknown) did: > **[Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed cover artwork up for sale](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/nov/22/rolling-stones-let-it-bleed)** > > The surreal picture created by Robert Brownjohn for band's 1969 album is expected to fetch up to £40,000 > As quoted in bassist Bill Wyman’s memoir, _Rolling with the Stones,_ Smith recalled, “I was working then as a jobbing home economist with a food photographer who shot for commercials and magazines. I’d cook anything they needed. One day they said they wanted a cake for a Rolling Stones record cover, it was just another job at the time. They wanted it to be very over-the-top and as gaudy as I could make it.” [MoMA source document](https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2013/09/12/let-them-eat-delias-cake-or-robert-brownjohns-let-it-bleed/). j ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8286 "2023-12-06T19:42:13Z")
This morning I was told that if a couple has two children of the same gender, it is more likely that their third child will also be of that gender. IOW, if you and your spouse have two girls, your third child will probably also be a girl. But I cannot find anything online to prove or disprove this assertion. Has anybody also heard this, or can find research to back it up or shoot it down? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8287 "2023-12-06T20:31:35Z")
No, but Cecil did wax thoroughly about similar odds on choosing another door in Let’s Make A Deal. He refers to your question near the bottom. [https://www.straightdope.com/21342062/on-let-s-make-a-deal-you-pick-door-1-monty-opens-door-2-no-prize-do-you-stay-with-door-1-or-switch-t](https://www.straightdope.com/21342062/on-let-s-make-a-deal-you-pick-door-1-monty-opens-door-2-no-prize-do-you-stay-with-door-1-or-switch-t) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8288 "2023-12-06T21:23:50Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > He refers to your question near the bottom. That actually isn’t my question. I was told that if the first two kids are girls, then if and when the woman again becomes pregnant, the odds are much higher that she will again give birth to a girl. Or if the first two kids are boys, then the odds are much higher that she will again give birth to a boy. Not the question/puzzle that Cecil was discussing. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8289 "2023-12-06T21:31:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Jaguars and lynx are probably the most beautiful big cats. Leopards may compete. Snow Leopards win. Also, the old name for Snow Leopard is Ounce. This odd name derived from Latin, luncea (meaning lynx). Luncea became lonce in Old French, and those old French thought the first letter indicated ‘the’. So it became l’once, which in English became ounce. The word ounce a measure of weight or volume was derived entirely differently, from Latin uncia, one. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8290 "2023-12-06T21:43:30Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > And coming back to the Iberian lynx: when in 2002 there were only 94 left in the world they were all captured to start a [conservation and breeding program](https://www.lynxexsitu.es/index.php?id=ing). They were de-wormed and washed. They will get their worms back, no problem, they get them with the diet. But the lynx lice that were their specific parasite are probably gone for good. They will still occasionally get some lice from other animals, from the rabbits they mostly eat, or from birds. But the lice won’t like it very much and will jump ship as soon as they can. > They will still get ticks, though. That is very interesting about the Lynx and Lice in general. If in fact they did actually get all the lynx I wonder if a now type of lice will quickly adapt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=413) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=415)