# 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:** 416
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8311 "2023-12-07T17:28:12Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > 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/). I have also heard that since body lice actually live in _clothing_ we can use their point of divergence from head lice to estimate when humans started wearing clothes. (About 100,000 years ago according to the study I saw). ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8312 "2023-12-07T17:33:28Z")
> [@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’s fascinating! I am sure a new lynx louse will evolve again, much as [Anoles in the Caribbean will recolonize rocky outcroppings and evolve into the same handful of forms.](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/09/losos-lizards-give-evolutionary-clues-in-island-experiments/) how long this takes and how similar the new louse is to the old one will be fascinating to learn. (Is the old louse lost to science now, or were any samples preserved?) ---
**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 7, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8313 "2023-12-07T17:36:01Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > > 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/). > > I have also heard that since body lice actually live in _clothing_ we can use their point of divergence from head lice to estimate when humans started wearing clothes. > > (About 100,000 years ago according to the study I saw).   Similarly, the divergence between head and pubic lice gives us an idea of when our hair density became low enough that those populations became isolated. (Apparently a man is an island (or two), from the point of view of a louse.) ---
**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 7, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8314 "2023-12-07T17:36:11Z")
I read a similar study that attributed that divergence either to clothing or to losing the body hair, so that the populations in the head and the genitals became separated. They speculated that losing body hair and clothing could be correlated. There is no way to know until somebody comes up with a clever idea to find out, and then we know. That is one aspect about those stories I like. ETA: Hey! Cool ninja! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8315 "2023-12-07T17:39:33Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > if you asked for a route from somewhere in Europe to the USA, it gave you road directions up to the European Atlantic coast, with the next instruction: “swim 3000 km through the Atlantic Ocean westwards”. I’ve seen Google do this any time you ask for obviously impossible walking directions like that, but usually it says to kayak IME. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8316 "2023-12-07T17:59:03Z")
moderating: > [@commasense](#): > > > [@Riemann](#): > > > > ( The next step is introducing African lions to Texas to solve their **feral hog** problem. ) > > [emphasis mine] > Is this what we’re calling MAGAts now? Suggesting that MAGAts are inhuman and should all be killed by lions is a bit over the line. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8317 "2023-12-07T18:06:24Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > (Apparently a man is an island (or two), from the point of view of a louse.) Yeah, that’s what I was thinking of with the Anole example - to a louse, the correct sort of animal is like an island in a barren ocean. It’s the only place they can survive for long. ---
**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 7, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8318 "2023-12-07T18:50:10Z")
Allegedly, _Peeping Tom_ was the first slasher film. [Peeping Tom: The 1960 British flop that invented the slasher movie](https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231206-peeping-tom-the-1960-british-flop-that-invented-the-slasher-movie) ---
**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:** [December 7, 2023, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8319 "2023-12-07T19:09:28Z")
Reading about the painting _Washington Crossing the Delaware_, I discovered that the original was destroyed in 1942 by the British in a bombing raid of Bremen, Germany where it had been part of the Kunsthalle Bremen collection since the 1850s. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8320 "2023-12-07T19:23:29Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Allegedly, _Peeping Tom_ was the first slasher film. [Peeping Tom: The 1960 British flop that invented the slasher movie](https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231206-peeping-tom-the-1960-british-flop-that-invented-the-slasher-movie) Almost twenty years before Halloween. Interesting. I just texted my film snob nephew who loves the slasher genre to see if knows about it ---
**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 7, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8321 "2023-12-07T21:18:57Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Similarly, the divergence between head and pubic lice gives us an idea of when our hair density became low enough that those populations became isolated. (Apparently a man is an island (or two), from the point of view of a louse.) I just had this weird mental image of great herds of tiny, little lice migrating south, as it were, to their winter feeding grounds. Ugh, I need to go take a shower. ---
**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 7, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8322 "2023-12-07T21:53:54Z")
I think this is not completely wrong. Neither is taking a shower. 🚿 🛁 ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8323 "2023-12-07T21:57:31Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I just had this weird mental image of great herds of tiny, little lice migrating south, as it were, to their winter feeding grounds. > > Ugh, I need to go take a shower. Humorous as this idea is, body lice live in clothing, not hair. So you should do laundry! ---
**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:** [December 8, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8324 "2023-12-08T20:40:06Z")
Rusty Burrell, Judge Wapner’s bailiff on the People’s Court, was also the bailiff for the Manson Trial. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8325 "2023-12-09T04:49:45Z")
There is no (single) word for “sibling” in French. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8326 "2023-12-09T14:21:18Z")
Erm… _Fratrie_ > **[Fratrie](https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fratrie)** > > « Frère » et « Sœur » redirigent ici. Pour les autres significations, voir Frère (homonymie) et Sœur (homonymie). > Pour l’article ayant un titre homophone, voir Phratrie. > La fratrie désigne l'ensemble des frères et sœurs d'une même famille. > Les frères et sœurs sont des personnes (de sexe, respectivement, masculin et féminin) ayant différents liens familiaux. Ils sont le plus souvent des enfants issus d'un même couple et par extension des enfants ayant un seul parent en commun (pour préciser cet... Completely unrelated: when the BBC first launched its online on-demand iPlayer it had a volume control/indicator that went all the way up to 11. ---
**Author:** ![deltogre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deltogre/32/5041_2.png) [@deltogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltogre)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8327 "2023-12-09T16:15:22Z")
This week on NPR, there was a story about the [Honey Guide](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeyguide), a bird which, when called _in the freaking wild,_ will lead the caller to a beehive full of honey. Caller walks into the forest, makes the call, bird appears, noisily flutters through the trees and, when close to the tree with the hive, perches and shuts up, awaiting a taste of honeycomb once the humans have subdued the bees. And that _wasn’t even the point of the story._ It was ostensibly about a study regarding the different calls employed by different people in different places, and whether the birds would answer non-native calls. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8328 "2023-12-09T17:10:06Z")
“fratrie” doesn’t mean “sibling.” It means “set of siblings.” ---
**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 9, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8329 "2023-12-09T17:31:26Z")
Nor in Spanish. For “I have no siblings” you could either say “no tengo hermanos” which feels like excluding sisters or “no tengo ni hermanos ni hermanas” which sounds over-precise and pedantic. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8330 "2023-12-09T17:56:37Z")
And there is no single word for “aunt or uncle” in English. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=415) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=417)