# 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:** 454
**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:** [February 26, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9071 "2024-02-26T23:03:12Z")
If one could process Venezuelan notes into acceptable toilet paper, you’d come out ahead! ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9072 "2024-02-26T23:16:10Z")
you are not the only one thinking of cheap (free?) raw material for artesanal art: [![](https://www.clarin.com/img/2019/02/21/HwSySt7sS_1256x620__1.jpg) ](https://www.clarin.com/img/2019/02/21/HwSySt7sS_1256x620__1.jpg) [![](https://www.wradio.com.co/resizer/tUz3K5YsNNEGhVljHXNVUD98xfY=/650x488/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisaradioco/YYQAJD42P5DBFNHBFLKJPSX63A.jpg) ](https://www.wradio.com.co/resizer/tUz3K5YsNNEGhVljHXNVUD98xfY=/650x488/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisaradioco/YYQAJD42P5DBFNHBFLKJPSX63A.jpg) [![](https://talcualdigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/bolsobolivar.jpg) ](https://talcualdigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/bolsobolivar.jpg) ---
**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:** [February 26, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9073 "2024-02-26T23:24:21Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > If one could process Venezuelan notes into acceptable toilet paper, you’d come out ahead! I don’t think any processing is necessary. You don’t even have to tear off individual sheets. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9074 "2024-02-26T23:25:51Z")
Even countries with near-worthless currency still manage to print nicer bills than the US. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9075 "2024-02-27T00:06:16Z")
Venezuela removed five zeros from their currency in 2018, and another six zeros in 2021. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2024, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9076 "2024-02-27T02:00:34Z")
It’s like those pictures of Weimar Germany where they papered their wall with Deutschmarks because it was cheaper than wallpaper and your instinct is, “That’s not real.” ---
**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:** [February 27, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9077 "2024-02-27T16:15:03Z")
It’s like the story of the guy who lived in Weimar Germany who had a valuable piece of jewelry. He’d get a loan with it for collateral. A week.later, he’d get a different loan with it, pay off the first loan, and have plenty left over. Rinse and repeat. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9078 "2024-02-27T16:43:28Z")
Who would offer a loan at interest rates less than the prevailing rate of inflation? ---
**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:** [February 27, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9079 "2024-02-27T19:50:00Z")
Remember, the rate of inflation was increasing daily and exponentially. The banks would use the current rate, which was obsolete extremely fast. It was impossible to predict what it would be next week. Also, economists didn’t understand the situation that well at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9080 "2024-02-27T21:51:25Z")
Before she became Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jean was military drone mechanic. > **[Marilyn Monroe's first job was building drones for the Army](https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-movies/marilyn-monroe-built-army-drones/)** > > In 1942, young Norma Jean Dougherty married Jim Dougherty, a Van Nuys, Calif. factory worker. The next year, her husband enlisted in the Merchant Marine and, by 1944, was sent to the Pacific Theater of World War II. Then just 18 years old, Norma Jea… ---
**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:** [February 27, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9081 "2024-02-27T22:26:45Z")
FWIW, the Radioplane OQ-2 drone wasn’t a weapon. It was used for target practice. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9082 "2024-02-27T22:29:18Z")
I’m amazed there were _any_ drones operating in WWII. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9083 "2024-02-27T22:41:30Z")
A drone is a male bee, he has no stinger. That is the reason the name was adopted for remote controlled target practice planes: the unmanned planes had no weapons. No bombs, no guns, no defence. They were good just for practicing shooting them down. Modern drones are a completely different… er… kettle of ~~ghoty~~ fish? Drones (the male bee, not the plane), btw, are called _zánganos_ in [Spanish](https://dle.rae.es/z%C3%A1ngano) and this word denotes a useless, lazy person. Because he does not gather nectar or pollen and cannot feed without assistance from worker bees. His only role is to mate with a maiden queen in nuptial flight. Does not sound so bad from my POV, rather like one of the best jobs in the hive. [Cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_(bee)). ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9084 "2024-02-27T23:33:22Z")
There was a similar joke about always travelling by bus rather than taxi. Because you pay for the bus at the start of the journey so the price doesn’t rise due to inflation during the journey, unlike a taxi fare. ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9085 "2024-02-27T23:33:23Z")
TIL That 40,000 people watched the last episode of Cheers in the Toronto SkyDome ---
**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:** [February 27, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9086 "2024-02-27T23:56:41Z")
I heard it the other way around: You want the taxi, because by the time the fare is collected, the money is worthless. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9087 "2024-02-28T03:48:45Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > ~~ghoty~~ fish It is spelled “ghoti”. This is vital – “ghoty” makes no sense. The source is from words like “ra **ti** on”. There are no words that I can think of where “ty” makes that sound. Besides, “ghoti” looks much weirder. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2024, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9088 "2024-02-28T09:36:14Z")
Admittedly, this one is obvious when you recall that giant steel rods left outdoors expand and contract as the temperature rises and falls. Still, train tracks seem so permanent, don’t they? You’d think the ties (sleepers) were solidly bolted to the earth, and that the rails were solidly affixed to the ties. Neither is strictly true. The ties aren’t bolted to anything; they are kept in place by the weight of the rails and the layer of jagged ballast rock on which they rest. The rails are attached to the ties, but not directly; instead they’re held by clamps that allow some lengthwise motion as the metal expands and contracts. The railroad spikes you hear about are for the clamps, not the rails. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9089 "2024-02-28T13:15:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I heard it the other way around: You want the taxi, because by the time the fare is collected, the money is worthless. In that case - you should pay the ferryman in advance - not when he gets you to the other side. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9090 "2024-02-28T13:42:52Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > In that case - you should pay the ferryman in advance - not when he gets you to the other side. Charon, the ferryman across the Styx in Graeco-Roman myth, clearly exacted his toll in advance – souls that couldn’t pay had to wait on the shores of the Styx forever (later on, they had to wait 100 years). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=453) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=455)