# 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:** 458
**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:** [March 9, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9151 "2024-03-09T16:37:50Z")
Speaking of Schulz, I found out from [Two Designers Walk Into a Bar](https://www.twodesignerswalkintoabar.com/episodes/episode-63-atlas-vs-art) that he and Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey) are both graduates of [Art Instructions Schools](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Instruction_Schools), who ran all those “Draw Me” ads in comic books and magazines during the mid-20th century. It’s a legitimate organization that existed for over a century until it folded in 2018, because their old school methods couldn’t compete with online training. Some of the _Peanuts_ characters were based on Schultz’ coworkers at Art Instruction Inc. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9152 "2024-03-09T17:11:57Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > “Li’l Folks” or “Charlie Brown And His Friends” as names would have been much more ordinary. I kinda get where Schulz was going with the title “Li’l Folks”. His characters were only children (or peanuts) in appearance and environment. They all had very grown-up personalities, behaviors, and attitudes. His characterization of children was as novel in the 1950s as _South Park_’s was decades later. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9153 "2024-03-09T18:19:53Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > For example: as of today, Mr Brightside by The Killers has spent 399 weeks on the UK top 100 (#70, up from #71). Well, I thought it was interesting. To show how different things were in the old days, The Sound of Music soundtrack album spent 235 weeks … in the UK top 10. All through the 60s. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9154 "2024-03-09T18:53:54Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > In both cases the quality of the product had much more to do with its success than its name. Obviously true. What I was trying to say is that the quality of the products cast a positive light on the names. Starting in the late 1960s, I probably read every Beatles bio there was, until there got to be too many of them, so I knew that the name was inspired by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, but it was still an odd name. Everyone told them at the time that if they were going to use such a strange name, they should at least use the Somebody And The Somethings formula as Buddy Holly had done, as in Long John Silver and the Silver Beatles. John nixed that idea, but they did call themselves the Silver Beatles for a few months. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9155 "2024-03-09T19:02:43Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The Sound of Music soundtrack album spent 235 weeks … in the UK top 10. All through the 60s. Since the record charts were based upon sales at that time, you would think that every British household had 5 copies of the album. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2024, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9156 "2024-03-09T20:00:24Z")
They kept wearing them out. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9157 "2024-03-10T20:35:12Z")
Water, water everywhere: 1. Water makes up 72% of the Earth’s surface. 2. Salt water makes up 96.5% of all that water. 3. Ice makes up for 69% of that remaining 3.5% which is fresh water. 4. Taking the total mass of the Earth, water makes up 0.02%. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9158 "2024-03-10T21:00:19Z")
23% of the Earth’s fresh surface water is in Lake Baikal, and another 21% is in the US Great Lakes. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2024, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9159 "2024-03-10T22:03:16Z")
[![](https://vividmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/worlds-water-1613x2048.jpg) ](https://vividmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/worlds-water-1613x2048.jpg) > [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Taking the total mass of the Earth, water makes up 0.02%. But does that 0.02% also count for the water inside the earth? I understand that there is a lot of water very not on the surface. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9160 "2024-03-10T22:06:48Z")
0.02% by mass looks about consistent with that image you posted (which includes interior water): The water-ball is about a tenth the width of the rock-ball, so 1/1000 the volume, and water is less dense than the Earth as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9161 "2024-03-10T22:30:03Z")
Speaking of which, at least according Wikipedia, the Earth is the densest object in the solar system: [List of Solar System objects by size - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9162 "2024-03-11T06:13:18Z")
1. There has been a recent development in solving the Feynman sprinkler-in-reverse problem. The sprinkler actually did rotate in the reverse direction, but the way the sprinkler was set up introduced [a new factor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM-VWNb5Trk). 2. When viewing a Youtube video with captions turned on, pressing the “-” or the “=” key will change the size of the captions. This isn’t documented on the Youtube help screen or on the [separate page of Youtube keyboard shortcuts](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7631406?hl=en). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9163 "2024-03-11T10:26:55Z")
Thanks eschereal. I found that graphic a few years ago and sent it to a friend that manages water resourses for the county she lives in. > [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Speaking of which, at least according Wikipedia, the Earth is the densest object in the solar system: The population is the densest too. 😉 ---
**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:** [March 11, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9164 "2024-03-11T13:11:42Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The population is the densest too. This is an assumption. There’s no convincing proof. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9165 "2024-03-11T14:51:47Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There’s no convincing proof. There is empirical proof: just talk to them and hear for yourself. And there are lots of them too. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9166 "2024-03-11T15:13:08Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The population is the densest too. 😉 I think you’re guilty of only counting Earthlings. But since you mentioned _density_, we could still be _outnumbered_ by Saturnians but win the competition. Though it wouldn’t take many Plutonians, or citizens of an asteroid (as a kid, I had a friend whose parents were ‘Cerean’, so I assumed they came from Ceres). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9167 "2024-03-11T15:51:27Z")
Well I was talking about our solar system. So by ALL indications, we are the densest, and the most intellegent. Tallest too… ---
**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:** [March 11, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9168 "2024-03-11T15:59:35Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > So by ALL indications, we are the densest, and the most intellegent. As far as we know. I suggest consulting with the dolphins. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9169 "2024-03-11T16:55:21Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > As far as we know. I suggest consulting with the dolphins. So long, and thanks for all the fish. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9170 "2024-03-11T16:59:57Z")
From the Times today, it appears that Calvin Coolidge had a pet raccoon. It was sent to him from a Southern state for dinner. No thanks. It had the run of the White House and he walked it on a leash. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=457) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=459)