# 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:** 53
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1042 "2020-12-09T00:29:36Z")
The hottest temperature ever recorded in Flagstaff Arizona is 36.1c (97F) The hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada’s Yukon Territory is 36.5c (97.7F) ---
**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 9, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1043 "2020-12-09T00:44:11Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Johnny Winter’s _Second Winter_ double album LP has 3 sides of music and one side with **no groove at all.** Also Joe Jackson’s “Big World”. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1044 "2020-12-09T03:04:16Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Also Joe Jackson’s “Big World”. That’s a great album…I’m trying to remember if side 4 has a groove. The center says “There is no music on this side.” I saw him in concert, where he did “Right and Wrong” from that album. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lkzb656WVuQ/hqdefault.jpg "Joe Jackson - Right & Wrong") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkzb656WVuQ) Stop everything I think I hear the president The pied piper of the TV screen Is gonna make it simple… My addition: if you’ve always wanted to play a shovel…well, three strings and a shovel can make a surprising amount of toe-tapping music. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/V9-ltPsbw9g/maxresdefault.jpg "Crankin' Up the 3-String Shovel Guitar!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9-ltPsbw9g) ---
**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:** [December 9, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1045 "2020-12-09T03:13:18Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > KFC chicken has varied in cooking methods over the years, including deep fried, baked, and pressure frying. Last I heard from someone working at one they were mainly pressure frying the chicken, then finishing the extra crispy stuff in an oven. My understanding is that Colonel Sanders patented his pressure-frying technique early on, then went about the country trying to franchise it, carrying his pressure cooker in his car trunk. That’s the story William Poundstone tells in his book **Big Secrets** , and I have no reason to disbelieve it. As far as I know no other method was ever used for their “standard” chicken, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the “extra crispy” used a different formulation, finished off in an over.As far as I know, their based “fried chicken” was never baked or deep fried. Do you know where he sold his first franchise? To Pete Harmon’s Salt Lake City chain of restaurants. Technicaly, it’s in Murray, Utah. I’ve eaten there. Although, judging from the pictures at this site, they’ve added statues and a suit since I was there > **[Murray, UT - Col. Sanders Statue - 1st Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchise](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/24422)** > > Visit reports, news, maps, directions and info on Col. Sanders Statue - 1st Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchise in Murray, Utah. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1046 "2020-12-09T15:24:48Z")
Yesterday I read about a U.S. President who had election results overturned because of Democratic voter fraud. Of course I’m referring to Jimmy Carter. > **[The First Campaign: An excerpt from Jimmy Carter's new memoir, A Full Life -...](https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/the-first-campaign-an-excerpt-from-jimmy-carters-new-memoir-a-full-life/)** > > A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety offers a frank look back at Jimmy Carter’s public and private life. Here, the story of his contentious race for state Senate in 1962. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1047 "2020-12-09T15:52:10Z")
I watched this video, and there was a _lot_ interesting about Colonel Sanders, including being involved in a shootout and working with Dave Thomas (of Wendy’s fame.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gTyfuE1NumM/maxresdefault.jpg "That Time Colonel Sanders Tried to Kill the Competition by Trying to Literally Murder Its Manager") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTyfuE1NumM) ---
**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 9, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1048 "2020-12-09T18:21:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > My understanding is that Colonel Sanders patented his pressure-frying technique early on, then went about the country trying to franchise it, carrying his pressure cooker in his car trunk. That’s the story William Poundstone tells in his book **Big Secrets** , and I have no reason to disbelieve it. As far as I know no other method was ever used for their “standard” chicken, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the “extra crispy” used a different formulation, finished off in an over.As far as I know, their based “fried chicken” was never baked or deep fried. I worked at a KFC in college. For the “Original recipe” chicken, you’d dip the pieces in water and then dredge them in the flour/spice mix before putting them on wire racks, which then went into a truly massive pressure cooker. It was big enough to hold 20 “head” of chicken, one “head” being the wings/ribs/thighs/legs/keel from a single bird, and the whole cooking process was automated: once you had the wire racks loaded onto hangers in the cooker, you pushed the start button, and it lowered the racks/lid into the vat, and some time later would vent the pressure and raise the finished product for unloading. The “Extra Crispy” was a different flour/spice blend, but the extra-crispy aspect was due primarily to double-dredging: dip the pieces in water, dredge them in the flour, then dip/dredge them a second time to add another layer of flour. My recollection is that these were cooked in an open-air deep fryer, not a pressure cooker. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1049 "2020-12-10T04:20:50Z")
In Japan, you can get wine with that special Christmas dinner. But wait, Christmas? They’re not even very Christian? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/46JaN2NZoks/maxresdefault.jpg "How KFC Became a Christmas Tradition in Japan - Cheddar Examines") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46JaN2NZoks) A long time ago ISTR reading somethig about an American visiting Japan at Christmas time and seeing a store display that had Santa…nailed to a cross. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1050 "2020-12-10T05:14:42Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > a mole of any gas is always 22.4 liters in volume at standard temperature and pressure…it always freaks me out when I remember it. Every single gas? 22.4 liters? I mean, I appreciate the convenience but how are they all the same? Why not 27.1 or 14.6? > [@Chronos](#): > > The reason for that is because the volume of a gas is almost not at all due to the volume of the molecules themselves, but rather due to the way the molecules bounce off of their container and each other. Which depends only on pressure, temperature, and the number of the things doing the bouncing. What Chronos says is correct, but I think you need more to understand what’s going on. The reason that the size of the molecules doesn’t matter is that gas temperature is the average kinetic energy of the molecules. Kinetic energy is a function of both mass and speed. So at a given temperature, larger (more massive) molecules are moving more slowly. At a given temperature, hydrogen molecules are moving much faster than oxygen molecules. So now for 1 mole of various gases, fix the volume (rigid container), set the temperature, and ask what pressure they exert? Well, the pressure is a result of molecules striking the sides of the container. So pressure is a function of the number of molecules per given volume and the kinetic energy of each strike. We have the same number of molecules in each case (1 mole), and we have set the volume to be the same; and by setting the temperature we have also ensured that the average kinetic energy of each strike is the same for all gases. So essentially the part that you’re missing is that under identical conditions of P/V/T, larger molecular size is offset by slower average molecular speed. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1051 "2020-12-10T07:14:19Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > When the jackpot got high enough, Australians had a syndicate to buy every combination of lottery tickets in Virginia. At that time, you had to pick 6 of (only) 44 numbers correctly to win…that meant 7 million -ish to buy. > > They had computers printing the tickets. They’d take stacks of slips to places that sold tickets and just monopolize the lines. And they knew that if there were multiple winners they’d have to share. Spend $7M to win $27M, and even if there were 2 other winners you’d get $9M? Sure, why not? > > [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/us/group-invests-5-million-to-hedge-bets-in-lottery.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm](https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/us/group-invests-5-million-to-hedge-bets-in-lottery.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm) Voltaire is said to have taken advantage of such a beatable lottery when he was still Francois Marie Arouet. His winnings enabled him to become a professional philosopher. I don’t myself have the leisure to read the whole story, but [here it is](https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/luck/voltaires-luck#:~:text=By%20the%20time%20d'Argenson,all%20to%20a%20lottery%20win.&text=The%20lottery%20craze%20began%20in,pounds%20for%20the%20country's%20treasury) for anyone who does. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1052 "2020-12-11T00:32:30Z")
If you have ever embarrassed yourself by saying “asterick” or “asterix”, here’s a mnemonic (memory aid) for you. “I only regret that I have but one _ass to risk_ for my country.” ---
**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:** [December 11, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1053 "2020-12-11T12:50:23Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > If you have ever embarrassed yourself by saying “asterick” or “asterix”, here’s a mnemonic (memory aid) for you. “I only regret that I have but one _ass to risk_ for my country.” You’ve obviously never encountered the poem > [@](#): > > Mary had a pair of skates > > And on the ice she’d frisk > > Wasn’t she a silly girl > > Her little \* There are other variations. But easier to remember. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1054 "2020-12-11T13:18:00Z")
I love this, but I think it might be improvable - does this work? Mary kicked her baby mule, She bet it wouldn’t frisk, Wasn’t she a silly fool, Her little \*. ---
**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 11, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1055 "2020-12-11T14:10:15Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > A long time ago ISTR reading somethig about an American visiting Japan at Christmas time and seeing a store display that had Santa…nailed to a cross. I’d think the Japanese made it look as cute as possible. ---
**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 11, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1056 "2020-12-11T14:44:05Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > A long time ago ISTR reading somethig about an American visiting Japan at Christmas time and seeing a store display that had Santa…nailed to a cross. **[Snopes is calling this an unsubstantiated legend.](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/santa-cross/)** ---
**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:** [December 11, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1057 "2020-12-11T14:50:20Z")
10 Downing Street is NOT the residence of the Prime Minister. It is actually the residence of the First Lord of the Treasury. It just so happens that the First Lord of the Treasury is almost always the Prime Minister. The residence of the Prime Minister is [Chequers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chequers). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1058 "2020-12-11T18:00:38Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > In Japan, you can get wine with that special Christmas dinner. But wait, Christmas? They’re not even very Christian? > [Link to youtube “How KFC Becasme a Christmas Tradition in Japan” removed by @LSLGuy] Sort of like how the Jewish folks go out for Chinese on Christmas in the USA which later became a common Christmas tradition with at least some non-Jewish Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1059 "2020-12-11T21:27:21Z")
While talking about nuclear topics in another thread, I learned that [Carl Brashear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Brashear), the US Navy Diver that secured one of the lost [Palomares](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Palomares_B-52_crash) bombs, is the great-uncle of now-retired NHL player [Donald Brashear.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Brashear). Tripler Hockey and nukes? Betcha didn’t think that was coming. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1060 "2020-12-11T23:04:00Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > **[Snopes is calling this an unsubstantiated legend.](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/santa-cross/)** “A long time ago” = possibly in a dead tree book, but snopes is a good enough source for me. Ignorace fought, thanks. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Sort of like how the Jewish folks go out for Chinese on Christmas in the USA which later became a common Christmas tradition with at least some non-Jewish Americans. Morgan Spurlock did an episode of his series “30 Days” where the guest “subject” went to India and many of them were working in call centers, i.e. telemarketing. India is about 12 hours our of sync with middle America so they’d be up at weird hours calling us, sleeping during their daytime. I recall these workers got Christmas vacation—because Americans don’t like being bothered during the holiday season. My contribution: Morgan Spurlock is probably best known for Super Size Me. Did you know he made a Super Size Me 2? If you have Amazon prime, it’s free. He talks about raising chickens and opening a fast food style restaurant. In one scene, he goes to check on the chickens in the morning and he finds a few dead ones. What doest that mean? The chicken got so big it had a heart attack or other fatal outcome. It also meant he was raising them “right,” feeding them that much, making the biggest birds possible (with some collateral damage along the way, so to speak). Highly recommended—I stumbled across it in prime. Question: Why wasn’t there more hoopla when it came out? At the [2017 Toronto International Film Festival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Toronto_International_Film_Festival), where it premiered on September 8, 2017, the film was second runner-up for the [People’s Choice Award for Documentaries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_International_Film_Festival_People%27s_Choice_Award:_Documentaries).[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me_2:_Holy_Chicken!#cite_note-4)[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me_2:_Holy_Chicken!#cite_note-variety-2) Following its premiere, [YouTube](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube) announced they had purchased distribution rights to the film to stream on [YouTube Red](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube_Premium) for $3.5 million.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me_2:_Holy_Chicken!#cite_note-5) In December 2017, YouTube Red temporarily dropped the film after Spurlock admitted to previous instances of sexual misconduct and harassment.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me_2:_Holy_Chicken!#cite_note-hollywoodreporter-6) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1061 "2020-12-12T11:38:10Z")
The presidential library of U. S. Grant is at the Mississippi State University at Starkville. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=52) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=54)