# 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:** 65
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1283 "2021-01-31T13:44:51Z")
Nor that O. Henry was a wanted and later convicted embezzler. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1284 "2021-01-31T14:39:00Z")
I didn’t see that coming. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1285 "2021-01-31T14:55:43Z")
So, the candy bar wasn’t named for the author! [According to legend, the **candy bar** was named after a young man, named **Henry** , who often came to the Williamson factory to flirt with the female workers.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_Henry!) ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1286 "2021-01-31T17:35:52Z")
A surprising fact about a British bird, the Jay. I’ve been caught out by American birds with British names before, so just to be clear the fella I’m talking about is basically [a crow in party clothes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay#/media/File:Garrulus_glandarius_1_Luc_Viatour.jpg). We saw one with an acorn today. I have never really thought about what Jays eat before but - _a crow that eats acorns? Really?_ Well, as it turns out, [very much so](https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/species-focus/jay). > Acorns are the staple food for Jays during the autumn months and individual birds may travel some distance to find a supply. Birds may be seen collecting the acorns, with three or four carried in an adapted gullet and one more held in the bill. The acorns are usually taken away from the immediate vicinity of the oak to be cached elsewhere, typically in a hole that the Jay has made in the ground with its beak. A different type of flying squirrel. Who know? j ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1287 "2021-01-31T17:45:39Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > A surprising fact about a British bird, the Jay. I’ve been caught out by American birds with British names before, so just to be clear the fella I’m talking about is basically [a crow in party clothes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay#/media/File:Garrulus_glandarius_1_Luc_Viatour.jpg). > > We saw one with an acorn today. I have never really thought about what Jays eat before but - _a crow that eats acorns? Really?_ The German name for this bird gives it away: it’s called “Eichelhäher”, literally “acorn jay”. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1288 "2021-01-31T17:46:33Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > a crow that eats acorns? I’ve never tasted an acorn but according to the video below they’re quite bitter due to tannins and they can hurt your stomach. Despite that, members of native tribes used to eat them. The trick: soak them in water to leach out the tannins. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HXovjG9H9V0/hqdefault.jpg "Man, Woman, Wild: How to Make Acorns Edible") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXovjG9H9V0) ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1289 "2021-01-31T17:56:57Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > The German name for this bird gives it away: it’s called “Eichelhäher”, literally “acorn jay”. That’s splendid. I suspect this will be one of those facts I take with me to the grave… j ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1290 "2021-01-31T18:05:31Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I’ve never tasted an acorn but according to the video below they’re quite bitter due to tannins and they can hurt your stomach. Despite that, members of native tribes used to eat them. The trick: soak them in water to leach out the tannins. Acorn consumption is probably more widespread than you think. The Korean dish _dotorimuk_ is delicious. > **[Dotori-muk](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotori-muk)** > > Dotori-muk (Korean: 도토리묵) or acorn jelly is a Korean dish. It is a jelly made from acorn starch. Although "muk" means "jelly", when used without qualifiers, it usually refers to dotori-muk. The practice of making dotori-muk originated in mountainous areas of ancient Korea, when abundant oak trees produced enough acorns each autumn to become a viable source of food. Dotori-muk does not spoil easily, so it was used as a lunch box when traveling a long way. > Despite being a rich source of starch and... ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1291 "2021-01-31T18:16:30Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Acorn consumption is probably more widespread than you think. The Korean dish _dotorimuk_ is delicious. Definitely more widespread; I figured it was zero. I don’t get into Korean markets often but I’ll keep an eye out for that. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1292 "2021-01-31T18:26:01Z")
I was out golfing and an acorn fell, hit the path and bounced quite literally right into my hand. Right there was a squirrel. I said, “Here you go Mr. Squirrel.” and hand-fed him the acorn. That’s my only interesting acorn fact. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1293 "2021-01-31T18:34:53Z")
Last night I learned that Muslims (or anyone who follows a strict no alcohol diet) can’t have baked goods with vanilla extract in it. A couple came in to the bakery looking for a goodie and said they can’t have anything with vanilla extract in it. So we went around reading all of the ingredients for everything till I found them something with no vanilla. They ended up getting a fruit flan and were extremely appreciative that I took their request seriously and helped them. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1294 "2021-01-31T18:51:42Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Definitely more widespread; I figured it was zero. > In World War II, acorns were used to make coffee… [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_substitute) j ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1295 "2021-01-31T20:17:09Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Last night I learned that Muslims (or anyone who follows a strict no alcohol diet) can’t have baked goods with vanilla extract in it. IIRC, the advice from the Prophet was “if a gallon will intoxicate, then a single drop is forbidden”. And I knew that humans in some times and places have eaten acorns, but I don’t think it’s ever a staple, usually more like starvation food. Or occasionally a starvation food that became traditional among the survivors. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1296 "2021-01-31T21:51:04Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Last night I learned that Muslims (or anyone who follows a strict no alcohol diet) can’t have baked goods with vanilla extract in it There’s a difference between ‘strict’ and ‘ritualistic’, and the Muslims I know personally follow the ‘strict’ line, not the ‘ritualistic’ line. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1297 "2021-01-31T22:59:49Z")
Not quite stumbled since I went to look up my facts deliberately, but it was triggered by stumbling on the post just above mine: > [@Is there really a Planet 9 out there in the Kuiper Belt?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-planet-9-out-there-in-the-kuiper-belt/931771/75): > > Cool find! So Earth gravity is adding 25% to Earth’s density (4.4 → 5.5). To my non-expert intuition that’s a gigantically big multiplier when you consider how incompressible most of Earth’s materials are. And that some of the stiffest densest stuff is where the pressures are greatest. Which raises an interesting thought … Earth’s gravity is highest at the surface and decreases as you go down towards the center whereat gravity is zero. The pressure goes up monotonically as you descend beca… ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1298 "2021-02-01T03:00:14Z")
Watching the Classic Albums 'Making of Dark Side of the Moon" and Roger Waters looks and sounds like an older version of Eddie Redmayne. Ok so it’s not a fact but it is true. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1299 "2021-02-01T12:27:36Z")
Two iconic British musical compositions were first performed in Dublin, Ireland: The Messiah oratorio, and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. ---
**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 1, 2021, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1300 "2021-02-01T14:01:11Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > So, the candy bar wasn’t named for the author! I believe that as much as I believe that the candy bar Baby Ruth wasn’t named after the ball player Babe Ruth, or that Yogi Bear wasn’t named after Yogi Berra. Or that Skippy peanut butter wasn’t named after the comic strip “Skippy”. Which is to say, not at all. People will say anything to avoid having to pay royalties. I mean, “Yogi Bear” wasn’t named after “Yogi Berra”? Really? How many other things sound even _close_ to “Yogi Berra”? ---
**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:** [February 1, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1301 "2021-02-01T14:23:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > The German name for this bird gives it away: it’s called “Eichelhäher”, literally “acorn jay”. This morning Mrs Trep shouted downstairs to me: The jay’s back! Me: Where? Mrs Trep: Outside the back door, to the right. Me: Oh yes. The German’s Eichelhäher. Mrs Trep: …_What??_ Me: The German name for them - Eichelhäher. Means acorn jay. Mrs Trep: _…Uh…right…_ I didn’t tell her how I knew. If you ask me, it’s these small moments of mental cruelty that make a marriage work. j ---
**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:** [February 2, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1302 "2021-02-02T00:21:33Z")
Glad to have given a modest contribution to the health of your marriage 😉. Really, I laugehd 😁. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=64) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=66)