# 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:** 67
**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:** [February 2, 2021, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1323 "2021-02-02T23:18:00Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Lots of cultures consider the domestic chicken to be a fierce fighter; at least measured pound for pound. At the :50 mark, Chicken Glasses. If chickens see blood they go crazy so they made little red lensed glasses. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aN2ur4nllj0/maxresdefault.jpg "Top 10 Weirdest Things Found on Storage Wars") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN2ur4nllj0) When I was visiting a sister in South Carolina we toured a plantation. One of the chickens grabbed a hen’s egg and ran off with it, only to have the flock pursue. This did not end well for the egg. Natural selection is harsh. > **[A Guide To Understanding The Chicken Pecking Order](https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-guide-to-understanding-the-chicken-pecking-order.64752/)** > > What Is The Pecking Order And Why Is It Important? > > > Being lower in the pecking order than the black chest rooster, the lighter rooster left the hens as soon as the rooster higher in the pecking order... This title was inspired by the name for a dish of chicken and fried eggs at a Chinese restaurant. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/L0BUsDf0dxY/maxresdefault.jpg "Paul Simon - Mother and Child Reunion (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0BUsDf0dxY) [Source](https://www.unmask.us/songwriters-q-s/paul-simon/) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1324 "2021-02-03T04:17:58Z")
Just checked TED-Ed and found that there are squid that fly. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iMq89roPycI/maxresdefault.jpg "These squids can fly... no, really - Robert Siddall") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMq89roPycI) > **[National Geographic Society Newsroom](https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/?redirect=404)** > > Ideas and Insight From National Geographic ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1325 "2021-02-03T04:38:10Z")
Here in the Philippines, cock-fighting is on cable. It’s unusual for an event to last more than 5-6 seconds. ---
**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 3, 2021, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1326 "2021-02-03T13:06:44Z")
You can see how insignificant humanity (by weight) is compared to other living things on Earth. Insects outweigh us by a factor of 17. [Scientists weighed all life on Earth. It’s mind-boggling. - Vox](https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/5/29/17386112/all-life-on-earth-chart-weight-plants-animals-pnas) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1327 "2021-02-03T17:37:58Z")
Kevin Kline and Jonathan Banks (_Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul_) both attended Indiana University in Bloomington at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2021, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1328 "2021-02-04T00:11:00Z")
I can’t help imagining two guys facing off at each other with their pants round their ankles ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1329 "2021-02-04T02:25:40Z")
I finished school in Melbourne in the 80s and have called them snot blocks all my life, I still see them sold as “vanilla slices” all over, no mention of custard or French. They may not be snot blocks to kids today but it wasn’t confined to a small moment or group in the 50s by any means. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2021, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1330 "2021-02-04T06:43:55Z")
> [@Thylacine](#): > > I still see them sold as “vanilla slices” all over, no mention of custard or French If you go somewhere posh, you’ll find something fancier, with a fancier name. The 'French" version typically has flaky pastry and more cream. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2021, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1331 "2021-02-04T09:28:59Z")
I believe you’re referring to the mille-feuille. Here in the UK I’d usually call it a ‘cream slice’. Best eaten with a spoon and fork in a deep dish to try and capture cream-splatter. Goodness knows why they sell them in to-go bakeries, unless it’s part of some scheme to coat the ground in large dollops of cream. ---
**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 4, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1332 "2021-02-04T20:20:09Z")
A healthcare stock analyst, Kevin DeGeeter, at Oppenheimer graduated from Colgate. 🙂 > **[Equity Research | Healthcare | Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.](https://www.oppenheimer.com/corporations-institutions/equities/healthcare.aspx)** > > Our Healthcare equity research is broad in scope and in-depth in content and analysis. In addition to company-specific research, our team publishes sector overviews that seek to identify emerging trends and ways investors can benefit from these... ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1333 "2021-02-05T04:18:57Z")
Well that wouldn’t be a snot block, quite possibly something much filthier but not a snot block 🙂 I checked with my local bakery, they do get orders for snot blocks but mostly from boomers and we almosts ---
**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:** [February 5, 2021, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1334 "2021-02-05T13:05:01Z")
Unless there’s something real different between a snot block and a _mille-feuille_, it seems an inapt nickname. The cream stuff in a _mille-feuille_ is a lot thicker than the gooiest mucus I’ve ever seen. Can any of our Aussies readily find a (preferable Aussie) pic of what they think of as a snot block? For Science! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1335 "2021-02-05T15:36:50Z")
A scene in a book I’m reading takes place at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where many old-time actors are buried. Apparently Mel Blanc’s tombstone says “That’s All, Folks!” I also learned that Carl Switzer, who played Alfalfa in the old “Our Gang” shorts was also a dog trainer and was shot and killed at age 32 in an argument over a friend’s dog. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1336 "2021-02-05T16:47:09Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Mel Blanc’s tombstone says “That’s All, Folks!” [![](https://i.redd.it/2lhsj97nznh21.jpg) ](https://i.redd.it/2lhsj97nznh21.jpg) Yup ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1337 "2021-02-05T17:03:12Z")
The 1925 and 1959 versions of ‘Ben Hur’ never show Jesus’s face. That was a modification in keeping with the tradition of the earlier staged performances, in which Lew Wallace didn’t like the idea of an actor portraying Jesus, so he was depicted simply as a beam of light. The movie versions did show an actor, you never saw the actor’s face. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1338 "2021-02-05T17:49:17Z")
So that’s who Paul McCartney was talking about! ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1339 "2021-02-05T18:07:06Z")
I’ll do even better, here’s a [recipe with pic](https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/old-fashioned-vanilla-slice/103b8a36-613f-40b3-9b7d-c162d238bee5) for a good old Aussie snot block. Googling “snot block” works as well as “vanilla slice” so the loving term doesn’t seem to be dying out after all. I think it is more a textural than appearance based thing. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2021, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1340 "2021-02-05T19:19:03Z")
Cool. Thanks. Looks yummy. So not the classic _mille-feuille_ treatment for the pastry part, but similar for the custard part. These are also a pretty standard snooty dessert item around here. Although other than _petit four_ which they aren’t exactly, I’d be hard pressed to come up with the proper name for them. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1341 "2021-02-05T21:34:25Z")
Galileo took up astronomy at age 45. he died at 77 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1342 "2021-02-05T21:38:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Can any of our Aussies readily find a (preferable Aussie) pic of what they think of as a snot block? My first comment included the observation that the picture in Wikipedia didn’t look like a plain Australian Vanilla Slice. Oddly enough, there is now _no record_ that the Wikipedia article ever had a picture: nothing in the history. I find this barely credible: people spent a lot of time making sure that _almost every_ Wikipedia article had a picture, and I suspect a global cleansing or duplicate article deletion. But it’s possible that I was looking at some _other_ Wikipedia or clone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=66) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=68)