# 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:** 69
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1363 "2021-02-07T04:28:40Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Cash-strapped councils can ill afford to have dedicated snow ploughs standing around for 51 weeks a year, so they look for multi-purpose trucks. Even here in Minnesota, we have few dedicated snow plough (plow) trucks. In the summer, they are used for road repair and other works, and then they are converted in October and November with plows on the front and the grit distributors on the back. It just makes money sense to have multipurpose vehicles. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1364 "2021-02-07T13:30:15Z")
Interesting, but kind of odd that there are no photos or videos. ---
**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 7, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1365 "2021-02-07T13:36:32Z")
I’d like to see a cite for that. Over here, they are all plastic. ---
**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 7, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1366 "2021-02-07T14:35:45Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Interesting, but kind of odd that there are no photos or videos. The wiki on > **[Foraminifera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foraminifera)** > > "Monothalamea" > Tubothalamea > Globothalamea is interesting. Sounds to me like that twitter tidbit is the usual sensational clickbait. Not strictly false, but 99% BS nonetheless. ---
**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 7, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1367 "2021-02-07T14:55:59Z")
This is kinda like the old thumb trick. I didn’t know someone had come up with one of these. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/32kK7lQZSks/maxresdefault.jpg "Coolest guy at the boat ramp") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32kK7lQZSks) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1368 "2021-02-07T16:27:59Z")
Scroll down the thread. Here’s one. > And here’s another: > ---
**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:** [February 7, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1369 "2021-02-07T16:33:05Z")
Sorry, should have been clearer. I wanted to watch it being “the most terrifying predator on earth.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1370 "2021-02-07T17:34:26Z")
Also in the thread. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BYQNt52tiVU/hqdefault.jpg "Orbulina feeding on Artemia") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYQNt52tiVU) ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1371 "2021-02-07T18:56:33Z")
[https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2021/01/30/the-wind-power-boom-set-off-a-scramble-for-balsa-wood-in-ecuador](https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2021/01/30/the-wind-power-boom-set-off-a-scramble-for-balsa-wood-in-ecuador) ---
**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:** [February 7, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1372 "2021-02-07T19:37:21Z")
50 years ago yesterday, Alan Shepard played golf on the moon. A specially constructed 6-iron was quietly prepared for Shepard and smuggled into the Lunar Module. Shepard hit the ball six times and wrote a four on his scorecard. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1373 "2021-02-07T20:29:48Z")
[And you thought the current crop of extremists was bad! Check this out:] “Anti-Japaneseism” was an ideology held in the early 1970s by some left-wing Japanese radicals. It held that the Japanese people were so aggressive that they all had to be eliminated. The radicals planned to take over the South Korean government and, from there, provoke a war with Japan. This was intended to lead to Japan’s defeat and the mass extermination of most of its citizens. > **[Anti-Japaneseism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Japaneseism)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Anti-Japaneseism (反日亡国論, han'nichi-bōkoku-ron) is a radical ideology promoted by a faction of the Japanese New Left that advocates for the destruction of the nation of Japan. The ideology was first conceived by Katsuhisa Oomori, a member of the New Left, in the 1970s. Extending from anti-Japanese sentiments and viewpoints such as the Ainu Revolution Theory, it claims that "the nation called Japan and the entire Japanese race should be extinguished... ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1374 "2021-02-08T01:36:05Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > s interesting. Sounds to me like that twitter tidbit is the usual sensational clickbait. Not strictly false, but 99% BS nonetheless. The magic goes away. > Clubfoot did a strange thing for a man making a speech. He darted over to a boulder, heaved at it and turned it over. Underneath was a blob of grayish jelly two feet across. In his youth the Warlock had killed carnivorous goo the 'size of houses. … By contrast this goo was tiny. It was formless and translucent, with darker organs and vacuoles of food showing within its body. … “There! That’s what I’m talking about!” Clubfoot cried. “The goo are surviving, but look at it. … Do you see how small it’s gotten? … When the world is barren of magic the goo will remain, but they’ll probably be too small to see.” (Larry Niven, 1978) ---
**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 8, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1375 "2021-02-08T14:54:36Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > “Anti-Japaneseism” was an ideology held in the early 1970s by some left-wing Japanese radicals. > > It held that the Japanese people were so aggressive that they all had to be eliminated. > > The radicals planned to take over the South Korean government and, from there, provoke a war with Japan. This was intended to lead to Japan’s defeat and the mass extermination of most of its citizens. Now _that’s_ interesting. I suppose we could posit a similar movement in the USA where the Native American tribes decided to take back _all_ their land, driving the iredeemably genocidal invading White Nation into the sea. Perhaps assisted by the Canadian First Nations doing the same in their historical territories. The nice part about nursing historical grudges is there’s so much history to pick from and so many grudges to nurse. cf. Serbo-Croatia and the Middle East. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1376 "2021-02-08T15:38:23Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Just checked TED-Ed and found that there are squid that fly. I am reminded of Saint Anthony’s Sermon to the Fish. He was not in favor of fish that fly. ---
**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 8, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1377 "2021-02-08T20:11:43Z")
That’s because he was a fish friar. ---
**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 8, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1378 "2021-02-08T21:02:13Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > I am reminded of Saint Anthony’s Sermon to the Fish. He was not in favor of fish that fly. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > That’s because he was a fish friar. Was that a [Monkfish](https://www.umai-aomori.com/products/fish/monkfish/)? 🙂 ---
**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 8, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1379 "2021-02-08T22:46:55Z")
> [@K364](#): > > 50 years ago yesterday, Alan Shepard played golf on the moon. > > A specially constructed 6-iron was quietly prepared for Shepard and smuggled into the Lunar Module. > > Shepard hit the ball six times and wrote a four on his scorecard. And the ball has only just been found: > **[Fifty Years On, Alan Shepard’s Golf Ball Has Been Found On The Moon](https://www.iflscience.com/fifty-years-on-alan-shepards-golf-ball-has-been-found-on-the-moon-58659)** > > Fifty Years On, Alan Shepard’s Golf Ball Has Been Found On The Moon I’ve lost a few balls that’ll probably beat that 50 year record mind you. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1380 "2021-02-09T00:33:11Z")
Ah, you’re thinking of the Chip Monk. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1381 "2021-02-09T00:36:41Z")
I think I saw that goofy truck/powerboat rig on a pizza commercial, and I thought it was just a mockup for the ad. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1382 "2021-02-09T18:58:24Z")
[Can’t believe I am just learning this now!:] Four planets in our solar system – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune – cannot be landed on. The reason is that they have no solid surface. > **[Giant planet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_planet)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The giant planets constitute a diverse type of planet much larger than Earth. They are usually primarily composed of low-boiling-point materials (volatiles), rather than rock or other solid matter, but massive solid planets can also exist. There are four known giant planets in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Many extrasolar giant planets have been identified orbiting other stars. > They are also sometimes called jovian planet... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=68) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=70)