# 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:** 78
**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:** [March 2, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1543 "2021-03-02T21:48:48Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > I know, from first-hand experience, that Japanese often put Tabasco sauce onto pizza. Not before baking it, rather, while it’s still in the box waiting to be eaten after delivery. I was amazed. Do you mean instead of regular pizza sauce, or in addition to it? It’s very common to see a bottle of hot sauce as one of the condiments available at a pizza-by-the-slice place in Ontario (in addition to red pepper flakes), so that doesn’t shock me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1544 "2021-03-02T22:15:14Z")
Does no one remember the commercial? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/A-SZ20t4ld8/hqdefault.jpg "Mosquito Sucks Tobasco - 2010 Superbowl Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-SZ20t4ld8) ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1545 "2021-03-02T22:25:04Z")
Hogarth and Silenus, Thank you, I guess it is a “thing” after all and not my hallucination. Red pepper flakes…I knew about that one but hadn’t seen anyone actually put Tabasco onto a pizza on this side of the Pacific. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1546 "2021-03-02T22:30:01Z")
When I visited Kolkata, India the pizza had chili powder on it so liquid hot sauces overseas wouldn’t surprise me. In other pizza-related infotainment: > On May 22, 2010, programmer [Laszlo Hanyecz completed](https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-pizza-day-8-years-later-where-can-you-buy-pizza-with-bitcoin) the first documented commercial Bitcoin purchase, paying 10,000 for two Papa John’s pizzas. Valued at $41 at the time, current market pricing today gives the purchase a $92.5 million price tag. > **[Where Are the Bitcoin Pizza Coins Now?](https://cointelegraph.com/news/where-are-the-bitcoin-pizza-coins-now)** > > Approximately 10 years ago, someone paid 10,000 Bitcoin for two pizzas, but what happened to those coins after the purchase? Coinfirm found out. ---
**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 2, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1547 "2021-03-02T23:02:24Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > > [@Limmin](#): > > > > I know, from first-hand experience, that Japanese often put Tabasco sauce onto pizza. Not before baking it, rather, while it’s still in the box waiting to be eaten after delivery. I was amazed. > > Do you mean instead of regular pizza sauce, or in addition to it? I’ve seen so many college students shake (a lot of) tabasco or siracha sauce onto their pizza that I consider it a common topping. (in addition to sauce, the pizza’s been delivered or picked up) ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1548 "2021-03-02T23:23:19Z")
FWIW my Tabasco-as-surprise-Pizza-sauce story dates from 1992. Things change…maybe this trend migrated to the USA. After all, Japanese restaurants, such as Sushi shops, also became common in USA during the same 1990 - 2020 timeframe. Thank you all, ignorance fought etc. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1549 "2021-03-02T23:24:48Z")
Buffalo chicken pizza is pretty common; I’ve seen it on CiCs’ buffet. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1550 "2021-03-02T23:36:09Z")
Sorry, apologies for my USA-centric posting, especially seeing that Hogarth saw Tabasco as Pizza sauce in Ontario. By “USA” please interpret it to mean “…the West” including NA, SA, EMEA, etc. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1551 "2021-03-03T00:51:36Z")
According to the Extreme Tech website, Mercury is not only the closest planet to Earth, it is the closest planet to _all the other planets in the solar system_. > **[Mercury Is Actually the Closest Planet to Every Other Planet](https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/287809-mercury-is-actually-the-closest-planet-to-every-other-planet)** > > Numerous websites, and even NASA itself, say Venus is our closest planetary neighbor. A new article in Physics Today lays out a more accurate way to determine which planets are closest together. ---
**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 3, 2021, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1552 "2021-03-03T01:03:08Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > This is so outside our (USA) experience of using Tabasco sauce to be nearly incredible. Imagine putting marshmallow fluff onto a steak. Or chocolate sauce onto a caesar salad. Huh? Those are terrible comparisons. I’ve been putting some version of hot sauce on my 3rd slice since the early 80’s. The first 2 slices are topped with garlic powder and red pepper. The 3rd and 4th get a nice slathering of Sriracha (if available). I’ll even add some ghost pepper sauce if in the right mood. And I’m surrounded by the best pizza on this planet. ---
**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 3, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1553 "2021-03-03T01:08:08Z")
This is certainly an interesting fact, but not really shocking when you think about it. My follow up question would be: if the sun was a planet, would it be closer to every other planet, or would it still be Mercury? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1554 "2021-03-03T01:55:43Z")
The default red sauce on pizzas in Singapore tastes only a bit like the default red sauce in Naples or from Domino’s. It tastes more like a default red sauce in Singapore: it’s always got a bit of chili in it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1555 "2021-03-03T02:12:06Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > **Peter Twiss** [OBE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officer_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire), [DSC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Service_Cross_(United_Kingdom)) & [Bar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_bar) (23 July 1921 – 31 August 2011) was a British test pilot who holds the [World Air Speed Record](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_airspeed_record) as the first man to fly a jet aircraft faster than 1,000 [mph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_per_hour) (1,600 [km/h](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometres_per_hour); 870 [kn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knot_(unit))). Piffle. they were breaking speed records regularly back then. My idea of an interesting random fact is a record breaker who went on to play a role in a James Bond movie. that was test pilot Peter Twiss. He operated a boat that was from the same company that built the plane he broke the speed record in. Imagine watching the movie and talking about how great the boat is when they suddenly realize who is operating it. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1556 "2021-03-03T03:06:07Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Brian Epstein. > > … > (who, by the way, is referred to in heaven as The Third Beatle) You mean the Fifth Beatle? 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1557 "2021-03-03T03:21:37Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > According to the Extreme Tech website, Mercury is not only the closest planet to Earth, it is the closest planet to _all the other planets in the solar system_ . I can see their reasoning, but I don’t particularly agree with it. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1558 "2021-03-03T03:28:28Z")
Technically, it’s not their reasoning but that of Tom Stockman, Gabriel Monroe, and Samuel Cordner, who published the article they reference in [Physics Today](https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.3.20190312a/full/). I haven’t been able to find out what their qualifications are, though. ---
**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 3, 2021, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1559 "2021-03-03T03:44:44Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > Brian Epstein. > > > > > … > > > (who, by the way, is referred to in heaven as The Third Beatle) > > You mean the Fifth Beatle? 🤨 THAT’S the joke…! Epstein was called the Fifth Beatle. Now, since there are two Beatles in heaven, he’s nicknamed The Third Beatle. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1560 "2021-03-03T03:48:40Z")
Aw, jeez! ---
**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 3, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1561 "2021-03-03T04:12:18Z")
Epstein passed away in 1967 before all the rest of them. I believe the joke was based on [Murray the K](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_the_K) as the 5th Beatle until he became the 4th in 1980. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1562 "2021-03-03T14:02:44Z")
Are you saying that he wasn’t the first? If so, who was? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=77) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=79)