# 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:** 82
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1623 "2021-03-15T03:18:08Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > According to Wikipedia: “Statuesque women in the South are called _stallions_ ”. As a lifelong resident of the South, I’ve never heard “stallions” used to describe anything female. At least, not in a nice way. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1624 "2021-03-15T03:21:06Z")
I found this factoid when I wondered (how bored was I?) how Megan Thee Stallion got her idiotic name. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1625 "2021-03-15T05:17:44Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > According to Wikipedia: “Statuesque women in the South are called _stallions_ ” I wonder if they’re ever called it twice. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1626 "2021-03-15T06:01:10Z")
And what are statuesque men called? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1627 "2021-03-15T08:46:12Z")
Today I stumbled across an article about the Victual Brothers. They were hired as blockade runners to supply Stockholm when it was being besieged by the Danes in 1392. Their name came from this first duty. But they also warred as privateers against the Danes and their allies in the Baltic Sea. Later they branched out into outright piracy, shutting down trade and conquering the island of Gotland to set up a headquarters there. Not bad for a bunch who sound like they came from a Monty Python skit… > **[Victual Brothers](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victual_Brothers)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Victual Brothers, Vitalien Brothers or Vitalian Brethren (German: Vitalienbrüder,: 146  Norwegian: Vitaliebrødrene) were a loosely organized guild of 14th century Germanic privateers that initially included Mecklenburg nobility, but that later became more thoroughly the efforts of commoners, and turned to outright piracy.: 146ff \[better source needed\] The guild had a clear historical effect in that era on maritime trade in the North and Baltic... ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1628 "2021-03-15T09:50:41Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Look at the shape of that Carl’s guitar. I’ve never seen one like that. I heard he could play it just like ringing a bell… ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1629 "2021-03-15T13:03:23Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > ETA: _Missississippippi_ - am I being whooshed here? “I know how to spell Mississippi, I just don’t know when to stop.” ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1630 "2021-03-15T13:37:35Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > St Louis Min Altitude 117 m; latitude 37.5; Earth’s radius 6770 km > New Orleans Altitude 0 m; latitude 30; Earth’s radius 6773 km As a native son of Minnesota, I must point out that the Mississippi originates at Lake Itasca (latitude 47.2172), where the Earth’s radius is 6366.663 km. Not that it changes the point. ---
**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 15, 2021, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1631 "2021-03-15T15:03:33Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > And what are statuesque men called? In the South? “Losers.” 😛 ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1632 "2021-03-15T15:45:54Z")
Yeah, that was me being lazy - I figured out that it was going to be pretty easy to find out the elevation of St Louis, and so I picked it just as an example to show the uphill flow. I should also add that, not being from round these parts, I had no idea that St Louis was on the Mississippi until I followed the course of the river on a map, looking for a big town whose elevation I would be able to google. j ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1633 "2021-03-15T16:02:59Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > And what are statuesque men called? Linebackers ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1634 "2021-03-15T17:07:46Z")
Shoelaces/shoestrings are older than you realize. Well, they’re older than I realized, anyway: > **[Shoelaces | History](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoelaces#History)** > > It is as difficult to determine the exact history of shoelaces as it is for shoes. Archaeological records of footwear are rare because shoes were generally made of materials that deteriorated readily. The Areni-1 shoe, which has been dated to around 3500 BC, is a simple leather "shoe" with leather "shoelaces" passing through slotted "eyelets" cut into the hide. The more complex shoes worn by Ötzi the Iceman, who lived around 3300 BC, were bound with "shoelaces" made of lime bark string. > As for s... You want to know more about that Areni-1 shoe now, huh? My pleasure: > **[Areni-1 shoe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areni-1_shoe)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Areni-1 shoe is a 5,500-year-old leather shoe that was found in 2008 in excellent condition in the Areni-1 cave located in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia. It is a one-piece leather-hide shoe, the oldest piece of leather footwear in the world known to contemporary researchers. The discovery was made by an international team led by Boris Gasparyan, an archaeologist from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy... _“Found in … excellent condition”_ - wow, weren’t they just? I have shoes that I wear in the allotment/community garden that are in worse condition than that. j ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1635 "2021-03-15T18:15:00Z")
I learned from a Henry Hook puzzle that a rolled meat entree is called a [Roulade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roulade). ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1636 "2021-03-15T18:34:30Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I found this factoid when I wondered (how bored was I?) how Megan Thee Stallion got her idiotic name. I looked up the Marie Claire article the wikipedia bio referenced. It sez: > Her own sobriquet came from the streets. In the South, girls who are statuesque and genetically blessed are called stallions. She’s from Houston, so maybe it’s more of an urban thing than a southern thing. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1637 "2021-03-15T18:48:54Z")
That’s more than a nitpick, that’s a necessary correction. Not sure where I got Peru from! ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1638 "2021-03-15T18:55:27Z")
Oh Deborah, you look like a stallion Oh Deborah, you look like a stallion Your sunken face is like a galleon Clawed with mysteries of the Spanish Main, oh Deborah Deborah: T.Rex ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1639 "2021-03-15T20:15:00Z")
Fastest projectile! Look at this… 👀 > **[Pin by ยศภัทร on เล้นนน | Gambar maaf, Wallpaper lirik lagu, Lagu disney](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/576601558540536590/sent/?invite_code=1484c9018fb846dca6135a9243bfb9c4&sfo=1)** > > 2021 Mar 13 - This Pin was discovered by ยศภัทร. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1640 "2021-03-15T21:15:55Z")
I just learned that mathematicians used to be called computers. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1641 "2021-03-15T21:45:42Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > > > I found this factoid when I wondered (how bored was I?) how Megan Thee Stallion got her idiotic name. > > I looked up the Marie Claire article the wikipedia bio referenced. It sez: > > > Her own sobriquet came from the streets. In the South, girls who are statuesque and genetically blessed are called stallions. > > She’s from Houston, so maybe it’s more of an urban thing than a southern thing. Large (= tall & meaty, not fat) women have always been called “horsey”. I suppose in some street culture one with impressive breastage and / or good looks could be called “stallion” by extension. Not real polite, but seems plausible coming from a less educated “street” crowd. See also “alpha”, “leader of the pack”, and “queen”. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1642 "2021-03-15T22:07:28Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > I just learned that mathematicians used to be called computers. Eh, I thought computers were people who would perform iterative calculations. I believe it was a boring job. The computer did away with them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=81) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=83)