Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 1)

The soil in Virginia is literally red.

My father and I took a trip to Monticello (Jefferson’s old home) in Virginia. And it is hard not to notice. Especially when you are from Michigan, where the soil is black or gray (depending on the moisture in it at the time). Another tourist noticed it too.

IANAChemist. But I assume that this phenomenon is due to the iron oxide in the soil.

Why, hon, thass jes’ like the worl’-fay’mous Gaw’-ja Raid Cligh!

(That’s “Georgia Red Clay”, yankee).

The dress Judy Garland wore as Dorothy Gale is the subject of a contested ownership.

Not just Virginia. There’s red clay soil found all over Maryland and states south. Red is the color of soil, you just have the dull brown and gray kind most other places.

The soil is very red around the Raritan River in New Brunswick, NJ, too.

But a little further south, where it’s mostly pretty pure clay, it’s gray.

Parts of the New Orleans area have a reddish layer atop the clay. These four blocks did; that location used to be a small forest with bike & ATV trails.

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was a landscape photographer who was best-known for his black-and-white pictures of the American West. How his negatives ended up at a garage sale is a mystery, but forensic, weather, and handwriting experts authenticated the box of 65 glass plates, confirming that Adams photographed them more than eighty-five years ago. The lucky buyer scooped up the box, not realizing what he had, for just $45.

I don’t know where they get that 1 minute reading time.

I guess they’ll be targeting Cirque du Soleil’s audience.

George Washington’s total lack of teeth created a unique problem. His lips had a tendency to recede into his mouth. So he had to force his lips out, while in public. That is why he looks so weird in public portraits. He’s not grimacing, he’s holding his lips out:

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WjHAiZ9epHgoixGauMzTv4-970-80.jpg.webp

(BTW, can’t upload a picture again.)

I’m not providing any links, the reason for which should be obvious, but a hacktivist group calling itself Obfuscated Dreams of Scheherazade has set up a robo dialer which randomly connects two Russian officials to each other.

If youʼre on the phone, you canʼt drop bombs or coordinate soldiers.

The bot went live yesterday.

Just the opposite.

All of Washington’s dentures caused him pain and produced facial disfigurement, described by George Washington Parke Custis as “a marked change…in the appearance…more especially in the projection of the under lip.” This physical change can be viewed in the well-known portraits painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796.

He didn’t have a total lack of teeth. According to Richard Schenkman, he had one tooth left, which served as an anchor for his dentures.

Discobot is confused by the .webp at the end.

Then just post a link. Or hyperlink (the Chain Icon in the reply panel).

The added benefit is then everyone doesn’t have to wait for the pic to load (we sometimes have a slow connection), or be staring at George’s jaw if we’re not interested in why his face was weird.

So far as I can tell Stonehenge comprises 83 stones (but it was difficult to find a figure - please correct me if I’m wrong).

The Allignements de Carnac comprise around three thousand.Carnac stones - Wikipedia

They’re big.

j

A new study has linked allergic reactions to eating fish with a potentially deadly reaction to eating crocodile.

My corner of the country has a thing for growing rare apples. I’ve seen Arkansas Black and fifty others you’ve never heard of at my local food co op.

Interesting. Ever heard of the tree of 40 fruits?

https://www.epicurious.com/archive/chefsexperts/interviews/sam-van-aken-interview

That reminds me of this story:
A meat allergy known as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) appears to be triggered by a tick bite, researchers say. Case counts are growing, too. There were only 24 reported cases in the United State in 2009. By 2018, the number topped 34,000.

In fact, a federal report noted.) that AGS has become the leading cause of anaphylaxis in a southeastern registry of patients.

I saw a Brinks truck today. And that reminded me of an article I once read.

You know, Brinks trucks don’t have to be boxy and have flat windows. That used to be required, to use bulletproof glass. Not anymore though. But I guess they do it now in order to warn the robbers. Or in order to not disappoint the tourists, as Mr. Adams once said (about red barns, FWIW).