# Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785 "2024-07-25T15:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/181 "2024-08-14T21:59:36Z")
I’ll have to research this; it was a long time ago and I can’t remember where I read it. At least it was online, so I might be able to find it. Possibly it was an L.A. city ordinance rather than a state law. If you attended school in wooden structures that would explain it. I did read just now that new _unreinforced_ masonry buildings were outlawed in the aftermath of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, but it wasn’t until 1986 that pre-1933 masonry buildings (if still standing) were required to be retrofitted. The 1933 and 1971 earthquakes really did a number on L.A.'s architectural heritage, particularly with regard to school buildings. Meanwhile, San Francisco enjoyed 83 years of terra firma between 1906 and 1989. They had far more time to retrofit the older buildings. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/182 "2024-08-14T22:20:54Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > in German it is called _Kokkai_. “Deja-vu, or as the French say, ‘Already seen!’” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/183 "2024-08-15T02:02:12Z")
Nobody remembers when Rochester was a growing city on the back on Kodak, but in 1930 it built [a gigantic high school](http://www.franklinhighschool.net/). Picture on that page. > With a 23-acre campus, for 30 years from 1930, Franklin was the largest high school east of the Mississippi. > > It has 500 rooms, a mile of corridors, a massive refurbished theater and a gym which holds 2,400 people. > > A total of two million bricks were used to build it. Getting from one side to the other in the five minutes between classes was almost impossible. I know because I went there. You can see the movie palace-sized auditorium in [Life magazine for January 13, 1941](https://books.google.com/books?id=RUoEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=true). Go to page 64. A picture of naked boys showering takes up half of p. 66. _Life_ loved to insert pictures of innocent nudes back in the day. Nobody seemed to complain, but no mainstream magazine could run that picture today. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/184 "2024-08-15T11:17:26Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > Reminds me … didn’t one of the former CEOs of Volkswagen catch some heat (hehe), b/c he had a heated driveway leading up to his mansion Our fire station has a heated driveway. Makes sense for sure. We also have some heated sidewalks in town. We get ~ 30 feet of snow a season. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/185 "2024-08-15T18:44:25Z")
We live on the North Shore of Boston, and our 20x30 ft driveway is on an incline down toward the garage. My wife’s grandfather had installed a snow melt system under the driveway decades ago, but it hadn’t worked for many years. So when we expanded it from one car wide to two last year, I installed a new snow melt system (from the company in the link above). It cost about $7,500 installed, and draws about 9,000 watts while operating. At a nominal rate of $0.18 per kWh, that’s $1.62 per hour, plus the various fees and taxes. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/186 "2024-08-15T18:49:12Z")
Do you switch it on when you need it or does it sense snow? If it was off, how long would it take to melt a foot deep snow cover? If I lived where snow was an issue, this would be a no brainer. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/187 "2024-08-15T19:36:21Z")
It can be turned on or off manually, but it has sensors that automatically switch it on when the temp is low enough and it senses precipitation. They are adjustable, and I’ve tweaked them to reduce unnecessary activations. With the automatic system, you shouldn’t have to melt many inches of snow. Starting as soon as the snow starts, it should be able to keep up whatever falls. Ironically, since installing it we haven’t had anything more than light dustings. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/188 "2024-08-15T20:15:52Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > With the automatic system, you shouldn’t have to melt many inches of snow. Starting as soon as the snow starts, it should be able to keep up whatever falls. I get that. I was just curious how it would handle a heavy load from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/189 "2024-08-15T20:32:55Z")
Haven’t had a chance to find out, and don’t expect to. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/190 "2024-08-15T23:06:51Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Ironically, since installing it we haven’t had anything more than light dustings. Like putting on your rain gear will keep it from raining 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/191 "2024-08-16T01:38:15Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Ironically, since installing it we haven’t had anything more than light dustings. I got a snowblower for Christmas in 2016. I didn’t use it until 2019. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/192 "2024-08-16T01:53:48Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I get that. I was just curious how it would handle a heavy load from scratch. I’m guessing it’d take less energy that way. Melt the bottom of the snow layer, and the top might slide off even while still solid. This is also, worryingly, something that can happen with ice-cap glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2024, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/193 "2024-08-16T11:05:09Z")
In the late 70s, a prosperous couple I knew bought a large house/mini-mansion. His first few electric bills were outrageous, so he tried turning lights off, etc, but each month the bills remained higher than he could believe. He called the electric company without any help. Then he called an electrician who showed him the on/off switch for his heated walkway and driveway that had been in the on position April-August. He did not know his home had this feature. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/194 "2024-08-16T11:57:43Z")
Back in March I learned that there was a 1990 episode of Star Trek: TNG that was “banned” in the UK and Ireland. [The ‘banned’ Star Trek episode](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68342135) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/195 "2024-08-16T12:03:24Z")
Many bird species, including gulls, robins, and plovers, engage in _“worm charming.”_ By [rapidly stamping or tapping their feet](https://www.geographyrealm.com/the-foot-trembling-bird-gets-the-worm/) on the ground, the birds create vibrations that mimic the sound of raindrops or the movement of predators like moles. These vibrations trick worms into coming to the surface, making them easy prey. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/196 "2024-08-16T12:07:19Z")
Like this [American Woodcock](https://youtu.be/n_jrkwNSxuE?si=0nk0TiN-m2SRObuR)? ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/197 "2024-08-16T12:12:47Z")
Indeed, John Travolta was just trying to catch worms in _Saturday Night Fever_. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/198 "2024-08-16T12:32:06Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Many bird species, including gulls, robins, and plovers, engage in _“worm charming.”_ By [rapidly stamping or tapping their feet](https://www.geographyrealm.com/the-foot-trembling-bird-gets-the-worm/) on the ground, the birds create vibrations that mimic the sound of raindrops or the movement of predators like moles. These vibrations trick worms into coming to the surface, making them easy prey. This is apparently how/why worm grunting works: > **[Worm charming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worm_charming)** > > Worm charming, worm grunting, and worm fiddling are methods of attracting earthworms from the ground. The activity is usually performed to collect bait for fishing but can also take the form of a competitive sport in areas such as the UK and East Texas. As a skill and profession worm charming is now very rare, with the art being passed through generations to ensure that it survives. > Most worm charming methods involve vibrating the soil, which encourages the worms to the surface. In 2008, researc... ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/199 "2024-08-16T13:02:04Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Like this [American Woodcock](https://youtu.be/n_jrkwNSxuE?si=0nk0TiN-m2SRObuR)? Looks like a contender for a grant from the Ministry of Silly Walks. And of course you know it’s an American woodcock, we’re the only ones who would be hunting for worms on a pavement 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/200 "2024-08-16T17:15:44Z")
TIL about a thing called the Krukenberg procedure. If you have had a hand amputated and can’t afford a decent prosthetic (say, because you are dirt-poor), then this surgery may be for you. It separates your radius and ulna (the two bones of the forarm) and rearranges some of the arm muscles so that you can grasp objects with the distal ends of those two skin-wrapped bones, like giant tweezers made of meat. Here’s a brief clip of a guy who had the procedure done on his left arm: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VlPwBbUPn3M/maxresdefault.jpg "Controversial Procedure turns Amputee Arms into Pincers #amputee #pincer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlPwBbUPn3M) And here’s a 3-minute-long dive into the details and history of the procedure: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-Nhe1aYzm3E/maxresdefault.jpg "Krukenberg Procedure | Stories of the World") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nhe1aYzm3E) It’s visually unsettling to look at (**[the Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krukenberg_procedure)** notes that the procedure has “poor cosmesis”), but as the video’s narrator says, when your only other option is just a stump, this can be life-changing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=11)