# 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:** 119
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2361 "2025-05-16T01:46:35Z")
Speaking of going fast, a [driver was](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-06/driver-gets-fined-195-796-after-latest-speeding-in-finland/102444074) fined €121,000 for speediing. He was doing approximately the equivalent of 50mph in a 30mph zone, which is pretty impolite, but most American police would not lay so heavy a fine, and might even just let him go with a warning. Because, you see, the driver has a rather high income: in Finland, traffic fines are meant to be actually punitive and so are scaled to fit the offender’s wealth, as compared to the US, where a well-to-do miscreant might well be able to talk their way out of a ticket. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2362 "2025-05-16T16:37:21Z")
I recently discovered that the Welsh word for “carrot” is.. “moron”. (There’s a Trump joke in there somewhere.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2363 "2025-05-16T16:53:10Z")
Technically, “moron” is “carrots.” A single carrot is “moronen.” ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2364 "2025-05-16T16:56:21Z")
There’s a city near my home that’s called “Morón” (etymology unknown), with its corresponding university, the (for Anglo speakers) hilariously named “University of Morón”. [![](https://auditoriagroup.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/cuanto-es-la-cuota-de-la-universidad-de-moron-3-1536x863.webp) ](https://auditoriagroup.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/cuanto-es-la-cuota-de-la-universidad-de-moron-3-1536x863.webp) ---
**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:** [May 16, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2365 "2025-05-16T17:00:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The flying car was invented in 1903. I’m really going to need a cite on that. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2366 "2025-05-16T17:04:19Z")
It was in all the papers. > **[Wright Flyer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer)** > > The Wright Flyer (also known as the Kitty Hawk, Flyer I or the 1903 Flyer) made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown by brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, it marked the beginning of the pioneer era of aviation. > The aircraft is a single-place biplane design with anhedral (drooping) wings, front double elevator (a canard) and rear double rudder. It used a 12 horsepower (9 kilowatts) gasoline engine pow... To be fair, it wasn’t a very good car, nor very good at flying. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2367 "2025-05-16T17:23:40Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > To be fair, it wasn’t a very good car, nor very good at flying. Hardly a car at all. The landing gear was a pair of skids and it was launched from a dolly rolling on a short temporary track initially, then later with a catapult. At the time it was the best airplane available though. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2368 "2025-05-16T17:33:08Z")
They were limited in the number of flights they could make per day, because every time they wanted to fly it, they had to arrive two hours before takeoff. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2369 "2025-05-16T18:51:52Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It was in all the papers. Oh, them. I was taking a dip in the ocean when these idiots came along and disturbed all the seabirds. Made a huge mess of the beach. The plane did too. Natives still call them the Wrong Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2370 "2025-05-17T01:15:46Z")
I doubt this will be news to anyone here but I just found out octopus’ don’t have tentacles. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2371 "2025-05-17T01:17:28Z")
Eight arms to hold you. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2372 "2025-05-17T08:47:22Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I doubt this will be news to anyone here News to me, for one. And I have made pickled octopus ~~tentacles~~ … uh, arms before. What does our lord Cthulhu wear around His face? Surely not arms. (Also this news has ruined, RUINED the genre of “tentacle porn” for me, forever) ---
**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:** [May 17, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2373 "2025-05-17T13:47:48Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Technically, “moron” is “carrots.” A single carrot is “moronen.” Wait, really? Because in older English (closely related to Dutch), the ending -en makes something plural (nowadays mostly only seen in “oxen”, “brethren”, and “children”). ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2374 "2025-05-17T13:54:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Because in older English (closely related to Dutch), the ending -en makes something plural (nowadays mostly only seen in “oxen”, “brethren”, and “children”). It’s the same in modern High German. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2375 "2025-05-17T13:58:49Z")
I don’t know much about Welsh, but some quick googling tells me that the -en suffix does a few things. Irritatingly, two of those things is singularizing plural nouns and pluralizing singular nouns. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2376 "2025-05-17T14:00:48Z")
Yes. In Celtic languages, some nouns are plural by default, and take a singulative ending when you want to talk about just one. You can also pluralize that, so: sêr = stars seren = star serennau = discrete individual stars, like film stars (though you also hear sêr for this) ---
**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:** [May 17, 2025, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2377 "2025-05-17T14:04:26Z")
Reminds me of another case, in modern English: Usually, when you take a verb, and add -er to the end of it, you get a noun meaning a person or thing who does that. But there’s one case where you take a verb, and remove -er from the end, to mean someone or something who does that. “Pester” and “pest” ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2378 "2025-05-17T15:00:12Z")
In English there are some singular nouns ending with “s” which become plural when you remove the “s”. (I’m cheating a bit because they become completely different words when the “s” is removed.) princess → princes caress → cares ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2379 "2025-05-17T20:55:35Z")
Just now: I found out there’s a Colorado River in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2380 "2025-05-17T20:59:27Z")
Trivia question: What state capital is on the Colorado River? Answer: Austin, TX. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=118) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=120)