# 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:** 26
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/501 "2024-09-26T13:39:19Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Oregon has an official state mushroom, the Pacific Golden Chanterelle. About 50% of America’s mushrooms come from the area around Kennett Square in Chester County, Pennsylvania. I’ve been to Kennett Square and it is kind of an interesting place. Extremely rural/small town vibe and yet the area is totally bilingual (English/Spanish) due to the number of people from Mexico working in the mushroom industry. Walk into any business in Kennett Square and all signage is in English & Spanish. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/502 "2024-09-26T13:51:27Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Disney produced quality work. Yes, but so did Warner Brothers, and their material had a tendency to be a bit racier than Disney. Some of those older Looney Tunes cartoons look very much like they were not made for children, with a lot of “cross-dressing” and gender-bending content that is not seen in Disney cartoons, but the artwork is on a comparable par. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/503 "2024-09-26T13:58:35Z")
But no one at WB won more Oscars than Walt. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/504 "2024-09-26T14:02:10Z")
the Oscars are garbage [![](https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/muppet/images/f/f6/Oscarthegrouchy.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160909061029) ](https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/muppet/images/f/f6/Oscarthegrouchy.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160909061029) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/505 "2024-09-26T14:54:07Z")
In the TV series “H.R. Pufnstuf,” only two actresses auditioned for the role of Witchiepoo. Billie Hayes, previously best known for playing “Mammy Yokum,” got the role. The other actress was Penny Marshall. According to Sid Krofft, he “didn’t want a witch with a Brooklyn accent.” (Technically, it was The Bronx, but you get the idea.) ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/506 "2024-09-26T15:23:57Z")
The Amazon River is the largest river in the world in terms of volume of water, and, at close to 4,000 miles, is the second-longest river (the Nile is the longest). TIL that there are no bridges across the Amazon River. The natural hazards of the river, such as flooding, riverbank erosion, and floating islands, make it practically impossible to construct a bridge. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/507 "2024-09-26T17:01:45Z")
I am re-reading an old classic by Ursula K. Le Guin in a new edition with a new introduction, and in this introduction, I learned something I did not previously know. She and Philip K. Dick were in the same graduating class. Like, literally. Same high school, same year. > **[When Ursula K. Le Guin & Philip K. Dick Went to High School Together](https://www.openculture.com/2016/12/when-ursula-k-le-guin-philip-k-dick-went-to-high-school-together.html)** > > When you run a site like this, you learn all kinds of unexpected things, most of it rich and rewarding, some of it strange, trivial and yet still intriguing. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/508 "2024-09-26T17:14:45Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > She and Philip K. Dick were in the same graduating class. Like, literally. Same high school, same year. That’s very remarkable. And reminded me that Ludwig Wittgenstein and Adolf Hitler were classmates for two years at the Linz Realschule. > **[A childhood confrontation between A. Hitler and L. Wittgenstein](https://jppreston.com/2011/11/30/a-childhood-confrontation-between-a-hitler-and-l-wittgenstein/)** > > For an Historiography class I’m in we’re reading Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust and The David Irving Trial (2001) by Richard J. Evans that in addition to tearing apart Holocaust… ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/509 "2024-09-26T17:40:19Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > The Amazon River is the largest river in the world in terms of volume of water, and, at close to 4,000 miles, is the second-longest river (the Nile is the longest). TIL that there are no bridges across the Amazon River. The natural hazards of the river, such as flooding, riverbank erosion, and floating islands, make it practically impossible to construct a bridge. Africa’s Congo River (2900 miles long) has only one bridge (completed in 1983) crossing it. This is probably due to the width (and depth) of the river, and/or lack of population along most of the coastlines. The world’s two closest capital cities (Kinshasa and Brazzaville) sit on opposite sides of the river - less than two miles apart. Much talk, but little action, has been taken over a bridge joining the two. (the one existing bridge is 165 miles away from the two capitals). ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/510 "2024-09-26T18:26:35Z")
On the subject of Hollywood awards, actor [Jonathan Banks](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052186/) (Probably best known as Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) is I believe the only actor ever to receive Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor for three different TV shows – he was nominated for _Wiseguy_ back in the '80s, then _Breaking Bad_ and _Better Call Saul_. (So what if one of the shows was a spinoff of the other and he was playing the same character. It still counts.) Other actors may have received more nominations, but those were for multiple seasons of the same one or two shows. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/511 "2024-09-26T20:19:44Z")
Today (Sept. 26) is World Cassowary Day in honor of the world’s most dangerous bird: > **[World Cassowary Day 2024: Why the ‘world’s most dangerous bird’ is itself in...](https://www.downtoearth.org.in/wildlife-biodiversity/world-cassowary-day-2024-why-the-worlds-most-dangerous-bird-is-itself-in-danger)** > > The thick rainforest on the island of New Guinea as well as the tropical north of Australia is home to a bird that looks straight out of the world of dinosaurs. "You can’t outrun them: They’ve been [clocked reaching speeds around 50 km/h](https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/zoology/item/worlds-most-dangerous-bird/#:~:text=Cassowaries%20have%20been%20clocked%20running,feet%20straight%20into%20the%20air.) in the rainforest. They can also jump two metres in the air. And now, there’s been another development… "[It turns out the world's most dangerous bird can swim, too - The Weather Network](https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/nature/animals/it-turns-out-the-worlds-most-dangerous-bird-can-swim-too-cassowary) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/512 "2024-09-26T20:58:36Z")
Australia should have waged war against cassowarys instead of against [emus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War). Emus are worse. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/513 "2024-09-27T00:30:02Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Africa’s Congo River (2900 miles long) has only one bridge (completed in 1983) crossing it. This is probably due to the width (and depth) of the river, and/or lack of population along most of the coastlines. > > The world’s two closest capital cities (Kinshasa and Brazzaville) sit on opposite sides of the river - less than two miles apart. Much talk, but little action, has been taken over a bridge joining the two. (the one existing bridge is 165 miles away from the two capitals). There is, however, air service between the two cities, making it the shortest international flight in the world. (There’s a shorter flight between two islands in Scotland). ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/514 "2024-09-27T01:29:26Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > he Amazon River is the largest river in the world in terms of volume of water Which is to understate the case somewhat - [it is nearly 5x as much as the next contender](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_by_discharge) (the Ganges) and about as much as the next 6 rivers combined. At its height there is fresh water in the Atlantic ocean out of sight of shore. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2024, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/515 "2024-09-27T01:38:15Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > At its height there is fresh water in the Atlantic ocean out of sight of shore. It has been estimated that about 1/5 of all the fresh water that is discharged into the world’s oceans is carried by the Amazon. The mouth of the Amazon is about 40 miles wide, while the estuary can be as much as 150 miles wide. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2024, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/516 "2024-09-27T04:18:31Z")
TIL the Montana apartment building on Manhattan’s upper West side is so named because it is west of the famous Dakota Building. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2024, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/517 "2024-09-27T04:58:35Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > On the subject of Hollywood awards, actor [Jonathan Banks](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052186/) (Probably best known as Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) is I believe the only actor ever to receive Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor for three different TV shows – he was nominated for _Wiseguy_ back in the '80s, then _Breaking Bad_ and _Better Call Saul_. John Lithgow has two Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series nominations (for The Crown and Perry Mason) along with two Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series nominations (for Dexter and Amazing Stories) along with along with an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie nomination (for The Day After). (And of course he has a number of Lead Actor nominations as well.) ---
**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:** [September 27, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/518 "2024-09-27T16:11:06Z")
[Hurricane Helene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Helene_(1958)) occurred on September 26… 1958. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/519 "2024-09-27T16:38:46Z")
And I’m sure never again. They retire the names of very destructive storms. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/520 "2024-09-27T16:42:15Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > It has been estimated that about 1/5 of all the fresh water that is discharged into the world’s oceans is carried by the Amazon. There is a unit of measure called the “sverdrup”. It is approximately the flow of the southern ocean current through the Drake passage. The flow rate of the Amazon system works out to about one fifth of a sverdrup. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=27)