# 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:** 280
**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:** [October 21, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5582 "2026-10-21T17:03:57Z")
Remember _Huge Numbers_, a book I posted about in August? Graham’s Number is several chapters from the end. > **[Huge Numbers: A Story of Counting Ambitiously, from 4 1/2 to Fish 7: Elwes,...](https://www.amazon.com/Huge-Numbers-Story-Counting-Ambitiously/dp/1541605926)** > > Buy Huge Numbers: A Story of Counting Ambitiously, from 4 1/2 to Fish 7 on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders I hadn’t then finished the book to get to [Fish 7, which has a rigorously defined generation](https://googology.fandom.com/wiki/Fish_number_7). Elwes works hard to try to convey a graspable sense of how such hugeness is mathematically conceived and developed, but the process becomes more and more abstract. An interesting question is whether AI can develop an original way of generating even larger numbers. That to me would be more astounding than finding proofs of already known hypotheses. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5583 "2026-10-21T17:18:50Z")
It seems that to a Googologist **Crafter\_Man** ’s number is just a **[naive extension](https://googology.fandom.com/wiki/Naive_extension)** of Graham’s number, nothing to write home about. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5584 "2026-10-21T19:02:03Z")
At that scale one is no longer “generating” numbers, one is defining them. Such numbers count as integers only because they are provably finite, are the answer to a specific mathematical conjecture, and their magnitude can be defined. They’re beyond human comprehension otherwise. A few people claim that such mathematical entities aren’t really numbers in the common sense. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5585 "2026-10-21T21:41:21Z")
Indeed, Elwes addresses these concerns in his book. He takes them seriously as pathways into interesting mathematical issues, yet acknowledges that hugeness beyond hugeness can’t now be translated into anything meaningful outside of math. Some of the concepts given in @Pardel-Lux’s link grew out of a bet between mathematicians over who could create a larger number. Recreational math has in the past led to deeper insights. Look at [John Horton Conway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Horton_Conway), who invented one of the ways to express extremely huge numbers on a page. He also crated the Game of Life, which led to cellular automata, and the surreal numbers, important to game theory, among a lifetime full of out-of-the-box insights. IANAM, but I don’t think we can simply dismiss huge numbers as meaningless mathematical masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reindeer_flotilla/32/3024_2.png) [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reindeer_Flotilla)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5586 "2026-10-22T07:14:28Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Imagine a Planck Volume, a cube 1 Plank Length on each side. Imagine then that you find a way to fit a single numerical digit (0-9) within that volume. Then imagine that you fill all of the Planck Volumes in the observable universe with digits. > > The number you’ve written isn’t large enough to equal the number of digits in Graham’s Number. In fact, Graham’s Number is so big that if you were to continually repeat that process (# of digits in Graham’s Number, then the number of digits in that number, and so on), the number of steps it would take to finally get a result that would fit in the universe - wouldn’t fit in the universe. For comparison, a Googolplex (1 followed by a googol of zeros) which is a fantastically large number, takes only two of the above steps to get a result that fits in the universe. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5587 "2026-10-22T13:29:50Z")
TIL that Doja Cat is apparently a person and not some Pokemon thing. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5588 "2026-10-22T13:59:07Z")
“Boulevard” originally meant “barricade.” It’s a cognate of “bulwark.” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5589 "2026-10-22T14:09:50Z")
Pistachio shells go _pop_ and split open as part of the ripening process. I always assumed the split shell happened as part of the post-harvesting process. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5590 "2026-10-22T14:13:53Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > meaningless mathematical masturbation. Superb bit of alliteration. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5591 "2026-10-22T16:29:45Z")
There are 107 two-letter words in the English language recognized in Scrabble. None contain the letter “C”. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5592 "2026-10-22T17:04:09Z")
Doesn’t IC as an acronym for “integrated circuit” count in Scrabble? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5593 "2026-10-22T17:29:51Z")
Not it if’s not on the list. It’s all about the list. Oh, and there’s a different list in the US vs the UK. Of course at home it’s all about which dictionary everyone agrees on. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5594 "2026-10-22T17:43:41Z")
Time to post again one of my favorite memes. We don’t care for puny two letter words in Scrabble. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a2/60/7c/a2607ca738535adb19860f76af722237.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a2/60/7c/a2607ca738535adb19860f76af722237.jpg) ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5595 "2026-10-22T18:24:51Z")
I don’t think Scrabble accepts acronyms, full stop. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5596 "2026-10-22T18:52:53Z")
So, _laser_ and _radar_ are not allowed? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5597 "2026-10-22T18:55:38Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > So, _laser_ and _radar_ are not allowed? They originated as acronyms, but turned into regular English words. That’s why they aren’t typically written as LASER and RADAR anymore. The same thing happened with “scuba”. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5598 "2026-10-22T19:20:17Z")
And presumably adopted trade names as well. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5599 "2026-10-22T21:18:58Z")
I’m pretty clueless about many showbusiness things, so this is not intended as a dig. Doja Cat is a pop singer / performer. Yes, it’s a stage name. I know of her only because her music plays now and again on my car’s entertainment system. Which like all modern systems, includes words and pictures about who / what is playing. So it told me that was “Doja Cat” singing. Who sounds good and looks kinda cute too. I’m curious how you came to be aware of the name, but with no context? How else would one hear or read of “Doja Cat” without knowing who / what it was? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5600 "2026-10-22T21:21:16Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m curious how you came to be aware of the name, but with no context? How else would one hear or read of “Doja Cat” without knowing who / what it was? Apparently she did something which caused a parody Twitter account I follow to quote-tweet the news about her. What she did, I have no idea. OK, here it is - apparently, Kalshi bettors say there’s a 69% chance she is announcing a new tour this year: > > > Kalshi @Kalshi ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5601 "2026-10-22T21:28:04Z")
Thanks for indulging my curiosity. I’m one of those luddites who watches sports, not the shows about sports or the twitter feeds about sports or the [whatevers] about sports. Same with other sorts of entertainment and also factual stuff like news. I take mine straight from the source, or as close as I can get. So I tend to forget there’s this ginormous overhang of people talking about what other people are talking about about something else happening and there’s a huge audience watching / reading all that talking about talking about. Now that you remind me, yeah sure it makes sense that someone tracking a talking about talking about people talking source would tend to throw all sorts of new factoids your (or my) way with no context. Truly we live in a strange and increasingly unfamiliar world. I’m not suggesting my way is the better way. Just that it’s the one I use. So far. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=279) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=281)