# 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:** 37
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/721 "2024-10-24T16:32:14Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Tons of cheese, butter, and collateral hot dogs conflagerated, with an ensuing liquid deluge. Thankfully, no human lives were lost, no margarine of course, but perhaps a few misadventurous mice. Too bad there weren’t any lobsters around. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/722 "2024-10-24T16:42:27Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Tons of cheese, butter, and collateral hot dogs conflagerated, with an ensuing liquid deluge. Sounds like the beginning of a great 4th of July grilling. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/723 "2024-10-24T16:45:22Z")
Would you like some red wine with that? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/z5IlFiOtn5I/maxresdefault.jpg "A Portuguese town has been flooded by red wine after tanks holding 2.2 million litres burst") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5IlFiOtn5I) ---
**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 24, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/724 "2024-10-24T16:50:44Z")
It seems to be true: Anything older than 100 years is ancient history for US-Americans: > **[Beer Flood Claims Eight Souls](https://www.damninteresting.com/beer-flood-claims-eight-souls/?utm_source=DamnInteresting)** > > In the late 1700s, the Industrial Revolution brought about considerable advances in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation throughout Europe. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/725 "2024-10-24T17:18:29Z")
An Englishman thinks a hundred miles is a long way; an American thinks a hundred years is a long time. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/726 "2024-10-24T17:43:43Z")
The Wyoming/Montana & The Dakotas border is not a straight line. Montana’s eastern border is about 4677’ east of Wyoming’s ---
**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:** [October 25, 2024, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/727 "2024-10-25T01:52:16Z")
There are a lot of little glitches like that in the “straight” state borders, where the surveyors screwed up. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/728 "2024-10-25T19:05:02Z")
Saskatchewan does not have a straight border with Manitoba: there are regular jogs westward of around a mile and a half about every 24 miles north, from 49°N up to 55°48’N, at which point it becomes a straight line north. Like a northwestward flight of stairs. Saskatchewan’s northern border with NWT is about 115 miles narrower than its southern border with MT & ND – but the difference that those jogs make is a small fraction of that, most of it simply due to the curvature of the Earth. But the jogs do end up placing the northeast corner about a mile west of bordering on Nunavut. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/729 "2024-10-25T20:18:03Z")
Addendum: the point where the northern-eastern corner of Saskatchewan would be if the border was actually a straight line is some 21 miles eastward of the actual northeast corner. The amount of territory Manitoba “steals” from Saskatchewan works out to around 21 thousand square miles, or more land than Vermont and New Hampshire put together. (apologies to Canadians for not using metric numbers) ---
**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 25, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/730 "2024-10-25T20:21:22Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The amount of territory Manitoba “steals” from Saskatchewan works out to around 21 thousand square miles, or more land than Vermont and New Hampshire put together. > > (apologies to Canadians for not using metric numbers) About the size of Nova Scotia. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/731 "2024-10-26T20:58:13Z")
I got “carded” today by the self-checkout computer in Omaha, NE at a Bakers grocery store. Why? Lighter fluid. After searching, the only thing I’m finding is restrictions on lighters in some jurisdictions. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/732 "2024-10-26T21:24:30Z")
We get carded here at most store self-checkouts for various things - lighter fluid, OTC meds, specific glues/adhesives, spray paint. A right royal PITA for most things. Can understand alcohol, even tobacco (though those have to have a store employee retrieve them for you), but the rest is a bunch of rot. ---
**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 26, 2024, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/733 "2024-10-26T21:28:11Z")
> [@Dogginit](#): > > We get carded here at most store self-checkouts for various things - lighter fluid, OTC meds, specific glues/adhesives, spray paint. How does being carded work in a self-checkout in the US? Because here in Germany, it’s no concern for me, because I always pay with a debit card and my birth date is somehow stored on it. It also works on cigarette machines which are still a thing here. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2024, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/734 "2024-10-26T21:30:16Z")
The register flags it as needing approval, an attending clerk has to come over and verify your ID/birthdate. Don’t know that our debit/credit cards record the same information. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/735 "2024-10-26T21:34:23Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I always pay with a debit card and my birth date is somehow stored on it. How does the machine know that it’s you who is using the card? Could be anybody who knows your PIN, right? ---
**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 26, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/736 "2024-10-26T21:35:55Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > How does the machine know that it’s you who is using the card? Could be anybody who knows your PIN, right? Yeah, that’s the loophole, but I would have to actively hand over my card and PIN to a minor, which few people would do. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/737 "2024-10-26T22:32:51Z")
Syracuse, NY has the US’s only upside-down traffic light: > **[Tipperary Hill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipperary_Hill)** > > .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}43°02′48″N 76°11′08″W / 43.046546°N 76.185572°W / 43.046546; -76.185572 > Tipperary Hill, sometimes known as Tipp Hill, is a district in the city of Syracuse, New York. The area is named after County Tip... > Tipperary Hill is the home of the only upside-down traffic light in the United States. When the city first started to install [traffic signal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_signal) lights in the 1920s they put one at a major intersection on Tipperary Hill, on the corner of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue. Some Irish youths, incensed that anyone would dare to put the “[British](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom)” red above the “[Irish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland)” green, broke the light. The city replaced it but the Irish broke the replacement. After a few rounds of this the city decided that if they wanted a light at that intersection, they had better put the signal up inverted, and so they did. [[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipperary_Hill#cite_note-2) [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/SyracuseTipperaryLight.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/SyracuseTipperaryLight.jpg) ---
**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:** [October 27, 2024, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/738 "2024-10-27T03:55:56Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Syracuse, NY has the US’s only upside-down traffic light: > > [Tipperary Hill - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipperary_Hill) > > > Tipperary Hill is the home of the only upside-down traffic light in the United States. When the city first started to install [traffic signal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_signal) lights in the 1920s they put one at a major intersection on Tipperary Hill, on the corner of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue. Some Irish youths, incensed that anyone would dare to put the “[British](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom)” red above the “[Irish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland)” green, broke the light. The city replaced it but the Irish broke the replacement. After a few rounds of this the city decided that if they wanted a light at that intersection, they had better put the signal up inverted, and so they did. [[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipperary_Hill#cite_note-2) > > [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/SyracuseTipperaryLight.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/SyracuseTipperaryLight.jpg) That one I knew. And I knew the reason. Don’t know where I picked that up. ---
**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 27, 2024, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/739 "2024-10-27T04:10:56Z")
> [@Dogginit](#): > > lighter fluid, OTC meds, specific glues/adhesives, spray paint. A right royal PITA for most things. Can understand alcohol, even tobacco (though those have to have a store employee retrieve them for you), but the rest is a bunch of rot. It’s certainly nanny-state babysitting, but there are (very thin) justifications. Dunno about aspirin or vitamins, but some cough syrups are abused (down an entire bottle of Robitussin in one go) and the “good” kind of Sudafed (e.g. the one that works best for most people) is apparently somehow involved in the production of meth. Some glues and adhesives also have the potential for serious addiction/abuse. When I worked at Target ~~when dinosaurs roamed the earth~~ in the mid/late 90s, we had to card for spray paint. Was told it was to cut down on rowdy teenagers and their graffiti. I’d presume lighter fluid, in the hands of bored miscreant ~~yooots~~ youths, could be similarly misused. I’m not in any way condoning such restrictions, mind you, just explaining what I’ve been given to understand the justifications have been. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2024, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/740 "2024-10-27T11:17:04Z")
My local supermarket’s self checkouts always ping when i try to buy meds (paracetamol or ibuprofen) or matches. A member of staff always has to come and authorise it but they never ask for any id card. Bastards ! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=38)