# 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:** 53
**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:** [December 8, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1041 "2024-12-08T23:37:15Z")
“Deep space” usually refers to somewhere beyond Earth’s orbit, at least. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1042 "2024-12-09T00:17:51Z")
Deep space is one of those terms that has a bunch of definitions, and usage has shifted over time. I see that today it’s mostly used your way, though not always, but I’m pretty sure that back in the 1960s, deep space was anywhere beyond low orbit. NASA thought so. Its [Deep Space Network](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Deep_Space_Network) appears to have begun work in 1966. (Pictures were all over the _Guam Daily News_.) In 1975, a report gave its specs. > According to a 1975 NASA report, the DSN was designed to communicate with “spacecraft traveling approximately 16,000 km (10,000 miles) from Earth to the farthest planets of the solar system.”[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Deep_Space_Network#cite_note-10) JPL diagrams[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Deep_Space_Network#cite_note-11) state that at an altitude of 30,000 km (19,000 mi), a spacecraft is always in the field of view of one of the tracking stations. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1043 "2024-12-09T01:50:11Z")
I read somewhere that Italy has more surnames per capita than any other country. I wish I had a cite, and I’m not sure I believe it, but I’m willing to believe there are more than the surrounding countries. Some Italian names are common throughout the country, but there are quite a few very rare ones. One of our family names was born by a local historian, who traced it to an ancestor alive around 1500. What started out as a nickname became a surname (though what it means I can’t seem to find out.) All people with that surname descend from that individual. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1044 "2024-12-09T01:55:06Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > One of our family names was born by a local historian Do you mean “borne”? Because if a name was born by the historian, it’d be very simple to trace. 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1045 "2024-12-09T02:00:03Z")
I did mean borne. And I know the difference. Not sure whether it’s a foolish typo or autocorrect happening when my back was turned. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1046 "2024-12-09T02:06:37Z")
I was listening to the audiobook of Douglas Preston’s ["The Lost City Of The Monkey God](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_City_of_the_Monkey_God)" the other day and was surprised to discover the narrator was Bill “Danger Will Robinson!!” Mumy. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1047 "2024-12-09T02:35:34Z")
Certainly having a recurring role on “Babylon 5” helped bring him out of obscurity. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1048 "2024-12-09T16:42:41Z")
Today I learned that the term ‘Bluetooth’ was actually named after a 10th Century King of Denmark, who unified Denmark and Norway. > Scholars say Harald was nicknamed “Blåtand,” meaning blue tooth, because he had a dead tooth that looked blue and dark. > In December 1996, Intel’s Jim Kardach, who had read a book on Viking history, suggested the name Bluetooth as a codename until the marketing group could come up with a formal technology name. [Link (USA Today)](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/02/19/fact-check-bluetooth-named-after-viking-king-harald/4505776001/) ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1049 "2024-12-09T16:51:02Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Today I learned that the term ‘Bluetooth’ was actually named after a 10th Century King of Denmark, who unified Denmark and Norway. And the logo for bluetooth is superimposing the runes for B and T ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1050 "2024-12-09T17:05:53Z")
The Vikings had some great names Sweyn Forkbeard Ivar the Boneless Sigurd Snake-Eye Erik Bloodaxe Aud the Deep-Minded ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1051 "2024-12-09T18:26:53Z")
Don’t forget Ragnar Shaggy Pants and Eystein Foul Fart Really: > **[Ragnar Shaggy-Trousers and Eystein Foul-Fart: the truth behind Viking names |...](https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/8745/)** > > Want a masterclass on Viking names - read Doctoral Candidate in Scandinavian Studies Keith Ruiter's recent article in The Conversation. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1052 "2024-12-09T18:29:25Z")
More Viking Names Including Kolbeinn Butter Penis > **[Viking Nicknames - Medievalists.net](https://www.medievalists.net/2014/06/viking-nicknames/)** > > Of all the various cultures of the Middle Ages, it was probably the Norse who had the best nicknames. Ranging from the Eirik the Red to Ivar the Boneless, the Viking Age has hundreds of interesting and strange nicknames. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1053 "2024-12-10T00:11:56Z")
I have a Scottish ancestor who was named Beatrix Elphinstone. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1054 "2024-12-10T00:24:05Z")
The history podcast I’m listening to has just introduced us to a character from the English Civil War named [Praise-God Barebone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praise-God_Barebone). ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1055 "2024-12-10T16:08:58Z")
If you look at the ratchets, sockets, extensions, etc. at a tool store that targets consumers, you’ll see three different “drive” styles: 1/4 inch square drive, 3/8 inch square drive, and 1/2 inch square drive. This design has been around for many decades. I was also aware of 3/4 inch square drive that some professional mechanics use when working on trucks. I learned today that there is a 2-1/2 inch square drive. [The sockets are very large and _ **very** _ expensive](https://www.grainger.com/category/tools/sockets-bits/sockets-sets/impact-sockets-sets/impact-sockets/all-purpose-impact-sockets?attrs=Drive+Size%7C2-1%2F2+in&filters=attrs), ranging from $1000 to $7000 each. What in the heck are these things used for? Are they for the oil & gas industries? ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1056 "2024-12-10T16:29:26Z")
Ever seen the bolts used to hold bridges and steel frame buildings together? Huge cranes and other construction equipment comes to mind also. It ain’t gonna be easy to remove or torque nuts and bolts that big. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1057 "2024-12-10T16:45:44Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > What in the heck are these things used for? Maybe needed for the next time they unbolt the Space Needle? [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/16/21226484_467c01e411_b.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/16/21226484_467c01e411_b.jpg) ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1058 "2024-12-10T16:54:31Z")
I hope they use grease on the threads when they torque those things down. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1059 "2024-12-10T16:56:08Z")
Nah. Just spray some WD40 on it. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1060 "2024-12-10T17:03:23Z")
Once again. I think again since I’ve told this to a lot of people. WD-40 is not a good lubricant. It dries and leaves a stick residue behind. The WD stands for Water Displacer. It helps to loosen bolts because it softens rust and other contaminants enough for removal but other penetrating oils do a better job of that. Spray it on nuts and bolts after they’ve been tightened to prevent water future water penetration. Just use light machine oil for lubrication during installation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=52) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=54)