# 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:** 6
**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:** [August 7, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/101 "2024-08-07T14:19:29Z")
While the modern Olympics started in 1896, the torch lighting started 40 years later in Berlin. Most of the final runner who actually gets to light the cauldron in the torch relay is a well-known sports figures from the host country, but three were not: 1952: Oslo (Norway): Grandson of Polar Explorer Fridtjof Nansen. 1976: Sapporo (Japan) “a 16-year-old volleyball enthusiast who knows nothing of winter sports" 1980: Lake Placid: A psychiatrist, elected by the other members of the torch relay team ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2024, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/102 "2024-08-07T16:41:24Z")
I just learned of the existence of the [Bally Bomber](https://www.eaa.org/airventure/eaa-airventure-news-and-multimedia/eaa-airventure-news/eaa-airventure-oshkosh/07-21-2018-bally-bomber-drawing-attention-in-oshkosh), a manned-flying, custom-built, 1/3-scale replica of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Built over the course of 17 years by Jack Bally. [![](https://www.avweb.com/uploads/2020/06/Jack-Bally-Bally-Bomber.jpg) ](https://www.avweb.com/uploads/2020/06/Jack-Bally-Bally-Bomber.jpg) (Who unfortunately passed away just a couple years after the plane’s public debut.) ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/103 "2024-08-08T00:47:38Z")
In the 1956 Torch relay in Australia, a uni student made a fake torch and ran through the crowd, handing the ‘torch’ to the Lord Mayor of Sydney before the ‘official’ torch. The ‘torch’ was made from a pudding tin stuck on an old chair leg. The fuel was a pair of flaming underpants. > **[Hoaxer tricks crowd as Sydney greets Olympic Torch - 1956](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eRdOk0IcKQ%2F)** ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/104 "2024-08-08T03:22:40Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I remember there were plastic inserts that could be inserted in the 45 hole, since standard record players also had a 45 rpm setting Before plastic inserts, the inserts were metal and hard to put in. The first ones on [this page](https://45recordadapters.com/vintage-metal-adapters/) were the most common. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/105 "2024-08-08T13:50:43Z")
I remember those metal ones. My mom had a huge box of 45s from her teen years (50s). My sisters and I would play them all the time on an old record player that was also my mom’s. There were 2 of those metal inserts and they were next to impossible to change them out. We finally got the plastic ones which were much easier to use, but could still be tricky for us kids. Great memories of those 45s! ---
**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:** [August 8, 2024, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/106 "2024-08-08T14:53:27Z")
Am I the last person find out that Competitive Hobby Horse Riding is a thing… > **[Coming to America: Competitive Hobbyhorse Riding — The Wall Street Journal](https://apple.news/AYdb713ViSXCdccgiNszi7Q)** > > At a new contest in Michigan, stick-horse enthusiasts will be judged on dressage, jumping and more. ‘It’s so much more difficult than people think.’ ---
**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:** [August 8, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/107 "2024-08-08T16:05:18Z")
Continuing the Olympic theme, in the mid 20th century there were Olympic medals for arts. Specifically, there were medals for architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. At the 1948 games they gave out Olympic medals for poetry. At the 1900 games they had competitive hot air ballooning. At the 1908 games there was a pistol dueling competition, although it wasn’t really what it sounds like. It was basically a target shooting contest; competitors shot at a dummy with a target on its chest. > **[Forgotten — and surprising — Olympic events](https://www.npr.org/2024/08/07/nx-s1-5065618/forgotten-and-surprising-olympic-events)** > > Sports like skateboarding, surfing or break dancing have been added to the Olympics in recent years, but there are lots of events that have been taken out -- like hot air ballooning and arts. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/108 "2024-08-08T20:17:03Z")
What I remember is turntables that had a pop-up 45 rpm spindle you could use when not playing LPs. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/109 "2024-08-08T20:24:57Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > At the 1900 games they had competitive hot air ballooning. And live pigeon shooting. Not sure if they shot the pigeons from the balloons. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/110 "2024-08-08T21:06:18Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > What I remember is turntables that had a pop-up 45 rpm spindle you could use when not playing LPs. We (in the UK) had a plastic drop-in wide spindle that fitted over the regular narrow spindle. j ---
**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:** [August 8, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/111 "2024-08-08T21:12:32Z")
The knockout holes in the 1960s were a recognition that the only people that needed the large holes were jukebox operators. The knockouts were almost impossible to remove without a special tool (called a “dinker”). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/112 "2024-08-08T21:29:49Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > We (in the UK) had a plastic drop-in wide spindle that fitted over the regular narrow spindle. I’ve been thinking about this, and that makes sense. I had a couple of 45’s, and you had to insert the plastic adaptor into the record. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/113 "2024-08-08T22:18:57Z")
Watching a [SciShow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0A9M5wHBA4) video I was told that: A. A 2000 year old Roman cargo ship was found a while back. It contained over 1000 bars of lead. B. They are using some of that lead to line a very special detector as shielding. The radioactive lead-210 in the bars will have decayed to nearly nothing by now so not adding to the noise. C. That the lead is shielding the detector from cosmic rays and neutrinos. Wait, what? Neutrinos? I don’t think so. Yeah, even a decent channel like SciShow needs better fact checkers. Anyway, ancient shipwreck, state-of-the-art detector. Cool beans. (As in it’s chilled to a a really cold temp.) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/114 "2024-08-08T22:20:52Z")
Boris Karloff was the great-nephew of Anna Leonowens (of Anna and the King of Siam fame). ---
**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:** [August 8, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/115 "2024-08-08T23:07:56Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > C. That the lead is shielding the detector from cosmic rays and neutrinos. > > Wait, what? Neutrinos? I don’t think so. Yeah, even a decent channel like SciShow needs better fact checkers. Neutrinos can be detected. It’s not easy, but it can be done. > **[Neutrino detector](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino_detector)** > > A neutrino detector is a physics apparatus which is designed to study neutrinos. Because neutrinos only weakly interact with other particles of matter, neutrino detectors must be very large to detect a significant number of neutrinos. Neutrino detectors are often built underground, to isolate the detector from cosmic rays and other background radiation. The field of neutrino astronomy is still very much in its infancy – the only confirmed extraterrestrial sources as of 2018\[update\] are the Su Va... ---
**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:** [August 8, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/116 "2024-08-08T23:51:19Z")
Yes they can be detected, but lead doesn’t block them. Even if the lead were thousands of miles thick it would have a negligible effect. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/117 "2024-08-09T01:29:37Z")
How does lead ore get lead-210 in it to begin with? Do most sources of lead comingle with traces of uranium or thorium? ---
**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:** [August 9, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/118 "2024-08-09T01:36:49Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A 2000 year old Roman cargo ship was found a while back. It contained over 1000 bars of lead. The [Uluburun Shipwreck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluburun_shipwreck) is a Late Bronze Age shipwreck dated to the late 14th century BC, discovered close to the east shore of Uluburun (Grand Cape), Turkey, in the Mediterranean Sea. The shipwreck was discovered in the summer of 1982. Its cargo came from all over the ancient world, including 10 tons of copper (Cyprus) and 1 ton of tin (Uzbekistan and Turkey) - that is, the ingredients for 11 tons of bronze, enough to equip a small army. Other cargo came from Africa, the Baltic, Egypt and the Levant. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/119 "2024-08-09T01:39:29Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > And live pigeon shooting. Not sure if they shot the pigeons from the balloons. and in 1988 they had live pigeon grilling in Seoul … (no more pigeons in the olympics after that) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8dgXRXVScFM/hqdefault.jpg "▶ Grilled pigeons from Seoul Olympics 1988") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dgXRXVScFM&t=24) ---
**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:** [August 9, 2024, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/120 "2024-08-09T01:42:55Z")
There’s a detailed description in [this Scientific American article](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-roman-lead-physics-archaeology-controversy/). > When lead ore is first processed, it is purified and most of the uranium is removed. Whatever lead 210 is already present begins to break down, with half of it decaying on average every 22 years. In Roman lead almost all of the lead 210 has already decayed, whereas in lead mined today, it is just beginning to decay. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=7)