# Things you think you know, but you do not
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [May 28, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166 "2024-05-28T01:35:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/21 "2024-06-01T20:04:02Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#):
>
> There was much ado about the lady who sued McDonald’s for spilling hot coffee on herself. If you look at the facts of the case it’s clear McDonald’s was responsible for gross negligence, their coffee was significantly hotter than any other competitor, had injured people before, they had been ordered to lower the temperature and didn’t, and the poor lady had third degree burns and required skin grafts on her _genitals._ Not so frivolous.
Good one.
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#):
>
> That we use only 10% of our brains.
Another fine choice.
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### Author:  [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/22 "2024-06-01T20:11:39Z")
The "[mutiny" on Skylab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab_4#Communications_break). It was a minor error that actually led to a needed discussion about the crew’s workload and scheduling.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/23 "2024-06-01T20:14:06Z")
Also- that kinds will act like Lord of the Flies- which should be needless to say but isnt- is FICTION.
In the handful of times that occured- , kids did not “go all Lord of the Flies”.
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### Author:  [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2024, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/24 "2024-06-01T22:08:44Z")
Ty Cobb, the greatest baseball player in Major League Baseball before Babe Ruth, was never the racist he is wrongly depicted to be. Thank Al Stump, a writer who wrote some really fabricated stories.
In reality, Cobb (albeit hard scrabble and volatile) was very progressive for his time. (He was also rich, having been an early investor in Coca Cola)
> [@](#):
>
> Cindy Cobb put her family’s background in perspective.
>
> “Race was never an issue in our family and my dad always spoke very highly of Granddad,” she said. "People assume that Ty Cobb must have been a racist because he was raised in Georgia in the 1880s. In fact, he descended from a long line of abolitionists. As Charlie Leerhsen discovered, Ty’s great-grandfather was a minister who was run out of town for preaching against slavery. His grandfather refused to fight in the Confederate army because of slavery. His father was an educator and Georgia state senator who spoke up for his black constituents and whose political career was in part cut short for having broken up a lynch mob.”
>
> In his book, Leerhsen writes: “For years Cobb had publicly applauded the integration of organized baseball, cheering it louder than virtually any old-time star.”
>
> In a 1952 Sporting News article on the integration of the Texas minor leagues, published before the Athletics, Pirates, Cardinals, Reds, Yankees, Phillies, Tigers, and Red Sox had a black player on their rosters, Cobb stated: “The Negro has the right to compete in sports and who’s to say they have not?”
>
> He later said, toward the end of his life: “The only player I would pay to see is Willie Mays.”
> **[90 years ago, Detroit Tigers legend Ty Cobb challenged myths of being...](https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2020/05/16/ty-cobb-detroit-tigers-racist-hamtramck-stadium-negro-leagues/3110323001/)**
>
> Detroit Tigers legend Ty Cobb carries a complicated legacy. But 90 years ago, he christened Hamtramck Stadium in honor of the Negro Leagues.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/25 "2024-06-01T23:32:53Z")
> [@Moriarty](#):
>
> In reality, Cobb (albeit hard scrabble and volatile) was very progressive for his time. (He was also rich, having been an early investor in Coca Cola)
(Johnny Carson) _I did not know that._
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### Author:  [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2024, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/26 "2024-06-01T23:36:52Z")
> [@Moriarty](#):
>
A corollary of sorts to this myth: [a purported confrontation between Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner in the 1909 Wprld Series.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1909_World_Series#The_%22Krauthead%22_story)
It was claimed that while on first base, Cobb yelled to Wagner at shortstop, “Hey Krauthead, I’m coming down on the next pitch”, only to be thrown out and injured when Wagner planted the ball in his face. Wiki says the story was spread by the “creative press” of the time.
Cobb’s agressive playing style did indeed earn him enemies. One was Giants manager John J. McGraw, whose clash with Cobb was written about in detail in “The Tiger Wore Spikes”, a Cobb biography written in 1956 while he was still alive.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/27 "2024-06-01T23:37:21Z")
When I was a kid, I read a book that said the speed of sound was 750 miles per hour. I memorized that and kept in head for many years until later on learning that that wasn’t true; the speed of sound is variable depending on many factors like air pressure, altitude, medium, etc.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/28 "2024-06-12T03:54:24Z")
What do you think a spaceship would see if it went thru a asteroid belt? Rocks everywhere, right?
Nope. You might just see one or two tiny points of reflected light. You could fly thru our asteroid belt and very likely not even come close to hitting anything.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/29 "2024-06-20T20:50:39Z")
History Channel does it again. One of their so called experts, talking about the missing Tomb of Alexander, casually mentions that old base canard that Christians destroyed the Library of Alexandria.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/30 "2024-06-28T23:38:37Z")
Cowboys did not wear Stetsons. Well, not until later in the period. But despite what one person wrote (poorly researched- they found that the Stetson came later and saw pictures of the Butch Cassidy gang dressed up wearing bowlers)- they didnt wear bowlers either, except maybe in town.
Look at period photos- they wore wide brimmed wool felt hats- kinda shapeless- which could be called “proto-Stetsons”-\_and Sombreros.
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/31 "2024-06-29T19:06:51Z")
I thought Stetson is a make of western hat, not a generic term for them. They are expensive, too. Cowboys I’ve known don’t call their hats ‘Stetsons’. They call them ‘hats’.
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### Author:  [@slowpony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slowpony)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/32 "2024-06-29T20:51:41Z")
A lot less than teenagers, ask them.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/33 "2024-06-29T21:19:34Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#):
>
> I thought Stetson is a make of western hat, not a generic term for them.
It is- but they made the first shaped and stylish western hats. The earlier felt hats look a bit like the Stetson “Boss of the Plains” hat, which came out in 1865, and was indeed shaped, and stiffer, but without the dip in the middle of the crown.
wiki- _Stetson’s western adventures came to an end in 1865. Stetson, then 35 years old and in better health, returned east and established his own hat firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which produced high-quality hats for outdoor use. After producing some initial designs based on popular styles of the day, Stetson decided to create a hat based on his experiences in the American West, which he called the “[Boss of the Plains](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_of_the_Plains)”.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stetson#cite_note-ReferenceA-6)_
_The original “Boss”, manufactured by Stetson in 1865, was flat-brimmed, had a straight-sided crown with rounded corners. These lightweight, waterproof hats were natural in color, with four-inch crowns and brims.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stetson#cite_note-Snyder-7) A plain hatband was fitted to adjust head size.[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stetson#cite_note-8) The sweatband bore John B. Stetson’s name._
So, certainly the Boss of the Plains was available during the Cowboy main period.
Take a look at
> **[The 100 Best Historical Photos of the American Cowboy | Old west photos,...](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/the-100-best-historical-photos-of-the-american-cowboy--361484307592991219/)**
>
> The earliest known photographs of these iconic Americans are tintypes, taken as early as the 1870s, most likely captured during a trail drive or at an end-of-trail town.
you dont see many bowlers.
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/34 "2024-07-01T19:27:46Z")
Aside from higher primates, Corvids (crow family) are the **only** animals to use tools. Everyone knows that. Oh, hang on, Parrots do too - in fact they make tools. Errr - turns out the woodpecker finch does that too. And then there’s…
Here’s the list
> **[Tool use by non-humans | In birds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_use_by_non-humans#In_birds)**
>
> Tool use is found in at least thirty-three different families of birds. According to Jones and Kamil's definition, a bearded vulture dropping a bone on a rock would not be considered using a tool since the rock cannot be seen as an extension of the body. However, the use of a rock manipulated using the beak to crack an ostrich egg would qualify the Egyptian vulture as a tool user. Many other species, including parrots, corvids and a range of passerines, have been noted as tool users.\[1
There are also many other non-primate, non-bird tool users (including, intriguingly, fish). All in the same article.
j
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### Author:  [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/35 "2024-07-01T19:41:00Z")
Isn’t Greek both a nationality and an ethnicity? Considering Cleopatra was the descendant of multiple generations of Ptolemies she would have likely been more Egyptian than Greek.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/36 "2024-07-01T19:43:30Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#):
>
> Aside from higher primates, Corvids (crow family) are the **only** animals to use tools. Everyone knows that. Oh, hang on, Parrots do too - in fact they make tools. Errr - turns out the woodpecker finch does that too. And then there’s…
True, more and more animals are found to use tools. None but the primates- afaik- _make_ tools.
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/37 "2024-07-01T19:53:40Z")
Goffin’s cockatoos make tool kits: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6feNOrOsB0&t=6s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6feNOrOsB0&t=6s)
j
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/38 "2024-07-01T19:57:39Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#):
>
> Goffin’s cockatoos make tool kits
Interesting.
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/39 "2024-07-01T20:22:50Z")
The Heathkit Cockatoo then sells them to other birds…
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### Author:  [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-think-you-know-but-you-do-not/1002166/40 "2024-07-01T22:06:53Z")
Is there any information on _how much_ of Cleopatra’s ancestry was Egyptian and Persian (vice Greek)?
To expand on your example, an American with _one_ sixth-generation Irish ancestor would probably feel differently from an American who had traced most of their ancestry back to Ireland, and embraced it through cultural and religious tenets.
That said, it’s different with royalty. AIUI English monarchs for many years before Victoria were predominantly of German extraction.
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