# Unbelievable facts that turn out to be true. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648 "2010-02-27T14:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/201 "2010-03-26T18:06:01Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > “Two to the forty-eighth.” It means “a whole shit load.” After I posted my question I went ahead and googled for myself. I don’t know how I survived 59 years without knowing it was just another way of writing “to the nth power.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/202 "2010-03-26T20:54:46Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > I like this one.. if the M31 galaxy were bright enough to wholly see it would be quite impressive in the night sky. > [APOD: 2006 December 28 - Moon Over Andromeda](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061228.html) Ever since I first came across that in refdesk’s Astronomy Page, I haven;t been able to get it out of my mind. > [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Yeah, this one’s great. When that photo first ran, I Photoshopped and printed a copy to scale (moon in photo held at arm’s length = actual moon in actual sky) to amaze myself and friends. Andromeda’s BIG. Wow! Great idea. An illustration method like that had never occurred to me. 🆒 In July I will be giving a talk for the local Bertrand Russell society about the relative scales of the visible universe, starting with the diameter of the earth. My essay will be titled “How Big a Nightmare?” based on Russell’s “[The Theologian’s Nightmare.](http://hoopyfrood.org/astronomy/the-theologians-nightmare/)” I had already planned to use visual aids and visualizations to get the points across to a partly non-mathematical audience. Following suit to what you did would make quite an addition. * * * - “Jack”\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/203 "2010-03-26T22:13:28Z")
Another incredible moon fact via illustration. We all know about the epic voyage of the Apollo mission. The longest distance any human beings have ever traveled. To get to the moon, yes. But on the moon itself? The actual [area](http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11vsMLB.gif) the Apollo 11 crew explored. (Or [here](http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/a11vsfootball.gif) for non-Americans.) Never has anyone traveled so far to walk such a short distance. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/204 "2010-03-27T00:29:51Z")
Another Earth, Moon one that seems to surprise people. Hold up your first and pretend it is the Earth. Ask someone to point out how far away the moon would be, relatively speaking. Most people would point to a spot a foot or two away. Maybe 4. There are 28 earth diameters between the Earth and the moon. Assuming your first is about 3" across, the moon would be about 7 feet from your fist. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/205 "2010-03-29T19:52:28Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Measured using Google Earth: > > Atlanta to Chicago: ca 583 miles > Atlanta to Miami: ca 601 miles Thanks. I actually confirmed it myself prior to my posting it. I’ve actually posted this fact a few times over the years and always check (in case I missed any major landmass shifts over the past few months). ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/206 "2010-03-29T20:52:48Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > Minnesota has more shoreline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined. Shoreline calculations vary wildly (several orders of magnitude) depending on how close you’re looking. So unless there’s a universal standard for this, I’m calling bogus. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/207 "2010-03-29T21:00:29Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Thanks. I actually confirmed it myself prior to my posting it. I’ve actually posted this fact a few times over the years and always check (in case I missed any major landmass shifts over the past few months). The only thing I can think of is that, at the time, Mapquest seemed like the tool that made the most sense for checking this. They’re close enough that it’s actually farther to drive to Chicago; it’s just not objectively farther. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/208 "2010-03-29T21:53:57Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > Shoreline calculations vary wildly (several orders of magnitude) depending on how close you’re looking. So unless there’s a universal standard for this, I’m calling bogus. No, this is probably true. Minnesota contains about 12,000 lakes over 10 acres in size, thus at least a mile of shoreline each. Many are much bigger, from hundreds of acres to hundreds of thousands of acres. And ‘shoreline’ includes river shores, too. So Minnesota is nearly completely defined by shoreline: the whole northeast border is Lake Superior or Lake of the Wood shoreline, the east border is the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers, and the west border is largely Big Stone Lake, Lake Travis, and the Red River. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/209 "2010-03-30T12:16:45Z")
An underground coal fire in Australia is estimated to have been borning for [6000 years](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Mountain). ---
**Author:** ![Random\_Design](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58f4c7/32.png) [@Random\_Design](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random_Design)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/210 "2010-03-30T13:28:07Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Another incredible moon fact via illustration. We all know about the epic voyage of the Apollo mission. The longest distance any human beings have ever traveled. > > To get to the moon, yes. But on the moon itself? > > The actual [area](http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11vsMLB.gif) the Apollo 11 crew explored. (Or [here](http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/a11vsfootball.gif) for non-Americans.) > > Never has anyone traveled so far to walk such a short distance. May I ask why the separate link for non-Americans? Are we not supposed to look at NASA’s site? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/211 "2010-03-30T13:42:22Z")
> [@Random\_Design](#): > > May I ask why the separate link for non-Americans? Are we not supposed to look at NASA’s site? It’s probably because we are not supposed to use the size of a baseball field as a reference for area. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/212 "2010-03-30T16:26:58Z")
There are more people of Swedish descent in America than in Sweden, and more people of Irish descent in America than Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/213 "2010-03-30T16:41:10Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > There are more people of Swedish descent in America than in Sweden, and more people of Irish descent in America than Ireland. And IIRC, a lot more Samoans in Los Angeles than in Samoa. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/214 "2010-03-30T16:58:13Z")
Columbus discovered America! Really.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/215 "2010-03-30T17:02:31Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Columbus discovered America! Really.🙂 That reminds me of another one: Columbus never set foot on the mainland New World. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/216 "2010-03-30T17:15:28Z")
> [@](#): > > May I ask why the separate link for non-Americans? Are we not supposed to look at NASA’s site? One link compares the moon expedition to a baseball field. The other compares it to a football/soccer field. Pick the sport you’re more familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/217 "2010-03-30T17:24:20Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > …; I suspect the randy old codger would have enjoyed Thailand, hehehe. 😃 Or Rhode Island. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/218 "2010-03-30T18:10:53Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That reminds me of another one: Columbus never set foot on the mainland New World. Does this mean he stayed on the boat when they landed at the South American mainland? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/219 "2010-03-31T03:48:34Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Does this mean he stayed on the boat when they landed at the South American mainland? It means he set foot on only the islands of the New World but not the mainland. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/220 "2010-03-31T04:08:37Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It means he set foot on only the islands of the New World but not the mainland. Thanks. Didn’t answer my question, but thanks. What makes it a little confusing, if [this article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus) is accurate: > [@](#): > > He explored **the mainland of South America,** including the Orinoco River. Thus my question: When he landed at South America, does this mean that he never got off the boat, and literally never set foot in the New World? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648.md?page=12)