# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/141 "2010-03-15T16:08:50Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > And if you want to cross the Potomac, there’s a [Nice Bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_Harry_W._Nice_Memorial_Bridge) you can use. But of course in DC, your only real choices are Row v. Wade. ---
**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 15, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/142 "2010-03-15T16:33:48Z")
Here’s one that will probably stump some of you. There are many charts that show conversion factors for various physical units. For instance, kilometers and meters to miles and feet, and so on. But they also imply that you can convert between kilograms, grams, milligrams, on the one hand and pounds and ounces on the other. Technically, any such conversion is really impossible. Know why? _ **- Og trans Fat** _ P.S. I’ve just done some checking, and this may not make much sense these days. Let’s say that _historically_, there was a problem. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/143 "2010-03-15T16:40:46Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > So you posted stuff here that you knew was untrue, as an experiment of some sort? Just to see how long it would take for someone to call me on it. It took longer than I thought! ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/144 "2010-03-15T17:50:49Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > I’d have to look into this one, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Prostitution was, until recently, completely legal in Rhode Island as long as it was done indoors. So a 16 year old CAN legally dance nude in front of a room full of men (while the men are getting drunk) but she can’t have a cigarette at the end of her shift… ## This is one of the most bizzare current laws I am aware of anywhere in the USA, a country normally so hyper-protective of anything sexual having to do with minors (esp. minor females). Any Rhode Island Dopers ever been to a strip show and found that there was a 16 year-old on the talent roster for the night. Is it advertised? ## Is it common? ETA–thanks to Eutychus; I read this a few years back, but never really believed it could actually be true… ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/145 "2010-03-15T17:58:05Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > This is one of the most bizzare current laws I am aware of anywhere in the USA, I don’t know much about this, but it seems to me that it’s not so much a law as a lack of one. No one specifically thought to draw up a bill specifically prohibiting minors from dancing in a nudie bar. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/146 "2010-03-15T18:00:08Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > So a 16 year old CAN legally dance nude in front of a room full of men (while the men are getting drunk) but she can’t have a cigarette at the end of her shift… > > ## This is one of the most bizzare current laws I am aware of anywhere in the USA, a country normally so hyper-protective of anything sexual having to do with minors (esp. minor females). > > Any Rhode Island Dopers ever been to a strip show and found that there was a 16 year-old on the talent roster for the night. > > Is it advertised? > > ## Is it common? > > ETA–thanks to Eutychus; I read this a few years back, but never really believed it could actually be true… This is purely anecdotal, but I believe that most, if not all, clubs in Rhode Island, even though they by law CAN hire young dancers, don’t. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/147 "2010-03-15T18:05:20Z")
> [@RheaDark](#): > > 100 grams of broccoli can have up to 60 aphids on it. Then what? Late-arriving aphids have to wait for an opening? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/148 "2010-03-15T18:14:45Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > This is purely anecdotal, but I believe that most, if not all, clubs in Rhode Island, even though they by law CAN hire young dancers, don’t. I actually believe this—It dosent seem like it would be a draw for the average guy, and advertising it seems like it could backfire on the strip club… ---
**Author:** ![dragoncat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@dragoncat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragoncat)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/149 "2010-03-15T18:48:26Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > Sure, that’s why I say ‘probably’ and ‘most’, there are some very isolated ethnic groups. But even somewhere like the Andaman islands, it only takes one sailor in the 18th century to get washed up there, and potentially most of the current population could be descended from Charlemagne by now (I’m not saying this actually happened). Agreed. We tend to forget that human groups have interbred throughout our history – where they didn’t, they didn’t survive. It wouldn’t mean that Franks and Andaman Islanders met each other, of course; more likely, two things happened: A) people in each region interbred or intermarried with people from the next town over, gradually spreading Charlemagne’s descendants Eastward, and 2) conquests or migrations accelerated the process at various times. Besides, the Andaman Islands are not all that remote, where islands are concerned (compared to Polynesia, let’s say). ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/150 "2010-03-15T18:53:51Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I actually believe this—It dosent seem like it would be a draw for the average guy, and advertising it seems like it could backfire on the strip club… It’s the potential backlash that does it, I’d say. If it got around that some girls who’d just turned 16 were dancing at a club, I have no trouble imagining a large crowd of protesters gathering in the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/151 "2010-03-15T18:55:04Z")
> [@Trans Fat Og](#): > > But they also imply that you can convert between kilograms, grams, milligrams, on the one hand and pounds and ounces on the other. > > Technically, any such conversion is really impossible. > > Know why? > > _ **- Og trans Fat** _ > > P.S. I’ve just done some checking, and this may not make much sense these days. Let’s say that _historically_, there was a problem. Does it have anything to do with the distinction between weight and mass? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/152 "2010-03-15T19:00:56Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > It’s the potential backlash that does it, I’d say. If it got around that some girls who’d just turned 16 were dancing at a club, I have no trouble imagining a large crowd of protesters gathering in the parking lot. Agree completely—It has enough squick factor to motivate protesters (religious types, feminists, child advocates, old, crusty out-of-work strippers?) who may not otherwise be too worked up about strip clubs in general… ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/153 "2010-03-15T19:06:47Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Just to see how long it would take for someone to call me on it. It took longer than I thought! Wow, you sure are clever. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/154 "2010-03-15T19:08:49Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Wow, you sure are clever. Yeah, getting someone to believe that you aren’t lying to them is tricky stuff. ---
**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 16, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/155 "2010-03-16T00:19:36Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > Does it have anything to do with the distinction between weight and mass? Exactly! Pounds represent weight, which is a measure of force (of gravity). Really, we should use newtons for weight/force in metric, and slugs for mass in English units. But, upon checking, I found that they not only fudge with pound-mass (which I pretty much suspected) but also with kilogram-force. The latter would be how much a kilogram typically weighs. I didn’t check whether they average over all latitudes or just use equatorial gravity. Either way, presumably they use sea-level. (There really isn’t all that much difference on earth, so unless you are taking masses to the moon, mass and weight pretty much corelate.) But insisting on newtons for weight and slugs for mass would make things too involved, I guess, hence the fudge. So they **do** have standard conversion factors. So I suppose this wasn’t a very good example of a little known fact. I have a couple that I’m sure of, though, coming soon. _ **- Og Trans Fat, Global Village Idiot** _ ---
**Author:** ![ripopgome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@ripopgome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ripopgome)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/156 "2010-03-17T06:32:48Z")
> [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > Take a piece of string. Wrap it around a basketball. Increase the length of the string enough to wrap around the basketball at a height of 1 in. above its surface. This will require an additional 6.28 in. of string. > > Take a piece of string. Wrap it around Earth. Increase the length of the string enough to wrap around the planet at a height of 1 in. above its surface. This will require the same additional 6.28 in. of string. > > Simple geometry. Still kinda mind boggling. I was asked this (how much extra string) when I interviewed as an engineering manager at Yahoo. I totally flubbed the math during the interview, as trivial as it is, I don’t know how (but came up with the right answer about “the same extra amount”, just wasn’t sure how much). It was the last person I spoke with that day, and as soon as I got to my car I did it in probably less than a minute. I got the job anyhow, and that guy reported to me for 2 years. I never had the balls to ask him if he though I was an idiot for screwing up the math on that. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/157 "2010-03-17T16:33:16Z")
Minnesota has more shoreline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined. ---
**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 18, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/158 "2010-03-18T20:43:16Z")
There is a [fish parasite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa_exigua), that latches onto a fish’s tongue. The tongue atrophies over time, and the parasite basically “becomes” the fish’s new tongue. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/159 "2010-03-18T21:13:42Z")
The human body contains roughly 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 proteins, almost all of which have to be constructed by the process of protein synthesis every few days. A single protein being synthesized incorrectly could be lethal if it started a tumor or cancer. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648/160 "2010-03-19T01:40:19Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Just to see how long it would take for someone to call me on it. It took longer than I thought! **tdn** – not cool. This is really against the spirit of this thread specifically, and the whole “fighting ignorance” thing in general. I’m not going to call it trolling, which some of the people reporting it have done, so I’m not giving you a warning – but, seriously, not cool. Don’t do it again. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbelievable-facts-that-turn-out-to-be-true/530648.md?page=9)