# useless fact-athon!! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 5, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358 "2003-07-05T06:51:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/21 "2003-07-05T16:08:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jesleigh \* > \*\*Dolphins are the only other animals that have sex for pleasure > \*\* What about monkies and other primates? I’m could of sworn those little buggers just love sex as much as we do (Hell, maybe even more.) ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/22 "2003-07-05T17:06:32Z")
Let’s start with my equine-related factoids: Horses cannot vomit. True albinism does not exist in horses. Contrary to urban legend, horses will not run _to_ a burning barn. That myth is based on the fact that often-enough-times in a barn fire, horses can be difficult to remove because they’re panicked, and fear leaving the safety of “home.” Arabian horses (like my mare) have one fewer vertebrae than other breeds. Horses cannot breathe through their mouths. Other miscellaneous trivia: While taking the considerable amount of time required for swallowing their prey, snakes breathe through a sort of anatomical snorkel called a Jacob’s Organ. IIRC, elephants have the longest gestation period at 20 months. Hmm…maybe I should stop here. For now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Physiognomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@The\_Physiognomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Physiognomist)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/23 "2003-07-05T17:37:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bouv \* > \*\*What about monkies and other primates? I’m could of sworn those little buggers just love sex as much as we do (Hell, maybe even more.) \*\* Bonobos are considered to have sex solely for pleasure as well. I think other apes are lucky enough to escape the distinction, although there are relevant records of female chimps breaking new grounds in creative tool use. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/24 "2003-07-05T17:41:27Z")
There are 2,500,000 rivets in the Eiffel Tower ---
**Author:** ![Trafalgar\_Laura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trafalgar_laura/32/2907_2.png) [@Trafalgar\_Laura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trafalgar_Laura)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/25 "2003-07-05T17:51:51Z")
Joe Walsh appears in the original “Blues Brothers” movie. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/26 "2003-07-05T18:05:11Z")
If all the mined (jewelry, bars,coins,etc) gold in the world was purified and melted into one single block, the block would measure only 60’x60’x60’ (cube) No cite. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/27 "2003-07-05T18:06:42Z")
It takes 43 days to build a Boeing 747. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/28 "2003-07-05T18:21:52Z")
If Elizabeth II is still queen in just twelve years, she will be the longest reigning British monarch, beating out her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria. Given that her mother lived to be a hundred, and Liz is only 76, I would say she has a shot at the title. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/29 "2003-07-05T18:58:27Z")
There are no muscles in your hand. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/30 "2003-07-05T19:21:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*There are no muscles in your hand. \*\* [Not true.](http://www.dartmouth.edu/~anatomy/wrist-hand/muscles/intrinsic3.html) ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/31 "2003-07-05T19:24:15Z")
By the time you’re 60, you’ll have spent 5 years waiting in lines. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/32 "2003-07-05T19:26:57Z")
The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/33 "2003-07-05T19:28:50Z")
My hands don’t look like that! I got skin. [movie line] By the time the average American male is 40, he has 5 pounds of undigested red meat in his bowels. [/movie line] A kitten’s head will fit into my mouth. Soylent Green is… ah, never mind. Dogs can’t whistle. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/34 "2003-07-05T20:02:30Z")
If a human beings eyes were the same size as a cat’s eyes in proportion to their faces, our eyes would be the size of baseballs. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Strychnos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Strychnos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strychnos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/35 "2003-07-05T20:36:08Z")
Mills Darden of North Carolina is the only man in history who is both among the 10 tallest men ever and the 10 heaviest men ever, arguably the biggest human being who ever lived. 1020 lbs / 7,5+ feet ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/36 "2003-07-05T22:14:06Z")
A duck’s quack doesn’t echo. Ow! Stop hitting me! Just trying to get it out of the way before someone who actually thinks this is true posts it ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/37 "2003-07-05T22:25:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by green\_bladder \* > \*\*Unless you’re a giraffe, of course. \*\* Or a gecko. (Some, not all, species.) > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruffian \* > **While taking the considerable amount of time required for swallowing their prey, snakes breathe through a sort of anatomical snorkel called a Jacob’s Organ.** Sorry. I’m impressed you know about the Jacobsen’s Organs, but that’s incorrect. It’s the [glottis](http://www.szgdocent.org/cc/c-eat2.htm) (trachea) that they can protrude, and breathe through, while swallowing. The Jacobsen’s Organ is an organ of [scent](http://www.cobras.org/cob_5.htm), but unrelated to breathing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/38 "2003-07-05T22:38:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zeldar \* > \*\* > The only thing that all _living_ human beings share is birth. > \*\* What about the fact that they’ll die one day? Or that they breath oxygen? Or a million other biological facts? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/39 "2003-07-05T22:48:10Z")
Well I’m a big dork. Okay, maybe just a little dork. This is what happens when all the snake books are packed away (moving them into a new classroom) and I don’t think about internet searching. Damned hazy memory. Thanks for the clarification, **Davebear**. 🙂 Soooooo…let’s go with this (and I have my corn snake manual right in front of me, so I’m not going by a hazy memory again): Corn snakes have 3 different skin pigments (red, yellow, black), whereas we humans have only one (black/melanin). Amelanistic/albino produces white mammals because it is an absence of the black pigment, melanin. But in corn snakes, “taking away black leaves plenty of dazzling color.” It is because of this wider variety of skin pigments that corn snakes can come in the reptilian rainbow that they do, thanks to selective, domestic breeding. ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358/40 "2003-07-05T23:37:05Z")
The most common day to be born is October 5th. The least common is May 22nd. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-fact-athon/186358.md?page=3)