# What neat thing did you just learn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 3, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565 "2015-06-03T19:16:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/1 "2015-06-03T19:16:37Z")
To head you all off at the pass, pineapples don’t grow on trees, ponies are not baby horses, the gas tank is on the side with the arrow, those little tabs are there to hold the aluminum foil in the box… did I forget any of the usual suspects? So other than that what did you just find out that’s really cool? I just found out that wombats _poop cubes_! They have special poopin’ bones that cubify their poo. (They also have reinforced booties so when they’re scared they can hop into a tunnel face first and their tail-less cartilage reinforced butt is all a predator can reach. That’s not as cool as the cube poop though.) ---
**Author:** ![Recusant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@Recusant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recusant)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/2 "2015-06-03T19:21:30Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > the gas tank is on the side with the arrow Okay, the rest I got, but what does this mean? If the side with the gas tank has arrows in it, you’re probably being attacked. Check for war whoops. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/3 "2015-06-03T19:46:35Z")
> [@Recusant](#): > > Okay, the rest I got, but what does this mean? If the side with the gas tank has arrows in it, you’re probably being attacked. Check for war whoops. That’s something I just learned in the past year or so myself (I’m 62). Next to the Fuel indicator on the dashboard (at least on all American cars I’ve driven lately) is a triagular arrow pointing to the side of the car the gas tank is on. Because that is something I (at least) never remember from week to week (hey, I’ve got _important stuff_ I need to have in my brain)! Can’t speak for Europe or Japan, but it is pretty common here in the States. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/4 "2015-06-03T19:50:07Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > They have special poopin’ bones that cubify their poo. Are you sure? I’d always heard that the cubes were formed, er, post-excretion. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/5 "2015-06-03T19:50:41Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > To head you all off at the pass, pineapples don’t grow on trees, ponies are not baby horses, the gas tank is on the side with the arrow, those little tabs are there to hold the aluminum foil in the box… did I forget any of the usual suspects? > > So other than that what did you just find out that’s really cool? I just found out that wombats _poop cubes_! They have special poopin’ bones that cubify their poo. > > (They also have reinforced booties so when they’re scared they can hop into a tunnel face first and their tail-less cartilage reinforced butt is all a predator can reach. That’s not as cool as the cube poop though.) That is a cool bit of knowledge. I can’t wait to use the response to an obvious question; “does a wombat poop cubes?” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/6 "2015-06-03T20:16:41Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Are you sure? I’d always heard that the cubes were formed, er, post-excretion. How? Do they play with it like Oreo filling? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/7 "2015-06-03T21:09:10Z")
Well, that’s what Wired said. Wikipedia charmingly notes that “They are not commonly seen, but leave ample evidence of their passage, treating fences as minor inconveniences to be gone through or under, and leaving distinctive cubic faeces.” ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/8 "2015-06-03T22:25:32Z")
I found out today that the [mere act of rinsing one’s mouth with sugar water](http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/full-frontal-psychology/where-does-self-discipline-come-from.html) can increase willpower and self control. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/9 "2015-06-03T22:49:20Z")
There’s a person called an Orthoptist who, more or less, specializes in straightening eyes (double vision, lazy eye etc). My daughter’s been having some double vision issues and as part of the appointment today, one of the bunch of people we dealt with was an orthoptist. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/10 "2015-06-03T22:56:30Z")
Hey, I got my eye fixed by an orthoptist and didn’t even know it! (Well, I knew I got my eye fixed, just not by whom.) ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/11 "2015-06-03T23:22:05Z")
I learned how to insert a urinary catheter into a female dog without looking. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/12 "2015-06-03T23:31:37Z")
When the Saturn V rocket left the pad, its fuel economy was fifteen gallons to the inch. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/13 "2015-06-04T01:32:16Z")
So I saw the title and got all excited and I was going to tell how I was driving along a rural highway today and heard periodical cicadas for the first time this year, and how I learned that these were 13 year cicadas from Brood XXIII, also known as the Lower Mississippi Valley Brood, but then I saw some of the cool stuff other people had learned, so I’m just going to sit here with a forced smile on my face. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/14 "2015-06-04T02:43:20Z")
I was talking with my students today about how to make tetrahedrons out of paper printed with a “grid” of equilateral triangles, and I saw something interesting. The smallest number of triangles on each face would be 1, and the total number for a tetrahedron would be 4. Or you can make a larger triangle per face out of 4 smaller triangles, and the total for the tetrahedron is 16. The next size up is a face made from 9 triangles, for a total of 36. Next up: 16 triangles per face, total of 64. You see where I’m going with this? The number of smaller triangles that make up an equilateral triangle appear always to be a perfect square; the total number of smaller triangles making up a tetrahedron also appears to be a perfect square. I don’t understand why, but I thought it was delightful. My students were nonplussed at my joy. Edit: ooh, cool! The square root of the total number of triangles is always twice the square root of the triangles on a single face. I guess that’s because there are four faces, and the root of four is two. Huh, I guess that’s also related to why they’re both perfect squares. Math is cool. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/15 "2015-06-04T05:08:59Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > You see where I’m going with this? The number of smaller triangles that make up an equilateral triangle appear always to be a perfect square; the total number of smaller triangles making up a tetrahedron also appears to be a perfect square. I don’t understand why, but I thought it was delightful. The product of two squares will always be another square. The product of two hep cats will be jazz. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/16 "2015-06-04T05:23:17Z")
> [@sweetie pea](#): > > So I saw the title and got all excited and I was going to tell how I was driving along a rural highway today and heard periodical cicadas for the first time this year, and how I learned that these were 13 year cicadas from Brood XXIII, also known as the Lower Mississippi Valley Brood, but then I saw some of the cool stuff other people had learned, so I’m just going to sit here with a forced smile on my face. NO! I think that’s super cool! How’d you find out what specific group/brood they are? We get cicadas every year ~August and I always wonder if it’s the same type, or does it vary, or if (and if so, when) we get any periodical cicadas. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/17 "2015-06-04T05:39:39Z")
That the French equivalent of the Spanish _beato_ is _bigot_. Both mean “someone who is way too devout”. You know, that lady who doesn’t just go to Mass every day but worry about the state of everybody else’s soul, or the Evangelic whose salute isn’t “hello” but “have you received Jesus as your savior?” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/18 "2015-06-04T05:39:42Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > the total number of smaller triangles making up a tetrahedron also appears to be a perfect square. If you have some triangle count for a face with side length N, you can get the next size up by adding a row of 2N+1 triangles. Let’s say you have a size-3 face; that has 9 triangles in it. To get a size-4 face, you would add 7 more triangles: 3 of them attached to the original face, and then 4 more to fill in the gaps. So we have a function that looks like this: f(n+1) = f(n) + 2n + 1 By inspection, the base case is: f(1) = 1 As it turns out, f(n) = n[sup]2[/sup] fits the bill. That’s easily seen if we just substitute: (n+1)[sup]2[/sup] = n[sup]2[/sup] + 2n + 1 And of course our base case is: 1[sup]2[/sup] = 1 > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > My students were nonplussed at my joy. Nonplussed? Or unimpressed? (sorry, just a pet peeve. probably a losing battle at this point) ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/19 "2015-06-04T07:26:22Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That the French equivalent of the Spanish _beato_ is _bigot_. Both mean “someone who is way too devout”. You know, that lady who doesn’t just go to Mass every day but worry about the state of everybody else’s soul, or the Evangelic whose salute isn’t “hello” but “have you received Jesus as your savior?” I’d imagined hitherto, that “bigot” was a straight-up English word – originally meaning, as you say, “way too devout”: someone who is forever exclaiming “by God” – meaning it earnestly, not in a taking-the-Lord’s-name-in-vain way. In the light of the above, however: it would seem that the explanation that I’d heard, is mistaken folk-etymology. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565/20 "2015-06-04T12:16:45Z")
I didn’t see this thread, or I’d have posted it here – **Gerald Ford’s Wife’s Name** > **[Interesting fact about Gerald Ford's wife Betty](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=758592)** > > I stumbled across this yesterday, and it blew me away. I’m surprised no one has mentioned it before. Gerald Ford always has been a surprising president when it comes to names. He was born Leslie Lynch King Jr., after all. His mother remarried to... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-neat-thing-did-you-just-learn/721565.md?page=2)