# What's out there that it didn't occur to you even existed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 2, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183 "2013-10-02T15:20:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/101 "2013-10-06T19:44:43Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > When I lived in England in the '70s, a Mars was the equivalent of a US Milky Way; a Milky Way was the equivalent of a US Three Musketeers; a Marathon was the equivalent of a US Snickers; and a Curly-Wurley was the equivalent of a US Marathon. Dunno if it’s still that way, but I suspect so. Pretty much, except that the UK Marathon was rebranded as Snickers in 1990. Weird how we ended up with much the same names, and products, either side of the Atlantic but with the names shuffled. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/102 "2013-10-06T23:07:31Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > This [240-year-old writing automaton](http://www.chonday.com/Videos/the-writer-automaton) surprised me. As an aside, I highly recommend **this film**. It is amazing! > **[Hugo (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_(film))** > > Hugo is a 2011 American adventure drama film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, and adapted for the screen by John Logan. Based on Brian Selznick's 2007 book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, it tells the story of a boy who lives alone in the Gare Montparnasse railway station in Paris in the 1930s, only to become embroiled in a mystery surrounding his late father's automaton and the pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès. > Hugo is Scorsese's first film shot in 3D, about which the filmmaker rem... ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/103 "2013-10-06T23:25:12Z")
another vote for furries. I could not quite believe it when I heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/104 "2013-10-07T18:19:42Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > Well; I bow, and “cede the palm” to you Americans, for being, as often, bigger and better and more outrageous – here, re the deep-frying of stuff – than we feeble Brits can even dream of 🙂 . I’d say that “available in chip shops” and “available at fairs” are two different categories. Of course now someone will report fried Mars bars at the mall. Oh, for a given value of recently, I recently learned that the Duraflame log was invented in Stockton, CA. It was an R&D effort by a pencil making factory that was looking for a way to use the leftover wood shavings and chips. I do not want to think about a fire out at the Duraflame warehouse. Although it is located pretty close to the harbor. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/105 "2013-10-07T18:25:28Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I do not want to think about a fire out at the Duraflame warehouse. Guaranteed to burn for three hours. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/106 "2013-10-07T18:43:54Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > There are also glow-in-the-dark condoms, so you _can_ see it coming. 😉 Obligatory link to the otherwise unremarkable movie [Skin Deep](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky5u6vm44ak&t=3m38s). ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/107 "2013-10-07T20:22:37Z")
Bronies. I just can’t quite bring myself to believe that they’re for real. Also, grape pie, something I learned about from this very thread. But I least I can comprehend that one. ---
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/108 "2013-10-07T20:59:58Z")
Fried ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/109 "2013-10-07T21:01:11Z")
> [@Longshanks](#): > > Fried ice cream. Deep fried coke was actually more of a shock to me, personally. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this at a fair in the south (hell, they were deep frying everything you can think of). ---
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/110 "2013-10-07T21:11:50Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Deep fried coke was actually more of a shock to me, personally. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this at a fair in the south (hell, they were deep frying everything you can think of). How exactly is that consumed? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/111 "2013-10-07T21:15:01Z")
> [@Longshanks](#): > > How exactly is that consumed? Well, when I had it they put it in a coke cup. It’s not liquid, but instead it’s like coke flavored breading I guess (hard to describe). It actually wasn’t that bad, though a bit sweet for my taste (most fair food is) and gave me seriously bad indigestion…and is probably extremely bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/112 "2013-10-08T02:11:16Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Well, when I had it they put it in a coke cup. It’s not liquid, but instead it’s like coke flavored breading I guess (hard to describe). Little deep-fried dough balls made using Coke as the hydrating agent? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/113 "2013-10-08T04:13:55Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps\_unilateralis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_unilateralis) > > Mind control fungus From beginning to end, that is about the most far out Wikipedia entry I can recall ever having read. Once again, nature outdoes the wildest fiction from the mind of man. ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Ghoti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Flying\_Ghoti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Ghoti)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/114 "2013-10-08T22:36:05Z")
Miniature horses being used as guide animals for the blind. They even wear adorable little sneakers on their hooves so that they don’t slip on hard floors! > **[Guide horse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_horse)** > > A guide horse is an alternative mobility option for blind people who do not wish to or cannot use a guide dog. > The idea of a guide horse for a blind person dates back to 1943 if not earlier, the film The Blocked Trail of that year having a dwarf horse guide a blind miner. The Burlesons though may appear to have a claim for the practical proposal of using a miniature horse as a service animal for the blind or partially sighted. In 1998, while on a horseback ride in New York City, Janet and Don Bu... [http://www.guidehorse.org/photo\_page.htm](http://www.guidehorse.org/photo_page.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/115 "2013-10-09T11:48:23Z")
I never knew about [Yodeling Pickles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52dBhbPLm3c). And I can’t believe I just admitted to knowing about them now. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/116 "2013-10-09T12:18:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That’s old hat. The new “in” thing is “[ball ironing](http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/06/ball-ironing-a-cosmetic-procedure-for-men.html).” George Clooney had this done. Some men apparently don’t care for wrinkles down there. > > And before you cringe in horror, it’s done with a laser, not a clothes iron. How is the last part supposed to be less cringe-worthy? My ovaries have tried to climb above my lungs just reading about it! People who go on medically-overseen tube-feeding to lose weight, and the medical personnel who will do it. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/117 "2013-10-09T18:48:41Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Honestly, it reminded me of having a forgotten Mars Bar in your pocket and sitting on it by accident for a long train journey. At the end of the journey you gleefully remember the Mars Bar, and there is great joy in eating the squished, warm thing. > > It’s like that, but with batter. And less surprise. That’s it – I’ve just got to try this deep-fried thing. I’m shortly going to do quite a big favour for my brother; in return, he can take me to the nearby town and its chip shop which purveys “Exhibit A”, and we’ll give it a go. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/118 "2013-10-10T11:06:39Z")
From General Questions today: [tether cars](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=704421). Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/119 "2013-10-10T14:00:01Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > Bronies. I just can’t quite bring myself to believe that they’re for real. > > Also, grape pie, something I learned about from this very thread. But I least I can comprehend that one. Yeah, I admit on some level bronies creep me right the fuck out. Not because they are into girly juvenile stuff - more power to you, man - but because in what little exposure I’ve had to them, they seem incapable of realizing the show _was not made for them_. They just happen to be an extra demographic. But they get downright pissed if little girls happen to disagree with them re the show. Grape pie sounds interesting, though I don’t like any other fruit pies, so not sure if I’d like it. I did notice someone mentioned pink salt. I love pink salt! I put it on my cantaloupe. [Kala namak - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kala_Namak) The stuff I eat is actually made from the raw halite mentioned earlier. We call it kala namak, or black salt, since it looks black too because of the sulfide. Unfortunately due to its sulfur content it smells a bit like ass, so I only eat it at home. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183/120 "2013-10-10T14:34:57Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > From General Questions today: [tether cars](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=704421). Who knew? I never heard of these either. Especially not 300 km/h tether cars. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-out-there-that-it-didnt-occur-to-you-even-existed/670183.md?page=7)