# Your SINGLE favorite piece of information **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 4, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907 "2005-06-04T18:04:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/81 "2005-06-06T09:29:31Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > Virginia isn’t a state (it’s a commonwealth). Same with PA, MA, and KY and I think one more. Oh, and my fact: Koreans consume more alcohol per capita than any nation on the planet. Not alcoholic beverages; alcohol – they drink whiskey like the French drink wine. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/82 "2005-06-06T10:03:58Z")
> [@Treviathan](#): > > Place one king in the top right hand corner. Place the opposing king two squares below, and the two knights on the squares beside the king. Voila - checkmate! > > However, _one_ knight and one king cannot force checkmate. Sorry guv, you’re wrong! :eek: Yes, the lone King can **blunder** into a checkmate against the King and two knights. But it can’t be\*\* forced\*\*. (in your position, ask yourself what the King’s last move was - he could have moved **away** from the corner, and avoided mate.) And one knight and king cannot achieve any checkmate. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/83 "2005-06-06T10:06:43Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > Summarizing my limited chess “end game” knowledge: > You can _force_ checkmate against a lone king with _your_ king and > > 1. a queen > 2. one rook > 3. 2 bishops > 4. 1 bishop and 1 knight - (but it’s a real pain in the ass) Ah, but did you know that King, rook and bishop can force mate against a King and two knights?! From the best defensive position, it takes 223 moves to win one knight. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/84 "2005-06-06T11:17:43Z")
> [@furt](#): > > No, that’s not it. Well, now, I guess it isn’t! Thanks for the info (and those before you who posted it.) My knowledge of this has always come from friends and family from the Rio de Janeiro area (_cariocas_), stating their common Brazilian knowledge (i.e. lots of Japanese near São Paulo) without clearly stating the cause. Never been to São Paulo, though, and the topic has never come up with the paulistas I know. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/85 "2005-06-06T12:14:27Z")
Julia Child was a World War II spy. My biggest bit of musical theatre trivia (I’m a walking encyclopedia on the subject) is that a 1975 London show called “Hulla Baloo” was set in a “loo” and featured contributions from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The show was so bad that the two gentlemen don’t even mention it in their bios. The “Plays and Players” British theatre magazine that featured the review for the show (February 1976) also reviews “I and Albert” a show that marked the West End Debut of Sarah Brightman, who became the second Mrs. Lloyd Webber. That has to be the first mention of the two in the same place. Told you I was a walking encyclopedia. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/86 "2005-06-06T12:21:59Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > Silver. Pilfer. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/87 "2005-06-06T12:35:46Z")
There are only two foodstuffs which themselves are kosher, but are produced by a creature which is not itself kosher. Honey and (Mother’s) Breastmilk That’s what 5 years of teaching in a Jewish school taught this _goyim_. Grim ;j ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/88 "2005-06-06T12:44:56Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I’n gonna hafta demand a cite for this, or at least a clarification: ‘more’ measured in what way? Per unit volume of the liquid? Per unit weight? > > Thanks. 🙂 In this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=168114) **scr4** said, > [@scr4](#): > > I didn’t know this but it looks like **Crafter\_Man** is right. Using **Anthracite** ’s number for density of gasoline, and assuming gasoline is C[sub]8[/sub]H[sub]18[/sub], there is 0.11 kg of hydrogen in a liter of gasoline. Pure liquid hydrogen is only 0.07 kg/l. Similarly, there’s more hydrogen in natural gas or propane than the same volume of pure hydrogen gas. > > The reason is fairly clear for gas; gas is mostly empty space filled up by fast-moving molecules. It’s the number of molecules that determine volume, not the size of each molecule. Liquid is more tightly packed but still, large molecules take up only slightly more volume than small molecules. A two-atom molecule occupies less than twice the volume of a single atom. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/89 "2005-06-06T13:54:37Z")
> [@Portia](#): > > When you stand in downtown Detroit, you are actually North of Canada’s closest point. And as I read this, I am currently sitting near Cobo, and can see Canada off to the south. > [@comrade33](#): > > “the tao of physics” it was a total mindfuck. Loved that book. Sticking with the hometown. Before cars, the product Detroit was known for was the stove. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/90 "2005-06-06T14:26:57Z")
> [@scr4 via Crafter Man](#): > > I didn’t know this but it looks like Crafter\_Man is right. Using Anthracite’s number for density of gasoline, and assuming gasoline is C8H18, there is 0.11 kg of hydrogen in a liter of gasoline. Pure liquid hydrogen is only 0.07 kg/l. This is why rockets powered by liquid hydrogen are somewhat bigger and fatter than rockets powered by RP-1 (kerosene). Liquid hydrogen has a higher energy per unit mass, but a much lower mass per unit volume. So overall, you need a bigger tank to hold the same amount of potential energy. The hydrogen-powered rocket at the leftmost [here](http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta4/delta4.htm) has the same diameter payload section (the “top”) as this kerosene-powered rocket [here](http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasv.htm), but you can see that the bottom of the Delta 4 is fatter than the payload section, whereas the bottom of the Atlas V is skinnier than the payload section. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/91 "2005-06-06T15:00:31Z")
My Fav geography facts: Reno, Nevada is further west than Los Angeles, California. Atlanta, Georgia is further west than all of South America. The entry to the Panama Canal from the Carribean Sea is further west than it’s exit into the Pacific Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Treviathan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@Treviathan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treviathan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/92 "2005-06-06T15:01:58Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Yes, the lone King can **blunder** into a checkmate against the King and two knights. But it can’t be\*\* forced\*\*. (in your position, ask yourself what the King’s last move was - he could have moved **away** from the corner, and avoided mate.) So you’re saying that threatening to jam your bishop up your opponent’s nostril if he doesn’t move his king into the corner _isn’t_ acceptable chess strategy? I stand humbly corrected. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/93 "2005-06-06T15:03:29Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Nope. The Mets colors of blue and orange come from the Dodgers (blue) and Giants (orange). They combined them to symbolize the return of National League baseball to the city. However their name, Knickerbockers, was taken from the crazy pants the Dutch wore back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/94 "2005-06-06T15:41:16Z")
The Mexican Consulate in Raleigh, N.C. is built on the former location of a Taco Bell. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/95 "2005-06-06T16:06:35Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The Great Pyramid of Gaza was the tallest structure in the world up until the completion of the Cologne Cathedral in 1880. Its reign only lasted until the completion of the Washington Monument in 1884, and that was surpassed by the Eiffel Tower in 1889. I think that’s the Great Pyramid of Gizeh. The Gaza Stroke is in Palestinia. Also, the [Ulmer Muenster](http://lexikon.freenet.de/Ulmer_M%C3%BCnster) has a higher tower than the Cologne Cathedral (161 meters compared to 154 meters) and it’s tower was completed in 1854 (even though the cathedral itself wasn’t complete until 1890) so many people consider it the tallest man-made structure until the Washington Monument and then the Eiffel Tower came along. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/96 "2005-06-06T16:10:29Z")
Since I still haven’t addressed the OP, here’s one of mine (also associated with Brazil): There’s a colony of folks in Brazil who are direct descendents of the Confederacy, and they have parties and such celebrating their heritage, complete with Confederate flags and all. I like to think of this as the deep deep South. Apparently, their customs and heritage have come under fire in recent years as has happened in the South, with Confederate flags being removed and their history being recognized more and more as one of racism. [A book on the subject](http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2000/harter.htm) [An article describing the modern issues](http://www.researchonline.net/sccw/brazil2.htm) ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/97 "2005-06-06T17:47:08Z")
People Posting Words With No Rhymes - It’s been done already: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=300970&highlight=rhyme](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=300970&highlight=rhyme) As I’ve said before, there should be some special pages on the SDMB consisting of non-rhyming words, collateral adjectives, etc. What’s a collateral adjective? (Examples: cat - feline; rain - pluvial) ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/98 "2005-06-06T17:49:03Z")
Hmmmmmmmm let’s try that link again: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=300970&highlight=rhyme](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=300970&highlight=rhyme) Maybe my getting “fancy shmantzy” with the colors messed it up. ---
**Author:** ![Ragiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ragiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ragiel)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/99 "2005-06-06T17:56:38Z")
> [@Portia](#): > > That’d look great on our license plates - ‘There’s A Fungus Among Us!’ I’ve stuck with the same old white-on-blue license plate for almost 13 years, but I solemnly swear that the first time they offer a “fungus among us” special one, I am **sooooo** going for it!!! ---
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907/100 "2005-06-06T18:11:37Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > Hmmmmmmmm let’s try that link again: > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...highlight=rhyme](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...highlight=rhyme) Thanks for posting that link, **wolf\_meister**. I missed that thread the first time around. Funny stuff in there! > [@Ragiel](#): > > I’ve stuck with the same old white-on-blue license plate for almost 13 years, but I solemnly swear that the first time they offer a “fungus among us” special one, I am **sooooo** going for it!!! _sigh_. I miss living in MI. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-single-favorite-piece-of-information/306907.md?page=6)