Fun facts thread

Ross_Alumni
Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
edited November 2020 in Coffee lounge

Give us your fun facts

I think we all enjoy a random fact don't we? Sometimes I find myself browsing the internet or going about my day and I'll read a fact that just makes my jaw drop.

So, what random fun facts do you have? I'll start off:

  • bananas share about 60% of the same DNA as humans
  • the two M letters in M&Ms stand for "Mars" and "Murrie"  
  • the longest time between two twins being born is 87 days

Looking forward to hearing yours :) 
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Comments

  • leeCal
    leeCal Online Community Member Posts: 7,537 Championing
    An average sized car travelling at sixty mph for sixty miles uses up the same amount of oxygen that the average human would in a lifetime! 
  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 11,721 Online Community Programme Lead
    In Switzerland it's illegal to only keep one guinea pig.
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
    edited August 2020
    @leeCal
    That makes me quite glad I don't drive, so interesting.

    @Adrian_Scope
    How strange, if I ever live there I'll get two, wouldn't want the one to get lonely.

    Online Community Coordinator
  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Online Community Member Posts: 14,990 Championing
    Not sure how true these are so maybe take them with a pinch of salt but they are just some facts I have heard :D

    Pregnant women can legally urinate anywhere they want including in a police officer’s hat

    The bubbles in a glass of champagne are set off by tiny pieces of dirt inside the glass so if you are served a glass of champagne and it has bubbles in it you can complain that the glass is dirty

    Oliver Cromwell made it illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas Day and the law has still not been taken down
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
    @66Mustang
    Thanks for those, they're great :) 

    I wouldn't mind mince pies being illegal, I don't like them at all :D 

    I have another - some fruit flies are genetically resistant to getting drunk. (I wouldn't mind having a few of those genes).

    Online Community Coordinator
  • Chloe_Alumni
    Chloe_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 10,506 Championing
    In 2017 more people were killed from injuries caused by taking a selfie than by shark attacks...

    Stay safe guys!  :D 
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,580 Championing
    leeCal said:
    An average sized car travelling at sixty mph for sixty miles uses up the same amount of oxygen that the average human would in a lifetime! 
    That's definitely fun, but I'm not sure it's a fact! 

    Assuming it's a conventional petrol car it needs 14.7 times as much air than fuel.  Let's say the average 2.0 petrol engine does 35mpg while cruising at 60mph.   That's 7.8 litres of petrol over the 60 miles.  Multiplied by 14.7 = 114 litres of air.  Air is only 20% oxygen, so 20% of 114 = 23 litres of oxygen used for 60 miles at 60mph.

    Now, what is really interesting, is that the average human breathes about 550 litres of oxygen per day...divided by 24 hours, that makes 23 litres per hour!  So if you're driving your 2.0 petrol car at 60mph for 60 miles, it will take an hour to reach your destination and you will have used up the same amount of oxygen as the engine has!  Now there's a fun fact!  :D
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
    @Chloe_Scope

    And that's why I don't take selfies :D 
  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,453 Championing
    Adrian_Scope said:
    In Switzerland it's illegal to only keep one guinea pig.
    I believe it's also illegal to drop your recycling off on Sunday in Switzerland because it's too noisy!
  • leeCal
    leeCal Online Community Member Posts: 7,537 Championing
    @OverlyAnxious but, indulge me if you will, not all the oxygen breathed in is actually used. So to be accurate we’d need to know how much is used and how much expelled unused. Apologies for being a pedant. ? 
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,580 Championing
    leeCal said:
    @OverlyAnxious but, indulge me if you will, not all the oxygen breathed in is actually used. So to be accurate we’d need to know how much is used and how much expelled unused. Apologies for being a pedant. ? 
    Absolutely, and there's nothing wrong with being a pedant! :smiley:

    That 550 litres has already been adjusted to take that into account.  We breathe out about 75% of the oxygen we inhale, only 'burning' around 25% of it...the inhale figure is roughly 2200 litres per day!   That's around 11,000 litres of combined air!!  :o
  • leeCal
    leeCal Online Community Member Posts: 7,537 Championing
    edited August 2020
    Ok so how about...

    McDonald’s once made bubblegum-flavored broccoli

    This interesting fact will have your taste buds crawling. Unsurprisingly, the attempt to get kids to eat healthier didn’t go over well with the child testers, who were “confused by the taste.”

    Mmmm yumm!

  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 11,721 Online Community Programme Lead
    Yuck. What's wrong with broccoli as it is!?
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
    Adrian_Scope said:
    Yuck. What's wrong with broccoli as it is!?
    everything 

    Really enjoyed reading these facts from everyone so far, I've been telling my family them throughout the week and they've spawned some fun discussions :) 
  • Chloe_Alumni
    Chloe_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 10,506 Championing
    A lion’s roar can be heard from 5 miles away!
  • Chloe_Alumni
    Chloe_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 10,506 Championing
    A lion’s roar can be heard from 5 miles away!
  • leeCal
    leeCal Online Community Member Posts: 7,537 Championing

    Armadillo shells are bulletproof!

    In fact, one Texas man was hospitalised when a bullet he shot at an armadillo ricocheted off the animal and hit him in the jaw. Apparently.

  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Online Community Member Posts: 14,990 Championing
    edited August 2020
    Tori_Scope said:
    Adrian_Scope said:
    In Switzerland it's illegal to only keep one guinea pig.
    I believe it's also illegal to drop your recycling off on Sunday in Switzerland because it's too noisy!
    Yes I think the Swiss are extremely proud of where they live and a lot of things are frowned upon or seen as antisocial. I think putting your washing out on a line is against local bylaws in many areas. Also, speeding is heavily frowned upon there, one of the few countries that is even stricter than the UK!

    Another Swiss one to add to the list: I remember reading that every Swiss man in Switzerland has to own a firearm and bullets by law. I believe it is to do with the possibility of being called upon to form a militia. I heard they have more guns per head there than America but may be wrong.
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 3,580 Championing
    Raisins and Sultanas are made from the same grape variety!
  • Cher_Alumni
    Cher_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,714 Championing
    The following can be read forward and backwards: Do geese see God?

    Mind. blown.

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