Interesting 'Facts' 2.0

[GoldShadow]

The Sea Bear(a microscopic animal) is capable of hibernating for over 100 years at a time(even if it was in space).

see my post below

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a grammatically correct sentence.

True. Weird.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo

"If you cut off a snail's eye, it will grow a new one."

True. Certain snails can regenerate their eye and stalk if you cut it off. It appears that the 403 error I was talking about is only appearing if I post the link to a PubMed page abstract about this fact.

"An eagle can attack, kill, and carry away an animal as large as a small deer."

True-ish. One of the most well known birds of prey, the Golden Eagle, can indeed attack and kill very large prey. The youtube link shows one killing a deer. However, it probably doesn't carry them away; it can carry about 8 lbs in flight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsXtDKdU0Q
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Aquila_chrysaetos.html
http://www.oregonzoo.org/Cards/BirdsOfPrey/golden_eagle.htm

I thought it was the sphinchter(sp?)

I already answered this earlier:

False. First of all, the tongue is actually several different muscles put together. Secondly, it depends on how you define strength. If you mean the muscle that can provide the most instantaneous power, it would be the gluteus maximus (the butt!). If you mean the muscle that can do the most consistent and constant work, it would be the heart (which never stops beating until you die).

Additionally, the "sphincter" can refer to any of the many sphincters in the body; pyloric, esophageal, anal, etc.

EDIT: Fact Chickens can see a color humans cannot.

True-ish. I wouldn't say they can "see a color humans cannot". Both humans and chickens have 'violet vision'; this just means we see what we know as visible light, to a wavelength that stops short of UV. That said, there are certain differences in the pigments and chemicals present in birds' eyes and human eyes that generally allows birds to see with more color and clarity than mammals.
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/100/14/8045
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=166225
http://users.mis.net/~pthrush/lighting/cvb.html

 

[Seed of Sorrow]

he means "water bear"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

 

[GoldShadow]

Edit: Men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women.

False. There's really no way this could be true. If statistics show that 6 times as many men are struck by lightning as women, it doesn't mean men attract lightning or anything; it's probably because men are more likely to engage in risky work or behavior that might put them outside during a thunderstorm.

Armadillos get leprosy.

True. I don't feel like looking for a source but this is true.

(Without looking this up)
I dont think it is a whole different color like you are trying to think about. They (along with a lot of other animals) can just see farther in the Electromagnetic Spectrem, whether is is infrared or ultravilolet.

Yeah, that's right.

regarding chickens seeing colors we cannot:
if u are refering to that they can detect UV, i dont think colors exist in that frequency, only in the visible spectrum (white light). unless u mean there are colors WE cant see in UV that exist.... now ive confused myself. but if this is fact, how is/was it determined?

"Colors" as defined by humans are only what we can see. The "visible spectrum" is nothing more than the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye and brain are able to translate, and we see this as "color".
Other organisms are able to see UV portions of the spectrum (and in other cases, infrared). Certain flowers have patterns only visible in the UV spectrum; in other words, patterns that can only be seen by an eye that can respond to UV wavelengths (like certain insects).
The way we figure this out is by looking at images and photographs of said flowers that were taken by a device/camera that responds to UV wavelengths and not "visible light" wavelengths. We end up seeing things like this:
http://www.naturfotograf.com/images/E990707888.jpg
or this:

Then, it's a matter of observing the behavior of insects and other organisms around and conducting a series of behavior-related experiments, which I'm sure is a painstaking process.

 

[MysticKenji]

"Strawberries have more vitamin C than oranges."

"The first two years of a dog's life are equal to 24 human years."

 

[GoldShadow]

Before I go back to fact checking, here are some more of my own:

FACT: There are more bacteria in your colon than humans on earth.

FACT: Fat cannot be converted to muscle.

FACT: The loudest burp by a human was 104.9 decibels, about as loud as an airplane during take-off.

FACT: A polar bear has black skin. Its fur is actually made of transparent bristles; it appears white due to reflected sunlight.

 

[Agenie04991]

To go along with the colon bacteria thing: Your body is only about 10% human cells, the other 90% belong to bacteria, fungi, and other microbes.

 

[_kSo_]

wow thats just lovely to think about

 

[GoldShadow]

he means "water bear" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

Ah, nice catch, thanks for the clarification SoS! In that case:

The Sea Bear(a microscopic animal) is capable of hibernating for over 100 years at a time(even if it was in space).

True. It's actually nicknamed the "water bear", like Seed of Sorrow mentioned. These creatures are arthropods called "tardigrades", and can grow to be up to a millimeter in length (not very big).
There are many different kinds, but they all need water to support their metabolism. If they run out of water ("dry up"), they go into cryptobiosis; specifically, anhydrobiosis. Their metabolism drops to 0.01% of normal or less. If they come in contact with water again, they can return to normal activity within minutes or hours.
Some tardigrades can survive extremely low temperatures (low as -200 Celsius), some can withstand high temps up to 151 Celsius, some can survive extreme vacuums like space, they can survive freezing/thawing, and some can survive with little or even no oxygen. Many can also tolerate extreme radiation that would kill or severely damage human cells.
So conceivably, certain tardigrades could go into cryptobiosis in space and survive for decades or maybe even centuries.
http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/news_stories/news_detail.cfm?article=tardigrades.cfm
http://www.iwu.edu/~tardisdp/tardigrade_facts.html
http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/tardigrade/index.html
http://www.jsu.edu/depart/biology/tardy.htm

 

[Wikipedia]

Fact: This thread is the PRoom at its most intelligent.

I'm so proud of you guys.

 

[GoldShadow]

"Strawberries have more vitamin C than oranges."

Sometimes True. There are many different ways to measure this, but according to the USDA's nutrient data laboratory, raw strawberries contain, on average, 58.8mg of vitamin C per 100g. Some raw oranges contain 45mg per 100, others contain over 59mg per 100g, and others still contain 53mg per 100g... so really, it depends on which brand, type, and preparation of oranges/strawberries you're comparing.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

"The first two years of a dog's life are equal to 24 human years."

True. Although it depends on the size and type of dog, most dogs reach sexual maturity by 18 months. Humans generally reach sexual maturity by the time they're 16-18 as well, so it definitely makes sense to compare the first two years of a dog's life to the first 20 or so years of a human's life in that regard.
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/pup-dev.pdf
http://www.sspca.org/Dogs/PuppyDev.html
http://www.petcaretips.net/stages-puppy-development.html

To go along with the colon bacteria thing: Your body is only about 10% human cells, the other 90% belong to bacteria, fungi, and other microbes.

True-ish. Keep in mind this is going purely by the number of cells, not mass! Anyway, it's not known how many cells are in the average human body; estimates vary widely, so it's impossible to say "10%" this or "90%" that, but it is generally agreed upon that the number of bacteria and microbes in your body outnumber actual body cells.
http://www.oberlin.edu/art/athena/tacha2.html

Fact: This thread is the PRoom at its most intelligent.

I'm so proud of you guys.

Indeed, this thread makes me proud to post in the Pool Room!

 

[MysticKenji]

"******* and dwarfs almost always have normal sized children."

"The first patented condom was meant to be reused"

 

[GoldShadow]

Interesting Facts 2.0 Awards!!!

I'd like to take a short break from facts to present to you the First Periodic Interesting Facts 2.0 Thread Awards!!! The following members are being recognized today for their contributions to this thread that helped make this the most-posted-in thread in a long time. Recipients' names are in alphabetical order, with the awards received listed next to each name.



AltF4Warrior: Bronze Contributor Award
Crimson King: Silver Contributor Award, Moderator Award
Eorlingas: Bronze Contributor Award, Medal of Humor, Moderator Award
Falco&Victory: Gold Contributor Award
HeadISBAgent: Fact-Checker Medal, Silver Contributor Award
Kso4351: Bronze Contributor Award
Mic_128: Bronze Contributor Award, Moderator Award
Mr. GAW: Bronze Contributor Award
MysticKenji: Gold Contributor Award
Schweppes: Silver Contributor Award, Novice Fact-Checker Certificate
Seed of Sorrow: Bronze Contributor Award
tmw_redcell: Bronze Contributor Award, Moderator Award
Uncle Kenny: Bronze Contributor Award
Zook: Thread Starter Trophy, Silver Contributor Award

Congratulations to all the recipients! Don't worry if your name didn't appear in the list; just make more posts with more facts and perhaps next time you'll get an award too! Let's keep this thread going!

 

[Jazzy Jinx]

I feel like the happiest girl on the planet...

Fact: There is a small parasite that can control an insects' movements. If you need me to, I'll look it up and give you the name of the parasite.

Fact: There is a worm that can live under any conditions whether it be extreme cold, extreme heat, water, or space. Again, if you need clarification, I'll look up the exact name of the worm.

Fact: Worms have eight hearts.

Fact: All bats, aside from vampire bats, DON'T suck blood. They eat fruits.

Fact: The vampire bats are attracted to children and old people and use a numbing venom to suck its victim's blood without being noticed.

Fact: The Komodo Dragon has a posionous bite.

 

[Mr.Lombardi34]

Actually the Komodo has poisonous saliva.

 

[Agenie04991]

The energy that the oceans absorb from the sun each day is greater than the amount of energy produced by all the power plants on earth in one year.

If all the coal power plants that are supposed to be built in the next 25 years are built, the CO2 emissions from just those plants will equal the coal burning emissions in all of human history.

 

[MysticKenji]

MysticKenji: Gold Contributor Award

Coolness. Thanks.

Fact: All bats, aside from vampire bats, DON'T suck blood. They eat fruits.

True-ish.
Most bats eat insects, but some do eat fruits.

 

[HeadISBAgent]

Hey haven't posted in here for a while haha I noticed Goldshadow hasn't said anything about Graham's Number
I know its been beaten to death already, but the statement that a chicken can "see" more colors than a human is not true. The term "color" is strictly speaking the range of visible wavelength for humans, so technically any human can see every color. What would be more appropriate would be to say that a chicken can detect wavelengths of light that humans cannot

 

[HeadISBAgent]

Fact: There is a worm that can live under any conditions whether it be extreme cold, extreme heat, water, or space. Again, if you need clarification, I'll look up the exact name of the worm.

That's a slightly extreme statement. Can it live in the core of the Sun? Or at pressures of 2000 atm? I know for sure it cannot survive in plasma

 

[Agenie04991]

Heh, bet that worm couldn't live in a food processor either...

Anyways...On a more mathy note, every breath that you take contains at least 1 air molecule you've breathed before, guaranteed.

 

[GoldShadow]

From now on, "True-ish" and "False-ish" will be replaced by "Somewhat True" or "Partially True" depending on the myth in question.

Fact: There is a small parasite that can control an insects' movements. If you need me to, I'll look it up and give you the name of the parasite.

Fact: There is a worm that can live under any conditions whether it be extreme cold, extreme heat, water, or space. Again, if you need clarification, I'll look up the exact name of the worm.

I'm gonna go ahead and request clarification on these!

Fact: Worms have eight hearts.

Somewhat True. If you're referring to annelids, aka earthworms (and I'm going to assume you are), then they have a number of lateral 'hearts'... they're actually coiled rings. And there aren't necessarily 8, usually around 5-6, though there can be more.
http://universe-review.ca/I10-82-annelid.jpg

Fact: All bats, aside from vampire bats, DON'T suck blood. They eat fruits.

Most bats eat insects, but some do eat fruits.

Somewhat True. Kenji's mostly right on this one. About 70% of bats eat only insects. Most other bats eat fruit, and there are also carnivorous bats that eat small creatures like frogs, fish, birds, rodents, etc. Only 3 species are vampire bats out of almost 1000.
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/EEB/EML/background/bat_basics.htm

Fact: The vampire bats are attracted to children and old people and use a numbing venom to suck its victim's blood without being noticed.

Partially True. Vampire bats actually tend to go after pigs, cows, and horses. They don't actually "suck" blood; they make an incision and then lap it up like a dog. They take about two tablespoons of blood per meal. Bat saliva does contain an anesthetic (not "venom") so that its victim does not feel the bat as much; its saliva also contains an anticoagulant to prevent the victim's wound from clotting while the bat is feeding.
http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/bholzman/courses/fall99projects/vampire.htm
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/bats/miscon.htm

Fact: The Komodo Dragon has a posionous bite.

False. The Komodo dragon does not have any venom at all. In fact, what makes its bite so deadly is that its mouth is home to billions and possibly trillions of bacteria, viruses, pathogens, germs, and other impurities. A creature (or human) bit by a Komodo dragon dies from infection.


I gotta get to the rest of the facts in a little bit!

 

[Sinz]

Fact, Goldshadow would **** in Mafia.

 

[Florida]

Fact: Impurities have been found in toothpaste products that were made in China. So if you see the "Made in China" tag somewhere on the cover of your toothpaste, try and avoid it.
(impurities such as bits of carboard, for more fiber...)

 

[Armagopalypse]

Don't know if anyone has said this already, but the most indestructable life form known is a microscopic organism called a waterbear.

 

[GoldShadow]

Actually the Komodo has poisonous saliva.

Again, to clarify, it's not really "poisonous saliva", it's that the lizard's mouth (and consequently, saliva) is so full of microbes that its victims die of infection.

The energy that the oceans absorb from the sun each day is greater than the amount of energy produced by all the power plants on earth in one year.

True. Geez, the amount of work it took me for this one... here goes:
About 340 watts/square meter of the sun's energy reach the earth's atmosphere. Of these, only 50% will actually be absorbed by the earth's surface; the rest is reflected. Also, only about 70% of the earth's surface is water (aka oceans). The earth's approximate surface area can be derived from its radius of ~6400 km. The earth's surface area is about 5.145*10^14 sq. meters.
So, 340 W/sq. meter * 0.50 (percent that is absorbed by earth's surface) * 0.70 (percent of surface that is ocean) * 5.145*10^14 sq. meter gives us a rate of 6.122*10^16 Watts for the whole earth.
Since a watt is 1 J/s, and we want to find out the energy absorbed in one day, we multiply by 3600 seconds/hour * 24 hours/day to find that the oceans absorb about 5.289*10^21 Joules per day.

And according to one of the sources, the amount of energy produced globally by power plants in 2003 was 4.1*10^20 Joules.

Therefore, it's clear that the oceans absorb more energy in one day than humans produce in one year. Pretty cool, huh?

http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ebooks/records/751-1.html
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/oceanography-book/energy.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_resources_and_consumption
http://www.bp.com/productlanding.do?categoryId=6848&contentId=7033471

Hey haven't posted in here for a while haha I noticed Goldshadow hasn't said anything about Graham's Number

Haha, I'll admit that's a lot more math than I've done (ie up to calc II). And considering you're more of a math/physics guy than me I assume you don't need anyone (especially me!) to check that it's correct!

 

[Sinz]

Fact: Impurities have been found in toothpaste products that were made in China. So if you see the "Made in China" tag somewhere on the cover of your toothpaste, try and avoid it.
(impurities such as bits of carboard, for more fiber...)

True

this has happened on several occasins and some of them have been suspected as purposeful.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/...S_move_against_Chinese_fish_is_tip_of_iceberg

Goldshadow I will do some math and everything for grahams number. But, not right now.

 

[GoldShadow]

"******* and dwarfs almost always have normal sized children."

False. The most common cause of dwarfism, achondroplasia, is an autosomal dominant disorder. In other words, the child need only get a bad copy of the gene from one parent. If either of the child's parents is homozygous dominant (has two copies of the bad gene) then the child has a 100% chance of also being a dwarf. If just one of the child's parents is heterozygous (has one copy of the bad gene) but the other parent is normal (ie not a dwarf), the child has a 50% chance of being a dwarf. If both parents are heterozygous (both have just one copy of the bad gene), the child has a 75% chance of being a dwarf.

Don't know if anyone has said this already, but the most indestructable life form known is a microscopic organism called a waterbear.

Yup, right here:
http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=2739667#post2739667

Pretty interesting creatures, no doubt.

Goldshadow I will do some math and everything for grahams number. But, not right now.

Awesome, thanks.

 

[Armagopalypse]

I'm sure someone else has already said this, but the strongest substance known to man are carbon nanotubes. It's strength-to-weight ratio (strength divided by its density) is 48,462 kN·m/kg, the best of any known substance. High carbon steel's strength-to-weight ratio is 154 kN·m/kg. Also, its tensile strength, (the mesurement of how much tension force must be applied before it breaks) is 63 GPa, while the high carbon steel's is 1.2 GPa. So in other words, it's an incredibly light substance that is incredibly strong. Although we have developed ways to string it together, and it's lightness and incredible durability make in valuable for space travel, we have yet to do so in large enough quantities to make it useful anywhere other than a laboratory.

 

[_kSo_]

Kso4351: Bronze Contributor Award
yayuhhhzzz!!!

in light of this award i'd like to contribute a few more facts

• Because metal was scarce; the Oscars given out during World War II were made of plaster. - SOURCE
• Q-Tip Cotton Swabs were originally called Baby Gays. - SOURCE
• The average office desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet. - (sorry no source for this one, but i know it's true)

 

[MysticKenji]

"160 cars can drive side by side on the Monumental Axis in Brazil, the world's widest road."

"You are more likely to get attacked by a cow than a shark."

 

[HeadISBAgent]

Just a tip for any alcoholics out there. If you have a hangover, take aspirin not Tylenol. The active ingredient in Tylenol is called acetaminophen or paracetamol, an antipyretic compound. Unfortunately, alcohol very strongly induces the cytochrome 450 enzyme system, most specifically Cyp2E1 and Cyp3A4. These two enzymes convert the compound in Tylenol into a very, very reactive metabolite called NAPQI (N-acetyl-p-benzo-something-something). So much NAPQI is produced that the normal metabolic system cannot handle the load and so it reacts with cellular membrane molecules and causes excessive cell death. Basically, alcohol + Tylenol = liver failure.
Thank god for aspirin.

 

[_kSo_]

Just a tip for any alcoholics out there. If you have a hangover, take aspirin not Tylenol. The active ingredient in Tylenol is called acetaminophen or paracetamol, an antipyretic compound. Unfortunately, alcohol very strongly induces the cytochrome 450 enzyme system, most specifically Cyp2E1 and Cyp3A4. These two enzymes convert the compound in Tylenol into a very, very reactive metabolite called NAPQI (N-acetyl-p-benzo-something-something). So much NAPQI is produced that the normal metabolic system cannot handle the load and so it reacts with cellular membrane molecules and causes excessive cell death. Basically, alcohol + Tylenol = liver failure.
Thank god for aspirin.

non-alcoholics can get hangovers too, in fact more so than alcoholics. I don't know this for sure, but my friends drink so much that they don't get hangovers anymore. Maybe kuz forever cup of whiskey they drink, they drink a cup of water as well

 

[Agenie04991]

"160 cars can drive side by side on the Monumental Axis in Brazil, the world's widest road."

I can field this one, this landmark really isn't a road but instead an rectangular garden with roads on either side. Each of these roads is 8 lanes wide, so, in actuality, the Monumental Axis only has 16 lanes, making this statement false. I GoogleEarthed it and was a tad disappointed.

 

[Peeze]

Cockroaches can breathe without their head.
Contrary to popular belief, a rooster crows at anytime of day.
Queen Latifah's real name is Dana.

I thought it was interesting.

 

[AltF4]

The U.S. had better start lining up some skilled generals, because the world's greatest chess player, Gary Kasparov, is going to be running for office in Russia. If he gets in, we'd better watch our backs. Because his bishops are gonna take us Queen-side, if ya know what I mean.

 

[HeadISBAgent]

Fact: Vladimir Kramnik is the first re-unified World Chess Champion in over 10 years after winning the controversial "Toilet" match against Veselin Topalov. (About god**** time FIDE and PCA solved their differences).
In another note, Garry Kasparov is helping to lead the opposition party to the current political system in Russia but there's very little chance of him getting the presidency. (And he wouldn't **** us Queen side, everyone knows he's a Sicilian player at heart )

 

[AltF4]

Hahaha! So true. Everything is in such disarray there. It's not even really news about Kasparov. I just find the thought of Russia's leader being a chess grand master, while he have... well... It's a funny thought.

 

[HeadISBAgent]

Goldshadow I will do some math and everything for grahams number. But, not right now.

The problem that Ronald Graham faced:
"Consider every possible committee from some number of people "n" and enumerating every pair of committees. Now assign each pair of committees to one of two groups, and find the smallest "n" that will guarantee that there are four committees in which all pairs fall in the same group and all the people belong to an even number of committees."
This was translated into the equivalent statement:
"The smallest dimension "n" of a hypercube such that if the lines joining all pairs of corners are two-colored, a planar complete graph K(4) of one color will be forced."

I hope you paid attention in your advanced combinatorics class.

Hahaha! So true. Everything is in such disarray there. It's not even really news about Kasparov. I just find the thought of Russia's leader being a chess grand master, while he have... well... It's a funny thought.

This is kind of old news though, he joined the political party right after he retired from chess (god he really did go fkn nuts at his last tournament though) a couple years ago. But yea, I think it would be weird too if he became the supreme overlord of Russia.

 

[AltF4]

Oh, I see. That would be very similar to the Subset-Sum problem right? That's NP-Hard. Fun stuff to look into.

 

[HeadISBAgent]

Oh, I see. That would be very similar to the Subset-Sum problem right? That's NP-Hard. Fun stuff to look into.

Kind of, but it's infinitely harder. In the Subset-Sum problem you're working with the values in the subset and checking them against other values within the subset. Technically you could simply derive an algorithm for this problem and solve it with brute-force. Even as the subset increases in size, there's some cyclical law that increases algorithm solve time at a very small rate.
For the Graham's number problem, it's simply not possible to derive an algorithm because there's too many variables to solve with brute force. If you check the minimum value for "n", the algorithm expands way too much for any computer to possibly solve since the answer is indeterminate and it has to check the next value n+1 which introduces (I think) over 256 million possibilities in the first increase and something like 10^90 possibilities with the next increase. I'm pretty sure you have to solve it with some kind of pidgeon-hole proof, but yea, Graham's number is the upper-bound; most people think the answer is 6

 

[AltF4]

Yea, Graham's problem would take much longer to compute, no doubt. But in principle, a brute force method should work. Same thing for the NP-* problems. They can all be computed by brute force (otherwise it would be an undecidable problem) it's just that no modern computer would actually finish it in a reasonable amount of time.

By the way, if anyone wants to be very rich, find an efficient solution for an NP-Hard problem. It would revolutionize computer graphics. (It hasn't yet been proven one way or another whether an efficient solution exists)

We should make a math thread. All this stuff is off topic, lol.