Random Facts Thread

[Holeypaladin]

Not sure if there's something like this posted somewhere, but this seemed like as good a place as any to start it if there isn't. Simply put, state some random fact that you find interesting! Don't worry about if no one else cares. No matter how random, there's a chance someone else might find your fact to be interesting, too.

First random fact:

I find it interesting how the greatest minds in the world can't figure out how many stars are in the Milky Way Galaxy. Estimates range from as low as 100 billion stars, to as high as 400 billion stars. The common answer is "250 billion, plus or minus 150 billion", which is an extremely huge range.

[Enigma]

The Hubble Telescope has an effective range of 10-15 billion light years. Fortunately, the Milky Way Galaxy is only 100,000 light years across, but we're on the outer edge of the Sagittarius arm. As we are inside our galaxy, it's really hard to get a complete picture of it.

[Holeypaladin]

Not to mention, anything hidden behind a black hole is completely invisible to a telescope, meaning an area rich in black holes such as the galactic core prevents us from seeing large potions of the galaxy beyond it.

[Enigma]

Optical telescopes, sure. You can see black holes on radio telescopes, but what's behind them may still be masked.

[Paganpaige]

In Alaska, it is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane. lol

[Leanna]

Ooooh! Interesting. Time to learn something

In Vietnam, there is a web of underground “hideouts” that span 100 miles underneath the jungle that still exists. It was used by the Viet Cong as a means of escape, or a place of rest and recuperation. It could be entered through hard-to-find holes into the ground, and consisted of dug out “rooms” that acted as hospitals for the wounded, kitchens, and places to sleep. The holes would be covered in earth and foliage when not in use.

They also would use the tunnels to travel to different locations around the city, with soldiers “popping” out of the ground to where they wanted to go. To pass through the you had to move in a very small crouched position, or on all fours.

They are called the Cu Chi Tunnels.

All around the Cu Chi Tunnels, there are booby traps that also still exist. There are numerous types, that would have brought on quite horrible deaths for any enemy soldier who stepped in the wrong spot.

[Nachthexe]

Ooooh! Interesting. Time to learn something

In Vietnam, there is a web of underground “hideouts” that span 100 miles underneath the jungle that still exists. It was used by the Viet Cong as a means of escape, or a place of rest and recuperation. It could be entered through hard-to-find holes into the ground, and consisted of dug out “rooms” that acted as hospitals for the wounded, kitchens, and places to sleep. The holes would be covered in earth and foliage when not in use.

They also would use the tunnels to travel to different locations around the city, with soldiers “popping” out of the ground to where they wanted to go. To pass through the you had to move in a very small crouched position, or on all fours.

They are called the Cu Chi Tunnels.

All around the Cu Chi Tunnels, there are booby traps that also still exist. There are numerous types, that would have brought on quite horrible deaths for any enemy soldier who stepped in the wrong spot.

Being the history nerd I am I actually knew about this. There's like spike pits designed to skewer those unlucky to fall in.

[Leanna]

Oops. Double post.

[Leanna]

Yeah. That’s one of them. There are a lot of different types. The spikes were often sharpened bamboo spears that... yes, skewered the person who stepped onto the concealed flip trap. :/

I took a jungle tour there. The trap holes are all still there, obviously fenced, but there. I also went into the tunnels. You wouldn’t want to have claustrophobia, needless to say.

Better add another fact, I guess:

In Cambodia, the Angkor Wat temples are widespread over almost 100 miles, all built on swamp lands. They were built 1000 years ago, but still stand today, due to the Khmer people’s mastery of engineering.

Despite once being a rather dominant civilisation in Indochina, the Khmer people have since died out (for the most part), with those temples being their legacy to the world.

Tomb Raider was filmed at this location, hah. For a pop culture fact.

[Nachthexe]

I've wondered for awhile why the professional gaming scene seems to be dominated by Koreans. Even non-Korean gaming teams are mostly made up of Korean players. Now I have answers thanks to this article: https://www.invenglobal.com/articles...ry-and-culture