OT: Interesting Facts (history, geography, science, etc.)

[Greedo]

Italy is smaller than the U.S., Canada, and Asia combined.

 

[CL82]

The average person farts 14-23 times a day. At least I’m above average in something

I’m not sure that I hit that target, but I’d like to think what I lack quantity I make up for in quality.

 

[SportsFan88]

The largest lake in a single country is Lake Michigan

 

[UconnU]

Anne Frank, MLK and Barbara Walters were all born in the same year.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Italy is smaller than the U.S., Canada, and Asia combined.

Still true if you add Australia?

 

[ClifSpliffy]

The largest lake in a single country is Lake Michigan

nope, if by 'largest' u mean volume. lake baikal, completely in russia, contains more water than all the Great Lakes combined.
'Lake Baikal is the world's largest freshwater lake by volume, containing 22 to 23% of the world's fresh surface water. It contains 23,615.39 km3 (5,670 cu mi) of fresh water, which is more water than all of the North American Great Lakes combined. Lake Baikal has a maximum depth of 1,642 m (5,387 ft), and is the world's deepest lake. It is among the world's clearest lakes and is the world's oldest lake.'
Lake Baikal - Wikipedia

 

[temery]

nope, if by 'largest' u mean volume. lake baikal, completely in russia, contains more water than all the Great Lakes combined.
'Lake Baikal is the world's largest freshwater lake by volume, containing 22 to 23% of the world's fresh surface water. It contains 23,615.39 km3 (5,670 cu mi) of fresh water, which is more water than all of the North American Great Lakes combined. Lake Baikal has a maximum depth of 1,642 m (5,387 ft), and is the world's deepest lake. It is among the world's clearest lakes and is the world's oldest lake.'
Lake Baikal - Wikipedia

Yeah, but they use the metric system.

 

[SportsFan88]

nope, if by 'largest' u mean volume. lake baikal, completely in russia, contains more water than all the Great Lakes combined.
'Lake Baikal is the world's largest freshwater lake by volume, containing 22 to 23% of the world's fresh surface water. It contains 23,615.39 km3 (5,670 cu mi) of fresh water, which is more water than all of the North American Great Lakes combined. Lake Baikal has a maximum depth of 1,642 m (5,387 ft), and is the world's deepest lake. It is among the world's clearest lakes and is the world's oldest lake.'
Lake Baikal - Wikipedia

By area Lake Michigan is the largest single lake in one country I wasn’t going by water volume Lake Baikal only has that distinction because it’s by far the deepest lake in the world, AREA NOT VOLUME, but I don’t wanna sit here and go back and forth about Lakes lol I just wanted to contribute my boy

 

[MexicoHusky]

The Pacific ocean end of the Panama canal is to the East of the Atlantic ocean end of the canal.

Similarly, if I drive North from my house in North Dakota I will drive into Minnesota.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This may be relatively common knowledge, but I just learned it yesterday: the actor who plays Saul Berenson in Homeland was Inigo Montoya in Princess Bride.

Did you also know he was one the lead males in Evita? Played Che

 

[HuskyHawk]

Humans have been performing dentistry since 7000BC, which makes dentists one of the oldest professions. Evidently, the UK didn't get the memo.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Did you also know he was one the lead males in Evita? Played Che

View attachment 68534

Mandy Patinkin and Melinda Dillon have never appeared in the same movie.

 

[hank970]

Although the Moon has only 1/81 the mass of Earth, it's farther away.

 

[tomtom80]

Humans have been performing dentistry since 7000BC, which makes dentists one of the oldest professions. Evidently, the UK didn't get the memo.

so dentistry giving prostitution a run for its money? Sounds about right.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

The eastern United States once was covered by a species of tree that numbered around 4 billion throughout the eastern and Appalachian forests. The biggest ones were around 16 feet in diameter and 150 ft tall. They’re all gone. It was the greatest ecological disaster in American history.

Redirect Notice

 

[AZHuskiePop]

View attachment 68558


The eastern United States once was covered by a species of tree that numbered around 4 billion throughout the eastern and Appalachian forests. The biggest ones were around 16 feet in diameter and 150 ft tall. They’re all gone. It was the greatest ecological disaster in American history.

Redirect Notice

My mother b, in 1913 , told me about American chestnut tree blight that destroyed 4 billion trees , but I didn’t realize they were that large. Their nut was a huge source of food for many species whose population dwindled as a result.
They were destroyed by a fungus from Asia which ironically doesn’t effect the Chinese or European variety.

New Haven ( The Elm City) and the East were also once covered by Elm trees until the Dutch Blight hit and wiped them all out. Elms were as big as Oak Tree and where used as ornamental and shade trees in urban areas.
People who try to sneak beautiful plants from other countries into a different country have no idea the damage they could cause.

 

[Northbound]

Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz and Lucille LeSueur have never been in my mother’s kitchen

 

[CCSUblue]

View attachment 68558


The eastern United States once was covered by a species of tree that numbered around 4 billion throughout the eastern and Appalachian forests. The biggest ones were around 16 feet in diameter and 150 ft tall. They’re all gone. It was the greatest ecological disaster in American history.

Redirect Notice

There are survivors, though few and far between, that organizations like the American Chestnut foundation are trying to save. They are also working to develop blight resistant hybrids to help restore them to eastern forests.

The American Chestnut Foundation

Our mission is to return the iconic American chestnut to its native range.

acf.org

 

[CONN78SEJ]

My mother b, in 1913 , told me about American chestnut tree blight that destroyed 4 billion trees , but I didn’t realize they were that large. Their nut was a huge source of food for many species whose population dwindled as a result.
They were destroyed by a fungus from Asia which ironically doesn’t effect the Chinese or European variety.

New Haven ( The Elm City) and the East were also once covered by Elm trees until the Dutch Blight hit and wiped them all out. Elms were as big as Oak Tree and where used as ornamental and shade trees in urban areas.
People who try to sneak beautiful plants from other countries into a different country have no idea the damage they could cause.

The chestnut’s lumber was prized for being so durable and rot resistant. Any barn or farmhouse in built before 1904 is almost always American Chestnut. This especially true in Appalachia where the American Chestnut was especially dominant in those areas. From Maine to Florida, one out of every three hardwood trees was a chestnut, but in Appalachia there were hundred of miles of forests that were all tall straight towering chestnut trees. Reclaimed chestnut beams from these old buildings is a big business even today.
What’s also unfortunate is when the chestnut trees started dieing around 1904, the lumber industry panicked and cut down every valuable tree they could find, millions upon millions were cut down over a twenty year span because the lumber industry figured all of them would eventually die. What they did not realize was that they were also cutting down possibly thousands of trees resistant to the blight.

 

[temery]

The chestnut’s lumber was prized for being so durable and rot resistant. Any barn or farmhouse in built before 1904 is almost always American Chestnut. This especially true in Appalachia where the American Chestnut was especially dominant in those areas. From Maine to Florida, one out of every three hardwood trees was a chestnut, but in Appalachia there were hundred of miles of forests that were all tall straight towering chestnut trees. Reclaimed chestnut beams from these old buildings is a big business even today.

There was a short lived reality show set on a river in the southern US. The theme was recovering sunken logs from 100+ years ago. It didn't take more than a couple trees to make their year.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

There are survivors, though few and far between, that organizations like the American Chestnut foundation are trying to save. They are also working to develop blight resistant hybrids to help restore them to eastern forests.

The American Chestnut Foundation

Our mission is to return the iconic American chestnut to its native range.

acf.org

There is a moderately large one up in Maine. Here’s a picture of it. It’s a tragedy that succeeding generations of Americans missed out on living amongst these behemoths.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

View attachment 68558


The eastern United States once was covered by a species of tree that numbered around 4 billion throughout the eastern and Appalachian forests. The biggest ones were around 16 feet in diameter and 150 ft tall. They’re all gone. It was the greatest ecological disaster in American history.

Redirect Notice

this year seems like the final act for the ash tree here in Connecticut. you can easily see their death everywhere when looking at almost any patch of forest. stark.
'To put its damage in perspective, the number of chestnuts killed by the chestnut blight was around 3.5 billion chestnut trees while there are 3.5 billion ash trees in Ohio alone. Dutch elm disease killed only 200 million elm trees while EAB threatens 7.5 billion ash trees in the United States. The insect threatens the entire North American genus Fraxinus. Since its accidental introduction into the United States and Canada in the 1990s, and its subsequent detection in 2002, it has spread to eleven states and adjacent parts of Canada. It has killed at least 50 million ash trees so far and threatens to kill most of the ash trees throughout North America.' wiki.
next up? beech leaf disease just getting started this year, also easily spotted, particularly in coastal towns. longterm prognosis? unknown at this time. the American chestnut is a member of the beech tree family.

 

[8893]

Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz and Lucille LeSueur have never been in my mother’s kitchen

Best "Cheers" episode ever.

 

[pepband99]

This may be relatively common knowledge, but I just learned it yesterday: the actor who plays Saul Berenson in Homeland was Inigo Montoya in Princess Bride.

I had a similar embarassing miss - Pedro Cerano (Major League) and "the Allstate guy"

 

[CONN78SEJ]

this year seems like the final act for the ash tree here in Connecticut. you can easily see their death everywhere 'To put its damage in perspective, the number of chestnuts killed by the chestnut blight was around 3.5 billion chestnut trees while there are 3.5 billion ash trees in Ohio alone. Dutch elm disease killed only 200 million elm trees while EAB threatens 7.5 billion ash trees in the United States. The insect threatens the entire North American genus Fraxinus. Since its accidental introduction into the United States and Canada in the 1990s, and its subsequent detection in 2002, it has spread to eleven states and adjacent parts of Canada. It has killed at least 50 million ash trees so far and threatens to kill most of the ash trees throughout North America.

The White Ash die off in Connecticut is easy to see throughout the state, the pale green blotches on the bark and the few healthy leaves on the tree. It’s also a medium sized tree on average and is not a good lumber tree as it rots quickly when exposed to soil and water. It is however, being hard and dense, good for baseball bats and tool handles. Woodworkers though call it a “poor cousin” to oak or maple. As to your American Chestnut numbers, it was over 4 billion during the 1920’s, and remember if you consider the massive size of just one mature American Chestnut before the blight, 4 billion towering American Chestnut trees made billions and billions of board feet of rot resistant beams and lumber, that is still being reclaimed today in old barns and the demolition of old homes. Also, let’s not forget all those chestnuts. Lol. The chestnut blight was a terrible economic and ecological disaster, the White Ash die off, while serious, pales in comparison. The article below written by Mr Bruce Carley is sad, and demonstrates what valuable resource the American Chestnut was, and how it’s demise caused the extinction of many species of insects and birds that lived in it’s branches.

New Hope For the American Chestnut

Article: New Hope For The American Chestnut

www.appalachianwoods.com