Interesting Facts For Curious Minds: 1572 Random But Mind-Blowing Facts About History, Science, Pop Culture And Everything In Between
Out Of The Water And Into The Frying Pan
by testsuphomeAdminYou are being provided with a book chapter by chapter. I will request you to read the book for me after each chapter. After reading the chapter, 1. shorten the chapter to no less than 300 words and no more than 400 words. 2. Do not change the name, address, or any important nouns in the chapter. 3. Do not translate the original language. 4. Keep the same style as the original chapter, keep it consistent throughout the chapter. Your reply must comply with all four requirements, or it’s invalid.
I will provide the chapter now.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
� There’s a town in New York and one in Ontario named Swastika as
well as a lake in Wyoming and a mountain in Oregon. The swastika
was a popular symbol long before the Nazis appropriated it.
� Although Eric II, King of Norway (ruled 1280–1299), was nominally
a Christian, he had problems with the Church. So, he earned the
nickname “Priest Hater.” Why did people in Norway not like Eric
Bloodaxe? Eric’s rule was reputedly harsh and despotic and so he fell
rapidly out of favour with the Norwegian nobility.
� “Bald Knob” is always good for a chuckle or two when you pass one
on the highway. There are two towns named Bald Knob in the US and
one in Australia.
� “Grant Balfour” isn’t the best name if you’re a baseball pitcher. Still,
Grant Balfour not only had a nice career as a Major League pitcher,
but he’s also the all-time save and strikeout leader among Australian
MLB players.
� What Cheer, Iowa is notable for its name but little else. The town
was given the name in 1865, although the reason for it is debated.
Population 607 in 2020.
� If you travel through County Essex, England, you may visit the
village of Ugley. And if you go a few more miles to the west to
County Herefordshire, you’ll end up in the hamlet of Nasty.
� A nom de plume is just a fancy, French term for a “pen name.” Many
notable authors have used them, including Stephen King, who
sometimes wrote as “Richard Bachman.”
� Swastika Mukherjee is the name of a popular Indian actress born in
1980. The word swastika, as well as the symbol, goes back to India
more than 3,500 years ago.
� Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is home to the towns of Intercourse,
Paradise, and Blue Ball, which is interesting considering it’s the heart
of Amish country.
� Halfdan the Mild was a Viking king who got his nickname for being
stingy with food but generous with gold. His father was Eystein
Halfdansson, or Eystein Fret.
� Embarrass, Minnesota gets its unique name from the French word,
embarrass, which means “to hinder with obstacles or difficulties.”
Apparently, even the hearty voyageurs found the town’s extreme cold
a bit too much.
� In the 1960s British sci-fi spy thriller TV show, The Prisoner, every
character had a number for a name. Number 6 was the name of the
main character.
� Richard Braine was a British politician with the UK Independence
Party (UKIP). His opponents liked to refer to him as “Dick Braine.”
� The town of Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! has the dubious distinction of
being the only town in the world with two exclamation marks in its
name. It’s right ahead of Westward Ho!, England.
� A nom de guerre (“name of war”) is sometimes used by guerillas and
terrorists. “Carlos the Jackal” was the nom de guerre of Venezuelan
terrorist, Ilich Ramírez Sánchez.
� Taumata whakatangihanga koauau o tamatea turi pukaka piki maunga-
horo nuku pokai whenua ki tana tahu is the longest place name in the
world. It’s a Māori name for hill in New Zealand, which locals just
call “Taumata.”
� Harry Baals was the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana from 1934 to
1947, and again from 1951 until he died in 1954. His descendants
pronounce the name “Bales.”
� The nickname “Lefty” is quite popular in the US with lefthanded
baseball pitchers, but also some notable gangsters. Mobsters Frank
“Lefty” Rosenthal and Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero were two
notorious lefties.
� Llanfairpwllgwyngyll is the name of a quaint Welsh town on the
Island of Anglesey. If you think you’ve mastered that, try its full
name, Llanfair pwllgwyngyll gogery chwyrn drobwll llan tysilio gogo-
goch.
� Ironic nicknames cross cultures and languages. Men nicknamed
“Slim” or “Tiny” are almost always large, as is the case in Spanish-
speaking countries with the name “Flaco.”
� Pickaway County, Ohio has a number of places named “Hitler,”
including Hitler Road and Hitler Park. The names come from an
influential German American who was not related in any way to the
Hitler.
� Alfonso IX was the king of the Spanish kingdoms of Leon and
Galicia from 1188 to 1230. He played a major role in the Reconquista,
but he’s best remembered as “The Slobberer.”
� Although English-speaking tourists probably giggle when they travel
through Condom, France, the French word means “field of the
confluence.”
� Kash Register is the name of a man who was convicted of murder in
1979 but exonerated in 2013. Register then cashed in when he was
awarded $16.7 million for his wrongful conviction.
� If you ever make it to Perry County, Kentucky make sure to drive
through Happy Valley before visiting the towns of Happy and Dwarf.
OceanofPDF.com
OUT OF THE WATER AND INTO THE FRYING PAN
� The whale shark is the largest fish in the world. Whale sharks can
grow to 50 feet long and despite the “whale” in its name, it’s 100%
fish.
� Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley gifted 18 bluegills — the Illinois
State fish — to the crown prince of Japan in 1960. Once in Japan, the
bluegills spread and became an invasive species.
� Fish breathe oxygen through their gills. The gills diffuse the oxygen
through the fish’s membranes.
� The coelacanth is a fish species that was believed to have been
extinct for 65 to 66 million years until one was caught off the coast of
South Africa in 1938. There are only two known species of
coelacanths: one that lives near the Comoros Islands off the east coast
of Africa, and one found in the waters off Sulawesi, Indonesia.
� The consumption of fish on Fridays during Lent is a Catholic
tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages. Interestingly, beaver and
alligator were exempted.
� Every US state has at least one “state fish.” Those in the
Centrarchidae (sunfish) family are the most popular, which include
bass, bluegill, and crappie.
� The beluga sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in the world. These
beasts can grow to 24 feet long and weigh 2,500 pounds but are only
found in the Caspian and the Black Sea basins. The world record was
3,463 lbs. and 23ft 7in long!
� When the Nubian King Piye conquered Egypt in 728 BCE, he
refused to meet with all but one of the chieftains and “kings” of
Lower Egyptian because they were “fish eaters.”
� The name Fish Kill or Fishkill actually means the opposite of what
you think. “Kill” is derived from the Dutch word for a creek so it
means “Fish Creek.”
� A fish’s age can be determined by counting rings on its scales or
those on its ear bones, which are known as otoliths. These are similar
to the rings on trees.
� “Pan fish” is the term in the US for fish that can fit neatly into a
frying pan. Although many species can technically fit the definition,
it’s generally reserved for sunfish, crappies, and perch.
� The muskellunge, or “muskie,” is the largest member of the
freshwater pike family and native to North America. Ferocious
predators, muskies have even taken bites out of swimmers!
� When fish gather for social reasons, such as mating or protection,
they are “shoaling.” When that group begins moving together in a
synchronized way then they are “schooling.”
� In Japanese mythology, Namazu was a giant catfish that lived
underground and caused earthquakes. He was especially associated
with Lake Biwa.
� Unlike most fish, which give birth by laying eggs, some shark
species — such as hammerheads, bull, and blue sharks — give birth to
fully formed “pups.”
� Starfish and jellyfish are not fish. A starfish is an echinoderm, while
a jellyfish is cnidaria.
� “Shore lunches” are popular with recreational fishermen in North
America. It simply involves frying any fish you caught that day in a
pan over a fire when back on shore or at a camp.
� Carp includes a number of oily fish species native to Eurasia but
considered invasive in most other parts of the world. Goldfish and koi
are members of the carp family, Cyprinidae.
� Except for sharks, most fish don’t have eyelids. Fish do, though,
have a rest cycle where their brain activity and metabolism are greatly
reduced.
� All fish have vertical tail fins, while aquatic mammals, such as
dolphins and whales, have horizontal tail fins. This is probably due to
a strange quirk of evolution.
� The burbot is often referred to as an “eel-pout,” but it’s actually in
the cod family. The burbot is the only freshwater member of the cod
family.
� Seahorses are the only species of fish that swim upright. They’re also
notable for the male carrying the eggs and giving birth to the brood.
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