What is a relatively unknown fact you know?

[Torie]

I don't know whether it counts, but I wonder whether non-German, especially non-European posters here know that a substantial part of German highways have no speed limit? We're the only country in the world that has no speed limit. It's basically our second amendment; and political attempts to impose a speed limit on all highways have repeatedly failed.

that's one of those things that almost everyone knows.  Usually we get it wrong in the other direction...as in "did you know there are no speed limits in Germany?"

I have been told that is why Porches are designed to go 100 mph with some stability and "safety."

indeed, and have been for decades.  I'd wager most non-econoboxes* can do ~100mph  safely these days.  A modern Porsche 911 can run at 150 all day.


*depending on how one defines that term.  My Mazda 3, which many people might consider an econobox, can do 100-110 without it getting squirrely.

I am not sure about my Accura RDX. Maybe with new tires designed for spped and a smooth surface and little wind it might do OK at 100 mph. With wind, and tires half way worn down, it gets a bit shaky for my taste at about 85 mph on the I-87. And there are too many cops there to do that for more than a brief moment, even with Waves telling you where the cops are, with a bit of a delay.

[TDAS04]

Mitsubishi made planes that bombed Pearl Harbor.

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

I don't know whether it counts, but I wonder whether non-German, especially non-European posters here know that a substantial part of German highways have no speed limit? We're the only country in the world that has no speed limit. It's basically our second amendment; and political attempts to impose a speed limit on all highways have repeatedly failed.

Tangentially related:

I was once told by a visiting German med student that he was a bit perplexed by the whole "texting while driving" or "eating while driving" thing that you see in America.  Not sure if that's a large-scale cultural item, but still interesting nonetheless. 

He also said that passing laws are pretty strict in Germany. 

[FrancoAgo]

Mitsubishi made planes that bombed Pearl Harbor.

this is not true, the Zero have not bomb at PH, just strafing

[dead0man]

Mitsubishi made planes that bombed Pearl Harbor.

this is not true, the Zero have not bomb at PH, just strafing

indeed.  And after looking it up, the bombers were made by what would become (Nakajima) Subaru and another company (Aichi Kokuki) that was later bought by Nissan.

[Crumpets]

You can see Ben Bradlee's grave from the front garden of Katherine Graham's old house. Imagine looking at your boss's house for all eternity.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Leaded gasoline and CFCs, two highly environmentally toxic products which have now been banned, were both devised in the 1920's by the American engineer Thomas Midgley. He died at the age of 55 by strangling himself with a system of pulleys and ropes he had created to lift himself from bed after having become disabled.

[Torrain]

The appendix isn't actually useless. It plays a poorly-defined but important role in immunity, and is thought to cultivate microflora (gut bacteria), which it can spread to repopulate the dietary tract if the microflora is lost during infection (cholera typically screws with your gut microbiome).

[TDAS04]

As the top predator of the ocean, orca whales kill great white sharks.  They even attack moose just swimming offshore.  Orcas have also been observed tormenting and killing other animals, for no apparent reason (maybe for fun?).

Male dolphins have been known to pleasure themselves by wrapping live, slithering eels around their penises.

[GeorgiaModerate]

If I told you, it would no longer be relatively unknown.

[Del Tachi]

A geography-related one:  the northernmost point of Brazil is nearer every other country in the Americas (including Canada!) than it is the southernmost point in Brazil.

[TheReckoning]

      Harriet Tubman was alive during the lifetime of the 2nd president, John Adams, and the 40th president, Ronald Reagan.

[Wormless Gourd]

From the 1860s-1880s, sheep herding was the primary mode of animal agriculture in California, and an intensive one too. Half of the 1.8 million cattle in Civil War-era CA died because of the shot up in wool prices combined with a drought. Sheep numbers tripled in the state to over 3.6 million heads until the railroad reached Los Angeles, bringing people, who brought water irrigation, which in turned brought back cattle.
In 1880 there were 330,000 sheep in LA county. In 1890, it was 87,000. In 1997, there was about 10,000 sheep in LA county.

[支持核绿派 (Greens4Nuclear)]

Political:

Q: Is there any green or environmental consciousness in China or any organisation s that advocate such policies?

A: Yes! There are lots of environmental associations and they are probably the single biggest “opposition” movement. Every year in China there are several hundred “mass incidents” (protests) and many of them are about the environment.

Non-political:

Unlike most other healthcare professional graduate programs that grant "doctorate" degrees, US veterinary schools require applicants to take the GRE and not some specialized standardized test (MCAT, DAT, PCAT, etc.)


Edit: while it's still Earth Day

Q. Do you think there are any major misconceptions about China in the West? If yes, what is the most glaring one?

A. That the Chinese are spiritual, as compared to the Japanese who are materialistic. If there is a truth in these matters, the opposite is more the case.

[Del Tachi]

Non-political:
Unlike most other healthcare professional graduate programs that grant "doctorate" degrees, US veterinary schools require applicants to take the GRE and not some specialized standardized test (MCAT, DAT, PCAT, etc.)

I think all grad/professional programs should accept the GRE.  Specialized entrance exams only serve to decrease competition between programs by artificially splitting the applicant pool of qualified students.

There's no conceptual reason a potential law student should be considered on the basis of a different exam than a potential MBA student, or a potential medical student different than a potential pharmacy or vet student.