Useless Facts (depending on your point-of-view)

John Sellers • Oct 10, 2016 2:17 am
The estimated diameter of the observable universe is 93 billion light-years.

Useless to me. Maybe not to an astrophysicist. Interesting though.
Griff • Oct 10, 2016 8:35 am
Wouldn't want to walk it. /surveyor
Gravdigr • Oct 10, 2016 3:30 pm
A lightyear is about 5.88 trillion miles.

All ya gotta do is multiply 5.88 trillion times 93 billion.

Let's see now...

5,880,000,000,000 x 93,000,000,000 = 5,468,400,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles

Did I do that right? I think I got lost in all those zeroes.
xoxoxoBruce • Oct 10, 2016 3:32 pm
Close enough.
Gravdigr • Oct 10, 2016 3:38 pm
I think I ended up with an extra zero.
Gravdigr • Oct 10, 2016 3:40 pm
A ping pong ball should weigh 2.7 grams.
xoxoxoBruce • Oct 10, 2016 3:40 pm
Horseshoes and hand grenades...
John Sellers • Oct 10, 2016 4:38 pm
Gravdigr;970827 wrote:
A lightyear is about 5.88 trillion miles.

All ya gotta do is multiply 5.88 trillion times 93 billion.

Let's see now...

5,880,000,000,000 x 93,000,000,000 = 5,468,400,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles

Did I do that right? I think I got lost in all those zeroes.


According to Wolfram Alpha, 1 light-year = 5.879 trillion miles, so yeah,,, close enuf. 5.879 trillion times 93 billion actually = 546 sextillion miles, which is still an approximation.
DanaC • Oct 10, 2016 4:45 pm
When I was growing up we were taught the long scale billion definition (a million million), though it had already become standard to use the short scale in official figures.




ETA: according to Wiki the short scale was officially adopted by the UK government in '74, when I was 2, so it must have coexisted for a few years after that
John Sellers • Oct 10, 2016 4:47 pm
Millions of rickrolls have earned Rick Ashley just $12 .
Undertoad • Oct 10, 2016 4:55 pm
...the lesson of which is, as usual, don't sell the rights to your recorded material and don't make a shitty record deal so you can have a hit single
lumberjim • Oct 11, 2016 12:09 am
Useless to you, but not useless to me:

The average person files a car insurance claim every 17.9 years.
Clodfobble • Oct 11, 2016 12:24 am
I'm a shitty driver.
John Sellers • Oct 11, 2016 12:40 am
Clodfobble;970891 wrote:
I'm a shitty driver.


Oh. So, yer really an Asian? :D
captainhook455 • Oct 11, 2016 8:48 am
Exxum Ohio is 12 miles SSE of Cleveland.

tarheel
glatt • Oct 11, 2016 8:53 am
If you were a mink farmer back in the day, you would also be interested in purchasing old worn out horses to feed to the minks.
footfootfoot • Oct 11, 2016 11:10 am
Skunk fur was called American Sable until Sable farmers raised a stink because skunk fur was cutting into their market and they knew as long as it was called American Sable people would have no prejudice against it, but if you called it skunk there was no way to cleanse the mental association.
lumberjim • Oct 11, 2016 11:30 am
Raised a stink.