Favourite special interest facts

Since I’m new here, I just found this thread, hope it’s okay for me to revive it. 
I can’t really decide, but here are a few very cool facts:

- The blood of a sperm whale can store eight times more oxygen than that of a human and they’ve got the largest bio-sonar in their head. Thus, they can produce 230db click-sounds while hunting in depths of nearly a kilometre.

- Penicillin was discovered by accident (well, everyone knows that, but it’s still funny to me)

- Humpback whales regularly create new songs and their migration patterns are observable through researching where those songs are sung

- African Forest Elephants are constantly moving to find food although they live in rich rain forests. They can’t differentiate exactly what they’re eating so they know exactly how much to eat of each plant so even if they accidentally eat poisonous plants, they won’t die. 

- Elephants are able to perceive very distant sounds like running water, rain, or other elephants communicating via infrasound through sensitive pressure receptors in their trunk and their feet.

(I can’t really stop, but I’ll cut it of here)

I don't remember The Rocket Men. I'm going to have to do a quick google. I've listened to so many of his narrations of the classic target novelisations alongside so many of the new adventures over the years. He's my favourite Doctor Who Audiobook narrator along with Anneke Wilks. 

Hi! Yes, he narrates beautifully. We’re so lucky to have those companion chronicles. Things like The Rocket Men are wonderful additions to the expanded canon: ‘When do you know…?’ 

Yes, the mounted 'Kelt' being able to able to make a hole in the walls of Babylon quote, is a classic. I have the Penguin edition of the Alexiad.

Hi Shardovan 

William Russell is a genuinely interesting guy to listen to. I recently listened to an interview with him at Big Finish as part of the extra bits at the end. 

I love listening to him read the novelisations. I really like that original 1960's team of Bill Hartnell, William Russell, Jacquline Hill and Carol Ann Ford.

I had to read a couple of chapters of The Alexiad of Anna Komnena at university, as a primary source document on the first crusade.

In 1118, the newly acclaimed Byzantine emperor, John II Komnenos, was so wary of the possibility of assassination, organised by his sister Anna and his mother, that he refused to attend the funeral of his father, Alexios I. Within a year, another conspiracy was betrayed to John, by Nikephoros Bryennios, Anna's husband. John ensured that his mother was confined to a nunnery and his sister was entirely removed from public life. John went on to be known as 'John the Good', an able administrator and gifted general. Anna wrote a biographical history of her father, mentioning her brother only twice, once just to say that he was an ugly baby!

Sloths is a cool interest. I'd never have guessed in a million years they were such good swimmers. 

No. 5 definitely rings true. Not for the first time, I the other day looked up something I've been told I have - in this case mild scoliosis/kyphosis only to find an autism prevalence among people with that thing. In this case, it turns out that 40% of males who have Scoliosis are autistic. According to one clinic for that condition who carried out a survey of their clients/patients. 

I didn't much like (or understand, tbh) The Power of the Doctor, but I did smile when I saw William Russell at the end. Also Bonnie Langford, as she gets a lot of undeserved flak and I was pleased she hasn't been disowned by the new series.

1. You can make a dental dam by cutting off the top and bottom of a condom and cutting it in half vertically. It's often much cheaper than buying an actual dental dams
2. Some people live their whole lives not knowing they have Mosaic Trisomy 21 (Mosaic Down Syndrome), as it often results in less facial differences and less severe health complications
3. Sloths are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath longer than dolphins
4. Not really a fun fact, but I know nearly every single LGBTQIA+ pride flag and their definitions. However, I don't know what the colours always represent for each individual flag
5. There is a massive overlap between neurodivergence, being sexually and/or gender diverse, and having a chronic condition/illness. There hasn't been enough published studies into it to have a percentage, but from professional and personal experience, I'd say it's quite high

(special interests: sexual health, genetic and congenital diseases, sloths, LGBTQIA+ identities and community, neurodivergence)

Pigs prefer to sleep nose to nose because the find it calming to be close to one another. 

Pigs have very few sweat glands which is why they roll in mud, it helps to cool them down and protect their skin from the sun

Sorry, couldn't choose my fav fact so shared 2.

Alisha xx

Some days when I’m feeling my age I think about William Russell, nearly in his fifth decade then and still around now, and still with a twinkle and a pure heart that seems to have weathered the ages intact. And things don’t seem so bad. Like Kirk in Star Trek lI it makes me think ‘I feel young’. It’s all relative. 

Original Doctor Who companion and second character to speak a line in the very first episode, Ian Chesterton, was played by an actor - William Russell- who was about to enter his fortieth year when they shot those first scenes, in 1963. He’s still with us, and recently broke a world record for longest gap between appearances of a character/same actor in a show when he turned up in Jodie’s last story just a few months back. 57 years, 120 days. He’s also a true gent and lovely man and I hope he makes it to 100 and beyond. 

Sorry to hear you’re feeling upset Chloe. I’m seeking comfort in distraction too. Lovely thread idea. 

That's interesting, I like reading about etymology. 

The word sponge comes from Greek.

Montpellier is the State Capital of Vermont.