Ask Rachel

Interesting fact: Coasters are also referred to as beermats in other parts of the English-speaking world, where clearly they do not drink lemonade or iced tea on warm, humid days.

Interesting fact: A recent report reports that there are, reportedly, other pencil numbers besides #2. And that the number refers to the hardness of the graphite. Someday, if I’m very lucky, I’ll meet a pencil with a #5 or #6.

Interesting fact: Bocce is reportedly the world’s third most popular sport, behind soccer and (this is why I say “reportedly”) golf. But you sure don’t hear Simon & Garfunkel lamenting long-lost bocce players.

Interesting fact: We burn about 100 calories running a mile. An avocado can have 200-300 calories. A $2 avocado therefore is still a worse bargain than gassing up your car.

Interesting fact: The service life of the Motorola bag phone ended in 2008 when the networks went extinct. Long live the bag phone

Interesting fact: Durango.org has an entire section on visiting town with your dog, but no mention of hiking with your cat or visiting the 5-acre cat park.

Interesting fact: The Rock started his wrestling career as Rocky Miavia, and like me, he learned to drop his last name for public appearances.

Interesting fact: The average business will hear from about 4% of its dissatisfied customers. Not me; I never survey people about how I’m doing.

Interesting fact: The 20th century was the heyday for euphemisms of the butt, the king of which is the keister (1930).

Interesting fact: In 2011, the Durango High School senior prank went haywire when the students filled the school with bales of hay, closing the school for four days after the hay released clouds of mold spores and dust.

Interesting fact: In honor of Earth Day, every answer uses the word “green.” So what if we forgot about Earth Day until after the fact?

Interesting fact: A lethal dose of caffeine is about 10 grams, or more than 100 double espresso shots. Volume wise, that’s only like 15 cans of beer. Challenge accepted.

Interesting fact: The dodo bird went extinct in 1662, and while reports about the final cause of death are inconclusive, it was probably quicksand.

Interesting fact: Front plates are, apparently, so aesthetically treasonous to snobby people that Tesla models don’t even come with front plate mounts (though they provide one that super uncool drivers can affix by themselves).

Interesting fact: A 7-year-old Louie XIV liked the knotted neck kerchiefs that Croatian mercenaries wore, and it’s thanks to that little brat that young men learn double Windsors on YouTube today. 

Interesting fact: Blonde hair can sell for up to three times the price of dark hair. Guess not everyone’s in it for Locks of Love.