# Aphabetic Pairs -- interesting facts **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [April 6, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877 "2017-04-06T12:40:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/181 "2017-05-01T17:05:01Z")
GT - George Thomas, a Virginian who remained loyal to the United States at the outbreak of the Civil War. “The Rock of Chickamauga” never lost a battle and ended the war as a major general. He was born two hundred years ago last July 31. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/182 "2017-05-01T19:32:42Z")
GU - Glen Urquhart is a glen running to the west of the village of Drumnadrochit in the Highland council area of Scotland. It runs from Loch Ness at Urquhart Bay in the east to Corrimony and beyond in the west. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/183 "2017-05-01T19:52:34Z")
GV = George V, king of England from 1910 to 1936. In November 1928, he fell seriously ill with septicaemia, and for the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties. In 1929, the suggestion of a further rest abroad was rejected by the King “in rather strong language”. Instead, he retired for three months to Craigweil House, Aldwick, in the seaside resort of Bognor, Sussex. As a result of his stay, the town acquired the suffix “Regis”, which is Latin for “of the King”. A myth later grew that his last words, upon being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit the town, were “Bugger Bognor!” ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/184 "2017-05-01T23:45:58Z")
GW = Gillette, Wyoming Gillette is the origin of the expression “Gillette Syndrome”, resulting in increased crime, high costs of living and weakened social and community bonds as a consequence of explosive growth in a short time. Exploitation of mineral deposits doubled the town’s population in the 1960s, and then in the first decade of this century, the population increased by 50% again, to its present 31,000. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/185 "2017-05-03T15:17:07Z")
Since nobody else will say it: GX = Goddam Xylophone Best known for co-starring with an anvil in posts above. (I’m sure there’s something better, but I don’t see it.) ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/186 "2017-05-03T15:28:11Z")
GY= Great Yarmouth A coastal town in Norfolk, England. On May 2, 1845, the suspension bridge over the Bure River in Great Yarmouth collapsed under the weight of hundreds of people who had gathered on the span to watch a floating clown in a barrel being pulled by four geese. 79 people died. This is known as the Great Yarmouth Bridge disaster. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/187 "2017-05-03T16:09:59Z")
GZ = Great Ziggurat The Great Ziggurat of Ur is one of three well preserved Sumerian structures, and dates to the 21sc Century – that’s BC. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/188 "2017-05-03T16:30:19Z")
HA- Hank Aaron, aka The Hammer, broke Babe Ruth’s record for career home runs by homering off Al Downing of the LA Dodgers in 1974. Aaron’s record was subsequently topped by Barry Bonds. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/189 "2017-05-03T18:27:39Z")
HB - Hathaway Brown An all-girls private school in Shaker Heights, Ohio, founded in 1876. It has a noted robotics team and is Ohio’s oldest continuously-operating college preparatory school for girls: [http://www.hb.edu/](http://www.hb.edu/) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/190 "2017-05-03T18:52:02Z")
HC = Hors de commerce, artist’s prints not available to the general public, but which can only be obtained from the artist himself. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/191 "2017-05-03T19:11:53Z")
HD = Hot Dog The origin of the hotdog, and its name, remain disputed and obscure. But the association of hotdogs with baseball dates to 1893, when flamboyant amusement park owner Chris Van der Ahe bought the team now known as the St. Louis Cardinals. Hotdogs had developed an association with amusement parks, and Van der Ahe just brought his vendors to the ballpark. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/192 "2017-05-03T19:16:29Z")
HE - High explosives From Wiki: “Explosive materials [such as TNT] that detonate, meaning that the explosive shock front passes through the material at a supersonic speed… They are normally employed in mining, demolition, and military applications.” ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/193 "2017-05-03T21:14:54Z")
HF = Harrison Ford, actor. He was helped by Alec Guiness to find an apartment during the filming of “Star Wars” (1977). He contributed the sound of whip-cracks on the song “Desperation Samba (Halloween in Tijuana)” by Jimmy Buffett. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/194 "2017-05-04T14:33:11Z")
HG - Hugh Grant The British actor played six roles in the 2012 sf/historical epic _Cloud Atlas_, including a prosperous businessman, a hotel porter, a sneaky executive, the long-suffering brother of a publisher, manager of a fast-food restaurant and a cannibal chieftain (the brother is omitted here: [https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6f/09/d2/6f09d2432aa4fac410f501b1245ef41a.jpg](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6f/09/d2/6f09d2432aa4fac410f501b1245ef41a.jpg)). ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/195 "2017-05-04T14:39:39Z")
HH = High Hopes, a Frank Sinatra song with children’s chorus, from his film _A Hole in the Head_. Frank rearranged it with different lyrics which was used as the theme song for the 1960 Presidential Campaign of John Kennedy. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/196 "2017-05-04T14:55:08Z")
HI = Hurricane Ike In September 2008, Hurricane Ike struck Haiti, Cuba and finally Texas. 195 were killed. The 37.5 billion dollars in damages from Ike make it the third costliest Atlantic hurricane ever. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/197 "2017-05-04T15:17:30Z")
HJ = Howard Johnson’s, the largest restaurant chain in the U.S.A throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with more than 1,000 combined company owned and franchised outlets. At present, the Lake George, N.Y. location is the only remaining Howard Johnson’s restaurant left, though the hotels are still numerous. The film _2001: A Space Odyssey_ (1968) was “one of the very first to carry ‘product placements’ for companies” such as Howard Johnson’s, whose logos appear aboard the space station. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/198 "2017-05-04T16:05:08Z")
HK = Henry Kaiser Henry Kaiser was the only new US automaker to achieve success after World War II, producing cars until 1953. He also founded Kaiser Permanente in 1945, , which remains a major player in health care to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/199 "2017-05-04T17:19:20Z")
HL - Henry Cabot Lodge One of Theodore Roosevelt’s best friends, the patrician senator from Massachusetts was a key opponent of Woodrow Wilson and was instrumental in preventing the ratification of the League of Nations treaty by the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/200 "2017-05-04T18:37:49Z")
HM- Harry Morgan made an appearance on “M_A_S\*H” as a neurotic officer prone to bursting out in song, years before being hired to replace MacLean Stevenson as base commander. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877.md?page=11)