# My Useless Factlets... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 24, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359 "2014-08-24T06:28:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/1 "2014-08-24T06:28:02Z")
Hey gang. So, earlier this year I found myself really annoying all the people I knew because I constantly wanted to text randomly about how the deepest hole is this one thing, or how bananas are doomed or about how Pandas are actually carnivores. After a while, I just decided to start a facebook column. Last week, I decided that column should go public. I really need a more intellectual batch of friends outside the scope of a few hundred some high school or work contacts, so I am posting here hoping to get something feeding the fire. I am also open to suggestions or contrarians who just want to debate what I am posting as factual. that’s the crux–I tend to steer clear of anything I don’t feel like can be cross-referenced or confirmed. It’s weird information, but I still want it to be true. Any good ideas for upcoming topics? They need to be WEIRD. > **[Log in or sign up to view](https://www.facebook.com/uselessfactlets)** > > See posts, photos and more on Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/2 "2014-08-24T06:32:30Z")
The lyrics and melodies of “British Grenadiers,” “Wabash Cannonball,” and “The Marines’ Hymn” are mutually interchangeable. Go ahead, try singing the lyrics of one to the melody of one of the others. You’ll see! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/3 "2014-08-24T06:42:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The lyrics and melodies of “British Grenadiers,” “Wabash Cannonball,” and “The Marines’ Hymn” are mutually interchangeable. > > Go ahead, try singing the lyrics of one to the melody of one of the others. You’ll see! see, that’s the kind of stuff. i have a list cued. Coral Castle, tri-state crematorium, limnic eruptions, droste effect, prospect theory, Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501, God Helmet–these are some on my list… ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/4 "2014-08-24T06:51:46Z")
really i just miss writing, and this is a great excuse to. i can’t imagine anyone would be interested but we’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/5 "2014-08-24T12:36:00Z")
Moved Cafe Society --\> MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/6 "2014-08-24T19:26:04Z")
The first novel ever written on a typewriter was not _Uncle Tom’s Cabin._ ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/7 "2014-08-24T23:39:23Z")
Great name / post combo. ( Just one of the high school idiots, don’t mind me. Bawahahaha ) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/8 "2014-08-25T00:17:27Z")
You can sing the Australian national anthem to the tune of the _Gilligan’s Island_ theme. And vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/9 "2014-08-25T02:10:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The lyrics and melodies of “British Grenadiers,” “Wabash Cannonball,” and “The Marines’ Hymn” are mutually interchangeable. > > Go ahead, try singing the lyrics of one to the melody of one of the others. You’ll see! I know nothing about music, but surely this is true of any 2 pieces of music with the same time signature? ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/10 "2014-08-25T03:02:41Z")
Australian National Anthem ? Its a hymm … sounds like a hymn to me… it doesn’t roll, it doesn’t tell a story, its a lit of facts to support the conclusion. Well any hymn matches well to any other, but I think “All things bright and beautiful” is a close match. The format… the basic plot line … a list of facts with a conclusion… ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/11 "2014-08-25T19:42:01Z")
Some anthropologists say the myth of mermaids came from sightings of manatees. Yes, manatees! Well, lady manatees (womanatees?) do have boobs, but they’re quite chubby. So, if the theory holds water, sailors in those days must have preferred their dames really _Rubensesque._ ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/12 "2014-08-26T21:43:33Z")
There’s a difference between “flotsam” and “jetsam”. Jetsam is the material thrown off a ship when it is in distress and the crew is trying to save it (the ship). Flotsam is what you get when they are unsuccessful. J. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/13 "2014-08-26T21:56:12Z")
I always thought this was hyperbole, but it turns out to be true, to the best we can determine. “There are are more stars in the universe than grains of sands on all the beaches in the world.” Astronomers estimate (roughly) that there are 100,000,000,000 (one hundred billion) stars on average in a galaxy and that there are an equal number of galaxies in the universe. J. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/14 "2014-08-26T22:35:17Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Flotsam is what you get when they are unsuccessful. Flotsam is when it’s floating. Lagan is when it’s on the bottom and could be salvaged. Derelict is when it’s beyond salvage. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/15 "2014-08-26T22:46:25Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > The first novel ever written on a typewriter was not _Uncle Tom’s Cabin._ Which one was? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/16 "2014-08-27T00:03:24Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > There’s a difference between “flotsam” and “jetsam”. Jetsam is the material thrown off a ship when it is in distress and the crew is trying to save it (the ship). Flotsam is what you get when they are unsuccessful. Easy to remember: jetson is what was jettisoned; flotsam is what floated away when they sank. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/17 "2014-08-27T00:44:40Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Which one was? Either _Tom Sawyer_ or _Huckleberry Finn_. Twain loved the device, though it’s unclear on which one he used it first. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/18 "2014-08-27T01:23:46Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The lyrics and melodies of “British Grenadiers,” “Wabash Cannonball,” and “The Marines’ Hymn” are mutually interchangeable. > > Go ahead, try singing the lyrics of one to the melody of one of the others. You’ll see! > [@Sunspace](#): > > You can sing the Australian national anthem to the tune of the _Gilligan’s Island_ theme. And vice versa. > [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > I know nothing about music, but surely this is true of any 2 pieces of music with the same time signature? The very best tune ever for the “Amazing Grace” lyrics is “House of the Rising Sun.” IT’s the only way I sing it now. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/19 "2014-08-27T07:36:24Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > You can sing the Australian national anthem to the tune of the _Gilligan’s Island_ theme. And vice versa. > [@TruCelt](#): > > The very best tune ever for the “Amazing Grace” lyrics is “House of the Rising Sun.” IT’s the only way I sing it now. But all 4 of those can interchange music and lyrics. Longfellow’s _Excelsior!_ can be sung to the Underdog cartoon theme. > [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > I know nothing about music, but surely this is true of any 2 pieces of music with the same time signature? No. It depends on the meter of the lines. A previous thread on the subject: [Inserting song lyrics into alternate tunes: List your faves! - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=580005) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359/20 "2014-08-27T08:49:08Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > The first novel ever written on a typewriter was not _Uncle Tom’s Cabin._ It wasn’t written by hand, though. It was written by Harriet Beecher’s Toe [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-useless-factlets/696359.md?page=2)