# Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 13, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674 "2020-04-13T03:19:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/201 "2020-05-03T02:42:07Z")
Howard Cosell was promoted to Army major during WWII and he worked as a lawyer when the war ended. In his spare time, he announced Little League games in NYC for three years. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/202 "2020-05-03T03:41:00Z")
The birthday for all thoroughbred horses is January 1st. Doesn’t matter what day of the year they are born on, their birthday is January 1st of the year they were born. A thoroughbred horse born on December 31st is considered 1 year old the next day. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/203 "2020-05-03T08:40:08Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Lon Warneke (the Arkansas Hummingbird) was the only man ever to play in the major leagues (192-121 as a pitcher) and also umpire in All-Star and World Series games. > > He later became a county judge in Arkansas. One time the defendants in his courtroom were several boys who’d stolen some boxes of what they thought were chocolates and ate them all, only to find out they were actually chocolate-flavored laxatives. Warneke told them they’d been punished enough. Warneke had an interesting career. His first game as an umpire came in an emergency while he was still a player. His Cardinals were about to play the Reds in Cincinnati, and it was a game that had been postponed from an earlier date. When it came time to play, they realized belatedly that there was no officiating crew to work the game. Warneke was brought in as an emergency third-base umpire; the Reds’ coach umpired at first, and an umpire native to Cincinnati was called in as home-plate umpire. He was also umpiring when Willie Mays made “The Catch”. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/204 "2020-05-03T14:05:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The birthday for all thoroughbred horses is January 1st. Doesn’t matter what day of the year they are born on, their birthday is January 1st of the year they were born. A thoroughbred horse born on December 31st is considered 1 year old the next day. Pretty much true but not quite. In the Southern Hemisphere, the universal birthdate is August 1. [Cite.](https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/thoroughbred-horse.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/205 "2020-05-03T14:17:23Z")
In 49 states insulin is not a prescription drug . The exception is Indiana. If you have insurance you most likely need a Rx if you want insurance to pay for it. Also 49 states laws are based on English common law. The exception is Louisiana where they also use the Napoleanic code as well. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/206 "2020-05-03T17:23:34Z")
The world record for surviving a free fall and surviving without a parachute is held by the late Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian stewardess. Her plane blew up and tore in half in 1972 while six miles up. She was in the back of the plane, and was in the tail when it fell, bounced down a mountain, and plowed into a forest below the treeline. She had more injuries and broken bones than Evel Knievel in a pinball machine, but survived the incident, dying in 2016 at the age of 66. Reportedly, she had no memory of what happened between the plane’s takeoff and waking up in the hospital. She was temporarily paralyzed, but got better, though she walked with a limp for the rest of her life. Perhaps due to the amnesia, she had no qualms or issues about flying, even after falling six miles. There are, however, them what would say she was cheating, as she DID remain in part of an airplane throughout the descent. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/207 "2020-05-03T17:42:08Z")
I’m just watching a documentary about the [Reichstag building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_building) and was reminded of the story of the famous photo of Red Army soldiers [hoisting the Soviet flag on the roof of the Reichstag on May 2nd, 1945](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/images/zsowjets/11710576/2-format43.jpg). First, the picture was staged. The first flag had appeared a while ago on the roof, but the photographer reenacted it at a different place with a better view for the photo. When he developed the photo, he noticed that the soldier holding the flag wore wristwatches on each wrist. This was of course unthinkable for a soldier of the glorious and honorable Red Army, so he retouched the photo and scratched out one of the watches. This became the official and famous picture. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/208 "2020-05-03T17:51:33Z")
According to a horrifying article on hate groups in the US in the NYT this morning, there are 125 “hate culture” groups on Facebook alone, 60 of which were created just this year in response to the Corona virus measures. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/209 "2020-05-03T17:58:45Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > … The exception is Louisiana where they also use the Napoleanic code as well. The original Louisiana Civil Code does share a common ancestor with the Napoleonic code, _i.e._, Roman civil law. But it is not based on the Napoleonic code. It contains many elements of Spanish civil law as well as French civil law that was in existence before the Napoleonic code. But **Bijou Drain** s is correct in that it is different from the civil common law in the other 49 states. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/210 "2020-05-04T00:35:27Z")
W L Gore invented and sells Goretex. They use some of the same technology to make high end guitar strings that are coated and last longer than regular guitar strings. BTW Goretex has not been under patent since 1997 , so anyone can make it but they have to use a different name. I don’t think they make any other musical products beyond the strings. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/211 "2020-05-04T01:00:42Z")
Mike Nesmith was the Monkee who wore the little knitted hat. He didn’t HAVE to be a Monkee, but apparently enjoyed his brief career as a prefab teen idol. He did not return for the first Monkees reunion, though. Seems he’s independently wealthy; his mother is the inventor of Liquid Paper. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/212 "2020-05-04T01:05:15Z")
When the Simpsons first appeared as shorts on Fox’s _The Tracey Ullman Show_, Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie have names, but the character now known as Marge was always called, and credited as, “Mom” or “Mrs. Simpson.” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/213 "2020-05-04T01:12:51Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > Mike Nesmith was the Monkee who wore the little knitted hat. > > He didn’t HAVE to be a Monkee, but apparently enjoyed his brief career as a prefab teen idol. He did not return for the first Monkees reunion, though. Seems he’s independently wealthy; his mother is the inventor of Liquid Paper. He’s had a subdued, compared to the Monkees craze, but successful solo career as a notable country rocker and later video artist, so that alone should be enough to pay his bills. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/214 "2020-05-04T01:41:29Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > He’s had a subdued, compared to the Monkees craze, but successful solo career as a notable country rocker and later video artist, so that alone should be enough to pay his bills. Writing “Different Drum” was enough for me. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/w9qsDgA1q8Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Different Drum") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9qsDgA1q8Y) ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/215 "2020-05-04T02:07:13Z")
Jane Dornacker, New York traffic reporter for WNBC radio, was in two helicopter crashes in 1986. The second crash occurred while she was broadcasting live on the air and turned out to be fatal. She was also an actress and musician. > **[Jane Dornacker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Dornacker)** > > Jane Carroll Dornacker (October 1, 1947 – October 22, 1986) was an American rock musician, actress, comedian and traffic reporter. She gained fame as a comedian, actor, dancer and as an associate and songwriter for the San Francisco rock band The Tubes; she also led her own band, Leila and the Snakes. > Dornacker was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the daughter of John L. Dornacker. Her family lived at 1701 Las Lomas Road, NE Albuquerque, in a house built in 1928 by her grandfather, Dr Edward C. ... ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/216 "2020-05-04T11:35:43Z")
Steven Sills applied to write songs for the Monkees but was turned down. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/217 "2020-05-04T11:53:12Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Steven Sills applied to write songs for the Monkees but was turned down. Stills actually auditioned to be a Monkee, but was turned down because he wasn’t photogenic enough. He suggested that his good friend Peter Thorkelson, aka Peter Tork, try out, and the rest was history. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/218 "2020-05-04T12:07:57Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Ted Cassidy, the original Lurch, was also in Star Trek. In the Original Series he played the Gorn, the puppet of Balok, and an android in “What are Little Girls Made of?” I recently had the thought that Benedict Cumberbatch’s face reminds me of Balok’s puppet. Creepy. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/219 "2020-05-04T14:00:33Z")
Academy Award-nominated writer-director Todd Field (“In The Bedroom”, “Little Children”) is the co-creator of “Big League Chew” bubble gum. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/220 "2020-05-04T14:07:32Z")
While I’m thinking about the Monkees: Jimi Hendrix was their opening act on their first tour. He was not yet well known, obviously, and quit after a few shows of teenyboppers and tweens booing at him and yelling that they wanted the Monkees… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=12)