# 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:** 170
**Author:** ![PozhanPop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pozhanpop/32/8022_2.png) [@PozhanPop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PozhanPop)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3388 "2022-01-12T22:18:42Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > She is likely of Parsee ( Zoroastrian) heritage. Parsees originally are from Persia (Iran) but were kicked out / killed during the Muslim conquest. They took refuge in India and are one of the most successful communities. > > Some prominent parsees / people of parsee heritage : > > 1. One of the wise men (magi) at Jesus’s birth > 2. Freddie Mercury > 3. The Tata family in India When I was little there was a famous cricket player from India called Farook Engineer. This in the 70s I don’t think I’ve spelt his first name right. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3389 "2022-01-13T02:31:18Z")
> [@PozhanPop](#): > > When I was little there was a famous cricket player from India called Farook Engineer Yeap. He is Parsi/Parsee too > **[Farokh Engineer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farokh_Engineer)** > > Farokh Manecksha Engineer pronunciationⓘ (born 25 February 1938) is an Indian former cricketer. He was a wicket-keeper-batsman, usually an opening batsman, who represented India in 46 Test matches from 1961 to 1975. In first-class cricket, he played for Bombay from 1959/60 to 1974/75, for West Zone from 1961/62 to 1974/75, and for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1968 to 1976. He was the first-choice wicket-keeper for the Rest of the World team which toured England in 1970 and Australia in ... ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3390 "2022-01-13T21:36:48Z")
Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” didn’t have a proper title for three years. It was simply “the disco song” from '75 to '78. > **[Heart of Glass (song)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Glass_(song))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > "Heart of Glass" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie, written by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. It was featured on the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines (1978), and was released as the album's third single in January 1979 and reached number one on the charts in several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. > In December 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 255 on its list of the ... ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3391 "2022-01-13T21:51:58Z")
I was listening to some classics and saw that Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” was written and originally released by Otis Redding (most noted for “Sitting by the Dock of the Bay”). Otis is another rising music star that died in a plane crash. Never mind drugs and ham sandwiches, plane crashes have killed more music stars before their time than anything else. > **[Otis Redding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Redding)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is a great singer in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. Nicknamed the "King of Soul", Redding's style of singing gained inspiration from the gospel music that preceded the genre. His singing style influenced many other soul artists of the 1960s. > Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia, an... ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3392 "2022-01-13T22:57:15Z")
I only found out recently that Bobbie Gentry and Pat Benatar are women ! (I guess the Bobbie spelling should have been a clue - maybe i never saw it written down before.) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3393 "2022-01-13T23:53:54Z")
So, there’s something you should probably know about Alice Cooper and Marylin Manson… ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3394 "2022-01-13T23:58:25Z")
No one got this, did they? Sad. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3395 "2022-01-14T00:06:34Z")
Got it, just didn’t want to encourage such behavior in public. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3396 "2022-01-14T00:22:57Z")
Are we supposed to associate it with something? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3397 "2022-01-14T00:44:39Z")
Nice one ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3398 "2022-01-14T00:52:13Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1xfJpPNg2SM/maxresdefault.jpg "Association - Windy (1967)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xfJpPNg2SM) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3399 "2022-01-14T02:55:50Z")
Italian musician Adriano Celentano once released a song called “Prisencolinensinainciusol,” which was written in English-sounding gibberish, as an attempt to demonstrate that Italians would love any song with American lyrics, despite not understanding those lyrics. It’s got a pretty sick groove. You can hear it [here](https://youtu.be/-VsmF9m_Nt8). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3400 "2022-01-14T03:28:47Z")
It’s too bad the Louie Louie translators never worked on this one. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3401 "2022-01-14T04:10:09Z")
I’ve known this for a while, but the lyrics to the closing theme to _ **WKRP in Cincinnati** _ are sung the same way. They’re just gibberish. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3402 "2022-01-14T04:15:25Z")
TIL: [Charlie Farquarson](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/49/e0/ff49e011da15d2c8695192eb03d22258.jpg) was married to [Jan Compton](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_That_Wouldn%27t_Die#/media/File%3ABrainthatwouldntdie.jpg) in real life. The bottom 7/8ths of Jan was missing, while only the bottom 1/2 of Charlie. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3403 "2022-01-14T11:47:48Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > Thus, we get lots of “Japanese English” (term used by Japanese) words that make sense to Japanese but are so different from the original as to be not understood by native speakers. In Japanese, it’s actually called wasei-eigo ([和製英語] meaning “Japanese-made English” or “English words coined in Japan”) I often had more problems with those than pure Japanese words. Another example is _kanningu_ (カンニング) which does not mean “cunning”, but “cheating” (on a test). ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3404 "2022-01-14T12:38:26Z")
Off topic, but I wondered if you were familiar with “Nisibisi”? IIRC, it was a term Japanese players of Magic: The Gathering had for easily killable creatures, “small squashable monsters.” ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3405 "2022-01-14T12:56:04Z")
Unfortunately, I did not play that game and not aware of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3406 "2022-01-14T17:20:46Z")
Adding to the list of bizarre surgical procedures, there’s rotationplasty. It looks like a cartoon joke but it’s for real. If a cancerous knee joint has to be removed, the surgeons preserve the lower leg and graft it to the stump of the upper leg backward, so the foot and ankle joint can serve as a substitute knee. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zuMH3u0OLhA/maxresdefault.jpg "What is a rotationplasty?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuMH3u0OLhA) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3407 "2022-01-14T19:41:33Z")
Suspect in the 1996 Olympic Park bombing Richard Jewell died in 2007 from complications of diabetes and other health issues. . . But he outlived Kathy Scruggs, the reporter who broke the story that he was the focus of the investigation. She died in 2001 of a morphine overdose, not living to see that Eric Rudolph had been linked to the crime. Various accounts indicate that she lived. . . rather hard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=169) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=171)