# 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:** 191
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3809 "2022-02-24T19:40:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Disney’s **Squanto: a Warrior’s Tale** , which apparently has an iffy relationship with history I think you could write this as “Disney’s \< movie about a historical figure \> , which apparently has an iffy relationship with history” ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3810 "2022-02-24T20:20:40Z")
Or “Hollywood’s \< movie about a historical figure \>” Note, this is not an attempt to vindicate Disney which, I’m sure, is even worse. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3811 "2022-02-24T20:39:53Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Note, this is not an attempt to vindicate Disney which, I’m sure, is even worse. > **[Disneyfication - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Disneyfication)** > > A form of editing or retelling a story that renders a story "safe" for juvenile audiences (or the parents thereof) by removing undesirable plot elements or unpleasant historical facts, adding Broadway-style production numbers, and reworking … ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3812 "2022-02-24T20:55:28Z")
Cool Ranch Doritos are called “Cool American” outside the US. [![](https://theyaelchronicles.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/img_4977.jpg) ](https://theyaelchronicles.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/img_4977.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3813 "2022-02-25T07:57:54Z")
In the UK they’re ‘Cool Original’ … [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doritos) … In 1986, Cool Ranch Doritos made their debut and also became popular. Cool Ranch Doritos are sold under the name “Cool Original” in the UK and are called “Cool American” elsewhere in Europe, as ranch dressing is less common in those places ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3814 "2022-02-26T01:50:06Z")
A group of artists found an unused space at a mall in Providence and built an apartment there, using it for years until they were discovered. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSd8oLUKjXU) Or if you prefer,from a podcast. “The new plan wasn’t just to live in the mall for just a week, it was now simply to live in the mall,” Mars said. [NBC News reported](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21100501) that Townsend and friends built a cinderblock wall and nondescript utility door to keep the loft hidden. Inside, it was fully furnished, and the “residents” utilized the mall’s bathrooms. **Read More:** [Someone Lived Undiscovered for Years in Mall Secret Apartment](https://kroc.com/someone-lived-undiscovered-for-years-in-secret-apartment-at-a-providence-rhode-island-shopping-mall/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral) | [Someone Lived Undiscovered for Years in Mall Secret Apartment](https://kroc.com/someone-lived-undiscovered-for-years-in-secret-apartment-at-a-providence-rhode-island-shopping-mall/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral) ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3815 "2022-02-26T02:16:29Z")
Was that the Basil E. Frankweiler Mall? ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3816 "2022-02-26T02:18:49Z")
Providence Place Mall, it says. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3817 "2022-02-26T03:07:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Was that the Basil E. Frankweiler Mall? Nice… But that’s _Missus_ Basil E. Frankweiler Mall to you whippersnappers… ---
**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:** [February 27, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3818 "2022-02-27T14:40:27Z")
> [@digs](#): > > But that’s _Missus_ Basil E. Frankweiler Mall to you whippersnappers… Ah sorry, unfamiliar with the reference. Continuing the hidden living spaces theme: > **[13 Houses With Secret Passageways](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/51949/13-houses-secret-passageways)** > > No matter how old you get, you never outgrow wanting to have a secret passageway or hidden room in your house. > With 1,700 feet of secret passageways - that’s nearly six football fields - it’s probably no surprise that the owner of [Dunnerden](http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/03/garden/built-in-fantasy-an-aspen-howdunit.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm) near Aspen, CO, was the man who produced the Myst computer games. Doug Carlston, the co-founder of Brøderbund Software, has file cabinets in his house that conceal doors, dresser drawers that serve as passageways to other rooms, and even a “Room of Doom” that leaves people standing on a ledge behind a waterfall. Some can be toured. Check out the video for #7. Some of these are now on my bucket list. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3819 "2022-02-27T16:48:21Z")
From 17 months ago: > **[MTA workers had hidden ‘man cave’ below Grand Central tracks, IG report finds](https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/mta-workers-had-hidden-man-cave-below-grand-central-tracks/)** > > The lounge — complete with futon, flat-screen, microwave and refrigerator — was found behind a sheetrock wall in an unused locksmith shop below Track 114. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3820 "2022-02-27T17:07:56Z")
What’s the connection between **Hey Jude** , **Life On Mars** and **Bohemian Rhapsody**? Same piano. [Cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Mars_(song)). > The piano Wakeman played was the same 1898 Bechstein used by the Beatles for “Hey Jude” and later by Queen for “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Well, I found it interesting. j (I guess they must have been recorded in the same studio as well, but that’s less interesting) ---
**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:** [February 27, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3821 "2022-02-27T17:45:24Z")
That begs an interesting question; “What individual musical instrument is heard on the most chart topping songs?” Perhaps Carol Kaye’s Fender Precision Bass? Ringo’s Ludwig Super Classic? Scotty Moore’s Gibson ES-295? Is there a definitive answer out there? [![](https://www.vintageguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/01_CarolKaye.jpg) ](https://www.vintageguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/01_CarolKaye.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3822 "2022-02-27T17:49:45Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > …What individual musical instrument is heard on the most chart topping songs?.. Well, that piano has been churning out the hits since 1898… j ---
**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:** [February 27, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3823 "2022-02-27T20:16:39Z")
Leland Sklar’s “Frankenstein” bass must be a contender. Apparently he used it on most recordings, and that is some discography ! > **[Leland Sklar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leland_Sklar)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequently supported many of the artists on Asylum Records, both on stage and in the studio, that they became known as Asylum's de facto house band. Those artists would become the standard bearers of the singe... ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3824 "2022-02-28T14:48:10Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > That begs an interesting question; “What individual musical instrument is heard on the most chart topping songs?” Not “Chart topping songs”, but if you allow a more culturally inclusive definition of “hit”, Asha Bhosle’s voice would be up there: > Renowned for her soprano voice range and often credited for her versatility, Bhosle’s work includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, and Rabindra Sangeet. Apart from Hindi, she has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages… **In 2006, Bhosle stated that she has recorded over twelve thousand songs in her career** , a figure repeated by several other sources. My bold. [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asha_Bhosle). To look at it another way, if you recorded one a day, every day, including weekends, that would take you 33 years. As an aside, and as a measure of her cultural importance, she is the Asha of Cornershop’s _[Brimful of Asha](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4SMH-gxri4)_, where she is referred to as _Sadi Rani_ (= Our Queen). j ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3825 "2022-02-28T15:42:55Z")
Not just those songs. The Wikipedia article on the piano manufacturer says, “The Bechstein concert grand at London’s Trident Studios, over a century old and much sought-after for its sound, became one of the most frequently recorded instruments in rock history. The piano can be heard on The Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” Elton John’s “Your Song,” George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass,” David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?,” Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” Queen’s “Seven Seas of Rhye,” Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” Nilsson’s “Without You,” and Supertramp’s “Crime of the Century”. It saw service in the studio from 1968 until the mid 1980s, and has since been sold at auction.” Though the article doesn’t say where the instrument is now. Elsewhere in Wikipedia is a [photo of the piano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_Studios#/media/File:Trident_Studios_1975.jpg) but [this article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_Studios#David_Bowie,_Elton_John_and_others) says the piano failed to sell at auction in 2001. If it was sold at auction, perhaps it was at another time? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3826 "2022-02-28T16:10:40Z")
I love this post! Jeez, that’s some track record. I was looking for the wiki page you references, and fond this instead: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0tesy80wwR0/maxresdefault.jpg "The piano that connects Elton, Queen, Bowie and The Beatles") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tesy80wwR0) j ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3827 "2022-02-28T17:18:03Z")
… and I just saw that, a year ago, the creator of that video had posted an update in the comments below the video: > UPDATE: Last week I actually got an email from the current owner of the Trident Piano! He says the piano is still played regularly and still sounds great. It lives in the USA now. The owner was also able to clear up the uncertainty surrounding the well-being of the piano. He confirmed that the piano was not “destroyed” when it fell down the flight of stairs at Trident. He believes this information was perhaps embellished a bit. Any damage it sustained was repairable and it remains in good condition to this day. > > So we can all rest assured that this legendary instrument is still in one piece and being well looked after. j ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3828 "2022-02-28T17:22:29Z")
The Seinfeld episode “The Label Maker” (the “Risk” episode) is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use of the word “regifter.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=190) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=192)