# 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:** 193
**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:** [March 1, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3849 "2022-03-01T19:12:16Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Some of us were also squicked out by things like “backwash” or using the same spoon as someone else in the 80s, so I don’t see dipping twice as being that much different. Right, but we were discussing who started the term “Double-Dipping”. As an offshoot of where the term “Re-gifting” came from. Which was shown to be the TV show “Seinfeld”. I’m with you on being "squicked out by things like backwash”…We were on a constant crusade to point out grossness amongst our friends back in the 60s and 70s… “Ewww, grosssss!” was a constant refrain when someone drank out of the glass milk jug (or the "Refrigerator Water"pitcher, quite the treat in those pre-A/C days). Or licked their fingers and then grabbed some peanuts out of the bagl, or got the end of a communal cigarette (or, later, joint) damp. But we never “pulled a Seinfeld” by inventing rules and specific terms for each infraction. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3850 "2022-03-01T19:14:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > While the West says “YOU-crane or u-CRANE”, native speakers say something like “oo-cra-NEE-eh”. Four syllables, yes, but Wikipedia says “oo-cra-EE-na”, a bit different from what you’ve written there: [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Uk-Україна\_(2).oga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Uk-%D0%A3%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%B0_%282%29.oga) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3851 "2022-03-01T19:30:17Z")
My example was to counter Elmer’s point that it wasn’t usual to be concerned about that kind of stuff. Like I said, I could swear redipping (perhaps that’s what we called it) was seen with a raised eyebrow by at least some in the 80s, before Seinfeld. I can accept the term was coined or popularized by then, but the social no-no at least existed in some quarters—to my imperfect memory, and it would be consistent with other similar exchanges of saliva and the “ick” factor. My impression is they did not create this out of whole cloth, but that it already existed, if not under that precise term. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3852 "2022-03-01T20:55:40Z")
You’re right. My brain said it your way, but my fingers did not. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3853 "2022-03-01T21:14:18Z")
> [@digs](#): > > like “Double-Dipping”. Nobody’d really brought it to light before, let alone made a rule against it, or a term for it. I mean, it took a show about the minutiae of modern culture to even bother with it. “Double-dipping” though, had a meaning widely accepted before Seinfeld (not the same meaning, but probably related) - it meant getting some benefit twice (dipping into the punchbowl of benefits twice, metaphorically) - like a governor getting a state salary for his current job, while collecting a pension for a previous government job. This goes back to the 1970s or so. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3854 "2022-03-01T22:53:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It is possible I am completely making up memories. I have a memory of a friend telling me it was gross when I did it at his house, and he moved away in 1988, but I may be conflating him with another friend a few years later. Some of us were also squicked out by things like “backwash” or using the same spoon as someone else in the 80s, so I don’t see dipping twice as being that much different. I would be surprised if the term didn’t go back at least as far back as the dawn of fondues. Imagine a family of four around the fondue pot, making a whole meal of it. > **[The Proper Ettiquete for Enjoying a Fondue Meal](https://lifehacker.com/the-proper-ettiquete-for-enjoying-a-fondue-meal-1787022138)** > > Fondue, the amazing meal where you get to cover everything in gooey cheese , is perfect for date nights and celebrations. But, believe it or not, the ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3855 "2022-03-02T02:05:40Z")
I have a bit of an insomnia issue and often am listening to either CBC or NPR through the night. There are, on both stations, a lot of really interesting documentary shows. As well as interesting this is also a bit weird. A few nights ago I learned that the sex of hyenas can be very difficult for the untrained to determine. Apparently the female hyena has a clitoris about the same size as a male hyena’s penis, and the labia are quite large and sort of bunched up and resemble male hyena testicles. So the two sexes are apparently almost indistinguishable, except for a characteristic of the tip of the clitoris. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2022, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3856 "2022-03-02T02:11:27Z")
The term was around long before the Seinfeld episode, but referred to retired workers who were drawing pensions while working toward another pension in a new job. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3857 "2022-03-02T02:13:21Z")
Sure, but I meant in the context of double dipping chips, of course. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3858 "2022-03-02T15:17:07Z")
Alaska is closer in distance to Hawaii than California is. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3859 "2022-03-02T19:36:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Sure, but I meant in the context of double dipping chips, of course. I was scolded by my Dad for double dipping in the 70s or 80s but he definitely didn’t use that term for it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3860 "2022-03-02T19:40:02Z")
Ok, so that supports my memory of it being a social rule at least in some circles before Seinfeld. Seinfeld may have coined the term, but the rule against it didn’t just come from Seinfeld, as was intimated earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3861 "2022-03-02T21:10:36Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Alaska is closer in distance to Hawaii than California is. And the closest U.S. state to Africa is Maine. It’s probably been posted in this thread before but I’m not wading through ~3800 posts to find it. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3862 "2022-03-02T22:59:26Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > It’s probably been posted in this thread before but I’m not wading through ~3800 posts to find it. If you click the “hamburger” (three horizontal lines) between your avatar and the magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner, it will let you search “in this topic” or everything. My contribution > Today’s highly regarded drummers often talk about the influence that Ringo had on them as players. According to Starr himself, it was the limitations brought on as a lefty drummer playing on a right-handed drum set that helped to create his playing style. **Read More:** [10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ringo Starr](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-ringo-starr/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral) | [10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ringo Starr](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-ringo-starr/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral) ---
**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:** [March 2, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3863 "2022-03-02T23:06:28Z")
I’ve seen a video with Ringo laughing about that, and demonstrating: “See, I didn’t TRY to be late with that next beat, but I had to get my hand all the way from here to here… and now others are playing using my mistakes!” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3864 "2022-03-03T00:44:34Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > As well as interesting this is also a bit weird. A few nights ago I learned that the sex of hyenas can be very difficult for the untrained to determine. Apparently the female hyena has a clitoris about the same size as a male hyena’s penis, and the labia are quite large and sort of bunched up and resemble male hyena testicles. So the two sexes are apparently almost indistinguishable, except for a characteristic of the tip of the clitoris. Then how do hyenas tell one sex from the other? Or don’t they? ---
**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:** [March 3, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3865 "2022-03-03T01:42:46Z")
Smell. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3866 "2022-03-03T11:39:40Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > If you click the “hamburger” (three horizontal lines) between your avatar and the magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner, it will let you search “in this topic” or everything. I somehow screwed this up while editing. You just need to click on the magnifying glass. It will let you search either in the post or in all threads etc. Another contribution: The average four year-old child asks over four hundred questions a day. [Source](https://allthatsinteresting.com/amazing-facts) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3867 "2022-03-03T13:01:02Z")
That crazy running around pet dogs and cats engage in is officially known as a Frenetic Random Activity Period, or FRAP. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/3868 "2022-03-03T13:42:41Z")
I just tore off yesterday’s page from my _Far Side_ calendar, and the entry for March 3, 2022 is “At the _Far Side’s_ spy center”. It’s unusually subversive, even for Larson. The ostensible joke is that there’s a video screen-filled monitoring center where typically Larsonian characters (including a Woman with Arlequin Glasses, a Duck, and a Cow) are looking at all the competing daily comic strips. (And apparently recording them, too – there’s a reel-to-reel; on the wall, and all the “spies” are wearing headphones.) But the REAL joke appears to be what’s going on in two on the video screen “panels”. While the “Doonesbury” , “Cathy”, “Ziggy”, “Garfield”, and “Pogo” screens look like random shots from the actual comics, the one from “Peanuts” features Snoopy and Charlie Brown, and in Charlie’s speech balloon we catch the end of his sentence “…we’ll put you to sleep.” Snoopy looks shocked. Pretty dark. Even more provocatively, “Nancy” is holding a submachine gun. No other explanation is given. In what’s obviously supposed to be a “Bloom County” screen, Opus is in bed, reading, but looking directly toward the screen, thinking “Is that a camera lens?” It’s homey, by comparison, but it recalls a segment from the first episode (“Arriva;”) from Patrick McGoohan’s **The Prisoner.** [https://ifunny.co/picture/at-the-far-side-s-spy-center-Wk2ntd2M8](https://ifunny.co/picture/at-the-far-side-s-spy-center-Wk2ntd2M8) > **[Pin on Watterson/Larson](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/111041947040125234/)** > > Jan 12, 2016 - 958 Likes, 17 Comments - The Far Side (@thefarsideofficial) on Instagram: “At The Far Side's spy center . #thefarside #👀#🕵” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=192) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=194)