# 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:** 206
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4109 "2022-03-29T11:39:20Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Heck, they prescribed everything from from cocaine to heroin… … to what was prescribed for [Female Hysteria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pelvicdouche.jpg) (Just a link in case the puritan in you is strong…) ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4110 "2022-03-29T11:58:54Z")
^ Clicking that link gave me an attack of the vapours. ---
**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 29, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4111 "2022-03-29T12:53:50Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I swear that every book published before WWII had a scene in which somebody faints or gets knocked out or even shot and the response is to give them brandy. I love that in _The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb,_ Doctor Watson’s response to the titular engineer passing out upon entering the Baker Street apartment is to “dash some brandy into a glass” and give it to him. They guy not only fainted, he’s suffering blood loss and is missing a thumb! But the liberal use of brandy i cases of shock really was, apparently, a widely-applied action. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4112 "2022-03-29T13:48:03Z")
That is very interesting!! I imagine that they are valuable now, somewhat ironically. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4113 "2022-03-29T15:23:44Z")
Do you mean the noise when he shakes his head ? Can’t really hear much in all that noise ! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4114 "2022-03-29T16:19:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I love that in _The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb,_ Doctor Watson’s response to the titular engineer passing out upon entering the Baker Street apartment is to “dash some brandy into a glass” and give it to him. They guy not only fainted, he’s suffering blood loss and is missing a thumb! And Doyle was an actual medical doctor! No wonder his practice was never successful. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4115 "2022-03-29T18:44:01Z")
Reading Robert Sullivan’s _The Meadowlands_ I learned there are bits of London buried in the marsh lands of New Jersey. During WWII, ships returning from England used rubble from bombed-out buildings as ballast and it ended up being dumped in the Meadowlands. ---
**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 29, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4116 "2022-03-29T18:51:41Z")
Yes, and it has wrought havoc on the Meadowlands. The New Jersey envoironment has no natural predators for English rubble, so the rubble, carried as ballast and dumped on Jersey shores, has no check on its expansion. English rubble ends up filling the niche of native New Jersey rubble, which has its own predators. Eventually English Rubble completely takes over, filing in the Meadowlands with Kentish medieval walls and old roman statuary and Umberland brickwork, multiplying without check. It’s as bad as starlings. There was talk of importing English rubble predators, like Alred Doolittle, but the thought of London dustmen themselves multiplying without check (especially if they encounter millionaires too ready with grants) was too horrible to contemplate. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4117 "2022-03-29T18:58:39Z")
Thinking about the brandy, I realized how classist a notion that is. How many poor, working-class, or immigrant households had a bottle of brandy on a convenient shelf to be grabbed in case of emergency? Alcohol of some kind, sure, but brandy? And why brandy? What’s so magic about brandy? ---
**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:** [March 29, 2022, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4118 "2022-03-29T19:06:02Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And why brandy? What’s so magic about brandy? That’s what I’ve always wondered about. It was never whiskey, vodka or any other basic liquor, but it must’ve been brandy. ETA: I just remembered that I once had a real life brandy cure. About 30 years ago, I was on a vacation in Tunisia and got what some people call Montezuma’s revenge (if Montezuma had been Tunisian). I had met a German family, and mentioning my problems the father invited me to their hotel room to serve me a shot of brandy he had brought with him for this special purpose. I drank it, and the next day, my bowel issues were gone…But nonetheless, I never tried this cure again. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4119 "2022-03-29T20:28:03Z")
Brandy, rightly or wrongly, has a reputation as a heart stimulant, increasing your pulse rate. But again, why this should be true for brandy in particular I don’t know. Some congeneric you get from fruit but not from grain? ---
**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 29, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4120 "2022-03-29T21:16:38Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Do you mean the noise when he shakes his head ? > Can’t really hear much in all that noise ! It’s the 4th sound in [this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUCSmNQo7p0), the one at the 11 second mark. ---
**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 29, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4121 "2022-03-29T21:29:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Thinking about the brandy, I realized how classist a notion that is. How many poor, working-class, or immigrant households had a bottle of brandy on a convenient shelf to be grabbed in case of emergency? Alcohol of some kind, sure, but brandy? My working class Eastern European parents always had brandy handy. It needn’t be expensive (see: Korbel or Christian Brothers.) It’s not all Courvoisier or Hennessy. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4122 "2022-03-29T21:34:36Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > > > And why brandy? What’s so magic about brandy? > > That’s what I’ve always wondered about. It was never whiskey, vodka or any other basic liquor, but it must’ve been brandy. In Spain it ~~is~~ was mostly cognac, as I remember it. Sometimes cordial was given, which means they thought it was good for the heart, etymologycally speaking. Now I wonder what the difference between brandy and cognac is. ---
**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 29, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4123 "2022-03-29T21:42:15Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > It’s the 4th sound in [this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUCSmNQo7p0), the one at the 11 second mark. Yep, thanks! So how do they make that sound? Some you hear and think, “Slide whistle” or “Tuning a kettle drum” or “Pizzicato violin strings.” I’m drawing a blank on this one. I’ve heard that (in serious movies) for broken bones they like to snap celery… ---
**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:** [March 29, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4124 "2022-03-29T22:04:21Z")
It appears it’s called the “trombone gobble” or the “throat garble”. Some geezer in the comments on [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGUXbwYx7Lg) claims his grandfather did it on a trombone. Also… [from this thread](http://mfoxweb-001-site22.mysitepanel.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5026&sid=6169974c649a62375b2a7386eab6fbd0&start=10) > “Nope. Actually, it was Greg Ford/Terry Lennon animator extraordinaire Nancy Beiman (whom I met at RIT last October) who told me exactly how the sound effect was made - a long trombone note with the mute being manipulated so it sounds like “wa-wa-wa-wa-wa”, then sped up to four times its normal speed.” ---
**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:** [March 29, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4125 "2022-03-29T22:07:43Z")
That was brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4126 "2022-03-29T22:29:52Z")
If you want to see real magic, read _Scientific American_. It has marvelous healing powers. Last July when I had a colonoscopy, they told me that recovery would take 30 to 45 minutes. So when they wheeled me out of the room where they did the deep dive into my colon, I started reading the latest _Scientific American_ while waiting to recover. In 5 minutes, they came and told me that I was recovered and to get dressed. So just reading _Scientific American_ sped up my recovery by a factor of 6 to 9 times. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2022, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4127 "2022-03-29T22:52:01Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > In Spain it ~~is~~ was mostly cognac, as I remember it. Sometimes cordial was given, which means they thought it was good for the heart, etymologycally speaking. Now I wonder what the difference between brandy and cognac is. I don’t think there’s any difference between what English speakers call brandy, the French and obviously Spanish call cognac and Germans call Weinbrand. All just different names for liquor distilled from grapes. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4128 "2022-03-29T23:29:30Z")
For most of us, yes. [For the French, no](https://www.insider.com/cognac-vs-brandy). > Cognac is a specific type of brandy, just like [bourbon](https://www.insider.com/bourbon-vs-whiskey) is a style of whiskey. Named after the Cognac region of France, this style of aged brandy is among the most revered in the world. > > Cognac is prized for its smooth and soft character and the high quality grapes it’s distilled from. “It’s an extension of wine, in that you can still taste the grape in it. Other types of brandy don’t always offer a hint of the fruit they’re made from,” Erickson says. “In some ways, cognac is the gold standard of brandy.” > > France has enacted strict quality standards to preserve the integrity of cognac and its reputation as one of the finest styles of brandy available. French law dictates that it can only be produced in the state of Charente in the Cognac region. Cognac must also be distilled from white grapes only. It’s required to be distilled twice and aged for a minimum of two years in French oak barrels. Brandy can be made from any fruit, but cognac is specifically grapes. Nor does brandy have to be aged, but cognac must be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=205) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=207)