# 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:** 22
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/421 "2020-06-07T11:29:41Z")
Oxbows have created hundreds of map oddities. I remember being driven to the airport in Omaha, and being told that we just drove through Iowa. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/422 "2020-06-07T11:51:49Z")
[Angle Inlet Minnesota](https://www.google.com/maps/@49.0758369,-95.2348026,115410m/data=!3m1!1e3). The only way to get to the rest of the United States is by boat, plane or driving through Canada. Must be an interesting story. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/423 "2020-06-07T13:38:23Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > [Angle Inlet Minnesota](https://www.google.com/maps/@49.0758369,-95.2348026,115410m/data=!3m1!1e3). The only way to get to the rest of the United States is by boat, plane or driving through Canada. Must be an interesting story. Likewise - Point Roberts WA. > **[Point Roberts, Washington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Roberts,_Washington)** > > Point Roberts is a pene-exclave of Washington on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula, south of Vancouver, British Columbia. The area, which had a population of 1,191 at the 2020 census, is reached by land from the rest of the United States by traveling 25 mi (40 km) through Canada. It is a census-designated place in Whatcom County, Washington, with a post office, and a ZIP Code of 98281. Direct sea and air connections with the rest of the U.S. are available across Boundary Bay. Poi... ---
**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:** [June 7, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/424 "2020-06-07T14:08:47Z")
Today’s trivia quiz…what did these musicians do before they became famous? Match the profession in the choices to the musician below. abattoir worker…ball boy (tennis)…butcher’s delivery boy…GAP sales assistant…grave digger…hospital porter…janitor…market stall owner…math teacher…pizza house cook…toy factory worker…upholsterer Art Garfunkel Jack White Tom Waits Keith Richards Patti Smith Kanye West Rod Stewart Freddie Mercury Mick Jagger David Bowie Ozzy Osbourne Kurt Cobain Art Garfunkel-math teacher Jack White-upholsterer Tom Waits-pizza house cook Keith Richards-ball boy (tennis) Patti Smith-toy factory worker Kanye West-GAP sales assistant Rod Stewart-grave digger Freddie Mercury-market stall owner Mick Jagger-hospital porter David Bowie-butcher’s delivery boy Ozzy Osbourne-abattoir worker Kurt Cobain-janitor [28 Boring Day Jobs Musicians Did Before They Were Famous](https://www.nme.com/photos/28-boring-day-jobs-musicians-did-before-they-were-famous-1427661) From the article: Kurt was once asked to describe grunge from a janitorial perspective, “It’s a fine mixture of cleaning solvents, not to be used in the toilet. When I was a janitor I used to work with these guys Rocky and Bullwinkle. They’d clean the toilet bowls with their bare hands and then eat their lunch without washing their hands. They were very grungy.” ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/425 "2020-06-07T15:38:33Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > grave digger… This one isn’t true, so I’m doubtful of the accuracy of the others. I recalled that he wrote about it in his autobiography, so I looked it up and found this on Wikipedia: [spoiler] > [@](#): > > For many years it was said that Stewart had been a gravedigger at Highgate, partly to face a childhood fear of death. In his 2012 autobiography he said that was a tale he had gone along with, but that in fact he had only measured out plots with string during a couple of Saturdays. > **[Rod Stewart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Stewart#cite_note-eh-12-13-37%5B/spoiler%5D)** > > Sir Roderick David Stewart CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 120 million records worldwide. He has had 10 number-one albums and 31 top-ten singles in the UK, six of which reached number one. Stewart has had 16 top-ten singles in the US, with four reaching nu Stew... ---
**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:** [June 7, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/426 "2020-06-07T16:22:32Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > This one isn’t true, so I’m doubtful of the accuracy of the others. I recalled that he wrote about it in his autobiography, so I looked it up and found this on Wikipedia: > > [spoiler] > [Rod Stewart - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Stewart#cite_note-eh-12-13-37%5B/spoiler%5D) Interesting. Of all the ones they posted it’s the only one I’d heard before; that story’s been going around for years. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Alice Cooper chicken incident, where a chicken ended up on stage? He thought he could toss the chicken and it would fly away. Instead the audience tore it apart. > [@](#): > > The next day, the incident made the front page of many national newspapers, and Zappa phoned him to ask if the story, which reported that Cooper had bit the head off the chicken and drunk its blood on stage, was true. Cooper denied the rumor, whereupon Zappa told him, “Well, whatever you do, don’t tell anyone you didn’t do it”, obviously recognising that such kind of publicity would be priceless for the band. [http://matthewnewton.us/blog/alice-cooper-and-the-chicken-incident-of-1969/](http://matthewnewton.us/blog/alice-cooper-and-the-chicken-incident-of-1969/) ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/427 "2020-06-07T18:37:12Z")
Technically I guess Michigan and Illinois share a border, but under that definition, I would consider Hawaii and California border states. There is no landmass between them There are no roads (or bridges) connecting the Kentucky Bend to Missouri. The KY Bend borders Tennessee. The Minnesota Inlet and Pt Roberts Wash? How are they applicable? You can get from Minnesota to Canada via road, likewise Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and the Dakotas. And from Washington, you can get to Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia via road ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/428 "2020-06-07T18:58:13Z")
One thing I’ve always debated was whether the Great Lakes water should count as water _within_ a state when you count which states have the most water, because if it does then every Great Lakes state with the possible exception of Indiana would have more fresh water than every other state in the lower 48 and probably Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/429 "2020-06-08T03:20:45Z")
Etta James (“At Last”) sang backup on Chuck Berry’s “Back In The USA”. Granted they were labelmates at Chess Records, so it’s not that strange after all, but their music seems so different. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/430 "2020-06-09T00:29:39Z")
Don’t know about other states but here in NC there is no education requirement to be a licensed real estate agent. Just have to be 18 and a citizen and pass the license test. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/431 "2020-06-09T07:54:53Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > There are no roads (or bridges) connecting the Kentucky Bend to Missouri. The KY Bend borders Tennessee. I’m not entirely sure this is in response to me, but for example, just browsing around the western side of the river in google maps I ran across [this road](https://i.postimg.cc/wjy5G4py/Kentucky-Missouri-road-border.png) that crosses a border between Kentucky and Missouri. There’s probably a bunch more. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/432 "2020-06-09T08:45:11Z")
Watching a documentary on Stephen Sondheim, I learned that when his parents got divorced when he was ten, his mother (who had custody) didn’t like him very much and used to dump him on the family of one of her friends on a regular basis. The friend: Oscar Hammerstein. Sondheim said that Hammerstein taught him more about writing musicals in one afternoon than anyone else taught him for the rest of his life. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/433 "2020-06-09T08:54:28Z")
That weird way of walking that the character Saru from _Star Trek: Discovery_ has, waving his hands oddly behind him, is based on the actual walk of extremely tall British footballer Peter Crouch. Sadly I can’t find a video of Crouch just walking but he does indeed walk like that. ETA: [here’s the closest example](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZnu3eavRCg)I could find, although it’s obviously not his normal casual stroll. And [Saru](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kD0Gv0M37k)walking. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/434 "2020-06-09T09:08:18Z")
American women gained wide legal rights, such as property ownership, inheritance and private contracts, when they settled in Tejas, under the Spanish law of Mexico. But then immediately lost them with the declaration of Texas independence and then statehood. [https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Colonial-Women-Law-Complaints/dp/1632931044](https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Colonial-Women-Law-Complaints/dp/1632931044) (Scroll down to read summary) ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/435 "2020-06-09T15:50:05Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That weird way of walking that the character Saru from _Star Trek: Discovery_ has, waving his hands oddly behind him, is based on the actual walk of extremely tall British footballer Peter Crouch. Cite? I haven’t heard that before and a search turned up nothing. But I did find this: [![](https://i.imgur.com/rODZorH.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/rODZorH.jpg) ---
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/436 "2020-06-09T18:10:26Z")
For a good while Harvard would only hire alums to be president. If they found someone they wanted to hire and he was not an alum they would give them an honorary degree. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/437 "2020-06-09T21:17:01Z")
Linked article tells how some unusual airport codes came to be. For instance, why is O’Hare “ORD” when there’s no D in O’Hare? > [@](#): > > ORD – Orchard Field Airport – Chicago > While some of the letters look like they’d match up to its current name O’Hare, ORD was actually assigned its IATA code from its former life as Orchard Field Airport. Following World War II, the complex was renamed after Medal of Honor recipient Edward “Butch” O’Hare, but since ORD was already in the books, the airport’s code remained unchanged. > **[Weird Airport Codes Explained | Airfarewatchdog Blog](https://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/44258497/15-weird-airport-codes-and-how-they-came-to-be/)** > > There are a handful of International Air Transport Association (IATA) codes that will leave you scratching your head. How did they come up with such confusing city codes that don't easily specify airports? Learn more how these strange codes came to... ---
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/438 "2020-06-09T21:22:47Z")
James Stockdale who was a POW in Vietnam and ran as VP with Perot in 1992 was involved in the Gulf of Tonkin incident. He also won the medal of honor. He said there were no Vietnamese PT boats on the 2nd day so he could not understand why he was ordered to attack since there was no enemy, ---
**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:** [June 9, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/439 "2020-06-09T22:25:33Z")
I have no idea how well known this is, but it amazed me when I saw it in a documentary the other night: in 1966 Neil Young - yes, _that_ Neil Young - [got a record deal with Motown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Young#Early_career_(1963%E2%80%931966)). OK, so it was as part of a band, but hell - _Motown??_ j ---
**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:** [June 10, 2020, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/440 "2020-06-10T02:06:58Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I have no idea how well known this is, but it amazed me when I saw it in a documentary the other night: in 1966 Neil Young - yes, _that_ Neil Young - [got a record deal with Motown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Young#Early_career_(1963%E2%80%931966)). OK, so it was as part of a band, but hell - _Motown??_ > > j And not just any band…per your link, who else was in it? > [@](#): > > In 1965, Young toured Canada as a solo artist. In 1966, while in Toronto, he joined the Rick James-fronted Mynah Birds. The band managed to secure a record deal with the Motown label, but as their first album was being recorded, James was arrested for being AWOL from the Navy Reserve.[47] She’s a super freak…who keeps me searchin’ for a heart of gold. Random musical hommage: RIP Barry Steven Cowsill (September 14, 1954 – August 29, 2005) Aged 50 years. He died in Hurricane Katrina. > **[Barry Cowsill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Cowsill)** > > Barry Steven Cowsill (September 14, 1954 – c. September 2, 2005) was an American musician, songwriter and producer. He was the bassist of the musical group The Cowsills, who had three top-10 singles in the late 1960s. > Barry Steven Cowsill was born in Newport, Rhode Island to William "Bud" and Barbara Cowsill. He was the third youngest of seven children (Bill, Richard, Bob, Paul, Barry, John, Susan). > As a young teenager, Barry started as the drummer (and later became known as the bass player)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiMCTjO\_dHI [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=23)