# 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:** 221
**Author:** ![Hilary\_Algar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilary_algar/32/4282_2.png) [@Hilary\_Algar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilary_Algar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4409 "2022-05-13T19:29:30Z")
Yes, the 1954 ForsX-Atmos was a concept car that deburted at the 1954 Chicago Auto Shoe and it was suggested that this Ford would be Nuclear Powered. Yes, a Nuclear powered 1954 Ford. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4410 "2022-05-13T19:58:48Z")
That is very interesting. However, I’m confused because you first replied to a post about outfielders in a White Sox game. Did I mention something about cars that I’ve forgotten? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4411 "2022-05-13T21:17:46Z")
Gerald Ford was the only president never elected. That is to say, as president, or vice president (as it sometimes goes). After Spiro Agnew resigned due to the Watergate scandal, then President Richard Nixon appointed him to the vice president, after getting the approval of the Senate, of course. Then when Nixon left office, Ford automatically became president. He tried to get reëlected. But failed. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4412 "2022-05-13T21:20:08Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > reëlected Que¿ Is that like a heavy metal re-election? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4413 "2022-05-13T21:50:05Z")
I remember their 1985 hit album, _Elektoral Kollage_, with fondness. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4414 "2022-05-13T22:01:25Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@Jim\_B](#): > > > > reëlected > > Que¿ Is that like a heavy metal re-election? The [diaeresis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaeresis_(diacritic)) helps make sure you parse the first two syllables as re-e- rather than as a monosyllabic ree-. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2022, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4415 "2022-05-13T22:09:10Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > The diaeresis I had a truly terrible attack of that once. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4416 "2022-05-13T22:15:57Z")
As opposed to a wonderful attack. Rule 34 y’know. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4417 "2022-05-14T00:57:36Z")
I remember that during Ford’s Presidential campaign there was a joke going around about the “Committee to Re-Appoint the President”. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4418 "2022-05-14T02:01:42Z")
Emergency exits often have a bar or pole in the middle, not just because the exit may have two open doors, but also because people will continue moving around that pole, and not congregate right in the doorway. (Ants do the same thing.) ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4419 "2022-05-14T14:20:50Z")
Interesting. Presumably, sheep would exhibit this behavior too. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4420 "2022-05-14T18:57:03Z")
Huntsville has now overtaken Birmingham as the largest city in Alabama. Fifty years of knowing it was Birmingham, down the drain. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4421 "2022-05-14T19:35:25Z")
Name that magician…his > …television specials have been nominated for 38 [Emmy Awards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy_Award), winning 21. Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, his career of over 40 years has earned him 11 [Guinness World Records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness_World_Records),[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-guinness-3) a star on the [Hollywood Walk of Fame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame),[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-walkoffame-4) and a knighthood by the French government.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-knighthood1-5) He has been named a [Living Legend](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_Living_Legend) by the US [Library of Congress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress).[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-legends-6) > > As of 2006, he has sold 33 million tickets and grossed over US$4 billion, more than any other solo entertainer in history by a large margin.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-HoudiniInTheDesert-2)[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-guinness-3)[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-babynoillusion-7)[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-8) In 2015, _Forbes_ listed his earnings at $63 million for the previous 12 months and ranked him the 20th highest-earning celebrity in the world.[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_(illusionist)#cite_note-9) David Copperfield ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4422 "2022-05-16T01:05:00Z")
The Wimbledon Cup. Aaah. Tennis, strawberries and cream. Nah The Wimbledon Cup is a silver tankard wrought by British silversmiths of the Victorian period. The National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom inaugurated the prize in 1866. The Illustrated London News reported on July 26, 1866, that the Wimbledon Cup was a new prize for the Wimbledon Rifle Meeting of that year. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4423 "2022-05-16T14:29:12Z")
Redd Foxx, as a young man, worked at a Harlem restaurant named Jimmy’s Chicken Shack. One of his coworkers was Malcolm Little, who would later be known as Malcolm X. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4424 "2022-05-16T17:16:27Z")
The _White Ship_ disaster of 1120 had major ramifications for UK history. This ship was transporting a groups of English nobles, including the Crown Prince William from France to England, when it hit a rock and sunk, killing all but one aboard. William escaped on the ship’s only boat, but insisted on returning to rescue his sister; the boat was swamped by people desperately trying to get into it. The helmsman, like most everyone on board, was drunk. This led to a succession crisis, since William was Henry I’s only legitimate son. Eventually Stephen of Blois took over the throne. Stephen was planning to sail on the _White Ship,_ but left before it sailed due to a case of diarrhea ---
**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:** [May 16, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4425 "2022-05-16T17:24:27Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The _White Ship_ disaster of 1120 had major ramifications for UK history. This ship was transporting a groups of English nobles, including the Crown Prince William from France to England, when it hit a rock and sunk, killing all but one aboard. William escaped on the ship’s only boat, but insisted on returning to rescue his sister; the boat was swamped by people desperately trying to get into it. The helmsman, like most everyone on board, was drunk. > > This led to a succession crisis, since William was Henry I’s only legitimate son. Eventually Stephen of Blois took over the throne. > > Stephen was planning to sail on the _White Ship,_ but left before it sailed due to a case of diarrhea This is the event that starts Ken Follett’s novel **Pillars of the Earth** , precisely because it upsets the expected order so much. > [@](#): > > The sinking of the _[White Ship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Ship)_ leaves King [Henry I of England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I_of_England) without a clear heir. After he dies the [Anarchy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anarchy) begins: his daughter, [Maud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Matilda), and his nephew, [Stephen of Blois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_of_Blois), fight for the throne. Ambitious nobles and churchmen take sides, hoping to gain advantages. The novel, which is divided into a [prologue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prologue) and six sections, explores themes of intrigue and conspiracy, against a background of historical events. It explores the development of medieval architecture, the civil war, secular/religious conflicts, and shifting political loyalties. –from the Wikipedia page on Pillars of the Earth. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4426 "2022-05-16T17:48:19Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Stephen was planning to sail on the _White Ship,_ but left before it sailed due to a case of diarrhea Same thing happened to Waylon Jennings…kinda. Which is why Waylon Jennings opened for Metalica in 1996 instead of the Big Bopper. Talk about upsetting the expected order… ---
**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:** [May 16, 2022, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4427 "2022-05-16T22:28:48Z")
If you have any interest at all in the history of magic, you should look at Mr. Spoiler’s conveniently titled [History of Magic](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/David-Copperfields-History-of-Magic/David-Copperfield/9781982112912). Each chapter is a short biography of a famous magician, profusely, as they like to say, illustrated with items from Mr. Spoiler’s worlds-largest collection. It’s a bit too expensive to buy just for curiosity so I got it out of the library. Still, highly recommended. Of course it’s mostly or completely ghostwritten. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4428 "2022-05-17T03:00:14Z")
Malcolm X also once worked in the kitchen of the Parker House hotel in Boston. As did Emeril Lagasse. And Ho Chi Minh. Not at the same time, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=220) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=222)