# 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:** 222
**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 17, 2022, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4429 "2022-05-17T11:00:15Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > 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). Thanks for the recommendation. My library doesn’t have it for tablet, unfortunately but I’ll check again later. Here’s another resource you might consult, OP. > **[Pennsylvania Tourist Attractions and Oddities Index](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/pa/all)** > > Complete list of weird and fun sights, landmarks, museums, and statues discovered by our team and other roadtrippers along the highways and byways of Pennsylvania. ---
**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 17, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4430 "2022-05-17T13:39:33Z")
Unfortunately the Roadside America museum is now no longer, and so many of the genuine American attractions of the road. At least in their place there an endless number of hamburger shrines has been built. ---
**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 17, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4431 "2022-05-17T13:51:10Z")
I think that the _Roadside America_ website – which is still going strong, and which the previous post links to – is not connected with the miniature village Roadside America. The website evolve from the book Roadside America (all editions of which are now hopelessly out of date) ---
**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 17, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4432 "2022-05-17T14:11:16Z")
I miss the miniature village and plenty of other roadside attractions on the decline. Here is the [Milk Pitcher](https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x89e44154f774d9f5%3A0x74d448f2b5a9bfa!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPq_cHyiw12-yyEoLkcLCwtULxQiOM5OCz3Ih16%3Dw213-h160-k-no!5sroadside%20attractions%20milk%20pitcher%20rhode%20island%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipPq_cHyiw12-yyEoLkcLCwtULxQiOM5OCz3Ih16&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXgeCK2eb3AhUMjYkEHQckDWsQoip6BAhBEAM) on Rt. 146 in RI fallen into disrepair, likely unrecoverable without an investment no one wants to make. This [Paul Bunyan](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/5924) in Elmsford NY has survived though several accidents, and like most of his brethren no longer wielding an axe. My wife has suggested we drive across the country some day to see the Grand Canyon and other such sites, but I’d rather do it to see the World Largest Ball of Twine and various giant dinosaur statues along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4433 "2022-05-17T15:31:44Z")
TIL Winston Churchill was half American. His mother was from Brooklyn, and was the daughter of the Leonard Jerome, King of Wall Street. > **[The Puzzling Brooklyn Roots of Sir Winston Churchill](https://laughingsquid.com/brooklyn-roots-of-sir-winston-churchill/)** > > Tommy Silk of Landmarks of New York explains the puzzling Brooklyn roots of the famous former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. ---
**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 17, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4434 "2022-05-17T16:03:48Z")
I give up. How is someone’s mother being from Brooklyn “puzzling”? In that era, wealthy and noble Britons collected American wives like bric-a-brac. It would be puzzling if Lord Churchill _didn’t_ have an American wife. Apparently I stumbled across the fact that a list of random and irrelevant words that can be dropped into headlines to produce the best clickbait must exist. ---
**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 17, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4435 "2022-05-17T16:35:27Z")
I think that the following quote says it all: _‘The simplest schoolboy is now familiar with truths for which Archimedes would have sacrificed his life.’_ ERNEST RENAN (1823-92). So even if an ancient scientist or mathematician went to a modern elementary school, he’d be dumbfounded. I find that fascinating 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4436 "2022-05-17T16:55:16Z")
Hey, just wanted to say welcome back. I ran across one of your posts in an older thread a couple of weeks ago and wondered what happened to you. Hope all has been well. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I give up. How is someone’s mother being from Brooklyn “puzzling”? Geez, that well written, deeply researched article should have explained that for you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4437 "2022-05-17T17:37:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > In that era, wealthy and noble Britons collected American wives like bric-a-brac. It would be puzzling if Lord Churchill _didn’t_ have an American wife. You accept that as commonly known, but I didn’t know it. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2022, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4438 "2022-05-17T17:41:58Z")
It was quite the fashionable thing to do. Rich American families got to marry their daughters off to suitable (that is, titled) Britons and said Britons got access to all that filth American money. ---
**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 17, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4439 "2022-05-17T17:56:45Z")
I’m not blaming you for not knowing. I’m sure most people don’t. But the article never bothered to explain what was puzzling about Jennie being American or being born in Brooklyn. It merely presents it as a fact. She wasn’t living in Brooklyn when she got married either. That happened in Paris. Junk history. “Society’s to blame… Arrest them instead.” ---
**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:** [May 17, 2022, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4440 "2022-05-17T19:11:15Z")
Or, as Monty Python put it (after the killer of The Bishop on the Landing is deduced): “All right, it’s a fair cop, but society’s to blame.” “Roight! We’ll be charging them too.” . Random fact: looking up “fair cop” (before the internet) started my lifelong fascination with Britishisms. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4441 "2022-05-17T19:58:32Z")
It’s a theme in the costume drama Downton Abbey. Elizabeth McGovern plays the wealthy American wife who is married to Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, owner of Downton Abbey. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4442 "2022-05-17T20:12:21Z")
Is that more or less puzzling than the fact (random and interesting!) that Alexander Boris _the Piffle_ Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4443 "2022-05-17T20:16:49Z")
I think they meant “puzzling” as in “Did you know Churchill was half American?” “No, I assumed he was 100% British, because he led the UK and rallied the British fighting spirit in WWII, and manifested other characteristics that are genuinely British.” It’s puzzling that such an established British icon isn’t wholly British. ---
**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 17, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4444 "2022-05-17T21:08:42Z")
He was born in Britain and lived his entire life there. My father wasn’t born in America, but I was and I’ve lived my entire life here. I’m as thoroughly 100% American as Churchill was thoroughly British. Just for the record, immigrants’ kids tend to thoroughly hate this assumption and thought process. ---
**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 17, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4445 "2022-05-17T22:19:24Z")
He [Churchill] has a US Navy ship named for him. The fourth USN ship named after an Englishman. ---
**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 17, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4446 "2022-05-17T23:16:25Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Here’s another resource you might consult, OP. Oops, thought I was editing a different post. Sorry for the non-sequitur. But to carry that forward, if you enjoy traveling, check out these sites… [Trip Advisor](http://www.tripadvisor.com/) gives info about places to visit, eat, sleep, etc. [Roadtrippers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ayu7AY-ilY)…watch the video in the link (I’ll let them persuade you). It’s interesting that they have some trips you can build from. [Atlas Obscura](https://www.atlasobscura.com/unusual-trips?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_NPnxtPn9wIVxitMCh1okQGqEAAYASAAEgKZd_D_BwE) is pretty interesting. For one thing, they go international. For another, you can travel with them, have various experiences, and more. [Pyramids and petroglyphs of Sudan?](https://www.atlasobscura.com/unusual-trips/sudan) [Here](https://www.atlasobscura.com/experiences/illegal-lego-moves-brick-bending-workshop-w-jeff-sanders)’s an illegal Lego workshop where you can learn to bend them. There’s a gastro section. [Arkansas Black Apple](https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/arkansas-black-apple) is something I’ve never heard of. ---
**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 18, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4447 "2022-05-18T00:44:58Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > He was born in Britain and lived his entire life there. > > My father wasn’t born in America, but I was and I’ve lived my entire life here. I’m as thoroughly 100% American as Churchill was thoroughly British. > > Just for the record, immigrants’ kids tend to thoroughly hate this assumption and thought process. Yes, but Churchill was an American citizen. : 😉 > **[Sir Winston Churchill’s Path to United States Citizenship – The JFK Library...](https://jfk.blogs.archives.gov/2020/04/09/sir-winston-churchills-path-to-united-states-citizenship/)** ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4448 "2022-05-18T01:56:33Z")
heard on “Planet Money” – Due to the lockdown in Shanghai, there were **zero** cars sold in April --in the city of ~25,000,000 people. Brian [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=221) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=223)