# 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:** 225
**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 26, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4489 "2022-05-26T17:15:10Z")
Where does that leave us? A huge gap between 1882 and 1933. A lack of any article connecting Record of Arrest and Prosecution with rap.The term rap meaning “criminal indictment” dating from March 1865 (_Atlantic Monthly_: “He who has the bad taste to meddle with the caprices of believers…gets the rap and the orders of dismissal.” and “beat the rap” known back to 1927. Again, virtually no acronyms appear before WWII. The earliest appearances of acronyms are given with the longer phrase they are initialing. I can’t find any instances of that, which is truly odd. Those facts lead me to conclude that rap sheet comes from the same history that gave rap, take the rap, beat the rap, and similar phrases, rather from Record of Arrests and Prosecutions with capitals, something I can’t find at all in the pre-1933 hits. The F.B.I. may very well have used a RAP sheet but I’m positive that was a late backronym to officialize a common term. ---
**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 26, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4490 "2022-05-26T18:34:01Z")
That’s siome exemplary online detective work. I looked at the online etymology dictionary and found this, for hat it’s worth: > [@](#): > > Slang meaning “a rebuke, the blame, responsibility” is from 1777; specific meaning “criminal indictment” (as in rap sheet, 1960) is from 1903; to **beat the rap** is from 1927. Meaning “music with improvised words” was in New York City slang by 1979 (see [rap](https://www.etymonline.com/word/rap?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_47817) (v.2)). …which comes from a completely different direction, if correct. “rap” as in “blame” or “responsibility” coming to mean “criminal indictment” from the late 18th century (well before the Atlantic Monthly) and ultimately being used in “rap sheet”. In any event, it argues for “Record of Arrests and Prosecutions” being a backronym > **[rap | Etymology of rap by etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/rap)** > > RAP: "a quick, light blow; a resounding stroke," also "a fart" (late 15c.), native or borrowed from a… See origin and meaning of rap. ---
**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 26, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4491 "2022-05-26T18:52:06Z")
The most accurate pendulum clock ever commercially produced, the [Shortt–Synchronome clock - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortt%E2%80%93Synchronome_clock) was more accurate than the Earth’s rotation. When later measured by an atomic clock it was discovered to be accurate enough to detect changes in the Earth’s gravity due to lunar and solar tides. ---
**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 26, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4492 "2022-05-26T20:50:57Z")
Etymonline is usually a good source, but they don’t seem to be updating properly. Rap as criminal indictment is far older than 1903, as I cited earlier. So is rap sheet. A quick search found “beat the rap” in the August 23, 1911 _Yorkville, SC, Enquirer_, as “to beat the ‘rap,’ which is a crook’s term for an official complaint.” The quotes show this is a very early use and I haven’t found an earlier one. However, “beat the rap” was also baseball slang. If a baserunner successfully takes a base after a hit or moves forward he beats the rap, rap therefore meaning a struck ball. The two uses were contemporaneous, but the baseball usage seems to have come first. People like to borrow sports slang so that may be the source here. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4493 "2022-05-26T20:53:22Z")
I had never thought to look up the etymology of ‘rap’ as in the sheet, I had assumed it was formed from ‘rep’ as in ‘reputation,’ but no. . . . ---
**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 26, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4494 "2022-05-26T20:57:34Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > We all know what a criminals Rap Sheet is but I just recently learned that Rap stands for **R** ecord of **A** rrests and **P** rosecution. You seem to be correct, since you didn’t state that was the origin of the term ‘Rap sheet’. The etymology is an interesting follow on to that information. ---
**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 26, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4495 "2022-05-26T21:54:11Z")
> **[You Eat a Credit Card’s Worth of Plastic Every Week](https://nautil.us/you-eat-a-credits-card-worth-of-plastic-every-week-238481/)** > > What is our hidden consumption of microplastics doing to our health? > Microplastics have been found in places as remote as [Antarctica](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211129122731.htm)1 and the summit of [Mount Everest](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/20/microplastic-pollution-found-near-summit-of-mount-everest),2 in fish guts, and in [honeybees](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720380128).3 Researchers recently found tiny plastic particles in the lungs of surgical patients, the blood of donors, and the [placentas](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33395930/) of unborn babies.4 We can breathe in polyethylene from our T-shirts because wastewater plants can’t fully filter them out. Microplastics are in our food—carried into the food chain by water or plankton—and in our toothpaste and dental floss. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4496 "2022-05-26T21:56:20Z")
Five pairs of US presidents shared/share the same family name. Adams, Harrison, Johnson, Roosevelt, and Bush. Only one pair were/are not related. Johnson ---
**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 26, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4497 "2022-05-26T22:05:44Z")
@Mark_Finn Oh, but who says that the two Johnsons weren’t related? Ever hear of the [Lincoln-Kennedy Coïncidences](https://hhjonline.com/the-lincolnkennedy-coincidences-p5966-208.htm)? The above link doesn’t go too much into it. But both Johnsons came from the same county in Texas. So they certainly could’ve been related (they even look alike). ---
**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 26, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4498 "2022-05-26T23:48:09Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > The above link doesn’t go too much into it. But both Johnsons came from the same county in Texas. So they certainly could’ve been related (they even look alike). Do you have a cite for Andrew Johnson coming from a county in Texas? It doesn’t seem to be a part of his life that [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson) found important. ---
**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 26, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4499 "2022-05-26T23:51:14Z")
Andrew Johnson was born in North Carolina and moved to Tennessee as a boy. I doubt he ever set foot in Texas. ---
**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 27, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4500 "2022-05-27T13:56:31Z")
I could have sworn that the Johnsons were both born in Texas. But you do have to admit that their appearances have similarities (they both have pug noses and slicked back hair). IAE both the senior Bush and Adams were born in the [same](https://www.visitma.com/blog/2020/02/celebrate-the-legacy-of-massachusetts-presidents/) county in Massachusetts—cf. the [Adams-Bush](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mount-rushmore-adams-bush-coincidences/422626) Coïncidences 🙂 . ---
**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 27, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4501 "2022-05-27T16:08:25Z")
Old white men with saggy features aren’t always related. Sometimes coincidences don’t go any deeper than names. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4502 "2022-05-27T19:08:17Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > they both have pug noses and slicked back hair Huh? I wouldn’t call this a pug nose > **[File:37 Lyndon Johnson 3x4.jpg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:37_Lyndon_Johnson_3x4.jpg)** ---
**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 27, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4503 "2022-05-27T20:06:22Z")
> **[These Are the 10 Most Common Nose Types](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/19-most-common-nose-types-183827920.html)** > > In fresh nose news, we’ve learned there are apparently 10 main different nose types out there, so if yours doesn’t feel like it fits properly on your face, thank goodness you can at least fit it into a category. I can’t see much difference between some of them but a cosmetic surgeon says so. ---
**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 28, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4504 "2022-05-28T00:45:55Z")
@Zyada I still think that they had similar noses. Note the same slicked-back hair too: [Andrew Johnson](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson#/media/File%3AAndrew_johnson2.jpg). ---
**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 28, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4505 "2022-05-28T00:52:11Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > they both have pug noses Pug noses are short and upturned, almost the exact opposite of the Johnson noses. ---
**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 28, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4506 "2022-05-28T01:56:26Z")
This bodes ill… > **[Gene-editing experiment turns fluffy hamsters into 'aggressive' rage monsters](https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/27/gene-editing-turns-fluffy-hamsters-into-aggressive-rage-monsters-16721041/)** > > The results of the experiment were a 'startling conclusion'. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4507 "2022-05-28T03:22:37Z")
OTOH they might improve the performance of the SDMB servers … ---
**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:** [May 28, 2022, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/4508 "2022-05-28T07:48:55Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > I could have sworn that the Johnsons were both born in Texas. But you do have to admit that their appearances have similarities (they both have pug noses and slicked back hair). Do you even know what a “pug nose” is? Neither President Johnson had a pug nose. And since when is slicked-back hair a relevant characteristic? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=224) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=226)