# 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:** 28
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/541 "2020-07-18T06:54:20Z")
Just to bring down the mood; you know the Smothers Brothers? Their dad died in Japanese captivity. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/542 "2020-07-18T12:12:09Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > If I had to pick one favorite song of all time, “House of the Rising Sun” would be in the running. You might find [this book](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781416539308&i=stripbooks&linkCode=qs) interesting. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2020, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/543 "2020-07-18T13:42:52Z")
> [@](#): > > You might find [this book](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781416539308&i=stripbooks&linkCode=qs) interesting. Thanks…we recently sold a bunch of books, CDs, and DVDs to free up space in the house (and we got very little for them). Now I strive to **avoid** buying books—putting them on the tablet wouldn’t take up room, however. Then it dawned on me: it looks like my public library has it in stock. I’ll give it a look! ---
**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:** [July 18, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/544 "2020-07-18T15:29:10Z")
Paradise Cove, where Jim Rockford lived in his trailer, is also where the cover photo for the Beach Boys’ _Surfin’ Safari_ album was shot. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2020, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/545 "2020-07-19T07:59:45Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Bob Rivers recorded “O Little Town of Bethlehem” to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun”. The metres (8 6 8 6) match perfectly. (syllables per line) > > You could also sing “Amazing Grace” to either of the above (or vice versa). ISTR once on Letterman that the Oak Ridge Boys sang “Amazing Grace” to the tune of HOTRS. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2020, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/546 "2020-07-19T09:51:41Z")
I learned that, a few years ago, the Huntsman men’s fashion tailoring shop in London once bought and processed the finest bale of sheep’s wool that ever existed. It was 11.9 micron wool, far finer than average, and Huntsman processed it into what it called “Opus fabric.” The wool fabric was in intense customer demand and today only a few yards of it remain. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/547 "2020-07-19T16:55:48Z")
Which government agency is this? It has a lot of functions…so many, in fact, that they created a drinking game. Someone will state a function and the employee has to guess whether their agency does it or not. If you get it wrong, you have to chug. The USDA. Actually I read it in his book “The Fifth Risk.” Here’s a link from an NPR interview. > [@](#): > > You know, so - right, if I ask you, the USDA shoots geese at LaGuardia airport so they don’t get into airplane engines - if you answered no, you’d be wrong. They - the USDA polices essentially all conflict between animals and people in the country. > [@](#): > > The USDA makes sure that circus elephants aren’t being abused. The USDA makes sure that each of the 9 billion birds we kill each year to eat are - aren’t going to make us sick. The USDA oversees firefighting in the country while firefighting and the National Forest Service and 200 million acres of national forest. The USDA funds a vast majority of the science research into food production. The USDA feeds poor people and schoolchildren who can’t afford school lunches. [Michael Lewis: Many Trump Appointees Are Uninterested In The Agencies They Head Up : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2017/11/06/562246599/michael-lewis-many-trump-appointees-are-uninterested-in-the-agencies-they-head-u) ---
**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:** [July 19, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/548 "2020-07-19T21:23:15Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > > > If I had to pick one favorite song of all time, “House of the Rising Sun” would be in the running. > > You might find [this book](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781416539308&i=stripbooks&linkCode=qs) interesting. You might find this version interesting. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Am7YaW1A5vw/hqdefault.jpg "John Otway - House of the Rising Sun") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am7YaW1A5vw) I don’t think you’ll necessarily _like_ it. But it always cheers me up. 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:** [July 20, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/549 "2020-07-20T00:48:16Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I don’t think you’ll necessarily _like_ it. But it always cheers me up. Hmm, inrteresting. I didn’t hear Bob Dylan’s version until the 1980s. He includes verses that the Animals didn’t. > [@](#): > > Well it’s one foot on the platform > And the other foot on the train > I’m going back to New Orleans > To wear that ball and chain. > > I’m going back to New Orleans > My race is almost run > I’m going back to end my life > Down in the rising sun. That seemed to confirm for me that it was about a brothel, a girl who couldn’t escape the life. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/z-Ur6gGkmMs/maxresdefault.jpg "Bob Dylan - House of the Risin' Sun [1962]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Ur6gGkmMs) By the way, I’m a little surprised nobody said “It’s still there.” But actually, some enterprising individual(s) decided to use the name for a B&B. > **[HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN BED AND BREAKFAST - Prices & B&B Reviews...](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60864-d76997-Reviews-House_of_the_Rising_Sun_Bed_and_Breakfast-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html)** > > Book House of the Rising Sun Bed and Breakfast, New Orleans on Tripadvisor: See 638 traveler reviews, 216 candid photos, and great deals for House of the Rising Sun Bed and Breakfast, ranked #8 of 122 B&Bs / inns in New Orleans and rated 5 of 5... ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/550 "2020-07-21T04:35:49Z")
My first exposure to “House of the Rising Sun” was junior high band in the mid 1970s. And my interesting random fact of the day: The most common 3rd language in the United States, tabulated by state, is German. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/551 "2020-07-21T04:50:53Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The most common 3rd language in the United States, tabulated by state, is German. You’ll have to explain exactly what that statement means, because it’s not at all obvious. As a primary language spoken at home, German ranks 10th in the U.S., so… Does “most common 3rd language” only consider people who speak at least 3 languages, and ask them their 3rd most fluent language? If so, that’s a pretty convoluted statistic. And I’m still struggling to believe that German wins. What does “tabulated by state” mean? Is that like Senators, where each state counts equally and the size of population is ignored? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/552 "2020-07-21T14:59:17Z")
Tubas are on my mind of course. Warren G Harding could play the sousaphone and jammed with one at his inauguration. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/553 "2020-07-21T15:40:35Z")
Alan Copeland did Norwegian Wood set to the Mission Impossible theme. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/554 "2020-07-21T21:00:31Z")
I always though saying that someone “died laughing” was just a figure of speech, but in a trip down the Wikipedia rabbit hole starting with Monty Python’s “Funniest Joke in the World” sketch, I learned that there have been [actual documented cases of people dying from laughter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_from_laughter). Although in most cases it sounds like the person had some other underlying condition, such as a heart problem, that was exacerbated by excessive laughter. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/555 "2020-07-21T21:33:19Z")
I just found out that Tim Hortons was started by and named after a hockey player. That is so Canadian. Of course, now that I think about it, that gives an interesting twist to having the donut holes named “Timbits” ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/556 "2020-07-22T19:04:49Z")
In Yankee Stadium (both old and new) there are plaques of two ex-Cardinals in Monument Park. Neither of which ever played for the Yankees. Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. They both celebrated mass at Yankee Stadium. There is a third plaque for Roger Maris, who did play for the St Louis Cardinals after playing for the Yankees. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/557 "2020-07-23T00:02:23Z")
November 2, 2000 was the last date that all humans were on the planet. Since that day, the International Space Station has had at least one occupant. ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/558 "2020-07-23T10:07:05Z")
There is a place on Earth that is so isolated that the closest human could be on the ISS. > **[Is There a Point in the Ocean Where the Closest Human Could Be an Astronaut?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/point-ocean-closest-human-astronaut/)** > > Point Nemo is the point in the ocean furthest from any land, but it’s not the only place where an astronaut might be the closest person nearby. After all, they are only around 261 miles altitude. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/559 "2020-07-23T14:59:38Z")
Two Leave it to Beaver episodes are aired every morning. I record them and then watch them in the evening. It is such a great show. My husband and I were watching it one night and he asked - I wonder why we never heard much from Hugh Beaumont after this show? So I looked up Hugh and was blown away! He ran a Christmas tree farm here in Minnesota (about 75 miles from where I live) in the 60s and early 70s! He bought and lived on an island on a lake in that area also. Who knew!? 🌲 😃 ---
**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:** [July 23, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/560 "2020-07-23T15:48:25Z")
“November 2, 2000 was the last date that all humans were on the planet. Since that day, the International Space Station has had at least one occupant.” There would have been several thousand above the ground in airplanes; maybe a few in hot-air balloons, and others in various other assorted lighter-than-air craft. Not to mention people jumping into the air from the ground Can you define “on the planet”? Is it where the pull of gravity is above a certain level?. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=29)