# 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:** 296
**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:** [January 16, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5910 "2023-01-16T17:01:29Z")
Dennis Wilson and hitchhiking are a bad combination. Not only did The Beach Boys drummer pick up two of the Manson girls and take them home (thus hosting the whole “family” including Charlie during the summer of ‘68) but he also had to resort to hitchhiking himself when the Family trashed his car. One of the people who picked him up was future Tate/LaBianca killer Tex Watson who Wilson decided to introduce to his house guests. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5911 "2023-01-16T17:41:17Z")
Today I learned about [Thad Roberts and his girlfriend Tiffany Fowler](https://www.timesnownews.com/the-buzz/article/thad-roberts-the-nasa-intern-who-stole-lunar-rocks-to-have-sex-on-the-moon/748813). They were interns at NASA back in 2002. They stole some Moon rocks, and then put them under their bed so that they could have “Sex on the Moon.” ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5912 "2023-01-16T21:36:17Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Those ships are amazing. I was trying to figure out how they worked, and found that they are semi-submersible. When they are ready to load up, the carrier’s hull is filled with ballast water so that it sinks and creates a “marina.” The boats to be transported are floated into place above custom cradles that have been mounted on the now-submerged deck. > > When all the boats are in place, the water in the hull is pumped out, and as the ship rises, divers make sure each yacht settles into its cradle properly. When all the water over the deck has drained out, the boats are fully secured, and the trip begins. The process is reversed at the other end. Have you seen the RP FLIP? > **[RP FLIP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RP_FLIP)** > > R/P FLIP (floating instrument platform) was an open ocean research platform owned by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) and operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The platform was 108 meters (355 ft) long and was designed to partially flood and pitch backward 90°, resulting in only the front 17 meters (55 ft) of the platform pointing up out of the water, with bulkheads becoming decks. When flipped, most of the buoyancy for the platform was provided by water at depths b FLIP's l... ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5913 "2023-01-17T13:58:33Z")
I saw that a while back. That has to be VERY unnerving every time they do it. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5914 "2023-01-17T14:56:08Z")
Here’s the upending sequence (video cued to 2:02): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tQxQfQU_hsk/hqdefault.jpg "FLIP marine research vessel") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQxQfQU_hsk) The crew have to keep their wits about them while it’s happening, but at 2:20 you can see that at least some of the equipment on the ship is on bearings so that it can stay upright at all times. This video from its 50th anniversary (it’s now 60 years old!) shows some of the special interior features. Things like sinks and toilets present an interesting challenge: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4dftaWQLtPQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Flipping ship turns 50") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dftaWQLtPQ) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5915 "2023-01-17T16:17:43Z")
Reguarding the flipping ship, I have to ask “why” Can’t the research/readings be done with sensors dropped down on tethers or whatever? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5916 "2023-01-17T16:35:41Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Reguarding the flipping ship, I have to ask “why” Educated guess: not going vertical would result in a significant decrease in accuracy due to wave action. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5917 "2023-01-17T16:47:59Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Reguarding the flipping ship, I have to ask “why” > > Can’t the research/readings be done with sensors dropped down on tethers or whatever? From **[the Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RP_FLIP)**: > _FLIP_ was originally built to support research into the fine-scale phase and amplitude fluctuations in undersea sound waves caused by thermal gradients and sloping ocean bottoms. This acoustic research was conducted as a portion of the Navy’s [SUBROC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UUM-44_SUBROC) program. Development started in January 1960 after a conversation between MPL researcher Frederick H. Fisher and MPL Director [Fred N. Spiess](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Spiess) regarding stability problems that Fisher was encountering when using the submarine [USS _Baya_ (SS-318)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Baya_(SS-318)) as a research platform. Spiess recalled a suggestion from [Allyn Vine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allyn_Vine) that upending a ship might make it more stable, based on Vine’s observation of a Navy mop floating in waves. A conventional ship bobbing up and down on surface waves would make underwater sensors also bob up and down, causing problems with the kinds of measurements they want to make. By deriving its buoyancy from a long skinny hull dangling into the relatively calm waters 300 feet below the surface, it becomes much more stable than a conventional surface ship. Note also that it’s got a very narrow cross section area at the point at the surface of the ocean: if a wave or trough rolls by, the total volume of submerged hull (and therefore buoyancy) doesn’t change by very much percentage, so the ship doesn’t bob up and down much at all as waves roll by. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5918 "2023-01-17T17:25:44Z")
Very interesting about the bobbing up an down. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5919 "2023-01-17T20:46:07Z")
> **[In 1968, Jimmy Page and the Yardbirds Played at St. Xavier's Prom -...](https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/article/in-1968-jimmy-page-and-the-yardbirds-played-at-st-xaviers-prom/?fbclid=IwAR3s80_wyF4376XVwaaGbXi2wzNJNUOgLo8GiEOMvFstHi-G4mn82bWMouo)** > > Months before the legendary guitar player formed Led Zeppelin, he and his Yardbirds bandmates took an unexpected gig—and made quite an impression. I might have gone to my HS prom if they had played… ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5920 "2023-01-17T21:08:21Z")
That’s a great story! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5921 "2023-01-17T21:15:21Z")
Similarly, the Grateful Dead played a debutant ball in 1966. > **[September 2, 1966, Ayn and Lyn Mattei Debutante Ball, La Dolphine Mansion,...](http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2014/02/september-2-1966-ayn-and-lyn-mattel.html)** > > Joan White's San Francisco Examiner Society column from Monday, September 5, 1966, celebrating a debutante ball on the previous Friday fe... ---
**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:** [January 18, 2023, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5922 "2023-01-18T08:55:20Z")
Or The Cramps at the Napa State Mental Hospital (1978] [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TDvKO6qGiY0/hqdefault.jpg "The Cramps - Live at Napa State Mental Hospital (Part 1)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDvKO6qGiY0) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5923 "2023-01-18T12:50:32Z")
A few days ago I learned there’s a [species of mushroom that grows underwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across/851674/5907). I also learned that there are 200 species of [carnivorous mushroom](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-carnivorous-mushroom-poisons-its-prey/)s. I’m still digesting that. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5924 "2023-01-18T13:12:23Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > there are 200 species of [carnivorous mushroom](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-carnivorous-mushroom-poisons-its-prey/) Great link, thanks ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5925 "2023-01-18T18:21:20Z")
Wow, just think… If the original band hadn’t backed out, instead of having Jimmy Page playing at the prom, they could have had **Creed Bratton**! ---
**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:** [January 19, 2023, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5926 "2023-01-19T12:49:55Z")
The kid in the video to _She’s a Beauty_ by The Tubes is Robert Arquette, who later appeared in _Pulp Fiction_ as the guy hidden in the bathroom. He also appeared in _The Wedding Singer_ as George, who could only sing Culture Club. He later transitioned to female, and was known as Alexis Arquette, before dying in 2016. Her siblings are David, Roseanna, and Patricia Arquette. (Note: The pronouns I used were to indicate which gender she was considered at the time. In no way was any disrespect intended to her, or any other trans person) ---
**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:** [January 19, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5927 "2023-01-19T19:15:30Z")
Joe Biden was born closer to Lincoln’s assassination than to his own inaguration. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2023, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5928 "2023-01-22T10:50:18Z")
The original word for Bible, _[Biblia](https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/01/19/translating-the-bible-is-a-vexed-task-as-a-new-book-shows)_, is plural. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/5929 "2023-01-22T22:49:44Z")
Not surprising as the Bible has many books. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=295) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=297)