# 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:** 304
**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:** [February 12, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6070 "2023-02-12T18:49:23Z")
Thanks, definitely interesting movie history. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6071 "2023-02-12T19:31:39Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Allegedly - Palmyra NY (near Rochester) is the only place in the US (or world?) where there is a church on each of the four corners of an intersection. Oddly, none of those is a Mormon church even though Palmyra figures prominently in the origins of Mormonism. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2023, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6072 "2023-02-12T23:06:48Z")
The Mormon Temple and historic site with Joseph Smith’s farmhouse is about a mile south of the crossroads. A Catholic church is about 100 yards south of the crossroads on Church St. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6073 "2023-02-13T02:36:08Z")
That area of New York was the hotbed for religions, cults, movements, and isms during the middle of the 19th century, so much so it got known as the [Burned-over district](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burned-over_district). The Wiki article lists too many items to be summarized but anyone who thinks that our times are wild should scroll through it. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6074 "2023-02-13T03:26:32Z")
> **[Trovants Are Stones That Seem to Grow, Move and Reproduce](https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/trovants.htm)** > > Trovants, found only in a small town in Romania, are stones that actually seem to move and grow. But are they alive? ---
**Author:** ![Amikejo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/amikejo/32/13637_2.png) [@Amikejo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amikejo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6075 "2023-02-13T12:58:08Z")
[https://medicalmuseum.health.mil/?p=visit.exhibits.virtual.hairball.index](https://medicalmuseum.health.mil/?p=visit.exhibits.virtual.hairball.index) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6076 "2023-02-13T15:41:01Z")
Today I learned about the [Cabbage Patch riots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbage_Patch_riots). Not the most well-known of the “gotta have it” riots, but the first. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2023, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6077 "2023-02-13T19:30:48Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Today I learned about the [Cabbage Patch riots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbage_Patch_riots). Apparently you missed this: [![](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2IuBQzL-kVFL9btD17Pu57hJqII=/0x0:1600x535/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1600x535):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8927905/0_vZEr7M5UPdWVUjXP..0.png) ](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2IuBQzL-kVFL9btD17Pu57hJqII=/0x0:1600x535/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1600x535):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8927905/0_vZEr7M5UPdWVUjXP..0.png) ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6078 "2023-02-15T20:23:48Z")
Allegedy (in the English-speaking world) - excluding Youtube and the Internet in general - 1. The song most commonly played on the radio is “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers. 2. The song most commonly sung in public by individuals or groups is “Happy Birthday to You”. 3. The recording most commonly played (not necessarily on the radio) is “It’s a Small World (After All)”. It’s played hundreds of times daily at every Disney park. YMMV. [What’s the Most Played Song Ever? Disney’s It’s a Small World History | Time](https://time.com/82493/its-a-small-world-50th-anniversary/) ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6079 "2023-02-15T22:38:28Z")
I would actually stand in line for It’s a Small World if they replaced the soundtrack with the Righteous Brothers. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6080 "2023-02-15T22:42:12Z")
Well, thanks, I now have “It’s a Small World as sung by the Righteous Brothers” stuck in my head… . Oops, now it’s morphed: _You never close your eyes/_ _'Cause those dolls will eat/_ _your liiids…_ ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6081 "2023-02-15T23:04:13Z")
And now I’ve got the extra credit questions for this week’s quiz! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6082 "2023-02-16T00:54:05Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > The recording most commonly played (not necessarily on the radio) is “It’s a Small World (After All)”. It’s played hundreds of times daily at every Disney park. It’s been about 50 years since I went on _It’s a Small World_ at Disneyland. Does the song actually end and start again? Maybe it’s just a really long song that’s played once per day at every Disney park. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6083 "2023-02-16T01:20:42Z")
the hold song – I mean, it is really only a 20 or 30 second bridge between the recorded voice coming on to tell you how important your call is and the other voice informing you about the great services they have to offer, but surely it is being played incessantly across the globe ---
**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:** [February 16, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6084 "2023-02-16T01:22:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It’s been about 50 years since I went on _It’s a Small World_ at Disneyland. Does the song actually end and start again? Maybe it’s just a really long song that’s played once per day at every Disney park. From the linked _Time_ article: > The “it’s a small world” ride has run in the five Disney parks for a total of 149 years and eight months. Shave off a few years for times when the parks are closed or the ride is shut down (as when the Anaheim park prepares its Christmas redecoration of “small world”), and add the 12 months when the ride was in New York, we get 148 years. Multiply by 365 days per year and you get 54,020 days. According to [a Disney fact sheet](http://disneylandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/03/pdf/its-a-small-world-50th-anniversary-history-fun-facts-around-the-world.pdf?t=1398252704%20), “During a 16-hour operating day in the parks, the ‘It’s a Small World’ song is played, on average, 1,200 times.” That would bring the total plays at Disney parks to 64,820,000. Ah, but many of the parks aren’t open 16 hours a day, especially in the winter. The rough, year-round average is about 12 hours. So we take three quarters of the 64-million number and get a very conservative 48,618,000 times the song has been played. Round that up to “nearly 50 million.” ---
**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:** [February 16, 2023, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6085 "2023-02-16T02:47:17Z")
Have you really ever heard two hold songs that were the same? I never. True, my musical acumen is only a tad above that of Ulysses S. Grant, who was so tone deaf he said, “I know only two tunes. One of them is ‘Yankee Doodle’—and the other isn’t.” The indefatigable [Quote Investigator](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/12/26/two-tunes/) says that Grant may have said something like this, but that it was already was a very old joke. Some [reputable](https://thinkingonmusic.wordpress.com/tag/ulysses-s-grant/) [sites](https://www.salon.com/2022/12/24/the-true-story-of-the-couldnt-hear-music/) claim that Grant truly had amusia, though. You can’t get more random than that. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6086 "2023-02-16T12:52:37Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Have you really ever heard two hold songs that were the same? I never. For many years Opus Number 1 was the default hold music on Cisco phone systems, so it was everywhere. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pais41IW5dk/maxresdefault.jpg "Cisco Default Hold Music - [HQ Mono Audio] - Opus Number 1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pais41IW5dk) Its story was told on This American Life > **[Do You Hear What I Hear? - This American Life](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/516/stuck-in-the-middle-2014/act-one-0)** > > Sara Corbett's father-in-law Dick is 81. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6087 "2023-02-16T13:49:48Z")
Today I learned that a group of jellyfish is called a “smack”. Also, cruise lines are apparently running expeditions that perform scientific research as part of the trip. > **[Rare Giant Phantom Jellyfish Reaching 10 Meters Long Caught On Camera](https://www.iflscience.com/rare-giant-phantom-jellyfish-reaching-10-meters-long-caught-on-camera-67560?f)** > > We don't think you're ready for this jelly. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6088 "2023-02-16T15:11:03Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > > > Have you really ever heard two hold songs that were the same? I never. > > For many years Opus Number 1 was the default hold music on Cisco phone systems, so it was everywhere. > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pais41IW5dk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pais41IW5dk) I’ve never heard it until now. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6089 "2023-02-16T15:50:21Z")
I don’t remember hearing it, but then I know I listened to the This American Life podcast, and I didn’t recognize the tune just now when I found that video. So I don’t know that I would recognize it if I heard it for real. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=303) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=305)