# 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:** 344
**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 2, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6871 "2023-07-02T15:17:02Z")
The first US president to be born in a hospital was Kennedy in 1917. . ---
**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 2, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6872 "2023-07-02T15:38:07Z")
Correction - Google has proven me wrong. it was Jimmy Carter in 1924 . ---
**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:** [July 2, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6873 "2023-07-02T15:38:21Z")
I’m not sure that’s right. The Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts, is described as Kennedy’s birthplace. It’s the family’s home, not a hospital. [https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/john\_f\_kennedy\_birthplace.html](https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/john_f_kennedy_birthplace.html) ETA: Ninjafied. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6874 "2023-07-02T17:22:55Z")
Was walking through downtown Newburyport, Massachusetts yesterday and saw two stores that had signs reading **YEAT** I had to ask one of the clerks about it, and she directed me to a sheet they had printed out explaining the meaning to out-of-towners. This isn’t it, but it explains the word: > [@](#): > > **“YEAT!”** > > What a beautiful word in the Newburyport Dictionary. Coming from anyone else except a fellow Newburyporter, it may be taken by some as an insult. It may mean in some instances a disapproval of something, or if said/pronounced differently an approval or “Yes.” The word first came to being in Newburyport around the 2nd World War. A soldier in the armed forces overseas could identify a Newburyport resident by the use of the word. > > YEAT SHIRT > > **Examples** > > **Shawn:** Hey Chris, YEAT! > > **Chris:** YEEEEAAAT! > > Translated = a mutual greeting. > > ——————————————- > > **Shawn** : Hey Chris how’s it going? > > **Chris:** YEAT! > > Translated = OK > > —————————————— > > **Shawn:** Hey Chris want to help me move this couch? > > **Chris:** YEAT! > > Translated = NO > > ——————————————- > > Click here to see what a Google search of YEAT brings up. > > [YEAT Defined](http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q=yeat&btnG=Google+Search) > > Is this definition correct for yeat? Has the meaning and usage of the word changed over the years following 1940 to 1990? Its main meaning has seemed to stay consistent, but then again one person’s yeat may differ slightly from yours. That is the beauty of the word. It morphs slightly to accommodate any situation you may find yourself in. So in closing – **Yeat!** > **["YEAT!" - NBPTMA.com - History Your Way Newburyport Ma Circa 1940-1990](https://nbptma.com/yeat/)** > > "YEAT!" > [@](#): > > The history of “Yeat” is not confirmed, but urban legend, according to Secino and Santos, says that it was a greeting used by sailors during World War II. A man would yell out “Yeat” and if another man responded with “Yeat,” then both would know they were in the presence of another Newburyport resident. > > Some years later, however, the word evolved and became a swear word. > > Secino believes the word has evolved once again and she is hopeful “it can circle back to something we can be proud of” as it is unique to Newburyport. > > “Words evolve and change and either have more gravitas or less,” she said. > **['Yeat Yeat, Don't Tell Me' to kick off second season](https://www.newburyportnews.com/news/local_news/yeat-yeat-dont-tell-me-to-kick-off-second-season/article_2657fe35-47b2-5d6e-a619-8affc59cf11b.html)** > > NEWBURYPORT — The hosts of “Yeat Yeat, Don’t Tell Me!” — a Greater Newburyport take on NPR’S “Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me” — recently wrapped up Season 1 of the local Evidently there’s a game show on Newburyport radio “Yeat! Yeat! Don’t tell me”, a local take on PBS’ “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” And it has nothing to do with the rapper Yeat, who I hadn’t even heard of until I started looking this up. Funny thing is, I saw his in two different places yesterday, for what I swear is the first time. But one store I visited claimed that they’ve had these signs up for more than four years. Yeat! ---
**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:** [July 2, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6875 "2023-07-02T17:52:58Z")
Lots of local areas, friend groups, families or hobbyists have similar, usually single syllable, nonsense words that have various meanings according to context. I wonder if there is a term for this phenomenon. My ex-wife and I have one. My friends in my freshman dorm had “dorch” and my college deadhead friends had “meegs”. I keep remembering them. My childhood friends had “froyd” for a while. The Tom Wolfe book The Pumphouse Gang revealed the one use by the local surfers at Windansea Beach, “meeba”. I lived half a block from the pumphouse in the late 80s which was many years later and the locals still used it to identify one another. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6876 "2023-07-02T18:14:28Z")
It took me a long time of hanging out with a guy who used “Oofdah” to understand what “Ooofdah” means. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6877 "2023-07-02T18:36:02Z")
There are lots of terms for this type of vocabulary. In folklore, it all comes under Folk Speech, and the specific terminology is determined by context (is it a regionalism? jargon?); linguistics probably has their own terms. But it’s generally just slang that’s used among a particular group, and / or a shibboleth. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6878 "2023-07-02T18:49:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It took me a long time of hanging out with a guy who used “Oofdah” to understand what “Ooofdah” means. Well, no wonder. You can’t get to Ooofdah through Oofdah. Totally different etymologies. Seriously, in Norwegian it’s Uff da. > sometimes also spelled oof-da, oofda, oofala, oof-dah, oofdah, huffda, uff-da, uffda, uff-dah, ufda, ufdah, or uf daa ---
**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:** [July 2, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6879 "2023-07-02T19:48:11Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Lots of local areas, friend groups, families or hobbyists have similar, usually single syllable, nonsense words that have various meanings according to context. I wonder if there is a term for this phenomenon. Paul Dickson wrote a book about such in-family coinages called “Family Words”. An interesting book. Sometimes I’m pretty sure of the origin of some of the ones they say they don’t know the origins of, but the families in the book are anonymous, so there’s no way I can tell them. > **[Family Words: A Dictionary of the Secret... book by Paul Dickson](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/family-words-a-dictionary-of-the-secret-language-of-families-how-america-speaks-series_paul-dickson/1239320/item/55800289/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pmax_high_vol_frontlist_under_%2410&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwISlBhD6ARIsAESAmp6hEmdlXkxQYTp-h0gVGlZYWAkJpW-UVoUXl8MjYW3A3AWk3W50tzYaAuSkEALw_wcB#idiq=55800289&edition=32070906)** > > Buy a cheap copy of Family Words: A Dictionary of the Secret... book by Paul Dickson. Providing a vast collection of words developed in households across the country and through the decades, this creative reference book defines crafty words... > **[Paul Dickson - FAMILY WORDS](https://www.pauldicksonbooks.com/family_words_63238.htm)** > > Website of Paul Dickson, author of more than 40 books including Sputnik: The Shock of the Century and the Hidden Language of Baseball. I’ve heard of the “Oofhas”/“Ooofdah”/“Uff da” /etc. thing before. My understanding is that it’s a scandinavian thing widespread among people of that background in the upper midwest. Much more widely spread than the very-restricted “Yeat” There have been other cryptic slang single words, often of use only for a short time. Readers of MacKay’s _Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds_ know about the short career of “Quoz” and weird little phrases that had a short half-life. Readers of Dickens’ _A Christmas Carol_ know about “Walker” (which, to my delight, was actually retained in at least two movie adaptations of the story, despite the fact that hardly any viewers would have the slightest idea what it meant) To be honest, “Yeat” is the only case of such a slang single word restricted to a single city that I’ve heard of. I don’t count local terminology for something or a place that only locals know about – that’s understandable – but only words that inhabitants of a locality choose to express some more general profanity or emotion. Possible the Dopers can suggest others. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6880 "2023-07-03T02:45:12Z")
I’m not a speaker, but I would guess that Boontling, would be a language with words that meet your criteria. > **[Boontling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boontling)** > > Boontling is a jargon or argot spoken only in Boonville in Northern California of the United States. It was created in the 1890s. Today, it is nearly extinct, and fewer than 100 people still speak it. It has an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) sub-tag of boont (i.e. en-boont). The lingo has become somewhat infamous, at least in local circles or within the legends of California, owing to its small-town nature and curious-sounding nomination, as well as its very limited speakersh The lang... ---
**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:** [July 3, 2023, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6881 "2023-07-03T02:59:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It took me a long time of hanging out with a guy who used “Oofdah” to understand what “Ooofdah” means. Pedant here. It’s Uff da!, and sometimes Uff da fay!. It is considered a bit old-fashioned now but was very common here in Minnesota, along with the Ole and Lena jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6882 "2023-07-03T14:31:41Z")
Idaho is not the name of a tribe. It was submitted by a mining company executive at the behest of the Colorado legislature when they were seeking statehood and needed a name for themselves and wanted something that sounded Indian. Apparently when they found out it was totally fabricated they decided to go for a Spanish option but it was later used for another territory. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6883 "2023-07-03T16:15:15Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > It is considered a bit old-fashioned now but was very common here in Minnesota, along with the Ole and Lena jokes. I don’t think I’ve heard it out of the context of Scand-American humor. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6884 "2023-07-03T18:06:20Z")
Somebody modernized the [Isetta!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta) > **[Microlino to debut new tiny electric 'cars' at Paris Motor Show along with...](https://electrek.co/2022/10/17/microlino-light-debut-tiny-electric-car-paris-motor-show/)** > > Microlino, the cute little electric four-wheeler from Swiss mobility company Micro, is headed for a big debut at the Paris... [Their promotional video leaves a bit to be desired, though.](https://electrek.co/2022/10/17/microlino-light-debut-tiny-electric-car-paris-motor-show/) “You’ve never seen anything quite like it before”? Hello? Isetta? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6885 "2023-07-03T18:26:28Z")
Fascinating! So the name Idaho itself is basically the creation of a scam artist. > **[George M. Willing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Willing)** > > George Maurice "Doc" Willing, Jr. (c. 1829 – March 12 or 13, 1874) was an American physician, prospector, and political lobbyist. He is known for his time as an unelected delegate to the United States Congress for Jefferson Territory and as the person who introduced James Reavis to the fraudulent Peralta land grant. > Willing was born to an affluent Philadelphia family. Educated as a physician, he married the daughter of successful merchant, Mary Ann. The young medical practitioner got into tro... ---
**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:** [July 3, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6886 "2023-07-03T18:36:48Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > “You’ve never seen anything quite like it before”? That reminds me of the Australian paperback line [Phantom Books](https://www.pinterest.com.au/graemeflanagan/phantom-books-australian-vintage-paperbacks/). Every cover read, “An Original Mystery - Not a Reprint.” Every title was a reprint of an American paperback, sometimes down to the cover art and back cover blurb. I though they might have an out if the American editions were paperback originals, but at least one on that page, _Untidy Murder_ by Frances & Richard Lockridge, had a previous hardcover edition. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6887 "2023-07-03T18:59:59Z")
A single strand of spaghetti is **spaghetto.** ---
**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:** [July 4, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6888 "2023-07-04T17:31:32Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > It’s Uff da! My Scandinavian wife let go with a breathy _ **Uff Da** _ during labor, and the Jewish lady who was the OB-GYN asked “What is this uff da?” “It’s Oy Vey.” “Oh, okay. Big Uff Da.” ---
**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:** [July 4, 2023, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6889 "2023-07-04T18:24:32Z")
Exactly so. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/6890 "2023-07-05T17:28:23Z")
Today I came across the story of [the first false confession in the U.S.A.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_George_Spencer) 🐖 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=343) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=345)