# 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:** 360
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7191 "2023-08-12T12:28:52Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > He was lucky he found only edible mushrooms, All mushrooms are edible, some only once. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2023, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7192 "2023-08-12T12:46:40Z")
Does “plethera”, from some of the shepherd’s counts, bear any connection to “plethora”, meaning abundance? I mean, an abundance of sheep would probably be a lot more than four of them, but… ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7193 "2023-08-12T13:09:01Z")
Yes, similar to that. But many counting rhymes are complete nonsense. I used to go out of my way to ask different people about what they used when they were kids. There’s even one used in a Three Stooges movie, though that one appears to have some actual words in it. Here’s one (but please forgive the attempt at reproducing it phonetically): Ibbity-dibbity, ibbity-fig, Ilya norma norma-dig, Icha-bicha, norma-nicha, Hum-bum-tusk. Illiky-billiky boo. Y-O-U spells “out goes you!” Of course, I’m sure this is as much a corruption of some original material as “Olly-olly-oxen-free-o!” is. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7194 "2023-08-12T17:01:10Z")
IJL that “Big Ben” is actually the name of the bell within the tower (the Elizabeth Tower) that houses the famous clock. I’m sure many of you will respond with “Duh”, but I somehow missed that fact my whole life. ETA: I didn’t even know there is a bell in it, and I’ve been there twice. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7195 "2023-08-12T18:47:40Z")
Big Ben is properly called the Great Bell (though I doubt anyone calls it that anymore) and was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry which also made the Liberty Bell. So Big Ben and the Liberty Bell are siblings. Also Big Ben cracked when it was first used, because they used a hammer twice as heavy as recommended when testing it. It was patched up and rotated so the hammer strikes a different part of the bell and that is why it has such a distinctive chime. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7196 "2023-08-12T19:46:58Z")
There are actually 5 bells up there. Together they play the famous [Westminster chimes](https://youtu.be/E9wWBjnaEck). ---
**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:** [August 12, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7197 "2023-08-12T20:00:00Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I’m sure many of you will respond with “Duh”, but I somehow missed that fact my whole life. I thought I was a smarty pants for knowing Big Ben was the “clock”; not the tower. I didn’t know it just referred to a bell. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7198 "2023-08-12T22:33:19Z")
I’m beginning to suspect that the Whitechapel Bell Foundry just has crap quality control. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7199 "2023-08-13T00:05:35Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > “Big Ben” is actually the name of the bell within the tower (the Elizabeth Tower) that houses the famous clock. I’m sure many of you will respond with “Duh”, but I somehow missed that fact my whole life. > > ETA: I didn’t even know there is a bell in it, and I’ve been there twice. “Not the clock and not the tower but the bell that chimes the hour” ---
**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:** [August 13, 2023, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7200 "2023-08-13T00:38:41Z")
Watching “Heaven Knows, Mr. Alison”, I pulled up the IMDB page and was a bit surprised to discover that Robert Mitchum became a fan of Calypso music after spending time on location in Trinidad and Tobago. He ended up recording a decent album _Calypso - Is Like So…_ with just the kind of cover you’d expect from Mr. Mitchum: [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/511sMErqMIL.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/511sMErqMIL.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:** [August 13, 2023, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7201 "2023-08-13T00:50:15Z")
Tbh, that looks like his head was pasted on a model’s body. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2023, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7202 "2023-08-13T01:11:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m beginning to suspect that the Whitechapel Bell Foundry just has crap quality control Producing large (edited) metal items (/edited) without any defects was a serious challenge before the modern steel industry. Cast iron cannon occasionally blew up from internal flaws. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7203 "2023-08-13T01:17:25Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Producing large (edited) metal items (/edited) without any defects was a serious challenge before the modern steel industry. It was made of bronze which had been cast successfully for millennia prior to that. More likely the problem was the shape that probably became stressed in cooling, perhaps cooling too rapidly. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2023, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7204 "2023-08-13T01:23:05Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I never read that graphic novel. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61gMsEjZURL._AC_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61gMsEjZURL._AC_.jpg) ---
**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:** [August 13, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7205 "2023-08-13T21:29:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m beginning to suspect that the Whitechapel Bell Foundry just has crap quality control. We should say nice things about them, [they’re going through a difficult time](https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/bell-founding/). (But I did laugh out loud.) j ---
**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:** [August 13, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7206 "2023-08-13T22:18:30Z")
I am certain there must be other stuff of interest there, but “Whitechapel” always triggers the thought of that one particularly incisive person. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7207 "2023-08-14T03:30:52Z")
(Via Tom Scott’s podcast) > **[Phantom of Heilbronn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_of_Heilbronn)** > > The Phantom of Heilbronn, often alternatively referred to as the "Woman Without a Face", was a hypothesized unknown female serial killer whose existence was inferred from DNA evidence found at numerous crime scenes in Austria, France and Germany from 1993 to 2009. The six murders among these included that of police officer Michèle Kiesewetter, in Heilbronn, Germany on 25 April 2007. > The only connection between the crimes was the presence of DNA from a single female, which had been recovered from... ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7208 "2023-08-14T16:38:25Z")
Bow tie pasta is also called farfalle in Italian. In Italian, farfalle means butterfly, so it’s not bow tie pasta there, it’s butterfly pasta. Hm, what is the Italian word for bow tie? It’s papillon. That sounds familiar… papillon is the French word for butterfly. I wonder what the French word for bow tie is? It’s noeud papillon… or butterfly knot. And here we are, English speakers, we are totally ignoring the bow tie / butterfly connection. I feel cheated. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7209 "2023-08-14T16:45:42Z")
FWIW, bow tie in German is “Fliege”, “fly”, so not a butterfly, but at least an insect. The pasta in German is “Farfalle”, we have adopted most pasta names from Italian. And “butterfly” in German is “Schmetterling”, literally “smashling”. I have no idea where this comes from, I’ve never associated butterflies with smashing. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7210 "2023-08-14T16:49:23Z")
Looking this up, it appears that _pavilion_ is cognate with _papillon_, because in Medieval Latin one of the words for ‘tent’ was ‘butterfly.’ (The other, _tenta,_ is “stretched-out thing.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=359) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=361)