# 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:** 38
**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:** [September 11, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/741 "2020-09-11T21:24:32Z")
The talk of French phrases reminded me, I realized several years ago that Sedan de Ville essentially means Town Car. So for a number of years the big Cadillac sedan and the competing big Lincoln sedan had effectively the same name name, but in different languages. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/742 "2020-09-11T21:53:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, so what was the mullet called in its heyday? Surely there was some term for it. Well, IMO, something wouldn’t get into print until it was understood by a lot of people. Especially not something like a Beastie Boys song. However, I would guess that it wouldn’t really acquire a name until it was starting to go out of fashion. Before then, it would be asked for by “I want my hair to look like MacGyver” or like digs said “leave it long in the back” > [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Not sure but maybe a rattail? No, a rat tail was having just a very small bit of hair at the nape of your neck left long. No more than half an inch wide, and thin enough to put under your shirt if you wanted to look professional ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/743 "2020-09-11T22:16:07Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > On the subject of France, _voie sans issue_ is the French term for _cul de sac_. It used to be 50 years ago. These days “No Through Road” is the standard ---
**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:** [September 11, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/744 "2020-09-11T23:39:35Z")
I have a wealthy friend who lives in a mansion at the end of a cul-de-sac. We make sure to refer to it as a “dead end” to annoy his wife. We even got their kids to call it that. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/745 "2020-09-11T23:41:03Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > It used to be 50 years ago. These days “No Through Road” is the standard. So now they use an English phrase for the French phrase we use? ---
**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:** [September 12, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/746 "2020-09-12T01:55:28Z")
Tom Cruise is older right now than Wilford Brimley was in the movie _Cocoon_. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/747 "2020-09-12T08:54:21Z")
Last year (2019) **Wil Wheaton** (who portrayed **Wesley Crusher** on **Star Trek TNG** ) became older than **Patrick Stewart** (who portrayed **Captain Picard** ) was when the show first broadcast. TCMF-2L ---
**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:** [September 12, 2020, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/748 "2020-09-12T08:57:13Z")
And shorter too. ---
**Author:** ![merrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@merrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merrick)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/749 "2020-09-12T10:09:56Z")
If you’re going for “time passes”: - The Berlin Wall (1961-89) has now been down for longer than it was up. - The Falklands War of 1982 is now closer to WW2 than to the present day. - The Tet Offensive of 1968 is now closer to World War _One_ than to the present day. - The Second World War ended 75 years ago this month - and only 69 years after the Battle of Little Big Horn. ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/750 "2020-09-12T20:20:51Z")
I love these timescale comparison types of things. I think we’ve had a couple threads of these, but damned if I can figure out some decent search terms. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2020, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/751 "2020-09-13T11:34:52Z")
The moon is host to nearly 200 tonnes of waste material: [Moon buggies and bags of poo: what humans left on the moon | The moon | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/19/moon-buggies-and-bags-of-poo-what-humans-left-on-the-moon) ---
**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:** [September 14, 2020, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/752 "2020-09-14T06:29:06Z")
According to WatchMojo, the harmonica is the best-selling musical instrument of all time. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/753 "2020-09-14T23:26:17Z")
Famous people and their last words. Match 'em. John Jacob Astor Beethoven John Wilkes Booth Ted Bundy Lewis Carroll James Dean Emily Dickinson Thomas Edison Benjamin Franklin Gary Gilmore Doc Holliday Steve Jobs George Orwell FDR Mark Twain Oscar Wilde A dying man can do nothing easy. At fifty, everyone has the face he deserves. Damn. This is funny. Give me my glasses. Give My Love to My Family and Friends Good-bye, dearie. I’ll see you later. I have a terrific headache.\*\* I must go in, for the fog is rising. It’s very beautiful over there. Let’s do it. My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go. OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW. Pity, pity - too late! Take away these pillows, I won’t need them any longer. Tell mother, tell mother, I died for my country…useless…useless… That guy’s gotta stop… He’ll see us. John Jacob Astor: Good-bye, dearie. I’ll see you later. Beethoven: Pity, pity - too late! John Wilkes Booth: Tell mother, tell mother, I died for my country…useless…useless… Ted Bundy: Give My Love to My Family and Friends Lewis Carroll: “Take away these pillows, I won’t need them any longer.” James Dean: That guy’s gotta stop… He’ll see us. Emily Dickinson: I must go in, for the fog is rising. Thomas Edison: It’s very beautiful over there. Benjamin Franklin: A dying man can do nothing easy. Gary Gilmore: Let’s do it. Doc Holliday: Damn. This is funny. Steve Jobs: OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW. George Orwell: At fifty, everyone has the face he deserves. FDR: I have a terrific headache. Mark Twain: Give me my glasses. Oscar Wilde: My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go. > **[List of last words](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_words)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > A person's last words, their final articulated words stated prior to death or as death approaches, are often recorded because of the decedent's fame, but sometimes because of interest in the statement itself. (People dying of illness are frequently inarticulate at the end, and in such cases their actual last utterances may not be recorded or considered very important.) Last words may be recorded accurately, or, for a variety of reasons, may not. Rea... ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/754 "2020-09-15T21:30:10Z")
When looking to 80s songs for a thread, I found about the curious tale of who Queen had to pay for the rights to use scenes from the classic Metropolis silent movie in their Radio Gaga video. > **[Radio Ga Ga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Ga_Ga)** > > "Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with "I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included as the opening track on the album The Works and is also featured on the band's compilation albums Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen. > The song, which makes a nostalgic defence of the radio format, was a worldwide success for the band, reaching number one in 19 countries, number two o... > Queen had to buy performance rights to the film from the [communist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism) [East German](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany) government, which was the copyright holder at the time.[[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Ga_Ga#cite_note-18) At the end of the music video, the words “Thanks To Metropolis” appear. The video also features footage from earlier Queen promo videos.[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Ga_Ga#cite_note-PV-17) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/755 "2020-09-16T01:02:03Z")
According to the recent Radiolab episode, “G”, it is illegal to administer an IQ test to a black child in the state of California. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/756 "2020-09-16T14:03:53Z")
The Azores are the only part of the European Union that grows tea, ---
**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:** [September 16, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/757 "2020-09-16T14:19:56Z")
When birds eat fish eggs, some of the eggs can survive to be excreted later, thus bird can spread fish species to different bodies of water: > **[A Swan Swallowed This Fish Egg, Pooped It Out—and Then 49 Days Later, It Hatched](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-fish-eggs-can-travel-through-swans-digestive-system-and-emerge-intact-180972426/)** > > The new study is one of the first to demonstrate fish egg dispersal via avian fecal matter ---
**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:** [September 16, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/758 "2020-09-16T14:42:11Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > When birds eat fish eggs, some of the eggs can survive to be excreted later, thus bird can spread fish species to different bodies of water: That is really cool! ---
**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:** [September 16, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/759 "2020-09-16T20:04:25Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > The Azores are the only part of the European Union that grows tea, …but only since the uk left. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/760 "2020-09-16T22:19:41Z")
The ratio of fibonacci number n to fibonacci number n-1 approaches the golden ratio (approx 1.6) as n increases. This is (by coincidence) approximately the conversion factor of kilometers to miles. So if you memorize the fibonacci sequence, you can roughly approximate km/mile conversion by going up or down the sequence. (5 miles is about 8km, 8 miles is about 13km, … 55 miles is about 89km, etc.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=37) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=39)