# 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:** 393
**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:** [October 26, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7851 "2023-10-26T03:25:25Z")
When I was a kid, my great grandmother told me about a 4 legged chick whose second pair of legs was on its back. When it walked around, the legs on its back would also walk. This story was always accompanied by a demonstration ---
**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:** [October 26, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7852 "2023-10-26T11:40:17Z")
[This artist has turned **6,000** copies of _The Da Vinci Code_ into copies of _Nineteen Eighty-Four_.](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67218454) I can’t think of any conneciton between the two books, but perhaps other Dopers will be able to do so. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7853 "2023-10-26T12:10:09Z")
It seems like there’s no connection, but the choices were by convenience. The Da Vinci Code was spectacularly popular, with huge numbers of volumes in print, and thousands of them available for recycling. 1984 is a great novel that has just become public domain, so it’s a convenient choice. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7854 "2023-10-26T15:01:13Z")
Someone in the 1930s invented a system to aid in parallel parking a car. It was called a “fifth wheel.” [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMsRJrlbyMI) is a video of it, and [here](https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/parallel-parking-made-easy-1930s-style/) is a story on it. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7855 "2023-10-26T15:46:24Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The Kaiser’s last home after exile to Doorn Netherlands was purchased from Audrey Hepburn’s mother (everyone besides me already knew this). That’s a case of an Internet fact that’s become garbled to make it seem more interesting. Huis Doorn was actually purchased from Audrey Hepburn’s great-grandmother. Wilhelm II did consider marrying one of her distant Van Heemstra cousins after the death of his first wife. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7856 "2023-10-26T15:47:59Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > [This artist has turned **6,000** copies of _The Da Vinci Code_ into copies of _Nineteen Eighty-Four_.](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67218454) I can’t think of any connection between the two books, but perhaps other Dopers will be able to do so. I wonder if you could turn a long novel into a shorter one by selectively blacking out the text to leave behind the words you wanted to keep. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7857 "2023-10-26T16:09:31Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I wonder if you could turn a long novel into a shorter one by selectively blacking out the text to leave behind the words you wanted to keep. Interesting thought, I had the same idea first after reading the headline, that the artist had either rearranged the original letters from a copy of “The Da Vinci Code” or even the words to make it into 1984. But then I realized that it’s impossible to turn that dreck into a classic without repulping the paper, thus destroying it first. The artist said that it’s not intended as an act of literary critique, but I suspect that was tongue-in-cheek. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7858 "2023-10-26T20:34:33Z")
Amazing. I guess it was kind of like the much more recent Honda Prelude with the back wheels that turned in the opposite direction. When I got a truck, I thought wheels like that would be helpful for sharper turns. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7859 "2023-10-26T21:46:05Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Amazing. I guess it was kind of like the much more recent Honda Prelude with the back wheels that turned in the opposite direction. I think that above a certain speed, they turn in the same direction. Or not at all. Otherwise you’re gonna be in the ditch when you change lanes. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7860 "2023-10-26T23:57:35Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Amazing. I guess it was kind of like the much more recent Honda Prelude with the back wheels that turned in the opposite direction. When I got a truck, I thought wheels like that would be helpful for sharper turns. doesnt the cybertruck have 4 wheel steering? ---
**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:** [October 27, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7861 "2023-10-27T00:18:45Z")
Buckminster Fuller’s [Dymaxion Car](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_car) had a single rear wheel for steering like that. The three wheel configuration had stability problems and the concept went nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Hurrilon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@Hurrilon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hurrilon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7862 "2023-10-27T00:31:38Z")
In the USA’s history, there has been only one person who served as a Senator after having been the Chief Executive of a foreign nation. Sam Houston, first President of the Republic of Texas and later Senator from Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7863 "2023-10-27T00:38:37Z")
What about Moses Robinson? 2nd Governor of the Vermont Republic and Senator from Vermont after statehood. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7864 "2023-10-27T00:52:23Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > doesnt the cybertruck have 4 wheel steering? Not sure about the cybertruck, but you can get a Rivian with a motor on each wheel, complete with the half-reverse option that would let you do bootlegs without having to use the steering wheel (probably more useful off-road than on). ---
**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:** [October 27, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7865 "2023-10-27T01:30:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Car had a single rear wheel for steering like that. The three wheel configuration had stability problems and the concept went nowhere. They banned three wheel ATVs back in 1988 because they tipped on slopes. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7866 "2023-10-27T01:54:45Z")
There’s enough bibliophiles hanging out around here that this is probably fairly common knowledge, but Isaac Asimov was so prolific and diverse in his writing that his books span all major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification except for category 100, philosophy and psychology. And if you don’t know what the Dewey Decimal System is, get off my lawn. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2023, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7867 "2023-10-27T03:34:14Z")
The back wheels didn’t turn the same amount as the front ones, IIRC. They kind of just assisted. But you may be right that they stopped over a certain speed. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2023, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7868 "2023-10-27T03:42:15Z")
Yep, the back wheels turned at any speed. How it all worked: [Here's How The Honda Prelude 4WS's Four-Wheel Steering Worked](https://jalopnik.com/heres-how-the-honda-prelude-4wss-four-wheel-steering-wo-1828459598) ---
**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:** [October 27, 2023, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7869 "2023-10-27T06:50:23Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > They banned three wheel ATVs back in 1988 because they tipped on slopes Yes, but those had a single front wheel, not a single rear wheel. Bucky Fuller was one of those people who was pretty darn smart but thought he was smarter than he actually was. Building a rear-steer vehicle is pretty difficult, and if one neglects things like trail, it is simply not going to work well. It does help to talk to someone who knows their shit rather than figure you can just ride on your PhD. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/7870 "2023-10-27T12:55:13Z")
TIL this: > [@Lumpy](#): > > They banned three wheel ATVs back in 1988 I grew up in farm country in the 80’s and these things were nearly ubiquitous. Now that you’ve mentioned this I’m thinking that I haven’t seen one in the wild in many years. I guess I figured that they were replaced with UTV’s / side-by-sides, which themselves are now wildly popular. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=392) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=394)