# 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:** 43
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/841 "2020-10-09T02:15:44Z")
Andy Griffith’s real first name is Andy. I always thought wrongly his name was Andrew. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/842 "2020-10-09T02:20:37Z")
I heard a piece on the radio today about billionaires’ huge gains during the pandemic. There was a notable random fact about Jeff Bezos: If he gave each of the 876,000 worldwide Amazon employees $105,000, he’d still have as much money as he had back on New Years Eve, a little after ten months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/843 "2020-10-09T05:19:00Z")
> [@Kzbre5m](#): > > [Train and Tram doors is a thing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=902V4OMy4eY), apparently. And [elevator doors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDZp0KJLzk) too! There are more. > > (Sorry to interrupt the math class.) So for those of us who are _not_ going to just click on a random YouTube link, what is it about train, tram & elevator doors that is of note? > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I heard a piece on the radio today about billionaires’ huge gains during the pandemic. There was a notable random fact about Jeff Bezos: > If he gave each of the 876,000 worldwide Amazon employees $105,000, he’d still have as much money as he had back on New Years Eve, a little after ten months ago. I thought you must have added an extra zero there, but then looked online and that’s accurate! He gained almost $92 billion dollars!! Holy hell. ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/844 "2020-10-09T09:34:18Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > > [@Kzbre5m](#): > > > > [Train and Tram doors is a thing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=902V4OMy4eY), apparently. And [elevator doors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDZp0KJLzk) too! There are more. > > > > > (Sorry to interrupt the math class.) > > So for those of us who are _not_ going to just click on a random YouTube link, what is it about train, tram & elevator doors that is of note? Yeah, I could have fleshed that out a bit more, and added “closing” and “videos of”. The first video link is a ~ 3-minute collection of short clips of subway doors closing, from a platform view. NYC, London, Asian, plus others across the world. There’s a link at that page to other subway doors closing from the inside. That has links to door closing announcements and warning sounds, and so on down the rabbit hole. They are not compiled by the same person. I use the word “subway” but there are trains and trams too. The second link shows elevator doors closing, but the links seem to go back to train doors. It’s not thrilling but interesting, and maybe a half-step below the engineer-view train rides, but it’s out there. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/845 "2020-10-09T12:42:02Z")
I watched that video and it’s just an edited series of train doors closing. It’s like an AI inside YouTube is trying to figure out ways to hypnotise people but doesn’t quite understand how. I did watch to the end though and I wonder how long I would have watched for. Like if it was on a loop would I still be watching it? ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/846 "2020-10-09T16:31:02Z")
I’m guessing it is only a (_very_ small) subset of train watching videos, a variation of “if it exists, there’s a video of it.” A less exciting version of car crash videos. Or a dry thesis of some obscure subject that the author wants to produce and some day, some where, it’ll be the last word on the subject. Anything more obscure than this? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/847 "2020-10-09T16:43:14Z")
I edit and monitor some Connecticut-related Wikipedia pages and one person insisted in repeatedly adding a URL to a YouTube video showing operating ceiling fans. I thought that was pretty obscure. (At first I thought perhaps he was showing the ceiling fan in that restaurant, but it was just a random selection of ceiling fans.) ---
**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:** [October 12, 2020, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/848 "2020-10-12T11:59:11Z")
George Washington became a slave owner at the age of 11 ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/849 "2020-10-13T13:45:37Z")
Good explanation, thanks! ---
**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:** [October 13, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/850 "2020-10-13T13:49:50Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > George Washington became a slave owner at the age of 11 “Georgie, you haven’t unwrapped your biggest birthday present yet!” ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/851 "2020-10-13T18:29:46Z")
In St Louis there is a very longstanding Grateful Dead cover band named “Jakes Leg”. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/852 "2020-10-13T23:28:03Z")
Elvis Presley had a stillborn twin brother. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/853 "2020-10-14T23:37:18Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > In St Louis there is a very longstanding Grateful Dead cover band named “Jakes Leg”. In East St. Louis their answer to the arch across the river is a geyser that shoots water to an equal height (630 feet). > **[Gateway Geyser](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gateway-geyser)** > > Man-made geyser that rises to the exact height of the Gateway Arch. I’ve always wanted to see it but the crime rate in East St. Louis is among rated the highest in the country. > **[East St. Louis tops list of ‘Most Dangerous Cities in America’](https://fox2now.com/news/east-st-louis-tops-list-of-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/)** > > EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – East St. Louis was named the most dangerous city in the country, according to a home safety trade group. The National Council for Home Safety and Security examined violent cr… Southern Illinois, aka Little Egypt, has long fascinated me. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/854 "2020-10-16T12:48:39Z")
I knew that! Entirely because of this excellent song: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oSl4KX7zBTQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Tupelo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSl4KX7zBTQ) ---
**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 17, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/855 "2020-10-17T02:42:30Z")
The longest border between 2 countries in the world is between the US and Canada. The border includes the Alaska portion as well, so is interrupted by the Pacific Ocean. The longest uninterrupted border is between Russia and Kazakhstan. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/856 "2020-10-17T04:19:20Z")
The shortest border is about 100 meters, Zambia and Botswana. Originally thought to be a quadripoin, in the Zambezi River. I’ve been there, cleared immigration Zambia to Zimbabwe, presumably crossing a bit of Botswana unannounced, and maybe Namibia too. That was decades before the four agreed on the position of the boundary. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/857 "2020-10-17T04:49:37Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Many of you probably know that Hoyt Axton wrote “Never Been To Spain,” which Three Dog Night made a hit. But did you know they changed the words? And his mother, Mae Axton, co-wrote “Heartbreak Hotel” with Tommy Durden. Hoyt had a once-off appearance in" WKRP in Cincinnati" as a rough cut former boyfriend of Jennifer ---
**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:** [October 17, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/858 "2020-10-17T15:59:58Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The shortest border is about 100 meters, Zambia and Botswana. Originally thought to be a quadripoin, in the Zambezi River. I’ve been there, cleared immigration Zambia to Zimbabwe, presumably crossing a bit of Botswana unannounced, and maybe Namibia too. That was decades before the four agreed on the position of the boundary. One reason for that setup is that the Germans Southwest Africa colony (now Namibia) wanted an outlet to the Zambezi. The other powers let the have the Caprisi Strip, a thin panhandle to the river. The idea was to use it as an outlet to then Indian Ocean, but it was discovered that the route wasn’t navigable. Speaking of Namibia, the official language is English, despite the fact that only a small percentage of the population spoke it at independence. President Sam Nujoma choose English because it’s the international language of commerce, and because it would not give an advantage to speakers of the many other languages of the country. ---
**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:** [October 20, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/859 "2020-10-20T18:28:06Z")
IMDB started with a usenet post called “Those Eyes” listing actresses with beautiful eyes. > **[The Movie Database By Col Needham](https://www.eyerys.com/articles/people/movie-database-col-needham)** > > Some think the exit is the end of the line, but it’s just a new chapter of your story if you stay true to your vision.- Col Needham Started when there wasn't any commercial use of the internet, and a hobby that turned into an obsession. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2020, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/860 "2020-10-21T01:58:32Z")
> [@moes\_lotion](#): > > Hoyt had a once-off appearance in" WKRP in Cincinnati" as a rough cut former boyfriend of Jennifer And of course, he was the father in the film “Gremlins.” He also co-wrote “Greenback Dollar” and “No-No Song.” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HG8rRNjpd8s/hqdefault.jpg "Kingston Trio - Greenback Dollar (with lyrics)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG8rRNjpd8s) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCSjKXEy65g) And of course, Boney Fingers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=44)