# 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:** 438
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8751 "2024-01-22T22:05:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nowadays, I think that goes to somewhere in China, Nope. Still [Istanbul](https://www.belmond.com/trains/europe/venice-simplon-orient-express/journeys?choice=route). ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8752 "2024-01-22T22:19:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nowadays, I think that goes to somewhere in China I think you have confused the Orient Express with the [Trans-Siberian Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Siberian_Railway). One branch of the Trans-Siberian goes to Beijing, the other to Vladivostok. They diverge after Irkutsk by Lake Baikal. > [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, in the UK, “Asian” is more likely to mean South Asian, or the Indian Subcontinent, since there are a lot more immigrants from there than from East Asia. And Pakistan (which turns into one of the slurs I meant before if you remove the “-(s)tan”). ---
**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:** [January 22, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8753 "2024-01-22T22:34:15Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > ; **cofounder of Microsoft** – No, even a sultan of the Ottomans wasn’t _that_ megalomaniacal. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8754 "2024-01-22T22:34:31Z")
I love Orientalism in its historical context. If the West were still doing it, it would be stupid as well as offensive - like Elvis in the Harem scenarios, but looking back at [Ingres](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Odalisque#/media/File%3AJean_Auguste_Dominique_Ingres%2C_La_Grande_Odalisque%2C_1814.jpg) and [Vereshchagin](https://www.art.com/products/p55973567646-sa-i9397112/vasili-vasilyevich-vereshchagin-the-doors-of-tamerlane-1871-1872.htm) and [more European artists than you can shake a stick at,](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Orientalist_artists) its hard to write off all this effort by all these talented, intelligent people as akin to some white racist hawking golliwog dolls and lawn jockeys. And that’s just the visual arts. Musically, there’s Grieg’s [Arabian Dance](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1yg5uQxEG8s&pp=ygUTZ3JpZWcgYXJhYmlhbiBkYW5jZQ%3D%3D), Saint-Saëns‘ [Bacchanale](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vjRiLKSPbqc&pp=ygUXc2FpbnQgc2FlbnMgYmFjY2hhbmFsZSA%3D), Strauss’ [Egyptian March](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XbvwNAQ8u4o&pp=ygUWc3RyYXVzcyBlZ3lwdGlhbiBtYXJjaA%3D%3D), etc. etc. Edward Said can call Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade cornball, but not offensive. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8755 "2024-01-22T23:47:10Z")
An old thread: [When East meets West (by sea)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-east-meets-west-by-sea/446978) ---
**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:** [January 23, 2024, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8756 "2024-01-23T18:50:11Z")
The oldest writing in Denmark has been found in a grave. It’s always amazing when these little scraps of history turn up-makes you wonder how much never gets found. > **[Archaeologists say single word inscribed on iron knife is oldest writing ever...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/denmark-oldest-writing-rune-small-sword-2000-year-old-knife-blade/)** > > Archaeologists say a single word inscribed on a 2,000-year-old knife blade is the earliest example of writing ever found in Denmark. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8757 "2024-01-23T22:51:14Z")
Not the best place for that article title to get cut off. ---
**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:** [January 24, 2024, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8758 "2024-01-24T01:09:37Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > The oldest writing in Denmark has been found in a grave. It’s always amazing when these little scraps of history turn up-makes you wonder how much never gets found. > > [Archaeologists say single word inscribed on iron knife is oldest writing ever found in Denmark - CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/denmark-oldest-writing-rune-small-sword-2000-year-old-knife-blade/) stainless ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2024, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8759 "2024-01-24T09:25:14Z")
Sheffield. Or Sabatier. ---
**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:** [January 24, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8760 "2024-01-24T17:06:30Z")
New thread: Titles That ---
**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:** [January 24, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8761 "2024-01-24T18:44:15Z")
Although the crooning style is mostly associated with men, like Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee, [Vaughn de Leath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaughn_De_Leath) was first, embracing the style as early as 1921. When Elvis returned after his army stint, he recorded a million-seller that was the favorite song of Colonel Parker’s wife, “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” one of de Leath’s big hits in 1927. That song is set up to go when you click, but play the radio intro at the album’s beginning as well. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vm9sAsT3npQ/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHUBoAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgYChVMA8=&rs=AOn4CLByIkpSYZEiX-ZCECJVezZTbyrrCw "Vaughn De Leath The Original Radio Girl - FULL ALBUM") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm9sAsT3npQ&t=779/) ---
**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:** [January 24, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8762 "2024-01-24T20:24:06Z")
@Exapno_Mapcase - the cueing didn’t work, at least for me. If anyone else has the same problem, Are You Lonesome Tonight starts at ~ 12.58. j ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8763 "2024-01-24T21:03:43Z")
A probably ceremonial Roman helmet has two mice on the back of it up for auction. > **[For Sale: A Mouse-Infested Roman Helmet That's Stumping Historians](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/for-sale-imperial-roman-helmet-with-mice)** > > Are the mysterious mice adorning this 1,800-year-old helmet part of an ancient joke? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8764 "2024-01-24T21:11:20Z")
> [@motu](#): > > A probably ceremonial Roman helmet has two mice on the back of it up for auction.   Probably worth mentioning that the Latin word for “mouse” is the source of our word “muscle”. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8765 "2024-01-24T21:18:04Z")
And the biggest animal, the **[blue whale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_whale)** (_ **Balaenoptera musculus** _), and a fairly small one, the **[house mouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_mouse)** (_ **Mus musculus** _) share the musculus part of the name. Maybe a taxonomist’s joke? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8766 "2024-01-24T23:02:46Z")
Had some training today. Learned that **pcphgpl** stands for ‘passenger cars per hour on green per lane’. It’s part of calculating Ideal Saturation Flow [of traffic]. Definitely not a TLA, that one. Also, if the queue waiting at a traffic signal doesn’t clear during the green light that’s a “Cycle Failure”. “Demand Starvation” is what happens when a backup at one signal makes the next signal in line look like it’s properly handling the true traffic volume. If you change the phasing of the first signal without being aware of the demand starvation, the starved signal will fail when it has to handle the true traffic volume. (It’s one of the think that modeling programs are used to check for.) ---
**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:** [January 24, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8767 "2024-01-24T23:53:41Z")
There’s a highly-congested section of roadway (the ramps from 480 to Ridge Road, and nearby portions of Ridge, for other Clevelanders) that just a couple of years ago, someone did a study of using aerial drone footage, and discovered that the reason why the congestion was so bad was that some of the lights were mis-timed. It’s… Well, it’s still pretty bad, but it’s much better now than it was. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8768 "2024-01-25T00:07:51Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Probably worth mentioning that the Latin word for “mouse” is the source of our word “muscle”. I wish I knew this in high school. The only actually-used nickname I’ve ever had was “Muscles.” At the time I was extremely small and it started as a joke in a improv theater class, but stuck school-wide. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2024, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8769 "2024-01-25T02:48:48Z")
If we’re going to talk about “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, we should also talk about “Dream a Little Dream of Me”. Those of us who remember the most famous version probably think that it was first sung by Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas in 1968. Actually, it goes back much further, and it was first sung by someone you may know but don’t think of as a singer. He was more famous in some other way. Yes, it was Ozzie Nelson in 1931. You know, the Ozzie Nelson that was in _Ozzie and Harriet_. He began his career in the entertainment field as an orchestra leader who also sang on some of the songs they did. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/8770 "2024-01-25T02:54:55Z")
Speaking of Ozzie Nelson. He is the only person to have won a Grammy and to have a child and a grandchild also win separate Grammys [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=437) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=439)