# 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:** 473
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2024, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9453 "2024-05-06T19:11:58Z")
I’m not sure. The initial newspaper articles say that the army wasn’t allowed to provide details, but I think other ex-hostages did tell more in various formats in the months and years that followed. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9454 "2024-05-06T19:16:44Z")
One thing he did was denounce the Shah, and the CIA, on a video, apparently without much coercion: > **[CIA-RDP90-00552R000606480002-7.pdf](https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000606480002-7.pdf)** > > 0 B ---
**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:** [May 7, 2024, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9455 "2024-05-07T01:16:48Z")
TIL, more Americans live in Mexico (800,000) than live in Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, or Alaska. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2024, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9456 "2024-05-07T11:01:20Z")
As a child growing up in PA, I knew about [Mr. Yuk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Yuk), the symbol used to warn kids away from hazardous materials. I assumed he was universal. Turns out, he was not, and had competition, such as Uncle Barf and Officer Ugg. Mr. Yuk is still the best. There’s a theme song for Ugg, but I couldn’t find it or get the link for the Yuk PSA to post. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9457 "2024-05-07T11:37:04Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > As a child growing up in PA, I knew about [Mr. Yuk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Yuk), the symbol used to warn kids away from hazardous materials. I assumed he was universal. Turns out, he was not, and had competition, such as Uncle Barf and Officer Ugg. Mr. Yuk is still the best. There’s a theme song for Ugg, but I couldn’t find it or get the link for the Yuk PSA to post. I remember Mr. Yuk, too. Turns out there’s a Mr. Ouch who has been around since 1983, but I’ve never seen him before. Frankly, he looks a lot more menacing than Mr. Yuk: > **[Mr. Ouch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Ouch)** > > Mr. Ouch is a hazard symbol developed by the US’s National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to represent electrical hazard within pad-mounted transformers. Unlike other high-voltage warning symbols, Mr. Ouch was specifically designed with young children in mind. It is part of NEMA Standard 260-1996, Safety Labels for Pad-Mounted Switchgear and Transformers Sited in Public Areas, which lays out design guidelines for a complete label design that incorporates the Mr. Ouch symbol. > Mr. Ouc... [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bf/Mr_Ouch.svg/2880px-Mr_Ouch.svg.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bf/Mr_Ouch.svg/2880px-Mr_Ouch.svg.png) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9458 "2024-05-07T12:34:21Z")
You mean [this commercial](https://youtu.be/wLsONa3gKIQ?si=ho9bZYEq6PlA4OYh)? It used to creep me out as a kid. Still does. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9459 "2024-05-07T15:21:59Z")
Thank you for that. I generally rag on Wyoming and representation by pointing out that a neighboring city has more people than all of Wyoming. Now I have something different to say in class. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9460 "2024-05-07T16:29:57Z")
I just found out the words “apricot” and “precocious” are cognates. The both come from Latin words meaning “early ripening”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9461 "2024-05-07T17:25:43Z")
Kim Il Sung was born on the day the Titanic sank. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9462 "2024-05-07T18:21:22Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I just found out the words “apricot” and “precocious” are cognates. The both come from Latin words meaning “early ripening”. Apricot didn’t pass from Latin to Romance languages to English, as so often is the case; it took a detour through Arabic. Here is the Wikipedia etymology, which is similar to my American Heritage Dictionary: " _Apricot_ first appeared in English in the 16th century as _abrecock_ from the [Middle French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_French) _aubercot_ or later _abricot_ ,[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot#cite_note-2) from Spanish _[albaricoque](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/albaricoque)_ and [Catalan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language) _a(l)bercoc_ , in turn from Arabic الْبَرْقُوق‎ (al-barqūq, “the plums”), from Byzantine Greek βερικοκκίᾱ (berikokkíā, “apricot tree”), derived from late Greek _πραικόκιον_ (_praikókion_ , “apricot”) from Latin _[persica (“peach”)] praecocia_ (_praecoquus_ , “early ripening”).[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot#cite_note-3)[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot#cite_note-4)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot#cite_note-5)" ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9463 "2024-05-07T19:25:26Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Here is the Wikipedia etymology, which is similar to my American Heritage Dictionary: > > " _Apricot_ first appeared in English in the 16th century as _abrecock_ from the [Middle French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_French) _aubercot_ or later _abricot_ ,[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot#cite_note-2) from Spanish _[albaricoque](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/albaricoque)_ and [Catalan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language) _a(l)bercoc_ , in turn from Arabic الْبَرْقُوق‎ (al-barqūq, “the plums”), from Byzantine Greek βερικοκκίᾱ (berikokkíā, “apricot tree”), derived from late Greek _πραικόκιον_ (_praikókion_ , “apricot”) from Latin _[persica (“peach”)] praecocia_ (_praecoquus_ , “early ripening”).[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot#cite_note-3)[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot#cite_note-4)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot#cite_note-5)" So _that’s_ who "put the _ape_ in _apricot_ ! Whadda they got that I ain’t got? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9464 "2024-05-07T20:25:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So _that’s_ who "put the _ape_ in _apricot_ ! > > Whadda they got that I ain’t got? This is one of the most inspiring speeches in history. I mean, what makes the muskrat guard his musk? ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9465 "2024-05-07T20:48:58Z")
If you’re interested, the podcast **99% Invisible** just did an episode about Mr Yuk. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9466 "2024-05-07T21:32:16Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The result was that, left alone, the children after finishing a few programs, and now understanding how it worked, took the whole thing apart and put it back together made into games for themselves. Sounds like it was very educational indeed, then. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > Apricot didn’t pass from Latin to Romance languages to English, as so often is the case; it took a detour through Arabic. So did Euclid’s Elements. All modern copies of it trace back to translations into Arabic. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2024, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9467 "2024-05-08T06:33:55Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > As a child growing up in PA, I knew about [Mr. Yuk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Yuk), As a teenager, I remember when Mr. Yuk first came into widespread use and hearing about how the preceding Jolly Roger symbol, with its big grin, looked too happy to children. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9468 "2024-05-10T02:58:58Z")
The first tv spot in the Got Milk? ad campaign was directed by Michael Bay. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rXsvXtHuZQg/maxresdefault.jpg "GOT MILK? - 1993 Original Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXsvXtHuZQg) ---
**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:** [May 14, 2024, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9469 "2024-05-14T17:40:40Z")
That’s actually what inspired my post. Very interesting podcast. TIL about [robot jockeys used in camel races](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_jockey). Machines are taking everyone’s jobs! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9470 "2024-05-14T18:05:44Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > TIL about [robot jockeys used in camel races](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_jockey). Machines are taking everyone’s jobs! So my PhD was for nothing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9471 "2024-05-14T18:07:14Z")
You got a jockey doctorate? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/9472 "2024-05-14T18:10:07Z")
Camel jockey, please! We’re snobs about that – horse jockeys just need a master’s degree. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=472) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=474)