# 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:** 62
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1223 "2021-01-15T11:43:09Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Heh, that weight is, please forgive me, a piece of crap. Obviously you don’t use $6 equipment from Amazon for your university physics research. It was only meant as an illustration of what I meant. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1224 "2021-01-15T14:33:34Z")
Great post! Very interesting, thanks. On the last part: “Oh great, here’s my new $600 1mg calibration weight- ACHOO! Oh, shucks.” 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1225 "2021-01-15T18:43:33Z")
Oh yes, load cells. I’d forgotten all about them despite the fact that my first job after University was with a company which made instrumentation for steelworks & used them quite a bit. Back in the day when the UK had more of a steel industry… bah, showing my age. Wondering how one would use a 1 mg reference weight though? Seems as if some very delicate handling would be needed? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1226 "2021-01-15T18:46:10Z")
I thought it was called French Custard. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2021, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1227 "2021-01-16T08:45:55Z")
According to two sources, Elvis never played encores (this may be common knowledge, but I was 4 when he died, and I was unaware of this until now). ---
**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 16, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1228 "2021-01-16T16:51:52Z")
The origin of the famous phrase, “Elvis has left the building,” originally said to fans clamoring for more. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1229 "2021-01-16T17:24:22Z")
Since we are on the subject of balances… - When you measure the mass of something on a balance, the mass value it reports is not the real, actual, “inertial” mass of the specimen. This is true for even ultra-accurate analytical balances made by Mettler that can measure to a resolution of 0.01 mg. Instead it gives you the “conventional mass” value for the specimen. If you want to know the actual mass value for the specimen, you will need to know the air density in the room. - When you weigh a specimen using a balance, the balance assumes the density of the specimen is 8000 kg/m³. If the specimen does _not_ have a density of 8000 kg/m³, there will be error in the reported value. (Note that even if the specimen has a 8000 kg/m³, the balance will still report the conventional mass value and not the actual mass value. See previous bullet for more info.) Final note: the differences between actual mass and conventional mass are usually not significant for most things. So people don’t usually get too worked up over the fact that a balance reports conventional mass and not actual mass. But it’s good to always keep this in mind, since for some things it _does_ matter. By the same token, the error due to the specimen not having a density of 8000 kg/m³ is usually not significant if the difference is not great. However, it could be significant if you’re weighing something that has very low density, e.g. dry paper. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1230 "2021-01-16T20:53:11Z")
[quote=“tofor, post:1223, topic:851674”]they have a It was only meant as an illustration of what I meant. [/quote] Yes, sorry, I didn’t mean to say you had bad tastes in weights, just that sky’s the limit when it comes to these things. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1231 "2021-01-17T10:59:57Z")
Darnel is a noxious weed that grows all over the world, especially where wheat is grown. It looks very similar to wheat and must not be harvested along with it because, when darnel is infected by a certain fungus, those who end up eating it get light-headed and nauseated and can even die if they eat enough of it. Darnel has been around forever and appears in literature from the Bible to Shakespeare (and in non-English lanugages, too) as a metaphor for a subversive force. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1232 "2021-01-17T13:32:51Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The origin of the famous phrase, “Elvis has left the building,” originally said to fans clamoring for more. So the origin of the phrase “Elvis has left the building” was after Elvis left the building? Did you have some other expectation? ---
**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 17, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1233 "2021-01-17T15:33:12Z")
My post was a reply to the one immediately above about him never doing encores. ---
**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 17, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1234 "2021-01-17T17:05:25Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Load cell scales are by far the most common and most people outside of laboratory or some industrial environments have never interacted with any other type. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to say that. Spring scales are still fairly common: Many folks have a spring scale for a postal scale or bathroom scale, if it’s older, and the produce section of a grocery store will often have spring scales hanging from the ceiling for approximate weighing of produce (though it’s still the load cell scale at the register that’s the official one). And while most folks don’t have a balance scale, it’s not uncommon to encounter one at a doctor’s office, and the two-pan balance still shows up in a lot of symbology (if that counts as an interaction). ---
**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:** [January 17, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1235 "2021-01-17T17:51:03Z")
So very sorry, that was an incredibly clueless stupid remark. I’m glad I don’t remember making that post, what ever whacked out reasoning underlay that thought must have been even stupider. 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ ---
**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 17, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1236 "2021-01-17T22:10:05Z")
Here’s a twofer - the second part is much better than the first. W E Johns, creator of the fictional ace pilot Biggles, lived in Lingfield, not far from us, for 10 years. [This is where he lived](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.1767612,-0.022702,3a,75y,87.71h,92.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_rsDZplggcAjmr3I3S5k4w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656), with the blue plaque\* (which we spotted for the first time today) recording his period of residence. It made me look Johns up and… … he was a First World War Flying Instructor, with an extraordinary record ([per wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._E._Johns)): > On 1 April 1918, Johns was appointed flying instructor at Marske-by-the-Sea in Yorkshire. The aircraft of the time were very unreliable and he wrote off three planes in three days through engine failure – crashing into the sea, then the sand, and then through a fellow officer’s back door. Later, he was caught in fog over the [River] Tees, missed Hartlepool and narrowly escaped flying into a cliff. Shooting one’s own propeller off with a forward-mounted machine-gun with malfunctioning synchronisation was a fairly common accident, and it happened to Johns twice. j (\*) - [Blue Plaques](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_plaque) on buildings signify something of interest about them, frequently that a famous person lived there. Aside: the wiki article describes this one as “unofficial” - hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1237 "2021-01-18T00:53:44Z")
I already knew that, many years ago, universities and colleges used to supervise and monitor their students much more closely than today, both in their day-to-day lives and their coursework. For example, some type of P.E. was usually required. Opposite sex visitors in the dormitories were usually forbidden, and dorm residents might have to sign in and out, and be back at the dorm before curfew. But what I didn’t know was that students often needed the dean’s permission to leave the town limits. USC and the U. of Oregon both had that rule once upon a time. If you were a student at USC, you needed the university’s permission to leave L.A. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1238 "2021-01-18T02:26:44Z")
How on earth would something like that be enforced? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1239 "2021-01-18T02:35:02Z")
The Dean kept the keys to your horse in his office. That’s about how old these rules probably are. I attended USC in the 1970s. Any such rule would have died decades previously. But for more on @Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus’ legitimate point see: > **[In loco parentis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_loco_parentis)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The term in loco parentis, Latin for "in the place of a parent" refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent. > Originally derived from English common law, the doctrine is applied in two separate areas of the law. First, it grants educational institutions such as colleges and schools discretion to act in the best interests of their students, although not allowing ... ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1240 "2021-01-18T02:41:07Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I can’t figure out why I know the melody. I know it too; and I also can’t figure out why. I seem to have it associated with school for some reason; but that might be wrong. – with _skating_?? was the thing played at ice skating rinks, which a school might have taken trips to? Or is my head just flailing around wildly trying to make some sort of connection? (It’s certainly not the washington bridge thing, which I never heard of before.) ---
**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:** [January 18, 2021, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1241 "2021-01-18T03:59:06Z")
Count me in for another who recognizes the melody and associates it with childhood. With the song dating back to the late 1800s (did I read that here or on the wiki?) it could been used in a number of ways. Looney Tunes? Slam Bang Theater? Merry-go-rounds? ---
**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 18, 2021, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1242 "2021-01-18T04:10:49Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > How on earth would something like that be enforced? Just like shoplifting. It’s enforced if you get caught. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=61) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=63)