# 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:** 76
**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:** [February 24, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1503 "2021-02-24T13:55:27Z")
Thank you for an excellent post - I too have a passing interest in Benford’s Law and different number bases, but had never considered the two in tandem. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1504 "2021-02-24T14:43:14Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Think of the unpronounced “z” as acting like “h” in English. When it appears after a “c” it modifies that sound (the “cz” combo in Polish is pronounced like “ch” in English) and exactly ditto for “z” after an “s” in Polish (again, it turns “sz” into a sound like an English “sh”). And in Hungarian, it’s almost in reverse, where a Hungarian _s_ sounds like a Polish _sz_ and a Hungarian _sz_ sounds like a Polish _s_. More generally, an _s_ in Hungarian acts like a _z_ would in Polish, so _s_ makes an English “sh” sound, a _cs_ makes a “ch” sound, and a _zs_ makes a “zh” sound. If a _z_ is after an _s_ in Hungarian (as the digraph _sz_), then it alters the sound to a plain “s.” Sometimes _cz_ makes an appearance in Hungarian (especially if you read older books, like pre-1900, with older spellings), but that is the equivalent of a plain Hungarian _c_ (which sounds like “ts” or the Polish _c_). It was always tripping up my tongue at first trying to read Hungarian words like _szív_ (“heart”), as the Polish instinct to read _sz_ as a “sh” sound was so great. It felt backwards to me for the longest time – like why is _sz_ the plain “s” sound and _s_ the “sh” sound? But I got used to it, though sometimes now my brain gets tripped up in Hungarian mode reading Polish words if I haven’t fully mentally switched contexts. 🙂 ---
**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:** [February 24, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1505 "2021-02-24T14:55:24Z")
This is interesting thanks. And this is also an example of why I wish I was better with numbers, because there is a ton of fascinating stuff like this hidden within the universe of mathematics. Mathematicians even talk about different types of infinity - and that’s when things really get philosophical and weird. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1506 "2021-02-24T15:48:46Z")
Here’s an interesting podcast that mixes Benford and the recent election. > **[Breaking Benford](https://radiolab.org/episodes/breaking-benford?)** > > The internet says an obscure mathematical law can tell us something about the 2020 US election. It can't. But it can tell us about us. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1507 "2021-02-24T18:19:48Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > After the war, the Japanese-Americans were allowed to be back home. This is a bit of an over-simplification. Both my parents were interned along with their families during the war. I know more of my mom’s family than of my dad’s. - When they were sent to camp, their “belongings” consisted of that which they carried (and was allowed). They had to give up their property (house, car, etc.). There are some families we know who managed to go “back home” because…they signed over their house to (white) friends who agreed to give them their property back when the war ended. That is, they had a home to go back to ! - When the war ended, they didn’t just open the gates and let the internees free. The US did not want this flood of poor, homeless, unemployed people dumped back into society. There was this process of connecting with someone (I understand mostly through church groups) to find someone willing to sponsor you. And by “you”, I mean 1 household member. The sponsor would agree to provide lodging while the sponsee looked for work. My oldest uncle was sponsored first. And then he, in turn, was eventually able to sponsor the rest of the family. But it was a months long process - AFTER the war had ended. - When the rest of the family was released, they ended up back in the LA area. So I know of no restrictions on returning west of the Rockies. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1508 "2021-02-24T19:56:09Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > He was driving a high-end Hyundai. I suppose he was paid to drive it, still they seem to be moving up in the world. I’d looked at the pix trying to figure out what brand of car it was. And was coming up empty. Now I know why. Thanks. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1509 "2021-02-24T19:57:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Bismuth subsalicylate [Pepto-Bismol] is the only active ingredient in an over-the-counter drug that can leave a shiny [metal oxide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_oxide) [slag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag) behind after being completely burnt with a [blow torch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_torch).[ > **[Bismuth subsalicylate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismuth_subsalicylate)** > > Bismuth subsalicylate, sold generically as pink bismuth and under brand names including Pepto-Bismol, Pepti-Calm and BisBacter, is a medication used to treat temporary discomfort of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, such as nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea. > Bismuth subsalicylate has the empirical chemical formula C7H5BiO4, and is a colloidal substance obtained by hydrolysis of bismuth salicylate (Bi(C6H4(OH)CO2)3). > As a derivative of salicylic acid, bismuth subs... There’s a wonderful picture of the slag on that site. Think about it the next time you take Pepto-Bismol for your upset stomach. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1510 "2021-02-24T21:28:19Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > This is a bit of an over-simplification. Both my parents were interned along with their families during the war. I know more of my mom’s family than of my dad’s. Thanks for that post. I am aware that it was an oversimplification. I was trying to point out the differences between the US and Canadian situations. Only some people were lucky enough to have white neighbors who were honest and helped them out and that didn’t help at all with replacing the small businesses that were permanently lost. I’m 57 years old and grew up in West LA which had a very large Japanese-American population when I was growing up. I had many friends and classmates whose parents were interred as children and teens. I in no way meant to minimize the horrible stain that that was in our country’s history. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1511 "2021-02-24T21:44:50Z")
Bismuth also has the unusual property of expanding as it cools from liquid state, most metals contract as they cool. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1512 "2021-02-24T21:54:59Z")
If my GI tract is functioning as a blow torch, I think I’ve got bigger things to worry about than a little slag. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1513 "2021-02-24T23:44:18Z")
Slag is good for corking up almost anything. Even innards. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1514 "2021-02-25T02:16:16Z")
Bismuth also has some of the most fascinating-looking crystals ever: > **[Bismuth Crystal - Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/market/bismuth_crystal)** > > Check out our bismuth crystal selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our home & living shops. I have one a little over 100 grams (bought at an amateur radio festival, of all places) that is just so cool looking. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1515 "2021-02-25T02:38:18Z")
Peter Tork went to Julliard and could play multiple instruments. Mike Nesmith had a (minor) career in country music before joining the Monkees, and they had some country-flavored music as a result. Davy Jones had been a song-and-dance actor in London’s West End (he originated the role of the Artful Dodger) and was well enough known that David Jones changed his name to David Bowie to avoid confusion. Dolenz did the garageband route but didn’t actually know how to play drums when cast, although he did learn how. According to Tork, if the line-up had been based on playing ability, Jones would have been the drummer, Tork would have played bass, Nesmith would have played lead, and Mickey would have been the lead singer ---
**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:** [February 25, 2021, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1516 "2021-02-25T02:42:05Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Mike Nesmith had a (minor) career in country music before joining the Monkees, and they had some country-flavored music as a result. Nesmith wrote: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/w9qsDgA1q8Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Different Drum") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9qsDgA1q8Y) Nesmith’s mom? Check out the mother-son pic. > **[Bette Nesmith Graham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bette_Nesmith_Graham)** > > Bette Nesmith Graham (March 23, 1924 – May 12, 1980) was an American typist, commercial artist, and the inventor of the correction fluid Liquid Paper. She was the mother of musician and producer Michael Nesmith of The Monkees. > Born in 1924 in Dallas, Texas, Bette Graham dropped out of Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio at the age of seventeen and went to secretarial school. By 1951, she had worked her way up to the position of executive secretary for W. W. Overton, the Chairman of the Boa... ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1517 "2021-02-25T02:43:19Z")
Ninja’d while my computer froze! ---
**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:** [February 25, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1518 "2021-02-25T02:45:53Z")
> Dolenz… didn’t actually know how to play drums when cast, although he did learn how. Ah, but he played _A drum,_ as a [little blond “Circus Boy”.](https://youtu.be/WS4uQIjkNsk?t=67) And [sang, too](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qOcn6xX6fc)… (just learned he later sang this same song in a circus episode of The Monkees…cool.) The first time I saw Circus Boy, it was so surprising to see a little blond Mickey Dolenz. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2021, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1519 "2021-02-25T13:29:22Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Ah, but he played _A drum,_ as a [little blond “Circus Boy”.](https://youtu.be/WS4uQIjkNsk?t=67) > [@](#): > > Dolenz began his show-business career in 1956 when he starred in a children’s TV show called _[Circus Boy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_Boy)_ under the name **Mickey Braddock**.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micky_Dolenz#cite_note-3) He played Corky, an orphaned water boy for the elephants in a one-ring [circus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus) at the start of the 20th century. The program ran for two seasons, Consider the byplay during the Monkees’ song _Gonna Buy me a Dog_: > [@](#): > > I’m gonna buy me a dog > > [[DAVY JONES, Spoken: You couldn’t teach a dog to do that, you can only train elephants]](https://genius.com/The-monkees-gonna-buy-me-a-dog-lyrics#note-21647818) > **[Micky Dolenz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micky_Dolenz)** > > George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop-rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series The Monkees (1966–1968). > Dolenz was born at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, the son of actors George Dolenz and Janelle Johnson. He has three sisters, Gemma Marie ("Coco"; born April 5, 1949), Deborah (born 1958), and Kathleen ("Gina"; ... > **[The Monkees – Gonna Buy Me a Dog](https://genius.com/The-monkees-gonna-buy-me-a-dog-lyrics)** > > \[MICKY DOLENZ, Spoken: Now?\] / You know my girl⁠— / \[MICKY DOLENZ, Spoken: Now?\] / You know my girl just called me up / And she woke me from my sleep / You should have heard the ---
**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:** [February 25, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1520 "2021-02-25T13:48:50Z")
Davy Jones was on the Feb 9, 1964 episode of Ed Sullivan, playing his Broadway role the Artful Dodger from “Oliver!” Some garage band from Liverpool was also on that night. I have the show on DVD. Frank “The Riddler” Gorshin also makes an appearance. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1521 "2021-02-25T16:13:31Z")
I watched that show when it aired, with my college housemates. I had never heard of the Beatles until then. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674/1522 "2021-02-25T17:32:13Z")
Emory Parady, one of the 26 enlisted men who tracked down and killed John Wilkes Booth, is buried in a Portland cemetery. > **[In death, two lives are intertwined in a Portland cemetery: Tom Hallman at large](https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2021/02/in-death-two-lives-are-intertwined-in-a-portland-cemetery-tom-hallman-at-large.html)** > > The trip began when a reader contacted me to say that a man buried in Lincoln Memorial Park, a sprawling 430-acre cemetery on Mount Scott, had a link to one of our nation’s great tragedies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=75) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-1/851674.md?page=77)