# Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785 "2024-07-25T15:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 230
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4581 "2026-05-10T20:44:41Z")
Since the HAL 9000 logo [![](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%2Fid%2FOIP.lhiWSFerpRThyzfQr3EA-gHaHa%3Fpid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=7ae12267d217fab188b19b5edc81cbc01c13bff0e613056177bd6968367f3be8&ipo=images) ](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%2Fid%2FOIP.lhiWSFerpRThyzfQr3EA-gHaHa%3Fpid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=7ae12267d217fab188b19b5edc81cbc01c13bff0e613056177bd6968367f3be8&ipo=images) was eerily close to the IBM style of the time, add me to the skeptics. ---
**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 10, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4582 "2026-05-10T20:48:00Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Maybe, but if there are 26 letters in the English alphabet the chances for that coincidence are 1 to 26³ = 17,576 1 in 26^2. The first letter could be anything, and the other two could still be a Caesar cipher. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4583 "2026-05-10T20:54:24Z")
Agreed, but only if we know that the name has to be made of three letters, no more, no less. Because of … IBM? Then the chances are 1, because it was not a coincidence, QED. Otherwise the possibilities are endless. As an aside: IBM used to be the biggest manufacturer of electrical typewriters, and typewriters are called _Schreibmaschinen_ in German. Which you could also spell schre **IBM** aschine. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4584 "2026-05-10T21:09:17Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > As an aside: IBM used to be the biggest manufacturer of electrical typewriters, and typewriters are called _Schreibmaschinen_ in German. Which you could also spell schre **IBM** aschine. As a German EE: mind blown! 😵‍💫 ---
**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:** [May 10, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4585 "2026-05-10T21:12:10Z")
You wanted random facts? Bitte sehr. ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4586 "2026-05-10T23:08:33Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > three letters, no more, no less. Because of … IBM? It’s easy to believe that the design of the computer was inspired by the design of IBM’s machines, including the logo. “HAL” is a nice looking combination of three letters that also happens to be a man’s name. The question is if it was chosen specifically because it’s a Caesar ciphertext of “IBM”. That’s an open question and I don’t find it inconceivable that it never occurred to them. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > These were two well-respected and intelligent creators, an author and a filmmaker, and they both had collaborators, other writers, editors and so on, and nobody in the whole deal caught the HAL-IBM thing before the film was released? They were indeed but, de gustibus and all that, I don’t find that particular wordplay clever or intelligent. And who’s going around examining words for their various Caesar ciphertexts? I don’t find it at all hard to believe that none of the potentially thousands of people involved in the making and marketing of the movie would ever consider it. If there’s an example of either of them doing something similar in their other works, then I think we can say that it’s more than mere coincidence. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4587 "2026-05-10T23:24:56Z")
It’s supposed to stand for “ Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer” ---
**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:** [May 10, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4588 "2026-05-10T23:38:30Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Agreed, but only if we know that the name has to be made of three letters, no more, no less. Because of … IBM? Then the chances are 1, because it was not a coincidence, QED. Otherwise the possibilities are endless. > As an aside: IBM used to be the biggest manufacturer of electrical typewriters, and typewriters are called _Schreibmaschinen_ in German. Which you could also spell schre **IBM** aschine. Coincidences are not subject to probabilistic analysis. Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy who told him not to go to Ford’s Theatre. Kennedy had a secretary named Evelyn Lincoln and she warned him not to go to Dallas. What are the odds of that? Astronomical. But it happened. [Here are more.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%E2%80%93Kennedy_coincidences_urban_legend#List) The odds that all of those happening are astronomical. But they happened. And the famous case: _English politician and justice of the peace Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey was found murdered on October 17, 1678. His body had been left in a ditch on Greenberry Hill in London. Three men were arrested and tried for the crime. Their names were Robert Green, Henry Berry, and Lawrence Hill._ What are the odds of that? But it happened. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4589 "2026-05-10T23:54:33Z")
Also, all the possible 3-letter names are not _a priority_ likely. There’s little chance they would have chosen GXP or FSQ as the computer’s name. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4590 "2026-05-11T00:32:04Z")
Kubrick and Clarke lived for a combined 70 years after 2001 (the film, not the year) and never wavered from a denial. What they wanted was a short but friendly man’s name. Sure, they could have used SAM or BOB or ELY. But that means the possibilities aren’t in the tens of thousands, but in maybe double digits. Whatever name they picked I bet that someone would find a hidden meaning in it. As shown in the Clarke quote above, IBM was very much on their minds during the making of the movie. Multiple references to IBM can be found, from that literal name on computer equipment to HAL’s singing “Daisy Bell,” the first song sung by a computer, specifically an IBM 7094, which Clarke had heard in a demonstration in 1962. What Kubrick specifically did _not_ want to do was associate IBM with a computer going haywire and killing its crew. He had been thinking about labeling the computer as an IBM product but letters written during production show his concern for not depicting IBM unfavorably. (The whole article is behind a paywall, but the letter shows in the preview.) > **[The Letter Stanley Kubrick Wrote About IBM and HAL](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/the-letter-stanley-kubrick-wrote-about-ibm-and-hal/266848/)** > > "Does IBM know that one of the main themes of the story is a psychotic computer?" The HAL/IBM theory requires believing that Kubrick then instantly turned around and invented a \*wink wink\* reference that indelibly attached IBM’s name to the killing machine. Yeah, no. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4591 "2026-05-11T17:05:49Z")
Four decent-sized countries/territories are more than 90% forested. The three former Guianas in South America, and Gabon in west-central Africa. Maine (89%) is the most forested US state. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4592 "2026-05-11T17:29:00Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > What they wanted was a short but friendly man’s name. Sure, they could have used SAM or BOB or ELY. But that means the possibilities aren’t in the tens of thousands, but in maybe double digits. Whatever name they picked I bet that someone would find a hidden meaning in it. And they definitely wanted it to be a TLA, because there were a growing number of them, and it would be believable. . (TLA - Three Letter Acronym) ---
**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 11, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4593 "2026-05-11T19:32:48Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > And they definitely wanted it to be a TLA, because there were a growing number of them, and it would be believable. . Too bad they didn’t cut a deal with TWA instead of Pan Am. At least, TWA (barely) survived until the year 2001. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4594 "2026-05-12T18:38:22Z")
On this day in 1847 the Odometer Was Invented: The invention of the odometer by Mormon pioneer William Clayton while crossing the plains in a covered wagon. Previous to this, mileage was calculated by counting the revolutions of a rag tied to a spoke of a wagon wheel. LINK: [Mormon Odometer (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/mormon-odometer.htm) ---
**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 12, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4595 "2026-05-12T19:59:43Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > On this day in 1847 the Odometer Was Invented: The invention of the odometer by Mormon pioneer William Clayton while crossing the plains in a covered wagon. Previous to this, mileage was calculated by counting the revolutions of a rag tied to a spoke of a wagon wheel. Interestingly, the Romans had a similar odometer than was also used with a similar cart. The knowledge was unfortunately lost over the centuries: > **[Ancient Rome: The Odometer Of Vitruv](https://www.history-of-physics.com/2017/08/ancient-rome-odometer-of-vitruv.html)** > > The History Of Physics Explained Clearly. I knew about this from a Scientific American article many years ago. Then Lindsay Davis used it as a plot device in one of her Marcus Didius Falco Roman mysteries. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4596 "2026-05-12T20:05:55Z")
I first learned of Vitruvius in architecture school. Quite a guy. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4597 "2026-05-13T21:30:43Z")
The last samurai died in the 1870s, Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, and early fax technology (the “printing telegraph”) was patented in 1843. This creates a 22-year window (1843–1865) where Abraham Lincoln could have received a fax from a samurai. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4598 "2026-05-13T21:36:44Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > This creates a 22-year window (1843–1865) where Abraham Lincoln could have received a fax from a samurai. But only if the samurai first had traveled to the USA or Lincoln to Japan, as I’m sure there wasn’t a transpacific telegraph line in this window of time. ---
**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 13, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4599 "2026-05-13T22:01:15Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > The last samurai died in the 1870s, Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 Coincidence? Or John Wilkes Booth vindicated at last!? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4600 "2026-05-13T22:17:03Z")
“Why didn’t” (slice) “you answer” (stab) “my **FAX**?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=229) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=231)