# 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:** 234
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4661 "2026-05-18T20:30:52Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > istm that someone named Albert is far more likely to be addressed by the diminutive Al. I respectfully disagree, primarily because I’ve know only 3 Alberts in my life (one was my grandpa), and each of them preferred to be called Albert. By contrast, I’ve known a number of guys named Alan/Allen/Allan, and each one them went by Al. ---
**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 18, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4662 "2026-05-18T21:28:08Z")
If we are doing anecdotes, I know one Albert- Al and one Albert-not Al. ---
**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 18, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4663 "2026-05-18T22:21:00Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > By far the most common possibility in the US is Alexander. Assuming Al Bundy was born the same year as Ed O’Neil (1946) the most common “Al” baby boy name was Alan (#49 overall). ---
**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 18, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4664 "2026-05-18T22:24:23Z")
Outstanding nitpick. I am impressed 🙂 ---
**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 18, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4665 "2026-05-18T22:30:58Z")
Most parents were probably impressed by Alan Ladd, but Al Bundy may have been sired by some Chicago dimwit who still had some admiration for the deranged, syphilitic gangster about to kick the bucket. ---
**Author:** ![Awb78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Awb78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Awb78)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4666 "2026-05-18T22:38:45Z")
[https://marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Al\_Bundy](https://marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Al_Bundy) ## **Trivia** - It is not actually clear if Al had a full first name, as Al can be short for several first names such as Alfred, Albert, Alan, Alvin, Alex, Alistair, or Alphonse. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4667 "2026-05-18T22:55:18Z")
I just learned that Billie Jean King recently earned her college degree…at age 82. Her degree is from Cal State and her major is history. Her brother, former MLB pitcher Randy Moffitt, died last year. > **[Billie Jean King graduates from college at 82 years old, six decades after...](https://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/article/billie-jean-king-graduates-from-college-at-82-years-old-six-decades-after-leaving-for-tennis-230931037.html)** > > King reportedly majored in history, at one point writing an essay about the Title IX law she helped get passed. ---
**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 18, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4668 "2026-05-18T23:03:51Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Isn’t Peggy a common nickname for Margaret? The real mystery is whether Al is an Albert or an Alan. Or Alfred or Alex or Alphonso or… There are a lot of Al names. ---
**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 18, 2026, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4669 "2026-05-18T23:13:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Or Alfred or Alex or Alphonso or… Or Alois(e) or Alexander. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4670 "2026-05-18T23:38:09Z")
> [@Awb78](#): > > It is not actually clear if Al had a full first name If the Wikipedia entry on him is correct, it is clear that his first name was Alphonse. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4671 "2026-05-19T03:56:30Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > If the Wikipedia entry on him is correct, Is it correct? Do we know? Btw, the only Alphonse I ever knew was German. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4672 "2026-05-19T06:09:37Z")
Hydronyms often preserve names from dead languages because they are more resistant to change than other names. Lop Nor is a lake in Xinjiang. _Nor_ is the Mongolian word for lake; that much is clear. The name _Lop_, though, doesn’t correspond to anything in any of the language families in the area: it isn’t Mongolian, Turkic, Tibetan, or Chinese. It must be the only remaining trace of a completely unknown language that died out many centuries ago. Think of that. ---
**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 19, 2026, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4673 "2026-05-19T08:37:40Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Think of that. Yeah, well, hum… Lop. Nice word. Hydronym. Also a nice word. A word for water, right? Hydro. Makes sense. Lop. Water. Like plop, just without the starting P. Plop! Funny that water has names that change depending on where it is. Can I stop now? Splurge! ---
**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 19, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4674 "2026-05-19T13:34:04Z")
Right. As you know well, all those “D–n–” river names in and around Ukraine – Don, Dnieper, Dniester, Danube… – haven’t changed much since Proto-Indo-European times (from a word meaning “to flow\*”), and in fact are one bit of evidence toward this being the PIE “homeland.” (\*Also gave us Latin _fons_ → “fountain”.) ---
**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:** [May 19, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4675 "2026-05-19T13:35:05Z")
I just did a Google on what his name is. It said that it’s never given in the show. If that’s true, Wikipedia is wrong. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4676 "2026-05-19T13:38:39Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > It said that it’s never given in the show. His name is repeated frequently on the show: “Al”. It’s some people’s expectation that “Al” cannot be a name that’s driving speculation that it’s something else. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4677 "2026-05-19T13:41:00Z")
Buck Owens’s first name name was ‘Alvis.’ ---
**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 19, 2026, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4678 "2026-05-19T13:49:28Z")
That’s a good point. His given name could have been just Al. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4679 "2026-05-19T15:49:56Z")
Don’t foreign adaptations frequently change character names? The full name in French, German, and English aren’t required to match. @Awb78 's fandom link seems like the most thorough research into this important topic (at least for the American version). ---
**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 19, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4680 "2026-05-19T15:57:41Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Buck Owens’s first name name was ‘Alvis.’ That’s funny to me, because Alois was a common German name in my grandfather’s generation, and as a kid I knew some guys named Alois. Except that I new them phonetically as “Alvis”, because that’s the peculiar way the name is pronounced in my Westphalian dialect. I also knew the name pronounced and spelled “Alois”, but I thought that was a Bavarian variant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=233) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=235)