# 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:** 25
**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:** [September 23, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/481 "2024-09-23T17:43:41Z")
I was in Athens during a strike by the monument workers. They know that there are a lot of visitors there for the only time in their life so each day they would either take the morning or the afternoon off. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/482 "2024-09-23T19:40:26Z")
I read this today and thought immediately about this thread. Streptomycin is an important early antibiotic developed during WW2. Apparently the first person to make a full recovery from a streptomycin treatment was… Bob Dole. From Wikipedia: > At the end of World War II, the United States Army experimented with streptomycin to treat life-threatening infections at a military hospital in [Battle Creek, Michigan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Creek,_Michigan). The first person who was treated with streptomycin did not survive; the second person survived but became blind as a side effect of the treatment. In March 1946, the third person—[Robert J. Dole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Dole), later Majority Leader of the United States Senate and presidential nominee—experienced a rapid and robust recovery. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/483 "2024-09-24T02:42:27Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > ETA: for London I’ll offer Cock-Nikkei I just … I can’t decide if I love or hate you. Both? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/484 "2024-09-24T17:45:54Z")
But a gift link, but the interesting part is in the title: Strange Cellmates in a Brooklyn Jail: Sean Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/24/arts/music/sean-combs-sam-bankman-fried-jail.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/24/arts/music/sean-combs-sam-bankman-fried-jail.html) Apparently, it’s dormatory-style, so u guess everyone has a lot of roommates. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/485 "2024-09-24T19:30:52Z")
Inspired by a new video game: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DiwhPKnwad0/maxresdefault.jpg "Pushing It! With Sisyphus Official Trailer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiwhPKnwad0) I looked up Sisyphus on Wikipedia, and as a result, I now know how the town of Xenia, Ohio got its name: > **[Xenia (Greek)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenia_(Greek))** > > Xenia (Greek: ξενία) is an ancient Greek concept of hospitality. It is almost always translated as 'guest-friendship' or 'ritualized friendship'. It is an institutionalized relationship rooted in generosity, gift exchange, and reciprocity. Historically, hospitality towards foreigners and guests (Hellenes not of your polis) was understood as a moral obligation, as well as a political imperative. Hospitality towards foreign Hellenes honored Zeus Xenios (and Athene Xenia), patrons of for The rituals... TL,DR: Sisyphus was punished by the gods in part for his habit of violating xenia, a Greek tradition of hospitality toward one’s guests. Someone in Ohio thought that xenia itself would make a fine name for a new town, and the rest is history. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/486 "2024-09-24T19:35:29Z")
Interesting. Have visited [Xenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenia,_Ohio) countless times (it’s a 30 minute drive from us), and our daughter currently lives there. Though I was six at the time, I remember the 1974 tornado. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/487 "2024-09-24T19:39:57Z")
Recent related thread about [Sysyphus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bodybuilding/1007316). ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/488 "2024-09-24T19:41:58Z")
Of course we know the root of the word from “xenophobic”, so people not well versed in old Greek and never having read the wiki page might assume that the city name stands for its direct opposite, a hotbed of xenophobia. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/489 "2024-09-24T19:56:29Z")
Or that the founders really loved cheesy TV shows about women with chakrams. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/490 "2024-09-24T20:39:03Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Though I was six at the time, I remember the 1974 tornado. My grandmother had sheets of newspaper from Xenia that the storm blew into her fields. She was 70 miles away. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/491 "2024-09-25T03:52:20Z")
The image in your post reminded me of this 2-minute short from 1974, IMO, one of the greatest pieces of animation ever. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vyZK8rkeqPM/hqdefault.jpg "Marcell Jankovics Sisyphus 1974") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyZK8rkeqPM) ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/492 "2024-09-25T14:08:37Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > On my first read-through of this, I thought you wrote “French onions.” Me too. Could be the fastest ever Mandela Effect. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/493 "2024-09-25T14:33:01Z")
I’m picturing a town meeting where they’re deciding on a name. “Philadelphia? Brotherly love? I don’t like my neighbors quite that much. What’s the word for respectful politeness to strangers?” ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/494 "2024-09-25T14:40:35Z")
It’s a nicer concept than mere politeness toward strangers; ya gotta be hospitable, giving, welcoming, and it’s a two-way street. From my earlier link: > Xenia consists of two basic rules: > > 1. The respect from hosts to guests. Hosts must be hospitable to guests and provide them with a bath, food, drink, gifts, and safe escort to their next destination. It is considered rude to ask guests questions, or even to ask who they are, before they have finished the meal provided to them. > > 2. The respect from guests to hosts. Guests must be courteous to their hosts and not be a threat or burden. Guests are expected to provide stories and news from the outside world. Most importantly, guests are expected to reciprocate if their hosts ever call upon them in their homes.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenia_(Greek)#cite_note-:4-5) Now I’m wondering what other cities have their names drawn from foreign-language loan words that mean something uplifting. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/495 "2024-09-25T15:04:50Z")
Composer [Alfred Newman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Newman) (no relation to [Alfred E. Newman](https://www.startpage.com/av/proxy-image?piurl=https%3A%2F%2Flibertyonenews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F09%2FAlfred-E-Newman-1631901636.6407.jpg&sp=1727272153Tf5323e3e8883b859ebb7c2fa96ddd08427ac2c2355d976ad0c82fe70bd7d0f76), you goofball) was nominated for at least one Oscar _every year_ between 1938 and 1960. Incredibly, in 15 of those 22 years, he was nominated for two or more, with four nominations in 1940 alone! In his 40-year career, he was nominated for 45 Academy Awards, and won nine. (John Williams, whose career has lasted 25 years longer so far, has been nominated for 54, but has only won five to date.) Alfred’s two brothers, two of his five children, and nephew [Randy Newman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Newman) have collectively received another 48 nominations and three wins, making them the [most nominated family ever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Academy_Award%E2%80%93winning_families), with a total of 93 noms and 12 wins. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/496 "2024-09-25T17:59:41Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Now I’m wondering what other cities have their names drawn from foreign-language loan words that mean something **uplifting**. not a city, but … U-Crane ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/497 "2024-09-26T01:32:29Z")
I just learned that, amongst its various other symbols, Oregon has an official state mushroom, the Pacific Golden Chanterelle. Which, based on the fact that most of the population lives in the part that is perpetually moist, seems entirely appropriate. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/498 "2024-09-26T01:41:08Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Composer [Alfred Newman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Newman) (no relation to [Alfred E. Newman](https://www.startpage.com/av/proxy-image?piurl=https%3A%2F%2Flibertyonenews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F09%2FAlfred-E-Newman-1631901636.6407.jpg&sp=1727272153Tf5323e3e8883b859ebb7c2fa96ddd08427ac2c2355d976ad0c82fe70bd7d0f76), you goofball) was nominated for at least one Oscar _every year_ between 1938 and 1960. Incredibly, in 15 of those 22 years, he was nominated for two or more, with four nominations in 1940 alone! > > In his 40-year career, he was nominated for 45 Academy Awards, and won nine. (John Williams, whose career has lasted 25 years longer so far, has been nominated for 54, but has only won five to date.) > > Alfred’s two brothers, two of his five children, and nephew [Randy Newman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Newman) have collectively received another 48 nominations and three wins, making them the [most nominated family ever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Academy_Award%E2%80%93winning_families), with a total of 93 noms and 12 wins. While this is nice, remember that Walt Disney has 59 nominations, and 22 wins. It’s possible that Williams could catch him with nominations, but not for wins. He also has more wins than the Newman family. Disney had up to six nominations in a year (1953) and often competed against himself. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/499 "2024-09-26T03:37:39Z")
The vast majority of Walt’s nominations were for 10-minute cartoons, with a few two-reelers and documentaries thrown in, plus a special Oscar for the stereo sound developed for _Fantasia_. I didn’t check the credits for all of them, but a spot check of several reveals that for most of them he was producer, often uncredited, but not writer or director. So the extent of his personal creative contribution to any of them is questionable. His _only_ feature win (as uncredited producer) was _Mary Poppins_ (1965) for Best Picture. Disney was an undoubted giant of the film world, but ISTM that most of the awards he is credited with were the creative work of many others whom he oversaw and guided as studio head. For that reason, IMHO his contributions are not in the same category as the individual creative efforts of Alfred Newman or John Williams (or any number of other composers) in producing dozens of award-winning or -nominated feature film scores. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/500 "2024-09-26T06:26:54Z")
Certainly true, but the numbers still hold. The award for short films (and Best Picture).go to the producer. Disney produced quality work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=26)