# 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:** 271
**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:** [September 18, 2026, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5402 "2026-09-18T06:50:17Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Superheroes are consistently inconsistent on the use of “the.” > > Superman is always Superman but Batman is sometimes The Batman. > > Bruce Banner is sometimes Hulk and sometimes The Hulk. The Hulk and the Flash are named for the things they are or represent, though, so it makes sense that the usage would vary. I think you can also say that about (the) Batman. I’m no expert in this area, but wasn’t “ **the** Batman\*\*” used chiefly in the earliest issues? ---
**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:** [September 18, 2026, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5403 "2026-09-18T07:39:33Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > And of course there’s The Fonz Again, a unique nickname, not an ordinary personal name. They didn’t call him The Arthur or The Fonzarelli. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2026, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5404 "2026-09-18T08:03:04Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > “Creek” doesn’t necessarily mean “brook” in other English dialects. It can mean “inlet.” Still another word for that, presumably from the Spanish, is “ria”. It comes up in crossword puzzles occasionally. Dubai has Dubai Creek which is just a loop of ocean that runs through the city, effectively making part of it an island. I thought it was a unique and somewhat preposteous usage, but it seems to illustrate your point. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2026, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5405 "2026-09-18T08:07:15Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > His son, Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was better known as John Denver. No wonder he changed it! If I didn’t know German I think I’d go crosseyed just looking at that 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:** [September 18, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5406 "2026-09-18T16:35:50Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > The Hulk and the Flash are named for the things they are or represent, though, so it makes sense that the usage would vary. I think you can also say that about (the) Batman. I’m no expert in this area, but wasn’t “ **the** Batman\*\*” used chiefly in the earliest issues? Spider-Man lacks the “The” even though that’s what he represents. His villains sometimes are “The’s” - The Vulture. The Green Goblin - and sometimes aren’t - Electro. Mysterio. Venom.Still not seeing a solid pattern. Batman was The Batman at the beginning, yes, a mysterious creature of the night. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5407 "2026-09-18T17:44:40Z")
Note that even in superheroland, “the” is omitted when that character is being directly addressed. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5408 "2026-09-18T17:53:57Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > His villains sometimes are “The’s” - The Vulture. The Green Goblin - and sometimes aren’t - Electro. Mysterio. Venom.Still not seeing a solid pattern. In this case, a vulture and a goblin are creatures you could plausibly get chased by. I’ve never heard of anyone getting chased by an electro, a mysterio or a venom. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5409 "2026-09-18T21:11:04Z")
Likewise, someone might say “Hey, Fonz”, but never “Hey, The Fonz”. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5410 "2026-09-18T21:21:30Z")
The Richmeister! Making copies! ---
**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:** [September 18, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5411 "2026-09-18T23:52:17Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Spider-Man lacks the “The” even though that’s what he represents. His villains sometimes are “The’s” - The Vulture. The Green Goblin - and sometimes aren’t - Electro. Mysterio. Venom.Still not seeing a solid pattern. I don’t think we should expect a completely clear-cut pattern though. Besides the other possible reasons mentioned for variations in style of characters’ names, there’s also the fact that comics and comic books were once cheaply printed, and it wasn’t unusual to see some of the text written in a clipped, telegraphic style to save space. Particularly in above-the-panel narrative text, articles might often be dropped to save space. Moreover, we’re talking here about fictional characters with invented names that are supposed to be unique in their universe, in contrast to real-world everyday names like John Smith or Joe Blow. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5412 "2026-09-19T00:15:54Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I’m surprised by that, because while in colloquial speech, we use an article before proper names all the time, in a strict sense it’s also ungrammatical in German. Would it make more sense to translate _dem Rolf_ as “that Rolf”, i.e. “How’s that Rolf doing”? That too is nonstandard in English, but certainly not unheard of. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5413 "2026-09-19T00:18:43Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > there’s also the fact that comics and comic books were once cheaply printed, and it wasn’t unusual to see some of the text written in a clipped, telegraphic style to save space. Can you give me examples of this? In my experience, 40s comics - more cheaply printed than any since - were extremely wordy, both in captions and word balloons. The sixties comics from Marvel were even wordier. I might give you 30s comics, but comparatively so tiny a number existed I don’t think they had much influence on words. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5414 "2026-09-19T00:32:57Z")
Yeah. Pick up an EC comic circa 1950. The word counts are ridiculous compared to today. As sequential art has evolved more can be said today with just the image, so the word count is reduced. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5415 "2026-09-19T00:37:43Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Can you give me examples of this? In my experience, 40s comics - more cheaply printed than any since - were extremely wordy, both in captions and word balloons. Here’s an [example](https://lileks.com/institute/comicsins/comics/worst/5.html) from late in the decade. Granted, in this case the article isn’t being dropped preceding the name of a superhero, but it’s clearly being dropped. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5416 "2026-09-19T01:41:54Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Here’s an [example](https://lileks.com/institute/comicsins/comics/worst/5.html) from late in the decade. Granted, in this case the article isn’t being dropped preceding the name of a superhero, but it’s clearly being dropped. I’m lost. The article isn’t being dropped but it’s clearly being dropped? The panels are from a Brick Bradford 1939-1940 comic **strip** sequence, not a comic book. Entirely different mediums. Strips had fixed sizes that restricted them; books did not. Nor did they have cheap printing, or at least no more so than any other page of the newspaper. AFAIK, no Brick Bradford comic book appeared until the late forties, a decade later. Since the name of the superhero - who wasn’t super - was Brick Bradford, the Metal Monster was the villain, so I don’t understand that either. And for Pete’s sakes, Lileks (whose website contains the panels): > I am the Met - Al Monst - er and I have probl-ems with h-ypenati-on! Hyphens were the standard way of representing robot speech and had been well before 1939. ---
**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 19, 2026, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5417 "2026-09-19T13:28:11Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > > I’m surprised by that, because while in colloquial speech, we use an article before proper names all the time, in a strict sense it’s also ungrammatical in German. > > Would it make more sense to translate _dem Rolf_ as “that Rolf”, i.e. “How’s that Rolf doing”? That too is nonstandard in English, but certainly not unheard of. No, it’s not that, this would be translated as “Wie geht’s diesem Rolf?”. To distinguish him from another Rolf. “Dem Rolf” just means “the Rolf”, dative case. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5418 "2026-09-19T22:47:44Z")
Today I learned that Carolyn “Ali” Espley, the actress in the music video for [“Too Shy” by Kajagoogoo](https://youtu.be/rkpG4XApJ28?is=ddjp8Yd17f3o-xyl), is married to comedian/former “Weekend Update” anchor/former NFL commentator/famous conservative crank Dennis Miller. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5419 "2026-09-20T01:08:24Z")
IMDb lets you in on a secret. > Carolyn Espley is known for [Kajagoogoo: Too Shy (1983)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8186010/?ref_=nmbio_mbio). He has been married to [Dennis Miller](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0588222/?ref_=nmbio_mbio) since April 1988. They have two children. She married Miller at his peak. I saw him during his tour for the Off-While Album, also in 1988. Still consider that one of the five best stand-up shows I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5420 "2026-09-21T00:15:06Z")
I just learned “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was a suffragette anthem back in the early 20th century. We mostly only remember the chorus now, but the actual verses are about an independent minded woman who loves baseball and knows all the players. When her boyfriend asks her if she wants to go to a show, she replies “No, take me out to the ballgame…” ---
**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:** [September 21, 2026, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/5421 "2026-09-21T01:11:43Z")
Cool. News to me as well. [Here’s a site](https://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_stmo.shtml) with the original full version and the changed version from 1927. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=270) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=272)