# 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:** 40
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/781 "2024-10-31T14:36:25Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Did you know that the three verses are sung by three different members of the band? I didn’t know that! Now I have to go listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/782 "2024-10-31T14:42:17Z")
After I first bought the record, I thought that it sounded like two different vocalists on verses 1 and 3. I don’t know with absolute certainty that the studio recording has three different vocalists, but they always did it with three when performing. Very hard to tell them apart. It tickled me to think of the song as three different love-struck (horny) schoolboys singing to the same girl. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/783 "2024-10-31T14:49:10Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > It tickled me to think of the song as three different love-struck (horny) schoolboys singing to the same girl. And that girl was Marianne Faithful, who seems to have inspired a ton of 1960s love ballads. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/784 "2024-10-31T15:08:08Z")
RIP Charles - the 52-year old gorilla rescued from poachers in Gabon (some sources say Benin) in 1974 - becoming the then just-opened Toronto Zoo (one of the first) residents. Father to 11 and grandfather to many. [‘Deeply missed’: 52-year-old gorilla at Toronto Zoo dies from natural causes | Globalnews.ca](https://globalnews.ca/news/10838170/gorilla-toronto-zoo-dies/) ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/785 "2024-10-31T15:15:22Z")
Yes! Which leads me into a couple random facts that I trot out to passengers when listening to 60s oldies in the car. “Needles and Pins” by Jackie DeShannon and then The Searchers? Co-written by Sonny Bono. “He’s In Town” by the Rockin’ Berries? Co-written by Carole King. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/786 "2024-10-31T16:16:57Z")
Sonny’s _Needles and Pins_ cowriter was Jack Nitzsche. Great song maker but his assault on Carrie Snodgrass is problematic to say the least. I have a audio clip of Sonny working with a young singer on a demo of the song. I wonder whatever happened to Cherilyn Sarkisian? Lots of great covers. Tom Petty with Stevie Nicks, etc. My favorite is the _[Ramones](https://youtu.be/bIaKHIyjrN0)_. A Ramones tribute band the Ramondos did a cover of their cover … in Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/787 "2024-10-31T18:53:32Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > that girl was Marianne Faithful, who seems to have inspired a ton of 1960s love ballads. Okay, how about this one: Marianne Faithfull’s uncle was Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose novel “Venus in Furs” inspired the word “masochism” as well a song by the Velvet Underground. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/788 "2024-10-31T19:55:26Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Australia uses half-time zones. The entire nation of India is in a single half-time zone (UTC +5:30). I’m told the Indian government wanted the entire country to be in one time zone, so they basically split the difference between the eastern and western halves of the country rather than splitting the country into two traditional time zones one hour apart. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/789 "2024-10-31T20:04:46Z")
Nepal, maybe to differentiate from India, is UTC +5:45 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/790 "2024-10-31T20:23:32Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > [@hibernicus](#): > > > > The members of the Monkees had very limited musical ability prior to their show and in the early years of the show > > All of the Monkees had experience as professional musicians before the show. Jones had an album (as David Jones) that reached 73 on the Cashbox chart. Tork was an accomplished multi-instrumentalist who traveled in the same Greenwich Village folk circles as Steven Stills. Nesmith had been in the songwriting and record business since 1963. Even Dolenz had his own Rock band before the show named Micky and the One-Nighters. He and Nesmith had both cut studio records before being cast in the Monkees. However Dolenz was primarily a singer who played some keyboards. The band on the show needed a drummer since Jones was already the guy standing in front. He did work on learning how to drum but most of the in show performances showed him vaguely waving at the drums with his sticks or they showed him from the chest up. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/791 "2024-10-31T21:29:53Z")
Playing drums to prerecorded music isn’t easy for even the best drummers; let alone doing it while also lip syncing. The misperception that the Monkees were musically inadequate compared to other LA Rock bands of the time is a persistent one. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/792 "2024-10-31T22:29:57Z")
He was a musician. He certainly wasn’t a drummer. He didn’t start until he was picked for the show. It’s very hard to play to prerecorded music while lip syncing when you first picked up sticks a couple months before. Interesting random fact, Mickey Dolenz bought the 3rd Moog synthesizer ever sold. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/793 "2024-10-31T22:39:11Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Interesting random fact, Mickey Dolenz bought the 3rd Moog synthesizer ever sold I’m quite certain that the (one of the?) first rock songs with a Moog was released by the Monkees. I just don’t remember the song at the moment. ETA: ah, I found it. It was “Daily Nightly” on the album “Headquarters”, their first album on which they almost played all the instruments themselves. > **[The Monkees’ “Daily Nightly” introduced the rock world to the Moog](https://www.avclub.com/the-monkees-daily-nightly-introduced-the-rock-world-1798284317)** > > The Monkees’ “Daily Nightly” introduced the rock world to the Moog [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SCWRjWOowkc/maxresdefault.jpg "The Monkees - Daily Nightly") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCWRjWOowkc) ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/794 "2024-10-31T23:22:57Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > The first 45 I ever bought, The Hollies’ “Carrie Anne”, was in 5th grade. Holy cow ! That was the first record I ever bought with my own money too. Fifth or maybe sixth grade. Thinking about it really takes me back. I’m wondering now what the flip side was. I think it was “Signs That Will Never Change.” ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/795 "2024-10-31T23:28:25Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > I’m wondering now what the flip side was. I think it was “Signs That Will Never Change.” Google says you’re right! I wonder if I still have the 45… I don’t remember listening to the B-side. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/796 "2024-11-01T09:36:40Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I’m quite certain that the (one of the?) first rock songs with a Moog was released by the Monkees. I just don’t remember the song at the moment. > > ETA: ah, I found it. It was “Daily Nightly” on the album “Headquarters”, their first album on which they almost played all the instruments themselves. I knew this and remembered this clip but had no idea what the actual song title was. I’d always assumed it was “Questions But No Answers”. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/797 "2024-11-03T04:11:33Z")
In the OED, Bill Murray is credited with the first recorded [proleptic](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolepsis) usage of the word “toast”. From the OED: > The lines in quot. 1983 do not in fact appear in the U.S. film _Ghostbusters_ as released in 1985, since a considerable amount of the dialogue is ad-libbed. The actual words spoken by Venkman (played by Bill Murray) as he prepares to fire a laser-type weapon, are, ‘This chick is toast’; this is probably the origin of the proleptic construction which has gained particular currency. 1. 1983 \> _Venkman_…: “Okay. That’s it! I’m gonna turn this guy into toast.” D. Aykroyd & H. Ramis, _Ghostbusters_ (film script, third draft) 123 ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/798 "2024-11-03T04:12:59Z")
Via: [There’s a word for that?! Phil Wang & Susie Dent name those AWKWARD moments!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mEmMuL5VxY) ---
**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:** [November 3, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/799 "2024-11-03T23:11:33Z")
I just learned from the Public Radio program [Radiolab](https://radiolab.org/podcast/the-unpopular-vote) that it’s theoretically possible for a US presidential candidate to win the Electoral Collage with only 23% of the popular vote. It’s extremely unlikely, but technically someone could win with such a small percentage by winning exactly 50%+1 of the vote in all the least populous states and 0% in the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/800 "2024-11-04T02:52:15Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > but technically someone could win with such a small percentage by winning exactly 50%+1 of the vote in all the least populous states and 0% in the rest. Majority means more than 50% NOT (as many people say) 50% + 1. For example: you have 99 voters and 50 votes is a majority but according to your definition the person would need 50.5 (in reality 51) votes to win. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=41)