# weird trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2010, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603 "2010-01-04T10:07:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/181 "2010-01-11T22:52:20Z")
> [@Recliner](#): > > And he’s always reading that book (dammit, can’t remember the title). I always wondered how he was able to carry it around invisibly…presumably a bag of holding. Modesty Blaise! ---
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/182 "2010-01-12T01:37:58Z")
I love this stuff!! Isaac Newton was born the same year that Galileo died. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/183 "2010-01-12T01:48:09Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Can we agree that she was fucked from several directions? And that, had any of them been fixed earlier, Titanic might still be carrying passengers to and from Disney World, had she not been sold for scrap in the 50s? Speaking of big ships and Disney theme parks, the **Tokyo DisneySea** is the home of the [S.S. Columbia](http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tds/english/7port/waterfront/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/184 "2010-01-12T02:09:01Z")
Tom Baker was marredi to Lalla Ward who both appeared in Dr Who Lalla Ward later married Richard Dawkins who also appeared in Dr Who. (as himself) Singer Petula Clark was the first person to be called Petula. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/185 "2010-01-12T02:12:24Z")
The introductory narrator of the tv series “The A-Team” was the producer [John Ashley](http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/johnashley.html), best known for his supporting roles in the 1960s “Beach” movies. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/186 "2010-01-12T02:35:09Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > Singer Petula Clark was the first person to be called Petula. J. M. Barrie invented the name ‘Wendy’. My sister-in-law has a sister named Wendy. They have a cousin named Barrie. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/187 "2010-01-12T02:39:45Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > The introductory narrator of the tv series “The A-Team” was the producer [John Ashley](http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/johnashley.html), best known for his supporting roles in the 1960s “Beach” movies. I totally know who he is! Handsome and great pipes. I hate him. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/188 "2010-01-12T05:06:05Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > J. M. Barrie invented the name ‘Wendy’. [Not quite.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2057/was-the-name-wendy-invented-for-the-book-peter-pan) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/189 "2010-01-12T16:01:58Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > J. M. Barrie invented the name ‘Wendy’. > > My sister-in-law has a sister named Wendy. They have a cousin named Barrie. Sir Walter Scott supposedly was the first person who used “Dale” as a name. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/190 "2010-01-12T17:22:55Z")
John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley all died on the same day, Nov. 22, 1963. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/191 "2010-01-12T17:36:36Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > Singer Petula Clark was the first person to be called Petula. Petula also had a successful singing career starting when she was only 12 years old. Most Americans think her career started with the “Downtown” single, but by the time she recorded that song, she was already an international celebrity with a long list of hit records in Britain and in France (sung in French.) She was first “discovered” when she & other Londoners were holed up in an air raid shelter during WWII. The makeshift shelter they were taking refuge in was actually a BBC radio broadcasting studio. As the bombs were dropping nearby, the studio manager (in an effort to calm everybody down) invited anyone to try singing, and offered to record them. Petula volunteered. Her performance (especially in such nerve-wracking conditions) was so good, she was invited to come back and sing for a real broadcast sent out to troops on the continent. She very quickly became a huge phenomenon among British troops. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/192 "2010-01-12T17:43:16Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > Singer Petula Clark was the first person to be called Petula. Isn’t this pretty much unprovable? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/193 "2010-01-12T17:52:03Z")
So many famous musicians died at the age of 27, there is a term for it. The 27 Club. > **[27 Club](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_27)** > > The 27 Club is an informal list consisting mostly of popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27. Although the claim of a "statistical spike" for the death of musicians at that age has been refuted by scientific research, it remains a cultural phenomenon, with many celebrities who die at 27 noted for their high-risk lifestyles. > Beginning with the deaths of several 27-year-old popular musicians between 1969 and 1971 (such as Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Jop... Robert Johnson founded it. Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison are all members, as is Kurt Cobain. ---
**Author:** ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/194 "2010-01-12T18:12:30Z")
Brad Pitt has taken German scalps in both World Wars. WWI in **Legends of the Fall** and WWII in **Inglorious Basterds** ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/195 "2010-01-12T23:50:02Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Isn’t this pretty much unprovable? Well feel free to disprove it as with the census records on the name Wendy (see previous link/post by fachverwerrt) Wiki says this: > [@](#): > > she was christened Petula Sally Olwen Clark. Her father Leslie coined her first name, jokingly alleging it was a combination of the names of two former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla. I actually took my knowledge of it from a 1970s Book Of Lists if I remember correctly. ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/196 "2010-01-13T00:39:39Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [This young lady](http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm119/badger60/horner/) seen here dancing a la Eleanor Powell in an “Our Gang” short was child actress Jackie Horner. She had some troubled teen years, appearing in several scandalous stories. She would later move back to her home state of New York. > > Where she would become a dance instructor. In the Catskills. In the 1950s. > > The character of Penny in “Dirty Dancing” was based on her. Also, her name appears in the “Dirty Dancing” credits with a “special thanks” or something like that. The actress who played Penny in Dirty Dancing is married to my secret boyfriend Richard Marx. They call their three sons “The Marx Brothers.” ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/197 "2010-01-13T04:43:21Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > Well feel free to disprove it as with the census records on the name Wendy (see previous link/post by fachverwerrt) > > Wiki says this: > > I actually took my knowledge of it from a 1970s Book Of Lists if I remember correctly. A quick google shows bunches of Petulas in the 1920 and 1930 U.S. census born as early as 1860. Maybe he coined it, but their were certainly previous Petulas. Name: Petula E Steinle Spouse: George A Birth: abt 1868 Residence: 1930 - city, Dane, Wisconsin Name: Petula V Stroud Spouse: Ernest E Birth: abt 1896 Residence: 1930 - city, Columbia, New York Name: Petula E Warner Spouse: John F Birth: abt 1885 Residence: 1930 - city, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Name: Petula M Bodies Birth: abt 1860 - location Residence: 1920 - city, Alachua, Florida ---
**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:** [January 13, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/198 "2010-01-13T05:35:34Z")
Shakespeare and Cervantes both died on April 23, 1616. However, Shakespeare died 10 days after Cervantes! That’s because Spain had adopted the Gregorian calendar and had dropped 10 days, but England was still using the Julian calendar. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/199 "2010-01-13T08:18:35Z")
Some of my favorite trivia: Bill Paxton and Lance Henrikson are the only two actors who have been killed by a Terminator, a Predator, and an Alien. Both were killed by a Terminator in the first film, don’t blink or you’ll miss Paxton as the gangster/punk who gets his clothes stolen by Arnold at the very beginning of the film. Lance took some effort to die to a Predator, he had to wait until Alien Vs Predator. One of the great mysteries in the literary world is what is Heathcliff’s name (from Wuthering Heights.) The regular answer is that he only has one name (no first or last name, just Heathcliff.) However, in the book he has a handkerchief with the initials “H.H.” on it, meaning his name could be Heathcliff Heathcliff. However, if the trivia question ever comes up, “What is Heathcliff’s first/last name in the book Wuthering Heights,” the generally accepted answer is that he has only one name. Tom Selleck was cast (not just tried out for the role, but had a contract to do it) as Indiana Jones, but delays in shooting caused him to pull out of the production because he needed to get back to his TV show, Magnum PI, leaving Harrison Ford the iconic role, and some very scary pictures online. (Search yourself, but don’t gouge your eyes out when you find it.) The desert in Raiders of the Lost Ark is the same desert used as Tatooine in Star Wars. The movie Grease is based on the smash stage musical of the same name. However, on stage, the iconic role of Danny Zucko was actually played by Jeff Conaway, who ended up playing Kenikie in the film. The best selling type of Campbell’s soup is Tomato, but nobody knows why. We assume it’s added to spaghetti sauce in restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/200 "2010-01-13T12:14:12Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > The best selling type of Campbell’s soup is Tomato, but nobody knows why. I know why…people buy more cans of it than their other soups. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603.md?page=11)