# 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:** 13
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/241 "2010-01-19T02:24:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > John Ratzenberger, better known as Cliff Clavin on _Cheers_, has a bit part as a Rebel officer on Hoth in _The Empire Strikes Back_. He also has a bit part in _Ice Station Zebra_; when the submarine breaks through the ice he gets out and helps people either off or on the sub - I forget. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/242 "2010-01-19T02:30:27Z")
> [@fleem](#): > > Lou Gehrig, baseball’s legendary first baseman, wound up dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease. How weird is that. No kidding, what’s the chance of something like that happening? That’s like you getting Fleem’s disease! ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/243 "2010-01-19T02:45:21Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > At the 1970 Nebula Award dinner, Isaac Asimov was toastmaster. He announced the winner: Gene Wolfe’s “The Island and Dr. Death and Other Stories.” As Wolfe walked to the podium, someone whispered to Asimov, who turned white and then announced that he had made a mistake: No award, an option on the ballot, got the most votes, so no award was chosen. Wolfe was gracious. Later that night, at a party, someone told him that if he wanted to win the award, all he had to do was write a story called “The Death of Doctor Island.” Wolfe did so, and won the award in 1973. He later wrote “The Doctor of Death Island” and “Death of the Island Doctor.” That first (short) story was “The Island **of** Dr. Death and Other Stories” of course, and was published in a collection called ’ “The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories” and Other Stories’. Another Gene Wolfe title tale: one of the books in The Book of the New Sun series was to be called “The Citadel of the Autarch”. When he told his agent this over the phone, he heard it - and publicised it - as “The Citadel of the Otter”. Wolfe then wrote a story by that name, so as to render his agent’s press release truthful. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/244 "2010-01-19T08:22:22Z")
T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) wrote his epic description of his efforts in Arabia during World War I - “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” - from his extensive diaries written at the time. As he wrote the manuscript he burnt the corresponding pages of his diaries. His work was 250,000 words long. He accidentally left the only copy of the manuscript at a train station never to be seen again. He then wrote the whole thing again from memory. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/245 "2010-01-19T15:30:15Z")
> [@fleem](#): > > Lou Gehrig, baseball’s legendary first baseman, wound up dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease. How weird is that. As weird as Tommy John having the Tommy John operation. ---
**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 19, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/246 "2010-01-19T15:36:21Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > He also has a bit part in _Ice Station Zebra_; when the submarine breaks through the ice he gets out and helps people either off or on the sub - I forget. Not so. Ratzenberger’s first film role was in 1976’s _The Ritz_. ---
**Author:** ![fleem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@fleem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fleem)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/247 "2010-01-19T19:19:27Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > As weird as Tommy John having the Tommy John operation. Ah, you’re right. Forgot about that one. Wow, these MLB guys seem to have a penchant for getting themselves involved in some damned unusual coincidences. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/248 "2010-01-19T19:34:15Z")
> [@fleem](#): > > Wow, these MLB guys seem to have a penchant for getting themselves involved in some damned unusual coincidences. Oh, those are just isolated incidents. It’s not like there’s a trend. Mario Mendoza’s career average is above the Mendoza Line, for example. ---
**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 19, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/249 "2010-01-19T20:14:58Z")
But why were so many Civil War battles fought in national parks? ---
**Author:** ![wellanuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@wellanuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wellanuff)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/250 "2010-01-19T23:28:57Z")
In the Seinfeld episode "The Masseuse, " Elaine is unhappy that her boyfriend’s name is Joel Rifkin, the same as a well-known killer. She suggests that he change his name to… OJ Rifkin. This episode was first broadcast about seven months _prior_ to the White Bronco chase. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/251 "2010-01-19T23:57:35Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > As weird as Tommy John having the Tommy John operation. OTOH, Dr. Alzheimer never had Alzheimer’s disease. Weird, huh ? ---
**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:** [January 20, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/252 "2010-01-20T00:04:45Z")
Dr. Heimlich spent his whole life hanging around restaurants hoping for a chance to use his maneuver, but it never happened. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/253 "2010-01-20T01:48:41Z")
The actor who played Ralphie in Christmas Story is the nephew of Barbara Billingsley, who played June Cleaver. Ralphie and The Beaver are cousins! Sort of. == Ross Bagdasarian, who wrote and recorded the novelty song “Witch Doctor”, then wrote and recorded “The Christmas Song”, calling himself David Seville and The Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.) Several years earlier, he co-wrote “Come-On-A-My House”, with his cousin- William Saroyan. . ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/254 "2010-01-20T04:22:21Z")
King George VI’s first name was actually Albert. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/255 "2010-01-20T05:09:08Z")
John Tyler, the 10[sup]th[/sup] President of the United States: [ul] [li]was the first to become president by succession. He was vice-president to President William Harrison, who died one month after their inauguration.[/li][li]was the first president to have been born _after_ the adoption of the US Constitution.[/li][li]was (at that time) the youngest man to serve as president. His predecessor, Harrison, had been the oldest.[/li][li]the only former president _not_ to have his body lie in state upon his death. This was due to Tyler siding with the Confederacy and then dying during the American Civil War.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![fleem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@fleem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fleem)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/256 "2010-01-20T05:42:27Z")
Mariel Hemingway, following her Academy Award-nominated performance in Woody Allen’s _Manhattan_, went on to a successful (though brief) career pitching for the Detroit Pistons during their championship '58-'59 PGA tour. Despite her relatively diminutive stature, she was ejected four times for aggressive high sticking. ---
**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 20, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/257 "2010-01-20T14:15:27Z")
> [@fleem](#): > > Mariel Hemingway, following her Academy Award-nominated performance in Woody Allen’s _Manhattan_, went on to a successful (though brief) career pitching for the Detroit Pistons during their championship '58-'59 PGA tour. Despite her relatively diminutive stature, she was ejected four times for aggressive high sticking. Cite…? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/258 "2010-01-20T15:00:39Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That is \<…\> > “Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband \<…\>” Another Prince Philip-related piece of trivia: He is considered to be a _ **living god** _ by the followers of a cargo cult-type religion in Vanuatu. > **[Prince Philip movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Philip_Movement)** > > The Prince Philip movement is a religious sect followed by the Kastom people around the villages of Yaohnanen and Yakel on the southern Tanna Island in Vanuatu. It is a cargo cult of the Yaohnanen tribe, who believe in the divinity of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021), consort to Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022). > According to ancient Yaohnanen tales, there was a son of a mountain spirit, who then travelled to a distant land. There, he married a powerful lady. One day, he would return.... ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/259 "2010-01-20T15:43:58Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > 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. Bill Paxton produced and was featured in the Barnes and Barnes video “Fish Heads”, which is sometimes heard on the Dr. Demento Show, who also has a role in the video. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/260 "2010-01-20T16:07:51Z")
> [@nd\_n8](#): > > Bill Paxton produced and was featured in the Barnes and Barnes video “Fish Heads”, which is sometimes heard on the Dr. Demento Show, who also has a role in the video. Paxton was also a Nazi radio operator in the video for Pat Benetar’s Shadows of the Night. [![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4681/1884/320/shadows4.jpg) ](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4681/1884/320/shadows4.jpg) [![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4681/1884/320/shadows94.jpg) ](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4681/1884/320/shadows94.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603.md?page=14)