# 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:** 17
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/321 "2010-02-01T01:24:52Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Both “Jet” magazine and BET (cable channel) were founded by men named Robert Johnson. Jet by Robert E., and BET by Robert L. wow, when Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil, he got his money’s worth! ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/322 "2010-02-01T06:05:37Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The famous footage of Evel Knievel’s crash after trying to jump the fountains at Caesar’s Palace was shot by Linda Evans. Is this the platinum blonde, plastic boob actress of some prime time soap? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/323 "2010-02-01T06:08:28Z")
> [@acetylene](#): > > What do these people have in common? > > Alanis Morissette > Robert Goulet > Madonna > Hillary Clinton > Celine Dion > Angelina Jolie > Jack Kerouac > Beyonce Knowles > > They all share a common ancestor: [Zacharie Cloutier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacharie_Cloutier) Among all this remarkable trivia, I love this. Might he also be the ancestor of CFL footballer and noted poker player C. J. Cloutier? ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/324 "2010-02-01T10:15:52Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Sir Christopher Lee sort of freaked _Lord of the Rings_ director Peter Jackson when he told him quite matter of factly, à propos a fighting scene : “I know the sound a man makes when he’s stabbed in the back”. > > Lee, before becoming a scary old man, served in the British Special Forces during WW2. Which probably made him a scary young man at the time. Christopher Lee was the only member of cast and crew to have actually met J. R. R. Tolkien. A few years ago, there was a fad to link actors to Kevin Bacon in 6 movies or less. (from the [Oracle of Bacon site](http://oracleofbacon.org/))For example, you might wonder how Alfred Hitchcock can be connected to Kevin Bacon. One answer is that: Alfred Hitchcock was in Show Business at War (1943) with Orson Welles, and Orson Welles was in A Safe Place (1971) with Jack Nicholson, and Jack Nicholson was in A Few Good Men (1992) with Kevin Bacon! Then we can count how many links were necessary and assign the actor or actress a Bacon number. Bacon numbers higher than 4 are very rare. In the example above, Alfred Hitchcock has a Bacon number of 3. There are actually 506 “better” centers of the Hollywood universe than Kevin Bacon. Christopher Lee is the 11th “best center of the Hollywood Universe” with an average linking number of 2.800027 (that is, every actor listed on [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com) can be linked to Christopher Lee in an average of 2.800027 steps). The top 10 Centers of the Hollywood Universe are, by the way, 1 Dennis Hopper (2.743404) 2 Harvey Keitel (2.770643) 3 Donald Sutherland (I) (2.771596) 4 Udo Kier (2.776585) 5 David Carradine (2.778970) 6 Max von Sydow (I) (2.782075) 7 Rod Steiger (2.784044) 8 Michael Caine (I) (2.789553) 9 Martin Sheen (2.797372) 10 Seymour Cassel (2.797956) ---
**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:** [February 1, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/325 "2010-02-01T11:25:21Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The famous footage of Evel Knievel’s crash after trying to jump the fountains at Caesar’s Palace was shot by Linda Evans. > [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Is this the platinum blonde, plastic boob actress of some prime time soap? Yes, the actress from _The Big Valley_ and _Dynasty_. Knievel hired John Derek to make a film of his Caesar’s Palace jump. Derek was involved[sup]\*[/sup] with Evans at the time, and used her as a cameraman to save money. - Wikipedia mentions this incident in its entry for Knievel, and describes Evans as Derek’s “then-wife”. The dates don’t line up, though. The jump was on December 31, 1967, and the dates of Evans’ marriage to Derek are given as 1968-1974. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/326 "2010-02-01T14:56:56Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > The top 10 Centers of the Hollywood Universe are, by the way, > > 1 Dennis Hopper (2.743404) > 2 Harvey Keitel (2.770643) > 3 Donald Sutherland (I) (2.771596) > 4 Udo Kier (2.776585) > 5 David Carradine (2.778970) > 6 Max von Sydow (I) (2.782075) > 7 Rod Steiger (2.784044) > 8 Michael Caine (I) (2.789553) > 9 Martin Sheen (2.797372) > 10 Seymour Cassel (2.797956) Just to say I am astounded that this statistic _could_ be calculated, and _has_ been calculated! The wonders of technology. I’m surprised Gene Hackman isn’t on the list. He seems to have been in everything and worked with everyone. Okay, weird trivia. There is only one recorded album in history where a lead singer is featured _twice_ in the name of the band credited on the album, and _also_ features in the original sleeve photography, yet he took _no part_ in the album whatsoever and indeed _could_ not have done so. Alex Harvey formed a very successful ‘pub rock’ band called The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. They were pretty successful in the UK in the 70s. Alex suffered a serious back injury and was in hospital, in traction, for a long time. With his blessing, the other four members of the band recorded an album without him. Not unwittily called ‘Fourplay’, the album was officially credited to ‘The Sensational Alex Harvey Band Without Alex’, which is how he gets his two mentions. The back of the album sleeve also featured a photo of Alex. Yet he wasn’t on the actual album at all. A fairly poor album, by the way, apart from one standout track, a love song called ‘Love You For A Lifetime’ which deserves to be more widely known. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/327 "2010-02-01T15:40:23Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > Just to say I am astounded that this statistic _could_ be calculated, and _has_ been calculated! The wonders of technology. I’m surprised Gene Hackman isn’t on the list. He seems to have been in everything and worked with everyone. Gene Hackman is 19th. > **[The Oracle of Bacon](https://oracleofbacon.org/center_list.php)** > > Kevin Bacon numbers, link any actor to any other, the Center of the Hollywood Universe, and more ---
**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:** [February 1, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/328 "2010-02-01T17:27:18Z")
Alan Parsons, organizer of the Alan Parsons Project, rarely sings, but was once nominated for a Best Singer Grammy. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/329 "2010-02-01T20:05:54Z")
My Bacon number is 4. My Tolkien number is 8. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/330 "2010-02-01T20:26:44Z")
Another good one. Most of you will be aware that the Ivor Novello Award is a prestigeous annual award for songwriting. One man has won an Ivor Novello Award despite not having written any music or any lyrics. Try to figure it out if you want. Paul Field and Stephen Deal won an Ivor (or possibly two) for ‘writing’ [The Millenium Prayer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millennium_Prayer) back in 1999. This puts the words of The Lord’s Prayer to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, and [the result](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA5QJS3paAo) is either brilliant or dreadful depending on your point of view. Paul is a successful songwriter and composer in his own right, so it’s not too strange that he has an Ivor on his shelves. However Stephen (who happens to be a friend of mine) has never written a song in his life, as far as I know. The song was very successful commercially so it won an Award, and Paul and Stephen came up with the idea so they were, in a sense, the ‘writers’. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/331 "2010-02-01T21:42:24Z")
My Batman number is 2. A friend of mine appeared in a book with Batman. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/332 "2010-02-02T08:02:02Z")
Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams were roommates at Juliard. The CSN logo for Crosby Stills and Nash was created by SNL alumnist Phil Hartman. [http://www.palhetas.com/foto015.JPG](http://www.palhetas.com/foto015.JPG) He also made album art for bands Poco and America Sean Connery came in third in the 1953 Mr. Universe competition. [http://old.commanderbond.net/resources/sections/news/images/sean\_connery/universe\_3rd.jpg](http://old.commanderbond.net/resources/sections/news/images/sean_connery/universe_3rd.jpg) I had the same orthodontist as Andrea McArdle. > **[Andrea McArdle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_McArdle)** > > Andrea McArdle is an American singer and actress best known for originating the role of Annie in the Broadway musical Annie. > McArdle appeared on Al Alberts Showcase, a local televised talent show in Philadelphia. In April 1978, she opened in London's West End production. She appeared several times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1977-79, on one occasion accompanied by Liberace. She also appeared more than once on the Mike Douglas Show, singing with Kristy McNichol, Stephanie Mills,... ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/333 "2010-02-02T08:42:18Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Sean Connery came in third in the 1953 Mr. Universe competition. > [http://old.commanderbond.net/resources/sections/news/images/sean\_connery/universe\_3rd.jpg](http://old.commanderbond.net/resources/sections/news/images/sean_connery/universe_3rd.jpg) My God. He must have used a lawnmover to get his chest that smooth. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/334 "2010-02-03T15:10:19Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > My Bacon number is 4. My Tolkien number is 8. My Bacon number is three. I was in a home movie with my father, who was in **Sweet Liberty** (as an extra) with Bob Hoskins who was in **Balto** with Kevin Bacon. Hard to say what my Tolkien number, but I’ve been on panels with quite a few science fiction writers, so there’s probably a good connection there, too. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/335 "2010-02-03T15:41:29Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > [the result](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA5QJS3paAo) I found it really hard to listen to that and not hear the original lyrics to the song. I don’t know if this one was put out yet but outside of Paris; Montreal is the largest french speaking city in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/336 "2010-02-03T17:08:55Z")
Chevy Chase was a drummer for the band that eventually became known as Steely Dan. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/337 "2010-02-03T17:11:54Z")
> [@Lethal\_Babydoll](#): > > There are no lawyers in heaven Actually, it’s a little known fact that Jesus was a lawyer. This is often confused because Joseph was a carpenter (better translated as “builder”, possibly a mason), Jesus must have been one, too. You can tell Jesus was a lawyer by the words used to describe him - Counselor, Advocate, Wonderful . . . 😉 ---
**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:** [February 3, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/338 "2010-02-03T17:37:44Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Chevy Chase was a drummer for the band that eventually became known as Steely Dan. And has perfect pitch. Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day, Feb. 12, 1809. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day, July 4, 1826, fifty years to the day after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, on which they both worked. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/339 "2010-02-04T07:49:31Z")
not to resurrect my own dying thread (but yeah I am) some more weird trivia regarding the same show that started all this fun stuff Mulders apartment number is 42. I can only believe its a nod to Hitchhikers guide. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/340 "2010-02-04T14:54:25Z")
> [@Reloy3](#): > > Actually, it’s a little known fact that Jesus was a lawyer. This is often confused because Joseph was a carpenter (better translated as “builder”, possibly a mason), Jesus must have been one, too. > > You can tell Jesus was a lawyer by the words used to describe him - Counselor, Advocate, Wonderful . . . > > 😉 Lawyer and Wonderful do not go together. Unless it’s in the context: What do you call 500 lawyers dying in a flaming bus crash? A good start. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603.md?page=18)