# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/81 "2010-01-06T18:53:02Z")
The scene in “The Empire Strikes Back” in which Luke stumbles out of the Wampa’s cave was shot just outside the door of the production crew’s hotel in Norway. A snowstorm had made it impossible to get to the glacier where they’d been shooting. ---
**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 6, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/82 "2010-01-06T19:03:55Z")
John Ratzenberger, better known as Cliff Clavin on _Cheers_, has a bit part as a Rebel officer on Hoth in _The Empire Strikes Back_. ---
**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 6, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/83 "2010-01-06T19:05:12Z")
Somebody just told me this one - In the [jazzy spy numbers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OutRoCkKS2Q&feature=PlayList&p=7001D0C33E20A0C4&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12) cartoon from ‘Sesame Street’ (one two three four five six seveneight NIIIIINE tennnnnn!), the female voice is done by Grace Slick (before she joined Jefferson Airplane). The other well-known SS toon short [the pinball machine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgocE-JfWFI), is sung by the Pointer Sisters. ---
**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 6, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/84 "2010-01-06T19:31:53Z")
> [@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_. I remember reading an interview about that. Ratzenberger was working in Europe at they wanted him because he was one of the few actors in the available there with an American accent. Treat Williams had a bit part in the background as well. He and Harrison Ford are/were friends and he was on the set during one of the Hoth scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/85 "2010-01-06T19:45:36Z")
> [@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 had a small role in **Superman 2** - in the scene where the three baddies from Krypton arrive on the Moon and the Astronaut relays that he thinks he saw a girl, he was the NASA ground control guy that said “I thought he said a ‘curl’” ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/86 "2010-01-06T19:58:45Z")
Alan Thicke wrote the theme songs to both Diff’rent Strokes and the Facts of Life. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/87 "2010-01-06T20:09:03Z")
Conan O’Brien wrote the script for the Monorail episode of “The Simpsons”. ---
**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 6, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/88 "2010-01-06T20:20:02Z")
[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. ---
**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 6, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/89 "2010-01-06T20:32:43Z")
> [@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 can also be seen in “Gandhi” as the jeep driver who takes the photographer (Candace Bergen) to see Mahatma. Funny thing is that they dubbed in a more ‘manly’ sounding voice. ---
**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 6, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/90 "2010-01-06T20:50:07Z")
**Sigourney Weaver** ’s uncle was [“Doodles” Weaver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doodles_Weaver), vocalist for Spike Jones and his City Slickers. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/91 "2010-01-06T21:02:25Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > Somebody just told me this one - In the [jazzy spy numbers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OutRoCkKS2Q&feature=PlayList&p=7001D0C33E20A0C4&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12) cartoon from ‘Sesame Street’ (one two three four five six seveneight NIIIIINE tennnnnn!), the female voice is done by Grace Slick (before she joined Jefferson Airplane). Slick joined the Airplane in 1966; **Sesame Street** premiered in 1969. She was already a big rock star when she recorded that voice track. Pete Townsend write “Pinball Wizard” on **Tommy** to get a good review from a British rock critic who was a pinball fan. Blossom Rock, known as Grandmama Addams on **The Addams Family** was an ingenue in many 1930s movies, including the Dr. Kildare series, under the name Marie Blake. She retired to marry Clarence Rock, and, after his death, returned to acting, using her middle name (Blossom). ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/92 "2010-01-06T22:22:12Z")
Actor Mark Harmon (currently playing GIbbs on NCIS) was a quarterback for UCLA, quite a good one. He was awarded The National Football Foundation award for All-Round Excellence in 1973. His father Tom Harmon was a Heisman Trophy winner. ---
**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 6, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/93 "2010-01-06T22:27:02Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Slick joined the Airplane in 1966; **Sesame Street** premiered in 1969. She was already a big rock star when she recorded that voice track. The jazzy number shorts actually predate Sesame Street, and were filmed in 1965. They were a film school project by Grace’s then-husband Jerry Slick (who was also guitarist in her first band “the Great Society.”) They only became nationally known thanks to being constantly reran on “the Street.” ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/94 "2010-01-07T05:44:21Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Slick joined the Airplane in 1966; **Sesame Street** premiered in 1969. She was already a big rock star when she recorded that voice track. > [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > The jazzy number shorts actually predate Sesame Street, and were filmed in 1965. They were a film school project by Grace’s then-husband Jerry Slick (who was also guitarist in her first band “the Great Society.”) They only became nationally known thanks to being constantly reran on “the Street.” haha theres trivia on your trivia!! ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/95 "2010-01-07T06:18:05Z")
Let’s get Meta on the OP : " Trivia " comes from the word Trivium. Trivium means three roads, or where three roads meet. How’s that for weird trivia? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/96 "2010-01-07T07:08:08Z")
And when you get there you take the fork in the road. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/97 "2010-01-07T07:26:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > And when you get there you take the fork in the road. Bear left. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/98 "2010-01-07T07:35:14Z")
I think this went unanswered in an earlier “history quiz” thread, or maybe someone did answer it. Anyway, Jefferson Davis was a major general in the Union army. He was best known for murdering a superior officer he was arguing with. The exigencies of the war led to his never being brought to account. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/99 "2010-01-07T09:05:13Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > **Sigourney Weaver** ’s uncle was [“Doodles” Weaver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doodles_Weaver), vocalist for Spike Jones and his City Slickers. Her father wasn’t exactly chicken liver. [Sylvester L. “Pat” Weaver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Weaver#Career) was president of NBC from 1953-1955. He introduced the practice of a network producing its own shows and selling the advertising time to multiple sponsors. He created both the Today Show and the Tonight Show, both of which are still going strong more than 50 years later. He also created the long-running NBC radio show “Monitor.” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603/100 "2010-01-07T10:39:08Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Bear left. Frog right [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-trivia/523603.md?page=6)