# What's the most obscure thing you know? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345 "2002-03-21T14:41:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/1 "2002-03-21T14:41:19Z")
I know _Jabberwocky_ by heart, and I know two verses of _The Star Spangled Banner_. (I also know that the song has 4 verses!) What’s the most obscure bit of trivia you know? ---
**Author:** ![Mnementh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mnementh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnementh)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/2 "2002-03-21T15:14:38Z")
See, 154CM steel was, in fact, Benchmade’s first choice for their blades, as it’s chemically almost identical to ATS-34, but made in America. Crucible, however, didn’t manufacture 154CM in rolls that were acceptable for the blades, so Benchmade began importing ATS-34 instead. And now that Crucible has started manufacturing it in rolls that Benchmade can use, they’ve started with 154CM. I think that sometime in the future, ATS-34 Benchmade knives will be rare, collectors items. Which will make both myself and MikeG very happy men. How’s THAT for obscure? ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/3 "2002-03-21T15:19:29Z")
That in “Ain’t no Sunshine When She’s Gone,” Bill Withers sings the phrase “I know” 26 times in a row. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/4 "2002-03-21T15:28:50Z")
Martin Van Buren was the first U.S. President born in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/5 "2002-03-21T15:28:50Z")
Jesus, I write entire BOOKS on ludicrously obscure subjects! Ummm . . . Jean Harlow’s mother’s maiden name was “Jean Harlow” . . . The word “flapper” is actually from c1900 and was used LONG before the 1920s . . . The first Ziegfeld Girls were actually called “Anna Held Girls” . . . Rudolph Valentino never made a talking film, but you can hear his voice on two records he made in the early 1920s . . . ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/6 "2002-03-21T15:30:13Z")
“Martin Van Buren was the first U.S. President born in the United States.” —I read this too fast and thought it said, “Mamie Van Doren was the first U.S. President born in the United States.” Now, THAT would have been news to me! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/7 "2002-03-21T15:34:27Z")
I have studied an obscure chess variation in detail.\* I was in a chess shop with my friend (also a strong player) and we saw someone trying out the variation against a chess computer. My friend said ‘This is the leading British expert on that variation!’ The other guy just grunted in disbelief. \*1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Qf3+ Ke6 8. Nc3 Nb4 9. a3 … ---
**Author:** ![Zappo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b3f665/32.png) [@Zappo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zappo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/8 "2002-03-21T15:35:04Z")
The birds on the Cadillac crest are not swans or ducks. They’re “merlettes” (or “marlettes”). Merlettes are wingless mythical birds used as a heraldic symbol. Merlettes appeared on the Cadillac symbol from the company’s first use of the crest to the early 21st Century, except for a few years in the 'teens when swans replaced merlettes on the shield. The Cadillac shield is adapted from the coat of arms of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. Cadillac was the founder of Ville d’Etroit, which became the modern-day city of Detroit. The automotive name in longest continuous use is “New Yorker,” which was used by Chrysler Corporation from 1939 to 1996. While GM’s Buick Division used the name “Century” beginning in 1936, the name was phased out in 1959, when the mid-line buick became the Invicta. While the Century name was reintroduced in the 1970s, it was not used continuously. Zap! Fount of all things useless, most of them automobile-related ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/9 "2002-03-21T15:35:34Z")
I remember getting funny looks after getting excited because a restaurant in Santa Fe had some pre-philoxera cognac. Apparantly philoxera isn’t a commonly known issue. ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/10 "2002-03-21T15:37:13Z")
Sometimes I get in weird moods and teach myself useless things. In high school I memorized The Raven. Last year I decided it was very important to memorize the Supreme Court justices in order of appointment. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/11 "2002-03-21T15:48:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sidle \* > \*\*Sometimes I get in weird moods and teach myself useless things. In high school I memorized The Raven. Last year I decided it was very important to memorize the Supreme Court justices in order > of appointment. Etc. \*\* I think those things are QUITE useful, compared to the things I feel compelled to teach MYSELF, like every little grunt, gasp, and inflection in a song. Usually I do this when I’m on road trips (ALONE, because who else would be willing to listen to The Guess Who’s “Share the Land” 20 times in a row until I got it down pat?). :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/12 "2002-03-21T15:48:55Z")
Everything there is to know about Andrew Lloyd Webber, including every score to every show he has ever written (Likes of Us and Cricket, anyone?), some in languages I don’t even really know. Now that it ever comes in handy in real life. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/13 "2002-03-21T15:59:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Sometimes I get in weird moods and teach myself useless things. In high school I memorized The Raven. Without even trying to, I find that I have memorized a parody of this from Mad, **The Rating** Once upon a weaknight weary As I sat, with vision blearly Before my Zenith TV that I bought on time at Gimbel’s store As I sat with vision burning Suddenly I was discerning Certain shows were not returning, shows I’d seen just weeks before “Hey!” I said, "What goes on with all these shows I’ve seen before? Are they gone Forevermore?" . . . . And so on, for a dozen stanzas. This is taking up memory space that could be more usefully employed on work, or people’s names, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/14 "2002-03-21T16:01:00Z")
I know that Grand Rapids, MI was the first city in the US to start flouridating its water. My dental hygenist told me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/15 "2002-03-21T16:09:00Z")
If I had a nickel for every useless obscure fact in my head… I, too, know _Jabberwocky_ by heart (my kids love it when I recite for them). I also know about 70% of the book of Esther by heart in Hebrew. I know all manner of useless baseball minutae. I know that Don Larsen holds the record for most consecutive hits by a pitcher. I know that the game pitcher is allowed to pinch hit for the DH. I know that you can skip someone in the batting order if the person due up is currently on base (and, yes, it can happen – but that’s another long story). Most people know that Roger Connor held the HR record before Babe Ruth. I know that Harry Stovey held it before Roger Connor. I know that there are still 13 people drawing benefits as children and widows of civil war veterans ([Source](http://ln.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004623.html) ). I know that George Burns’ birth name was Naftali Birnbaum (I got his birth certificate in NYC). I know that the T-SQL command ‘GO’ is not ANSI compliant. I know the four places in the Torah where the _shalsheles_ cantillation is used when reading the Torah publicly in shul. I know Sarek was (will be) born in 2165 and hence won’t be on Enterprise unless the show runs 15 years. I know that quite a few members of the cast of the movie ‘Manos Hands of Fate’ committed suicide. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/16 "2002-03-21T16:15:24Z")
20 years ago I knew that the Smithsonian had 69 million catalogued items of which never more than 1% were on display at any given time. I don’t know the actual number today, other than it’s… like… big. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/17 "2002-03-21T16:45:18Z")
Most people show their ignorance by calling the active ingredient in marijuana simply “THC”. I, on the other hand, always refer to it by its full name, Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, like any proper person should. ---
**Author:** ![RaCha\_ar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@RaCha\_ar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaCha_ar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/18 "2002-03-21T16:49:55Z")
I know the first appearances of almost every member, past and present, of the X-Men. I’ve memorised entire scripts from certain issues of the various titles under that banner. I know a passage from Revelations by heart in Greek, not because I’m a Christian (I’m not) but because it’s lovely Greek poetry. For the curious, it’s ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, what is, what was, and what is to come, the almighty.’ [symbol]Egw eimi to Alfa kai to Wmega, o wn, o hn, kai o ercomenoV, to pantwnkrator.[/symbol] I’ve memorised a bunch of poems, from obscure to not, including passages from the Song of Songs in Hebrew and a poem I had to memorize in twelfth-grade Spanish that’s never quite left my head. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/19 "2002-03-21T16:55:28Z")
The original “Story of Star Wars” LP ended side one and began side two with the line, “Clear bay 327. We’re opening the magentic shield.” When Limahl left Kajagoogoo, they briefly changed their name to ‘Kaja’. So if anyone ever asks you, “Who put the googoo in Kajagoogoo,” you can answer “Limahl”. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/20 "2002-03-21T17:24:14Z")
The word “avocado” is derived from a South American native word for “testicle”. While Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in the Olympics, Nelli Kim was the second (in the same competition, on vault). I know all kinds of obscure gymnastics trivia, which I won’t bore you with here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345.md?page=2)