# 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:** 13
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/241 "2002-06-23T17:16:40Z")
I know that a perfect number is any number who’s divisors (itself excluded) add up to itself. The first perfect number is 6 (1, 2, 3) The second, third and forth are: 28, 496, 8128. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/242 "2002-06-23T19:23:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by China Guy \* > \*\*Not true. It may be called “vegetables”, “rice”, "noodles’ ect. instead of “Chinese vegetables.” Chinese food is often referred to by native Chinese speakers as “zhongcai” or “Chinese food” (literally Chinese vegetables). Food is called “shipin” and can be Western or Chinese. \*\* Yes, but it’s not funny if you tell it that way. 😛 You _did_ realize it was a bad American joke, right? ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/243 "2002-06-23T19:29:25Z")
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of propaganda, had six children with his wife Magda, and they were named Helmut, Helga, Hedda, Heide, Holde and Hilde. (Actually, Helmut was hers from a previous marriage.) ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/244 "2002-06-23T20:06:19Z")
The movie version of the book “The Outsiders” by SE Hinton came about due to mail to Francis Ford Coppola from a classroom (4th grade I believe) at Lone Star Elementary in Fresno, Ca. They felt that the story would make a great movie, Mr Coppola apparently agreed and went on to direct and produce the film. They have a plaque at the school autographed by the various stars of the movie in their library. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/245 "2002-06-24T08:17:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pravnik \* > \*\* > > Yes, but it’s not funny if you tell it that way. 😛 > > You _did_ realize it was a bad American joke, right? \*\* um, ya, uh I guess I did. ha ha. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/246 "2002-06-24T10:07:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Um…I don’t think that’s true. (and yes, I know that you’re not supposed to pick them up by the tail anymore). \*\* Umm…I think this is a variation on the adage: “Never pick a guinea pig up by its tail; it’s eyes will pop up.” Why is this so? Have you ever tried to pick up a guinea pig by its tail? They don’t have one. (Well, you can actually feel some tail vertebrae under the skin, but as such they don’t have tails.) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/247 "2002-06-24T12:47:13Z")
A previous poster to this thread, I think it was **gex gex** , said that their trivial contribution was that they knew that the following could be scanned as an actual sentence: Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. Okay, someone has got to help me figure this out. can it be re-phrased as: "Buffalo from Buffalo confuse (i.e., buffalo) buffalo from Buffalo? I suppose that works, even though the sentence is basically a nonsense construction - not that I should be expecting much from a sentence who’s main point is to repeat the work “buffalo”, eh? How about this one: I know how to scan the following sentence - That that that that boy wrote is not that that that that boy wrote. have fun. ---
**Author:** ![AndLuna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@AndLuna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndLuna)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/248 "2002-06-24T14:46:06Z")
> [@](#): > > can it be re-phrased as: > > Buffalo from Buffalo confuse (i.e., buffalo) buffalo from Buffalo I’ve seen this particular bit of trivia before - in Steven Pinker’s “The Language Instinct”, I believe - and I think that’s pretty much right… Also, I don’t know about putting as many buffaloes as you want in, but I think you can extend it to at least eight… “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” i.e., “buffalo from Buffalo who are buffaloed (confused) by other buffalo from Buffalo, will in turn buffalo other buffalo from Buffalo”. Well, that’s my trivia contribution, I guess. (It’s also my second post in, ooh, about eighteen months of lurking.) ---
**Author:** ![Go\_alien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Go\_alien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_alien)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/249 "2002-06-24T15:07:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > > ## quote: > > ## Originally posted by Go alien The only station on the London Underground that doesn’t have any letters from the word “mackerel” in it is “St Johns Wood” > > I actually knew that, sad to say. > > Have I mentioned that the Catholic Church considers the capybara to be a fish? Actually, I knew that too. Spooky! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/250 "2002-06-24T15:38:05Z")
I know the porosity range of the basal-most sand member of the Frio formation at NAD27 Zone 4204 X=2709439, Y=307239. But I’m not tellin’. ---
**Author:** ![MarkF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MarkF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkF)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2002, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/251 "2002-06-24T19:27:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I know the correct medical term for the surgical removal of both overies, But, sadly, not the correct [spelling.](http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=ovaries) Anyhoo, I know that Leonid Breznhev and Eamonn Andrews and I share the same birthday, only I have a slim chance of enjoying mine though… ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/252 "2002-06-25T00:19:24Z")
Man this is a great thread. A ‘Jiffy’ is 1/100th of a second ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/253 "2002-06-25T04:48:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by China Guy \* > \*\*um, ya, uh I guess I did. ha ha. \*\* A thousand pardons, China Guy. My jokes often lack the crucial element of “being funny”. I’ll do you the favor of not trying to explain it and making it even worse- 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/254 "2002-06-25T04:55:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by China Guy \* > \*\*um, ya, uh I guess I did. ha ha. \*\* A thousand pardons, China Guy. My jokes often lack the crucial element of “being funny”. I’ll do you the favor of not trying to explain it and making it even worse- 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/255 "2002-06-25T07:43:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WordMan \* > \*\* > That that that that boy wrote is not that that that that boy wrote. > > have fun. \*\* That “that that” that boy wrote is not that “that that” that boy wrote. There’s a longer and trickier variation on this one, but I can’t recall it at the mo. ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/256 "2002-06-25T18:28:31Z")
I think Cecil may have taught me this, but green eyes are green because of fat deposits. Yes, green-eyed people (like myself) have fat eyes. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowWarrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@ShadowWarrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowWarrior)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/257 "2002-06-26T13:40:37Z")
Captain never said ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ in ST:TOS Your foot is the same length as your forearm (from wrist to elbow) - any contortionists wishing to disprove/prove this? Photographic evidence only… TWAIN (the tech used by scanners etc) stands for ‘Technology Without An Interesting Name’ Elephants are the only animals with 4 kneecaps. Bananas are not fruit - they are a type of herb (something to do with banana ‘trees’ not being trees, I believe) Doctor Who has been played on TV/Film by more actors (and occasionally actresses) than any other character - I used to know how many, but I forgot - somewhere around 15-20 IIRC - more if you add radio shows in too! Terry Pratchett is the most shop-lifted author in Britain I used to be able to recite entire scripts from Blackadder and Red Dwarf but - alas - this facility has deserted me in my dotage it’s ‘Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio’, NOT 'Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well; it’s '“All that glisters is not gold.” NOT “All that glitters is not gold.” it’s “Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” NOT “Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.” There’s more, but it’s strangely hard to come up with them like this - i need someone to start a conversation with me to trigger my brain cells… ---
**Author:** ![ShadowWarrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@ShadowWarrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowWarrior)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/258 "2002-06-26T13:41:41Z")
Further notes: ShadowWarriors can’t proof read… first line should, of course, read ‘Captain Kirk…’ ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/259 "2002-06-26T16:05:20Z")
The cinygmula mayfly nymph is distinguishable from other fast-water “clinger” type nymphs by a notch on its forehead. ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/260 "2002-06-26T16:11:49Z")
The cinygmula mayfly nymph is distinguishable from other fast-water “clinger” type nymphs by a notch on its forehead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345.md?page=14)