# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/101 "2002-03-22T15:55:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ellen Cherry \* > [Roosevelt was born October 27, 1858, and if elections were also held in November then, he would have just turned 43. So, this means he WAS the youngest, beating Kennedy, who turned 44 four months into his term, by a few months. So why does the White House site say **both** were the youngest elected president?? Grr. Roosevelt was not elected president in 1900; McKinley was. Roosevelt was elected vice-president. When McKinley was killed in Sep 1901, Roosevelt was the youngest man to **become** president. When Kennedy was elected, he was the youngest man to be **elected** president. (And still is.) Because of Kennedy’s election, Roosevelt’s election win in 1904 does not make him the youngest man to be elected president. (I haven’t looked exhaustively, but offhand, I don’t think there are presidents elected with ages between the 2, are there?) ---
**Author:** ![Palve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Palve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palve)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/102 "2002-03-22T16:15:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*the ACT (australian capital territory)? > > i can’t see why it would need one. it’s just a place for keeping politicians. > > Also, Abecedarian means ‘one learning the rudiments elements of something’ > > (no, i didn’t look that up) \*\* No, I think the capital of that is still Canberra. That’s not what I was thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Delta-9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Delta-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delta-9)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/103 "2002-03-22T16:24:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shagnasty \* > \*\*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. \*\* HEY! **Shaggy** took mine. Good to know that I am a proper person, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/104 "2002-03-22T16:28:48Z")
Thanks, Texan! I’d puzzed and puzzed til my puzzler was sore. 😃 (Which doesn’t take much, obviously.) ---
**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 22, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/105 "2002-03-22T16:30:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CuriousCanuck \* > \*\* > > Just curious on thins one… care to explain? \*\* Yes, since I brought it up, I’ll deliver. From the Rule Book (6.07 - BATTING OUT OF TURN): > [@](#): > > (2) When an improper batter becomes a proper batter because no appeal is made before the next pitch, the next batter shall be the batter whose name follows that of such legalized improper batter. The instant an improper batter’s actions are legalized, the batting order picks up with the name following that of the legalized improper batter. The Book later on says… > [@](#): > > To illustrate various situations arising from batting out of turn, assume a first inning batting order as follows: Abel Baker Charles Daniel Edward Frank George Hooker Irwin… > > …PLAY (6). Daniel walks and Abel comes to bat. Daniel was an improper batter, and if an appeal is made before the first pitch to Abel, Abel is out, Daniel is removed from base, and Baker is the proper batter. There is no appeal, and a pitch is made to Abel. Daniel’s walk is now legalized, and Edward thereby becomes the proper batter. Edward can replace Abel at any time before Abel is put out or becomes a runner. He does not do so. Abel flies out, and Baker comes to bat. Abel was an improper batter, and if an appeal is made before the first pitch to Baker, Edward is out, and the proper batter is Frank. There is no appeal, and a pitch is made to Baker. Abel’s out is now legalized, and the proper batter is Baker. Baker walks. Charles is the proper batter. Charles flies out. Now Daniel is the proper batter, but he is on second base. Who is the proper batter? RULING: The proper batter is Edward. When the proper batter is on base, he is passed over, and the following batter becomes the proper batter In short, it involves at least one player batting out of order in the lineup and the opposing manager not protesting it, thereby rendering the improper batters actions legal. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![CuriousCanuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@CuriousCanuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CuriousCanuck)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/106 "2002-03-22T16:39:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > \*\* > > Yes, since I brought it up, I’ll deliver. > > From the Rule Book (6.07 - BATTING OUT OF TURN): > > The Book later on says… > In short, it involves at least one player batting out of order in the lineup and the opposing manager not protesting it, thereby rendering the improper batters actions legal. > > Zev Steinhardt \*\* Thanks. I figured it was something liek that, but I wasn’t sure of the exact way it occured. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/107 "2002-03-22T16:41:29Z")
I used to be able to speak a decent amount of Quechua, but it’s faded with time. I start taking Indonesian in April, so maybe that’ll be my newest oscure knowledge. Trivia? My mind, and I imagine those of many many Dopers, overfloweth with zillions of picayune tidbits. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/108 "2002-03-22T16:57:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gex gex \* > \*\* > and how many runs did he \ get? 4 > and what average did he finish with? 99.96 > > i’m cheating. almost every australian knows these facts. \*\* Er, Bradman scored no runs in his last innings. And he ended up with an average of 99.94. Looks like you’re about to be deported! ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/109 "2002-03-22T17:06:12Z")
The Mexican state of Oaxaca has more varieties of trees than either Canada or the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/110 "2002-03-22T17:14:17Z")
Ergativity is a type of grammar in which the subject of an intransitive verb and also the object of a transitive verb are in the nominative case, while the subject of a transitive verb is in the ergative case. This does not occur in Indo-European languages, except for the anomaly of Hindustani, which has independently developed a sort of ergativity in the verb—but only in the past tense. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/111 "2002-03-22T17:57:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > **Um, get thee to [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/holidays/xmas/12days.htm) for another think on that one, DF.** Eh? I said nothing about the secret code bit, which is all that Snopes article is really debunking. See [here](http://www.wf-f.org/Hymns-carols.html) for a brief history (with a reference) of the carol. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/112 "2002-03-22T18:06:15Z")
The record for longest time separating world judo championships won is held by Nobuyuki Sato, who won the world lightheavy weight championship in 1967. He then won a bronze medal as a heavyweight in 1969, a silver in 1971, and then repeated as world champion in 1973. The first two vertebrae in your neck are the atlas and the axis. The notation for the first electron shells filled is 1s2, 2s2, 2p6. A mnemonic to remember the cranial nerves is “On old Olympus towering top, a fat-assed German vends Spanish hops.” Bill "Bojangles’ Robinson holds the world record for running the 100 yards backwards. It is **not** impossible to keep your eyes open while sneezing. Tycho Brahe, a famous astronomer, had a prosthetic nose made of gold and silver, and a pet elk. The human male has by far the largest penis in the primate family. (OK, not me specifically). I can also recite the General Prologue to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in the original Middle English. I am available for weddings, birthday parties, and bar mitzvahs. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/113 "2002-03-22T18:20:14Z")
I not only memorized the following poems: “Mad Song” by William Blake; “The Humble-Bee” and “Woodnotes” by Ralph Waldo Emerson; and “Shadow-Bride” by J. R. R. Tolkien. I also set them to music. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/114 "2002-03-22T19:00:05Z")
Is it too late to chime in as another person who has _Jabberwocky_ memorized? I also know the introduction to _Canterbury Tales_ in Middle English… The first product to carry a UPC was a pack of chewing gum. The original Ford was not black; it was green with a red stripe. Ford changed to black when he realized the paint dried faster. ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/115 "2002-03-22T19:02:20Z")
When I was in the eight grade, I read the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shrirer. In a footnote he mentions that Alfred Nojucks was the commander of the Nazi team that caused the incident on the Polish border that Hitler used as an excuse to invade. I thougt 25 years ago when I read this that this would be the most obscure, yet important fact I would ever run across and it would be good to remember as trivia. Finally paid off today. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/116 "2002-03-22T19:20:22Z")
merkin means “false hair for the female genitalia.” (Merriam-Webster _International Dictionary._) Occasionally some waggish script writer who knows this will slip in “Merkin” as a character’s name. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/117 "2002-03-22T21:35:35Z")
A lot of my obscure knowledge is baseball related; specifically, baseball-rules-related. Like I can recite the Infield Fly Rule by heart, and the 13 ways a balk can occur. And that the most common surname in the world is Wong, and the most common given name is Mohammed…but there are darn few Mohammed Wongs. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/118 "2002-03-22T21:53:23Z")
Oh, I also know how to count cards in blackjack, the odds payoffs on Don’t Pass/Don’t Come bets, how to play the bagpipes (and how to pronounce “piobearachd”), and the nature of the relationship between Elrond and Galadriel. I am remarkably well-rounded. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/119 "2002-03-22T22:16:42Z")
Speed of light=186,282.396 miles/sec I believe this has now been revised slightly, meaning I’ve been storing a highly precise, complete inaccurate number in my head for 25 years. Base of the natural logarithm: 2.718281828459045 - again uselessly precise although, in this case, at least accurate. I, however, frequently forget my home address and can’t remember my cell-phone number. -B ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345/120 "2002-03-22T23:11:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David Simmons \* > \*\*merkin means “false hair for the female genitalia.” (Merriam-Webster _International Dictionary._) > > Occasionally some waggish script writer who knows this will slip in “Merkin” as a character’s name. \*\* I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume you posted this as a joke, because one of Uncle Cecil’s all-time best-known columns, included in _Return of the Straight Dope_, is [What is a merkin?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_232.html), so to suggest, on this board, filled with Cecil’s admirers, that we don’t already know that the definition of a merkin, well, I’d smile when I say that, partner. (Cecil’s books are available at better bookstores everywhere). > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Belrix_ > \*\*Speed of light=186,282.396 miles/sec \*\* Speed of light used by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1923 to convert between radio station wavelengths and frequencies: 299,820 kilometers per second. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-obscure-thing-you-know/99345.md?page=7)