This is the thread for unusual details in wikipedia articles.

On the morning of 23 June 1959, Vian was at the Cinéma Marbeuf for the screening of the film version of I will Spit on Your Graves. He had already fought with the producers over their interpretation of his work, and he publicly denounced the film, stating that he wished to have his name removed from the credits. A few minutes after the film began, he reportedly blurted out: "These guys are supposed to be American? My ass!" He then collapsed into his seat and died from sudden cardiac death on his way to the hospital.[3]

tbf he was one person who was never going to have a boring death.

posted by seandalai in 2014, and still worth a 'wow.'

Frequently, Wilson has made references to "The Machine", a character from the movie 8mm. In an episode of The Cheap Seats, he had someone dressed as "The Machine" walk past in the background in full BDSM leather fetish apparel, supposedly unknown to him (but almost certainly teammate Pat Burrell). Another time, in an interview with Rome, Wilson appeared to receive a call from "The Machine" and pulled a leather mask (allegedly "The Machine's") out of his pocket to show to Rome.

He was awarded two gold medals.[citation needed]

(absent any context about the origin or meaning of said medals)

i don't believe there's a thread for obvious details in wikipedia articles

The Fat of the Land album cover featured an image of a blackback crab

Might as well be Wiki if it's not:

mind blown by a YouTube comment of all things pic.twitter.com/uoJiHi4X8K

— Ben Sprung 🇺🇦 (@bgsprung) November 12, 2022

In 1966, Sherman visited Australia. He did a television series in Melbourne, Victoria, for a live audience. During the performance, he sang a parody of "Molly Malone." It included a play on the word "but" (butt) which did not elicit a laugh.

What Sherman did not know is that Australians use the word "bum" where Americans would say "butt" (although usage of the word "butt" has since become widespread in Australia).

Otherwise, Sherman was well received by the audience. Afterward, he met with some of his fans and signed at least one autograph.

lol, that's a good article

After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the public taste for Sherman's type of comedy lessened.[15]

Despite his interest in health, Cummings was alleged to have been a methamphetamine addict from the mid-1950s until the end of his life. In 1954, while in New York to star in the Westinghouse Studio One production of Twelve Angry Men, Cummings began receiving injections from Max Jacobson, the notorious "Dr. Feelgood".[121][122] His friends Rosemary Clooney and José Ferrer recommended the doctor to Cummings, who was complaining of a lack of energy. While Jacobson insisted that his injections contained only "vitamins, sheep sperm, and monkey gonads", they actually contained a substantial dose of methamphetamine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cummings

After Watson was arrested, the band hired James Kontra as their vocalist, who eventually quit before a performance at Great Gildersleeves after a disagreement with Capuccio about how to hand out stickers.

The Griddler is a Mcdonaldland character that steals Mcgriddles. There is no pictures or video but people claim they saw him in commercials. He was used from 2003-2006 and has a Mcgriddle for a head like Mayor Mccheese or Officer Big Mac. There is not much else to say, exept that if we are lucky we will find a picture or video of him.

The only known appearance of the Griddler is in a post from the official Ronald McDonald instagram account, which mentions the Griddler.

i had no idea Badfinger's "Without You" would end up being a cursed song for the songwriters

The two writers of the song, Ham and Evans, later committed suicide due to legal and financial issues. In Evans' case, it was a dispute over songwriting royalties for "Without You" that precipitated his action. Songwriting royalties had become the subject of constant legal wrangling for Evans, and in 1983, following an acrimonious argument with his bandmate Joey Molland over the royalties for the song, Evans hanged himself.

"While recording Sweet Emotion, Steven Tyler broke the vibraslap on the third attempt at using it. The break can be heard on the recording.[9]"

In 1993, Wyman's son Stephen Wyman married Patsy Smith, the 46-year-old mother of Bill's ex-wife Mandy Smith. Stephen was 30 years old at the time. Therefore, Bill became the father-in-law of his ex-mother-in-law as well as the stepgrandfather of his former wife.

that’s really something

life imitating Ray Stevens

In May 1989, the Italian island of Capri sued Brown & Williamson for using the name on their ultra-slim cigarette brand.

Taiwan's aboriginal people have used ramie for millennia in fabric production and ramie is still used to create traditional garb which is worn in the festivals which have not been banned (mostly related to decapitation and stabbing enemy captives).

I was going to post this on the Terry Hall thread but here is more apt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locarno_Ballrooms

The company was created in 1926 and named after the Locarno treaties of 1925 which offered a new hope and spirit in post-war Europe (created in Locarno in Switzerland).

Naming a ballroom after a political treaty!

https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA00884

When Jagger tried to marry his second wife, Gloria Ling, in 1947, they were denied a marriage license in California due to a state law "forbidding unions between Caucasians and Mongolians (sic)"; Ling's father had been born in China. Within two days, the couple had flown to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and were married under "New Mexico's more liberal statute".

"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film Unchained (1955),[1] hence the song title.

^a factoid my father often repeated to brag about his worldly musical knowledge

Bet you never missed him until he got a Fat City address.

Lol

The site offers a scenic view of the city and is now mostly used as a meeting place for skateboarders,[4] electric scooter drivers and other people.

citation needed on the other people

I don't believe in The Griddler

Rone was not an accomplished boxer: He lost 26 professional bouts in a row before dying.

After meeting American rap group Naughty by Nature, he was inspired by their philosophy of strength through health, and soon after quit drinking, smoking and converted to veganism.

Missing in Action was criticized heavily as being a preemptive cash-in on the Rambo franchise.[7][8] James Cameron's story treatment for Rambo: First Blood Part II was floating around Hollywood in 1983, which Golan and Globus reviewed and were "inspired" by.[7][8]

Don't know where to put this but I thought this was a cool article, about the unusual diagonal windows in some regions of Vermont. There's a horror premise somewhere here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_window

The name "witch window" appears to come from a folk belief that witches cannot fly their broomsticks through the tilted windows, although it seems unlikely that the tale was taken seriously.[4][5][6][7] The windows are also known as "coffin windows";[2] it is unclear if they really were used for removing a coffin from the second floor (avoiding a narrow staircase), or if the odd placement on the wall were reminiscent of a coffin.[1][8] Either explanation seems far-fetched.[1][8]

The ride-or-die chick can also be understood as a hip hop reiteration of the Madonna–whore complex. In this understanding the ride-or-die chick is the Madonna and her opposite is the trick/hoe.

Witch WIndow is a goo dinf

the best dinf

The lighthouse was built under the direction of Árni G. Þórarinsson, who recruited experienced mountaineers to scale the rock on which it is located. Their climbing tools did not allow them to bite into the rock near the top, and there were no handholds near the top, so they made a human pyramid (one man on his knees, a second atop him, and a third one climbing on the second one) to reach it.

Looks and mannerisms
* He wears a black suit, usually over a black shirt but never wears a tie.
* He usually has awkward posture - he stoops at a 45 degree angle at the waist and carries his hands in front of his chest like a mouse on hind paws.
* Since he stoops, he tilts his head and looks up at the person he speaks to, rather than at eye level.

just @ me next time, jeez

The book appears in the background of a bookstore scene of the film Mr. Woodcock.

wtf i hate this redesign

it looks like you're accidentally viewing mobile on your browser

Which article is that from

everyone always hates all new designs. change it back if you like, preferences > appearance. i definitely don't miss all the links on the left that i never looked at.

https://slate.com/technology/2023/01/wikipedia-redesign-vector-2022-skin.html

I do like the sticky table of contents in the left margin, and the bolding of the current position. Also that the number of language links is summarized in the header. (I frequently use this as a quick gauge of relevance/fame when e.g. writing quiz questions for an international audience.)

"Until Simply Red enlist John Zorn, or Mariah Carey works with Tortoise," Stuart Maconie wrote in Q, "she remains the only pop aristocrat who's keeping her ears open."[79]

(I reverted back to the old design in a heartbeat because there has never been a worse redesign. No, funnily Wikipedia I don't want all the text flanked by two pointless blank columns).

if you hit the 'expanded square' icon in the bottom right it kills the margins.

Get some "have sexual intercourse" is attested 1899 in a quote attributed to Abe Lincoln from c. 1840.