This is the thread for unusual details in wikipedia articles.

(xp) Americans, it's Anne Bancroft.

"Brad Laner guest appearances on other artists' releases

Lindsey Buckingham - S/T (Reprise 2021)
The Flying Luttenbachers - Imminent Death (ugEXPLODE/God Records 2019)"

Quite a combo

Pumpkin Eater screenplay by Pinter fwiw

mum and dad owned the book, one of those orange penguins

i have no idea what they thought of it tho

I have a Flying Luttenbachers record!

Today's "did you know":

... that Singaporean zoologist Bernard Harrison was disliked by an orangutan?

This isn't from Wikipedia, but I read an article yesterday according to which

a visiting scholar at Princeton suggested that [Thomas] Kuhn had multiple monkeys in his office (see Wray 2018; and Walker 2010, 433). In fact, as I argued, Kuhn only had one monkey in his office. And that monkey later went to live with a woman who claimed to be a niece of Wittgenstein.

Rabin's bowel-movements must have been career-changing

The song originated in 1979 from South African musician, singer-songwriter, and producer Trevor Rabin; while going to the toilet, he wrote "the whole thing, from beginning to end".[6][7]

While Rabin was on a toilet break, Horn left his demo tape running and heard his version of "Owner of a Lonely Heart".

So is it true the song began life as "Owner of a Lonely Fart"?

Wipe your ass
You always live your life
Never thinking of the future
Flush your turd
You are the move you make
Take your chances, win or lose-r

Skid marks and a lonely fart

Lmao

Entire plot summary for The Friends of Eddie Coyle is written in gangster vernacular:

Eddie Coyle is a low-level career criminal and defacto member of Boston's Irish Mob, clinging to the lower rungs of a blue collar life in Quincy, Massachusetts. Still savvy and evidently trusted, he's nonetheless been ground down to supplying disposable pistols to the bank heist gang led by Jimmy Scalise. He plays hardball with a cocky yet still fledgling gunrunner named Jackie Brown to get them.

Coyle has been wanted for several years on a rumrunning charge in New Hampshire on a job set up by his friend Dillon, a barkeep at the dive Coyle and other low level local hoodlums frequent. Dillon is also a paid informant for agent Dave Foley of the Boston Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Later, Coyle decides to go to Foley and give up Brown in exchange for getting his sentence cleared.

Scalise's gang robs another bank. This time, the heist botched by a fatal shooting. They know they have at most one more payday before they have to quit.

Brown delivers a rush-job shipment of pistols to Coyle, casually dropping that he has a rendezvous set up later that afternoon in Sharon to deliver some M16s. He shows up at the train station car park and cases it out. As always, he's wary of the risks in front of him but not yet wise enough to cover his back. He gets pinched when an ATF stake-out closes in. Furious, he immediately knows who dropped the dime on him, and vows revenge.

Coyle hooks up with Foley to hear the good news on the Fed's meeting with the prosecutor in New Hampshire. Instead he's told the Brown tip was not enough, "Uncle" - Uncle Sam - needs more. Eddie's repulsed. He'd kept his mouth shut and did time covering for "the Man" behind it all before, even stood and took it when he had all his fingers on one hand broken for a small mess-up in a gun deal. Being a puke once was one thing, becoming a serial rat is too much. He refuses to play ball a second time.

Following their pattern, the Scalise gang shows up at a bank manager's suburban home to kidnap him and hold a family member's life as ransom while they do the job. Like Brown, they're ambushed by Foley and his ATF crew without firing a shot. Unaware of the bust, a desperate Coyle arranges a meeting with Foley the next day to turn Judas on the heist mob. Foley shows him the morning paper, leaving Coyle with nothing to trade and a jail cell dead ahead.

Devastated, he reels to Dillon's bar, where his pal treats him to the usual round of whisky with a beer chaser on the house. He confesses to Dillon he has no idea who turned the key on Scalise. The bar payphone rings and Dillon gets word he's to whack Coyle for ratting on the bank gang. He tells the caller Coyle is there right then, putting on the "he's so sorry" act hearing about the bust, and promises to do the job.

Getting right to work, Dillon serves up another free round and invites Coyle out to a Boston Bruins hockey game at the Garden later that night. Next, he meets with a noisy flak for "the Man", who impatiently demands action. He squares the little terrier up, telling him he's a pro who doesn't like being pushed, and demands $5,000 in advance. The yapdog scurries away to get it.

Dillon doesn't drive, and passes off the young thug playing chauffeur that night as his "wife's nephew". At the Garden Dillon ensures the still disconsolate Coyle gets blotto, oblivious that his host isn't joining him. On the ride home Coyle passes out. Dillon pops him in the head point blank with a .22 revolver, then has the punk slink their barge into a bowling alley parking lot to ditch the body. They pull alongside a car indistinguishable from their own, swap into it, and dissolve into the rain-spattered night.

The next morning Dillon and Foley meet as usual outside the Boston Federal Building. Foley gives the rat his weekly $20 like nothing happened, Scalise tip and all. Eddie Coyle's murder isn't even a blip on his radar - or conscience. And Dillon is good with "the Man", good with "Uncle", and $5,020 richer. The pair skulk in opposite directions 'til next week's Andrew Jackson twists their crooked paths together again.

In 1985 the Swiss Army fired off shells during an exercise and mistakenly burned a patch of forest inside Liechtenstein. The incident was said to have been resolved "over a case of white wine".[

i... just wanted to see if this was a game i'd be interested in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ar_Tonelico

Ficus sacrifices himself and marries Princess Libido to save the crew.

Love the idea of the Swiss maybeee gonna invade tiny Liechtenstein, but then a case of 1975 Neuchâtel got cracked open

Once the treasure was locked away and night fell, a small man would emerge from the chest or backpack and would gather the valuables from the best room, after which Erni and the man would flee during the night.

From the Wikipedia entry for Unity Mitford, the British socialite known for her relationship with Adolf Hitler:

Unity Mitford was conceived in the town of Swastika, Ontario, in Canada, where her family had gold mines.

Ha!

Her younger sister, Jessica, with whom she shared a bedroom, was a dedicated communist. The two drew a chalk line down the middle to divide the room. Jessica's side was decorated with hammer and sickles and pictures of Vladimir Lenin, while Unity's was decorated with swastikas and pictures of Adolf Hitler.

typical bloody teenagers!

Lind is well known for his transatlantic hit record, "Elusive Butterfly",[2] which reached number 5 on both the US and UK charts in 1966.... For eight years he was a staff writer at the supermarket tabloids Weekly World News and Sun.[13] He's been credited as co-creator (with photo artist Dick Kulpa) of the famous "Bat Boy" Weekly World News cover story

Don't be concerned...

Bat Boy second only to “FAMED PSYCHIC’S HEAD EXPLODES” for the goat Weekly World News headline.

The name of Nottingham is Anglo-Saxon in origin. A Saxon chieftain named Snot ruled an area known as Snotingaham in Old English; the homestead of Snot's people (-inga = 'the people of'; -ham = 'homestead'). Some authors derive Nottingham from Snottenga (caves) and ham (homestead) but "this has nothing to do with the English form".

Unusual cause I’m thinking -ham could be translated as home/heim rather than “homestead”.

This is IMDB, not Wikipedia, from Otto Preminger's list of directing credits:

Treasure of the Golden Condor (a few scenes including one with a boa, uncredited)

I'm guessing snake but wondering whether feathery accessory is a possibility.

A shame the snake didn't get on the credit list

Needs a new agent.

this is a travesty, the duck in journey to the centre of the earth has her own IDMB page

In France, the character's name was changed to "Dark Vador" starting with the original film. The names of other characters were changed too, but his is the only name that has been maintained even in the most recent films. The title "Dark" was used in place of "Darth" for the other Sith lords as well.

In the Italian-language editions, Darth Vader is named "Dart Fener". In 2005, before the release of Episode III, an on-line survey asked Italian fans whether they would rather maintain the Italian name or switch it to the original: the first option won. In 2015, when Episode VII had to be released, the Italian localisation decided to change the name to the English "Darth Vader".

In Iceland his name is "Svarthöfði" (which means "blackhead").

Arnold Bennett, English novelist, died in 1932 of typhoid, two months after drinking a glass of water in a Paris hotel to prove it was safe.[115]

dumbfvck

In the mid twentieth century, the population of Siloam Springs, Arkansas spilled across the Oklahoma - Arkansas state line, creating the need for Oklahoma-based town government. The population of the community had grown to 142 by July 10, 1969, when 35 out of 49 eligible voters approved incorporation.

What those Sooners define as "spillover" never ceases to amaze me.

Nowadays we call that an invasion

From today's featured article, the white swamphen:

It was probably either flightless or a poor flier; this and its docility made the bird easy prey for visiting humans, who killed it with sticks.

Road to the Sun is a studio album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, released in March 2021 on BMG's Modern Recordings label. Interestingly, the liner notes include credits for photos of a roseate tern and sooty tern, while the bird on the front cover most closely resembles a black-billed magpie.

There was a cafe/bar called "The Catacombs" operating in the basement of Union Hall in the 1970s and 1990s, which was popular with a more alternative crowd than the other bars in Union House. It never did particularly well, and closed a few times.

That was my uni!

The first editor, Richard S. Lambert, left in 1939 after successfully suing Sir Cecil Levita for slander over allegations that he was unfit for his job because of his credulity in believing in Gef, the talking mongoose.

Lost in a Dream is the fourth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1974. It peaked at number 98 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1975,[1] It was the second album to feature Mike Murphy on vocals. The title track was written by Murphy and future bassist Bruce Hall, who would join the band in 1978. The title track was featured on the compilation A Decade of Rock and Roll: 1970-1980. The album was in print on CD format in 1992 for two months before being quickly deleted.

The powers that be realized that they had made a grave mistake

The title track (Ridin' the Storm Out) would later become a hit for the band on their live album, after Cronin had returned to the band.

The things I am learning about REO Speedwagon this morning.

(a.) It never occurred to me that I haven't heard the studio version with (b.) a different vocalist.

The Cubs had no official physical mascot prior to Clark, though a man in a 'polar bear' looking outfit, called "The Bear-man" (or Beeman), which was mildly popular with the fans, paraded the stands briefly in the early 1990s. There is no record of whether or not he was just a fan in a costume or employed by the club. Through the 2013 season, there were "Cubbie-bear" mascots outside of Wrigley on game day, but none were employed by the team. They pose for pictures with fans for tips. The most notable of these was "Billy Cub" who worked outside of the stadium for over six years until July 2013, when the club asked him to stop. Billy Cub, who is played by fan John Paul Weier, had unsuccessfully petitioned the team to become the official mascot.

The band never achieved acclaim in the United States the way it did in Great Britain, but it had a cult following in certain US cities, especially Cleveland, where the group first played at the Agora Ballroom in December 1974. Thanks to airplay from WMMS, songs like "Next" and "The Faith Healer" became very popular. Cleveland remained a city where the Sensational Alex Harvey Band had a devoted following. However, they were unable to replicate that popularity in most other US cities.

Cleveland seems like a city with good taste.

In the beginning of 2019, NLE Choppa claimed to have the biggest "CHOPPA", causing a mass outbreak and debate among his hood.[citation needed]

Cleveland seems like a city with good taste.

― Doodles Diamond (Tom D.)

i mean two words fucking stadium mustard, right?

unrelated:

"A popular soda they produce is a bacon soda, which is also named "Bacon Soda"."

There are 48 different emotions, of 154, or many more, or fewer:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion_classification

"William James in 1890 proposed four basic emotions: fear, grief, love, and rage, based on bodily involvement. (more recently) Paul Ekman identified six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. (in 1996) Richard and Bernice Lazarus expanded the list to 15 emotions: aesthetic experience, anger, anxiety, compassion, depression, envy, fright, gratitude, guilt, happiness, hope, jealousy, love, pride, relief, sadness, and shame."

Is surprise really an emotion? I've always thought of it as an instinctive reaction, akin to shock. But I'm not a scientist. And neither are psychologists hahahaha. Sorry.

Later models of emotional classification include compound emotions, such as FearfullyAngry and AngrilySurprised and SadlyDisgusted and HappilyDisgusted.