This is the thread for unusual details in wikipedia articles.

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.

What about when you have a nightmare about, say, flies and you walk up and go, Huh, but I'm not scared of flies, why was I so panicked in that dream? When you're not scared, but dreaming of being scared... is that called DreamScared?

I wonder if there's a word for contemplating an emotion without feeling that emotion. "Thinking"? That got me to listing all the emotions I've experienced while reading books, which again made me wonder if surprise is really an emotion. Pride and gratitude are really the same as "satisfaction", and I suspect that the emotional triggers inside the brain don't differentiate between the two, e.g. the brain just thinks "this is a good thing and I am happy", with the details happening at a higher level.

My first thought when I read about SadlyDisgusted and HappilyDisgusted was of course hardsports, which is one of those things you have to be in the mood for. HappilyDisgusted is apparently what happens when you enjoy a rude joke. You are happy and disgusted at the same time. As with e.g. Peter Jackson's Braindead, where they eat the vomit. "Eat spinning steel, shitheads!" I'm still puzzled that the people at New Line Cinema saw Meet the Feebles and thought to themselves "we need to give this man thirty million dollars and a budget of three hundred million dollars to adapt The Lord of the Rings".

Back on topic. When Microsoft Flight Simulator X came out I remember reading a website that had a list of unusual airports, including the Walt Disney World STOLPort, which is now defunct:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Airport

This stuck with me:

"Originally used to surprise the airplane passengers, the runway featured a set of grooves, like those on the side of a highway, that played "When You Wish Upon a Star" when driven over at roughly 45 miles per hour.

It is considered a precursor to future musical roads, the first of which was built in Denmark in 1995. Interestingly, in the village of Takayama, Gunma, Japan, the musical road built there coincidentally plays the same song the "Singing Runway" once did, "When You Wish Upon a Star," when driven over."

I can't find a good clip of that road, but this one sounds as if the car has been possessed by spirits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF9DYjkHXAE

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? influenced generations of science fiction writers, becoming a founding document of the new wave science fiction movement as well as a basic model for its cyberpunk heirs. It influenced other genres such as SF-based metal from artists such as Rob Zombie and Powerman 5000.

They reconcile on her porch as he ices his crotch , she says she hope she broke it he clarifies that his Human penis is bruised and it feels like Richard Petty drove a stock car into his Scrotum .

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

She became influenced by the works made by famous celebrities, such as Holly Hunter for Broadcast News, Frances McDormand for Fargo, Mississippi Burning and Miller's Crossing, Melanie Lynskey, Bill Paxton for Apollo 13, Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump, Dianne Wiest, Toni Collette, Tom Cruise for Top Gun, A Few Good Men and Mission: Impossible, Bruce Willis for Die Hard and Armageddon, Bette Midler for Hocus Pocus, Cuba Gooding Jr. for Jerry Maguire, Jerry Orbach for Law & Order and Diane Keaton.

More from Ready to Rumble:

They go visit his wife, she kicks him twice in the crotch for giving her Pediculosis pubis and abandoning her and their son.

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).

The Organ Grinder was known to serve pizza of better quality than the average "pizza and pipes" location.[7] Unfortunately for the Organ Grinder (and its patrons) the dough-making equipment was outdated, and could not produce enough to keep up with demand. Therefore frozen dough was purchased, and the pizza quality suffered considerably, giving the Organ Grinder a poor culinary reputation that remained long after the equipment problems were rectified.[3] Of particular note was a taco pizza named Percussion Pizza.[7] Onion rings were also served.[8]

Passive Voice Pizza

Organ Grinder post is cracking me up

In Which We Serve Onion Rings

the average "pizza and pipes" location

I've honestly never heard of this in my life.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-18/remembering-the-dining-fad-of-pizza-and-pipes

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/ixOxdeRlCibI/v0/1000x-1.jpg

I was boring one of my friends yesterday by going through a very long list of now-defunct Portland restaurants with her to see which ones she remembered (I only moved here in '17 so I don't really remember any of them) and the Organ Grinder piqued my interest. One of the organists has uploaded vintage recordings of him playing at the Organ Grinder to Youtube! Look at this extremely 1975 medley:

"Live recordings/photos from May 1975. I'm 16. So many great songs being written - I couldn't learn and arrange them fast enough.

1. Sensation (from "Tommy" rock opera)
2. Have You Ever Been Mellow (Olivia Newton-John Hit)
3. Stars and Stripes Forever (Mechanical Monkey bit)
4. If (by the band Bread)
5. You Gave Me The Answer (Paul McCartney from Venus & Mars)
6. Silent Movie Introduction (My music teacher used this intro for news reels in the 1920's)
7. O' Danny Boy"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYTU6v9TT9c

I like how the Bloomberg article attributes the downfall of pizza-and-pipes to restaurants straying from the fundamental synergy of pizza and pipes - you can't neglect the pizza!

Despite it being a craze a generation ago, there are only three pizza-and-pipes restaurants left: Organ Stop, Organ Piper Pizza in Greenfield, Wisconsin, and Beggars Pizza in Lansing, Illinois (shown in the video below, from 1984). What happened to the rest of the pizzerias with organs?

According to Barz, many pizza-and-pipes restaurants attempted to expand their menus to include more upscale items like prime rib as a way to increase revenue. It turned out that people truly wanted pizza with their pipes—and after an evening at Organ Stop, you can see why. Diners sit at long communal tables, sharing pizzas and mozzarella sticks, mesmerized by the music and accompanying light show. This isn’t the time or place to concentrate on your food. Not when a massive organ on a rotating elevated platform is playing movie themes.

The Rock-A-Fire Explosion makes so much more sense now.