Sometimes we don’t have a full newsletter on one topic, but we’re overflowing with tidbits we just need to tell you. It’s a Friday Know-It-Odds-and-Ends!

From Co-Owner Chuck: I always assumed they traveled 20,000 leagues deep in “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” But that's actually the distance the Nautilus traveled horizontally. There's an implied “while” in the title: they traveled 20,000 leagues while they were under the surface of the sea. (Also, it's “under the seas” in the original French.) [Ed note: Vice President Brenna points out that the Mariana Trench is 3.14 leagues deep, so traveling 20,000 leagues straight down would put you clear through the Earth and about eight times its diameter in the other direction.]

From Editor Ira: Fully 20 sons of guys who played for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s went on to play professional baseball, as well as at least three grandsons. [Ed note: “Sons of the Big Red Machine” would be a cool band name – Editor Ruby]

From Editor Ruby: Utah’s state bird is the California gull, they’re getting absolutely alpha’d there. I assumed the state bird of California would be the California condor, but it’s not! It’s the California quail. “California” is still the most frequently appearing state name on the list of state birds, as everyone else has the dignity to name their state bird after their own state, or no state at all.

Ira again: Circus bands traditionally use “The Stars and Stripes Forever” to signal a life threatening emergency, and do not play it under any other circumstances.

Chuck’s back: I've always assumed Faith Hill was saying “It's centripetal motion” in “This Kiss.” All online sources, as well as an uncomfortably close viewing of her lips in the official video, confirm that she is saying “centrifugal motion.” If you're curious what the difference is, or you're worried you might be alone in wondering why Faith would compare her kiss to a force that propels you away from something rather than toward it, Science On has your answers.

Ruby here: We ran a question last week implying that the producers of “Mister Ed” used peanut butter to get Bamboo Harvester, the horse that played Mister Ed, to look like he was talking. Our intrepid fact checker Sophie found that this is a myth! The question, a before-and-after about Mister Ed Sheeran, pleased no one except the most intergenerational of teams, but I felt it couldn’t work without furthering the peanut butter myth. The truth is they used a nylon thread and behavioral training!

And finally, Ira: I'm only allowed to watch horror movies this month [Ed note: what??? – Editor Ruby] but once those restrictions are lifted I may wish to explore the early 2000s subgenre of Rave Shakespeare movies. (Two movies qualifies as a subgenre because I say so. And it's three if you count their shared inspiration of Baz Luhrmann's “Romeo + Juliet.”)