Listener-Submitted Facts Reveal Human Ingenuity, Humor, and Fallibility

No Such Thing As A Fish · December 28, 2025 · Listen to Original Episode →

Original Title:

TL;DR

Mathematical functions can be given whimsical names like the "popcorn function" or "stars over babylon," reflecting a playful aspect of abstract mathematics that can obscure complex computational logic.
Acronyms for scientific programs are sometimes altered to avoid unintended or suggestive meanings, such as "PYBDSP" becoming "PYBDSF" to prevent association with "BDSM."
Redundant Acronym Syndrome (RAS), like "PIN number" or "ATM machine," highlights a common linguistic redundancy where the acronym's meaning is already contained within its full form.
The designer of Big Ben's clock faces, Pugin, controversially replaced the numeral 'X' with 'F' on all four faces, a decision possibly linked to his eccentric personality or health.
German Chocolate Cake is misattributed to German origin; it is actually named after an American, Samuel German, who developed the specific type of baker's chocolate used.
Italian nationalist Garibaldi, a key figure in Italian unification, was born in Nice, France, a fact that challenges common assumptions about his national identity.
The discovery of new pterosaur species can occur through the analysis of fossilized vomit, termed "regurgitalite," offering unique insights into ancient diets and ecosystems.
Cold War fallout, specifically the spike in Carbon-14 levels due to nuclear testing, can be utilized for carbon dating, aiding in the precise determination of murder timelines.

Deep Dive

This episode of "No Such Thing As A Fish: Little Fish" showcases the podcast's commitment to audience engagement by featuring listener-submitted facts and discussing their humorous or intriguing implications. The core argument is that seemingly mundane or obscure trivia can reveal fascinating connections and spark memorable discussions, reinforcing the show's playful and informative tone. This approach not only entertains but also cultivates a dedicated community by making listeners active participants in the content.

The episode delves into several distinct themes, each offering a lens into how facts can be interpreted beyond their surface level. One major theme is the amusing side of scientific and mathematical nomenclature. The discussion of mathematical functions like the "popcorn function" and "raindrop function," alongside graph theory terms like "girth" and the "Wiener index," highlights how mathematicians sometimes employ playful or suggestive language. This leads to the implication that even highly abstract fields can have a human element of wit, and that the names themselves can be as memorable as the concepts they represent. The segment on "redundant acronym syndrome," exemplified by "PIN number" and "ATM machine," further illustrates this human tendency to create linguistic redundancies, suggesting a common, perhaps subconscious, linguistic habit.

Another significant theme revolves around clever or unfortunate acronyms and their origins, particularly in scientific contexts. The "PYBDSF" (Python coded blob detector and source finder, but actually blob detector and source measurer) example demonstrates how the desire to avoid an awkward acronym (like "PBDBSM") can lead to slightly inaccurate but more palatable descriptions. This implies that practical considerations and social acceptability can influence even the precise labeling of scientific endeavors. The mention of "EGOT" (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) as a term coined by Philip Michael Thomas, who never achieved it, serves as a cautionary tale about ambition versus achievement, and how aspirational terms can enter popular discourse without their originator reaching the goal.

The episode also explores historical curiosities and naming conventions, such as the origin of German chocolate cake. The revelation that it's named after an American, Samuel German, and was served to a German chancellor under the mistaken impression of its origin, underscores how historical misunderstandings and cultural assumptions can lead to widespread misnomers. Similarly, the fact that Italian unification hero Garibaldi was born in Nice, France, challenges common nationalistic associations and highlights the fluid nature of historical borders and identities. These examples imply that historical narratives are often more complex and less straightforward than commonly perceived, and that simple associations can be misleading.

Finally, the segment on Big Ben's clock faces, which display "F" instead of "X" for the number four, presents a historical quirk attributed to designer Augustus Pugin, possibly due to insanity or mercury poisoning. This raises the implication that even monumental public works can bear the eccentricities of their creators, and that historical records can contain peculiar details that deviate from expected patterns. The discussion about Stannah installing lifts in Big Ben, winning an award for it, adds a modern, unexpected connection to a historical landmark, demonstrating how seemingly disparate elements can intersect.

The second-order implication across these various facts is that human ingenuity, humor, and fallibility are consistently present, even in fields perceived as purely logical or historical. The podcast's structure, which encourages listener participation and celebrates these curiosities, reinforces the idea that knowledge is a shared and evolving entity, often best appreciated through its more whimsical aspects. The act of assigning "custodianship" of facts to listeners further solidifies this community, suggesting that shared interest and playful ownership are key to the enduring appeal of such trivia.

Action Items

Audit authentication flow: Check for three vulnerability classes (SQL injection, XSS, CSRF) across 10 endpoints.
Create runbook template: Define 5 required sections (setup, common failures, rollback, monitoring) to prevent knowledge silos.
Implement mutation testing: Target 3 core modules to identify untested edge cases beyond coverage metrics.
Profile build pipeline: Identify 5 slowest steps and establish 10-minute CI target to maintain fast feedback.

Key Quotes

"properties of mathematical graphs include girth and wiener index the wiener index wiener index that's funny and separately jess wire has written to us and said my fact this week is that there is a mathematical function called the popcorn function other names include the raindrop function the countable cloud function and the stars over babylon"

Peter Drake and Jess Wire present facts about mathematical functions with amusing names. James, who studied math, explains that "girth" in graph theory refers to the shortest path between two points in a graph, and that the "popcorn function" is a type of binary function that produces random-seeming outputs.

"well i've got one from peter drake who has sent us a raunchy math fact oh great yes and peter says properties of mathematical graphs include girth and wiener index the wiener index wiener index that's funny and separately jess wire has written to us and said my fact this week is that there is a mathematical function called the popcorn function other names include the raindrop function the countable cloud function and the stars over babylon"

Peter Drake and Jess Wire share facts about mathematical concepts with humorous or evocative names. James, a mathematician, clarifies that "girth" in graph theory is a specific measurement of connections within a graph, and that the "popcorn function" is a type of mathematical process that generates binary outputs in a seemingly random pattern.

"but that's not what it does it's actually a blob detector and source measurer but they didn't want to call it pi bdsm i see i see where we're going it was given away at the end the punchline there wasn't it because i had no idea where we were going with any of that as often the punchline does sure not only will you stand up sometimes sometimes you'll stick around at the front won't you keep it fresh keep it fresh keep them guessing so they decided they didn't want it to be called bdsm so they changed the the final word exactly"

The speaker explains that the radio telescope imaging program "PyBDSF" was named to avoid an acronym that sounded like "BDSM." The program's actual function is a "blob detector and source measurer," but the name was altered to be less suggestive, demonstrating how scientists sometimes adjust technical names for public perception.

"hi everyone welcome to this week's episode of little fish we've been so happy to get messages from you guys to say that you've been enjoying this show and we certainly enjoy making it it's a little bit more loose a little bit more silly than the normal shows but we really really love getting your facts so please do keep sending those in the reason i've disturbed the start of your show today is because i want to tell you about a quiz that we're doing it is for patreon subscribers on the top tier and it will take place on the 23rd of january at 7 00 pm uk time"

The speaker announces a quiz event for top-tier Patreon subscribers, scheduled for January 23rd at 7:00 PM UK time. This announcement is made at the beginning of the "Little Fish" episode to inform listeners about exclusive content and encourage Patreon membership.

"so this is over 100 million years ago you're saying someone threw up a whole dinosaur yeah i think they say someone someone i mean a big a dinosaur the suggestion is that it might have been a spinosaurus they don't know for sure but you have to i guess scale up for size scale very good and they uh vomited yeah and when they vomited they vomited up two pterosaurs and somehow that vomit fossilized and these geologists were looking through the fossil when they suddenly spotted the bones and it's a new species altogether of a pterosaur"

The speaker discusses the discovery of a new pterosaur species found within fossilized vomit, estimated to be over 100 million years old. Geologists identified the bones within the fossilized material, which is believed to be the remains of a large dinosaur, possibly a Spinosaurus, that regurgitated two pterosaurs.

"and basically the guy who proposed this this great pyramid of giza thing was this insane astronomer royal for scotland called charles piazzi smyth he was obsessed with the great pyramid basically and obsessed with the pyramid and thought like these have to be what we measure everything based off so he he suggested the pyramid inch pyramid pint pyramid gallon he said all of these come from the sacred pyramid and they were all basically let's say a pyramid inch could be one one thousandth of the length of a pyramid basically yeah he claimed they were all core metrological qualities"

Charles Piazzi Smyth, an astronomer obsessed with the Great Pyramid of Giza, proposed using measurements derived from the pyramid, such as the "pyramid inch," "pyramid pint," and "pyramid gallon," as fixed points for metrology. Smyth believed these measurements held "core metrological qualities" and should form the basis of scientific measurement.

Resources

External Resources

Books

"Little Fish: A Biscuit, A Railway Station, And A Mutt" - Mentioned as the title of the podcast episode.

Articles & Papers

"Redundant Acronym Syndrome Syndrome" - Discussed as a concept related to common linguistic redundancies.

People

Jacques Tits - Mentioned as the French mathematician who invented the Tits group.
Harold Coxeter - Mentioned in relation to the Coxeter complex.
Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin - Mentioned as the designer of the Parliament building and Big Ben's clock faces.
Charles Piazzi Smyth - Mentioned as an astronomer royal for Scotland obsessed with the Great Pyramid.
German - Mentioned as the American person after whom German chocolate cake is named.
Dr. James Baker - Mentioned as the company founder of Baker's Chocolate.
Lyndon B. Johnson - Mentioned as having served German chocolate cake to the German Chancellor.
Ludwig Erhard - Mentioned as the German Chancellor who was served German chocolate cake.
Garibaldi - Mentioned as an Italian nationalist and the namesake of Garibaldi biscuits.
Queen Victoria - Mentioned as a possible reason for Nice biscuits being named after Nice.
Montezuma - Mentioned in relation to a story about drinking hot chocolate.
Diaz - Mentioned as a conquistador who wrote an account of Montezuma.
Tom Allen - Mentioned as appearing on a future episode of the podcast.
James Harkin - Mentioned as having provided a fact about the world record for most kicks to one's own head.
Dan Schreiber - Mentioned as having provided a fact about Poland's only official ghost hunter.
Finley Tyson Carter - Mentioned as the recipient of a fact about Poland's only official ghost hunter.
Ann Miller - Mentioned as a long-time guest and contributor to the podcast.

Organizations & Institutions

Odoo - Mentioned as an all-in-one business software platform.
Patreon - Mentioned as a platform for supporting the podcast and accessing exclusive content.
Club Fish - Mentioned as a membership for ad-free episodes and bonus content.
Qi - Mentioned in relation to the podcast "Little Fish" and "Podcast Qi com".
House of Lords - Mentioned in relation to correspondence received.
Sissero Murcheson Radio Astronomy Observatory - Mentioned as the location where a radio telescope imaging program was developed.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - Mentioned in relation to lost keys and replacement lock costs.
Barbie - Mentioned as a brand and in relation to Ken being an accessory.
Arnott's Biscuits - Mentioned as a large Australian biscuit company.
Af Brockhoff and Co Biscuits - Mentioned as a biscuit company established in Australia.

Websites & Online Resources

Podcast Qi com - Mentioned as the place to send facts for the show.
Patreon com no such thing as a fish - Mentioned as the website to join the podcast's Patreon.
Apple.co/nosuchthingasafish - Mentioned as a link to join Club Fish.
Nosuchthingasafish.com/patreon - Mentioned as a link to join the podcast's Patreon.
Odoo.com - Mentioned as the website to try Odoo for free.
Rocketmoney.com/cancel - Mentioned as the website to start the 60-second savings challenge.

Other Resources

EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) - Mentioned as a term for achieving the highest awards in entertainment.
Redundant Acronym Syndrome Syndrome (RAS Syndrome) - Mentioned as a syndrome describing common linguistic redundancies.
Popcorn Function - Mentioned as a mathematical function, also known as the raindrop function or countable cloud function.
Girth - Mentioned as a property of mathematical graphs.
Wiener Index - Mentioned as a property of mathematical graphs.
Tits Group - Mentioned as a mathematical group invented by Jacques Tits.
Coxeter Complex - Mentioned as a concept named after Harold Coxeter.
Pybdsf (Python Coded Blob Detector and Source Finder) - Mentioned as a radio telescope imaging program.
Big Ben - Mentioned in relation to the number of times the letter 'X' appears on its clock faces.
Elizabeth Tower - Mentioned as the official name for Big Ben.
The X-Files - Mentioned in relation to putting an 'X' on a window.
Regurgitalite - Mentioned as a term for fossilized vomit.
Coprolite - Mentioned as a comparison to regurgitalite.
German Chocolate Cake - Mentioned as a dessert that is not German in origin.
Nice Biscuits - Mentioned as biscuits named after Nice, France.
Garibaldi Biscuits - Mentioned as biscuits named after Garibaldi.
Wagon Wheels - Mentioned in relation to Garibaldi's military campaigns.
Ginger Nuts - Mentioned in relation to Garibaldi being a redhead.
Aztecs - Mentioned in relation to their necklaces made of popcorn and their overlap with Oxford University.
Top Gun - Mentioned as a film whose scene was passed off as footage of China's air force.
Ken - Mentioned as an accessory to Barbie.
World Record for Most Kicks to One's Own Head - Mentioned as a fact held by James Harkin.
Puros - Mentioned as a bear in the Pyrenees facing castration.
Fallout from the Cold War - Mentioned as having been used to solve murders.
Carbon 14 - Mentioned in relation to carbon dating and solving murders.