Did You Know: Trivial Facts of Interest

The world is full of interesting trivial facts but most are simply not useful. Even non-useful trivial facts can be fun, though. For instance, did you know that the original formula for Coca-Cola was green in color? Although you may never need to know that fact to impress someone you’re likely to be able to slide it into a casual conversation just for fun. The country that drinks the most Coca-Cola per capita? None other than Iceland.

Some facts can be useful, if you were ever in a particular situation. Most people don’t know it, and probably don’t need to know it, but cows can be led upstairs even though they refuse to go back down. Speaking of stairs, firehouses began using circular stairways back in the day when fire engines were pulled by horses. With straight stairways the horses would travel upwards rather than staying in their downstairs quarters, making it necessary to run the horses back down stairs before leaving to tend to the fire. With spiral staircases the horses would stay put.

If you’re involved with a business or an organization which serves many meals it may be helpful to know that in 1987 American Airlines saved over $40,000 a year simply by eliminating one olive from each salad served to first class patrons.

We’ve all seen statues of famous people who fought famous battles but most people don’t know that if the person is featured on a horse, how the horse is positioned tells you a little history about the person. If the horse has both front hooves in the air the person was killed instantly in battle. If one leg is up the person died of wounds received in battle. But, if the horse has all four legs on the ground he was an important part of a famous battle but actually died a natural death.

If you’re a sports nut you may be interested to know that of all the teams who play their home games in a stadium with a dome, none have ever won the Super Bowl. And, there are only two days of the year when there are no professional sports games. They are the day before and the day after the Major League All-Star Game.

Know anyone named Wendy? You might intrigue her by asking her if she knows where the name originated. In fact, the name was invented for the book ‘Peter Pan’. First novel ever written on a typewriter? Tom Sawyer. And here’s a fun fact for all married couples: 80% of men polled said they would marry the same woman all over again but only 50% of the women said the same. And your kids might use this leverage against you one day: 70% of all Americans have visited Disneyland or Disney World.

Thinking of getting a pet? It costs approximately $6,400 to raise a medium-size dog to the age of eleven (that’s in human years). Think today’s kids become sexually active too early? In 1910 a couple, ages 8 and 9 became parents in China! Speaking of young, the youngest pope ever was a mere 11 years old.

Do you know any really, really smart people? Did you know that super-intelligent people have more zinc and more copper in their hair than a person with normal intelligence? Maybe one of those super-intelligent friends could tell you why ducks’ quacks do not echo. Although that’s true no one really knows why.

Although most trivia is useless a lot of it is fun and intriguing. Remembering trivia tidbits can jazz up a conversation, impress your friends, or just make them laugh. Try tossing out a few trivia tidbits from time to time. Your friends might end up thinking your hair contains lots of copper and zinc!