11 Specks of Trivia to Catch With Your Brain’s Tongue
NOTE: Health effects of actually attempting to lick or eat this list are not my legal responsibility.
Wonder Why You See Faces Everywhere?
The human tendency to see faces and meaningful shapes in random patterns is called pareidolia. To be clear, it’s not some new TikTok-invented mental disorder, either, but just a natural bit of our evolution.
Enough With the Numbers, Graham!
Graham’s Number is the largest number ever used in a mathematical proof, named for mathematician Ronald Graham. Here’s where I’d paste it in, if a digital representation of it wasn’t too large for the observable universe. Still want to try to imagine it? Good luck, and stay safe.
Chinstrap-Rocking Royalty
On standard playing cards, you probably know that each king is rocking a classic, curly royal beard. But only one doesn’t have a mustache to go with it: the King of Hearts. Not from any unique sense of style, but because his mustache apparently wore off the original printing blocks, and the chinstrap stuck.
Snickers’ Animal Namesake
If you had to guess the origin of the Snickers candy bar’s name, it doesn’t seem like it would go anywhere strange. Kids like candy, snickers are laughter, chocolate and joy hand in hand, et cetera. But the Mars company’s iconic Snickers bar is actually named after Ethel Mars' favorite horse.
The Only Continent in All Four Hemispheres
The only country that exists in all four hemispheres, from North to South to East to West, is Africa. The Equator and the Grand Meridian both bisect the continent, so it can claim a bit of each.
Caesar and Napoleon’s Shared Sickness
Outside of military success (some for longer than others), Napoleon Bonaparte and Julius Caesar have something else in common: They both suffered from epilepsy.
Psycho’s Surprisingly Sweet Shower Blood
If you’re looking for fake blood, “red” is usually one of the chief requirements. Unless, of course, if you’re Alfred Hitchcock filming Psycho in black and white. With no hue to worry about, he used chocolate syrup for the blood in the famous shower scene.
Christian Dior’s Unglamorous Beginnings
Considering that Dior is one of the hoitiest of fashion brands today, it’s strange to know that Christian Dior built it on the back of a family fortune coming from the production of fertilizer. No shit!
The Most Distributed Book in the World, Sorry Bibles!
The sensible bettor’s money for the most distributed book in the world would probably land on the Bible. In fact, until they stopped producing it in 2020, the IKEA furniture catalogue held that title, with over 200,000,000 copies sent out a year.
The First Ever TIME Man of the Year
The first ever TIME man of the year was pilot Charles Lindbergh, in 1927. He’d also probably be in contention for the most anti-Semitic, if not for a certain man named Adolf from 1938.
The 1990s Toy Banned From NSA Headquarters
Because of its audio recording capabilities, Furbies were prohibited from the NSA offices. Sorry, Furbies croaking away in a forgotten closet somewhere.
