Trivia Isn’t Necessarily Trivial

We’re big fans of the strange and sometimes seemingly deliberately obtuse “national days” that we keep coming across. It seems there is one for nearly everything under the sun. At some point there’ll probably be a “National Day for Penguins who Part Their Hair on the Left”, or an “International Hand Puppet Appreciation Day”. And no one country has a monopoly on the weird.

For example, Japan has its National Bean Throwing day, also known as Setsubun. It takes place one day before the start of spring, usually around February 3rd. It’s a popular time in Japan, on a par even with lunar new year. On this day, and throughout the accompanying Setsubun Festival, the Japanese throw soybeans around their houses and in other places to scare off ogres and evil spirits.

 South Africa has its National Cleavage Day which falls (or rises…) sometime in March or April. Sponsored, unsurprisingly, by Wonderbra and a Johannesburg-based radio station, it’s all for a good cause. Events are held to raise money for the Sunflower Fund, which helps South Africans affected by blood diseases. Because nothing says ‘Let’s fight blood diseases’ like a well-supported cleavage!

Then there’s Wikipedia Day. Yes, it has an official day. Each year on January 15th, Wikipedians (those folk who write and edit articles for said site) all around the world set aside their algorithm-generating keyboards for the day. Generally, they get together and eat cake or something of the sort, and revel in the 5 million+ English articles on the Wiki database.

Every December 23rd, in Oaxaca, Mexico people gather to celebrate the “Night of the Radishes” (okay, so it’s a ‘night’ rather than a ‘day’, but it still counts). It’s been going on since 1897 and basically consists of everyone partaking in some hardcore radish carving. The grand prize winner takes home 15,000 pesos (about usd$900) and, presumably, more radishes than they’ll be able to eat before the next “Night” comes around.

International Nose Picking Day. Uhhhh….well, ya. From what we could tell, it seems that no one really nose (sorry, couldn’t help it) when, why, or how this ‘day’ first appeared but it is observed every April 23rd. We thought, instead of a pic for this one, a hashtag might be more appropriate - #InternationalNosePickingDay

And since it’s the first week of the new year, we thought we’d devote today’s blog post to a national day that happens every January 4th, National Trivia Day.

This is a day that celebrates all those who accumulate and hoard tidbits of useless information. The collectors of the unconnected, the irrelevant data, factoids, history, quotes, etc. But remember, trivia isn’t necessarily trivial

In ancient times, the term “trivia” meant something very new. Over time, it’s come to refer to obscure and arcane bits of dry knowledge along with nostalgic remembrances of pop culture. Things like, in 1984, over 20 million editions of the game “Trivial Pursuit” were sold in North America.  Or like, did you know that the world’s largest trivia contest is held each year in Stevens Point, Wisconsin? Spanning 54 hours with eight questions per hour, typically around 400 teams, ranging from 1 to 150 players each, participate.

So, grab your knowledge caps, because we’re going to take a deep dive (well, it’s really going to be more like a quick dip) into some of the most interestingly useless information that we came across that you can use to impress, astonish, terrify, or just plain bore your friends and family with at the next gathering that you’d really rather not be at.

Did you know (DYK) that the US Air Force almost nuked the moon? Yes indeed. In 1958 the US Air Force launched Project A119 involving some of America’s top scientists including a young graduate student from the University of Chicago by the name of Carl Sagan. It was the dark days of the Cold War and the Soviet Union had just shot Sputnik into space. The USA had to do something bigger and more visible, so the idea was to shoot the moon with a hydrogen bomb for the sheer visible spectacle of it. Fortunately, the plan disintegrated, mostly because the visual spectacle imagined wasn’t going to be as grand in reality. They did come up with a plan B and landed on it instead.

DYK that the Matrix code is just a bunch of sushi recipes? Yep, it’s true. Among the many things that The Matrix launched into the pop-culture lexicon – like the idea that we’re all living in a vast simulation – one of the most eye-catching was its vision of digital rain. This stuff: 

The green lines of code that represented the technological underpinnings of reality became their iconic opening and were used at the climax of the first movie. It launched a thousand screensavers, becoming a permanent touchstone of cyberpunk iconography. Designed by Simon Whitely (who went uncredited in the films), he explained in an interview with CNet that he scanned the characters from his wife’s Japanese cookbooks. “Without that code,” Whitely said, “there is no Matrix.”

(Do you suppose this means that the Matrix films are really all just a metaphor for one man’s mastery of Japanese cuisine? In which the agents are actually restaurant critics? And the attack of the Sentinels is actually just an E. Coli outbreak? That ultimately that brave sushi chef has to become a sushi Jesus in order to save the restaurant industry? It’s almost more powerful when you think of it that way.)

DYK that OJ Simpson was considered for the Schwarzenegger role in The Terminator? He didn’t get it because the producers feared he was too nice to be a killer.

Nuff said.

DYK that your kitchen sink is dirtier than your toilet bowl? Disturbingly, it seems there’s more E. coli bacteria per square inch in your kitchen sink than in a toilet after you flush it. Bacteria feed on the food that people put down the drain and what’s left on dishes in the sink. It’s an ideal breeding ground since it’s wet and moist. That’s probably why dogs drink out of the toilet – because there’s less E. coli in it.

DYK that the Eiffel Tower gets taller in the summer? When a substance is heated, its particles move more and it takes up a larger volume – this is known as thermal expansion. Conversely, a drop in temperature causes it to contract again. When the iron in the tower heats up in the summer, the tower can be up to 15 centimeters (6 inches) taller.

DYK that Switzerland prohibits the ownership of just one guinea pig? Since guinea pigs are such social creatures, one guinea pig would get lonely so having one is considered animal abuse in Switzerland.  

DYK that a shrimp’s heart is in its head? Well, it is, along with other vital organs. Since the head is covered with an exoskeleton, it’s the most protected part of the body. It does make one wonder, if shrimp’s had arms, would they be wearing their heart on their sleeve?

DYK that a flea can accelerate faster than the Space Shuttle? A jumping flea can reach dizzying heights of about eight centimeters (3 inches) in a millisecond. Acceleration, often measured in “g’s”, is the change in speed of an object over time, with one “g” equal to the acceleration caused by gravity on Earth (9.8 meters/32.2 feet per square second). Flea’s experience 100 g’s while the Space Shuttle peaked at around 5 g.

DYK that sloths can hold their breath longer than dolphins? Dolphins need to come up for air every 10 minutes, but by slowing their heart rate, sloths can actually hold their breath for up to 40 minutes! And they’re really good swimmers to, just FYI.

DYK that human remains are being deposited at Disney parks once a month on average? No, not an urban legend. For many people, the idea of being “interred” at the happiest place on Earth is an attractive proposition, so the parks have become popular places for people to scatter their loved ones’ remains. Disney, obviously, discourages the practice. But whenever one slips through the net, Disney staff call for a “HEPA cleanup”, which designates the specific type of vacuum cleaner necessary. The most popular place where people do scatterings? The Haunted Mansion of course.

DYK the Roman Catholic Church classified beavers as fish? Yep. When Europeans came to North America and Canada, they brought the church along with them. The indigenous population slowly began converting to this religion, but one thing they couldn’t accept was the no-meat rule during Lent. The Catholic Church, in an unusual twist of nimbleness, simply decreed the beaver was a fish.

DYK that Elvis Presley never did encores? That’s how the phrase “Elvis has left the building” came into being. Once his performance was over, Elvis left the building. It eventually became the sign-off for Elvis’s announcer, Al Dvorin, to signal to the hungry crowd that the evening was over. As Elvis exited the stage, Al would announce to the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and goodnight.”

DYK where Three Musketeers bars got their name from? The original candy bar from the 1930’s had three different kinds of nougat: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry – hence the name.

DYK that Jennifer Lopez inspired the creation of Google images? The popular tool was launched in July 2001 in response to demand for pictures of Lopez in her famous green Versace dress that she wore at the 2000 Grammy awards. One of the most distinctive red-carpet outfits in history.

DYK that a Blue Whale’s heartbeat can be detected up to 2 miles away? Their hearts do weigh nearly 400 pounds after all.

DYK that M&M’s are named after their creators? Yes, two businessmen, Forrest Mars (of Mars Bars fame) and Bruce Murrie (son of Hershey candy executive William Murrie), came up with the iconic candies. Granted a patent in 1941, the candies were exclusively sold to the military during World War II, enabling the heat-resistant and easy-to-transport chocolate to be included in the American soldiers’ rations. By the time the war was over, the GI’s were hooked. In 1950 the candies began to be imprinted with the “m” and customers were encouraged to “Look for the M on every piece”. The same qualities that made them durable wartime rations made them perfect for space travel and, at the request of the crew aboard NASA’s first space shuttle, Colombia, M&M’s become the first candy to rocket into space in 1981.

DYK that you can’t hum while pinching your nose? Give it a shot.

DYK that the longest walking distance in the world is 14,000 miles? You can actually walk from Cape Town, South Africa to Magadan, Russia without needing a vehicle.

DYK that pigs can’t look up into the sky? That’s right. Because their bodies evolved in a way to prioritize finding food, their neck muscles and spine don’t bend enough to allow them to look up at the sky. They can, however, roll on their backs and look up. Difficult to take off from that position however so this may be one of the main reasons why pigs can’t fly – only in their dreams.

DYK that each human tongue print is unique? Just like our fingerprints, humans have unique tongue prints as well. The color, shape, and surface features are characteristic of every individual, and this can serve as a tool for identification. The ongoing search for new secure personal identification methods has led to the use of the lingual impression or the tongue print as a method of biometric authentication. So, sometime in the not-too-far-off-future, you may have the option of unlocking your phone by licking it. In the meantime, best be careful where you put your tongue for fear of unwanted identification later. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

And speaking of tongues, DYK that it is impossible for most people to lick their own elbows? You’re already trying, aren’t you? 

While not meaning for this to turn into a study of the many uses of the tongue, DYK that a blue whale’s tongue can weigh as much as a young elephant? Indeed, the tongues of some whales are large enough that even an adult elephant could fit on it. There are so many places we could go with this that we’ll just move right along.

DYK that that blob of toothpaste on your toothbrush has a name? It’s called a nurdle.

DYK that John Quincy Adams had a pet alligator? Yes, the sixth President of the United States received an alligator as a gift from a French general. Granted, perhaps not the most diplomatic of gifts, we agree. The alligator was kept in one of the White House bathtubs.

DYK that all dogs have dreams? And that young puppies and older dogs dream more often than adult dogs? We just want to know how the heck they know this???

DYK that more than half of our bodies are not human? That’s right, said Dr. Jekyll. Bacterial cells outnumber the human cells in our bodies. Research has found that the average human is around 56% bacteria. And there’s no place to Hyde from that!

DYK that the universe’s average color is called “Cosmic Latte”? In a 2002 study, astronomers found that the light coming from galaxies averaged into a beige color that’s close to white. Barista’s take note.

DYK what the fear of long words is called?

This 36-letter word was first used by the Roman poet Horace in the first century BCE to criticize those writers with an unreasonable penchant for long words. It was an American poet, Aimee Nezheukumatathil, who coined the term how we know it today, possibly because she was afraid of her own surname.

DYK that the dot over the “I” is called a ‘tittle’? Apparently not.

And with that, we’ve come to the end of this first blogpost of 2024. We raise a toast (as always) to the peculiar, the absurd, and the utterly trivial. We hope it’s inspired some of you to embrace your inner trivia. In this vast sea of information, let’s all be sailors, navigating the waters of useless but utterly fascinating facts.

We definitely feel that life is too short not to revel in the delight of the weird and wonderful. To embrace the quirkiness that is all around us. We salute the pursuit of knowledge, no matter how trivial. Tell us about some wonderfully useless facts you've come across in the comments section below. And feel free to post a pic of your nurdle or your tittle or a selfie licking your elbow, or your phone, or wherever!

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