I received an email from a library friend the other day with a list of 250 useless facts guaranteed to make me more interesting. I’m not sure about that but I thought I’d share 10 of these with you (along with some needless commentary, of course):
1. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance. I wonder what song was playing? My guess would be “Eight Hour Strike” - which, of course, is a labor tune…
2. The Minneapolis phone book has 21 pages of Andersons. And the Hong Kong phone book has multiple Chins.
3. All polar bears are left-handed. I have to wonder - who does this kind of research? And did they get a federal grant for it? What determines that the polar bear is left-handed anyway? Is he handed a pen and asked to sign something?
4. If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you will have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. This is way too long to wait for a cup of coffee which is why the Keurig was invented.
5. Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously. Who signed up to be the guinea pig for this one? They should get the Darwin Award. It reminds me of something I read about pokeweed. You can eat this plant only after it’s been cooked 4 times – if it’s been cooked between 1 and 3 times, you will most likely die from eating it. How was this figured out? I picture the scene from years ago – Grandma cooks pokeweed once and Grandpa dies, Grandma cooks pokeweed twice and Uncle Bob kicks the bucket, Grandma cooks pokeweed three times and Aunt June passes. Finally, Grandma cooks pokeweed four times – she’s persistent, that one – and brother Darrell decides to give it a try. Darrell was not the sharpest tool in the shed but he lived to produce offspring who then went on to participate in the nutmeg study.
6. The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated. I am speechless
7. It’s possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs. This is actually good to know if you live in a second floor flat and are planning to invite a few of your favorite cows over for a drink.
8. In the White House, there are 13,092 knives, forks and spoons. Ok, this fact is about as useless as the 'g' in lasagna.
9. Giraffes have no vocal cords. This is why there are no giraffe divorces.
And my personal favorite:
10. Prince Charles is an avid collector of toilet seats. I think Charles was told that one day he would sit on the throne and he just got tired of waiting. I wonder though, how does he explain it when he arrives at Highgrove House with yet another commode topper? “Look here, my dear Camilla, a jolly good toilet seat purchase today. Where shall we put this one? Next to the portrait of the Queen?”
So there you have it – do you feel more interesting now? I didn't think so - BUT - if you have any useless facts you’d like to share, we’d love to hear them!