Odd facts and knowledge may not be particularly useful, but they're great when you need to make small talk—and when playing Trivial Pursuit.
Random bits of useless information have always seemed to stick in my brain, while the important stuff seems to wander away into the aether.
For example: I still remember the WiFi password from 3 routers and approximately 10 years ago, but I cannot remember an important date or appointment unless my phone reminds me.
Here are some other folks who retain weird and not particularly useful information too.
Reddit user u/v1ralsp1ral asked:
"What is the most useless fact you know?"
10.
If all kangaroos from Australia invaded Uruguay, each uruguayan would have to fight against approximately 13 kangaroos
9.
A "butt" is a unit of measurement equivalent to 126 gallons. So if you claim that you have a buttload of something, you better have 126 gallons of that something
8.
Ants can't take fall damage because their terminal velocity isn't fast enough to break their exoskeleton.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Muppet Music Video | The Muppets
6.
soaps and detergents are marketing themselves as eco-friendly because "NOW they are Phosphate free" but phosphates have been outlawed in all 50 states since 1994 and the surfactant industry began moving away from the use of phosphate based soaps in the 50s.....
But they can charge 5% more for doing nothing
5.
The only endorsement Elvis Presley ever did was for a donut shop that he loved.
He made the appearance at just 19 years old in 1954 when he was relatively unknown. Not only was this the only endorsement he ever did, but his compensation for it was a box of hot glazed donuts from the shop.
4.
Foot tickling for sexual arousal was a tradition in the Muscovite palaces and courts for centuries. Catherine the Great and Anna Ivanovna were ardent participants.
Ticklers sang naughty ballads and told lewd stories whilst tickling their ladies feet, working their mistresses up into an erotic frenzy with which to meet their husbands or partners.
3.
Polar bear livers contain a deadly level of vitamin A.
Its useless because our livers are totally safe for polar bears and that's likely how things would go if we met.
2.
Eels actually have 2 jaws. The first being like a normal jaw, the second being hidden in their throat. The secondary jaw lunges forward when the eel bites down on prey, bites down on the piece within the mouth and bites a chunk out of it, pulling it down the throat. Think about the alien in the movie Alien, the secondary mini-mouth they use is based off an eels anatomy.
1.
GiphyThe bananas we based artificial banana flavoring on were [nearly] wiped out by a blight, which is why artificial banana tastes so different from real bananas
The Gros Michel Banana is alive and well, just not nearly as common as they were in the first half of the 20th century.
Redditor leilavanora wanted to hear about the people who left this world too soon, so they asked:
"How did the kid from your school die?"
So many people gone before their time!
Gruesome
Episode One Armchair GIF by PBSGiphy"Fell off a jet ski and then got hit by it when the driver turned around. Drowned."
lindseys10
"Jet skis are insanely dangerous. If you read up on jet ski deaths they are awful much more gruesome too."
anightclubfordogs
Family Issues
"There was a boy from a family of alcoholics, whose parents divorced, he lived with a mom who was a very heavy drinker and a stepdad. Stepdad had a son who spent quite some time in mental facilities and rehab because he f**ked up his brain with drug use. The son eventually came home to live with his father and my classmate. One time the classmate accidentally saw his stepbrother sniffing glue from a bag."
"Stepbrother got mad, poured kerosene on him, and lit him up. When his mother saw her child was burning she jumped out the window and ran away while his younger siblings were trying to put out the fire. Unfortunately, once they managed to he was already dead."
Healthy-Gain-6586
April
"End-stage renal disease. She was doing good for a couple of years and waiting for a transplant while getting regular dialysis but ended up passing away in 11th grade."
whiteoff44
"That's sad. Plug for Organ donation awareness: April is National Donate Life month. Every day, 17 people die in the US waiting for an organ transplant. If you aren't an organ donor already, sign up at https://www.organdonor.gov/sign-up"
jackruby83
It was devastating
"He froze to death in his sleep after passing out in the snow. It was a school trip with his class and they had some beers but probably some of the first few times they tried alcohol. It was devastating. They were moving from one house to another and he had said he needed a break in between but everyone forgot or just thought he was in another house."
"It sounds like an obvious mistake but it's not necessarily that cold even if it's snow, especially after a drink. To lie down and chill on a snow pile with a good jacket is no problem but if you pass out and forget well damn."
Fit-Childhood879
WTF
Shock What GIF by Paramount+Giphy"In middle school, my neighbor accidentally shot and killed his best friend while hunting. Years later he was beheaded by the Taliban along with two English men. Unbearably sad."
Suspicious-War-8839
Guns and hunting. That is just constant danger.
No Violence
No Way Do Not Want GIF by Schitt's CreekGiphy"Wrestling team bully with anger management issues punched an elderly man in a road rage incident and the elderly man shot him dead and was acquitted as it was deemed self-defense."
evolution9673
So Fragile
"He was playing football and randomly passed out. Never woke up again."
Aints*itAngel
"Happened on the soccer pitch next to ours when I was playing 5-a-side with my work buddies. The kid who looked late teens fell down hard and didn't come back up again. They tried CPR and the defibrillator from the office before the paramedics showed up."
"We just stood there speechless watching it go down. And while it looked super bad, they took him away on a stretcher still working on him so I didn't actually find out he died until a week later when we were back for our usual slot and they held a silence."
"Never even found out the kid's name but I still think about it sometimes. Life can so be fragile."
ianjm
Wired
"An electrician screwed up rewiring her family’s house so a live wire was touching a metal pipe connected to the bath. Her mum was wearing rubber work boots when she filled the bath so wasn’t electrocuted but she must have accidentally brushed against the tap or gone to add some more water while submerged and was killed instantly. We lived in a very small town where everyone knew each other so it really rocked our community. She was in the grade above me so would have been around 10-11."
TimedDelivery
Be Safe
Driving Time Lapse GIF by YevbelGiphy"Like 5 of them died of drunk driving accidents, three of them at one time, Little redneck school in the middle of nowhere apparently people seem to think drinking and driving is the only way to have fun."
Maleficent-Touch-67
Life is fleeting and fragile.
Appreciate every second, kids.
