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.
Curious to hear examples of what those might be, an interesting discussion was had after Redditor mustafarangoon52 asked:
"What are some 'guy secrets' girls don't know about?"
Strictly male instincts incoming.
Multi-Tasking
"Sometimes we pee on the poo stains in the toilet because we are too lazy to use the scrub."
– iamsochok
Shopping Efficiency
"If we haven’t carried in all the shopping in one go, we haven’t done it right."
– InevitableSignUp
Drying Off
"After a shower, we have no problem drying our balls and face with the same towel. Most of the time we try to dry the face first, then the sack. But sometimes we have to go back to the face. We just hope we use an uncontaminated part of the towel."
"Edit: 'uncontaminated.' My balls are clean after a shower. Just, you know. Wiping the balls then wiping my face is just kind of.......yea."
– prospecthummmer
When it comes to being around women, not all men act the same.
Maintaining Social Distance
"idk if other guys feel this too, but im always afraid of accidentally making women feel uncomfortable in my presence, for example when i happen to walk in the same direction as a woman in front of me for a while. and im not even interested in women in the first place."
– juicydaddy69
Misconceptions Around Being Male
"Sex isn't all we want in a relationship. I'd rather be with someone who understands me but only does it once in a while than someone who I have sex with every day but don't connect with emotionally and mentally."
"Some of us are into things like cooking, cleaning, makeup, fashion, etc. It doesn't necessarily mean we're gay."
"Please don't tell us to 'man up.' A lot of us were constantly told that growing up whenever we tried to express ourselves so you saying it will often bring up bad memories."
"Men can be abused. Men can be raped. Men also tend to be more suicidal because society tells us we're weak if we try to discuss these things. No, we don't "enjoy" being raped by a hot girl, and we often don't talk about it because people will often straight-up tell us we're lying about it if we do."
– [deleted]
Aging Together
"As an older man, we don't expect you to look like a supermodel as we age together. Yes, at times I do see you as I did 30 years ago and every wrinkle and flaw disappears. Yes, there are times I see every wrinkle and flaw, and know how you got every one of them. They are beautiful too."
– Duesizzle
No Comment
"Sometimes we don’t talk to people cause we don’t want to intimidate them. I might see a girl with a cool shirt on but I don’t want to make her think I’m coming on to her or something."
"Rather than freak her out that a 6’6 guy thinks she looks good today, I just leave her alone. Especially if we’re on an elevator or something where she can’t leave if she actually is uncomfortable."
– Hades621
Strictly male clarifications ahead.
Guys Have Feelings Too
"I’m secretly an emotional wreck, I just hide it."
– ShakaWTWF
The Space Between
"Man-spreading isn’t a sexual thing, we’re trying not to crush our balls between our legs."
– [deleted]
What Dads Do
"Maybe this is more of a 'dad secret' but, I dont 'baby sit' my own kids, that's called fathering damnit!"
– dapharaoh
Compliments Welcome
"If you compliment my appearance I will probably remember forever."
"I still remember when a girl in college told me I look nice with my beard when I first grew it out. I’ve had a beard ever since..."
– 01123581321AhF**kIt
Although there is the misogynistic belief we live in a patriarchal society, there are many exceptions to how the male species are perceived–primarily being that not all guys are a-holes.
Redditor LunchCautious8781 wanted to talk about some items that seem old but may still be in the beginning stages.
They asked:
"What do most people not realize is newer than they actually think?"
Iphones. 14 generations is not that far on. Let's talk at 50.
+/-
Pregnancy Test Im Pregnant GIF by Shay MitchellGiphy"Home pregnancy tests, in the 1970s. No longer do we have to inject the lady’s urine into frogs, mice, or rabbits to confirm a pregnancy!"
nagisu
Water Only
"The knowledge that it’s bad to drink when pregnant. Only became widely known in the 80s."
youcallthataheadshot
"This one boggles my mind. Alcohol isn't exactly new -- the ancient greeks had wine and mead. The temperance movement was active for a good hundred years before they got the 18th Amendment."
"But nope. While there were certainly some alarms raised throughout history, people were surprised to learn about fetal alcohol syndrome in 1973, and it wasn't confirmed by a second group of researchers until 1979. In the 60's through 80's it was apparently common for doctors to give alcohol intravenously to women to stop premature labor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetal_alcohol_spectrum_disorder#History"
Lord_Nivloc
Family
"The word sibling was coined in 1903."
ClapAlongChorus
"I learned in English class in 1990 that English didn't have a word for sibling. Later, they said there was a word but no one used it in everyday speech. My mind was a little blown the first time I saw someone actually use it online, around 1999."
Emmison
"This is totally false. The word sibling was coined in Old English and used to refer to anyone who was related to you. It fell out of use for a little while, then was brought back in the 1900s to exclusively refer to brothers and sisters. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sibling#Etymology"
Photo Op
"Having to show ID at the US/Canada border. Prior to 9/11 they often wouldn't even ask to see a drivers license."
Seinfelds-van
"Same at the Mexican border, even after 9/11. I can remember going down to Puerto Penasco around 2002 or 2003 and just being waved through on the way home. Didn't even have to roll my window down, much less show an ID."
mynonymouse
Carb History
Bread Oprah GIFGiphy"Ciabatta bread goes all the way back to the early 1980s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciabatta#Italy"
Hyphum
"Haha I heard of that too, awhile back. I went googling it again and apparently baguettes are from early ~1900s. Crazy, I would've thought they'd be historical."
Kep0a
Oh that is good bread.
For Comfort
"Boxer briefs are fairly new to the scene, becoming popular in the 1990s."
FaberGrad
"I'm happy they did. My favorite underwear."
McFluff_TheCrimeCat
New World
"Tomatoes are actually a new world crop. So when you associate Italy with pasta sauce, you're actually thinking of Italy, post Columbian Exchange (mid 1500s). And actually, tomato sauce wasn't even integrated into Italian cuisine until the late 19th century, so go figure."
lacroixb0i
Back Together
"What hit me the other day: Germany. It was only reunified 30 years ago."
"Same with Italy. Not that it was reunified 30 years ago, but it hasn’t been a country as long as America has."
GREGORIOtheLION
"I was actually just thinking about this last night because Google Rewards gave me a survey asking about my feelings towards Trabant as a brand: https://i.imgur.com/3lUyozZ.jpgI really don't know why it wanted to know my opinion on a brand that went defunct when the Berlin wall fell lol."
FuzzelFox
The Drift
"The theory of plate tectonics. It pretty much makes up the entire backbone of modern geology, yet it wasn't actually accepted until the 1960s. Alfred Wegener proposed his theory of continental drift in 1915 but couldn't explain the mechanism behind it so his theory was dismissed."
mechanism behind it so his theory was dismissed."
"Over the next few decades, the evidence of crustal movement became undeniable and plate tectonics developed as a theory. It's just crazy to me that geologists were pretty much completely clueless until around 60 years ago."
Gneissisnice
Inhabitants...
Read New Zealand GIF by Rugby World CupGiphy"New Zealand! Its indigenous population only arrived there about 800 years ago, despite Australia just across the Tasman having been inhabited for 75,000 plus years."
GrimThursday
History short and long is fascinating.