Do you enjoy learning useless information that’s exciting trivia tidbits? I do! I encountered an online forum discussing fascinating facts. I Googled to confirm and found many of these to be things I’d never known but are kinda cool. Enjoy!
1. Holy Mackeral — Ohio
Did you know Ohio is the only state in America that doesn’t share a letter with the word mackerel? Craziness. Also, the only letter to not appear in any state names is — Q.
2. Giraffes Barely Sleep
Are you aware that Giraffes, your favorite animal at the zoo, sleep in five-minute increments and only 30-40 minutes total in a 24-hour period? I laughed out loud when a forum member said: “My toddler must be a giraffe.”
3. Oxford College Is Older Than the Aztec Empire
Teaching began at Oxford University by 1096, while the founding of Tenochtitlán in 1325 marked the start of the Aztec civilization. So that means that Oxford predates the Aztecs by over 200 years!
4. You Can’t Lick Your Own Elbow
OK, OK — MOST people cannot lick their own elbows. People who can lick their elbows are almost always hypermobile (double-jointed), accompanied by a longer-than-usual tongue.
5. Hell Freezes Over
Well, at least the town of Hell in Michigan and the other one in Norway do. Hell, Norway is frozen over for roughly a third of the year. It reaches sub-artic temperatures as low as −25 °C (−13 °F), making it one of the coldest places on the planet.
6. Elephants Are Empathetic
Did you know that elephants feel empathy? Oh, my cuteness! Moreover, elephants are one of the most empathetic animals in the world. For example, they help each other when in distress and even grieve for their dead.
7. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia Is the Fear of Long Words
While the American Psychiatric Association doesn’t officially recognize this phobia, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words. Ironically, it is simultaneously and cruelly one of the longest words in the dictionary.
8. America’s Hidden Cheese
What? Did you know there is cheese owned by the American government stored in a cave in Missouri? Farmlink Project reports: “Hundreds of feet below the ground in Missouri, there are hundreds of thousands of pounds of American cheese.
Deep in converted limestone mines, caves kept perfectly at 36 degrees Fahrenheit store stockpiles of government-owned cheese comprising the country’s 1.4 billion pounds of surplus cheese.” As one forum member suggests, “Sounds like they’re up to no gouda!”
9. Bears Don’t Actually Hibernate
Bears don’t actually hibernate. They enter a lighter sleep state called — torpor. They still lower their heart rate and respiration. However, they are not in the same sort of chemical sleep true hibernators undergo. Animals in torpor can wake up if threatened, while an animal in hibernation is truly helpless until it awakens.
10. Sleeping Beauty Sounds
In Disney’s original Sleeping Beauty, they used recordings of a WWII flamethrower to create the sounds for Maleficent’s dragon-form fire breath.
11. A Man Hiccuped for 68 Years
Are you aware there is a Guinness World Record for the most prolonged hiccup attack? It was held by Charles Osborne, who hiccuped continuously for 68 years, from 1922 to 1990. It’s said that he hiccupped more than 420 million times in his life!
Despite friends going as far as shooting a shotgun behind him to scare them away, nothing did the trick. Guinness World Record reports: “He got married twice and fathered eight children, all while hiccupping.”
12. Hoover Dam Father-Son Deaths
John Gregory Tierney was lost forever to the Colorado River on December 20th, 1921, when he was surveying the Hoover Damn during construction. Fourteen years later to the day, his one and only son, Patrick William Tierney, fell to his death. There is a plaque memorializing the odd tragedy.
13. Female Dragonflies Fake Sudden Death to Avoid Male Advances
Until today, I had no idea that female dragonflies fake their death to avoid advances by male dragonflies. They fall from the sky, lay on their backs, and wait for them to fly off before returning to their own flight. Did you?
14. No Level of Alcohol Consumption Is Safe for Your Health
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports: “Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago — this is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation, and tobacco!”
15. Canadian Geese Aren’t Canadian
Named for the ornithologist John Canada, who separated the species from other geese. They are not ‘Canadian’ Geese – they don’t have a nationality. They are actually Connecticut’s most prominent native waterfowl species.
True Ghost Stories: 3 Terrifyingly True Tales From Living in a Haunted House
Growing up in a haunted house proved terrifying on many occasions. It’s nothing you ever get used to, but something you learn to live with when given no other choice. The home had multiple spirits and another supernatural being with a darker, evil presence.
Not only did I grow up in the home, but as an adult, I moved back into the house with my daughter when my dad remarried and moved out. I know what you’re thinking: “Why would you willingly move back into a haunted home?” I was a single mom with limited options and a loving father. Nonetheless, I have decades’ worth of stories. Here are three of the creepier moments.
15 Real Things Men Confessed They Want More Than Anything
Are you confused or curious about what men want? Then, we got you covered (ish), right? Of course, not all men can be stereotyped as a monolith. I know that, and you know that. However, after someone surveyed a men’s online forum, asking what they desire, these are the most discussed confessions.
Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and Jesus.