Commodus (161-192), Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. Dio Cassius describes him as “not naturally wicked but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. His great simplicity, however, […]
The Gladiator Emperor of Rome
Commonplace Fun Facts
He Was a Scrooge When It Came to Henry VIII
Charles Dickens didn’t mince words when it came to King Henry VIII: “The plain truth is, that he was a most intolerable ruffian, a disgrace to human nature, and a blot of […]
The Rough and Ready Life of Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (1784-1850), twelfth President of the United States, showed such little interest in politics that he never cast a vote in a presidential election until his own election in 1848. Known […]
Land? Who Needs Land?
The swift spends almost all of its life in the air, touching down only to reproduce. They will cling to a wall or rock-face to check a potential nest hole, and they […]
Betting on the Intelligence (or Lack Thereof) of the Masses
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating […]
Dying is Easy. Comedy is Hard.
Andy Kaufman (1949-1984) was an entertainer known for elaborate pranks and hoaxes. He was so well known for this that when he died in 1984, rumors immediately started that he staged his […]
Perhaps They Will Find That Part About “Thou Shall Not Steal”
The most shoplifted book in the United States is the Bible. Nationwide, bookstores net about $16 billion in sales every year, according to the American Booksellers Association. Stores estimated that they lose […]
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s an Inflatoplane!
Goodyear, the manufacturer of tires, developed an inflatable airplane called GA-468, but commonly known as the Inflatoplane. The Inflatoplane’s performance was comparable to that of a a J3 Cub. The airplane was […]
Kids (and Adults, for that Matter), Do NOT Try This at Home!
Mischievous students are often eager to start Chemistry class with dreams of creating explosives, mixing up deadly poisons, or dissolving things in corrosive acid. Much to the surprise and harm of many […]
Speedy Neurons … Or Are They?
“Some actions require split second responses–withdrawing a hand from a hot stove, for example. To relay the information necessary for such a reaction, there are large nerve fibers that can conduct impulses […]
If The Vows Required Staying Married Until the Cake Was Eaten, It Would Be ‘Til Death Do Us Part
The world’s largest wedding cake ever displayed was baked by Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino’s chef Lynn Mansel and a team of 57 chefs and “pastry artisans” at a New England showcase […]
Appropriate Name in the End
In the late 1880s, Lester Moore worked as a Wells Fargo Station Agent in the Mexico-United States border town of Naco, Arizona. One day a man named Hank Dunstan arrived at the […]
When You Gotta Go… You REALLY Should Go
Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old woman from Sacramento, died in 2007 of water intoxication while trying to win a Wii console in a radio station’s “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest, which […]
He Used a Dummy, For Sure
Franz Reichelt (1879-1912) fell to his death off the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while testing his invention, the coat parachute. It was his first ever attempt with the parachute. He […]
This Couldn’t Have Been Demonstrated on the Ground Floor?
Toronto attorney Garry Hoy (1955 – 1993) fell to his death after he threw himself through the glass wall on the 24th floor of the Toronto-Dominion Centre in order to prove the […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 