On commercial airliner flights, the pilot and co-pilot never eat the same meal. This is for the safety of the craft: if the pilot is laid low by food poisoning, the co-pilot […]
You Take the Chicken; I’ll Have the Fish
Commonplace Fun Facts
Doctor W.H.O.?
Peter Capaldi, who plays the twelfth Doctor Who, also played the role of a doctor with the World Health Organization in the zombie movie World War Z. He was credited as “W.H.O. […]
So That’s Where They Got the Name
Torchwood is a spin-off of the highly-successful science fiction television program Doctor Who. The word torchwood is actually an anagram of the words doctor who.
Gaining Memory and Saving Money
One gigabyte of memory cost $300,000 in 1981. Today, that amount of memory is available at no cost to users through many cloud services.
Fish Got Your Tongue?
There’s something fishy going on in the Gulf of California. The fish know about it, but they aren’t talking. You could literally say that something has their tongues. Cymothoa exigua is a […]
Seeing Blue
Backing Into a Musical Hit
At the beginning of the song “Roxanne” by The Police, during the intro, you can hear a strange piano chord, then Sting laughing. In fact, during the voice recording, Sting accidentally sat […]
Nova Scotia’s Flag — Better Late Than Never
The flag of Nova Scotia was only officially adopted in 2013, after 155 years of use, when an 11 year-old girl researching a project realized that it had never been officially recognized […]
19 Habits Of Highly Intelligent People
Leave ‘Em Laughing
Convicted murderer George Appel’s final words before being executed in the electric chair in New York in 1928 were – “Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel.” Read more […]
Parachute Failed? Aim For an Ant Hill
When skydiver Joan Murray’s main parachute and backup parachute failed, she struck the ground at 130 kilometers per hour, landing on a mound of fire ants. Doctors believe that the shock of […]
Heavy is the Head That Wears The Crown… And Watch Out if The Throne is Heavy, Too
Bela I (1020 – 1063), King of Hungary achieved many great things during his life, rightfully earning him the massive wooden throne he had constructed for himself. Unfortunately, he is largely remembered […]
William the Conqueror: Going Out With a Bang
Mourners at the funeral of William the Conqueror intended to send the great king off with a bang. They got more than they asked for.
A Snack to Die For
Wild almonds are bitter, the kernel produces deadly cyanide upon mechanical handling, and eating even a few dozen in one sitting can be fatal. The domesticated species that humans have been selectively […]
Here’s a Splash of Cold Water: that Statue Isn’t a Gargoyal
A gargoyle can only be called by that name if it is a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building. When not constructed […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 