Tourists visiting France soon learn that certain things can really irritate the natives. Daring to desecrate French bread with butter, speaking English, or mispronouncing a French word are just a few of […]
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité… and Trousers
How Disney Made Us Believe Lemmings Commit Mass Suicide
In this uncertain world, there are at least three things on which all of us can be certain: Disney loves animals, nature documentaries are reliable, and lemmings commit mass suicide by throwing […]
Mr. Accordion’s Revenge From the Grave
Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois is not your typical graveyard. It receives visitors from all parts of the world who come to pay their respects at the final resting place of […]
Study Finds Poor Writing, Not Legalese, Makes Legal Documents Difficult
According to the Commonplace Fun Facts Legal Department, one of the first things they teach in law school is, “Never use one word where ten will suffice.” Actually, what they told us […]
How to Lie With Statistics
You may have heard someone say that there are three types of falsehoods: lies, darn lies, and statistics. Despite the imputation, statistics can be very compelling. Adding a statistic to your argument […]
Can A Person Be Shocked Back to Life After Flatlining?
How many times have you seen it? You are watching a dramatic scene that takes place in a hospital’s operating room or emergency room. The slow, steady beep of the EKG abruptly […]
If You Swallow Gum Will It Stay In Your Stomach For Years?
“If you swallow your gum, it will stay in your stomach for ten years.” This was the sage warning given by our 7th-grade science teacher, and we took it to heart. Of […]
Did This Man Murder Himself?
The taking of human life is a tragedy. The circumstances under which it happens make a big difference in how we view that tragedy. When a person takes his or her own […]
A Warning for Women About the Dangers of Bicycle Face
Nineteenth-century life had more than its share of challenges for women. Disenfranchisement, substandard medical care, and the need to wear corsets are just a few of the downsides they had to face. […]
I Before E Except After C — And Other Lies Your Grammar Teacher Told You
“I” before “e,” except after “c,”Or when sounded as “a” as in “neighbor” and “weigh.” This easy-to-remember jingle is one of the first spelling rules we learned as children. It has been […]
Did Pepsi Promise to Raise the Dead or Did Coca-Cola Invite China to Bite the Wax Tadpole?
Weird things can happen when mistranslating words from one language to another. See these articles for some examples. The results can be hilarious, embarrassing, or disastrous. If you search for examples of […]
Did an Indian King Use Rolls Royces to Collect Garbage?
Have you heard about the fabulously wealthy Indian ruler who was snubbed at a Rolls Royce showroom? When the salesman did not recognize the distinguished visitor and dismissed him as someone who […]
What Do You Call the Piece of Paper That Sticks Out of a Hershey’s Kiss?
We are always looking for quirky, interesting facts that can be expressed in just a few words. These are handy to throw into the publication rotation to help compensate for those articles […]
The Ghoulish Ghost Guardian of South African Christmas Cookies
UPDATE — June 30, 2022 — This story has been moved to the “Debunked Legends” category, thanks to the intrepid research of Mitologia.pt. It’s still a wonderful story. What a shame that […]
Could a Penny Dropped from the Empire State Building Kill a Person?
We all know that if you drop a penny from the top of the Empire State Building, it will kill anyone it happens to strike. We think we know it, anyway. Has […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 