Mark Twain proclaimed himself to be politically neutral. Using the terminology of the day, he was a “Mugwump.” This allowed him a convenient excuse when people asked him to use his celebrity […]
Franklin D. Roosevelt went to great lengths to hide the fact that he had been paralyzed by polio. Disguising his disability became even more complicated after his election to the presidency. Everywhere […]
Frances and Stephen were unlikely friends. For one thing, she was seventeen years his senior. Beyond the obvious difference in their ages, the two could not have been more different.
In the movie Patton, we see General George S. Patton visiting a battlefield from the Third Punic War. He describes the battle that was fought there 2,000 years earlier and proclaims, “I […]
The greatest historical events can be triggered by the smallest of incidents. This is especially true of warfare. There is the bloody war that was fought over a bucket. Another war was […]
Most people want their lives to be significant. We want to be remembered after we leave this world. It is downright depressing to consider the possibility of making so little of an […]
With all the responsibilities that fall upon the President of the United States, it’s nice to know he has time to check in on the welfare of Santa Claus.
In the 1983 movie WarGames, NORAD’s computer system is so sophisticated that it becomes sentient and assumes control of the nation’s nuclear arsenal. The film leaves its viewers pondering the wisdom of […]
What is the weirdest job you could list on your resume? It probably doesn’t hold a candle to “Shepherd of the Royal Anus.” Despite what you may think, having that job was […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: Special thanks to the office of Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (4th District, Missouri) for providing the legislative history on the American Hippo Bill. Who doesn’t enjoy a good ol’ slab of […]
Robert E. Lee famously said, “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” Whether terrible or otherwise, war should be so significant that it […]
Frequent travels will tell you that it doesn’t matter whether you are going to Heaven or Hell, you have to go through Atlanta to get there. If, however, your destination is the […]
As readers of Commonplace Fun Facts know, the U.S. military has drawn up plans for war with the United Kingdom, invading Canada, and surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. There are even plans for […]
Much to our dismay, we came across the information for this article a few days too late to wish you a Happy Manure Day. Not to despair — December 28 will roll […]
Your printer is spying on you, you say? Uh huh. Right. Sounds like you may be suffering from a deficiency of niacin, buddy. That was our reaction when we started to get […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 