Those of us who love the English language have to admit to a bit of schizophrenia about the love affair. On the one hand, English is an utterly-flexible and ever-changing language, allowing […]
Abraham Lincoln attempted many things in his life. He was a railsplitter, boatman, store clerk, soldier, surveyor, postmaster, lawyer, legislator, and President. Along the way, he tried his hand as an inventor, […]
Mark Twain has a well-deserved reputation for not being intimidated by those in high authority. His self-assurance and disregard for the opinion of others allowed him to rub elbows with the most […]
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 […]
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.
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua….” No, this isn’t the beginning of some weird, cultish chant. The Lorem ipsum […]
Herman Melville’s novel about an obsessive hunt for an elusive whale is Moby Dick. Or is it Moby-Dick? The answer to that question drives obsessive scholars of literature and seems to be […]
What do literary giants do when they aren’t writing history’s greatest books? There’s no better way to stave off a case of writer’s block than to play a rousing game of cricket. […]
In her book Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder records her mother giving some words of advice: “If Wisdom’s ways you wisely seek, five things observe with care. To whom […]
If it was little known and uncommon, there was a good chance that Arthur would be drawn to it. His curious mind naturally gravitated toward things that polite society shunned. It was […]
In compiling your list of the things you’d like to do over the holidays, it’s highly unlikely participating in a strip search is anywhere close to the top of the list. If […]
We are generally a bunch of law-and-order types here at Commonplace Fun Facts, and we cannot condone the wanton violation of the law. That being said, there are times when even the […]
Everyone reading this is a girl. You lived much of your life in the Matrix. You’re really not all that fantastic; in fact, you’re really quite awful. Even before you were born, […]
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) was an accomplished architect, designer, sculptor, and mathematician. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Renaissance architecture and holds the distinction of being the first […]
The name Lindbergh is inseparable from aviation. If you think you know about Lindbergh’s accomplishments, you might be surprised at what you never heard of. For example, you may be aware of […]
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