Commonplace Fun Facts

Colorblindness: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and Why Your Charts Are the Problem

Explore colorblindness: what it is, common myths, causes, everyday challenges, and surprising advantages in this humorous, informative guide.

Keep reading

April 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Check Out the Latest

Mozambique and Guatemala: The Only Flags with Firearms

There are only two national flags with firearms. Discover why Mozambique and Guatemala include guns in their designs—and why Bolivia and Haiti don’t quite make the list. A surprising look at symbolism, history, and national identity.
Read more: Mozambique and Guatemala: The Only Flags with Firearms
The Island of Recycled Opportunity

If you are looking to own your own tropical island, you can expect to pay a lot of money, or your can do what Richard Sowa did: build your own.
Read more: The Island of Recycled Opportunity
20 Years of Parking Forgetfulness

Who hasn’t gotten sidetracked while shopping and forgot exactly where the car was parked? Some of us try to avoid that problem by parking in the same place each time. Others use a smart phone app to mark the car’s location. If you do end up forgetting, it can be irritating, embarrassing, and could result…
Read more: 20 Years of Parking Forgetfulness
Forget “An Arm and a Leg” — Here’s The Really Expensive Stuff

We refer to something outlandishly expensive as “costing an arm and a leg.” Perhaps a better comparison would be the cost of a unit of blood.
Read more: Forget “An Arm and a Leg” — Here’s The Really Expensive Stuff
The Wright Brothers Fly to the Moon

The first airplane flight covered a mere 852 feet, but a part of that plane ultimately flew nearly half a million miles.
Read more: The Wright Brothers Fly to the Moon
Learn This Word Before Your Next Visit to a Pet Store

Have you ever been at a loss to describe your feelings when you see an utterly adorable kitten or a supremely-cuddly puppy? If you lived in the Philippines, you wouldn’t struggle. In the Tagalog language gigil describes a trembling or gritting of the teeth in response to a situation that overwhelms your self-control. It’s been…
Read more: Learn This Word Before Your Next Visit to a Pet Store
Do You Confess to Being a Macroverbumsciolist?

If you were accused of being a macroverbumsciolist, how would you plead? If you answered without knowing what the word means, you probably should have pleaded guilty. A macroverbumsciolist is a person who only pretends to know the meaning of a word and later secretly looks up the definition.
Read more: Do You Confess to Being a Macroverbumsciolist?
4 Times Switzerland Accidentally Invaded Liechtenstein

Switzerland may be a peace-loving country, but there were four times that it accidentally invaded Liechtenstein. Read about those embarrassing incidents here.
Read more: 4 Times Switzerland Accidentally Invaded Liechtenstein
Did Tootsie Rolls Save the Day During the Korean War?

Did Tootsie Rolls save the day during the Battle of Chosin Resevoir? Find out the truth here.
Read more: Did Tootsie Rolls Save the Day During the Korean War?
Nothing Says, “I Love You” Like Your Husband’s Severed Head in a Bag

Sir Walter Raleigh’s life came to an end on October 29, 1618. On orders from James I, the executioner took Raleigh’s head from his shoulders (although needing two strikes of the axe to finish the job). It then fell to his wife to bury his body — well, most of it, anyway.
Read more: Nothing Says, “I Love You” Like Your Husband’s Severed Head in a Bag
Hamilton vs. Burr, Round Two: The Courtroom Battle Fought 30 Years After the Duel

Few rivalries in American history have enjoyed the kind of afterlife granted to that between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. It has everything: ambition, resentment, bad blood, politics, and a duel so dramatic it still shows up on Broadway two centuries later. By 1804, that rivalry had reached its famous conclusion on the cliffs of…
Read more: Hamilton vs. Burr, Round Two: The Courtroom Battle Fought 30 Years After the Duel
How Pirates Stopped the U.S. from Adopting the Metric System

Discover the astonishing true story of how 18th-century pirates thwarted America’s adoption of the metric system. Learn how one intercepted mission changed U.S. history forever.
Read more: How Pirates Stopped the U.S. from Adopting the Metric System
Winston Churchill’s Prescription for Prohibition

Winston Churchill was well known for his fondness of alcohol, and he was concerned that his access to his favorite drink would be curtailed during his visits to the United States in its Prohibition days. To make sure he was never without accessible libation, he persuaded his physician to write him a prescription, describing his…
Read more: Winston Churchill’s Prescription for Prohibition
Infinitely Interesting

That sideways figure eight used as the symbol for infinity (∞) is properly known as a lemniscate.
Read more: Infinitely Interesting
World Standards Day: A Nonstandard Celebration Of World Standards

World Standards Day commemorates international efforts to develop voluntary standardization among regulators, industries, and consumers. By using the same measurements and identical baselines, it promotes less waste and greater efficiency. The date to celebrate this international unity is October 14. The United States of America celebrates World Standards Day five days later, on October 19.
Read more: World Standards Day: A Nonstandard Celebration Of World Standards