Commonplace Fun Facts

The Great Fire of London (1666): Strange Facts Behind the Famous Disaster

The Great Fire of London wasn’t just a disaster—it was full of odd decisions and strange moments. Here are the quirkiest facts from 1666.

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April 9, 2026April 9, 2026

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What’s that Condition Called? It’s on the Tip of My Tongue

About 3-5 percent of people have a harmless condition known as “geographic tongue.” It is caused by uneven distribution of papillae (short, fine, hair-like projections) over the surface of the tongue which often resemble islands on a map. source
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Rescued by Lions — I’m Not Lyin’

In 2005 a 12-year-old girl who had been kidnapped was rescued by three unlikely heroes: lions. The girl was taken from her home in Ethiopia by seven men, who beat her and attempted to force her to marry one of them. In what was largely described by locals as “some kind of miracle,” three lions…
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What a Weta!

New Zealand’s giant weta (Deinacrida heteracantha) holds the record as the heaviest insect. Weighing in at as much as 71 grams (2.5 oz.), it can weigh more than a sparrow. source
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Looking for Cold Cash?

There are two ATMs in Antarctica. They are both located at McMurdo Station and are operated by Wells Fargo. The challenges of servicing the machines are significant. Anyone who is going to work on the machines has to plan about ten months in advance. Flights in and out of Antarctica are typically grounded during the…
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Hot Flying Marvels

Butterflies can fly long distances (the monarch butterfly’s migration route is over 2,000 miles long), and reach speeds of 30 mph (as opposed to moths, which have been clocked at 70mph), but if their body temperature drops below 85 degrees, they can’t even get off the ground. source
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James Garfield: 12 Fun Facts About the 20th President

While President James Garfield tends to be little more than a footnote in the history of the US presidency because of the short time that he served, he was a truly remarkable man and deserves to be better remembered. Following are a few facts about the 20th President of the United States: Visit the James…
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Seven Score and Three Years Later, The Last of the Civil War Widows Passes Away

The last widow of a veteran of the US Civil War died on August 17, 2008, at the age of 93.
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Welcome to the Heat Ray of Death Building

One of the newest additions to the London skyline is the skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street. Popularly known as the “Walkie Talkie” because of its shape, the building is rapidly becoming better known as the “Walkie Scorchie.” Because of the concave, reflective shape of the structure, light is reflected and focused in an intense beam…
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Feeling Old? Tell People Your Age in Galactic Years

A galactic year (also known as a cosmic year) is the amount of time it takes for our solar system to orbit the center of the Milky Way. Traveling at 514,000 mph relative to the galaxy’s center, that works out to between 225 million and 250 million years in one orbit. To put it in…
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Ancient Breed — Noble Character

The greyhound is among the oldest breeds of dogs, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood. Consider the following facts about this ancient and noble breed:
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I’ll Be There in a Jiffy. Start Your Stopwatch

A “jiffy” is more precise in its definition than you may have thought. The earliest technical usage was defined by Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875–1946). He defined the “jiffy” as the time it takes light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum (approximately 33.3564 picoseconds). It has since been redefined for different measurements depending on the…
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Would They Let You Name Your Baby “Red Tape”?

Choosing a baby’s name is exciting. If you live in Denmark, it is also complicated.
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You Can Tell Him to Go, But You Can’t Make Him

It was during his governorship of Massachusetts that Calvin Coolidge honed much of his wit. On one occasion, he was sitting quietly in his office, strumming through a legal text, half-listening to two politicians arguing in front of him. Finally, one of the men told the other to go to hell, and the insulted man…
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Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire. Really. As in, “Help! Fire!”

Every year in Gillingham, England, a makeshift house was built for a fire-fighting demonstration fundraiser. Tragically, in 1929, a fake fire turned real, and 15 people, including nine boys and six firemen, perished while spectators mistakenly believed it was part of the show.
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The Great Molasses Flood: When Boston Was Nearly Drowned in Syrup

Boston’s Great Molasses Flood of 1919 was a real industrial disaster—millions of gallons of syrup, collapsed buildings, and deadly consequences. Here’s how it happened and why it still matters.
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