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.

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April 4, 2026April 4, 2026

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He Probably Wished He Had Bought A Parachute Company, Instead

Jimi Heselden, chairman of the company that manufactures Segways, died after driving his Segway off a cliff. source
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The Strange Death of the Mayor Who Drowned in Raw Sewage

Discover the tragic and bizarre true story of Monica Meyer, the mayor who met a shocking fate in a sewage tank. A strange death but true political incident that still baffles today.
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No Tears Shed at This Funeral

Obituaries typically portray the dearly-departed in the best of light. That being the case, one can’t help but wonder what Dolores Aguilar (1929-2008) was really like. Consider this excerpt from her obituary, which was published in the Times-Herald Napa/Sonoma newspaper: “Dolores had no hobbies, made no contribution to society and rarely shared a kind word…
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This is Jimmy Carter…. I’d Like to Report a UFO, Please

In 1969, President Jimmy Carter observed an unidentified flying object in Leary, Georgia. He later reported this sighting to the International UFO Bureau in 1973, describing a peculiar green light that intensified and vanished. Ufologist Robert Sheaffer suggested it was likely a misidentification of Venus.
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Longest Novel Will Take a While to Read

The world record for the longest novel ever published goes to A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust. It was published in 13 volumes beginning in 1912. With an estimated 9,609,000 characters (each letter and space counting as a character), it came out at 4,215 pages in length. The title translates as In Search of…
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Edgar Allan Poe and His Creepy Prediction of a Cannibal Crime

How did Edgar Allan Poe predict the creepy cannibal murder of a cabin boy?
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Chess: A Game of Limitless Possibilities

Because of its complexity, chess offers limitless possibilities. After just three moves, there are over 9,000,000 possible configurations of the board.
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I’ll Take My Winnings By Check, Mate

The longest tournament chess game, in terms of moves, ever to be played was Ivan Nikolic vs. Goran Arsovic in Belgrade, Serbia in 1989. The game lasted for 269 moves and took 20 hours and 15 minutes to complete. It ended in a draw. The longest decisive tournament game was Viktor Kortchnoi vs. Laurent Fressinet,…
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Keep a Towel Handy

Human feet can produce a pint of sweat per day. source
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The Bacon Brigade

In 266 BCE, the Greek city of Megara fended off the Macedonian conqueror Antigonus II Gonatas using flaming pigs doused in resin. Antigonus’s battle elephants fled in terror from the bacon brigade. source
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Monkeys in Space: The Unlucky Adventures of Albert the Monkey — Times 6!

Six astronauts named Albert all had the distinction of becoming monkeys in space — and all had unlucky travels. Read about them here.
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Singular Facts About Singularities

Black holes — also known as “singularities” — can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or “stuff,” in an object. Another kind of black…
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It’s Not Easy Being ~~Green~~ Grey

Marvel Comics’ mega-strong, most-in-need-of-anger-management character the Hulk is best known for being green. Originally he appeared as grey, just as his creator Stan Lee intended. When a printer error turned him green, Lee decided to go with the flow. The Hulk has returned to grey occasionally over the more than half century since he first…
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I Have a Banana, And I’m Not Afraid to Use It!

Nathan Channing was arrested after pointing a banana at two Mesa County, Colorado Sheriff’s deputies, both of whom thought it was a gun. Under the category of “Truth is Stranger Than Fiction,” it should be noted that Channing is a native of Fruitvale, and one of the deputies is named Bunch. Source
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Zombie Chickens: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

Zombie chickens are not the product of a horrible made-for-television movie about the end of the world. They are real. “Chicken zombies occur when old hens that can no longer lay eggs are incorrectly euthanized by poultry farmers using carbon monoxide,” the training plan instructs. “The hens appear to be dead when buried but inexplicably come back…
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