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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How a Fart Started a Revolution

Possibly you have found yourself hastily vacating a room because of someone’s gaseous emissions. Maybe your plans to shop in a certain aisle of a store changed after catching a whiff of the unpleasant aroma another shopper left behind. Some have told dramatic stories of forsaking hopes of romance at the sound of a rude…
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What Was the Deadliest Fart in History?

Find out about the deadliest fart in history — an incident that cost over 10,000 lives.
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The Accidental Missile Launch Into Mexico

Learn about the accidental missile launch into Mexico and the (thankfully non-radioactive) fallout from the incident.
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Lucy’s Advice for Staying Young

“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” — Lucille Ball
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Does Constipation Affect Mating Prospects?

Now that we’ve gotten your attention with that headline, it’s probably a good time to let you know you this article will not help you with your quest to find your soulmate. It won’t, that is, unless you happen to be a scorpion.
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Erma Bombeck on Marriage and Parenting

“It seems I have spent a lifetime of mouthing mechanically, ‘Say thank you. Sit up straight. Use your napkin. Close your mouth when you chew. Don’t lean back in your chair.’ Just when I finally got my husband squared away, the kids came along.” — Erma Bombeck
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Aspiration, Preparation, Realization

It doesn’t take a lot of sleuthing to figure out that we love presidential history here at Commonplace Fun Facts. That’s why we always make a point to read Presidential History by Albert Savignano, Jr. If you want a sample of the informative articles you will find there, take a look at today’s featured article.…
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Mark Twain on Entitlement

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” — Mark Twain
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How A Fast-Food Phenomenon Was Started As a Service to Servicemen

The soldiers at Fort Huachuca had a problem. Their duties frequently had them traveling off base at meal times, and it was hard to get a good meal.
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The Song Played for the Loneliest Birthday on the Planet

Birthdays and parties go together. It is a time of celebration for the one who is having a birthday, as well as his or her friends and family. At some point during the festivities, someone will inevitably begin singing “Happy Birthday.” This is the cue for the other celebrants to join in. Wouldn’t it be…
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Why Does Silence Fall Across South Korea For a Day Each Year?

Today’s article is courtesy of one of our newest favorite reads, Tour the Globe. This blog is filled with intriguing geographical facts and will open your eyes to places you didn’t even know existed. Today we learn about a national custom that demonstrates how seriously South Korea views education. It is a national day of…
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Why Is Darth Vader on the Washington National Cathedral?

If you want to see the symbolic representation of the battle between good and evil, visit Washington, D.C. No, we’re not talking about the political debates on Capitol Hill. The focus of this cosmic conflict is about 5 miles northwest at the Washington National Cathedral. No, this isn’t going to be a discussion about religion,…
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How One Man Owns All of a Country’s Bread for One Week

Some people like bread. I mean they really like it. They can consume several loaves a day and still want more. Some may even dream about buying all the bread in the country and claiming it for themselves. Of course, purchasing all of a nation’s bread is just silly talk. No one could do that,…
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You Cannot Smell While Sleeping

We feel obligated to elaborate on that headline. Anyone who has participated in a week-long camp with 5th and 6th-grade boys can attest to the fact that sleeping people are capable of smelling very bad. Yes, it is very possible to be aromatic while in a sleeping state. “You don’t smell the coffee and wake…
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Perplexing Platypus Promotes Plentiful Pondering

The general scientific consensus was that someone was trying to pull off a hoax. The newly-discovered animal could not possibly be real. It was an admirable effort, to be sure. It appeared that a skillful taxidermist had somehow attached a duck’s bill to a beaver’s body. Nice try, but it was too ridiculous to fool…
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