Necessity is the mother of invention. Few things create greater necessity than war. Consequently, some of the greatest innovations in technology have arisen out of military conflict. World War II generated great […]
If you have spent any amount of time learning about World War II, you were probably taught that the lands of North America were blessedly exempt from combat. If so, you may […]
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 […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: Special thanks to the office of Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (4th District, Missouri) for providing the legislative history on the American Hippo Bill. Who doesn’t enjoy a good ol’ slab of […]
Robert E. Lee famously said, “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” Whether terrible or otherwise, war should be so significant that it […]
Italian pop star Adriano Celentano wrote a song that rose to hit No. 1 on Italy’s music charts but wasn’t in Italian. It was inspired by English, but its words weren’t from […]
Traffic lights are one of the last places you would expect to find artistic expression. The stick figure of a walking man and an upheld hand tell pedestrians all they need to […]
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy describes the Marketing Department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as: “A bunch of mindless jerks who’ll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.” […]
What can you do with 45 minutes? You might watch an hour-long television program by skipping the commercials. You could walk three miles at an average pace. Your time could be spent […]
Georgy Zhukov was a hero of the Soviet Union, but he had an embarrassing secret. He was an addict. What made it worse was that his addiction, if known, would be especially […]
Luciano Pavarotti made history on February 24, 1988. He played the part of Nemorino in Gaetano Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Germany. At the conclusion of the performance, […]
Backpfeifengesicht is a German word referring to a face badly in need of a fist.
If you spend any amount of time looking at the headlines, you might wonder whether humanity’s clock is about to run out. If so, you would not be the first to come […]
The year 2011 will be remembered by most of the world for its political and geological upheaval. Osama bin Laden and Muammar Gaddafi were killed, the Arab Spring saw protests in Libya, […]
The Ideas Department of Commonplace Fun Facts suggested a series of stories during the month of December about Christmas traditions around the world. “Great,” replied the Research Department. “We’ll find some charming, […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 