Being the intelligent, observant, and contemplative person that makes you a reader of Commonplace Fun Facts, you have undoubtedly noticed something about prices. They always seem to end with 99 cents. It’s […]
Why Do Prices Always End With 99 Cents?
Did Pepsi Promise to Raise the Dead or Did Coca-Cola Invite China to Bite the Wax Tadpole?
Weird things can happen when mistranslating words from one language to another. See these articles for some examples. The results can be hilarious, embarrassing, or disastrous. If you search for examples of […]
How the Baby Ruth Candy Bar Influenced the Bombing of Hiroshima
This morning’s headlines are filled with reports of war, pandemic, political turmoil, and — perhaps most distressingly — further chronicles in the lives of a couple of people named Harry and Meghan. […]
How E.T. Made Reese’s Pieces One of the World’s Favorite Candies
When E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial hit the silver screens in 1982, the movie was a sensation. It quickly shot past Star Wars to take the lead as the highest-grossing film to date. Nearly […]
Rebrand of Suicide Bridge To Promote Life Surprisingly Backfires
The beautiful Han River is one of the primary geographic features of Seoul, South Korea. Spanning the river to connect the Mapo and Yeongdeungpo districts is a majestic bridge that has been […]
Check Out These Wacky Board Games
Admittedly, the Commonplace Fun Facts staff is not really big into board games or games in general. It probably has something to do with the “Does not play well with others” notation […]
What Was the First Thing Sold on eBay?
One of the most successful internet businesses in history is eBay. Started in 1995, the online auction site has grown to over 187 million users, 1.7 billion listings, facilitated over $100 billion […]
What is the Deal With the Machine that Makes Mouse Soup and Why Would Anyone Want One?
“Only the Polytron reduces an entire mouse to a soup-like homogenate in 30 seconds.” That’s how the newspaper advertisement begins. If your reaction is typical, you went back and read the first […]
How Did Pepsi End Up With the 6th Largest Navy in the World?
In the never-ending battle for market share, Pepsi has consistently taken second place against its rival, Coca-Cola. Fortunately, the rivalry between the companies has been limited to commerce. Had it broken out […]
The Creepy Commercials and Weird Flavors of Little Baby’s Ice Cream
Our philosophy about commercials here at Commonplace Fun Facts is that we don’t watch them. Watching commercials only encourages advertisers to flood the airwaves with more, especially during the times we want […]
Drink Pepsi and Win a Jet — Or Maybe Not
In 1995, Pepsi launched the Pepsi Points promotion. The public was encouraged to drink as much Pepsi as possible with the promise of earning points with every purchase. These points could then […]
How Much Do You Know About Santa Claus?
One of the most recognized people in the world is that jolly, old elf, Santa Claus. Everything about him — his beard, hat, coat, belly, and even his distinctive laugh — immediately […]
The Unbelievable Marketing Campaign that Sank a Company
When it comes to brand identification, few companies have been more successful than The Hoover Company and its sales of vacuum cleaners. In the United Kingdom, Hoover so dominated the vacuum cleaner […]
The Death Row Origin of Nike’s Slogan
“Just Do It” has been the slogan of Nike since 1988. The words evoke visions of bold determination and inspirational challenges to be your best. Far from inspirational, the origin of the […]
Would You Use These Weirdly Named Products?
In marketing, deciding product’s name is the first big step to letting the world know why it needs that particular item. Unfortunately, the language barrier sometimes presents its own obstacles and sends […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 