Imagine you walking along a path. You reach a fork in the road. Each of the divergent paths is blocked by a guard. A sign tells you that one path leads to […]
Can You Solve the Fork in the Road Brain Teaser?
Can You Solve the Unexpected Hanging Paradox?
The Unexpected Hanging Paradox — also known by various names such as the Surprise Examination and the Surprise Drill — has stumped the most brilliant of thinkers. It has been debated in […]
Is a Cat a Liquid or a Solid?
Cats are paradoxes. They are adorable and cuddly, yet they can abruptly become fierce and unapproachable. Perhaps their dual nature is what compelled Erwin Schrödinger in his famous thought experiment, in which […]
All Generalizations Are False
“All generalizations are false, including this one.” — Mark Twain
Brainteasers To Keep Your Mind Sharp
One of the best ways to prevent mental decline is to take some time every day to exercise your brain. As a public service, Commonplace Fun Facts offers you this opportunity to […]
First Prize For Printing a Story That Can’t Be Printed
The delightful book Littlewood’s Miscellany by John Edensor Littlewood contains a snippet that will cause brain cramps if you contemplate it for very long: It notes that in a writing competition in […]
Totally Awesome Facts About Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
As the release date for Bill & Ted Face the Music approaches, the nerdiness level at Commonplace Fun Facts Headquarters is rising exponentially. In anticipation of the sequel that has been almost […]
You Have to Share Your Birthday — But Not Necessarily Your Cake
Put 23 people in a room and there is a statistical probability of 50% that two of them have the same birthday. Increase the number of people to 70, and the odds […]
When You Win By Losing … Or Do You Lose By Winning?
An act of charity by one of the fathers of modern thought led to one of the greatest paradoxes of legal and philosophical history. Protagoras was one of the early great thinkers […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 