Some call it “at.” Others know it as “each.” The Italians refer to it as a “snail.” To the Dutch, it is the “monkey tail.” This curious symbol, known by so many […]
The Accidental Ascendency of @
Can You Decode The Message Designed to Tell Aliens All About Humanity?
Assuming you are a person of reasonable intelligence, (actually, since you are a reader of Commonplace Fun Facts, we assume you are a person of extraordinary intelligence), what would you make of […]
Is Xmas an Attempt to Take Christ out of Christmas?
For all of the gift-giving, decorations, holiday music, delicious food, and festive traditions, there is no escaping the fact that the central element of Christmas is the recognition of the birth of […]
Grawlix, Plewds, and Briffit: the Literary Language of Cartoons and Comic Strips
Regular readers of Commonplace Fun Facts are well versed in the meaning and use of some very unusual words. Even the most learned lexicologist may stumble over words such as briffit, grawlix, […]
Nuclear Semiotics: How to Warn the People of 10,000 Years in the Future
While nuclear energy has unquestioned benefits, there are some trade-offs. Among the downsides to nuclear energy is the problem of nuclear waste. Nuclear waste can be hazardous to all life for at […]
The Prickly Reason Behind Scotland’s National Flower
When it comes time to look for a flower to represent an entire nation, few would consider choosing a weed. Scotland’s choice of the thistle as its national emblem is due to […]
Infinitely Interesting
That sideways figure eight used as the symbol for infinity (∞) is properly known as a lemniscate.
Commonplace Fun Facts 