When Your Brain Hoards Useless Knowledge
Some people collect stamps. Others collect vintage lunchboxes. And then there’s your brain—quietly stockpiling random trivia like it’s prepping for a very eccentric game show. You don’t choose these facts; they choose you. One minute you’re minding your own business, and the next you suddenly know that octopuses have three hearts or that bananas are berries, and now this information is just…there. Forever.
So in the spirit of feeding that little gremlin in your mind who loves learning things with absolutely no practical application, here are the pieces of random trivia that will set up camp in your brain and refuse to leave. Enjoy the clutter.
46. Lest They Forget
Each year since 1947, Norway has given a Norwegian Spruce tree to serve as the Christmas tree in London’s Trafalgar Square. The tree is a token of appreciation for Britain’s support of Norway during World War II.
45. Biological Advantage
Can a man outrun an antelope? While you may never match the speed of one of the four-legged animals, you might outrun one over time. Humans have evolved to be great endurance runners, which scientists think is an adaptation that ancient humans used for hunting wild game. In fact, humans are some of the best long-distance endurance runners in the animal kingdom.
44. Tall Hero
Bao Xishun, a Mongolian herdsman and the current record holder for World’s Tallest Man, used his incredibly long arms to remove plastic from the stomachs of two dolphins, saving their lives. Bao stands 7 feet 8.95 inches tall and each arm extends over 3 feet long. All other attempts at saving the dolphins had failed.
43. A Suitable Name
Watermelons may be delicious today, but they weren’t always. The melons originated in Africa and were first cultivated solely for their water content, not for taste—their flavor was very bitter.
42. Not For All The Gold In The World
Almost 30% of the world’s gold reserves are held in a vault underneath the island of Manhattan. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York takes up a full block between Maiden Lane and William, Liberty and Nassau streets, and it holds the world's largest gold depository. Only 5% of the USA’s gold reserves are kept there though—the rest belongs to international banks like the IMF.
41. Sneaky System
Ukrainian pole Vaulter Sergei Bubka had it all worked out—he repeatedly and deliberately broke the world pole vault record by the smallest possible height so he could cash in on a Nike bonus with each new world record. In a two-year span between 1991-1993, he broke his own world record 14 times.
40. Below The Surface
Volkswagen might seem like the friendly, sensible car you learned to parallel park in, but don’t let that modest exterior fool you. Behind the curtain, the company basically runs a luxury car empire—owning heavy hitters like Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti, and even Lamborghini. Humble on the outside, automotive royalty on the inside.
39. Helpful Fellow
A dolphin named Pelorus Jack regularly guided ships in Cook Straight, New Zealand through treacherous waters between 1888 and 1912. He was so valued that he was officially protected by law and a popular country dance was even named after him.
38. Bearded Wonder
There is an Australian folk-rock band called The Beards, and every single one of their 38 songs is about beards. Some of their hits include, “All The Bearded Ladies,” “You Should Consider Having Sex with a Bearded Man” and “I’m in the Mood… For Beards.”
37. Dangerous Game
In 2004, Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport was the 14th busiest airport in the world, but they’ve always taken leisure seriously. The Royal Thai Air Force shares the airport, and it maintains a fully-functional golf course in between the airport’s two runways. A red light signals golfers to hold back whenever planes land.
36. Renewable Resource
In Sweden, the body heat of commuters passing through Stockholm’s Central Station is harvested to provide heat for an office building across the road. Jernhunsen, a real estate company, found a way to channel the heat from the 250,000 passengers that come through the station each day, converting the energy into hot water and channeling it to the other building.
35. Better Than Axe Deodorant
Tigers, jaguars and leopards love the smell of Calvin Klein’s "Obsession For Men." The fragrance is used to lure the large cats to cameras in the wild. In response to the cologne, the cats “would start drooling, their eyes would half-close, almost like they were going into a trance.” Not quite the same effect as it has on humans.
34. Just Call Him “Dr. Magic”
Until this year, Neil Patrick Harris, star of Doogie Howser, MD and How I Met Your Mother, served as president of the Magic Castle, a private club for magicians in Los Angeles. You can only attend the venue if you're a member of the Academy of Magical Arts, a guest of a member, or a guest at the Magic Castle Hotel. Formal party attire is strictly enforced at the club and the only way to enter is by saying a secret password into a sculpture of an owl.
33. Passing the Time
Between 1970 and 1973, four Israeli fighter pilots found themselves stuck in an Egyptian prison with nothing but time—and a copy of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit sent through the Red Cross. So what did they do? They translated the entire thing from English to Hebrew, turning their POW cell into the most unlikely literary workshop in Middle-earth. When their version was finally published in 1977, readers loved it so much that many still consider it one of the finest Hebrew translations ever made.
32. Greek to Me
The English idiom “Sounds like Greek to me,” indicating something incomprehensible, has several cognates from around the world. In the Venetian dialect, the phrase translates to “This is Turkish to me.” In Turkish, the phrase is “I’m French to the topic.” In French, speakers say “It’s Hebrew.” In Hebrew, they say, “that is Chinese to me.” And finally, Chinese speakers say “That sounds like Martian language!” No word on if the Martians say "It's English for all I know!"
31. Public Access
When you're in Sweden, The Right of Public Access, or Allemansrätt gives one the year-round right to walk, cycle, ride, ski and camp on any public (and most private) land, with few exceptions. It officially promises “the right to roam the countryside in Sweden in perfect peace and quiet.”
30. Up To The (Milli)Second
Speed is now so important in financial trading that in 2011, a new $300 million transatlantic cable was laid down in order to shave five milliseconds off communications between New York and London—the first transatlantic cable laid in 10 years. Five milliseconds may not seem like much, but since so much trading is now done by computers, it can actually make a massive difference.
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29. Rare Find
In 1986, Romanian sewer workers accidentally discovered a cave which had been sealed for 5.5 million years. Movile Cave is filled with exotic and evolutionarily distinct creatures, including albino crabs and worms that feed off of sulfur-producing bacteria. To this day, less than 100 people have ever set foot in Movile Cave, similar to the number of people that have walked on the Moon.
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28. According To Honda…
In 2006, Honda became the sole supplier of engines in the IndyCar series. That year was believed to be the first time in Indianapolis 500 history that the race was run without a single engine problem.
27. Underground Tubes
Did you know that New York City has an underground network of tubes? No, we’re not talking about the subway—until 1953, NYC had a pneumatic tube mail network that spanned 27 miles and connected 23 post offices. At its peak, the system moved 95,000 letters a day at speeds of 30-35 miles per hour.
26. High And Low
Singapore boasts the world’s highest percentage of millionaires—about one in every six households can casually claim at least a million dollars in disposable wealth. But there’s a twist: the city-state also ranks among the developed world’s leaders in income inequality. In other words, it’s a place where the ultra-rich thrive…and a lot of everyone else is just trying to keep up.
25. Happy Holidays
May 29th is Put Your Pillow On A Fridge Day. This bizarre and little-known holiday dates back to the early 1900s, when a piece of linen or cloth from a bedroom was placed in one’s larder for good luck, merging the hopes for plentiful food and fertility.
24. That Won’t Stop Me
According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, it is considered poor etiquette to put ketchup on a hotdog if you are over 18 years of age. Relish, mustard, onions, cheese, and chili are recommended as acceptable alternatives.
23. Non-Namesake
Businessman Armand Hammer was often claimed as the namesake of Arm & Hammer, even though the company was founded 35 years before his birth. The company and the man were actually both named after the symbolic arm and hammer of the Socialist Labor Party of America, but Hammer did eventually buy enough stock in the company to get on their board of directors, where he remained until his death in 1990. If the name sounds familiar, it may be because his great-grandson, actor Armand "Armie" Hammer, shares it with him.
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22. No Lie
Disney's Pinocchio was based on The Adventures of Pinocchio, an Italian children’s story from the 1880s written by Carlo Collodi. The book has been translated into more than 260 languages, making it the most-translated non-religious book in the world.
21. What A Waste
In 1996, a bill was passed to protect food vendors from liability for giving unused food to the needy instead of throwing it away for fears they could be sued. However, many vendors aren't necessarily aware of the protections, and the US still throws away one-third of all the food it produces. That’s 133 billion pounds of food wasted every year.
20. Accolades For Love
The Polish government awards a “Medal for Long Marital Life” (Medal Za Długoletnie Pożycie Małżeńskie in Polish) to couples who have been married longer than 50 years.
19. Airport Madness
A BBC survey discovered a delightful bit of absurdity: at 4 out of 10 of the UK’s biggest airports, it’s actually cheaper to park a light aircraft for a day than it is to park your car. Yes—your plane gets the better parking deal.
18. Noble Sacrifice
Larry Lemieux, a Canadian sailor at the 1988 Olympics, was about to win a silver medal when he abandoned the race to save two other competitors who had capsized. Lemieux lost out on his chances at an Olympic medal but was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for sportsmanship.
17. How Apt
The three main characters of the Harry Potter films were perfectly cast, even better than the casting directors knew: Before the filming of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, director Alfonso Cuarón had Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson write essays about their characters. Watson turned in a 16-page essay, Radcliffe gave a single page, and Grint forgot to turn his in.
16. Up In The Air
The Guinness World Record for "Most Passengers on an Aircraft" is held by an El Al Boeing 747 used during Operation Solomon, which saw the evacuation of Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 1,088 passengers were carried on a flight on May 24th, 1991, including two babies born on the flight.
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15. From One First Lady To Another
First Lady Barbara Bush famously called The Simpsons “the dumbest thing [she] had ever seen,” and two years later, her husband stated, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons.” Shortly after, Mrs. Bush received a touching and heartfelt letter “from” Marge Simpson (actually written by The Simpsons' writing staff), saying that she was doing her best and trying to raise her children as best she could. The letter moved Bush so much that she wrote back to apologize.
14. Techno-Savvy
The 9,000 member Wapichan tribe of Guyana is fighting illegal logging on their land with technology. The indigenous tribe has been filming the activity with a drone they built by watching DIY videos on YouTube, then taking the footage to the Guyanese government.
13. Humble Reminder
Engineers in Canada receive an iron ring to symbolize their profession. The rings were first made in response to the collapse of a bridge in Manitoba that claimed 75 lives due to the poor work done by the engineers who designed it. The ring is worn on the pinky finger of the dominant hand so that it drags on the paper as the engineer is writing, serving as a constant reminder of the obligations and ethical weight of working as an engineer. It's a popular myth that the rings were originally made from the reclaimed metal of the collapsed bridge, but that was never actually the case.
12. Pretty Fly
Dexter Holland, frontman of pop-punk legends The Offspring, is basically what happens when a rock star speed-runs a bucket list. Not only did he graduate high school as valedictorian, he went on to snag a PhD in Molecular Biology from USC, pick up a pilot’s license, and casually fly solo around the world in ten days. When he’s not doing that, he’s running his own hot sauce company or knocking out marathons to support The Innocence Project. In short: he’s punk rock, but also…kind of a superhero.
11. Is That Even Allowed?
Billionaire Michael O’Leary, CEO of airline Ryanair, has his own taxicab company with just one cab so he can legally use bus lanes and avoid traffic jams. The company owns a single Mercedes outfitted with a taximeter and a sign on top—the whole shebang. O'Leary charges himself €86 per ride.
10. Supporting Hops and Dreams
During a worldwide hop shortage in 2008, the Sam Adams brewing company sold other craft brewers their hops at cost to keep them in business. They’ve also given over 3 million in loans to small breweries to spur competition. Says Jim Koch, chairman of Sam Adams, “The reason I support competitors becomes obvious if you think about the way yeast ferments beer. If enough yeast are working together, they can change the ecosystem for the mutual benefit of all.”
9. A Quack Team
Since Donald Duck debuted in 1934, there have only been only three voice actors to voice the character: Clarence Nash (1934–1985), Tony Anselmo (1985–present), and Daniel Ross, (Mickey and the Roadster Racers, 2017-present)
Clarence Nash
8. Jinxed!
In 1963, San Francisco Giants Manager Alvin Dark joked, “they’ll put a man on the moon before [Giants pitcher] Gaylord Perry hits a home run.” On July 20, 1969, less than an hour after Neil Armstrong’s historic moonwalk, Perry hit the first home run of his career.
7. Mani/Pedi Takes on a New Meaning
A Memphis resident was given steroids for an allergic attack in 2009. Over the next three years, her body suffered one of the strangest allergic reactions in medical history. On the surfaces of her body which would normally grow hair, she started to grow nails, due to a change in the number of skin cells that were produced. She is the only person of record to suffer from this rare disorder.
6. When You Gotta Go
Neil Armstrong may have been the first man on the moon, but Buzz Aldrin was the first man to urinate on the moon. What a legacy!
5. Plus, There's the DNA...
Just like fingerprints, everyone has a one-of-a-kind tongue print—because of course they do. Thankfully for everyone involved, law enforcement has stuck with the classic ink pad instead of asking suspects to lick official documents.
4. This Explains Krampus
Christmas was considered an ancient pagan ritual and was banned in the US until 1836. It only took a few decades for it to become a national holiday. Fruitcakes given at that time are probably still being passed around too.
3. An Ingenious Solution
In 1911, the New Zealand town of Brightwater had 5 electric street lights powered by a hydroelectric generator, which itself was auto-controlled by a flock of chickens. At night, the chickens would go inside their coop and their weight would close an electric circuit, turning on the street lights. At dawn, they’d leave the coop and break the circuit, turning the lights off.
2. Good Luck
Each year, more than 1.5 million Euros are thrown into Rome’s famed Trevi fountain by tourists. The money is used to subsidize a supermarket for the needy, so at least some wishes are coming true.
1. Be Vewwy, Vewwy Quiet…
In the popular Looney Tunes cartoons, hunter Elmer Fudd is known as the enemy of Bugs Bunny. But initially, he just wanted to shoot Happy Rabbit (the predecessor of Bugs Bunny) with a camera. Fudd came to the country to photograph wildlife, but the rabbit drove him crazy, causing him to jump into a lake and nearly drown. After that Elmer replaced the camera with a rifle, and can you blame him?
Looking for more facts like this? We made a special list with all of our most fun facts together, and a full list of random facts.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48