National Trivia Day – Jan. 4

No trivia is too trivial.  Beat the winter of the doldrums and pull out the trivia board game for a round or two.

Mental Floss offers 54 Fantastic Facts for National Trivia Day.  Here’s a few below:

  • Some cats are allergic to humans.

    Cat sneezing

    Don’t ignore your cat’s sneezing and watery eyes. Find relief for your feline friend by visiting your local veterinarian.

  • If your dog’s feet smell like corn chips, you’re not alone. The term “Frito Feet” was coined to describe the scent.
  • Ingesting uncooked rice will NOT make a bird explode.
  • Forty is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order.
  • The sum of all the numbers on a roulette wheel is 666.

 

Robert L. Franklin gives us 33 more facts for National Trivia Day.  Here’s a sample below:

  • Due to the placement of the voice box, human’s are biologically incapable of breathing and swallowing at the same time
  • Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn.
  • When written, the word “almost” is the longest word in the English language that has all of its letters in alphabetical order.
  • he last execution by guillotine conducted in France was on September 10, 1977. For comparison, Star Wars: A New Hope was released in theaters four months prior.
  • You are three times more likely to get a computer virus from a religious website than you are a pornographic one.
Betty White

Actress Betty White is older than sliced bread. Pre-sliced bread was not a thing until 1928, while Betty White was born in 1922.

 

  • On January 5, 1920, The Boston Red Sox sold the contract for pitcher George Herman to the New York Yankees for $125,000. You may know George Herman as “Babe Ruth.
Advertisement

15 Facts on National Toilet Paper Day – August 26th

Today (August 26) is National Toilet Paper Day! Here are some interesting facts about toilet paper to help you celebrate this quirky event!

USA money toilet paper

Americans use 50% more toilet paper than other Western societies.

Americans use 50% more toilet paper than other Western societies. On average, Americans use about 50 pounds of toilet paper per-person per year, compared to people in other Western countries, who use about 33 pounds per year each. Americans also prefer multi-ply paper, which increases the per-person usage rate.

Novelty Electric Toilet Tissue - corn cob with an electric cord

Corn cobs (the un-plugged kind) were used as toilet paper in the past. Progress is great!

Some interesting things have been used in place of toilet paper. Water, hay, corncobs, leaves, sticks, stones, sand moss, hemp, wool, husks, fruit peels, ferns, sponges, seashells, and broken pottery have all been used in the bathroom at one time or another.
(Broken pottery!)

Over or under? About two-thirds of Americans prefer their toilet paper to come off the roll over the top.

Toilet paper was introduced in the US in 1857. Joseph Gayetty is credited with bringing toilet paper to the US market in 1857. The paper was dispensed in flat squares embossed with Gayetty’s name. Gayetty’s Medicated Paper exited the market in the 1920′s, a victim of competition from the more compact and more easily dispensed rolled paper commonly used today.

Rolled toilet paper (and toilet paper rollers) hit the US market in 1883. Seth Wheeler patented both rolled toilet paper and toilet paper dispensers.

Colored toilet paper was available in the US for about 40 years. Scott was the last company to remove colored toilet paper from the US market in 2004. Colored toilet paper is still readily available in European countries.

model with blue colored toilet paper

Hold the color! US consumers prefer bright white, multi-ply paper with decorative designs. While the designs give an embossed look, the toilet paper isn’t truly embossed. The designs are created as part of the drying process during production, and according to the manufacturers, they improve the overall strength of the paper.

Toilet paper is specially designed to decompose. Even though they may feel similar, toilet paper and facial tissues aren’t the same. The fibers used to make toilet paper are very short, which allow the paper to begin disintegrating within seconds of becoming wet. This design allows the paper to dissolve in septic systems. Remarkably, after getting wet, toilet paper still retains about 15% of its dry strength.

The first mention of toilet paper in history was from the 6th century AD. Chinese history records the first mention of the use of toilet paper in the 6th century. By the 14th century, toilet paper was mass-produced in China.

Global toilet paper production consumes 10 million trees each year. Each tree produces about 100 pounds of toilet paper. On average, global toilet paper demand consumes nearly 30,000 trees each day.

Mr. Whipple squeeze the Charmin

Mr. Whipple said, “Don’t squeeze the Charmin!” But he can’t help himself.

Standard size? Not always! The industry standard size of a square of toilet paper is 4.5″ x 4.5″. Some manufacturers reduce the size of the square in order to offer a lower retail price.

Toilet paper is a bona fide bestseller! Not surprisingly, toilet paper is ranked third in overall sales of non-food items, and accounts for more than $4 billion in US sales annually.

camp toilet paperThe US Army used toilet paper as camouflage. During Desert Storm, the US Army used toilet paper to camouflage its tanks.

It doesn’t pay to be British. At least when it comes to buying toilet paper. Britons spend on average about twice as much as other European consumers do on toilet paper, and about three times more than US consumers do for the same product.

Here’s the real reason Canada likes us. The US is the largest exporter of toilet paper in the world. On the other side of the coin, Canada imports more toilet paper from the US than any other country.

 

Some may remember  the “little brown shack out back” as does Country & Western Singer Bobby Bare.  Check out this video:

World Cup Quiz

While American football barely uses the feet during the game, soccer is played almost entirely with the feet, so “football” is a very appropriate name. The rest of the world refers to US-style football as “American football” or “gridiron.”

FIFA World Cup - BrazilRight now, people around the Globe are watching the World Cup 2014. How much do you know about football…or for Americans, soccer. Take the Quiz.

1.What is required of you to wear to play in an organized game of soccer?

a. helmet

b. shoulder pads

c. gloves

d. shinguards

 

2. Are the officials called Referees?  True or False

 

3. What is soccer’s international championship games called?

a. World Cup

b. FIFA

c. World Series

d. Superbowl

 

4. What soccer position, on average, runs the least?

Pele

A member of three Brazilian World Cup-champion teams, Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time.

a. midfielder

b. goalie

c. forward

d. defender

 

 

5. How is a soccer game started?

a. throw in

b. pitch

c. kickoff

d. punt

 

 

6. What part of the body can’t touch the ball?

a. head

b. chest

c. inside the foot

d. palm of the hand

 

 

7. A typical final score for a game of professional soccer might be 38-27.   True or False?

 

David Beckham

Bend it Like Beckham – David Beckham

8. What size ball is considered full size?

a. 10

b. 3

c. 5

d. 1

 

9. When will an improper throw-in be called?

a. if you stand on the line

b. if you jump

c. if you use both hands to throw the ball

d. if you throw the ball over your head