A Matter of Perspective

I consider myself to be somewhat of a purveyor of interesting and useless facts. With that in mind, I will now share with you some interesting (or at least I found them interesting) but useless facts. I guess the facts could be of some use in the case of needing something to talk about with someone, but mostly...useless! But fun!

These facts are from the book, “Astonishing Bathroom Reader: Your No. 2 Source to ALL the Flushing Facts, Jamming Trivia & Gassy Mysteries of the Universe!”

Fact: Despite ample evidence to the contrary, refusing to believe he could smell bad, Steve Jobs (1955-2011) would not bathe or shower while undergoing a strict vegetarian diet!

Fact: A transcript of one of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches written in 1862 contains the first-ever “wink” emoticon! ;)

Fact: By diluting your blood’s sodium level, too much water will make you feel “drunk.”

My two cents: Do not try this if you are going to be driving. Even if you won’t blow a positive number for alcohol, you could still be cited for poor driving.

Fact: A woodpecker’s tongue wraps around its skull to protect its brain from the shock of drilling trees with its beak.

Fact: A “jiffy” is the time it takes for light to travel 0.39 inches in a vacuum, which is about 33.3564 picoseconds.

My two cents: Don’t tell someone you will be there in a “jiffy” unless you intend to be there very quickly!

Fact: Contrary to popular belief, staring at a solar eclipse won’t cause instant blindness, but exposure should be limited to less than a minute. Typical impairments may be as minor as visual field discoloration, but recovering normal vision shouldn’t take more than a few weeks!

My two cents: Why risk it? Build one of those box viewers and save your eye sight.

Fact: A new aerobic, rod-shaped species of bacteria that lives in hairspray was discovered in 2008.

My two cents: I may never use hairspray again!

Fact: Ten percent of all the world’s salt is used by the United States just to salt roads!

Fact: China makes 70% of the world’s air conditioners, 58% of the world’s shoes, and prints 90% of all the world’s Bibles!

Fact: An average person can survive for up to a month without food, eleven days without sleep, and three to eight days without water.

My two cents: Not something to try!!

WARNING: This next fact is pretty ugly!

Fact: A million bacteria, 10,000,000 viruses, and 100 worm eggs are generally contained in 0.035 ounces of human feces.

My two cents: Why? Just why did someone spend money to discover this? I mean, obviously it isn’t killing us, so why did the money get spent?!?

Fact: Mouth kissing actually transmits less bacteria than shaking hands, but saliva does transmit rabies and Hepatitis B among other viral diseases.

Fact: The English language has more words than any other. An average dictionary contains 600,000 words, but English-speaking people use only about 60,000 in their lifetime.

Fact: Sixty-five percent of the world’s hard drugs are consumed in the United States, which explains why 90% of all dollar bills contain traces of cocaine!

Fact: Theobromine is a highly toxic alkaloid present in chocolate, which can kill dogs, cats and even bears, yet is deemed “safe” for humans.

Fact: On October 21, 1988, a poodle named Cachy fell off the thirteenth floor of a building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing three people: Marta Espina (75) on impact; Edith Sola (46) who was hit by a bus while hurrying across the street to help, and an unnamed male witness who suffered a stroke at the gruesome sight!

That should give you plenty to talk about the next time you find yourself without something to say!