ADVERTISEMENT

You can’t really say a fact is useless trivia if creative individuals decide to capitalize on it by creating entire trivia leagues based on fun competition. And all you need to know are facts that you wouldn’t otherwise know. Nor would it bear any significance on your chances of survival on this planet either way. But life is for living, so let’s live it in fun ways.

With that said, folks have recently been sharing their favorite useless trivia facts in a fresh AskReddit thread. Here’s your chance to gather up some trivia for your next night of Trivial Pursuit.

#1

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Dalmatians are firehouse mascots because back when fire engines were just a horse drawn wagon, they were the sirens. They'd run in front of the wagon barking and nipping to spook other horses/wagons and pedestrians out of the way

It's also the reason the Coachmen RV logo is a Dalmatian, rich people would have packs of them run alongside their coaches while traveling because thieves would often hide in wooded areas to ambush wealthy travelers. They'd alert to anyone hiding nearby and help defend the coach if it got attacked

MotherOfBorzoi , Alireza Roudbarmohammadi / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#2

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The word nun is really just an "n" doing a somersault.

Zombie_Slur , Ricardo Gomez Angel / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#3

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The first Oscar's acceptance speech in sign language wasn't by Marlee Matlin for "Children of a Lesser God" in 1986 but by Louise Fletcher for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in 1975. She was born to deaf parents and wanted them to hear her speech at home.

theseamstressesguild Report

ADVERTISEMENT

If you’re here, no doubt you’ve heard about how trivia is a medium of knowledge. Originally, the word is derived from the Latin triviae, which denotes a place where a road splits into two, thus creating a three-way intersection.

Much, much, later, roughly in the 1960s, some students introduced the idea of trivia as a game by informally trading questions and answers about pop culture.

#4

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread We don’t know who invented or held the patent for the fire hydrant as those papers were lost when the US Patent Office…. burned down.

martusfine , Justin Meckes / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#5

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread If you break the word "helicopter" into prefix and suffix, it's not "heli" and "copter" it's "helico" and "pter".

Helico for spiral, and pter for wing. See also: **Pter**odactyl

thvnderfvck , SPACEDEZERT / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#6

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Alaska's Aleutian Islands extend far enough west they're in the Eastern hemisphere, making Alaska the northernmost, westernmost, *and* easternmost U.S. State

The_Mr_Wilson , Tobias Tullius / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

ADVERTISEMENT

It was only in 1965 that trivia became official. A Columbia Daily Spectator column kicked it off with author Ed Goodgold later joining forces with Dan Carlinsky to organize trivia contests and even writing a book in 1966 of the same name.

The concept took the world by storm and it spawned a huge following of people getting together and competing against each other through trivial knowledge.

#7

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Nissan cars for ads/ racing normally use the number 23 because in Japanese, a 2 is pronounced 'ni' and a 3 is pronounced 'san'.

Glittering-Fox-7558 , Dima Panyukov / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#8

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The bishop of the diocese of Orlando is also the bishop of the moon. Canon law states that the bishop of a port that launches a voyage of discovery is the de facto bishop of newly discovered territories until those lands receive their own bishop. So the religious leader of Disney World is also responsible for the moon.

Bobeetoo , Jomarc Nicolai Cala / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#9

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Joe Biden was born closer to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency than his own.

Biden was born in 1942 and Lincoln’s presidency ended in 1865, a gap of 77 years. Meanwhile Biden was 78 when his own presidency began.

autumn-knight , Alexander Gardner - museums.fivecolleges.edu / wikipedia Report

ADVERTISEMENT

There are quite a number of reasons why people like trivia games—an idea in and of itself being a testament to how approachable it is.

One major reason ties in with the idea of personal knowledge. Trivia games mean that you have to know your stuff, but you have to know very particular stuff. Thus, it encourages you to sharpen your mind all the while making use of what you already know and learning new things along the way.

#10

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread People use the word “peruse” wrong. We often use it for when we are just looking over, browsing and not paying super close attention. When in fact peruse means “to examine carefully at length” always found this fact interesting.

Last_Voice_4478 , Beth Macdonald / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#11

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread People who use sign language, even in the same country, can have ‘accents’ that can denote which region they’re from.

People who use sign language can stutter as they sign.

People who use sign language can ‘talk’ in their sleep with signs.

Note: I am not deaf, nor do I know any hearing impaired people. These items were taught to me by a friend whose mom taught at a school for people who are hearing impaired. If these aren’t accurate please correct me.

ramos1969 , RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#12

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The elevator shaft was invented before the elevator. Somebody essentially predicted that the elevator would soon be invented and left a space for it while constructing a building.

Joe_PM2804 , Chris F / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

But there is a huge social aspect to the game as well. While trivia games can be played individually, they are more often a team sport, one that connects people in healthy competition.

The best part is that the idea of intellectual competition makes it accessible to many age groups and, honestly, you don’t have to be all that smart to enjoy the vibe.

#13

Ernest Hemingway once survived two plane crashes in the space of 24 hours.

He was thought to have died in the second crash, but was later found alive with a bottle of gin in one hand and a handful of bananas in the other.

Cadao_Nguyen Report

#14

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The word "factoid" means "a piece of incorrect information that is asserted as a fact."

But now that it has colloquially come to mean "a small bit of trivia," the definition of a factoid is itself, in fact, a factoid.

liamemsa , Scott Graham / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#15

The Caribbean island nation of Jamaica and the New York City neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, are not named after the same thing, nor each other.

The country got its name from "Xaymaca," which is Arawak for "Land of wood and water."

The neighborhood got its name from "Yamecah," which is Lenape for "Beaver."

Boomerang503 Report

It goes without saying that, despite it being a very social game, there is much to be had on a personal level. Trivia games are known to improve self-esteem and, just like any game, they often help reduce stress.

And hey, there’s the added bonus of next to no physical exertion and the fun doesn’t really need to stop because the possibilities for questions are limitless.

#16

Jeremiah’s law states "the best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer."

Lumpyyyyy Report

Add photo comments
POST
John Nelson
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've deliberately answered questions about various things on Reddit wrongly when I didn't know, and the OP was being ignored, just so the poor slob could finally get his answer! :)

Justin Tyme
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No! That is not the best way to get the right answer on the internet. Now let me give you a 500-word essay on the real best way.

Prashant
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And Cunningham's law states that any dispute between two friends has to be settled by hitting each other in the groin, whoever hits the hard gets pay the medical bill of other party's thanksgiving dinner. Amen!

Christine Temple
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or make any statement. Someone will be there to say something about it.

Caroline Overill
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then there are the people who believe your wrong answer is right and start a riot.

Sarah Andrews
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cunningham's law states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong!

John George
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This actually works in a wider arena than just the Internet.

...
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Spending time on forums taught me this law naturally

Rostit.. .
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

eh maybe. I know the logic but so many stupid people use the internet, I wouldnt trust the new answers.

PFD
Community Member
9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Other commenters here have correctly noted that this is in fact Cunningham's Law, so it worked this time. Of course, it was meant to...

Load More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#17

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Orca are considered a natural predator of moose

BostonRob125 , Thomas Lipke / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#18

NASCAR was started because moonshiners need to modify their cars to evade police, when prohibition ended they started racing

Goblindeez_ Report

Other reasons to play include the classic it just makes you feel good because winning a game releases dopamine. This, by proxy, also explains the addictive nature of trivia games and competition.

And, hey, you can one-up this burst of dopamine with another burst caused by food and drinks—no wonder why many competitions are held in bars.

#19

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The filming of the original Willy Wonka was actually rather unsafe, with a large amount of the cast suffering something. In the candy forest scene, Veruca can be seen having cut her knee on a rock, and that's a real injury her actress picked up. She even still has a scar on her knee to this day. In the soap boat scene, all the soap pumped onto the characters caused the actors to have massive reddening and irritation of the skin. Shooting had to be paused for several weeks to allow them to recover.

MaeBeaInTheWoods Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#20

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Lego are the largest tyre manufacturer in the world

TheJammyBiscuit , Ryan Wallace / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#21

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread John Wilkes booth's brother saved Abraham Lincoln' s Son from being killed by a train

CMSV28 , Sarony / wikipedia Report

If anything, it is a learning and self-development experience that’s tailored to be fun. And fun makes learning easier and more effective. So, yeah, sure, you might not get as much exercise as you had hoped, but you trained your noggin muscle and that’s just as important. In fact, using your brain more than the average person does help with keeping your brain young.

#22

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Did you know honey never spoils? Archaeologists found pots of the stuff in ancient Egyptian tombs that's still edible. So, in case of a zombie apocalypse, at least we've got eternal honey for our waffles, right?

CharmingCameo , Art Rachen / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#23

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The day Michael Jackson got his hair burned in the Pepsi commercial was the exact midpoint of his life.

Phillies1993 , NIKHIL / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#24

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread In the UK, for every 1 degree Celsius the temperature drops, Heinz soup sales increase 3.4%

tevans1192 , Kolforn / wikicommons (not the actual photo) Report

Now, sure, keeping your brain intellectually active is only one piece of the puzzle. But it is an important one.

Mental stimulation means new and more lively nerve cell connections in the brain, making it more resilient against cell loss and keeping it more active as time goes by and the body grows old.

#25

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread A sloth can hold its breath longer than a dolphin

B1matth , Javier Mazzeo / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#26

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Twister was the first DVD released in the us

jsolence420 Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#27

The opposite of formaldehyde is casualdejekyll.

BlottomanTurk Report

But if you want the full package, physical exercise, a good diet and just overall care for your body all have a positive impact on the brain. That means improving your blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, avoiding intoxicants like alcohol and tobacco, and, most importantly, keeping up with your own mental health. Yes, being in a good and upbeat mood does wonders, and that requires healthy boundaries and good old sleep.

#28

Sharks predate trees. Boggles my mind.

valis6886 Report

#29

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The only word in the english language with three sets of consecutive double letters is “bookkeeper.”

The longest single syllable word in English is “strengths.”

And Oppenheimer is now the highest grossing movie of all-time that was never #1 at the box office. Before that it was Sing 2.

Edit: changed “in a row” to “consecutive.”

mag0802 Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#30

The word for 'tea' in most languages depends whether they first traded for tea with mainland China or coastal China. That is why almost every language the word for tea is similar to "cha" or "te".

breakermw Report

And if you’ve come this far in the listicle, you’ve likely not yet sated your appetite for brain stimulation via trivial inquiries. So, keep on keeping on with other Bored Panda articles.

But if you want to take a break, be sure to leave a comment with your fun facts in the comment section below before you go!

#31

Squirrels can virtually fall from any height and survive, due to their very low terminal velocity (large surface, low weight)

cozzimo Report

#32

Human skin shedding is a big contributor for dust at home.

curious_they_see Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#33

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The most common star sign in mental hospitals are Aquarius (so those born between Jan 20th to Feb 18th)

kewpiemoon , AnotherGypsy / wikipedia (not the actual photo) Report

#34

The word facetious has all of the vowels and in order.

effdubbs Report

#35

Cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, gai lan (Chinese broccoli), brussels sprouts, collard greens, savoy cabbage and kohlrabi are all different cultivars of the same plant - brassica oleracea.

medicated_in_PHL Report

#36

Viking is a verb. Vikings went viking.

JeremyWheels Report

#37

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Chuck Lorre, who created Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, also wrote the theme song to the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series.

Fabulous_General6597 , nickelodeon Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#38

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The state of Colorado is not a rectangle with four straight sides. Due to poor navigation and the terrain getting in the way during early border markings and expeditions, Colorado Is a shape with 697 sides to it.

Alabastersunrise , TUBS / wikipedia Report

#39

There was a time your parents put you down and never picked you back up

Fagtastrophe Report

#40

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Kangaroos can’t jump backwards.

threwthetoyallday , Ashish Upadhyay / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#41

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Gary Numan is older than Gary Oldman

HereForTheBeer87 , Man Alive! / flickr Report

#42

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Peacocks sleep in trees.

patchgrabber , Sagar Kulkarni / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#43

MISSOURI CHEESE CAVES!!!! You’ve heard of the U.S. subsidizing farmers but did you know that since the 1970’s the U.S. has subsidized the dairy industry. So much money has been poured into dairy industry that the U.S. owns currently hoards approximately 1.5 BILLION pounds of cheese. The cheese isn’t stored in warehouses or facilities, they are simply sent to limestone mines in Missouri, creating The Cheese Caves!

Ok_Air_6116 Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#44

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread My favorite recent stupid trivia is: most people have an above average number of arms and legs

snafoomoose , Sebastian Arie Voortman / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#45

"Gremlins" and "Temple of Doom" caused the PG-13 rating. "Red Dawn" would become the first movie released in theatres with the new rating

The_Mr_Wilson Report

#46

William Shakespeare was the first person to use the word "Bump".

Matt Stone and Trey Parker created the word "Derp"

Gincairn Report

#47

The dots on a dice are called pips and the dots on a ping-pong paddle are also called pips

jsolence420 Report

#48

Apron used to be napron but a napron sounds like an apron so the word naturally changed.

SOwED Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#49

There's enough calcium in the Sun to make a ball of calcium a good bit bigger than Earth.

Bismarcus Report

#50

The capitol of Djibouti is Djibouti

notmoleliza Report

Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
#51

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread The word trivia comes from the markets where three roads would intersect. The roads would create a tri V shape and the markets would be a place where local information was shared. Trivial information.

ReasonablyConfused Report

#52

Not ‘useless’ but a great trivia question!

Q - Name the brothers that hold the NHL record for most combined points by 2 brothers?

A - The Gretzky brothers

Wayne - 2857 points
Brent - 4 points

clinched01 Report

#53

The Word 'bed' looks lika small bed.

Electronic-Pool-7458 Report

Add photo comments
POST
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#54

50 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread Starfish poop through their mouths

cowboyecosse , Clara Cordero / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#55

[Fixed Action Patterns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_action_pattern) in animals. Example: If an egg Is out of place, a bird will do a specific ritual to get it back in place. Once started, the bird will complete the ritual even if the egg is removed.

windmill-tilting Report

#56

Elephants are the only mammal that cannot jump. They are also the only other mammal with a chin.

gingerlemon Report

#57

The word typewriter can be typed without removing your fingers from the top row of the keyboard.

Lyndzay Report

#58

Detroit has many bizarre laws, including spitting on sidewalks being illegal, and any house with over 5 women living in it is considered a brothel. This is the reason there are no sorority houses (yet there are fraternity houses) at the University of Detroit-Mercy.

Wise-Manufacturer324 Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#59

Manhole covers are round with a small lip so the cover could never accidentally fall in the opening and injure the worker.

Watarush27 Report

#60

Polar Bear fur isn’t white, it’s sort of translucent (hollow with no pigment) when light is reflect off it that’s when it looks white.


To add: there skin is black to absorb the warmth from sun


**corrected to remove part about covering noses, apparently existed because of native lore and accounts but has never been observed in the wild be scientists****

Last_Voice_4478 Report

#61

The Ramones were said to be unbeatable at Trivial Pursuit. They would always pick geography, they were also on tour for many years.

Patrickmonster Report

#62

It is illegal to hunt camels in Arizona.

AXPendergast Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#63

Cleopatra used pomegranate seeds for lipstick

Potato2890 Report

#64

Iron Maiden have only ever had 1 UK number one.

teamangrybadger Report

#65

Maine is closer to Africa than Florida is.

BlueFlagHonestly Report

#66

There are only two escalators in the entire state of Wyoming

SoonerLax45 Report

#67

Six State Capitals (USA) are found West of Los Angeles.

RobynsNest1971 Report

#68

As of 2005 there were still about 400 widows receiving military survivors benefits from the American Civil War

Cavalier40 Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#69

Indianapolis Motor Speedway was paved with 3.2 million bricks.

Active-Strawberry-37 Report

#70

In the shining, Jack Torrence has a son named Danny (aka Daniel). In the bar scene he drinks a bottle of Jack Daniel's. So the scene features Jack talking about his son Daniel while drinking Jack Daniel's.

NowIsAllThatMatters Report

#71

El Paso is closer to San Diego than it is to Houston.

Cgk-teacher Report

#72

Adele is younger than Carly Rae Jepsen… that was an interesting fact to learn

Adele was born in 1988

Jepsen born in 1985

IntoTheVeryFires Report

#73

Isaac Newton invented the cat flap door.

alphabetjoe Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda