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Whether it happens around the office coffee machine, the BBQ party's grill, or at the bar, running out of things to say is a real possibility when you're having small talk. And depending on the level of your social anxiety, the uncomfortable silence that follows can be pretty deafening. So in order not to end up in such a situation, let's take a look at the Facebook group 'Unique Facts.' From intricate personal stories to fascinating trivia about the animal kingdom, and beyond, these posts will definitely give you some random ideas on how to save your next failing conversation.
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The popularity of this group, together with the Instagram account 'Facts', Facebook page 'Now You Know' and countless others illustrate that people still love trivia.
And while nobody can claim to have invented "knowing random stuff for fun," the trend gained a lot of ground in the '70s.
The original Jeopardy! daytime game show premiered in 1964 and the nighttime syndicated version started airing in 1974, around the time pub trivia began to take off. While these events probably evolved organically, the first formalized version came about in 1976, when Sharon Burns and Tom Porter peddled quizzes to pubs in southern England.
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At first, the plan was to just give bars a way to get people in on slow nights, but the concept became a huge hit. In the US, groups like Pub Trivia USA and America’s Pub Quiz organize city- and state-wide competitions, often with serious cash prizes.
“We don’t want people to walk into a bar and feel like they can't contribute for a round,” Cullen Shaw, co-founder of the NYC Trivia League, told GQ about what makes for a good trivia night.
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Dave Van Beurden 4 weeks ago (edited)
Is not so much for liberating the country (US and Polish troops also played a big part in that) but for keeping the royal family safe during their exile. And temporarily changing part of a hospital Dutch soil so that the princesses were born in the Netherlands.
"If there’s a really difficult 17th-century poetry question, maybe there’s one person in the bar that knows that, but a sports question comes up after that and they let someone else answer. That's what’s fun about team trivia," Shaw explained.
Then again, you don't even need to be on a team to participate—or even leave your home. Hundreds of thousands of people log on to various apps to play every day.
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Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 weeks ago
I have a sundial, I attached a light to it so it works at night also.
The draw toward trivia seems to be rooted in our natural curiosity and desire for challenge. "We are a competitive people," said Shaw. "We like games; in general, humankind has gravitated toward them."
People also enjoy alcohol and socializing, so a combination of all three—plus the bragging rights that come with answering a tough question that nobody else did—creates an activity with lasting appeal.
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RoHa 4 weeks ago
Imagine what my life would have been like if BP had censored the word 'd**g' effectively in the above image. I could have been someone.. I could have made positive change in the world.. I could have lived with purpose. Sadly, my young mind was corrupted in an instant and I am now spiralling into darkness. My once promising mind is corrupted and I shall only know torment until my blackened heart rests at the end of what will surely be a cursed life. Why, BP? WHY? Tell your children what has happened here today, lest they sink into the same deep, dark cavern of woe.
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LonelyLittleLeafSheep 4 weeks ago
Svalbard, Norway. And it's threatened by climate change, so...
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Alexia 4 weeks ago
I have A neg. I signed up to donate blood some years ago and I've been donating regularly. It seems to be a rare type (at least in my area), because I am sometimes contacted by someone from the donation center and asked if I could come on day X for an urgent blood request. It's cool to know you're really helping someone. Someday you might be the one in need of blood.
Plus, playing trivia games also gives your brain a workout, as it requires you to recall facts, make connections, and think critically under pressure.
"[Trivia questions] can engage your brain and reward/dopamine responses," said Alan D. Castel, Ph.D., a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of California.
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Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 weeks ago
What is the difference between a rabbit lifting weights and a rabbit with a carrot in its ear? Ones a fit bunny, the other is a bit funny.
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HTakeover 4 weeks ago
They're an offshoot of the Chinese Red Delicious; like the majority of apples are cultivated to be this way, not natural. The growing conditions are very specific so incredibly hard to duplicate hence why you don't see others trying to grow them. You can, however, get the Arkansas Black Apple, which is very similar in appearance though tart rather than sweet. Also cultivated of course.
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Bob Brooce 4 weeks ago
Calling it a diamond mine is a bit like calling a mountain stream a gold mine just because panning for gold can actually produce a modest amount of gold. The place is Crater of Diamonds State Park, and park statistics say that about 1 of every 200 visitors finds a diamond. A few very valuable diamonds have been found, but the park says that most aren't even appraised. I'm sure it can be fun, but it would be a mistake t think there's a good financial reason for a visit.
"Some research has shown that people are in fact willing to gamble, and even subject themselves to electric shocks to satisfy their curiosity for trivial knowledge that carries no apparent value, and may share neural mechanisms with that of hunger for food—showing the almost primal power of curiosity," Castel added.
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Rebekah Fuentes 4 weeks ago
I know in my brain it's an octopus, however, doesn't that look like my man's carrying a 8 armed Alien through the water?!?!?
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Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 4 weeks ago
People who work with pineapples, cutting them up for processing etc, lose their fingerprints, the acids in the pineapples eat the ridges away.
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May 4 weeks ago
Copying my comment from below. I watched several architect videos stating that such buildings were absolutely unsustainable and an absurdity (issues with constantly having to care for the trees, inc roots growing, flats being infested with bugs (inc mosquitoes) to the point where inhabitants don't open their windows) massive use of water etc. Several people in the comments who lived in such buildings seemed to validate these points...If you have some further feedback i'm interested
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LonelyLittleLeafSheep 4 weeks ago
Or maybe just plant a tree? In the US, these tanks would be vandalized and broken in no time at all.
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WindySwede 4 weeks ago
Really cool to eat a lemon afterwards, but the sweet-taste is little bit different than ordinary sugar.
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LonelyLittleLeafSheep 4 weeks ago
No, thank you. My dreams are really weird, usually involve strange architecture and not enough bathrooms, and watching them once in my sleep is quite enough.
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Tom Hardeveld 4 weeks ago (edited)
and thousands of square miles of rainforest are destroyed to make place for sugarcane plantations (one article said 16.3 thousand km2) So it is very bad for the environment
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Richard Graham 4 weeks ago
SUBARU is Japanese for a cluster of six stars, which the Greeks called the Pleiades – part of the Taurus constellation.
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What would you do if you discovered a worker tampered with building materials in your home?
LonelyLittleLeafSheep 4 weeks ago (edited)
Interesting factoids, but the multicolor fonts are annoying as hell.
Bob Brooce 4 weeks ago
As usual, these come direct from another source with no changes other than any censorship B considers necessary. In this case, the post come from a Facebook group, and, well, Facebook.
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Jrog 4 weeks ago (edited)
These factoid collection is just so full of BS that scrolling through is frustrating. BP once again shines for its utter and complete lack of editorial effort or fact checking.
Becky Samuel 4 weeks ago (edited)
And once again, those pointing this out are downvoted. Frustrating is definitely the right word.
Load More Replies...
LonelyLittleLeafSheep 4 weeks ago (edited)
Interesting factoids, but the multicolor fonts are annoying as hell.
Bob Brooce 4 weeks ago
As usual, these come direct from another source with no changes other than any censorship B considers necessary. In this case, the post come from a Facebook group, and, well, Facebook.
Load More Replies... Jrog 4 weeks ago (edited)
These factoid collection is just so full of BS that scrolling through is frustrating. BP once again shines for its utter and complete lack of editorial effort or fact checking.
Becky Samuel 4 weeks ago (edited)
And once again, those pointing this out are downvoted. Frustrating is definitely the right word.
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