Because It’s Still February & I’m Bored: 10 Trivia Facts I Know

/ Ally Bean
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{ photo by Alice Donovan Rouse via Unsplash }

I don’t know if the following list is an example of useful information OR humblebragging.

I mean on the one hand, knowing some trivia can be fun and fill-in those awkward pauses in social conversations.

But on the other hand creating a list like the one that follows is a bit egotistical.  I mean in essence I’m saying to you, here are things that I know and you probably don’t.  Woo-hoo!

However, I have nothing else to write about today because February, the longest short month on the calendar, is never going to end and I am bored with it.  So why not share some trivia?

Ten Trivia Facts That I Know
  1. I know that on the Jetsons, Astro’s name before he came to live with the Jetsons was Tralfaz.
  2. I know that Cosmic Latte is the name of the color of the universe.
  3. I know that at one time Jell-O came in a Celery flavor.
  4. I know that shoes used to be made with buttons on them, no laces or velcro;  and that you needed a button hook to get the button-hole over the button on your shoe, so it would stay on your foot.
  5. I know that a stoat is a kind of weasel that according to folklore, upon seeing one a person must say “hello” to it– or risk bad luck.
  6. I know that coffee, not tired eyeballs, is an ingredient in red-eye gravy.
  7. I know that baby squirrels in the nest chirp like baby birds.
  8. I know that at one time in the English language you put a backward question mark at the end of a sentence when the question in the sentence was rhetorical.
  9. I know that chromophobia is the word for the fear of color.
  10. I know that you can make a passable martini using chardonnay instead of vermouth.

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NOW IT’S YOUR TURN TO SHARE, MY GENTLE READERS. TELL ME SOMETHING TRIVIAL THAT YOU KNOW!

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113 thoughts on “Because It’s Still February & I’m Bored: 10 Trivia Facts I Know”

  1. Tralfaz? Tralfaz?

    I know that one of the only (if not the only) musical artist to receive album credit from both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones is Billy Preston.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Trachymidkephibia – do you know that it is to do with the trachy and the phobic phibia? Well, I don’t know that either and really please don’t take my word for it-have a great weekend Ally Bean – month end is Tuesday whoop whoot!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Sorry Ally, I got nothin to add to the list, but I am happy to report that I also knew #’s 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8- 50%! so I will just say that I’m not as trivia-challenged as I once believed.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. There’s an elegant shoe button hook from my grandmother smother among the other gathered items here.
    Malamute and Huskies are descended from Eastern European wolves (now extinct) who traveled across a land bridge in Alaska not those wolves in North America. (Molly snarls at the thought of being considered an immigrant as her pack has been around for ever…and besides Alaska belonged to Russia ( they can see it from their front porches and haven’t forgotten…friends in high places HA HA)
    Maybe this month seems so long as it’s was so difficult to learn to spell it in school?

    Liked by 1 person

    • philmouse, oh I’d love to have an antique button hook. If for no other reason than it’s a charming reminder that there are different ways to do things.

      I didn’t know about Eastern European wolves and their progeny. Huh, and always thought that a wolf is a wolf is a wolf…

      Good point about February. I probably have some residual bitterness about learning to spell it. I’ve never been was a good speller.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I know, from actual observation, that Red Squirrels are bad ass little beasts who will challenge and attack, yelling like tiny ninjas the much larger Grey Squirrels and even crows for possession of sunflower seeds. Their nickname in these parts is “Boomers.”

    Liked by 3 people

    • bobcabkings, lol. Great bit of trivia. We don’t have any Red Squirrels around here so I’ve not seen these Boomers in action. Our squirrels are grey, and occasionally all black. Some red ones would add a little color to the forest.

      Liked by 1 person

      • They yell at me too, sometimes for no apparent reason, or, maybe they are arguing amongst themselves, IDK. Another item is that it has been found that the specific predator warning calls of a variety of mammal and bird species are similar enough to be understood by many. When our neighborhood hawk comes around, it is hard to tell the calls of the squirrels from those of the blue jays.

        Liked by 2 people

    • Yes! This is true and I have experienced the rage of a wee red squirrel while I was hiking through the woods. I startled him. Her? Let’s go with him. Anyway, he opened his move as wide as his tiny jaws would allowed and he bellowed at me. Bellowed, I tell you! His bloodshot little eyes almost popped from his head. It probably didn’t help my case that I LOL’d at him. But just to be on the safe side, I stepped off the path, and didn’t turn my back on him. He deserved that much at least.

      Liked by 3 people

  9. I only knew #9 of yours. Yikes. Here’s a bit of trivia for you: that annoying twitch we get in our eyelids every now and then is called “eyelid myokymia.” I’m doubting it will ever make it as a Jeopardy question though. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  10. I know that originally Elsa was supposed to be the villain in the movie Frozen and Let it Go her bad-girl justification ballad, but then they recorded it, realized what kind of song they actually had on their hands, and rewrote the entire film.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Blair, don’t feel stupid because you don’t know any of my arcane, useless, pointless, obscure trivia. I shouldn’t know this stuff, but I do… because I read too many weird things.

      And yes, the whole celery-flavored Jell-O idea is ridiculous. There was/is/will be no reason for its existence. Ick, is right.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Everyone alive today celebrated their 28th birthday on the same day of the week they were born on.

    There is a teeny tiny spider on the upper left corner of the shield around the upper right number one on a one dollar bill.

    Liberace nearly died on the same day John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

    “You Better Run” by Pat Benatar was the second music video ever played on MTV.

    Richard Nixon is the only US President since John Adams to serve in office while not a single one of his predecessors was alive.

    Creedence Clearwater Revival had more #2 hits (5 of them) than any other artist in pop music history who never had a #1 hit.

    I have many, many more…. but as you know, even all of this useless information did not win me a dollar when it mattered 16 years ago…

    Liked by 1 person

    • evilsquirrel13, thanks for making me laugh out loud. I do know about your unfortunate turn of events all those years ago. So sorry.

      Am going to look for this alleged spider on the one dollar bill.

      Didn’t know about Pat Benatar’s video on MTV. That’s a really good trivia fact.

      Seems like some teacher might have blathered on about the Nixon/Adams connection, but it didn’t stick.

      I had an album by CCR, which was kind of a big deal when I had it.

      Good list of useless information. Well done.

      Like

      • The Nixon factoid is one I completely came up with on my own, and I’m kinda surprised I’d never seen it talked about elsewhere given how odd it is to have a period of time where no ex-Presidents are alive, as we had from January 22, 1973 till Nixon resigned in August 1974. There’ve been five living exes at three different points in the past 30 years, including right now…

        Liked by 2 people

        • I vaguely remember the Nixon factoid because I took a poli-sci class in college about Watergate. The rest of your presidential trivia is new to me. Pity that the five living exes don’t have much control or influence over 45. That’s a group who know what’s what– and a bit of their guidance could only improve The Orange One.

          Liked by 1 person

  17. I’m supposed to be working so I just have time for one: One of the first things a baseball umpire learns in umpire school is how to take his mask off in a hurry without messing with his baseball cap. They don’t want to look stupid with their hat all askew on their heads or have the hat fall on the ground in the field of play.

    EWWW for celery jello. I did know about the buttons on shoes. Only 4 days left of February, hang in there!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Janet, who knew baseball umpires were so vain! That’s a great trivia fact. Trust me I have my eye on the calendar. I’m sick of this month. Don’t know why it’s bugged me so much this year, but it has. Bring on March.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Love your list Ally, even though I only knew about the buttons on the boots – very Victorian! The only bit of trivia I can bring to mind right now is that the little dangly bit at the back of the throat is called an uvula. Ta-da! I listen to a radio show here on an afternoon, Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 (available via the internet if you were interested), and they have regular snippets throughout the afternoon that they call Factoids. They come up with some weird and wonderful bits of trivia. If only I could remember any of them! Polly

    Liked by 1 person

    • Polly, nice trivia fact. I’m not sure when I’ll be in a position to use it, but when I do I’ll think fondly of you. 🙂

      We get BBC America on our cable TV lineup, but as for BBC Radio I’ve never thought to listen to it online. Thanks for the idea.

      Like

  19. I got buttons and stoats. And stoats only because I happened to see one this winter. Which makes me wonder, do you know the name of the stoat in it’s winter “plumage”?

    You probably do. You have an awesome appetite for the arcane.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Wow, your list was incredible. Celery flavored jello? I can’t imagine how awful that would be. I have no worthy contribution, although I’m sure my mind is full of trivia. It’s Friday night and I could probably go to bed at 8; that’s how exciting/awake I am. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Margaret, I understand. I wrote my trivia list over a couple of days in the morning. Right now at 9 p.m. I’m having a difficult time just writing this comment. So tired.

      Like

    • J, funny who knows about how shoes used to be made. I thought that was general knowledge, but after writing this list I’m learning that it’s considered an arcane fact. Who knew? Oh, that’s right– you! 😉

      Like

  23. I try not to clutter my already packed brain with trivia- after all, the word means “of little value.” Instead, I reserve the premium space in my brain vault for the important stuff, like the best way to eat an Oreo (creamy stuff first) or when the next season of Game of Thrones will start.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Gabe, we all do what we can to keep our brains ticking and clicking. If trivia isn’t your thing, so be it. Obviously you have more important facts to collect regarding cookies and TV. Priorities, eh? 😉

      Liked by 1 person

    • The best way to eat an oreo is to scrape the creamy stuff off and throw it away. 🙂 A former roommate and I had a great system where we twisted them apart and I got the cream free halves and she stuck the cream covered halves together.

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Doesn’t it seem that this February has gone on forever? I kept thinking it was near the end of the month and it’d be somewhere in the middle. But I think we’re finally on the downhill side.

    I know lots of useless things but I can’t seem to pull them out of my head without some kind of trigger. I can tell you that in the 50s Jello went through a phase where they were trying to push savory Jello salads. In addition to celery Jello, there was tomato Jello that didn’t last either. I think they also made coffee flavored Jello for a while. Have you tried the new Jellos made with actual fruit instead of artificial flavors? Makes me love Jello again. The new Jello banana pudding is wonderful too!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Zazzy, I agree about this February. Usually it zips by but not this year. *blah*

      Tomato flavored Jell-O sounds worse than celery to me. Ever have anything in aspic? That way of preparing food is awful so I’d guess tomato Jell-O would be like that. Ick.

      Haven’t tried any of the new Jell-O flavors, but will look for them now. I’m one of those weirdos who actually likes Jell-O so I need to find out what I’m missing.

      Liked by 1 person

  26. Well, thanks for asking, but after that display of fascinating trivial knowledge of a weirdly awesomely specific, prolific variety, I can’t think of a damn thing that would top it.

    I bow to the trivial queen. *bows*

    Like

    • Tara, thank you. I put this post together over a few days so I had the chance to remember what I knew. But it’s true that I do know some rather odd, totally useless facts. It’s a gift! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • nancy, I agree. Think how much more festive this post could have been IF I had made & photographed a celery Jell-O salad concoction– preferably one of those old-time ones that included mayo in it & you made in a mold. Yep, that would have been perfect.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Ally – Did you know that your blog is one of the few blogs that I allow to show up in my e-mail? But that’s not trivial by any means.

    Did you know that ghosts really do visit children? I’ve talked to several people whose children have had this experience. My grandson when he was 2 was playing in our entranceway and he came to a group of family members in the living room and said, “Ghosts”. He had never heard the word or concept before and wasn’t saying “goats”. At that point I began to question the “There’s no such things as Ghosts.”👻

    Did you know that people with actual green eyes, no hazel, are among the minority? I have that claim to fame.👽

    Did you know that most people abducted by aliens have green eyes and are RH Negative? I don’t want the know my blood type because Danny Darlin’ has compiled a list of reasons he believes I was abducted by aliens – forreal.😳

    Liked by 1 person

    • Patricia, thank you for following me via email. I appreciate it.

      The story about your grandson is spooky, but why not? Besides who doesn’t love Caspar the Friendly Ghost? He rocks.

      I didn’t know that green eyes were the minority color, but now that I think about it I’ve only known one woman with completely green eyes. Neato for you.

      And I did not know about the green eye alien abduction connection. Somehow I missed that fact and have to wonder about my whole education now. Seems important to know such trivia.

      Liked by 1 person

      • My husband is a fan of Ancient Aliens on the History channel. I have a unexplainable dished out scar on my back. Alien abductees most often will have scars where some sort of device was implanted. So creepy but nothing surprises me. Feisty Froggy has the same scar and she lived in Roswell. Her Father was stationed at the base there. Poor Froggy. Neither one of us is freaked out about it. You might be interested to read my post Was I Abducted by Aliens? People tend to be offended for me because they tend to think DD is abusive for thinking that I might be an Alien abductee.😂 He is just a theory freak who is so much fun to live with.

        Liked by 1 person

  29. Pingback: Picking Favorites for the end of February | The Englishist

  30. From what I could find, here is the complete list of Jello flavors ever created: Apple, Apricot, Berry Blue, Black Cherry, Black Raspberry, Blackberry, Blackberry Fusion, Bubble Gum, Celery, Cherry, Cherry Lemonade, Chocolate, Coffee, Cola, Concord Grape, Cotton Candy, Cranberry, Cranberry-Strawberry, Fruit Punch, Grape, Green Apple, Italian Salad, Lemon, Lemon-Lime, Lime, Mango, Maple Syrup, Margarita, Melon Fusion, Melon-Berry, Mixchief Grape, Mixchief Juice, Mixchief Soda Pop, Mixed Vegetable, Orange, Orange-Banana, Orange-Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Peach, Piña Colada, Pineapple, Pineapple-Grapefruit. Plain, Raspberry, Raspberry Mango, Root Beer, Seasoned Tomato, Sparkling Berry, Sparkling Mandarin Orange, Sparkling White Grape, Strawberry, Strawberry Daiquiri, Strawberry Punch, Strawberry-Banana, Strawberry-Kiwi, Triple Chocolate, Tropical Fruit, Tropical Fusion, Watermelon, Watermelon Candy, Wild Strawberry, Wild Raspberry.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. That question mark would be super useful on the Internet. It just needed to last a little longer in usage and it would have been as ubiquitous as the hashtag!

    Random fact: The Beach Boys song “Good Vibrations” clocks in around three minutes, but Brian Wilson compiled it from about 90 hours worth of recordings. No wonder the dude is a bit crazy.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. I knew #4, because my mom used to have an actual button hook and had bought shoes for me and my sister that required the use of aforementioned tool. Thanks for your trivia knowledge–I love the feeling of being smarter today!

    Liked by 1 person

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