A little bit of trivia can make any conversation much more enjoyable
We have some pretty smart people in Beaverton, but do you or they know everything? Of course not.
For example, did you know that there are male and female zippers? The concept of a zipper began in the mid-1800s, but zippers as we know them today did not appear until 1913. A male zipper has the “pull” on the right side of a jacket, and a female zipper “pull” is on the left side. This difference evolved, because servants dressed wealthy women, and thus the “pull” was placed, so that it would be on the right side for the person doing the dressing.
Spider webs are very unique. If it were possible to unwind the silk threads of a typical spider web, what would be the length? They would average between 20 and 30 feet. Some communal webs measure up to 100 feet in length. Last year the largest communal spider web was discovered in a cave in Greece and was over 1400 square feet in size!
If you ask someone if there are any birds that cannot fly, they will respond with something like, “Yes, penguins and ostriches.” What few people realize is that there are at least seven different species of birds that do not fly, meaning there are nearly 120 types of flightless birds. Ostriches are the largest birds that do not fly, and there are four in this large, running bird category. Other flightless birds include a variety of parrot, and surprisingly a duck and cormorant. There are some interesting factors that influence if a bird can fly, including weight and the lack of predators.
Bet you cannot guess how much wood it takes to create a roll of toilet paper. Typically, over a pound of wood is used! Another way of looking at it—one tree (maple trees are common in North America) can be turned into up to 1500 roles of toilet paper. Obviously, the size and type of tree influences the total number of roles that are produced. Paper towels require even more wood. One tree can be turned into a little under 120 roles of paper towels. When making paper products the wood is first ground into pulp, and then using huge amounts of water, is turned into the specific paper product. It certainly makes you consider how many trees you are using a year to dry off your hands.
Other fun facts I bet you did not know, and you could use to have fun conversations with family and friends might include:
- Octopuses have 3 hearts and their blood is blue
- Sea Otters hold hands when they sleep
- Most people think that bananas are round (they actually have five sides!)
- Strawberries are the only fruit with the seeds on the outside
- An elephant weighs as much as the tongue of a Blue Whale
Have fun letting people know how smart you are!
Nancy Neal Yeend is a local grandmother and retired mediator of business disputes. She enjoys going to parks and visiting memory care and assisted living facilities with her Therapy Dog, Wolfie.
