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Random Facts

My brain is full of useless information that is sometimes actually interesting to others. However, relating some of these facts during a party makes me a total bore (read know-it-all). I am NOT a know-it-all, and really don’t want to be accused of that, so I keep this stuff to myself. Well, not entirely.

Be prepared to be inundated with totally interesting but useless information that will make you, too, a know-it-all at parties.

Dance Music Can Discourage Mosquitos From Biting You

Photo by Syed Ali on Unsplash

According to Acta Topica, The electronic song “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” by Skrillrex will inhibit sexual activity preventing the dengue vector Aedes aegypti from mating by disrupting the normal low frequency sounds they associate with mating. Good news, that! Turn it up!

Those Metal Studs on Your Jeans Actually Have a Name AND Serve A Purpose

Photo by Manny Moreno on Unsplash

Check out your favorite jeans and you will see those cute metal rivets (their actual name). According to Levi Strauss & Co these rivets add extra support to the fabric and help prevent the pockets from ripping. In 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. and Jacob Davis received U.S. Patent No. 139,121 for Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings. Thank you, guys! Well done.

The Collective Noun for Geese is Gaggle

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Everyone knows the collective noun for a group of geese is a gaggle. Did you know that a group of hippos is “Bloat?” Also, a group of penguins is a “tuxedo,” a group of bats is a “cauldron,” and a group of owls is a “parliament.” Do you know what doesn’t have a collective noun? Octopuses.

Last and certainly least:

A “Jiffy” is About One Trillionth of a Second

Photo by Veri Ivanova on Unsplash

According to Dictionary.com, in the late 18th or early 19th centuries, scientist Gilbert Newton Lewis defined a jiffy as the amount of time it takes light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum, about 33.4 picoseconds. That’s one trillionth of a second. Quite the jiffy.

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