“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
“How are you?”
“Good, how are you?”
“Good.”
And then the conservation ends before it even got a good start. Small talk, one of the largest pains of human existence. I personally, hate it. It’s so awkward, and you start the same conservation with everyone, and it’s an endless loop. There are so many tips out there on the web on how to deal with small talk, or ways to spice it up. But, in the end, it always just ends up being the same situation.
Small talk.
A friend of mine told me that the best way to start a conversation is to state a random fact. One that will surprise people, make them question you, so you can question them, or say stuff like “no way!” She actually used this on me, she introduced herself by telling me some strange fact about polar bears. I don’t remember the fact, but I remember how funny it was, and how all of us were in shock (we were backstage, getting ready to do our musical scene).
So, I thought I would make a list of random facts for you to use to start conversations (if you’re interested in trying it yourself some time).
The word set has more definitions than any other word in the English language. According to Merriam Webster, set has 25 different definitions, and it can have even more definitions when using in specific phrases. Bonus Fact: Some of the definitions include: to put (a fowl) on eggs to catch them, to defeat (an opponent) on bridge, and to cause fruit to develop. And these are only a few! If needed, you can always pull out your phone and find the definitions along with someone you need to converse with.
-40 degrees is the only temperature that is the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius. Let’s hope we never get to that.
Cats purr to regenerate their bones. A cat's purr calms their kitten, while also keeping their muscular and skeletal systems from breaking down from high impact jumps.
Sailors from China invented ketchup. In the early 1500s, the tomato paste made bland rations better.
According to a Dutch psychologist, an average human can only stand three seconds of silence. Most will become fearful or dejected after three seconds.
According to Merriam Webster, the female equivalent of the word “dude” is “dudine”.
“Anatidaephobia” is the fear that somehow and somewhere, a duck is watching you. not exactly a “real” phobia, but it is an interesting way to start a conversation.
A couple in Sweden got fined for naming their kid “Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116” Believe it or not, it’s pronounced Albin. But don’t worry, the couple renamed the child “A” thank goodness for that child’s sake.
Marilyn Monroe had an IQ of 163. Albert Einstein had an IQ of 160.
Pineapples don’t grow on trees. For some reason, I thought they did, but no. Pineapples grow from the ground.
If you nap after learning something new, you’ll retain the information better. So yes to naptime.
Mark Zuckerberg is colorblind, which is why the Facebook logo is blue, it’s the easiest color that he can discern. It apparently was a good decision.
Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.
You’ll eat more than 35,000 cookies in your lifetime, on average.
There are more plastic flamingos than real flamingos in the US
M&M’s stands for “Mars and Murries” which is the last name of the candy’s founders.
The average person spends six months of their life waiting for a red light to turn green.
It is physically impossible for a pigs head to look up at the sky. So much for them flying, huh?
Saturn has a low enough density that it would float in water. Saturn’s radius is 36,184 miles.
On Jupiter and Saturn it rains diamonds.
The British royal family is not allowed to play Monopoly, apparently it gets too “viscous”.
Popcorn wasn’t always a movie snack, prior to the Great Depression, movie theaters hated popcorn. Before, movies were a fancier activity, and they did not want to associate themselves with the snack. But, when going to the movies became for everyone, they quickly picked it up, after seeing vendors sell so much of it outside the theater.
The voices of Mickey and Minnie Mouse got married in real life.
Before the 1800s, people had a first and a second sleep. They would sleep for two to three hours, wake up and do some activity, and then they would go back to sleep.
So, if you’re looking for a way to keep your conversation going, I hope you can remember these random facts to use in day to day life.
Works Cited
https://www.thefactsite.com/2011/07/top-100-random-funny-facts.html
https://thoughtcatalog.com/jacob-geers/2016/04/really-funny-random-weird-facts/
https://www.buzzfeed.com/terripous/81-super-interesting-facts-to-blurt-out-in-the-middle-of?utm_term=.dedb7bj1M#.xtk1R1jyN
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