What is a factoid?

As a personal blogger, I spend more than my fair share of time trawling around the internet skimming trivia sites and wikis in search of good guff to share with you.

In the course of my travels, I often come across blatant factoids. Mostly, I try to sift them from my posts but they are slippery and conniving little buggers and, no doubt, they occasionally sneak through.

But, what exactly is a factoid?

Besides being the bane of this blogger's existence, a factoid is a questionable, unverified, incorrect or fabricated statement presented as a fact without any proof.

However, I reckon the word 'factoid' can also be used to describe a particularly insignificant or new fact (that may or may not be true), without much relevant context. (You'll notice some snippets of information in my posts reek of this type of factoid-ness but I include them anyway because they are just too juicy to pass up!)

Norman Mailer coined the term ‘factoid’ in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe, describing factoids as ‘facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper’. The Washington Times described Mailer's new word as referring to ‘something that looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact’.

Often, factoids are repeated so frequently that they become accepted as fact, sometimes becoming urban legends.

Here are three factoids that you have probably accepted at face value as true:

• Real estate value doubles every seven years. In 1890, the average Sydney home price was $1,446 (£723). If property really did double every seven years, the average price of a home in Sydney would be $189 million. It’s actually closer to half a million dollars.

• Dogs and cats are colour-blind and see the world in shades of grey. Moggy and Fido actually do have colour vision; it’s just not nearly as good as that of humans.

• The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the moon. No man-made object can be seen with the naked eye from the Earth's moon. A viewer would need visual acuity 17 times better than normal (20/20) to see the Wall from the moon.

So, read with care those magazines and newspapers – and blogs, lest you be led astray by a colourblind moggy or a camouflaged factoid.

Image: jscreationzs

What your Christmas tree says about you

Choose the answer to each of the five questions that is closest to reality and discover your Christmas spirit through your tree choices.

1. What size is your Christmas tree?
a) Below knee height.
b) Taller than a foot stool but shorter than me.
c) Enormous – practically sweeping the ceiling.
d) I don’t have a Christmas tree. (Skip the rest of the quiz and go straight to scoring.)

2. Your Christmas tree is:
a) actually a pot plant I decorated but if you squint your eyes up, it looks kind of festive.
b) plastic, from somewhere classy like Chickenfeed or The Reject Shop.
c) real, my vacuum cleaner will soon asphyxiate form pine needle inhalation.
d) Stolen. (Skip the rest of the quiz and go straight to scoring.)

3. Your tree decorations comprise:
a) a bedraggled bit of tinsel and a couple of stale candy canes.
b) colour coded balls with matching tinsel and fairy lights.
c) traditional hand carved wooden decorations handed down through my family for generations.
d) Decorations? (Skip the rest of the quiz and go straight to scoring.)

4. When you do put your Christmas tree up?
a) On Christmas Eve, if I remember.
b) Some time in the middle of December.
c) December first to make sure I celebrate the birth of Jesus for the maximum period.
d) It's still up from last year  – I just took the clothes and cobwebs off it. (Skip the rest of the quiz and go straight to scoring.)

5. What is on top of your tree?
a) A bird, deer or other animal.
b) An angel.
c) A star.
d) An upturned empty beer can.

Scoring

Mostly a’s
You’re a step up from a Grinch but your Christmas spirit could do with some serious TLC. Go and watch a schmaltzy movie or scoff some marshmallow Santas to get yourself in the mood. Alternatively, shrug, abandon the token effort and allow your inner Scrooge to shine on through.

Mostly b’s
You genuinely dig the Christmas vibe. You probably send real cards rather than e-cards and hang the ones you receive on strings around the house. You sing along to Carols by Candlelight – you know all the words to Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer (even the silly ‘like a light bulb’ ones). And when you read ‘Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus’, your eyes tear up. When it comes to being a Christmas angel, you’re the real deal. Maybe watch the news every now and again or beat yourself around the head with a large trout for a reality check.

Mostly c’s
You are what’s known as a Christmas tosser. During the festive season, you donate mega bucks to charity (counting on the tax deduction); you go to church for the business contacts; and you distribute lavish gifts (to lord it over the plebs around you). On the surface, you are brimming with Christmas cheer but you wouldn’t know the Christmas spirit if it bit you on the arse and gave you rabies. Do us all a favour, get your hand off it and just fly to Noosa for the holidays.

Any d's
You are a flag-waving, badge-wearing, card-carrying Grinch. Be proud.

For more on Christmas, see Bah! Humbug!.

Image: Salvatore Vuono

24 facts about red

Why red? Well, the teen was planning to name her (soon to arrive) kitten Cocquelicot. Can you imagine calling it for dinner? Hell, I can't even say it. Microsoft Word can't spell it – not that that's saying much.

For the unenlightened, apparently cocquelicot is the colour of poppies. Call me simple, but, personally, I would have just named the beast Poppy (boy or not) – or Red (it's a cat  – it doesn't care.) But the revised name is Wilbur.

Whatever.

In any case, the cat got me thinking about red and this is what I came up with:

1. Red is the first color you lose sight of at twilight.

2. When two people say the same thing at the same time  – an omen that the two will have an argument  – Greeks say ‘piase kokkino’ (‘touch red’) and touch the closest thing that is red to undo the prophecy.

3. In Jamaica, a popular slang term for someone who is drunk is ‘red’.

4. Mars is called the ‘red planet’ because of the iron oxide that colours its surface.

5. Cochineal red, discovered by the Aztecs, was made using the female cochineal beetle. A kilo of water-soluble extract required about two million insects. For the Aztecs, the dye was considered more valuable than gold.

6. Bees can't see the color red, but they can see all other bright colors. Red flowers are usually pollinated by birds, butterflies, bats and wind, rather than bees.

7. According to feng shui, you should paint your front door red as a money magnet.

8. Studies show that red can increase your rate of respiration and raise your blood pressure.

9. Red also means ‘beautiful’ in Russian.

10. Murray Cook is the red Wiggle.

11. Red appears in many colourful phrases such as: paint the town red, see red, in the red, red-letter day, red-neck, red tape, red-eye flight, red-hot, not worth a red cent, caught red-handed, red-carpet treatment and better dead than red.

12. In England, red phone booths and red double decker buses are national icons. Standard British pillar boxes (mail boxes) have been painted red since 1874.

13. Red represents wrath, one of the seven deadly sins.

14. Islamic, Hindu, and Chinese brides traditionally wear red, while it is the color of mourning in South Africa.

15. Some animals associate red with dominance. For example, the mandrills with the reddest faces are the alpha males.

16. The colour red doesn't really make bulls angry; they are colourblind.

17. Psychological research has shown that men find women who are wearing red more attractive.

18. Josef Albers said: If one says 'Red' – the name of color – and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be fifty reds in their minds. And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different. Shades of red include (but are not limited to): scarlet, crimson, vermillion, carmine, maroon, burgundy, ruby, rose, madder, rouge, brick, blood red, blush, fire engine red, cinnabar, russet, rust, Venetian red, flame, Indian red, tomato and cocquelicot.

19. The port (left) side of a ship carries a red navigation light to warn other vessels approaching from that side to change course to avoid a collision.

20. Some brands that use the word red include: Red Bull, Redheads, Red Cross, Red Herring and Redline Coaches.

21. If you wear red, you perform better in professional sport and multiplayer video games. Judges of tae kwon do favour competitors wearing red protective gear over blue.

22. When you drive a red car, the message you send is: vibrant, sexy, speedy, high-energy and dynamic. If your vehicle is a burgundy or blue-red, you give a similar message but in a less crass way. (I drive a red car but it is nearly 20 years old. Sexy grandma???)

23. Nena’s 99 Luftballons was re-recorded in English as 99 Red Balloons because the translation (99 balloons) didn’t have the right number of syllables for the beat.

24. In the late 16th century, the fat of a redheaded man was an essential ingredient for poison.

Image: maple

21 disgusting things some guys do in public

1. Having burping competitions. It’s not funny; it’s puerile. You can keep your skanky anchovy breath to yourself, thanks.

2. Kissing your wife goodbye as you dial your girlfriend to confirm you’re en route to your root. This is not a testament to your virility – it’s a stinking stain on your soul that even Preen Ultra Degreaser won’t sort out for you.

3. Adjusting your privates – you don’t see us rearranging our breasts, do you? (And thinking that wouldn’t be a bad sight is best left to your inside voice, buddy.)

4. Picking your nose in a car – the windows are transparent, dickhead. We can see you. And when you flick/wipe it away, it doesn't evaporate. It sits there being green and germy.

5. Scratching your bum. I have one word for you: Combantrin.

6. Squeezing zits/picking scabs. Just don’t.

7. Sending us smoldering glances from a neighbouring checkout while your pregnant wife is trying to calm your screaming toddler by the exit – this does not make us want to fall in to your arms; it makes us want to shoot video and send it to your mother.

8. Leaving the toilet full of skid marks – note: if you poo, clean the loo.

9. Hawking and spitting – especially when your vile green oyster wad lands near me.

10. Insulting your wife, girlfriend or mother. It doesn’t make you manly; it makes you about as attractive as congealed baby puke.

11. Flashing your fat, furry bum crack. Put it away. And buy a belt.

12. Farting and laughing. May a rank and chunky shart descent on your undies halfway through your next job interview.

13. Farting while talking to us on the phone. What? Do you think we’re deaf?

14. Browsing porn. Get your hand off it and take it home.

15. Cruising behind a nice looking girl and yelling out every opinion and aspiration that crosses your puny mind. Tip: she’s not flattered or interested – she’s revolted and vaguely intimidated. I’m guessing that’s not the effect you were shooting for, cowboy.

16. Getting obscenely drunk (bonus fifty points on the bottom feeder scale if you puke).

17. Kicking your dog. We hope one day, while you’re passed out on the couch, it eats your face off.

18. Coughing or sneezing without covering your face. I hate to shock you, but we don't want your germs.

19. Using mugs/stationery/calendars or other items with tacky, tasteless or misogynist slogans/images (yes, Chris, we noticed that the bears on your coffee mug were fornicating – it wasn’t clever and subtle, it was pitiable and nauseating).

20. Exhibiting bad table manners – chewing with your gob open, talking with your mouth full, overstuffing your cake hole, smearing food on your face or leaving crumbs in your beard. It's not a compliment to the chef; it's an insult to humanity.

21. Foot care of any kind – trimming nails, scraping out toe jam or even massaging sweaty feet turns out stomachs. Some things are best done in private, lads.

The end of everything

Well, not everything...but here is a post about 10 lasts (number 2 contains a spoiler):

1. The last public execution by guillotine was on 17 June 1939. Eugen Weidman was executed before a large crowd in Versailles, France. There was a non-public one in 1977. France abolished capital punishment in 1981.

2. You gotta love the last moments of Citizen Kane where we realise ‘Rosebud’ refers to the sled Kane owned as a young boy; it symbolises his lost innocence and ultimate disappointment with life.

3. The Revelation of Saint John the Devine is the last canonical book of the New Testament. It reads: 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

4. In September, 1978, Janet Parker, an English medical photographer, was exposed to smallpox in a laboratory accident. She died. On May 8, 1980, the World health Organization declared smallpox eradicated. There are still some samples in laboratories.

When scientists destroy the samples, the smallpox virus will become the first life form intentionally eliminated from the earth.

5. The last moments of the Challenger space flight occurred 73 seconds after lift-off.

A faulty o-ring seal set off events that meant Challenger was thrown sideways into the Mach 1.8 wind stream.

The seven crew members may have survived the resulting spacecraft disintegration but were killed when the cockpit hit the water at 320 kilometres per hour (yup, that'll do it).

6. The last known wild Tasmanian Tiger was shot in 1930 by farmer, Wilf Batty, in Mawbanna.

The world's last Tasmanian Tiger, Benjamin, died at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, on 7 September 1936 after being locked out of it's shelter on a day when Tasmania experienced extreme weather conditions, extreme heat during the day and freezing temperatures at night.

In an Elvis-esque manner, Tasminian Tiger sightings are still a regular occurrence.

7. In a classic example of the triumph of hope over experience, Liz Taylor married her eighth and last husband, Lawrence Lee Fortensky in 1991. Larry was born on 17  January 1952 in California and not much else happened until he met Liz at the Betty Ford Clinic, marrying her at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Not much else happened until they divorced in 1996.

8. Phoebe Harrius was convicted of coining false money, a crime of high treason and was the last person burned at the stake. The burning took place in front of Newgate Prison in England in 1786.

9. The Last Supper is the last meal Jesus had with his Apostles before being crucified; during the supper Jesus announced that one of his Apostles would betray him. It took place in The Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion, just outside the Old City of Jerusalem.

The most famous depiction of the Last Supper is the mural by Leonardo da Vinci painted in the 15th century.

10. The last Die Hard movie is a delusional fantasy. We’ve seen Die Hard, Die Hard 2 (Die Harder), Die Hard with a Vengeance and Live Free or Die Hard (Die Hard 4). Apparently they’re making Die Hard 5 – in which Bruce Willis probably attacks the bad guys with his Zimmer frame. I expect we can look forward to Die Hard 6 (Just die, already!), Die Hard 7 (Not dead yet but sucking mashed peas through dentures), Die Hard 8 (Ghost of John McClane) and Die Hard 9 (Dead in the water), a made for TV midday movie.

Image: Salvatore Vuono

Sometimes, systems suck

Businesses have systems for all sorts of reasons – to make their offerings consistent, to streamline their processes, to make their services more personal... But the bottom line is that businesses have systems to better service their customers.

Sometimes, systems suck.

Last week, I rang [a local taxi company]. The company’s system remembered the number I was calling from and the operator said: ‘Your pick up address is the Ocean Child Hotel.’

In fact, the last ten times I have called this taxi company, they have asserted that my pick up address is the Ocean Child Hotel.

I can count on one hand the number of times in my entire 40+ year existence that I have frequented the Ocean Child Hotel. Clearly, on one of these occasions, when I have been somewhat enthusiastic with my beverage consumption and (responsibly) called a cab, some overzealous operator has assigned my number to that destination – permanently and irrevocably, it seems. Because, no matter how many times I gently correct the person on the other end of the phone, establishing my current pick up address and mentioning the fact that I am calling from my mobile (read: portable, movable, could-be-anywhere) phone, the company representative still answers my call with: ‘Your pick up address is the Ocean Child Hotel.’

Sometimes, systems suck.

The other day, I overheard my colleague calling a company to make some changes to his account. When they asked for his address details, he provided them. From my perspective, there was a moment of silence while the person spoke to him before he replied: ‘I don’t care what’s listed on your system – that’s where I live.’

Sometimes, systems suck.

I called [a high end hotel] to ask for the company name on our account to be corrected. The woman I spoke to told me there was no way to change it in their computer software and offered to send me out a new account with a piece of paper bearing the correct name taped over the old one on the invoice.

I asked her if she was joking.

Sometimes, systems suck.

I took my dog, Nellie, to the vet last week. She is a fairly large, ill-mannered and boisterous dog who was somewhat excited to be out for a car ride at eight in the morning and even more energised by the noisy cat in a carry case on the floor by the reception desk (I am not sure whether she thought the cat was a potential friend or breakfast).

Meanwhile, I was somewhat tense about her imminent procedure and even more uptight about the impact of said operation on my credit card.

It would be fair to assume this is the status of many pet/owner duos visiting the veterinary clinic early each morning.

So, understanding the special combination of excitement/angst, did an efficient veterinary nurse descend swiftly and whisk Nellie away to a waiting operating theatre to free me up to complete the admissions procedure? Not on your Nellie (had to get that in somewhere).

Instead, I was forced to juggle a runaway dog while simultaneously trying to placate an increasingly irate cat owner and retrieve my credit card details to complete an interminable admission form.

Sometimes, systems suck.

Businesses have systems to better service their customers – but to do this, they need to be tested, reviewed and applied alongside (not instead of) common sense. Especially when their customers complain about the systems. But preferably before it comes to that.

Image: Pixomar

Pegs: stronger for longer

Scientists have designed a clothes peg that can withstand the sun for longer. (‘Nice to meet you. What do you do for a crust?’ ‘Oh, I study clothes pegs.’)

Researchers at the Australian National University in Canberra have made tougher plastic by using sophisticated quantum chemistry and supercomputers. They modelled polymer degradation to make sure that the plastic was stronger. Forget world hunger and global warming; isn't it good to know we are harnessing the power of science for noble purposes like laundry?

The team investigated the theory that pegs and plastics deteriorated because of a slow, flameless combustion process called autoxidation. However, they found that this was not correct (oh, good, my pegs are not quietly burning to bits).

Instead, they found pegs were damaged because most polymer chains contain a small number of faulty structures, formed during their manufacture.

So, now, when my dog, Nellie, chews the clothes pegs I accidentally drop, I can collect up the broken bits she doesn’t ingest and put them in the bin, safe in the knowledge that they will sit, undegraded in landfill for aeons.

Image: Salvatore Vuono