#100: Cat Facts

Good afternoon!

Blog post #100.

For those paying attention, I haven’t posted for the past few weeks. There’ve been a few reasons, but mostly writing the blog just lost the magic¹.

For a couple of reasons, but primarily because if you weren’t already aware, we’ve since shuttered our tech startup, Strypes. This blog was originally created as a way to do a fun company culture thing, and then it took on a life of its own. And when I worked from home, I had an easier time of writing a post each week. But now I’ve got a different job, working for The Man, and it’s a breath of fresh air to go into a Thursday evening responsibility-free.

It’s been almost exactly two years to the day since I started this in June 2017, and I can’t believe how long I’ve kept it going, never missing a week until now. But in light of an uncertain future for this project, please enjoy this Final Fun Fact Friday of some excerpts of post ideas that I was thinking about:

#99: Loopholes

Good morning gentlemen and ladies, ages of all children!

On this, the 99th consecutive Friday of Fun Facts I’m not going to thematically embody the topic of the post (last week got a bit more ‘feedback’ than I preferred). Though I will point out that I do happen to publish most of these posts on Thursday evening, which I feel may be loophole-y enough. Which is this week’s topic.

But nobody cares about my silly loopholes, you’re here for the goods, the fun loopholes I could find on the internet and from friends.

#98: Deepfakes

Good morning everyone!

I’m publishing this one a little bit later to tell you that I’m just done with this blog. No more posts for me, it’s just too much effort. Too much time, too much energy to keep up with both determining, researching, and then writing up a post. All for who? My friends and family and curious strangers on the internet? Puh-lease.

:cue disappointment:

#97: Dream Threshold

As I approach the threshold of my hundredth Friday of Fun Facts, I present a guest post by my good friend, Kale¹. This week’s topic is a personal interest of his and a general fancy of my own: the threshold of dreaming.

#96: Fan Theories

Okay guys, it’s late and this week has been so busy that I’m not even getting to start this until actually, technically Friday.

So what am I going to do? I do what any great publication does and turns it back on their fans (like when Time made everyone their person of the year in 2006). This week’s post is all about some of the most interesting/compelling fan theories I’ve seen about some popular movies and TV.

So let’s get to it.

#95: Unusual Indices

Good morning again blog beneFactors!

This week sees us tackling a few of the more unusual indices that I’ve come across in my not-that-brief period wandering the planet.

For a quick starter, we’re using the definition of ‘index’ as something that’s used as a measure or indicator of something. And these are all pretty silly and fun (but definitely silly).

#94: Potpourri II

Good morning and welcome to another week of the blog that puts ‘Fun Fact’ into Fun Fact Friday!

This week’s writing is taking place at an airport where I’m short on time and sleep (I should really call the site Rushed Fact Friday), so we’ll see how far I can get into this potpourri of trivia before it’s wheels up and pencils down.

#93: Alcohol

Good morning, ideally-not-hungover reader!

This week’s post is a topic I’ve wanted to write for a while but felt paralyzed by, since it’s a topic I really wanted to do justice. And so I put it off and put it off, and I realized that there would never be some perfect moment when I’d sit down and meticulously research and scaffold out this post (instead of knocking one out while watching the deadline tick closer), so like Doc Brown at the end of Back to the Future, I figured “ah, what the hell?”

So this week’s post is going to be written completely hammered with absolutely no filter of any kind.

Quick PSA from future-self:

Oh, alright. I guess I’ll take this one easy and keep the BAC to a minimum.

#92: Ablaut Reduplication

Good morning, readers!

If you’re like most sane people, you have no idea what “ablaut reduplication” is. That’s because it’s something I pulled out of my long¹ list of fun fact frideas in a panic because it’s late on Thursday and I haven’t written anything yet–yeah, you know the drill. It’s like that every week.

Without further ado, Frantic Fact Friday.

#91: Leading Digits

Good morning, and happy Friday!

I’m back on carbs and feeling a bit different (definitely physically warmer) with a post topic submitted by my favorite Boochever¹.

This week is hot on the heels of Pi Day (3/14) so we’re going to get a bit math-y. But stick with me because it’s pretty cool (and we have a graph). We’re gonna kick it off with Benford’s Law and see where that takes us.

#90: Sleep

:Imagine you see me snapping awake, surprised and wearing pajamas & nightcap like the central piece in the boardgame Don’t Wake Daddy:

Oh, good morning, I didn’t see you there! I was just catching some Z’s after a long and exhausting week (compounded by more starvation-dieting). So to placate my body’s pleading for respite (that I refuse to succumb to until this post is written), this week contains all the sleep deprived trivia and derangement that my mind could spit out.

#89: Baahubali 2

Good morning there!

It’s been a busy week on my end, but I somehow found the time to fit in some leisure. Which is fantastic, because it meant I was able to catch a movie that’s been on my list for a while now: Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.

Don’t worry, I’m still aggressively starving myself for unwise ends, so instead of giving you some real trivia/facts, we’re going to talk about why you should absolutely go watch Baahubali 2 right now.

#88: Flavor Warping

Good morning to you, brave soul, reading this third Famished Fact Friday.

One thing I’ll say about being hungry, food tastes better. Everything pops when all you eat is broccoli and chicken breast. Hunger is, as “they” say, the best sauce.

…Unless you want other weird flavors! This week we’re talking about some other “sauces” that can change the way your tastebuds work, so I hope you’re hungry (for facts!)

#87: Grains (& Gene Splicing or Something)

Good morning and welcome to the second of an indeterminate number of posts that I’m writing while under the influence of an ill-advised, all-protein, calorie-restricted diet in an attempt to trick my body into losing enough weight to have a six-pack⁰.

Obviously, a major component of this diet involves no carbs of any kind. But so, many, people have told me that they “just can’t live without carbs”, which is entirely their prerogative. And in deference to them and my currently limited critical-thinking capacity, this post is all about grains and other rambling stuff I get up to. So strap in¹ for something.

#86: Deserts

Good morning, [PERSON]!

This week finds me a bit ‘out of it’ due to my recent irresponsible keto-like diet. Nonetheless, the low-energy daze has me thinking about food strangely, which led to thinking about food deserts, and then I was like ‘I could write a post about deserts!’ You’re totally caught up now.

#85: Brrrr II

Happy Frigid Fact Friday!

Today marks the first time that we repeat a topic (see last January’s #29), but in light of the polar vortex that’s been sweeping the nation, I’ve collated a few more frozen facts. Specifically we’re talking about being cold and how nature combats it (along with any other bone-chilling facts about the winter weather).

#84: Derivatives

Gooood morning, Vietnam!¹

Ah, that intro was a bit derivative, wasn’t it? No, not derivative, just unoriginal. But if it were derivative, it would be right on theme this week. And ‘derivative’ can mean a lot of things–at least three things–in the realm of math, finance, and art. So without further ado we’re going to hop to it.

#83: Yomi

Happy Trivia Tidbit Tuesday!

Oh, it’s Friday, you say? I knew that, I was just anticipating that you’d think that so I changed things up to catch you by surprise!

Haha! Surprise!

That’s in theme of this week’s topic of ‘yomi’ (which if you don’t know yet, you’ll learn in the next section). So get ready to learn you some good old fashioned game theory (boiled down to a manageable tidbit).

#82: OCR

Good morning, Fun Fact Folk!

Just the other day, as I was panhandling in the gutter for some post ideas, my debonair roommate Ted happened to be walking by (likely on the way to a upper-crust party or a lucrative business deal, as I assume he is wont to do).

“Ah, poor Matt, down on your luck again?” He said, stepping carefully to avoid the city street squalor I had gathered around myself to keep warm. He fished in his pocket and tossed me something that sparkled as it spun in the sheer winter sunlight. “Try this. A gentleman always carries a spare Fun Fact on him,” silently judging my lack of original topic ideas as he walked off.

I caught it and stared down at the gift in my fingerless-gloved hands. I… I could work with this. I looked up to thank him (and ask him when we would ask the landlord to renew the lease), but he was already gone. A gentleman doesn’t dally.

And in that sentiment of getting on with it, this week I’ll dive into the trivial and the sometimes vulgar outcomes of OCR, Optical Character Recognition¹.

#81: Luck

Ah, January 4th, 2019, quite the auspicious day for a fun fact!

No, not actually, and not in pretty much any belief/superstition that I could find (though I’m sure a skilled soothsayer could spin a good yarn). But nonetheless we’re soldiering on with post 81 being about “luck”¹.

What is luck? Well, turning to the aphorisms painted onto my high school gym’s walls: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

That’s motivating, maybe, but I’m not in the mood to be inspired today. I want to go off on the trivia surrounding good/bad luck superstitions from around the world.

#80: SPAM

Good morning trivia-recipients,

I know what you’re probably thinking: When’s Matt going to finally have a post dedicated to Spam? Well, wonder no more, because today’s the day, this post is the post, and this spam is the spam. Crack open a tin, stare down the barrel of the processed protein product, and learn you a few things and all things spam.

Is this a Food Fact Friday? I guess so, but we take it even further into the digital meaning of the word too. Spam.

#79: It’s Always Sunny

Good morning, folks!

I’m writing this week’s post from the sunny beaches of the Dominican Republic. In alignment with my love for themes and motifs, I’ve done a bunch of research and we’re doing a post on the popular TV show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. If you don’t know the show, you absolutely should play some of the clips I’ve linked below, and if you do know the show, ideally you’re learning something new.

#78: Etymology

Good morning everyone! It’s the most wonderful time of the year–Friday!

Well, for me it’s… technically Friday, because it’s past midnight. And I am le tired. So we’re digging deep into my reserves of fun facts, and pulling out some of my favorite tidbits, the ones I throw into other week’s posts: Etymology.

#77: Accents

Good morning, happy Friday, or however you prefer to be greeted on this fine day!

It’s obvious that people speak differently, but have you ever wondered why? More, have you ever wondered why it’s generally difficult to do a good impression of an accent different from yours? Enough with the rhetorical questions. Accents are the topic of this week’s post and we’re going to dive right in.

And yea, I know this is similar to the shibboleths post from a few weeks back, but it’s interesting enough to warrant the double-tap.

Don’t worry, WikiHow’s got you covered with this how-to.

#76: Disgusting Foods

Alright, I had an awesome post all scaffolded out, and then… I stayed up until 2:45am this morning playing boardgames and now we’re here: the latest in a celebrated lineage of Food Fact Fridays.

But instead of picking something delicious like pizza or sushi (or even bananas), we’re going to dive into the foods that are gross. Why? Just ’cause.

Disgusting foods, let’s do this. I hope you haven’t eaten breakfast yet.

#75: Potpourri

Let’s get this straight from the start: I didn’t plan ahead (shocker) and am writing this post-Thanksgiving gorging.

That being said, I’m going to do my best to uphold the gentleman’s agreement I made with myself to never miss a week of this blog thing, but in lieu of a coherent, researched post, I’m gonna staple some facts together and get this out the door in what I hope ends up being an infrequent occurrence.

Potpourri post, let’s go.

#74: Barbecue

Greetings from Kansas City, where we’re having our first ever company off-site¹.

In deference to the masterpiece that is KC, I’ve smoked out whatever interesting facts I could find on the internet for your Friday morning bathroom reading². So the next time someone’s grilling you about smoked meats you can speak with confidence.

Also, I hope you’re hungry for another celebrated Food Fact Friday because portion sizes have been ratcheted up to ‘Missouri’ this week.

#73: Shibboleths

Good morning from Thursday evening where I’m dutifully buckled up aboard the struggle-bus. Mildly jet-lagged, a smidge hungry, and just a tad bit cranky–I’ll be damned if that’s enough to stop me from knocking out a post!

This week we’re going to go with the super low-effort bullet-list hybrid so please come join me on the struggle-bus, I’ve saved a seat just for you¹. This week: Shibboleths.

#72: Feathers

Good morning, my fine-feathered friend to another Fun Fact Friday.

Have birds or their flight ever tickled your fancy? Even if not, this week’s lineup of trivia is nothing to sneeze at! And here we are at the third sentence of this paragraph⁰, so dust off the ole’ learning-cobwebs and settle down for a post all about feathers.

#71: Silver

A bright shiny good morning to you, dear reader!

We’re going to dive right into this week’s discussion on silver because I’ll be honest, it was only my second-place choice of topic¹. We’re going to talk werewolves, money, magic mirrors, and not even mention that silver tongued silver fox Anderson Cooper. Soon, like me, you’ll be sick of the word ‘silver’ (if you’re not already), but be all the more knowledgeable for it.

#70: Koans

A reader opens a page on their internet browser to discover it is a good morning.¹

I’ve been leaning harder into meditation lately (which has just felt awesome, let me tell you h-what!), and the related topic of koans crossed my mind a few times and I figured “Hey, maybe some people might like to know about them.” And like many of the things I’ve been writing about lately, they come to us from the #FarEast, so let’s jump right into this mystical topic.

Oh, but before we do let’s set the record straight: though it’s a transliterated² word with all the imperfections that entails, it’s pronounced “koh-ahn“.

#69: Ninja

It’s a very special Fun Fact Friday we have this week. This time around, Corey Brenner has heard my howler monkey call to arms for a guest post, and he’s snuck in with the first of its kind. So with only minor editing for brand consistency, I’ll let him steal away with this week:

#68: Power Rangers

🎵 Go go Fun Fact Fridays! 🎵

I just spent way too long reading up on everything I could find about the Power Rangers TV show, and I gotta say, it holds up. Maybe it’s my 90’s nostalgia talking (probably), but I’ve definitely got that theme song stuck in my head. And if you’re looking to hear what I mean, why don’t you check out that mighty morphin’ tune yourself? All twenty five versions of it.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to watch the whole thing like I did. For research!

#67: Food Combinations

Good morning, you!

Readers and salutations, what a combination. Sort of like Fridays and fun facts, they just go together. This week we’re going to go through some food combinations that also work well, like chocolate and peanut butter, or white chocolate and caviar.

Lolwut? Oh, I forgot to mention, these combinations are all completely non-intuitive.

#66: Rubber Duckies

Quack-quack everyone!

This week I’ve gone ducking crazy in researching the topic. Look out, because we’re running a’fowl of rubber birds. Rubber ducks to be precise! The cute yellow ones! Why? Why not! It’s my blog, I can do whatever I want here. That being said, despite the odd choice in topic, I think you’ll find that there’s some pretty interesting stuff going on.

#65: Capsaicin

A warm good morning to you this Friday!

It’s been a while since we’ve done a Food Fact Friday, so let’s spit fire this week with a post full of facts all about capsaicin (the compound that makes food ‘spicy’). You may know a thing or two about spicy food. Maybe you put Sriracha on your eggs every morning (highly recommended) and maybe you’re an avid watcher of First We Feast’s Hot Ones¹, but I’m confident I have some interesting stuff in here that will bring some color to your Friday. Or maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew!

#64: 64-Bits

Good morning consumer of Fun Facts!

This week marks the 64th straight week of blog posts, and to honor it, I’d like to talk about the first thing that springs to my mind upon hearing that number.

Nothing quite captures the excitement of this console like this kid.

But behind those 64 bits of Nintendo (and its 32-bit precursor), lies an insidious monster: integer overflow.

#63: Gangs

Good morning Fun Fact Fellows!

We’ve got a pretty loosely knit organization here at this blog. I tap out a few interesting bits of information, an amusing Oprah gif or two, and you read them. But what if we wanted to take it to the next level? What if we wanted to form a ‘legit’ gang? Would that be so bad? Let’s ask El Salvador after the gif break below.

Gets me every time.

#62: Unsung Heroes

Good morning internet strangers, friends, children of all ages!

Do you ever feel like you can’t get no R-E-S-P-E-C-T sometimes? Well, while (the recently & regrettably posthumous) Aretha Franklin may have been sung quite often, I have an F-U-N-F-A-C-T post for you that seeks to sing about those who haven’t gotten the proper recognition in their time. So clear your throats and open up those knowledge-holes to take in the stories of some heroes that were generally shafted out of the rewards for their tremendous achievements.

#61: Vantablack

Good morning, pairs of recipient eyeballs!¹

It was this morning, while I was walking through my neighborhood, noticing the “filming in progress” signs for an episode of Orange is the New Black, that I realized that the clever allusion to the fashionability of prison jumpsuits was wrong². 99.965% wrong to be half-jokingly precise.

Because as those with an eye out for science news may know, there’s actually a new black on the scene. And it’s called Vantablack.

#60: Anime

I’ll take ‘Fun Facts on Friday’ for LX, Alex.

Very cute, a Roman numerals & Jeopardy! reference on an ostensibly trivia blog? This is what we like to call classic misdirection. Because in case the title of this post didn’t give it away, we’re going to talk about anime. That’s right, but don’t let the nerdy stigma send you packing because this quasi-weeb¹ is aiming this post at the non-otakus² out there.

#59: Vaccines

It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a Fun Fact post¹,

Neighborhood, community, and helping each other out. We are after all in this together. And what could be more community-focused than trying to keep each other healthy and alive? No, I’m not talking about the highly politicized/controversial topic of universal healthcare². I’m talking about the for-some-reason-also-politicized topic of vaccination.

So brush off your hypodermic needles, because we’re going to inject some fun facts into your Friday.

#58: Frequency Illusion/Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

Happy :cough: Friday, everyone!

Seeing as how I am uncharacteristically under the weather this morning, let’s make this a quickie, ah? So if you want to skip this week, that’s fine by me, but it will come back to haunt you.

Soon you’ll be seeing children skipping down the street. People will skip you in line. You’ll be watching Netflix and it’ll suggest the Frankie Muniz “classic” My Dog Skip. The Youtube “Skip Ad” buttons will jump from the lower-right corner to the forefront of your perception. What the hell will be going on?!

Simple: You’ll be succumbing to the common brainular glitch known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.

♫ But the very best thing of all,
there’s a– counter on this ball! ♪

#57: Pet Peeves

Good morning, good morning, readers!

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s slightly late but-still-on-schedule blog posts (ahem). But if there are two things that I hate, now we’re talking the feeling of lotion. The feeling of smearing sunscreen on my skin feels like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Makes my skin crawl.

I know this is weird, that this isn’t something that everyone has. That’s why it’s called a pet peeve. Luckily that’s this week’s topic. So let’s dive into the strange things that annoy only a subset of people at a time.

Another pet peeve is the fact that the ghost Peeves was edited out of the movie version of Harry Potter.

#56: Eponyms

Good morning Fun Factors!

Down here at the Fun Factory it’s been a grueling week of looking for fun facts to churn out. But we did it. By Jove, we did it!

And what is ‘it’? A listicle!¹

You’ve probably heard of how Q-tip is only a brand of ‘cotton swabs’ and how Kleenex is the same for ‘facial tissues’, but most times people use them to mean the generic product anyway. These are examples of eponyms, which are when a proper noun is used to name a more generic thing. Specifically they’re ‘proprietary eponyms’.

This week I’ve found some of the most interesting cases of proprietary eponyms on the internet. You know, so you can feel smart the next time one of these bad boys comes up in conversation–or better yet, bar trivia.

#55: Champagne

Fun Fact Friday Fifty Five!

Knowing my love of wordplay, this week’s topic is surely a word that begins with ‘F’. Sorry, my love of misdirection has overruled my alliterative side, and at my sister’s suggestion, I’ve done some research on Champagne for you.

Let’s learn about some bubbly.

It’s got fireworks, so the image is practically Fourth of July compliant, too

#54: Caffeine

Good morning, dear reader!

If you’re like most adults on this planet, you’ve probably had some caffeine this morning. And since every article I’ve read on this subject in my research has made all kinds of cute coffee puns and grand sweeping “draw the reader in” statements, I’m simply topped off on coffee-themed intros.

This post is gonna give you some cool info on caffeine. Catch you on the other side of this jittery Fry gif.

S5E11 of Futurama is a pretty good episode, but it’s no Parasites Lost…

#53: Redundant Geography

Good morning Fun Fact Friday readers!

Though to be fair, every morning with a fun fact is a good one. Which is to say that is a bit redundant of me to write out. But I’ve been slacking this week and I’ve received some positive feedback on the rapid-fire list from last week’s post, so we’re going to try something similar this week with a list of some cool redundant geography.

#52: Eggcorns

Good morning everyone and welcome to a milestone Pun Packed Friday!

With this post being the 52nd installment of the blog, we’re officially at a full year of simultaneously supporting my drinking and writing. Go us!

And to celebrate, I’ll be breaking out one of my favorite topics just for today: Eggcorns.

An eggcorn is a word or phrase that sounds like a real word/phrase, but isn’t the phrase itself. It’s created by a mishearing of the real thing and not realizing. But this misheard copycat gets used because the meaning it conveys is often close enough. For example, we kicked off this post with an ad hoc eggcorn in “Pun Packed” for “Fun Fact”.

Makes 100% sense.

#51: Soup

Good morning, willing participants!

It is with great relief that I have been lucky enough to discover this week’s topic just in time to write about it¹. You’ve probably heard of soup, right? Chicken noodle soup, ramen, borscht, you know, soup. But where do you draw the line on what is soup? Is, for instance, a bowl of cereal and milk soup? Is melted ice cream² just a sweet and odd soup? Find out this week as we explore our strangest Food Fact Friday yet.

#50: Breeds

Goo-ood morning, blog beneFactors!

Today is the 50th FFF, which in Roman numerals is of course ‘L’. Surely I must have something related to largeness, losing, or some other L word? Nope.

Through lack of foresight, any kind of planning, and a suffusive “ah, fuck it”-ness this post will be about breeds. Because dogs are cool.

#49: Phreaking

Good morning, reader!

It is with reckless abandon that we barrel into this week’s Phun Phact Phriday¹. In case you were wondering when the telecommunication post was coming, wonder no more. Because this week we’re gonna learn about Phreaks and Geeks.

#48: The Maillard Reaction

Good afternoon!

I almost forgot to write this week’s post due to travel and other such nonsense, but it’s still Friday, so I’ve still got time to cook up a fun fact. To that end, what does bread, bacon, and beer all have in common? Besides the alliteration, it’s that they’re made delicious by Maillard reactions, which is the subject of this week’s Food Fact Friday.

#47: Spaghettification

Good morning, dear reader!

I hope you’re hungry because today we’re going to talk about pasta. Sort of. We’re going to talk about a term called spaghettification, and it’s not what you think!¹

Seriously, these images are all just already on the internet. We’re living in the golden age of supportive imagery.

#46: Pain Tolerance

Good morning everyone!

Though while it may be your Friday morning, it is still Thursday evening for me in Writer’s World. And a somewhat painful one at that. Uch. I’m trying to get drunk enough to write a nice and salacious post, but all I have is this maple-flavored whiskey. Dear god, I made a huge mistake here¹. This is painful (although not as bad as fernet). Which is actually ideal for this week as we talk about pain tolerance.

Mostly ideal anyway

#45: Mnemonics

Good morning dear reader,

We go over a lot of different topics from week to week on these posts, and it can be daunting to remember everything. Surely there’s got to be an easier way to remember things than “just remember” it. Hell, seconds after hearing someone’s name I’m prone to forgetting it. Right, uhhh…Johnny? This week we investigate one such category of memory techniques: Mnemonics.

No mnemonic write-up is complete without a reference to the 1995 “smash hit”

#44: Doppler Effect

Good morning from London!

Though technically it’s almost afternoon here, I think we’re right on schedule for this week’s Fun Fact Friday. If there’s one thing that I’ve gained from this week in Europe, it’s perspective. Whether that’s a new perspective on bicycles (Amsterdam is way too full of them) or the weight of history when checking out the Rosetta Stone at The British Museum, perspective is a wonderful thing. Which is why I’m going to try to knock out as fast as possible a post about the Doppler Effect.

#43: Memories

Good morning everyone!

Do you remember that time we first talked about this blog? I was excitedly explaining some cool science thing, you were wondering why I was using my hands so much, and when we talked about how I just wrote this for the fun of it you thought that was a bit weird. You’d mentioned that if I was going to put this repeated effort into creating some weekly content, I should at least be compensated for it.

At the time I rejected your kind offer of $5, but given the fact that I’m going to be in Europe this coming week¹ I figured I’d circle back on that generosity to see if you wanted to donate to my travel fund here.

But if you’re thinking about donating, please don’t. That intro was just meant to be a playful example of false memory implantation, which happens to be the topic of this week’s post!

#42: Dunbar’s Number

Good morning Fun Factors!

Though I have state of the art tracking analytics, I often wonder just who is reading these words. How many of them are friends and how many acquaintances and how many are random internet strangers¹? Because we all have these piles of people in our lives, and despite our best intentions and sense of ethics, it’s impossible to actively care about everyone. Am I saying you’re an uncaring asshole? Not at all². What I’m saying is that by being a human, you have natural limitations, and that one of those limitations is how many people you can keep track of as people and not autonomous movie-extras in the background of your life.

I am, of course, referring to the idea encapsulated in the concept of Dunbar’s Number.

#41: Information Asymmetry

Good morning to you! …Though it’s a “good evening” for me (as I write these the night before posting).

There are probably a few things that I know about this blog that you don’t¹. But that’s just the tip of the information asymmetry iceberg in action. Information asymmetry is why a brand-new car driven off the lot suddenly loses a huge chunk of value. It’s why hiring to fill these open engineering positions here at Strypes isn’t a cakewalk². And it’s often (sadly) why a lot of people die in combat all the time.

#40: Source of Motivation

Wow. Fun Fact Friday Forty.

I like writing these posts. I’ve been doing it for forty weeks (I love writing that out) because I find them enjoyable for me, and I feel like I’m connecting with the people I want to connect with. Nobody pays me to write these (:concentrated stare at Alexa:), and I’m not a popular blogger getting revenue from the shitty ads that appear at the bottom of these things. So why do I do it?

#39: Stoicism

Goo-ood morning, Strypers (and honorary Strypers)!

It’s been an exciting week, so I’d like to start by announcing that as a company we’ve been funded! After weeks and weeks of effort and trying, we’ve now got a bunch more runway to keep doing what we’re doing and further prove ourselves as a business. What it is that we do as a company, well, you can ask me another time and I’ll give you the low-down. More importantly, I’d like to talk about the mindset that has helped me weather these wild ups and downs of this startup journey.

#38: Buttons

Good morning!

I’ll just start this one off by saying writing these Roman numerals every week¹ gives me such great pleasure. There’s something about slowly incrementing through an incredibly inefficient numbering system that is just so satisfying. It inherently feels good. What doesn’t feel good though, is trying to put on clothes that have the damned buttons on the wrong side! It’s like fingernails on a blackboard while I’m getting dressed. Fashion Fact Friday, here we come!

#37: Randomness

Good morning everyone!

This is the thirty-seventh week of random fun facts, so to celebrate ’37’ being a prime, a ‘lucky number‘, and a bunch of other eclectic math stuff, we’re going to dive into a bit of randomness¹. Let’s see what assorted bits of info I can put together here.

#36: Daylight Saving Time

Oh jeez, I’ve got a flight this Friday morning, and the clock is ticking. Oh man, I gotta be up in four hours?! What am I even going to write about? :glances at watch:

I’ve really gotta beat the clock here if I don’t want to break my 36-week streak. Daylight Saving Time, it is!

#35: Types of Fun

Good morning FFFridayers,

It has been a week. It’s one of those weeks where I’m reminded of my fraternity’s go-to answer whenever anyone asked about pledging: “One of the most fun things that I never want to do again.” That’s almost the very definition of Type II fun. Yeah, there are different kinds of fun.

This week’s post is about different kinds of fun one can have, the lasting benefits they impart, and other stuff, probably.

If you’re unfamiliar with the show this is from, Party Down, get on that.

#34: G.O.A.T.

Good morning Fun Factors!

“Matt,” people say to me¹, “your blog is the greatest of all time! Could you write about that?”

“Hmmm…” I think to myself. “A G.O.A.T. post? Alright, I think I know what you’re asking for.”

So without any more bleating around the bush: the G.O.A.T. post.

#33: Groundhog Day

Ok campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties, because it’s cold out there!

That’s right, woodchuck-chuckers, it’s not only a Friday, but it’s Groundhog Day! The holiday (Feb 2 every year) has some trivia associated with it, but who cares?! Because the movie Groundhog Day is far more worthy of this week’s write-up. So get ready for a Matt Schiller love letter to one of my favorite movies of all time this week as we go over (and over again) a movie all about redemption and how to live a life.

Strap in for another Fun Fact Friday!

#32: Simple Pleasures

Ah, Fridays.

TGIF Culture, Fun Fact Fridays, and now the Friday Five¹, there’s so much to like about Fridays that it’s almost outside of our control to enjoy them. Similarly, there are some things that the vast majority of people are just hardwired to enjoy and find pleasurable in a way that they can’t really describe. Until now. Buckle up and get ready to mistrust your motivations on everything you’ve come to love.

#31: Pyrrhic Victories

Good morning, team!

One of my favorite quotes (from one of my all-time favorite movies) is “Never give up, never surrender!” But is that always the right attitude? Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor, because maybe you don’t actually want to win this fight. Stick around after the break because this week we’re going to learn about when winning is really losing.

Alriiiiight!

#30: Collective Trauma

Oh, hey there. It’s Thursday night, isn’t it?

I probably should have been sitting at home, studiously writing the Fun Fact Friday instead of drinking and playing pool for several hours. Probably. But we’re gonna play this one fast and loose. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs here at Strypes, which has bonded the team. It’s a phenomenon called “Collective Trauma” and we’re going to take a bit of a stroll through some psychology to talk about how trauma can make people feel closer.

#29: Brrrr

Happy Frigid Fact Friday!

I’m writing this post from NYC where yesterday saw the city get hit by a snowstorm. So while inside I’m rocking a solid 98.6°F, outside it’s much, much cooler. Classic Winterfresh. And if you’re going to be outside, you need to bundle up–or get larger. Today we dive into how/why your body loses the heat that it does, so settle in for some Netfacts & chill.

#28: Fiat Currency

Another day, another dollar. Another Friday, another Fun Fact write-up!

I’ve had a focus on cryptocurrency lately, which I think it’s just super-rad and extremely risky¹, but alongside those conversations I often hear “Well, it’s not real money though!” This is a totally valid point, but what is “real money”? In this week’s writeup we’re going to learn about the history of “fiat currency” (like dollars, euros, pesos, etc) and reinforce one of my favorite notions about life: Everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.

#27: Lightning

TGIF, amirite?

Lightning. I’ve been thinking about lightning recently.

:Cue the gentle tinkling of ice dancing in a tumbler of whiskey:

You see, this week has been a real doozy for much of the executive team here at Strypes, having been caught in the Atlanta airport power outage this past Sunday evening. It was on that flight, and the subsequent ones, that I ventured to look out the window and wonder to myself: Is this the one that goes down? Are we about to be struck by lightning and shoved from the sky?

#26: Banana Plague

Happy Friday, Strypers!

As I sit here each morning with my daily bowl of oatmeal with a banana mashed into it, I wonder to myself, How much longer will this last? You might not know it, strolling through the banana-rich produce section of your grocery store, but those vaguely radioactive fruits¹ have their days numbered. Today we’re going to learn about the pending bananapocalypse so that maybe we can all appreciate what we’ve got ’til it’s gone.

#25: Emojis

👍 🌅 everyone!

Or, translating from emoji, “Good morning!” I’m tooling around on the internet with a glass of whiskey, which can mean only one thing¹: it’s another Fun Fact Friday! This week we’re going to tackle the concept of an “emoji” from 🍜 to 🥜² without driving you crazy from the interspersed pictures. Ideally.

#24: Eggs

Friday… Friday… I know there’s something about Fridays…

Yes! That means I get to sit down and write about some thing that I find interesting. And since I’ve gotten such good feedback on my buzzed writing from Thanksgiving, we’re going to try that again. So buckle up, because I’ve got a glass of whiskey and head full of trivia, which can mean we’re going to talk about only one thing…

#23: Singles Day

Good morning, good morning, everybody!

Welcome to the twenty-third installment of the blog. We’re twenty-three! And as any 90s kid will be able to tell you, nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three. And it’s Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. If only there was a topic that incorporated both being unloved and shopping…

#22: Thanksgiving

Good morning, Fun Fact Fridayers,

And welcome to the twenty-second installment, which is one you should really be able to sink your teeth into. I don’t mean to cut this intro short, but I hope you can reap the rewards of my research in this post all about Thanksgiving and similar harvest festivals.

#21: Playing Cards

Good morning, Fun Fact Friday patrons!

Can you believe we made it to number twenty-one without going bust? Don’t you fear, because I’ve got your weekly hit right here. And all for free! I know, what a deal.

Was that enough allusion to blackjack? I sure hope so! In this week’s 21-themed post we’re going to start with blackjack and shuffle in the history and origins of the playing cards that rule over gamblers everywhere.

#20: Hand Gestures

Good morning, good morning everyone!

We’re up to the twentieth week of fact-based fun on Fridays, and in honor of the ‘XX’ rating Roman numerals are giving us, this time we’re going to toe the line¹ a bit. And since I’m technically also Head of HR here at Strypes, I’m going allow it. Because this week is all about the origins and meanings of hand gestures.

Let’s see where this goes 👌.²

#19: Sushi

Ohayou Gozaimasu¹, Fun Fact Fridayers!

We’re up to week nineteen here, so I hope you’re ready to rock, because I’m ready to roll. That’s right, this week we’re learning all about that eastern delicacy known as sushi. We’re going to talk origin, etiquette, and anything else that tickles my fancy (and taste-buds). So throw away those chopsticks and dive right in, because we’re getting handsy in this second installment of Food Fact Friday.

#18: Why the Sky is Blue

It’s Friday with nothing but blue skies ahead for the weekend. Hopefully!

And as you’ve gazed up at that azure expanse up above, have you wondered what makes the sky blue? Because at night it’s ‘clear’, right? And we can see the stars and all kinds of space stuff, but during the day we can’t because something must be turning the sky blue. Or sometimes it’s a cloudy grey, and other times it’s orange/red around sunset. This week we’ll learn why (and more!) in one of my absolute favorite fun facts–one where the sky’s the limit!

#17: Fire

It’s a relatively somber Fun Fact Friday this morning as for the past five days a wildfire has been raging just north of the Strypes offices (SF/Oakland) and terrorizing the Sonoma and Napa valleys. Even here, ~60miles downwind of the flames, we’re surrounded by smoke that smells ironically pleasant, like a summer campfire.

That campfire smell brings back memories, as do the zillions of songs that use fire as a central motif. Fire is one of those primal elements of cultures across the globe, being one of the very first pieces of human technology like the wheel or lever. The ancient Greeks even placed it on the pedestal of their ‘four elements’ that made up all things: earth, fire, wind, & water.

But nowadays we know a bit more about what’s really going on with this ‘matter’ stuff, so let’s spend this week fanning the flames of our curiosity and learn all about fire.

#16: Pizza

Good morning FFFridayers!

While writing this entry I found myself nomming on a homemade chicken pizza-quesadilla. Is this rendition an ‘authentic’ representation of pizza? Or am I now set to be haunted by the ghost of pizzas past for defiling such a national pastime?

To find out, I’m going to have to take a look at what makes pizza pizza (insert Little Caesar here) in this week’s Fun Fact Friday– and I’m gonna have to go get a napkin because I am just dripping sauce everywhere right now.

#15: Airplanes

Ladies and gentlemen,

Apologies for the interruption, this is an end-of-week announcement as we’ve just begun our ascent into a new set of fun facts.

This week’s Fun Fact Friday is expected to be smooth sailing from introduction all the way to final summation. Time to reading completion is estimated at about 120 seconds, but this number is subject to change on a reader-by-reader basis. Refreshments will not be served (unless as a company we change our business drastically), but due to most of our employees working from home, I can’t very well prohibit you from grabbing a drink.

If you do grab a drink, however, be aware that it’s going to taste noticeably different on the ground than at cruising altitude. Ever wonder why comedians are so quick to insult airline cuisine?* It’s because the conditions of air travel change the way taste works.

#14: Fall Colors

Trees Louise, Team Strypes,

It’s the first day of fall and the day of the Fall Equinox, one of the two days every year (in the Northern Hemisphere) where the length of daylight and nighttime are exactly equal. Pretty soon the days will start being shorter than the nights as we move deeper into fall & winter territory.

But that equinox stuff, that was just a bonus Fun Fact, as today we’re going to focus on the color changes for autumn (which itself is one of the very few words in the English language that end in ‘mn’ — others are ‘column‘, ‘solemn‘, ‘hymn‘, and– okay, Matt, let’s cool it with these bonus Fun Facts).

#13: Urban Classifications

On this morning I’ve been calling stores in cities all over the continent to ensure that our Friday is a fun one for our clients, so with an urban skew on the brain, let’s dive right into this week’s Fun Fact (hastily thrown together because I’m a bit sick *cough*). It’s all about classifications of where people live.

Note: These definitions are all loose, like my rules for what constitutes a ‘fact’.

#12: Hurricanes

Good morning Strypers and Strypettes!

With the continued surge of storms recently (Harvey, Irma, Jose, & now Katia), I figured I’d pop in for a crash course on Hurricane naming.

#11: Time

Ladies, Gentlemen, Strypers, and Strypettes of all ages,

As you may have surmised, I’m a fan of time travel. My thoughts and philosophy around time could fill much, much more than a single email, so I’ll keep my focus strong.

Firstly, you may know that back in August 2014, I started taking the same selfie of myself every day. It was a great way to visualize a person’s own travel through time, I thought. There are many such Youtube videos, and I wanted one. We’re up to 3 years now, so I hope you enjoy it.
Warning: contains many selfies of me shirtless.

#10: Dunning Kruger Effect

It’s post-launch Friday, and you know what that means: A delayed & slightly hungover FFF for your reading pleasure.

I wish I’d had more time to prepare for this, but I was too busy staying focused on Launch Day — which we totally pulled off for both of our clients, as you obviously already know. There were some speed-bumps and many challenges in just this most-recent chapter in Strypes’s history. But there was still more dedication and humility that saw us through.

Let’s make this week about dedication and persistence and how our natural instincts sabotage real growth.

#9: Interrobang

It’s Friday! Already‽

For some people, the week has dragged on. For those of us in the Strypes Code Cave, this has not been the case. As you know, we’ve been on the final stretch to Launch Day for both our clients, so pardon me if this week’s 3F is a bit phoned in.

What’re we going with, then? Well, the more perceptive of you might have noticed the weird bit of punctuation in the first line up there. It’s called an interrobang.

‽
What’s it even for‽

#8: Going Crazy

Happy Friday everyone!

As we count down the last two weeks to launch, I figured I’d write up a quick post that would jive with the current mood over here in our offices that may or may not be applicable in your daily working life.

A short list of interesting ways people go ‘crazy’:

• Ganser’s Syndrome – Characterized by giving nonsense answers to elementary questions.
• Poor Mouth – The delusion that you’re on the brink of financial ruin despite sufficient wealth.
• Pseudcommunity – The delusion that a group of people is conspiring against you.
• Cotard’s Syndrome – The irrational belief that people or objects do not exist. Extreme cases may have the sufferer believing that they themselves are dead.
• Foreign Accent Syndrome – As the name would indicate, is characterized by one day waking up with a foreign accent that is not your own. Imagine waking up one morning and just speaking English like a Frenchman. Often follows a head-trauma injury.
• and my personal favorite, Anton’s Syndrome – Where a blind individual is convinced that they can actually see. How many fingers am I holding up?

Until next week, stay (relatively) sane!

#7: Razors

Another Friday, another fun fact.

I’ll cut to the chase: this week we’re talking about razors. Not those of the Gillette variety (though the “Mach 3” line of men’s razors they sell is an excellent segue from last week), but of the philosophical principle.

A ‘razor’ is a loose rule that helps you quickly disregard unlikely / explanations for things. Because for any event, there are infinite possible explanations.

#6: Sonic Booms

Welcome to Fun Fact Friday Six!

I know it’s just not Friday without a lengthy email from your COO. But this is the sixth FFF, and what’s the sixth letter of the alphabet? Today’s alliterative hero “F”! So let’s take a walk down etymological lane, shall we — What’s that? You don’t like my proclivity for word origins telling the tale of language literally traveling through time on the backs of our forebears?

Oh. Okay.

Then let’s talk about sonic booms instead.

#5: Finger Counting

Welcome to the fifth Friday of ‘fun facts’!

What comes to mind when you think of the number five? It doesn’t matter (unless you said ‘fingers’). Because today we’re going to talk about your five fingers. Sorta.

How high can you count on your fingers?
Before answering, let’s take the familiar plunge into some etymology. The origin of the word “digit” (digitus, Latin) started out only meaning finger, but people just couldn’t stop using them to count stuff! So English just threw in the towel and started using it to mean a single number. And now we’re even further from that original meaning with words like “digital”, but I digress.

#4: Dinosaurs

Apologies for the delay on this one FFFriends, it seems that time has slipped away from me.

And speaking of time slipping away, when was the last time you thought about dinosaurs?

#3: Uniqueness

Good morning, beautiful snowflakes!

In case you ever get down on yourself and feel like you’re not standing out (despite working for a startup focused on personalization) have no fear, because there are many things about you that make you unique, one-of-a-kind, and totally personalized. Take that, the Amazon economy!

#2: Contradictanyms

Oh man, it’s Friday already? To quote Glorious Leader Alexa, TGIFFF!

I’m a man of words, lots of words, and one of my favorite categories of words are called contradictanyms. These are homonyms that have completely opposite meanings depending on the context. The best set of examples were originally printed in Schott’s Original Miscellany. And yes, I have almost all of the books in his series.

#1: Trivia

Hey there, happy Friday!

[Originally these posts were sent via email for my start-up’s employees. Over time, it became popular enough that I turned it into a blog]

If you’re getting this email it’s because you’re on Team Strypes, a mish-mash of motivated, differently-talented, and increasingly-more-successful people.

And if you’re still reading, you may be wondering what Fun Fact Friday is. It’s a combination of:

1. My desire to explain random, totally irrelevant things.
2. My colleague’s preference that I channel that energy into literally anything else other than explaining things in person.
3. My love for unsolicited, overly-complicated, dense emails.

So today we’re looking at that word ‘trivia’ because that seems like a decent starting place for fun facts. Before we get started, it should be noted, your author has a fair pedigree in the matter of trivia: