Trivium

Men are struck by lightning four times as often as women.

September 7, 2009September 7, 2009 | Trivia

Pieces of Pi

In the decimal expansion of π:

the digits 27182818 — the first eight digits of e — appear at position 1,526,800.
the digits 14142135 — the first eight digits of the square root of 2 — appear at position 52,638.
the first eight digits of π itself — 31415926 — reappear at position 50,366,472.
16470 appears at position 16470.
there are seven 7s at position 3,346,228, eight 8s at position 46,663,520, and six 9s at position 762.
The White House switchboard number (456-1414) is at position 3,193,808, the population of France (65,073,482) is at position 98,709,092, and Disneyland’s zip code (92802) is at position 41,112.

Write out the alphabet starting with J:

JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHI

Erase all letters that have left-right symmetry (such as A) and count the letters in each of the five groups that remain. (James Davis)

September 7, 2009January 14, 2011 | Science & Math · Trivia

Left and Right

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barack_Obama_at_NH.jpg — Image: Wikimedia Commons

Three of our last four presidents have been left-handed:

Bush I: Left-handed
Clinton: Left-handed
Bush II: Right-handed
Obama: Left-handed

The same would be true if John McCain had won the last election — he’s a leftie too. Indeed, fully half of American presidents since Truman have been southpaws, though only 10 percent of the general population is left-handed.

What accounts for this? Who knows? But UCLA geneticist Daniel Geschwind says, “Six out of the past 12 presidents is statistically significant, and probably means something.”

August 30, 2009June 6, 2013 | History · Oddities · Trivia

Cosmopolitan

Denmark, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Monmouth, Newcastle, Oxford, Plymouth, Wales, Athens, Belfast, Belgrade, Bremen, Calais, Dresden, Frankfort, Hanover, Lisbon, Madrid, Moscow, Naples, Palermo, Paris, Rome, Sorrento, Stockholm, and Vienna …

… are all towns in Maine.

June 20, 2009June 20, 2009 | Trivia

Trivium

The fastest temperature drop in history occurred in Rapid City, S.D., when the mercury plunged 47°F (26°C) in 5 minutes on Jan. 10, 1911.

Interestingly, the fastest temperature rise in history occurred in the same city 32 years later, when it jumped 49°F (27°C) in 2 minutes on Jan. 22, 1943.

June 2, 2009February 16, 2011 | Trivia