Quirky App Of The Day: True Useless And Interesting Facts
by Kathryn Zane
August 11, 2011
I love useless trivia. I think it's fun to fill the frilly pink matter between my ears with the kind of facts that can rattle around and make noise if I'm shaken too hard. Besides winning bets that are settled by "Trivial Pursuit," useless information doesn't seem to be helpful or useful for much else. It is, however, entertaining. True Useless And Interesting Facts is an app that brings together over 200 facts that won't get you very far in life.
It does provide some answers to questions I've had. I always wondered about why the military salutes its superiors the way it does. In the Middle Ages, when knights wore visors, they would raise them to the king or queen as they rode by in order to identify themselves. This action became habit, and habit became a sign of respect. See? I'm sure many readers are feeling smarter already.
I'm also sure that many readers remember their glory days of charting things on coordinate planes using those oh-so-handy x and y axes. Rene Descartes (you know, that "I think, therefore, I am" dude) came up with the brilliant plan that's been plaguing middle school and high school students ever since. What was his motivation? What was his inspiration? A fly was walking on the wall. He wanted to be able to chart its progress. Thus, the birth of the coordinate plane. It's a lot less impressive now, isn't it? Isaac Newton discovered the existence of gravity because an apple bonked him on the noggin. Descartes creates the coordinate plane thanks to a common house fly. The world of science is filled with wonders.
For more fun facts, check out True Useless and Interesting Facts for the awesome price of FREE!