A Matter of Perspective

I recently received a new book titled, Don’t Know Much About Anything by Kenneth C. Davis. It is interesting and holds a rich amount of facts and trivia. What makes this one different is that it doesn’t just list the facts, it does so in a quiz form so it makes it a little bit more difficult.

Do you want to learn more about famous people like Benjamin Franklin or Walt Whitman? Maybe you are interested in knowing more about Rosa Parks or Malcolm X? Are you interested in magic? Maybe you would like to know that despite popular beliefs, Houdini did not die from the trick the Water Torture. Allegedly, he died from complications of a burst appendix.

I am interested in the life of Mother Teresa. I found the tidbits very fascinating. Did you know that Time Magazine honored her as one of the most important people of the 20th century? Neither did I.

Did you know that the story about a young George Washington chopping down a cherry tree was invented after Washington died? Mason Weems wrote a fictionalized biography of Washington meant to be a moral lesson for children. It’s true.

Also very interesting, Washington’s false teeth were not made of wood as was a popular belief. When Washington became president he only had one of his teeth left. He did, however, have several false teeth made from cow’s teeth, hippopotamus ivory, and even human teeth.

I find things like this fun to read and write about. Like last week’s article, I think things like these make great conversation starters or are even good for picking up the pace when the conversation lulls.

Squirrel!

I get accused of not listening quite often because I might throw out some random fact or observation like the above things. In my mind, they are fully connected to the conversation, but some people don’t find them very fun or interesting at all!

Well, I guess to each their own.

In the long-term, I enjoy sharing these things, but maybe I will stick to writing about them in my column.

I hope you enjoyed today’s trivia!