Quirks And Whimsy For #NationalTriviaDay

You may have been hearing a lot of sentences beginning with “Did you know …” recently.

Why?

Because the internet has been abuzz with quirky facts and whimsical miscellanea this week, thanks to #NationalTriviaDay. That’s right, the new year has begun with an opportunity for sharing knowledge, celebrating peculiarities and finding out more about the animal kingdom than we thought was possible during the first week of the year …

With no further ado, here are some of our favourite pieces of trivia we stumbled across this week. Share with your classes, friends, family, neighbours and toast to the varied and remarkable world we live in!

The Smell of Books

Did you know that the smell or aroma of a good book is referred to as Bibliosmia? But don’t get sucked in too far, for if you read too much (is there such a thing?!) you might be accused of being a Bibliobibuli – a term coined by American humourist H. L. Mencken.

Backwards Flight

Did you know which is the only bird in the world that can fly backwards? It is the lovely hummingbird! Not only that, this clever little creative can also hover, fly to the left, fly to the right, fly diagonally and has the ability to rotate its wings in circles, making a figure of eight.

Never Let Go

Did you know that sea otters hold hands with each other while sleeping, to avoid them drifting away from each other? It is as adorable as it sounds, as this video proves …

Who is Billy Bubbler?

Did you know that Billy Bubbler was the original name for Roald Dahl’s famous confectionary tycoon, Willy Wonka? In fact this great children’s author is the cause for many wonderful facts: he wrote all of his children’s stories in a small hut at the bottom of his garden, he only wrote in pencil on yellow paper, he wrote the screenplay for the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang AND he was a Hurricane fighter pilot during World War II! Scroll to the bottom of this page for even more Roald Dahl facts.

Not-So Killer Whales

Did you know that despite the name, Killer Whales are not actually whales? They are in fact rather large dolphins and can grow to lengths of 33 feet and weights of 10,000kg!

The Lonely Painter

Did you know Van Gogh was nowhere near as successful during his lifetime as he is today? He produced nearly 1,000 works but sadly only managed to sell one while he was alive: The Red Vineyard. He also didn’t start painting until he was 27 years old and died aged 37, making the number of paintings he created all the more impressive.

A Prickly Subject

Did you know the average hedgehog has around 5,000 spines? Each one lasts for up to a year and when it falls out a new one grows in its place!

Suffrajitsu

Did you know the martial art jiu-jitsu was popularised in the UK in 1910, thanks to the women’s suffrage movement? As the campaign became exposed to more violence, many members learned jiu-jitsu as a means to protect themselves. They were taught by Edith Garrud – one of the first female professional martial arts instructors in the Western world – who stood at just 4ft 11in tall! Read more here.

How to Get Into the Hufflepuff Common Room

Did you know the Hufflepuff Common Room is the only one Harry Potter never visited during his time at Hogwarts? J. K. Rowling states that “When I first planned the series, I expected Harry to visit all four house common rooms during his time at Hogwarts. There came a point when I realised that there was never going to be a valid reason to enter the Hufflepuff room.” No fear, there’s still time, as for #NationalTriviaDay it was revealed that access to the room requires tapping a particular barrel in the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’!

What did you find out this #NationalTriviaDay?

Lots of love from the One Day Creative team (and see you in the Hufflepuff Common Room shortly!) x