A Single Trivial Fact

Have you ever noticed that there are some things that certain people cannot avoid saying in specific situations. For example, on Thanksgiving, after everyone finishes eating, I always start a timer to see how long it takes before someone mentions the fact that it is the L-tryptophan in the turkey that makes everyone sleepy. They say it as if they are a chemist and that this knowledge is something they picked up during their extensive studies. They hear it from someone else or watch a documentary on the discovery channel and talk about it as if they are an expert on the topic. Another example is when people complain about back pain and someone says, "OOOH! Lie on the floor facing down, I can fix you!" They adjusted one person's back when they were in college and that person said thanks, it feels much better, and now they think they are an orthopedist.

Other examples are when people mention Van Gogh they cannot avoid mentioning the fact that he cut off his own ear, and when Leonardo DaVinci is mentioned, they bring up the rumor that he was gay.

One of my favorite past-times is rattling off false trivia about specific topics when they come up in conversation. For example, whenever people start talking about President Eisenhower, I say, "Did you know that Eisenhower believed in werewolves." Or when I see someone eating a banana, I say, "Did you know that Bruce Willis refuses to eat bananas because they are radioactive?" It's my own personal way of teaching people to research things for themselves and not believe everything they hear. The best false rumors are very difficult to disprove and half true. For example bananas are actually radioactive and I have never seen Mr. Willis eat one.