Did You Know

Creative Communications, the program I'm taking at Red River College, is quite intense and there isn't a lot of leisure time.  I'm usually a big reader, and I enjoy reading a variety of things, but I find that during school, I don't read for pleasure a whole lot. At least not entire novels. But, I'm a trivia geek, so little gems like this book that I found in the discount section of McNally Robinson seem to be the perfect prescription for reading during the school term.

This book is put out by the Useless Information Society in Britain and contains all sorts of facts on a variety of subjects. A few of my favourite little tidbits:

• The human brain continues to send out electrical signals for up to thirty-seven hours following death.
• Large doses of coffee can be fatal. 10 grams, or 100 cups over 4 hours can kill the average human.
• Cleopatra tested the efficacy of her poisons by trying them out on her slaves
• A human can detect one drop of perfume diffused throughout a 3 bedroom apartment
• A female mouse is called a doe
• Astronauts get taller when they are in space

I do have a skeptical mind, so I do question the legitimacy of some of the facts.  After all, there isn't exactly a works cited page. But the book is a lot of fun, and at the very least, there is probably a factoid in there that you can use to create conversation at your next holiday cocktail party.