Children have been learning how to count with the help of Sesame Street’s Count von Count for nearly fifty years. The purple-skinned vampire is well named, since he derives much more pleasure […]
Why Does Sesame Street’s Count Like to Count?
How a Video Game Pandemic is Teaching Us How to Cope With a Real One
A new disease emerged from a remote part of the world. It started in an animal before jumping to humans. It was highly contagious, but many who caught the disease remained asymptomatic. […]
The Colorful Connection Between Television and Black and White Dreams
Think of the most vivid dream you can remember. Was it in color? If so, there’s a good chance you did not spend much of your childhood sitting in front of a […]
Are You Afraid of Not Being Good Enough?
Atelophobia. Does it bother you if you don’t know the meaning of that word? Does that somehow make you feel inadequate or less than perfect? Does the very notion of being imperfect […]
Nikola Tesla and the Pigeon of Doom
Nikola Tesla is one of the most intriguing and enigmatic characters of the modern age. His genius and eccentricity have sparked countless discussions concerning his contributions to science and his wasted opportunities. […]
Cube-Shaped Wombat Poop and Other Scientific Breakthroughs
We at Commonplace Fun Facts are big fans of the Ig Nobel Prize and its mission to “first make people laugh, then make them think.” The list of 2019 laureates touched on […]
The Prison With Its Own Psychological Disorder
Certain prisons take on certain notoriety because of their reputation or place in history. Alcatraz, Sing Sing, and San Quentin all evoke images of forbidding institutions that have housed the most violent […]
If You Like Strong Coffee, You Might Be a Psychopath
If the findings of a recent study are accurate, the next time you order strong coffee, you might be asked if you want cream, sugar, or anti-psychotic medications to go with it. […]
Tamerlane and the Towers of Severed Heads
If you are looking for someone who exemplified the art of subtlety, don’t spend a lot of time studying Tamerlane (1336-1405). He was also known by the name Timur the Lame, but […]
Meet the Man Who Ate an Entire Airplane
Say what you will about Michel Lotito, but one thing is for certain: he never suffered from iron deficiency in his diet. For that matter, he didn’t want for glass, plastic, aluminum, […]
The Mind Tricks the Eye With the Thatcher Effect
When Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain, she turned the political world upside down. It is only fitting that an upside-down photograph of the Baroness would be […]
The King Who Slept for a Year
Henry VI (1421 – 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Historians generally blame him […]
You Won’t Be Tickled to Have this Feathered Phobia
If you suffer from pteronophobia, you have an irrational fear of being tickled by feathers. Learn about more strange phobias. Read more fun facts about psychology.
The King Who Thought He Was Made of Glass
There is no shortage of leaders who have wondered if they might break under the pressure of their responsibilities. King Charles VI of France (1368-1422) wasn’t being rhetorical when expressing this concern, […]
Life Lessons from Tchaikovsky: Don’t Lose Your Head Over Music
Nineteenth-century Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky suffered from a strange delusion. He believed his head would fall while he was conducting if he did not secure it to his body by holding on […]
