The following nuggets, drawn from various sources, are unquestionably strange, weird, bizarre, trivial, outlandish and occasionally even a little upsetting. They’re also all true. We offer them as a possibility for a fun (or serious) offbeat inspiration or an ingredient in one or more of your upcoming promotions. Your counselor can help you select appropriate or related products.

The longest one-syllable word in the English language is “screeched.” Banging your head against the wall burns 150 calories an hour. On the average, people are more afraid of spiders than of death. It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open (please don’t try). On an average day, 438,356,164 pounds of paper products are used in the U.S. Only 120,547,945 pounds are recycled. Provided both parties are registered blood donors, dueling is legal in Paraguay. Your odds are better of being struck by lightning than attacked by a shark while swimming. The Eiffel Tower’s height can vary by as much as six inches, depending on the temperature. When Apollo 11’s lunar module landed on the moon, it had just 20 seconds worth of fuel left. Noted children’s author Dr. Suess didn’t pronounce his name to rhyme with “goose,” but with “voice.” Most lipstick includes fish scales as an ingredient. Wrigley’s gum was the very first product to sport a bar code. On an average day, 735,000 Americans are homeless; 100,000 are kids under age 18. The ancient Egyptians – rich and poor – slept on stone pillows. The bones in the human thigh are, pound for pound, stronger than concrete. Smelling bananas or green apples can help you lose weight. Every clock in the film Pulp Fiction is stuck on 4:20. The ostrich’s eye is actually larger than its brain. Over 100 crimes/offenses are punishable by death in Iran. What does it mean? No idea: 7% of Americans don’t know the first nine words of our national anthem, but know the first seven of the Canadian national anthem. The reverse is true of 5% of Canadians. Porcupines float in water (must be a quill thing). The longest English-language word that can be typed entirely with the left hand is “stewardesses.” No wonder the Mona Lisa’s smile is so enigmatic; Da Vinci spent 12 years painting her lips! The White House silverware drawers contain 13,092 pieces (knives, forks, spoons). Noted astronomer Tycho Brahe had a brass nose. He lost his real one in a fight. The first pro hockey player to use a curved stick was Don Mcleod of the Vancouver Blazers. A group of larks is called an exhaltation; a group of crows, a murder. More in-vitro babies are born in Australia than anywhere else in the world.