The whole collection
Useless Facts You Never Needed to Know
Every useless fact Mataeology has published, grouped by topic. Pointless trivia and useless knowledge, verified and dated — each one has its own page with the full context.
Everything else
- The metal band that holds the eraser onto the end of a pencil is called a ferrule.
- The small extra pocket on the front of jeans was originally designed to hold pocket watches.
- The metallic smell on your hands after touching coins is actually a type of human body odor triggered by the chemical reaction with the metal.
- The wire cage that holds the cork in a bottle of champagne is called a muselet.
- The pleasant, earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil is called petrichor.
- The low rumbling sound heard in your ears when you tightly clench your jaw is caused by the contraction of the tensor tympani muscle.
- The division sign (÷) is officially called an obelus.
- The small plastic or metal sleeve at the end of a shoelace is called an aglet.
- The anatomical term for the small strip of skin and cartilage that separates your nostrils is the columella.
- Sloths can hold their breath underwater for up to forty minutes, which is longer than most dolphins.
- The smooth space on your forehead between your eyebrows is anatomically known as the glabella.
- Wombats are the only known animals that produce cube-shaped feces.
- The small plastic three-legged table placed in the center of a pizza box is officially called a pizza saver.
- The first commercial product ever scanned with a barcode was a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum in 1974.