Useless Information Is King

As long as I can remember I have had a thing for useless information, for example. Did you know that months that begin on a Sunday will always have a Friday the 13th? Who was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, but declined it?

Would you believe it was Albert Einstein? I am known as an album reader, that's people who would buy an album and read every piece of print on that cover. I would look for producers names, people who might have appeared on the album, any little nugget that might be important later on that day, or later on in life.

Here are a few of my favorites:

• The Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan 'Finger-lickin good', comes off as 'Eat your fingers off' in Chinese.
• Mel Blanc, who did the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots.

And here is an ice breaker for a first date:

• On average women consume six pounds of lipstick in their lifetime. Yummmmy!

You may think it's silly to want to keep this kind of stuff all boxed up in some dark storage shed of the mind, but there is no greater feeling than having the answer when someone wants to know what Smokey Bear's zip code is.....wait for it.......wait for it...... 2211. In my line of work you have to be quick on your feet, and all of this ' trivia' helps me, and I think even gives me an edge. If you would like to fill your head with odd facts like me, check out a series of books from Noel Botham that showcases useless information. The Bathroom Readers Institute has a great series of books. I suggest you keep a copy of either one of these fine novels close to the throne. I am sure you won't find me on the Jeopardy champions tournament, but maybe someday I can be on your trivia pursuit team. Life is too short, take a break once in while and fill your head with some useless information.