Facts You Probably don’t Need

• An eponym is a person, a place or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named.

• In Sparta, only two classes of people could have their names inscribed on their tombstones: men who died in battle and women who died in childbirth.

• George Washington died in 1799. The first dinosaur fossils were not correctly identified until the early 1800s. Therefore, George Washington never knew dinosaurs existed.

• Caffeine does not actually give you energy. It just blocks the adenosine receptors in your brain which let you know when you are tired.

• Your blood turns green as you go deeper under water due to the lack of red light being present.

• In 2018, scientists found the fossils of fish on the peaks of the Himalayan Mountains. This contributes to the theory that the Earth was once completely covered in water.

• According to a Harvard study, people who are always running late tend to live longer and healthier lives.

• Japanese trains are among the world’s most punctual with their average delay being well under one minute.

                Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.