Useful "Useless" Knowledge

How often have you heard obscure trivia or knowledge referred to as 'useless'? But in the realm of writing is there any such thing as 'useless knowledge'? Facts and figures that other might never give a second thought to can mean the difference between a story with depth and two dimensional fluff.

I've found myself over the years researching things and people few others have even heard of. Some of the things I've learned have changed me, but more often then not, when I was done with whatever piece I was doing research for, I've filed this knowledge away as 'useless'. But again is any knowledge truly useless? And shouldn't all knowledge be shared freely? So that it might inspire someone else.

With that thought in mind I'm starting this blog of hopefully useful useless knowledge; by a writer and designed for other writers.

All entries and replies are to the best of my knowledge accurate and truthful. Respectful debate, challenges, or questions are welcomed, but this blog is meant to be more a jumping off point for your own personal research then a first and last stop on your own personal journey to understanding and knowledge and I do not claim to be an expert or authority on all subjects.

Hypergraphia: Not a disorder in and of itself and often associated with mania or changes in the temporal lobe, hypergraphia is an overwhelming desire to write.

Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, was believed to have been effected by hypergraphia and reportedly wrote, in addition to his works of fiction, over 98,000 person to person letters in his life time.

Often those suffering from hypergraphia keep extensive journals wherein they chronicle every aspect of their daily lives or the lives of those around them, which they often horde away and are loath to get rid of.

Wow, I'd never heard of that. I remember when I was still in school and I use to begin writing and if half-way through the page one of the words seem to slant a little different from the rest I would have to start the entire page over. Which made me happy when teachers began accepting printings from the computer or typewriter instead of handwriting term papers. I do now suffer from tendinitis and carpal tunnel in both arms but my flare ups aren't often, thank the Gods. I do have a need to write but not so much as to ever compare to Carroll. I would not personally call this useless; I would call it quite important information.

Thanks for sharing.

Sic semper tyrannis: Most famously uttered by John Wilkes Booth upon his assassination of Abraham Lincoln, "Sic semper tyrannis" a Latin phrase meaning, "thus, always, to tyrant" has been largely mistranslated to mean "death to tyrants".

It is in fact a shortened form of the phrase, "Sic semper evello mortem Tyrannis", which means "Thus always death comes to tyrants".

"Sic semper tyrannis", upon the suggestion of George Mason, became the motto of the state of Virgina in 1776 and is depicted upon the state seal. Though not his birthplace, Virgina was the home state of John Wilkes and was where he rose to considerable fame as part of the Richmond Theatre acting troop.

Lemming Suicide: Lemmings don't regularly commit mass suicide by diving off of cliffs while in migration.

The belief that they do largely comes from the film White Wilderness, which depicted scenes of their 'natural' migration. In truth, many of the scenes showing the lemmings in migration were filmed in-studio making use of a large turntable. Later Photographers pushed the lemmings off a cliff using a broom for dramatic effect.

Hemingway Cats: polydactyl cats (or cats with more then the normal number of toes on one or more paws) have become commonly known as Hemingway cats because the authors, Ernest Hemingway, after receiving one as a gift from a ship's caption became a lover of this unusual 'breed'.

Because of special provisions in the late author's will, his former home in Key West, which was turned into a museum after his death, is to this day populated by many of these many toed cats. About half of the sixty or more cats which live within the estate's property are polydactyl and are all descendants of his original polydactyl tomcat.

Because only a kitten born to a polydactyl parent and the fact that there are many forms that the mutation takes breeding for the trait has proven somewhat difficult, but there are breeders around the United States which do offer Hemingway kittens for sale.

Flexitarianism, Pescetarianism, & Pollotarianism:

Flexitarianism: is a form of so called "semi-vegetarianism" in which the person makes occasional exceptions due to circumstance or social factors and consume meat.

Pescetarianism: is a form of so called "semi-vegetarianism" in which the person consumes no meat expect that of fish or other sea dwelling creatures.

Pollotarianism: is a form of so called semi-vegetarianism in which the person consumes only the meat of birds, usually chicken.

All of these three types of "semi-vegetarianism" make allowances for the consumption of eggs, dairy, and honey. Diets that exclude these products are typical classified as a form of veganism; in which the consumptions of all animal products is avoided.

It should also be noted that among many moral or activist vegetarian groups "semi-vegetarianism" is largely considered to be an attempt by those not committed to the lifestyle to pose as vegetarians for whatever social attention or gain doing so might achieve. But most "semi-vegetarians" will site health and environmental concerns as the reason for their dietary choices.

Taphophilia: a passion or love of graveyards. Taphophilia is normally expresses itself "artistically" through gravestone rubbing, photography, and other various media. Typically taphophilias will express a desire to visit famous grave sites or cemeteries, but this is not always the case. Some taphophilias are aroused by the thought of having sexual intercourse or other erotic encounters in or near a graveyard or mausoleums, but taphophilia should not be confused with necrophilia which is a sexual attraction to dead bodies.

Polar bears and brown bears are the same specie and genus of bear, Ursus maritimus. The two breeds of bear only diverged onto separate evolutionary paths at the end of the last ice age.

Because of this the two types of bear are able to breed and produce fertile offspring. However, since cubs are raised exclusively by the mother they only learn her way of life and territory. In other words a hybrid bear born to a polar bear mother will hunt and live as a polar bear does and vice versa.

Murphy Bed: a bed which is bolted to a frame which is in turn bolted to a wall or cabinet for the purpose of folding the bed up and off the floor when not in use.

The Green Man: A figure of 'urban legend' the Green Man, also known as Charlie No Face, of western Pennsylvania was in fact a real life person.

Born in 1910, Raymond Robinson, the Green Man, was several injured in an electrical accident as child resulting in the loss of his eyes, nose, one of his ears, and right arm.

Because of his appearance and the public's reaction to him, Mr. Robinson took to taking long walks during the dark hours of night. But this too in the end drew him unwanted attention, as many local drivers took to cruising the roads near his home hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Mr. Robinson for the most part tried to avoid contact with his neighbors and passersby, but allowed himself from time to time to be engaged in short conversations and would pose for photographs in exchange for a smoke or a beer.

Since his death in 1985 rumors of the ghost of the Green Man haunting country roads and still going on nightly walks has spread, but these reports are widely dismissed as variations on the already exaggerated legends that were widely retold prior to his death.

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is a yearly contest put on by the English department of San José State University. The objective of the contest is "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels". In other words to deliberately write a very bad opening sentence to a fictional (non-existent) novel.

The contest was the brain child of Professor Scott Rice who named the contest after the famously quoted playwright Edward George Bulwer-Lytton who wrote the infamous first line, "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

Celebrate Bisexuality Day: Today, September 23, is Celebrate Bisexuality Day. First observed in 1999, it's a day to, you guessed it, celebrate bisexuality and bisexual culture and history.

Melungeon: A somewhat taboo term, Melugeon refers to one or more "tri-racial' isolate groups living in the central Appalachia. There is some debate and confusion as to the origins of the Melugeon "race", but it is widely held that they are a mixture of European, African, and Native American bloodlines which all came together in these isolated regions during or near to the time of colonialism in the United States.

Ur: the ancient city of Ur, modern day Tell el-Mukayyar in Iraq, was once a coastal city near the banks of the Euphrates river. Today, due largely to river settlements, it sits well in land.

Naming children in Meghalaya, India: for reasons that are more then a little difficult to explain quite a few of the political and tribal figures who are seemingly named after historical and fictional villains. Some of these names include; Stalin L. Nangmin, Frankenstein W. Momin, Lenin R. Marak, and Adolf Lu Hitler R. Marak.

When asked about his name, Adolf Lu Hitler R. Marak, was quoted as saying, "Maybe my parents liked the name and hence christened me Hitler... I am happy with my name, although I don't have any dictatorial tendencies."

The distance between Hell and Paradise: The city of Hell, Michigan lays exactly 294 miles south from Paradise, Michigan.

There is a Paradise, Louisiana as well. Being French in background (Cajun), it is spelled Paradis and pronounced Pa-ra-dee, although it is still the same meaning. I went to Jr. High in Paradis. Also, remember the Eagles ("If you call a place Paradise, kiss it good-bye").

The odd thing is that there is no Heaven. I guess you just have to do what you can to get there.

Actually there are a couple of towns called Hell.

Hell, Norway being the only one I know of that is a throw back to the pre-Christian meaning of the name, Hel.

It's a little confusing as to how Hell, Michigan even got the name. One story has it that the pair of German brother who first arrived in the area declared the site to be 'bright and beautiful' or something like that, I don't remember the exact phrase. Either way the German word Hell, which means nothing in the way of either the pre-Christian or Christian meaning, was the last word in the phrase uttered and thus became the town's name.

I'm not even going to fully comment on how pointless I think it is to try to reach any place not found on a map, but no I don't think there are any towns named Heaven.

Yes it doesn't mean anything like Hell in German. 'Hell' in German means 'Bright' in English.

HYdraMStar wrote:

Taphophilia: a passion or love of graveyards. Taphophilia is normally expresses itself "artistically" through gravestone rubbing, photography, and other various media. Typically taphophilias will express a desire to visit famous grave sites or cemeteries, but this is not always the case. Some taphophilias are aroused by the thought of having sexual intercourse or other erotic encounters in or near a graveyard or mausoleums, but taphophilia should not be confused with necrophilia which is a sexual attraction to dead bodies.

Thats really interesting, I have a fascination for graveyards/cemeteries. Although I have to admit I'm not so extreme to want to have sex in or near one. I enjoy walking through them, reading the stones, clearing stones that have been overcome with weeds and photographing them.

HYdraMStar wrote:

Celebrate Bisexuality Day: Today, September 23, is Celebrate Bisexuality Day. First observed in 1999, it's a day to, you guessed it, celebrate bisexuality and bisexual culture and history.

Nice to know, there are so many seemingly non-important holidays that the masses don't know about. They don't get enough attention, but that is just my opinion.

Snacker wrote:

Yes it doesn't mean anything like Hell in German. 'Hell' in German means 'Bright' in English.

Thanks I knew I was close and it was one of the two, but my German is horrible.

California Island: from the mid-1500s well into the mid-1700s many Europeans seemingly believed the state of California to be a lushly vegetated island detached from the North American mainland.

The first documentation of this misconception was in a 1510 novel, "Las Sergas de Esplandián" by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo and the matter was not cleared up once and for all until the explorer Juan Bautista de Anza traveled to the 'island' by way of land in the 1770s.

Death Poems: Many Asian cultures encourages those near death to get their final words and thoughts down in a poem; a practice astutely named death poetry or jisei. Each culture have added their own style and standards to the practice, but in Japan it is part of a full ceremony preparing the person and their soul for their passing.