Conversation starters

This website archives some of the weirdest, most interesting, and above all, random, facts you will ever come across. We’re sure you’ll learn something new here (if not a lot of things) and won’t have any trouble breaking the ice next time you’re facing the dreaded awkward silence situation. Here are a few to get you started:

• In Zeigler, Illinois, only the first four firemen to arrive at a fire will be paid.
• Nearly 50 million tons of e-waste (electronic waste such as cell phones and computers) is created each year around the world. This is enough to fill a line of garbage trucks across half the globe.
• A white New Orleans man in the late nineteenth century transfused himself with blood from a black woman he loved so he could overcome anti-discrimination laws by claiming he was black and marry her.
• On average, cats spend 2/3 of every day sleeping. That means a nine-year-old cat has been awake for only three years of its life.
• Nicotine patches and even melatonin (an over-the-counter sleep aid) are reported to increase the vividness of dreams and nightmares. The nicotine patch in particular is said to intensify dreams