Celebrate National Trivia Day With These 35 Fun Facts

Here's a piece of trivia for you: Did you know that National Trivia Day takes place on Friday, January 4? This year, we're celebrating with some of the greatest fun facts about animals, food, music, and other topics worth knowing about. (Wine trivia? Oh, we are so there.) Whether it's an interesting truth about blue whales or some mind-boggling facts about American food, it's always good to know some random trivia — and even more fun to quiz your friends and family with some crazy facts that are wildly unknown but still surprisingly true. The next time you're gathered around the table for some quality family dinner time, pull out one (or more) of these cool-but-unknown facts as an interesting conversation starter or a fun quizzing game — you'll even be sure to impress everyone with your knowledge and have tons of fun while you're at it, too!

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the "octo-" prefix refers to the eight points on the popular symbol, but the "thorpe" remains a mystery. One theory claims that it comes from the Old English word for "village," based on the idea that the symbol looks like a village surrounded by eight fields!

Yes, that tall, pleated white hat that chefs wear — technically called a toque — has 100 folds for a reason! According to Reclutant Gourmet, the pleats used to signify a chef's level of experience, like the number of ways he or she knew how to prepare eggs.

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If you thought Meghan Markle's wedding veil was long, get this: there's a woman in Cyprus who set the Guinness World Record for the longest wedding veil. How long was it, you ask? Nearly 23,000 feet, which is the same length as about 63.5 football fields.

FYI for all you people allergic to cats: they might be allergic to you, too! It's pretty uncommon due to the fact that we bathe ourselves more often than other species and don't shed as much hair or dead skin, but yes, it does happen.

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The next time you call something "as American as apple pie," you might want to consider the fact that neither apple pies nor apples originally came from America. Apples are in fact native to Asia, and the first recorded recipe for apple pie was actually written in England.

Yes, although it's a fabled creature, the national animal of Scotland is actually the mythical unicorn — chosen because of its association with dominance and chivalry as well as purity and innocence in Celtic mythology. BRB, moving to Scotland real quick.

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Pando (Latin for "I spread out") is a group of genetically identical quaking aspens in Utah with an interconnected root system. It's an estimated 80,000 years old and takes up more than 100 acres.

Forrest Mars (son of the Mars Company founder) first spotted the British confection Smarties during the Spanish Civil War and noticed the candy shell prevented the chocolate from melting. He teamed up with Bruce Murrie (son of Hershey Chocolate's president) and the company later trademarked the "Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand" slogan.

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The astronaut insists he actually stated, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." "That's the only way the statement makes any sense," Armstrong told biographer James Hansen. And for the record, no real astronaut ever uttered "Houston, we have a problem" — Tom Hanks only said that in the movie Apollo 13.

The world's largest animal's heart weighs about 400 pounds — approximately the size of a small piano.

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Poker fiends have a slightly better chance of laying down a straight flush: Try 72,192 to 1. Out of the 7,462 distinct five-card poker hands, you have a 42% chance of getting a single pair though.

Head north from Windsor, Ontario, crossing the Detroit River, and you'll reach the good ol' US of A.

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To feed its chick, a puffin parent will carry around 10 fish in its beak at one time, but the biggest recorded haul is a whopping 62 fish, according to Audubon Project Puffin.

It's the most widely spoken tongue in the world, with nearly two billion people learning it as a second language and only 350 million people speaking it natively.

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Wildlife watchers have recorded the Australian species copying not only other birds but other animals, like koalas, and artificial sounds such as car alarms and camera shutters.

The King of Rock and Roll had 18 #1 hits in his career, but struck out on 11 of his 14 nominations. The record for the most Grammy wins actually belongs to George Solti, the longtime leader of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with 31 awards to his name.

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The Coca-Cola Company has made more than ten billion gallons of syrup since the formula's invention in 1886 by Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton. That's a lot of sugar!

A British scientist first invented the roller-ball device in 1946 while working for the Royal Navy, but the word "mouse" didn't get coined until 1965.

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That's right, your zucchini and Jack o' lanterns are one and the same: Cucurbita pepo, a species that originated in Mexico more than 10,000 years ago. Farmers have since developed the many cultivars we know and use today.

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The New Orleans Saints' fleur-de-lis is actually a stylized lily historically associated with the French monarchy. It's also the state symbol of Louisiana and appears on the Quebec flag.

For the first few years of production, Ford's famous car came in gray, green, blue, and red. It was only after 1914 that customers could order "any color so long as it is black," as the dark paint dried faster than other hues.

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Technically it's a degree in "Viticulture and Enology" (a.k.a. the cultivation of grapes and the science of winemaking), but we're still sending in our applications.

Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia all picked it as their favorite species. The western meadowlark takes second place as the honoree in six other states.

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The famous architect's design for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo inspired John Lloyd Wright to produce the interlocking log beams on a much smaller scale for kids.

That's approximately 2.6 pounds, if you're wondering how much "fruit" you get when you uncork your favorite red.

Irrationally scared of clowns? You might have coulrophobia. Oh, and gephyrophobia is a fear of bridges.

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According to the Federal Reserve, each buck lasts about six years, and there's about $1.79 trillion of U.S. currency in circulation right now.

Just in November, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" set the Guinness World Record for the most-streamed track on Spotify in 24 hours — more than two decades after the 1994 holiday hit's release.

They both came from the Cullinan Diamond, a 3,106-carat gem found in South Africa in 1905. The largest stone, called the Great Star of Africa, is in the Sovereign's Sceptre, while the second largest is mounted in the Imperial State Crown (pictured).

Their moms will wrap them in pieces of kelp while they hunt until the buoyant pups learn how to paddle around on their own. A raft of otters will also hold hands while they sleep so they don't drift apart!

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It belongs to Brooklyn, New York resident Ashrita Furman, who's held more than 600 Guinness World Records in his lifetime, ranging from heaviest shoes walked in (323 pounds) to most baseballs held in a baseball glove (26).

The award show discontinued the Academy Juvenile Award in 1960 after famous names like Shirley Temple and Judy Garland nabbed the honor. Also no longer on the ballot? Best Dance Direction and Best Title Writing.

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Albinism is the congenital absence of any pigmentation or coloration, but leucism is a different rare condition where some pattern or color remains.

At 2.45 billion monthly users, Facebook overshadows China's (1.4 billion) and India's (1.3 billion) populations. Even Instagram has three times as many people as the U.S. now.

Trader Joe's 2002 Charles Shaw Shiraz beat out 2,300 other wines to win a prestigious double gold medal at the 28th Annual International Eastern Wine Competition, so don't feel bad stocking up on the bargain brand.

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